WarOnTheSea Manual
WarOnTheSea Manual
                                                                                                                                         15. OPTIONS.................................................................................................................... 64
                                                                                                                                         16. CONTROLS REFERENCE .............................................................................................. 65
Following the devastating attack on the United States Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor, the Empire of Japan continues to expand unabated. A month after the indecisive Battle of the
Coral Sea, the United States secures a major victory at the Battle of Midway, significantly weakening Japan's carrier strength in the Pacific. The stage is now set for Allied forces
to go on the offensive and attempt to re-take Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands.
INTERFACE
Red text refers to key commands and references to in-game.
All interactions with the interface are performed with mouse LEFT CLICK, unless otherwise specified.
Alpha keys refer to numbers on the keyboard while NumPad keys refer to numbers on the number pad (Num Lock is assumed to be on).
Key Bindings:
Two sets of default keys are may be used based on steering with WASD controls or using the NUMPAD.
This manual is based on the NUMPAD key layout (see Section 16).
LEFT CLICK padlock icon next to Main Toolbar to lock/unlock UI, then LEFT CLICK and drag to move panels about as desired.
CONFIRM: some permanent actions, such as deleting files, or ending combat, require confirmation.
LEFT CLICK the CONFIRM button to execute the command or LEFT CLICK the original button again to hide the CONFIRM button.
To play a Training or Single mission, select TRAINING or SINGLE BATTLE from main menu.
MISSION LIST
Arrows at top can be used to switch theatres.
Note that no missions are available for the ATLANTIC and MEDITERRANEAN theatres at this time.
Select a mission from the list. A brief summary of what the mission entails is provided.
START will begin the mission.
LOAD to continue a previously saved combat mission, including custom missions made in the
Battle Editor (not available for TRAINING missions).
BACK returns to the main menu.
Switch Side toggle to swap forces you control (not available for TRAINING missions).
Unit Roster
Menu Panel
                                                                                                          Main Toolbar
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Most TRAINING missions bypass the briefing for convenience but for all other battles and campaign engagements it is presented.
Combat is paused during the briefing and may be started using the START button.
The briefing is the full screen Tactical Map. See Tactical Map section for more details.
Here you may modify placement of units, set up formations, navigation waypoints and issue some initial basic orders.
Until combat begins, any modification of unit positions and formations is immediate.
Use (F5) or Menu icon to open the Menu panel and view the current weather and other environmental conditions.
COMBAT
Combat enters you into the 3D game world where you take command of one or more ships and aircraft.
During tutorial missions, you are presented with a panel providing instructions how to play War on the Sea.
ENDING COMBAT
Use F5 or Menu button to open the Menu panel.
Use RETREAT button to order your units to cease all hostile action and prepare to leave the combat area.
1) If the enemy is already retreating, use LEAVE followed by CONFIRM to retreat and end the battle.
2) If the enemy is not retreating, a timer will appear prior to being able to use the LEAVE button. Any hostile action by any of your units will reset this timer.
The result of combat counts and the Action Report is displayed to summarise the battle outcome.
WARNING: Ships burning at combat end may automatically be scuttled based on overall flooding and number of fires. Extinguish as many fires as possible prior to leaving a
combat engagement.
Alternatively you may use QUIT and CONFIRM to end combat immediately (not available in during a Campaign).
ACTION REPORT
A summary of the battle listing all ships, their current level of damage and flooding, tonnage of those sunk (or scuttled) along with aircraft present and the number shot down by
both sides. Enemy units are shown only if their presence was detected.
To open the report during combat, use F5 or Menu button to open the Menu Panel, then select REPORT.
The Action Report is automatically presented at the end of combat when using RETREAT, LEAVE and CONFIRM.
Data Tabs Filters Switch Select Class Previous, Select and Next Unit
The Unit Viewer is an encyclopaedia of the various sea and air units in War on the
Sea and plays multiple roles:                                                                   PREVIOUS, SELECT & NEXT UNIT
COMBAT: acts as a Recognition Manual for identifying and classifying enemy ships.               The Previous and Next Unit buttons (Comma and Period) are used to cycle through
MUSEUM: used to jump to the various units.                                                      the units.
BATTLE EDITOR: used to add ships and aircraft to the engagement.                                Select (Return) may have a different name depending on the usage and does the
CAMPAIGN: used to recruit ships.                                                                following:
It is a valuable resource for detailed statistics and characteristics about each of the         COMBAT: classifies an enemy unit as being the class displayed.
ships and aircraft in each of the above roles.                                                  BATTLE EDITOR: adds the ship or aircraft to the group being edited.
                                                                                                CAMPAIGN: pays the COMMAND POINT cost to add the ship displayed to a new task
                                                                                                force.
                                                                                                MUSEUM: spawns the displayed unit for player to control.
SWITCH, SELECT CLASS & FILTERS
The Switch toggle changes between viewing sea units and air units.
Select Class Dropdown can be used to directly view a unit by selecting its class or
model from the list.
Filters toggle class dropdown to only show units based on nation or ship type.
STATISTICS
Images of unit are shown along with physical size, weight, speed and crew.
For sea units, the number of ships in class dropdown may be used to view the names of class members or to specify the name of an individual ship in a Campaign or Battle Editor.
Merchant ships (and oilers) are considered to be unlimited and number in class information is not shown.
WEAPONS
Lists all available weapon systems on a ship along with detailed statistics such as range and reload times.
Dual Purpose refers to guns that can shoot at both surface targets as well as aircraft.
A non-dual purpose gun can shoot at surface targets only.
LEFT CLICK on the shield icon next the range of a gun to open chart of armor penetration characteristics.
Chart shows the thickness of armor penetrated, up to maximum range for both Vertical (belt) and Horizontal (deck)
armor thicknesses.
ANTI-AIRCRAFT
Displays the various anti-aircraft gun firing arcs for the ship.
Pan Camera: either use Mouse1 or Left Arrow, Right Arrow, Up Arrow and Down Arrow.
Zoom Camera: either use MOUSEWHEEL or Equals and Minus.
When viewing ships, damage control and weapon systems for each ship can be examined using the buttons in toolbar or F8 and number keys.
LEAVE MUSEUM
Use F5 or Menu button to open the Menu panel and use QUIT to leave the Museum and return to the main menu.
                           Unit/Target Data
           Log (L)
                                                                      Secondary Toolbar
Main Toolbar
MAIN
Menu Panel (F5)
Unit Viewer (F6) - named Recognition Manual when in combat.
Orders Panel (F7)
Damage Control (F8) - Sea units only
WEAPONS
For Sea units, LEFT CLICK on the icon (or use corresponding key) opens the weapon panel for that particular weapon.
For Air units, LEFT CLICK on the icon (or use corresponding key) to immediately fire/drop that weapon. LEFT CLICK again to cease firing for weapons such as aircraft guns.
SENSORS
Radar (Semicolon)
Active Sonar (Quote) - Note passive sonar is always on whenever Active Sonar is not in use.
CAMERA BEARING
Indicates the direction (true bearing) camera is facing.
0 North, 90 East, 180 South, 270 West.
TIME CONTROLS
At upper right is pause combat and time compression buttons.
LEFT CLICK the pause button or use (Space) to pause or un-pause combat.
Time compression can be toggled on/off by LEFT CLICK on the time compression value or using (F9).
Time compression is automatically suspended and no longer available if;
       - any shells are in play
       - any aircraft is attacking a target
NAVIGATION PREVIEW
When controlling a unit, changes in steering, speed or altitude/depth are briefly shown
in the Message Log header to provide a preview of navigation settings.
In this example, an aircraft is at 3310 ft doing 200kn in a very gentle right turn.
LEFT CLICK Arrow icon on a unit tab to switch control to that unit.
LEFT CLICK the unit tab itself to select or deselect a unit for issuing commands to multiple units.
The current Controlled Unit is always selected (yellow).
Highlighted/selected units are shown in green.
Star icon indicates leader of a group.
Colored tab shows all members of a group.
LEFT CLICK colored tab to select all units in that group.
Small guns icon under ship names indicate they are in "Fire At Will" mode and will automatically attack.
LEAD UNIT
A unit with one or more others following it is a Lead unit as indicated by the star below the unit name.
Units without the star icon are in formation or following another unit.
DESTROYED UNITS
Roster tabs for destroyed units are darkened and are no longer able to be used to select that unit.
UNIT/TARGET DATA
Displays the Controlled Unit's name, speed, heading
and depth/altitude if applicable.
If Controlled Unit has a target, the target Name (or identifying number), speed, heading, bearing (direction to) and range are also shown.
                                                                                 Minimap (M)
                                                                                 Toggles the minimap on and off.
Open Map: Tab toggles mini-map (no map if Mini map is disabled) and the full screen map.
MiniMap: M enables/disables the mini map.
Pan Map: LEFT CLICK and drag the mouse.
Zoom Map: MOUSEWHEEL or Equals and Minus.
Lock Map: X locks the map onto the unit camera is currently following.
When using the mini-map, mouse cursor must be over it in order to use pan and zoom.
SELECTING ICONS
LEFT CLICK a unit icon on the Tactical Map will select it. Selecting it will do the following:
Default - Switch camera to that unit. If a player unit, assume direct control of it as the Controlled Unit.
Target Mode (T) - Selected unit becomes the target of the Controlled Unit.
Select Mode (S) - toggles selected unit highlight for the selection of multiple player units.
BOX SELECTION
While holding SHIFT, LEFT CLICK and drag on map for box selection. Units within the box will be selected. Selecting units of a type different to the controlled unit, will switch
control to the first unit of the other type. For example, if controlling a ship and a selection box is drawn around aircraft, control switches to the first aircraft and any others
within the box are also selected.
If both Sea and Air units are within the selection box, Sea takes precedence.
MAP BOUNDARY
The shaded circle shows the limit of the combat zone.
While it is possible for other vessels, aircraft or weapons to move into this region,
navigating any friendly units out of the shaded circle will eventually remove them from the engagement.
Lining up the two indicators and releasing bombs should put them near or onto the target,                            Target with
however the target is free to manoeuvre prior to bombs hitting.                                                      Lead Indicator
Tap or hold KeyPadPLUS and KeyPadMUNIS to change the speed of your unit.
Tap or hold KeyPad4 and KeyPad6 to turn unit left or right.
Tap or hold KeyPad8 and KeyPad2 to modify depth or altitude.
Use KeyPad5 to set steering to 0.
SWITCHING UNITS
There are multiple ways to switch your Controlled Unit:                                        4) LEFT CLICK on the small arrow of log message to go to unit message refers to.
1) LEFT CLICK map icon of a player owned unit.
2) LEFT CLICK on player owned unit within the 3D world.                                        Switching to an enemy unit will move the camera to it, but does not change the unit
3) LEFT CLICK on the small arrow for that unit from the Roster list.                           you control/issue orders to.
PLOTTING WAYPOINTS
Use icon in map toolbar or W key to enter Navigation Mode.
Note the cursor changes to a ship's wheel.
LEFT CLICK anywhere on the map to place one or more waypoints.
Controlled Unit will immediately steer towards and follow (course displayed as
lines).
Use map toolbar, W or Escape key again to exit Navigation Mode.
CONTROLS
                                                                                              FORMATION
Controls available depend on the type of Controlled Unit.
                                                                                              BREAK - Controlled Unit immediately stops performing navigation; such as following
P. DEPTH - set submarine depth to periscope depth.
                                                                                              another unit, being in formation with another unit or following map waypoints.
DIVE! - Crash dive a submarine.
                                                                                              Applying any steering input to the Controlled Unit will also "BREAK" navigation.
E. BLOW - Emergency blow ballast on a submarine to attempt to immediately
                                                                                              FORM UP - All selected units will form up on the Controlled Unit using the pattern
surface. Cannot submerge again once executed.
                                                                                              and spacing indicated below.
SCOPE - Raise/lower the periscope on a submarine.
                                                                                              FOLLOW - The Controlled Unit will follow its target.
SILENT - Silent running for a submarine. Stop all repairs and reloading to go quiet
                                                                                              Formation Type - Select a formation pattern from the dropdown
and decrease detection.
                                                                                              (then use Form Up to execute the formation and spacing).
Speed - slide to set the speed.
                                                                                              Formation Spacing - Set a distance using the slider
Turning - slide to set the turn rate.
                                                                                              (then use Form Up to execute the formation and spacing).
Depth/Altitude - slide to set the depth of a submarine or altitude of aircraft.
COLLISIONS
Sea units that strike terrain or another ship immediately loose speed. The speed at which the collision occurs determines how much damage (if any) may be incurred. Travelling
at less than 5 knots usually results in no or minimal damage, while high speeds can cripple or outright destroy a ship due to extensive hull damage, flooding and knocked out
subsystems.
Test depth is the safe depth at which a submarine can operate; during sea trials it has actually been reached. Crush depth is the actual depth causing the hull to structurally fail
and implode, on average about 1.5x to 1.75x that of test depth.
Test depth for a submarine can be found on the Statistics panel of the Unit Viewer (Recognition Manual).
The target is now set and data about it is displayed above the Main Toolbar.
Note that issuing an Attack order to multiple units automatically sets their target as that of your Controlled Unit.
All directors will cease tracking targets and begin tracking the new target.
FIRE AT WILL
LEFT CLICK AT WILL button next to FIRING ORDERS to enter (or cancel) "Fire At Will" mode. When Fire At Will is on ships will;
- commence firing primary and secondary guns at detected or upon detecting enemy units
- assign target of primary guns to all directors
- switch to new target if current target sunk or lost contact
- automatically use HE rounds against destroyers, submarines, merchants, oilers
- hides FIRING ORDERS settings on gun panels replacing them with "FIRING AT WILL" and displays current target for those guns if there is one
- at night/dark conditions fire star shells intermittently to illuminate target
- ships (or aircraft) firing at will have a small "guns" icon displayed under their name
Orders panel can be used to issue Fire At Will on/off command to all selected units.
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FIRING ORDERS - SETTINGS
***** IMPORTANT - FIRING ORDERS show settings applied to guns about to fire, NOT what guns are currently doing (See TURRET ICONS below) *****
FIRE: All selected turrets/guns open fire on the Controlled Unit's target (or at location if using manual MAN mode).
HOLD: All selected turrets/guns continue to aim at target.
CEASE: All selected turrets/guns return to resting.
Use HOLD to point all guns at target, wait several seconds, then use FIRE to fire all guns at once (Salvo mode).
SHELL TYPE
AP: Armor Piercing - best used against heavily armoured ships. AP shells punch through armor then explode within the target, albeit with a smaller warhead.
HE: High Explosive - best used against "soft" unarmoured targets or to knock out subsystems such as directors and funnels. Explodes on impact with a larger warhead, but
cannot penetrate thicker armor.
SS: Star Shell - an illumination round that drops a flare above the target position. Only 1 star shell per turret is fired.
Illuminated targets are easier to see in dark conditions, giving a bonus to the solution calculation against them.
SPREAD - Adjusts the fall of shot to be either more spread out (LOOSE), or tight (NARROW).
LOOSE: best used against a target with a poor firing solution, one that is manoeuvring or if you need a lucky hit quickly.
FULL is the default spread.
NRRW: (narrow) best used against a target with an excellent solution or that is slow/stationary.
FIRING TYPE
MAN: Manual fire.
When firing, the position guns fire at is determined manually by LEFT CLICK of the aim marker on the map.
Only guns with target inside firing arc will fire, while others will turn towards target..
If the position is beyond maximum gun range, guns will only fire once position is within range.
When MAN setting is off, guns fire at the solution for the current target.
SPOT: Spotting fire.
The gun turret will not fire again until the shells reach their destination.
Shell splashes are observed to help determine the correct range, giving a bonus to the solution calculation.
Spotting fire has no effect when using Manual firing as guns are firing at a fixed position.
MOUSE OVER turret icon for detailed information about what actions a
turret or gun battery is currently performing:
AMMUNITION
Primary guns require a functional magazine to operate. Several guns may share the same magazine and ammunition is taken from this pool.
Secondary guns share a dedicated pool of ammunition for each battery.
Firing a gun without ammunition of the type selected or a gun that runs out of ammunition will automatically switch to the other shell type (not star shells), reload, then continue
firing. If no ammunition is available, the gun will cease firing.
Firing Star Shells will immediately switch back to HE or AP ammunition if available and continue firing.
Lower part of panels shows icons for the various torpedoes on board.
LEFT CLICK turret icons to select/deselect them for firing.
When firing from Torpedo Rooms, only 1 torpedo room may
fire at a time, if multiple rooms are selected, it will default to
firing from the forward room.
FIRING ORDERS
Use the sliders to set the number of torpedoes to fire in the salvo and the spread of the salvo in degrees.
Use FIRE to begin firing torpedoes from all selected mounts (or selected torpedo room) with the number fired and spread as per the slider values.
Note that torpedo mounts or a torpedo room can never fire more torpedoes than are available/loaded, despite the slider setting.
Only one torpedo room in a submarine can fire at a time.
Torpedoes fired from surface ships have a limited firing arc. Remember to mouse over torpedo icons for information about firing arc and relative position of target. It is best to
have the target (or target position if firing manually) within the torpedo launcher firing arc prior to firing. In some cases you may have to steer left or right to bring the target
into the firing arc.
Torpedoes fired from submarines run straight to a safe arming distance, then use a gyro to turn to their calculated intercept point. Although they can be fired at any angle, they
are much more accurate when fired with low gyro angles.
Torpedo rooms can reload their tubes, one at a time. Reload time required and remaining torpedo reloads are shown when MOUSE OVER a torpedo room icon.
Target solution is shown in the Target Data panel above the Main Toolbar
(SOL) and on weapon panels where the Directors are shown,
such as Primary and Secondary Guns, as well as Torpedo Mounts
and Torpedo Rooms.
Rate of Solution Accuracy Increases with:                                                     Rate of Solution Accuracy Decreases with:
- Good visibility to target, at close range                                                   - Poor visibility to target, at long range
- Using Spotting fire against the target                                                      - Changes in target course or speed.
- Correct identification of target ship class                                                 - Changes in observing ship's course or speed.
- Using radar                                                                                 - Target is burning or releasing smoke (unless observer using radar)
- Target using radar                                                                          - Losing contact with target
- Dark conditions and target illuminated by fire, muzzle flashes or fire
- Tracking target with multiple directors
IMPORTANT: Targeting a ship assigns all directors to track it ONLY if they are not currently tracking a target. Fire At Will mode may automatically change targets being tracked.
LEFT CLICK Stop to cease tracking a target by a director (which also disables Fire At Will mode). However, issuing an ATTACK command will immediately force all directors to
track the target specified.
Surface/Air Radar:
How far the radar on this ship can detect ships or aircraft under the very BEST of conditions.
Noise Level:
How noisy the ship is in decibels. Louder ships are easier to detect with passive sonar.
Active Detection:
How easily the ship is detected by active sonar. A large hull makes a ship easier to detect with active sonar.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS
Use F5 or Menu button to open the Menu panel and view the environmental conditions for the current battle.
The environmental conditions greatly impact the ability of units to detect each other by visual, radar and sonar as
outlined below.
SEA                                                                                           AIR
Visual detection of a sea unit is modified by the following factors:                          Visual detection of an air unit is determined by:
- Conditions: base visibility as mentioned above.                                             - Conditions: base visibility as determined by lighting, weather and sea state as
- Height of observer: Larger ships are higher can see farther than small ones. This is        mentioned above.
shown by the visual horizon value. High flying aircraft can see further.                      - Size of contact:
- Size of contact: Large contacts can be seen more easily than small stealthy ones.           Small fighter ~4,375 yd (4000m)
Visibility is modified by the visual detection modifier of the contact.                       Large bomber ~9,840 yd, (9,000m).
- Contact Speed: Ships at high speed produce more funnel smoke and a larger wake,             - Land: terrain within visual range behind a contact obscures it making it harder to
while stationary ships are harder to spot.                                                    detect.
- Land: terrain within visual range behind a contact obscures it making it harder to
detect
- Illumination: a contact on fire, firing guns which produce muzzle flashes or
illuminated by star shells are easier to spot.
- Submerged: a submerged submarine is not visible, unless a periscope is raised.
SMOKE SCREENS
On the Orders panel (F7), use "Lay Smoke" toggle under the COMBAT column to order all selected ships to begin (or stop) laying smoke screens.
- Viewing a ship through a smoke screen applies a significant penalty to solution calculations.
- A ship laying smoke itself or observing a target that is laying smoke is always considered to be viewing through smoke
- Smoke screens become less effective in higher sea states and may have gaps within them as stronger winds disperse the smoke.
- Enemy ships laying smoke are usually attempting to withdraw and continuing to fire at them may be a waste of valuable ammunition.
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RADAR
CONDITIONS
Base radar detection is modified by 2 environmental conditions as lighting does not impact radar detection.
- Sea state: Radar can "see" further than visual, but detection drops off more quickly with sea states above 6.
- Weather: Rain or snow scatters radio waves dramatically decreasing radar detection.
These environmental modifiers apply to all radar detections outlined below.
SEA
Radar detection of a sea unit is determined by:
- Conditions: base radar conditions as determined by weather and sea state as mentioned above.
- Strength of surface radar: listed under the Unit Viewer Sensors tab, Surface Radar indicates how far the system can spot a large sea contact under the best conditions.
- Size of contact: listed under the Unit Viewer Sensors tab, Radar Detection indicates the size modifier of the radar signature for a particular ship.
- Land: in radar range behind the target scatters radio waves, decreasing detection.
AIR
Radar detection of an air unit is determined by:
- Conditions: base radar conditions as determined by weather and sea state as mentioned above.
- Strength of air radar: listed under the Unit Viewer Sensors tab, Air Radar indicates how far the system can spot a large air contact under the best conditions.
- Size of contact: Large heavy bombers can be detected more easily than small fighters.
- Land: in radar range behind the contact scatters radio waves, decreasing detection.
- Altitude: Low flying aircraft are harder to detect than those at altitude.
RADAR DETECTION
Radar can detect contacts at much longer ranges than visual under the right conditions, however to do so the observer must emit radio waves.
These radio waves can be detected by other ships and give away the presence of the observer.
Any Sea unit using radar may be detected at a distance up to 80% the sum of the Surface Radar strengths of the emitting unit and receiving units.
CONDITIONS
- Sea state: Rougher seas are louder making it harder to hear the contact.
- Rain or snow: Dramatically decreases sonar range by about 50%.
- Layer: A sudden drop in water temperature may generate a layer which reflects sound waves. Listening across a layer modifies sonar range by the Layer Strength value.
- Duct: A channel above the layer which improves sound propagation. Sound travels farther within the duct increasing sonar range by a factor of the Duct Strength value.
These environmental modifiers apply to all sonar detections outlined below.
Example: there is a layer 164 ft deep with strength of 0.8 with a duct above it of strength 1.5.
A submarine below 164 ft would detect ships at 0.8x normal range and can only be detected at 0.8x normal range.
A submarine above 164 ft (in the duct) could detect ships at 1.5x their normal range, but also be detected at 1.5x normal range!
ACTIVE SONAR
Active sonar detection of a sea unit is determined by:
- Conditions: base sonar conditions as determined by weather, sea state and acoustics as mentioned above.
- Strength of active sonar: listed under the Unit Viewer Sensors tab, Active Sonar how far the system can hear a contact under the best conditions.
- Contact speed: Going faster creates more turbulence making the contact easier to detect.
- Observer speed: Slow speeds are quieter making it easier to hear a contact above your own noise.
- Baffles: Ships and submarines have a blind spot behind them where sonar cannot hear a target.
- Contact facing: A side on contact is much easier to detect than when front on as it provides a larger surface area to reflect the "ping".
- Land: Land in front of a target makes it impossible to detect. Land or the seabed behind a target makes it harder to detect.
SHELL PENETRATION
Armor is used to protect vital systems from hits.
It is represented as the thickness of armour plating in a specific region of a ship (in inches or millimetres). There are other factors such as the materials used, quality of armor as
well as slope. Armor at a sloped angle deflects incoming shells better, making it much more effective without having to actually thicken it.
The hull of a ship has two armor values: belt (vertical) and deck (horizontal) which represent the protection against a hit to the side or a hit from above.
Regions of the superstucture and gun turrets of a ship have a single armor value.
SHELL HITS
The following factors determine whether a shell will penetrate armor:
Calibre - Larger shells can punch through thicker armor.
Muzzle Velocity - Higher velocity shells possess more energy to penetrate armor.
AP Shell - Armor piercing shells have a smaller explosive warhead, but penetrate armor about 5x better than a HE shell of similar calibre.
Striking Angle - Shell strikes at shallow angles may simply bounce away (ricochet).
Short Range - shell has higher velocity with shallow trajectory. It can punch through belt armor, but ricochet off of deck armor.
Long Range - shell arcs downward with steep trajectory. It can ricochet off belt armor but penetrate deck armor (called plunging fire).
Any hit to an unarmored part of a ship (or if shell calibre is greater than 14x armor thickness struck), will automatically penetrate and explode doing full damage.
TDS is indicated as a percentage value and is usually only present in the outer hull of the mid-section of a ship.
Upon a torpedo hit to a compartment with TDS:
- chance for damage to be dealt to neighbouring compartments is reduced by half of the TDS value.
- all damage dealt by that torpedo reduced by the TDS value.
- TDS value of compartment hit and its neighbours reduced to 0% as they are permanently destroyed by the torpedo impact.
1) STATUS
Lists damage/flooding severity, speed/turn rates, efficiency and number of damage control parties.
COUNTERFLOOD Toggle: If ON, LEFT CLICK on a compartment within the ship's hull will flood it with water. Can be used to help balance a ship that has flooding due to damage.
Counterflooding too many compartments will scuttle a ship!
AUTO DC Toggle: If ON, damage control parties will automatically repair the ship (including counterflooding!). Automatic damage control is deactivated when counterflooding
compartments.
2) HULL VIEW
Grid displaying watertight compartments within the hull. Icons indicate whether a compartment contains a particular subsystem.
3) DECK VIEW
Below the Hull View is the Deck View. Icons display the various subsystems present above the hull. LEFT CLICK on a subsystem will assign a damage control party to it.
Subsystems on or above the deck cannot flood.
LEFT CLICK on a compartment will assign an available damage control party to it or if the COUNTERFLOOD toggle is on, flood it with water.
VULNERABLE
A penalty applied to time to extinguishing fires and increases fire spread chance.
- Carrier performing Air Operations: 160%
- Cargo on board:
         Troops (120%)
         Supplies (130%)
         Engineering (140%)
         Fuel (180%)
During a Dynamic Campaign, a carrier on cooldown after launching or landing aircraft is considered to be performing Air Operations.
Flooded - Hull only. The compartment is flooded or taking on water. Too many flooded compartments will cause a ship to sink or capsize.
                Burning - The compartment or subsystem is on fire. Burning causes damage over time and fires may spread to neighbouring areas (including from hull to deck
                and deck to hull).
Repairing - A damage control party is in the compartment or subsystem and is repairing it.
Damaged - Integrity is below maximum and a portion of damage can be repaired, maximum integrity is lowered once repaired.
                Destroyed* - Integrity has been reduced to 0. Any subsystem here is permanently offline. If within the hull it is automatically flooded. Destroyed compartments
                cannot be repaired but damage control can be assigned to fight fires.
* Dynamic Campaigns: Permanent Damage and Destroyed compartments can only be restored by releasing the ship from your command.
Damaged ship enters REST & REPAIR queue and becomes available to recruit (fully restored) once repair time is completed.
Primary Gun              Cannot fire or reload                                                Conning Tower           Submarine cannot use periscope
Magazine                 Cannot reload guns which use this magazine                           Director                Cannot track target, solution bonus lost
Secondary Gun            Entire battery cannot fire or reload                                 Engineering             Decreases speed
Torpedo                  Cannot fire                                                          Propellers              Decreases speed
Torpedo Room             Cannot fire or reload                                                Funnel                  Decreases speed
Depth Charge             Cannot drop charges                                                  Electric Engine         Decreases speed of a submerged submarine
Bridge/Control Room      15% efficiency penalty                                               Rudder                  Decreases turn rate
Aircraft (All)           Cannot launch planes                                                 Propellers & Rudder     Decreases speed and turn rate
A party decreases by 50% chance of neighbouring fire or flooding to spread into their region.
Remember that a party can only fight fires in a destroyed compartment, it cannot be repaired, is permanently offline and if within the hull, counts as permanently flooded.
LEFT CLICK the auto Damage Control icon to toggle it on and off.
When off, LEFT CLICK a compartment or region to:
- remove a damage control party if one is present
- assign a free damage control party to it
Once assigned, turning auto damage control back on will leave the parties where they are. Once they finish their current repairs, they will automatically be assigned to a new
repair task if needed.
COUNTERFLOODING
As more hull compartments become flooded, a ship may list and risk capsizing. It is possible to purposefully flood regions of a ship to help prevent this.
LEFT CLICK the counterflood icon then LEFT CLICK a hull compartment to purposefully flood it.
Auto damage control is immediately disabled when counterflooding. Turning auto damage control back on will assign repairs to the counterflooded compartments.
Submarines have too few compartments for effective counterflooding, it is not recommended under any circumstances!
A ship can be scuttled by purposefully counterflooding too many compartments.
Compartments may not be under repair due to Auto Assign Damage Control being off, or there are more damaged regions than there are parties to perform repairs.
Regardless, they are a good indicator that it might be time to take control of that ship and start managing the damage situation.
US heavy bombers have the highest damage absorb chance, allowing them to take a lot of battle damage.
Japanese fighters have none, making them very fragile!
COLLISIONS
Aircraft cannot collide with other aircraft, but they can collide with ships, terrain and the sea.
FRIENDLY FIRE
Aircraft cannot be hit by friendly machine gun fire.
FORMATION ATTACK
Select ONLY the leader of a flight and order it to attack a target.
Aircraft following this leader will hold formation and attack the target when the leader does.
Used for aerial torpedo and bombing attacks where dropping ordnance in a pattern or spread is desired.
Pattern and spread is based on formation and spacing of the flight. Modify this prior to ordering the attack.
Effective only when the flight is already in formation or will have sufficient time to reform before reaching the target.
INDEPENDENT ATTACK
Select ALL members of the flight and order them to attack a target.
Aircraft will break formation, act individually, converge on the target and attack at will.
Used for dogfights, strafing and rocket attacks or against stationary targets where spreading out the attack is not necessary.
Be careful not to bunch up a formation making it susceptible to anti-aircraft fire or enemy fighters!
SKIP BOMBING
Skip bombing involves dropping bombs at very low altitude so that they skip like a stone across the water to their target.
Dropping bombs at low altitudes (around 150 ft) and about 750-1000 yd away, should cause them to strike the water and skip towards the target.
They may fall short, bounce over or hopefully skip into the target.
It takes practice and some luck to consistently score hits with this technique.
However it does involve flying straight and low at enemy ships, exposing the attacker to anti-aircraft fire.
ADVANCED TIPS
- A flight of aircraft may be split into smaller groups by ordering several members to "Form Up" on the controlled aircraft.
- Attack ships from multiple directions when possible to avoid anti-aircraft fire.
- Use Independent attacks on slow or stationary targets.
- Spread out Formation attacks against fast or maneuvering targets.
- Issuing a Formation attack using guns or rockets will automatically become an Indepentent attack; as firing guns or rockets in a pattern around a target makes little sense.
Finally, use the Battle Editor to set up aircraft attacks against various ships and practice tactics against moving targets and avoiding anti-aircraft fire.
Using any other aircraft weapon will fire (or drop) it immediately.
Using Alpha6 Bomb Doors or Alpha7 All Drop commands will execute the command for ALL selected aircraft.
                                                                                                                                                     Bombsight
For bombs and aerial depth charges, a bombsight is displayed on the map which can be overlayed
with the target intercept indicator. Lining up the two indicators and releasing bombs should put them near
or onto the target, however the target is free to manoeuvre prior to bombs hitting.
                                                                                                                                Target with
                                                                                                                                Lead Indicator
Defensive machine guns (rear gunners etc) cannot be used manually and automatically defend the aircraft.
Performing air attacks manually is entirely optional, but with practice they can be very effective and give you more control over avoiding anti-aircraft fire, attacking a particular
part of a ship or turning during a strafe or rocket attack to spread it across a ship.
Training exercises 9 & 10 outline step by step instructions for performing various manual attacks with aircraft.
Navigation Waypoints
                         Battle Settings
                                                                      Selected
                                                                      Group
Formation
Toolbar
                                                                                              FORMATION
SEA/AIR GROUP                                                                                 Sea groups only. Shows the layout of ships based on the formation settings.
BOTH:                                                                                         Numbers correspond to each ship in the group. Use the SWAP function to move
Assign side, either Red or Blue.                                                              individual ships within the formation as desired.
Assign formation and spacing.
LEFT CLICK Course to enter navigation mode and LEFT CLICK on map to place AI                  MAP & ICONS
navigation waypoints for the selected group. LEFT CLICK Course again or use Escape            LEFT CLICK a Sea or Air icon to select that group.
to exit navigation mode.                                                                      Selected group icon is highlighted in yellow.
                                                                                              LEFT CLICK and drag map to reposition it as desired.
                                                                                              Centre of the combat engagement zone is at the centre of grid.
EVENTS
Sea Group
Time Bar
                                  Toolbar
                                                                              Map Filters
CAMPAIGN SUMMARY
Save or Quit a campaign as well as view information about the current situation.
                                                                                             At the bottom are additional buttons:
Information is provided on 6 tabs:                                                           MAP KEY: Legend of all icons and colors displayed on the map (see below).
OBJECTIVES: Outlines what is required to win the campaign.                                   RULES: Summary of the rules and parameters for the current campaign (see below).
LOCATIONS: lists all map locations along with their port and airfield levels, troops         SAVE: Save the current campaign.
and resources. Conflict bar is shown for locations currently being fought over.              QUIT/CONFIRM: Quit the current campaign and return to the Main Menu.
SEA: A roster of all ships currently under your command.
REPAIR: lists friendly ships currently undergoing repair and number of days required
to complete repairs.                                                                         LOADING CAMPAIGNS
LOSSES: lists all friendly ships lost during the conflict as well as total friendly          1) Select Campaign from the Main Menu and LEFT CLICK LOAD button.
aircraft losses.                                                                             2) LEFT CLICK save file to select it, then LEFT CLICK START button to resume.
ENEMY LOSSES: as above, but for enemy ships and aircraft.                                    Campaigns saved during combat will immediately resume that battle.
Home Ports: are the only locations where friendly ships may be recruited and new resources arrive.
Upgrading Ports & Airfields: Spend the resources listed under the port or airfield icon to upgrade them. If sufficient resources are available, LEFT CLICK the icon to upgrade it.
RESOURCES
COMMAND POINTS                                                                                  SUPPLIES
Used to recruit ships. Ships released from command may refund some or all their                 Troops fight best with at least 1 per troop.
COMMAND POINTS based on campaign settings.                                                      Consumed by troops during combat.
Friendly sunk or scuttled ships recover no COMMAND POINTS.                                      May be carried by transports and moved to other locations.
Enemy ships sunk earn additional COMMAND POINTS.                                                Required to upgrade ports and airfields.
TROOPS                                                                                          ENGINEERING
Enemy troops at the same location as yours trigger ground combat which expends                  May be carried by transports and moved to other locations.
troops and supplies from both sides over time.                                                  Required to upgrade ports and airfields.
May be carried by transports, submarines, destroyers, light cruisers and moved to
other locations.                                                                                FUEL
No troops from any side at a location render it neutral.                                        May only be carried by oilers and moved to other locations.
                                                                                                Required to upgrade ports and airfields.
When selecting individual ship names in the Unit Viewer, some may not be available based on the prefix in front of their name:
(C) - Command. This ship is already under your command.
(U) - Unavailable. This ship is not available in the campaign. It is already sunk or not in service at the time.
(S) - Sunk. This ship has been sunk during the course of the campaign.
(R8) - Repair. This ship is under repair and will be available to recruit in the number of days indicated, in this example 8.
FORMATION
LEFT CLICK the formation button (middle) to open/close the formation preview.
Ships are shown in the formation by their corresponding numbers.
Similar to formations in combat, the formation type and spacing can be set.
Use the SWAP button to switch positions of 2 selected ships within the formation.
Speed of a Sea group is determined by the slowest ship in the group.
Launch Scout button is to the left of the formation button (see Automated Scouting section below).
Lower            Cargo - open the cargo panel. See Cargo Section below for more information.
                 Aircraft - launch one or more planes from the highlighted ship.
                          Aircraft carriers have a cooldown between launches during which time they are considered vulnerable from performing Air Operations.
                 Bombard - shell a location.
                          Requires Battleship, Battlecruiser or Heavy Cruiser in group to perform.
                          Damages airfield and port at this location, may decrease their level and airfield cannot launch aircraft for a time based on damage done.
                          Expends 1/3 of ammunition, may be performed up to 3 times.
                 Unload All - all ships unload their cargo at the closest location within range.
                 Rearm Ships - replenish ammunition of all ships in group if within range of a friendly port of sufficient rank.
Actions performed by Sea groups on the strategic map, such as loading/unloading cargo, bombarding a location or launching aircraft are considered to occur instantaneously.
The speed of a Sea group is determined by the slowest ship within the group.
Taking on cargo renders a ship vulnerable based on factors such as flammability and weight.
Vulnerable penalties: Troops (20%), Supplies (30%), Engineering (40%), Fuel (80%)
See the Vulnerable section under Damage Control for more details.
AIRCRAFT
LAND BASED AIRCRAFT
Select a friendly location with an airfield and use the NEW AIR button to create a new air group.
Aircraft available are based on rank of airfield.
Destroyed land based aircraft are automatically replenished the following day.
CARRIER/SHIP AIRCRAFT
Select a friendly Sea group.
Highlight a ship that has aircraft.
Use the lower orders dropdown to select Aircraft,
then LEFT CLICK the corresponding execute button.
Destroyed carrier or ship based aircraft are permanently lost and can be
replenished by using the Rearm action for a Sea group.
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LAUNCHING AIRCRAFT
Once at the CREATE NEW AIR panel;
Select the type of aircraft to launch, the number and use dropdown
to select payload.
Carrying a load out reduces the Endurance (range) aircraft can fly.
LEFT CLICK DONE button when finished to launch the aircraft,
after which they appear on the map.
Preparation and launching of a flight is immediate, however if carrying a payload a Launch Cooldown based on the size of the flight is incurred by the airfield or ship before
another flight can be launched. Aircraft carriers are considered to be "Vulnerable" during this cool down.
Endurance indicates how far it can fly before insufficient fuel forces it to return to base.
Once at 0, Air group will immediately RTB, namely plot a course back home and attempt to land. No other course can be plotted once endurance reaches 0.
Landing - Air groups always return home to the location or ship that launched them.
If that home is no longer available (airfield captured by enemy or ship/carrier sunk), the aircraft within the flight are considered to have ditched and are lost.
Landing incurs a cooldown at the location (or ship) preventing additional launches until it has expired.
REPEAT COURSE
LEFT CLICK "Repeat Course" button (yellow circle) to have
the group continuously run the pattern and automatically
re-launch the following morning.
Repeating courses are highlighted in bright yellow and can
be used for Air and Sea groups.
LOCATION SCOUTING
Land based aircraft may also use scouting and search patterns as described above.
Shaded circles on map around each location show automatic maximum detection ranges with aircraft operational (outer circle) and without aircraft (inner circle).
REPEAT COURSE
               The repeat course button can be used by Sea or Air groups to continually follow a course, repeating it once complete
               (aircraft land and re-launch the following day according to Air Operation hours).
               Repeating courses are highlighted in bright yellow.
BEGIN - Enter the 3D world, search for the enemy and engage them in battle.
IGNORE - Air units may ignore Sea units and simply report their position and leave.
SAVE - Save the campaign prior to starting the engagement.
GO TO - Select the friendly group involved and zoom map onto the position of the engagement.
After an encounter, contact is lost with all hostile units involved for a grace period of 60 minutes.
Hostile units may leave the area or remain and continue searching for your forces to re-engage.
All ammunition expended as well as destroyed regions of Sea units persist until rearmed or repaired.
Sunk or scuttled Sea units are permanently lost by both sides.
An encounter between fighter aircraft and scout aircraft may be automatically resolved.
Any location where ground warfare is occurring shows the balance of the conflict as a colored bar
with the colors representing relative strength of both sides.
SUPPLIES - access to food, medical supplies and heavy weapons increase the effectiveness of troops by 500%.
100 troops with 100 supplies (at least 1 supply per troop) is the equivalent of 500 troop strength.
Supplies are consumed at rate of 5% of troop number per day of fighting.
DEFENCES - the combined rank of the port and airfield at the location provides +20% per rank.
1000 troops defending a location with rank 5 port and rank 5 airfield would gain +200% bonus, making them equivalent to 3000 troop strength.
Performing a shore bombardment does not effectively decrease the number of enemy troops, but can reduce port and airfield ranks, which in turn decreases this bonus.