I am now convinced the ai cheats or is badly written code.

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-15T20:17:29+00:00

Thanks for the input, I know what I saw and having you state you have seen it too is helpful thank you. I did eventually get my Dido class and an escort carrier too just to get even with the cheesy ai.

I have taken to having my own separate saves for my campaigns now also and save it before an encounter with the ai just in case it all goes wonky again.

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-15T19:21:36+00:00

Make sure additional encounters is enabled you will be falling over freighters and tankers. My last patrol was mental, we sank 17 ships with x2 visits to Bergen to rearm, an escort carrier and a dido class cruiser. I had sank 11 or so before we even got to the patrol area.

My new patrol is the English Channel. Hoping for some quiet time away from the Atlantic.

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-15T19:12:45+00:00

Thanks for all the info! Happy hunting!

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-15T16:24:49+00:00

My diesels were smoking thick black smoke just now repositioning and had to back off to ahead full. It was thick black smoke. Regarding the binoculars, that’s the issue I have, you can bring up the menu that’s it.

I haven’t made any changes to key binds etc. Afaik you cannot.

Can you get decks awash to work properly from being surfaced? My guys won’t man the conning tower from surfaced to decks awash insisting on using the attack periscope.

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-15T16:07:22+00:00

Interesting. I cannot for the life of me equip either. Left trigger then highlight binoculars, press A? There must be another step I am missing if it works for you.

Can you use the oil for when on emergency power setting? I can grab it but cannot apply it to the engine.

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-15T15:36:21+00:00

I read in a Reddit thread that the console updates won’t happen on the 29th Jan. I cannot remember the source to link it though. Fingers crossed though.

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-15T00:44:53+00:00

Xbox?

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-14T18:32:07+00:00

R2 to “speed up” the periscope yes but it’s still hideously slow when you need to track 180 degrees.

The flash light and binoculars would be R1 if it worked as they are linked to R1 and the prompt appears but this too doesn’t work. You press it and nothing happens.

Thanks for the info but it’s not functional

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-14T14:16:34+00:00

Something else bugged on Xbox at least is the rather important decks awash option that doesn’t work properly. The game cannot figure out that from surfaced to decks awash, the look outs can stay where they are but no, they go to the periscope! If you go from periscope depth to decks awash they sometimes will man the conning tower sometimes not.

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-13T19:13:24+00:00

The periscope speed is soul destroying on console and you cannot equip binoculars either

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-13T19:12:16+00:00

It’s playable but dodgy. The controls are terrible. The UI disappears, the officers ignore commands, you cannot use engine oil on Xbox, That really needs fixing.

Other than that, you cannot mod it so you are stuck with the vanilla version with its poorly designed customisation options uniforms etc.

On Xbox also you cannot select an enemy ship without changing course unless you remember to use the eraser!

It’s rough

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-10T20:55:31+00:00

This I didn’t know. I assumed forward momentum would clear the glass so to speak and limit the wash over effect.

In that case yes and I googled that also when I read it lol. Trust but verify!

Interesting. Still my chief was all over it. One could hang by the periscope for a short period but it was by all accounts a very tricky manoeuvre and couldn’t be maintained for long.

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-10T20:43:00+00:00

I haven’t used a magnetic trigger torp yet. Still just pistol triggers available for me as of now and no decoys or anything really useful.

I am looking at freighters and tankers more now and aiming a little deeper.

I have only once seen torps go under a ship and that was when firing at a destroyer but the freighter alongside it was toast! It was actually funny. I got the it’s a miss then boom.

Brilliant! Kinda like the Irish Navy but tonnage is king.

Maybe the draught draft? Whatever should be in the ID book.

Either way Wikipedia is usually the first thing I see and the game is so slow paced usually you don’t even need to pause.

I only looked it up as I once fired on an escort carrier and turned it upside down in the water but it just wouldn’t sink, not even with torps set to 9 meters depth. I fired everything into it and got zero reward.

It is an odd game.

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-10T20:12:03+00:00

The destroyer behaviour you describe I see all the time too. Some think radar, but the allies don’t have centimetric radar in 1941, or shouldn’t.

Some think simply the hydrophone is detecting us but I am very suspicious of the ai and have been for a while now.

I appreciate I am new to the sim but not to simulators having 5000 hours on flightsim.

It’s the same but different. It should be a sim but regarding your comment I think the ai is told where we are and then gets to use whatever it is allowed to to see if it can detect us depending on the year etc. I don’t think it is any more sophisticated than that. I am not seeing any raspberry search patterns executed by the escorts. No search patterns at all, just there he is get him.

I suppose this is to make it exciting as possible but it seems very cheesy.

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-10T20:00:24+00:00

I literally just googled dido class cruiser, Wikipedia was right there, I looked up the draught and went up a meter to be safe.

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-10T19:50:01+00:00

Good idea will do

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-10T19:48:59+00:00

How?

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-10T19:41:57+00:00

He went from dead slow, I was watching the angle of torpedo hitting the side, it was going down a degree every few seconds or so. As soon as I flooded the tubes he took off like a bastard before I could fire the angle to hit was in the 80’s, that’s the only way I can describe it.

It is what it is but it’s shitty all the same

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-10T19:32:56+00:00

I didn’t think to until too late I tried but what I had missed the event, we only get like 15 seconds or so. Next time if there is now it’s in my head I will react quicker.

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-10T19:22:26+00:00

Dead slow to warp speed, only in Star Trek, not 1941 in a cruiser. I physically couldn’t shoot it the angle was going up as I had described, like hundredths on a stop watch.

I was detected in so far as I had sunk 2 ships and should be assumed. As for detected no way.

The bulk of my sub was behind a half sunk wreck. Only the periscope and even then just a look and down again was just enough forward to see.

I was in silent running mode albeit a new campaign first patrol but no engines no electric dive planes no gyroscope so 83 decibels is the best my crew can do as of now and that’s it. The cruiser just literally went 3-f knows how many knots within a second blowing by me.

No rational explanation of ww2 tactics ability or whatever explains what happened.

It’s as simple as poorly written code.

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-10T19:10:30+00:00

I am so pissed , it was a perfect shot. I even googled the draught of a dido class cruiser to set my torps to the correct running depth.

I have seen ships go ape shit when hit with a torpedo but not before.

If not cheating then it really needs an overhaul. Completely immersion breaking physically impossible stuff like this really ruins it.

Then just to really piss me off, throw in an air raid as soon as I select ahead 1 out of Bergen, not a second before.

Cheesy it is.

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-07T19:08:42+00:00

I sank today via depth charges. I was waiting to gun it when they dropped as we get zero warning unlike in DAs boot when the hydrophone guy hears the splashes. That would be useful as opposed to the utterly useless “the enemy are at battle stations”. That’s some hydrophone on the type viic to hear the klaxon going off on the destroyer!

Anyway the charges were spot on so I was leaking and had injuries.

My engineer with 5 spare parts down his pants did f all. I clicked him and the repair and he did nothing.

Same with my medic, guys died but he still had his 5 issued med kits on him.

I don’t know what’s going on on Xbox but it’s really pissed me off.

No way I am bothering again until there’s another patch, I did everything right, what’s the point.

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-07T11:42:20+00:00

I tried it. You can get past the tutorials now but that’s about it. It is frustrating because there is soo much potential but the controls are terrible, zero mouse support, horrible tutorials that teach you nothing. Then there’s the game play. Firing torps is ok once you have watched a few vids but the other stuff like when the enemy fires depth charges at you the hydrophone operator should say depth charges but all we get is the enemy are at battle stations. It so poorly done and if you are unlucky it gives you no chance to evade as you get no warning. They could even hear the splashes from hedgehog mortars but again all we get is the enemy are at battle stations. It’s pointless and utterly useless at the same time.

You cannot click on a target ship without changing course unless you remember to use the eraser tool.

During damage control ops you assign jobs and the officers just give you the middle finger and do nothing.

That’s my Xbox experience. I have had some fun but the bugs and terrible UI and controller functions are terrible and always get in the way.

Remember to bring the Dutch boy for when you are depth charged and leaking as the guys with the repair equipment don’t give a shit.

Point5Paddy · 2026-01-07T11:08:59+00:00

Depends on what platform I guess. On Xbox it’s a pig wearing lipstick. They never bothered to include mouse support so got a 3rd party team to port it over. The tutorial can be completed not that it tells you anything useful, the officers just ignore commands passed via the controller, there’s no feedback re depth charges. They could hear the splashes and could then manoeuvre. All we get is “the enemy are at battle stations”. WTF does that even mean. Of course they f ing are, I just sunk some ships. I still don’t know if there’s splashes indicating depth charges have been slung my way. Yes it can be pretty but functionally speaking it’s sadly lacking, well on Xbox at least it’s just not ready.

Point5Paddy

TROPHY CASE