ASW Training Mission & Walkthrough Now Available

[Molon Labe]

Hey guys,

Bill just posted an ASW Training mission I wrote. Grab it at the bottom of this post.

The mission is set up to fill a gap that's been missing in DW. We've got a pretty good manual when it comes to detail on the stations, but the manual doesn't do a good job of explaining how to put those stations to use in combat. This mission is meant to help fill that gap. The package includes a walkthrough intended to take the player through the mission step-by-step. This is NOT meant to take the place of the manual. Please do your homework.

I would appreciate feedback from anyone who runs through this. The intention is to help newer players out, so I need to know what is helpful and what isn't. So thanks in advance for any comments!

[Maxed2Death]

Although I have been playing DW for sometime I was never very confident with TMA. This really did help me to understand and apply this somewhat daunting magicians trick :smile:
It was even possible to tell (when combined with DEMON) when the frieghter slowed down. It was within a few degrees of where I expected it when looking through the periscope. I have never been this precise before.
And when it came to killing the Victor this walk through allowed me the precison (on my second attack :smile:) to get under a deep layer, and then pop up and shoot from its baffles at a range it could not escape from.... In fact I damned near ran into it!
Thanks Molon your tutorial is very clear and well worth using for those that still have things to learn in this area.

[Molon Labe]

Thanks! Glad I could help!

[Delareon]

A Damned good Tutorial, thats what i have needed to understand TMA.

Only one thing i want to ask you:
You say that you get a contact at the Narrowband Display and then you say Mark it. isnt it impossible to mark a contact at the Narrowband?
I tried it sometimes but i never get the contact marked there.

[Molon Labe]

It's very possible. Make sure you drag the cursor onto the frequency line instead of just trying to mark the bearing. Even an old pro I knew used to make that mistake; apparently you could get away with it in Sub Command, so bad habits developed...

[jimfelt]

Hey guys,

Bill just posted an ASW Training mission I wrote. Grab it at the bottom of this post.

The mission is set up to fill a gap that's been missing in DW. We've got a pretty good manual when it comes to detail on the stations, but the manual doesn't do a good job of explaining how to put those stations to use in combat. This mission is meant to help fill that gap. The package includes a walkthrough intended to take the player through the mission step-by-step. This is NOT meant to take the place of the manual. Please do your homework.

I would appreciate feedback from anyone who runs through this. The intention is to help newer players out, so I need to know what is helpful and what isn't. So thanks in advance for any comments!

I would like to try the ASW training, can you give me easy instructions on how to install the file in Dw, so I can play it. Thanks, Jim.

[Molon Labe]

Throw the .mu file in the Scenario directory and it will appear on the list of missions.

[BuckO]

Molon Labe

Thanks much for your excellent ASW tutorial. I have been playing it non-stop for a few days now. I find the surface frghtr just fine, did the TMA work on it very smoothly brought a big smile to my face. However, I cant pick-up a strong sonar reading off the Victor...I get very intermittent sound freq. readings , 50hrtz, & 125hrtz & thats only in 2 of the 6 tries ive ran the mission. I'm thinking about trying a re-install to see if that helps. I'm currently running DW patched to 1.04 w/ the LwAmi mod.

That brings up a few other questions. I installed the LwAmi mod w/ the jonesoft program & it give u several other splash screen options. but if I install another splash screen over the LwAmi mod i get a warning msg.(somthing about how it may not work right on my computer) Have u heard anything from anyone else about this? perhaps I should just ignore it?

anyway these are small concerns of mine, any impute would be appriciated.

[Molon Labe]

A reinstall is probably unnecessary, especially if you're getting two lines on him. Check your depth relative to the layer. I think he's supposed to be under it, but he might change sides. So look under first, and if you still get nothing, cross and go above.

Oh, and this was designed for stock DW, so if you're running LWAMI, you may get different signal strengths at different ranges. It'll still work OK, but the varying signal strength is something to keep in mind.

I wouldn't worry about a message relating to a splash screen unless it actually causes a problem, which it shouldn't.

[OneShot]

Don't worry bout the warning message ... that always happens when a second mod that is activated changes the same files as the one before it. In this case its the splash.* files which were changed by the Lwami Mod itself. Turning on another splash screen wont break anything ... the only thing to keep in mind is to activate only one splash screen at a time.

[BuckO]

Good to know about the splash screens thanks much.

I have also had better luck now on locating the Victor...I think the problem was with the layers. I wasnt paying attention to its depth and which side the Victor was operating on, I just always assumed it was below it.

Getting a firm TMA on it has been challenging to say the least, but im learning...

Some more questions...Ive been operating in the Seawolf; I figured it was the best boat for a beginner, being the most advanced boat. In some documentation I read that in the Seawolf your quieter at 25 knots than a 688 tied to the pier. Is this modeled in DW? Just what is its fastest operating speed in DW using LaWmi?

You mentioned that we should wait 6 min. after a course change for accurate updates to the TMA. I assume this is because it takes time for the TA to straighten back out. Do you know of a table somewhere that gives data for how long it takes for the TA to go straight after a turn? I realize this changes for speed, length of TA etc.



Also you mentioned in the tutorial that at 15knts the TB-16 wont wash out. Im using the TB-29 and I know it has a slower wash out speed ( according to Timmy G's TACMANS and TopTorp's TMA guide doc.) . is 12 to 13 knots. I realize,however this was written origanally for "SubCommand". Do you know if its the same for DW? I couldnt find a wash out table in the manual.

[Molon Labe]

Good to know about the splash screens thanks much.

I have also had better luck now on locating the Victor...I think the problem was with the layers. I wasnt paying attention to its depth and which side the Victor was operating on, I just always assumed it was below it.

Getting a firm TMA on it has been challenging to say the least, but im learning...

Some more questions...Ive been operating in the Seawolf; I figured it was the best boat for a beginner, being the most advanced boat. In some documentation I read that in the Seawolf your quieter at 25 knots than a 688 tied to the pier. Is this modeled in DW? Just what is its fastest operating speed in DW using LaWmi?
For LWAMI, you can see the speed the SW overtakes the 688 Flt I on the 3.08 PSL chart (http://home.insightbb.com/%7Enotenoughsand/Updated%20PSL%203.08.xls) on the Reference Chart sticky (http://www.commanders-academy.com/forum/showthread.php?t=48). For stock DW, I'll do the math for you:
SW base PSL=63, PSLincrease=10, max speed=40
688 FltI base PSL=68
68= 10/40*(SW speed)+63
5=.25*(SW speed)
SW speed= 20 knots

In LWAMI, the max speed of the SW is 38 knots.



You mentioned that we should wait 6 min. after a course change for accurate updates to the TMA. I assume this is because it takes time for the TA to straighten back out. Do you know of a table somewhere that gives data for how long it takes for the TA to go straight after a turn? I realize this changes for speed, length of TA etc.
Since there's no good way to measure the length of the TA with that lousy bar, no chart has been made and probably never will be. The 6 minute number has more to do with getting new data than it does with bending of the TA. You can usually expect one data point to be fouled by the turn, more if you're going very slow or have the array very long. Two data points after the fouled point will give you useful data that starts to firm up your solution.




Also you mentioned in the tutorial that at 15knts the TB-16 wont wash out. Im using the TB-29 and I know it has a slower wash out speed ( according to Timmy G's TACMANS and TopTorp's TMA guide doc.) . is 12 to 13 knots. I realize,however this was written origanally for "SubCommand". Do you know if its the same for DW? I couldnt find a wash out table in the manual.
Off the top of my head, maximum speeds without washout are:
TB-29: 15 knots
TB-23: 14 knots
TB-16: 17 or 18 knots*
TACTASS: 17 or 18 knots*
Pelamida: 7 knots
Pelamida II: 10 knots
*These might be a little higher.

[HiPoK]

I wish I had found this mission and walkthrough when I first started trying to use DW. It's solved every problem I had in operating without autocrew! I'm sure more questions will arise now I've gotten this far. in one evening using this mission I've learned more about DW than I had managed to learn alone using the manual. Thanks Molon Labe!:cool:

[Molon Labe]

You're welcome.

[CNYBubblehead]

You've written such an excellent walkthrough for the mission, in such plain English, that it almost makes me feel silly for not having grasped some of these things before! :redface: Even though I've been reading these forums off and on for quite awhile, I never ventured into the Tips & Tricks sections -- now I wish I had ages ago. Thanks for the hard work! This'll be invaluable in not only sharpening my skills, but training others in the basics of undersea combat to ensure even more fun! :cool:

[MadMax]

Thanks for the guide.

Being pretty new to this, I found the guide really helpful.

Just completed my first try, I think it went pretty well.

I spent a while trying to get a good solution for the freighter, and then proceeded in 130 degrees below the layer, but wasnt able to detect the victor. Went to 900 feet, a little over the thermal layer, finding the victor on the towed array to the northeast. I only had 2 of his frequencies, and only 6 on the demon, so I proceeded under the layer in 30 degrees at 15 knots for a while, and then rose above again to get a solution. Made a turn to the east to find him on my towed array, got him on several bearings after a few minutes, doing 5 knots straight north.

I peeked at the truth to see how far off I was with my solution, and it wasnt more than about a couple hundred yards. At that point he was around 15 Nm out, so I proceeded closer under the layer, heading 030 in 15 knots hoping to get close enough to get him on the spherical array and make a master contact, and also verify his speed. At about 10 Nm I slowed to 5 knots and went above the layer, and turned north. Nothing still on the SA, but found him on the TA where he was supposed to be according to my previous solution.

So, proceeding under the layer once again, I turned to 020 at 1000 feet, and set my speed 10 knots. About 6-7 Nm out I slowed to 5 knots, and went above the layer again, same procedure, turning to the north, and then I got him on the TA and the hull array, and confirmed his speed to be 5 knots with the demon, and updating my solution. While proceeding under the layer again to get closer, I get contacts on the active intercept to my SWW, first one, then a second to the west. (!) Torpedoes in the water.

I launch an active decoy, maybe a bad call. I proceed under the layer and turn away, heading 090 doing 10 knots at 1475 feet, while listening to the torps on my TA. The pinging from the torps stops, and I turn north again, trying to get a solution to the victor. I find he has turned west, and my solution looks like he is now doing 5 knots about 3-4000 yards out, messing around in the TMA some more, I get more active intercepts, torpedoes in the water bearing 007. I fire 2 snapshots at 340 and 350, cut the wires and fire 2 active decoys while turning south, ordering turns for 35 knots. One of the russian torps takes the bait, but the other does not, so I'm blown out of the water.

At least both my snapshots acquire and kills the victor 30 seconds later.

[Transients]

It's very possible. Make sure you drag the cursor onto the frequency line instead of just trying to mark the bearing. Even an old pro I knew used to make that mistake; apparently you could get away with it in Sub Command, so bad habits developed...

Thanks, Molon.:smile: I've learned something. I thought I had a bug.