In the latest game update (0.13a) an interesting feature has been added that probably deserves an article.
Reasons for adding submerged torpedoes for surface ships.
Initially, submerged torpedo tubes for surface ships were not planned. The primary argument against them was that in reality they turned out to be almost useless, and in the game they would take player’s time and attention, making already long battles even longer. But a discussion on Steam led me to conviction that they should to be added. The main reason for this was the nature of Naval Hurricane, which becomes a bit of a simulator (as it possible for a turn based game). And a simulator game should give the player all the available armament so that he can experience all its usefulness or uselessness. Another consideration was to make the ship models more realistic, because in reality submerged torpedo tubes created vulnerabilities (weakened anti-torpedo protection and the risk of torpedo detonation), which were probably the main reason why the world's navies finally got rid of them.
Implementation features.
The game already had deck torpedo turrets, which you can see on destroyers. But submerged torpedo tubes have a couple of differences. First, they are fixed and can’t train. Gyro angling was used instead, which makes a torpedo to turn in the desired direction after it is launched.
The exact angles provided by such gyro angle setters seem unknown for most torpedoes. But one reliable source states “+/- 45°, later +/-90°” for one German torpedo from that time period. So at the moment all torpedoes of fixed torpedo tubes have been chosen to have an arc angle of +/- 45° as better than +/- 90° in terms of gameplay.
Also, submerged torpedo tubes may have covers that must be opened before launching the torpedo.
In addition, the port and starboard torpedo tubes always had a beam that was extended from the tube to keep the torpedo from being deflected or damaged by the flow of water.
Port and starboard torpedoes also have a launch speed limit (16 knots currently). This will cause players and AI to slow down if they want to use them.
Reloading torpedoes.
Also submerged torpedo tubes can be reloaded, which required the addition of a new torpedo storage module. Unlike the artillery magazine, each torpedo in the torpedo storage is treated as a separate module, but the player interacts with the entire group of torpedoes as a single module.
Of course, the torpedo disappears from the model after being loaded into the torpedo tube, which was not previously implemented for any other module.
As in the real world, the reloading process is slow and can take several dozen turns in the worst case.
AI logic.
The number of submerged torpedo tubes on surface ships is small. Usually only 1-2 torpedoes can be fired at one target.
So the AI does not consider submerged torpedo tubes as valuable armament, and the basic approach is to launch torpedoes every time it manages to successfully calculate a torpedo triangle launch solution. However, as I mentioned earlier, there is a speed limit for launching broadside torpedoes. Therefore, the AI only initiate a deceleration if it has successfully calculated a torpedo triangle launch solution for respective torpedo tubes (torpedo triangle must be calculated each turn the AI applies the brake) and a certain number of turns have passed since the previous attempt to initiate the deceleration. The number of turns is randomly selected in the range from 5 to 15 at the moment, but tends to get smaller as the distance to enemies gets shorter. A shorter distance is perceived as an increased chance of a successful hit, so attempts to slow down are made more often.
Conclusion.
Adding submerged torpedo tubes for surface ships doesn't change the game much. But it is one of the small features that together should make Naval Hurricane a good game. It also required solving a couple of interesting tasks, and some of the implemented features will also help in future development. Submarine torpedo tubes, for example, will operate in much the same way.
That’s all for today.
Good luck.
