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#4550035 - 12/29/20 01:49 AM UBOAT Test Patrol  
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Lima inspired me to go see how UBOAT is coming along in early access. So loading up, I set off with Kaleun Karl Spieler commanding. We were instructed to patrol in the region to the north of Ireland and made hydrophone contact with a single ship on the evening of March 1st of 1941. We radioed it in but as we were sailing to intercept, it was actually sunk by another U Boat in the same area.

As the night rolled into the 2nd, however, we were able to detect a larger convoy though the hydrophone and adjusted course to follow and intercept. After capturing just a glimpse of our prize at long distance, the weather soured and we spent the rest of the second and into the wee hours of the third of March sailing in and out of the convoy both above and below the waves, trying to find any opportunity to fire. At times, the ships were so close we could hear the thrashing of the propellers through our hull un-amplified. Our soundman, Horst, told me that we were completely surrounded by vessels, some within two hundred meters or so, but I could not confirm any targets through the scope in the heavy fog, which seemed to me to be nothing more than a continuation of the sea up into the sky!

At last, the dawn came and the weather cleared as I once more submerged myself in the path of the convoy. I ignored a large American ship to focus on a British vessel that would pass near my bow. After entering the information into our targeting computer, we just had to wait until the proper moment. When it came, we sent two eels on their way and then dove for the back of the convoy, not even waiting to witness the nearly immediate explosions. They were close! After moving east a bit, we came back to periscope depth and let loose on another ship in the pack, sinking it as well! Not wanting to push my luck, we headed out the back of the convoy as the escorts searched for us further west. Hopefully, we can circle back around later and make another run! For now, I am happy with our initial success!

Here's a video of the highlights:



It took a couple of play sessions as I would set up attack after attack only to be stymied by the weather. I am quite pleases with the progress of UBOAT so far and the only mod I am running is the TDC mod. Please keep in mind that as I am playing on my laptop, everything is set to low visually. Still looks pretty good, I think!

Last edited by Rick_Rawlings; 12/29/20 05:38 AM. Reason: who writes it as March first???

The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
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#4550044 - 12/29/20 03:13 AM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: Rick_Rawlings]  
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looks good so far

Last edited by carrick58; 12/29/20 03:14 AM.
#4550060 - 12/29/20 05:40 AM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: Rick_Rawlings]  
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carrick! Good to see you! Hope to run into you in 2021 in the new WOFF! (Well, not literally run into you!)


The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
#4550172 - 12/30/20 05:02 AM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: Rick_Rawlings]  
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Hi, Rick!

I am also thinking of grabbing this now that it is on sale on Steam. From my understanding, the graphics are very good, but the AI is pretty dumb and there are still some bugs to be ironed out. Hopefully, once the modders get hold of it, it may eventually rival SH3!


“With Major Lawrence, mercy is a passion. With me it is merely good manners. You may judge which motive is the more reliable.”
#4550251 - 12/30/20 08:47 PM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: Rick_Rawlings]  
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Hey, BuckeyeBob! That seems to sum up most of the sentiment that I have heard, although the general idea is that the AI is currently too extreme; too hard in some spots and too easy in others, more so than that it is dumb, exactly... There are already numerous mods and it is not out of early access yet. Based on the ease of modability, the general consensus is that it will eventually eclipse the silent hunter series and maintain more flexibility for more styles of play.

For example, you can already "be the boat" like you can see in my video or you can limit yourself to do everything in 1st person more like SH5 or go back and forth between the two. And that's in just the native game. There are also map mods that get rid of some of the more game-y "God's eye view" information that you currently have, although you can rightly argue that with your crew helping you, you would have a more complete idea of where things were than other sims might lead you to believe. The TDC mod is probably the crowning jewel so far and works great. Most of the bugs that seem to be around now are probably due to not starting a new career with a new update so you have old data crashing into new data.

There is definitely more to be done like more ship and aircraft types and a more fleshed out feel to the campaign as well as an update to the native targeting tools, but everything is perfectly playable now. They've even added a shift system to help with crew management, which makes it more like SH3, I believe. So if you are interested in the genre, I think it's a good investment that will be fun for a long time. I've been casually sub simming forever, going back to Silent Service II and Aces of the Deep. While I don't know enough to talk about all the realism in or not in the game, there are some simmers who are pretty serious about that and have got it working to their satisfaction already. I got it so I could run it on my laptop when I wasn't in a desktop mood and it seems to run fine on lower settings. (My laptop is a lightweight as far as gaming laptops go...)

Considering that there are more assets to be added, I would say that my only real complaint at this point is that because of the way it switches between "open ocean" and a "world bubble" when you get close to a ship, it can be a bit weird trying to shadow a convoy at extreme visual range like you could in SH. I expect that to be worked on further down the road...

Phew! Hope that helps somewhat...

Last edited by Rick_Rawlings; 12/30/20 08:50 PM.

The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
#4550621 - 01/04/21 06:36 AM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: Rick_Rawlings]  
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Rick, I think we have similar computer game interests and history! I also started with Silent Service and Red Baron 3D and went on from there. I didn't play Aces of the Deep, however, although I hear it was a lot of fun.

Based on your recommendation and since it was on sale, I went ahead and purchased Uboat. I am also back to playing Silent Hunter III, so it looks like I will be spending a lot of my time "underwater" for the foreseeable future--at least until WOFF: 2021 is released!


“With Major Lawrence, mercy is a passion. With me it is merely good manners. You may judge which motive is the more reliable.”
#4550974 - 01/06/21 03:25 PM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: Rick_Rawlings]  
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Heh, indeed! Since I last posted, I returned to port where there was a nice patrol summary and have returned to sea. I have noticed that some of the more specialized mission types may need some attention yet. I took the attack Scappa Flow mission and as I approached the harbor, everything just kind of spawned in on top of me, but I was under 5x time compression. I reloaded a save and went in slower and it worked better. So make sure to save frequently in a new slot each time and you should be ok! There are also some nice videos on YouTube that help, like one I watched on setting up crew schedules.


The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
#4554122 - 01/29/21 05:06 PM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: Rick_Rawlings]  
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Rick, are you still enjoying Uboat? I haven't had a chance to play it yet, as I also bought Hearts of Iron 4 and am still trying to get my head around it. I may have to consider a strategy game that is more my speed, such as Strategic Command or Unity of Command instead. I am trying to find the sweet spot between Panzer General and Gary Grigsby's War in the East--yikes! Do you have any experience with any of these games?

Post any more screenshots or videos you may have on Uboat. I have watched several videos from Litely_Salted and Wolfpack on Youtube, although I think they both rely a bit too much on the overhead "God's eye view" map to my liking, probably because they like to live-stream their games.


“With Major Lawrence, mercy is a passion. With me it is merely good manners. You may judge which motive is the more reliable.”
#4554127 - 01/29/21 06:05 PM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: Rick_Rawlings]  
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Looking at your video again, I have to say that the overall graphics are very impressive and the amount of detail they have put into the interior of the U-boat is incredible!

I could do without the guy constantly sweeping the floor, however!


“With Major Lawrence, mercy is a passion. With me it is merely good manners. You may judge which motive is the more reliable.”
#4554201 - 01/30/21 02:27 PM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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Originally Posted by BuckeyeBob
I am trying to find the sweet spot between Panzer General and Gary Grigsby's War in the East--yikes! Do you have any experience with any of these games?



I've played a lot of War in the East. I have a long AAR here about one of my grand campaigns (as German). If there's anything you want to discuss feel free. Not good form to do it in this thread, so start a new thread in the Historical Strategy forum down the list and I'll keep an eye out for it.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4554327 - 01/31/21 07:13 PM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: BuckeyeBob]  
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Originally Posted by BuckeyeBob
Looking at your video again, I have to say that the overall graphics are very impressive and the amount of detail they have put into the interior of the U-boat is incredible!

I could do without the guy constantly sweeping the floor, however!

All the skippers say I have the cleanest floors! Been doing a lot of Falcon BMS lately and work has been busy so I haven't gotten back under the waves, but they should be speeding up the updates and moving on to completing the campaign mode in the coming months so there should be good things ahead!


The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
#4555232 - 02/07/21 05:29 PM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: DBond]  
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Originally Posted by DBond
Originally Posted by BuckeyeBob
I am trying to find the sweet spot between Panzer General and Gary Grigsby's War in the East--yikes! Do you have any experience with any of these games?



I've played a lot of War in the East. I have a long AAR here about one of my grand campaigns (as German). If there's anything you want to discuss feel free. Not good form to do it in this thread, so start a new thread in the Historical Strategy forum down the list and I'll keep an eye out for it.

Thanks, DBond. I have seen your War in the East AAR's, as well as several others, so I appreciate your offer. I don't know if I currently have the time to devote to WitE, but I will definitely keep you in mind when I do decide to dive in.

Sorry about interrupting your thread, Rick!


“With Major Lawrence, mercy is a passion. With me it is merely good manners. You may judge which motive is the more reliable.”
#4555248 - 02/07/21 07:53 PM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: Rick_Rawlings]  
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Not much was happening on it, so no harm, no foul...


The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
#4555354 - 02/08/21 05:19 PM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: Rick_Rawlings]  
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Yeah, it's my fault too, apologies Rick.

You're right Bob, you do need to devote time to it. There are smaller scenarios that can be played a in a day or two. But if you want to tackle the grand campaign it is a very serious commitment in time and attention. It's such a massive undertaking. But I really enjoyed it. Well, if you ever give it a go I'll chime in if you post about it.


No, now go away or I shall taunt you a second time!
#4555508 - 02/10/21 06:05 AM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: Rick_Rawlings]  
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Having some free time the other night, I decided that the adventures of Karl Spieler should continue. After resting and refitting at Wilhelmshaven we set off on our second patrol in mid-March, sailing up around Britannia proper to settle into our assigned zone where we began to make a series of dives to search for nearby vessels.

We eventually picked up a single merchant eastward-bound and set off in pursuit. Keeping out several kilometers from him, I originally intended to lay in wait and send eels his way, but as he was nearly at the edge of our patrol zone and appeared to be unarmed and un-escorted, a quick attack with the deck gun seemed to be the most renown-generating option. This served to show how overpowered the deck gun can be at this point in development as I blew big chunks out of his stern with just a few shots, which sort of made up for the lame sight that is currently used.

Heading off, I detected multiple single targets and eventually ended up shadowing an Empire freighter, running alongside him at a distance to get a feel for his speed and course. I finally settled in for a proper torpedo attack with the TDC mod as can be seen in the film at 11.



The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
#4555517 - 02/10/21 10:58 AM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: Rick_Rawlings]  
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Thanks for posting this new video Rick. I think I'm soon going to give in to temptation and pick this up, tho I doubt it will be as good as SH3. Things I don't care for at present are:

- the U-boat appears too shiny, especially the wooden decking areas (realise they get wet but it's still too shiny);
- the boat bobs up and down too much, like a cork, even when just leaving port; a slower bob, and restricted to when a decent swell is running, would be more convincing;
- the forward rake/slope of the lines of the rear of the tower (below & behind the wintergarten) and at the rear of the bridge look excessive, should be nearer the vertical methinks;
- what's with multiple officers wearing the commander's white cap?
- from the external view, the interior appears too spacious, or maybe the figures are a bit small, or a bit of both (so I'd be inclined to use the internal view as much as feasible);
- are there really c.45 people on the boat? It seems a bit sparsely populated.
- as in SH3, the hydroplane operators should be using the buttons, not the emergency back-up handwheels.

I really do like the detail visible in the boat interiors. I'd hope they have (or will have) at least Types VII and IX playables and represent the main changes (extra AA guns, removal of deck gun) and not give you the same version all the way through. The featured VIIC is about the most suitable choice if there has to be just one version.


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#4555542 - 02/10/21 02:52 PM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: 33lima]  
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Originally Posted by 33lima
Thanks for posting this new video Rick. I think I'm soon going to give in to temptation and pick this up, tho I doubt it will be as good as SH3. Things I don't care for at present are:

- the U-boat appears too shiny, especially the wooden decking areas (realise they get wet but it's still too shiny);
- the boat bobs up and down too much, like a cork, even when just leaving port; a slower bob, and restricted to when a decent swell is running, would be more convincing;
- the forward rake/slope of the lines of the rear of the tower (below & behind the wintergarten) and at the rear of the bridge look excessive, should be nearer the vertical methinks;
- what's with multiple officers wearing the commander's white cap?
- from the external view, the interior appears too spacious, or maybe the figures are a bit small, or a bit of both (so I'd be inclined to use the internal view as much as feasible);
- are there really c.45 people on the boat? It seems a bit sparsely populated.
- as in SH3, the hydroplane operators should be using the buttons, not the emergency back-up handwheels.

I really do like the detail visible in the boat interiors. I'd hope they have (or will have) at least Types VII and IX playables and represent the main changes (extra AA guns, removal of deck gun) and not give you the same version all the way through. The featured VIIC is about the most suitable choice if there has to be just one version.

Nice video, Rick! The force is very strong with this deck gun!

I agree with all of your observations, 33lima. A few points:

Quote
from the external view, the interior appears too spacious, or maybe the figures are a bit small, or a bit of both (so I'd be inclined to use the internal view as much as feasible);

There is a 1st person, 3rd person option. The external view of the interior is probably to make it easier to find and select the various valves, switches, and items inside the sub.

Quote
-are there really c.45 people on the boat? It seems a bit sparsely populated.

Another game play concession, I'm sure. Can you imagine using your mouse to maneuver around the actual crew of an entire u-boat!

Quote
I reallly do like the detail visible in the boat interiors. I'd hope they have (or will have) at least Types VII and IX playables and represent the main changes (extra AA guns, removal of deck gun) and not give you the same version all the way through. The featured VIIC is about the most suitable choice if there has to be just one version.

Given the amount of interior modeled, I doubt anything other than the VIIC will be modeled, at least in the first official release. Other types are likely to come as DLC's.

At present, the game appears a bit "arcady," more like a 3rd person shooter than a realistic sub-sim. Perhaps the devs are intentionally trying to avoid being compared to a modded SH3 in terms of realism? Fortunately, the devs have promised the game to be easily moddable, so hopefully users such as ourselves will be able to mold several aspects of the game more to our liking.

Last edited by BuckeyeBob; 02/10/21 03:31 PM. Reason: added a few additional comments

“With Major Lawrence, mercy is a passion. With me it is merely good manners. You may judge which motive is the more reliable.”
#4555548 - 02/10/21 03:59 PM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: Rick_Rawlings]  
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Hey guys!

lima: The idea was to limit the number of rendered figures so they don't show the whole complement, although I think that there are mods that address this, at least to some extent. And there are actually a ton of mods already, such as removing map contacts. As for people's outfits, you can change the appearance of all the officers and I think every single sailor from a bunch of selectable clothing options. (Don't quote me on the every sailor bit, haven't tried it...). I just haven't had time to set up my crew as I was just running a test patrol to see where the game was at. Additionally, each sailor has a rating and may crack under pressure or prove to be a "sea wolf" so by dismissing or recruiting new men at port, you build up a more experienced crew over time. Officers also gain more skill and become more proficient at tasks.

I've noticed the bobbing too. I'm not sure if it has something to do with the way they handle time compression, which I think outside of attacks is never quite 1x1, but I am not sure about this as I didn't follow that thread too closely. This may be worked on more or be adjustable. The devs are pretty active on the steam boards so if you get over there you could have some impact on the project going forward!

Regardless of what happens, there looks to be a heavy modding community presence going forward so most people should be a flavor they like...


The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
#4555556 - 02/10/21 05:01 PM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: Rick_Rawlings]  
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*Also keep in mind that I am playing on a budget gaming laptop on low settings, so reflectivity and whatnot may be different on higher settings...


The older I get, the more I realize I don't need to be Han, Luke or Leia. I'm just happy to be rebel scum...
#4555891 - 02/12/21 11:27 PM Re: UBOAT Test Patrol [Re: Rick_Rawlings]  
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Well it's on sale on Steam, 50% off, and a Wolfpack video shows less bobbing at least in calm waters, and a 2-tier wintergarten in 1944 (albeit only two 2cm guns), so I've taken the plunge and am now waiting for the Steam download to finish!


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"Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth." (attributed to Marcus Aurelius)

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