Damn the torpedoes!...

[mrchuck]

I have questions/comments about what seems to be a very high number of my ships being hit by friendly fire torpedoes.

1. Is this what's really going on, or do I suspect enemy subs?

2. I do not recall ever seeing enemy torpedo tracks, other than in the messages by which time it's usually too late.

3. Is this deliberate or a bug? Many, many times ships combed the tracks and either minimised damage or got a miss. As far as I can tell this is pretty much impossible for the player in RTW3, or have I missed something? I can see that sometimes vessels will automatically try to avoid aerial torps, but I cannot say I have ever seen this any other time.

4. For AI-controlled divisions, there doesn't seem to be any way of controlling trigger-happy DD captains. In a battle I have just played, one of my DDs just sank another one by letting fly with no regard to who was around. I saw this with my own eyes.

[WLRoo]

2. I do not recall ever seeing enemy torpedo tracks, other than in the messages by which time it's usually too late.

3. Is this deliberate or a bug? Many, many times ships combed the tracks and either minimised damage or got a miss. As far as I can tell this is pretty much impossible for the player in RTW3, or have I missed something? I can see that sometimes vessels will automatically try to avoid aerial torps, but I cannot say I have ever seen this any other time.

This is deliberate - the chance of spotting torpedoes in the water until they are close is extremely low, by which point it's up to your captains to take evasive action.

The AI is fully aware of torpedo ranges and will take evasive action any time it thinks you have launched torpedoes - this can be tested by making a DD torpedo run without actually firing torpedoes, and watching the enemy ships perform a turn away manoeuvre.

To counter this, I build all warships with at least 1 torpedo tube so that I can activate the torpedo range circle. Assume the enemy has better torpedo tech than you do, and they can target you from just outside the circle. Do not hold the same course for more than 2 turns (minutes) when in range. Watch for enemy DDs making a torpedo run, and turn away from them.

To reduce friendly fire issues, I try to keep clear separation between my forces and the enemy forces. If you think you're getting a lot of friendly fire hits, check the ship logs in the post battle score screen - click view ships, then double click on a ship name to bring up a screen where you can access the information.

[EvanJones]

Playing in Admiral's Mode is actually a good way of evading torpedoes. The AI takes better care of your fleet, torpedowise, than a player trying to deal with a zillion commands all at once. You'll get plunked on occasion, but (I think) less often than in Captain's or Rear Admiral's Mode.

Looking at the ship logs after the battle should show who hit whom with torpedoes.