Cold Waters

I picked up Cold Waters and am slowly learning the basics.
The similarity with all sub games is getting into a good firing position for the particular weapon of choice. So you do have to read up on the different torpedoes, missiles, etc to understand their speed, range, detection range of their sonar, etc.
One of the single missions has you in a Skipjack - basic iron torpedoes a la WW2, and mk37 early seeker/pattern torp. Still figuring out how to execute an iron torpedo attack successfully! - how to set the fan etc.
Have not played a lot of scenarios but so far the Skipjack with early weaponry is quite fun/challenging.
You do not have to be a keyboard wizard with the game but it has a satisfying level of detail.
Standard level of difficulty is "Normal", ranging from Easy to Elite. I'm playing on Hard - one below Elite. Difficulty provides more enemy units, more for you to sink, and more of them to sink you! But other than that I understand everything else is the same.
If you have an interest in Subs it is worth a look, even for rusted-on WW2 keyboard submariners!

PS they maybe adding a Soviet Campaign down the track, at the moment only US Subs - Brit subs maybe next. So keep an eye on the game if you are interested in things post WW2 submarine!

PSS SH3 GWX - I can't get the screen resolution correct for 1920x1080.
 
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Thx for the link to the thread but it is broken. I did try Subsim, normally they have an answer for most issues SH and it looked like they had an answer for this one, but ... not now.
 
BUGGER - assumed since last page link was (relatively) newly setup it might be still available. (btw apologies for trying to teach Granny to suck eggs! ;) )
 
Mods are coming already at Subsim after the nice review by Onkel Neal.
 
Being a gamer I always appreciate a challenge. So I'm looking forward to the Soviet campaign. Driving those noisy buses should be a good challenge staying alive.

The Scenario "Beating the Odds" is a good one. Getting inside the helicopter is the first challenge. If you take the bait and fire a Harpoon the response is deadly, given the helo will see your launch. But you cannot stay on silent running because the odds are the helo will identify you on his next sonar-buoy drop. So you have to apply some speed, but for how long and how fast. Replay-ability is good, as the starting positions are randomized to a degree. And as I say, the higher the level of difficulty the more assets the Soviets get, which is a double edged sword. I suspect starting from the longest distance also increases the challenge of the approach.

Subsim have a forum for Cold Waters. Those guys are really hard core! And have some interesting things to say about AI performance.
 
Subsim are all around good guys. I only have a handful of posts but it's one of the more welcoming sim communities - which is saying something because most of you old fogeys are pretty welcoming everywhere.

Glad to hear you're enjoying it. Sat down and played myself last night and if they keep putting in patches like the one they just released we're going to be golden. Actually got a "return to Holy Loch" directive because it actually takes more than 1 mk48 to sink anything of substance. Had to put 4 torpedoes into a Moskava in 2 runs and then dodge very pissed off escorts for quite a while.
 
Might find this interesting, it seems that "Hard" is (more or less) "Normal", presuming "1" indicates realistic value.

As per the config.txt file:

[Difficulty Settings]
//Easy, Normal, Hard, Elite
PlayerHullPoints=3,1.5,1,0.75
EnemyHullPoints=0.75,1,1.125,1.25
PlayerNoiseModifier=0.75,0.9,1,1.1
EnemyNoiseModifier=1.3,1.1,1,0.9
PlayerTMARate=1.4,1.2,1,0.85
EnemyTMARate=0.85,1,1,1.2
CombatRepairTimeModifier=0.8,1,1.5,2
PlayerWeaponReloadTime=0.8,1,1.5,2

[Difficulty Settings Campaign]
StartPointsModifier=1.2,1,0.8,0.6
WinMissionModifier=1.2,1,0.75,0.5
FailMissionModifier=1.2,1,0.75,0.5
TonnageSunkModifier=1.2,1,0.75,0.5
TimeInPortModifier=0.8,1,1.2,1.5
RestockTimeModifier=0.8,1,2,3
RepairTimeModifier=0.8,1,2,3
RescueTimeModifier=0.8,1,2,3
NumberOfASW=2,3,4,5
 
Shame there is nothing in there about the AI tactical/difficulty/intelligence. That's I think the one thing one would really like to see vary/get harder at higher levels, rather than tougher hulls and slower reload/repair times.
 
The basis of a great game is there if the devs get the cash/sales to develop it. Bit more research on sonar effectiveness (torpedo based and sub based - too strong currently I suspect), water layers - there is more than one level as depicted at the moment, and a bunch of other stuff. AI strength/intelligence is probably through the TMA values currently. Used to enjoy the manual TMA in SH - would not be too difficult to incorporate but like most grognard level play, do the devs think it worth the expenditure? I think the devs want to incorporate better AI sub anti-torp maneuvers but they have not found a solution to "lawn-darting" into the seabed or surfacing. Even if they surfaced and went dead in the water for awhile - apparently this is a legit tactic.
Even small things like the ESM mast only getting a reading when the radar sweeps your location, currently it is detected as if it is sweeping your loc all the time. I'm sure the devs have a consultant on this stuff and know of many aspects they could include, but it all comes back to the dollars!
 
If you are into subs you have to get this title. I was a rusted on WW2 junkie until I discovered this game. Hard to break old SH attack habits, which is half the fun! A little clue, if your sub is facing the enemy ship/sub during a torpedo launch the odds are it will hear your launch transient - took me ages to figure that out - and fire a counter-measure. By plotting a dogleg torp course you can minimise your launch transient and avoid the inevitable return launch down the bearing of your torp. Very playable and enjoyable game. Jive Turkey on Youtube is probably the most authoritative.

As some of you may have noted I have moved onto CMANO. Picked up the The Silent Service DLC and the missions are challenging - amazing how long a scenario can take to play out. If you are a sub tragic it can be played as a stand-alone product. So $20 and you can get an interesting stand-alone game and give yourself an idea if CMANO is worth a purchase down the track.
 
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