BATFISH
Submarine Combat Simulator
Captains Notes
Copyright August ,1989 John W. McCue
Authors Note
There are many different makes and models of personal
computers available on todays market. BATFISH has been coded
with this in mind and should work on most equipment. One
thing that the software cannot work around is the general
speed of individual processors. You may experience some
slowing of the game when you are dealing with either large
scenarios or have large numbers of targets visible. If you
find this to be the case, you will find a vast improvement in
performance by adding a math co-processor to your machine.
Testing has shown that a generic XT model computer with a
co-processor will perform as well as, or better than, more
advanced machines. These chips are relatively inexpensive
when compared with more costly machines and will enhance your
enjoyment of BATFISH and many other packages you may have.
THIS PROGRAM IS COPYRIGHTED AND IS BEING DISTRIBUTED AS
SHAREWARE. YOU ARE ENCOURAGED TO FREELY COPY AND DISTRIBUTE
"BATFISH" PROVIDED THAT ALL ACCOMPANYING FILES ARE TRANSFERRED
WITHOUT MODIFICATION, AND YOU CHARGE NO FEE TO DO SO.
You may play BATFISH for free ONLY until such time as you can
reasonably determine if you like it or not. This does NOT mean
until you have mastered the game and/or become bored with it!
If you enjoy it, send payment of $15.00 along with a copy of
the registration form. This program is complete, and is not
"crippled" in any way. When you register, in addition to
having met your legal and moral obligation, you will be put
on the mailing list for future upgrades/enhancements and new
programs by the author.
Introduction
Congratulations, Captain! CINCLANTFLT has just issued new
orders. You have just been promoted out from behind your desk
at Fleet Operations Headquarters. With no actual experience
in submarine command, fleet operations or combat strategy,
you have been selected by the review board as being more than
qualified to fill the vacancy. You will take command of a
Fleet Class Submarine without delay (or any training).
General Notes
The submarine you now command is a generic collection of all
the best attributes of several different classes of
submarines. General 'housekeeping' duties on board are
performed by your junior officers (the little lackeys),
removing the need for you to worry about them. However, you
command the submarine and are responsible for anything that
may endanger her. For example, the engine room staff will
charge your batteries when surfaced without being told or the
torpedo room crews will reload torpedo tubes when they are
empty (providing you have closed the outer door on that
tube).
Major Electric Corporation and Hydro Dynamics Inc.
constructed your vessel at the Fleet yards in one of the
secret costal Naval Yards. Initial testing and work-ups
indicate that your vessel meets all operational requirements
laid out in the contract. However, the manufacture indicates
that your submarine MAY dive below the contract test depth.
Care should be taken below this depth because you may damage
your vessel to the point where recovery is not possible.
Notes on Starting BATFISH
Set your default directory to the location where the games
files are stored. At the DOS prompt, enter the command:
BATFISH
After the game has loaded, you will need to register your
ship and yourself. You will also be asked to enter a 'console
code'. The console code is used to identify a specific game.
This sill allow multiple players to use the game.
When you exit from the game, the current status will be
stored automatically so you can restart it later. To restart
a saved game, enter your console code after the BATFISH
command. For example, if you started a game with a console
code of SUBM, to restart it you would use:
BATFISH SUBM
You are also able to start, or restart, a game with a
specific scenario. Using the example above, you can start
BATFISH in scenario 14 by entering the command:
BATFISH SUBM 14
BATFISH comes with a predefined scenario file which will give
you many hours of enjoyable and challenging play. You can,
however, create and use your own custom scenario file(s) to
give you endless possible combinations to suit your taste,
style and skills. This feature is truly unique among gaming
software today. See the notes on the scenario builder at the
end of this document, and enjoy!
Notes on Command Registration
After you have started BATFISH, you will be required to
register the name of your vessel, the name of the captain who
will command your vessel and a unique console code for your
vessel. The console code will allow more than one player to
be active and allows BATFISH to identify all aspects of your
command. Batfish will not allow more than one occurrence of a
console code. However, following an untimely loss of a
command, BATFISH will allow a console code to be used again.
Notes on the Patrol Sector
The Patrol Sector you have been assigned is somewhere in the
Mid Atlantic. There is not a speck of land to be seen for
several hundred miles in any direction, so you should not run
into very much. Some have described this area as the end of
the earth. It isn't really, but you can see it from here.
(and it really looks rather pleasant) CINCLANTFLT has not
imposed any boundary on you, so you are free to roam at will.
The Hydrographic Service at CINCLANTFLT has filed a report
for your patrol area stating that water thermal boundaries
may be present. These boundaries between water masses of
different temperatures are ideal for distorting and masking
sound waves. You may find it useful to locate this boundary,
if it exists, as this is the only way to avoid detection by
escort ships while they are using active sonar in your area.
Notes on Scenarios
Play in BATFISH is broken down into individual scenarios.
Each scenario consists of one or more ships that are loaded
into your patrol sector. Once in your patrol sector, these
ships will attempt to manoeuver and speed away from you. There
are two ways that ships may leave your sector. They will
either get to far away for you instruments to detect, or you
will have sunk them. When all ships have left the patrol
sector, the next scenario will be loaded. This will continue
until no further scenarios are available, or you find
yourself joining your trophies in Davey Jones Locker.
As mentioned previously, you may create your own scenario file
or use the default file supplied. A sample file is included at
the end of this document.
Notes on Targets
Targets are ships in your patrol sector. You objective is to
sink as may tons of shipping as possible with the least
number of torpedoes. So you will have to make a judgement
call as to the largest targets available for a given
situation.
When lining up on targets, remember to compensate for target
speed, distance, size and zig-zag patterns. Hits registered
against targets must be serious enough to sink them. Minor
damage may slow the target but repairs can be made to correct
the damage. In short, make sure the ship is going down, don't
assume that is should.
Care must be taken when going into combat against warships of
any kind. Should you be caught on the surface, or allow them
to locate your periscope, they will shell you with deck guns
and that can ruin your whole day. Other hazards you will
encounter include depth charges dropped from destroyers and
torpedoes fired from opposing submarines. You should exercise
caution where it is appropriate.
Notes on Replenishment At Sea
CINCLANTFLT has placed a large submarine auxiliary
replenishment ship at your disposal. This vessel will provide
you with all the torpedoes that you. You will contact the
replenishment vessel by radio when you need it. Be extremely
careful. DO NOT SINK IT!!!
When attempting to rendezvous with your support vessel, you
must manoeuver into a position along side it. The distance
between the two vessels must be small enough to pass lines
from one boat to the other but not so close as to ram one
another. Your speed is also critical. Once you have
successfully connected with the other vessel, replenishment
will commence (at a very feverish pace) with little
intervention from you. You may break off at any time you
wish, should it be necessary.
The captain of your supply boat is an experienced commander.
He has been provided with a full accounting of your level of
knowledge and experience. As a result, he will generally stay
well out of harms way. That is, until you call for him. When
he is making an approach, it will take very little to spook
him and abandon any attempt to rendezvous. You may find it
necessary to request resupply more than once.
Notes On Displays
The information displayed on your different instruments is of
great value to you. Instrumentation will tell you what your
submarine is doing, what its current state is and is a
primary link to the world outside the hull of your boat. You
should pay close attention to what the are telling you.
Submarine control systems, over which you exercise your
authority, will provide you with two indicators. These are
yellow and green. The yellow indicator will indicate what you
have ordered and the green one tells you what the submarine
is doing. For example, if you have ordered a speed of 30
knots from a speed of 0 knots, the yellow indicator will
point at 30 while the green indicator will slowly climb from
0 to 30 as the speed of your boat increases. (Remember,
that's almost 2,400 tons of submarine you are trying to move
and it will not pull wheelies)
Attitude reporting, depth for example, will only have a green
indicator. These instruments are relating the attitude of the
submarine based on other factors that impact your boat.
The main screens you will see represent the areas where you
will be when in command. They consist of the Control Room,
the Bridge, and the CIC (Combat Information Center). Each of
these areas will have a changeable insert to assist in your
command functions. Most information can be obtained from
other areas when needed. However, where physical limitations
exist, they have been enforced. For example, you will not be
able to use the periscope from the radar room or the bridge
because it is in the control room.
Also note that some instruments are subject to noise
infiltration. This is causes by a number of things. The most
obvious will be noise caused by excessive speed and wakes
caused be ships and torpedoes. On occasion, there will be
insufficient information available to you crew when you
request plots. Be aware of this behaviour and manoeuver your
ship accordingly. Remember, you are the captain.
Control Room
______________________________________________________
| _______________ _______________ |
| |Damage Control| | Torpedo | |
| | State Board | | State Board | |
| |_______________| |_______________| |
| |
| ______ ______ ____________ ___ ___ ________ |
| | 1 | | 2 | |_____7______| | 8 || 9 || ||
| |______| |______| ____________ |___||___|| ||
| ______ ______ | | ______ | 10 ||
| | 3 | | 4 | | | | 11 | | ||
| |______| |______| | 14 | |______| |________||
| ______ ______ | | ______ ______ |
| | 5 | | 6 | | | | 12 | | 13 | |
| |______| |______| |____________| |______| |______| |
|______________________________________________________|
|_____________________Message Area_____________________|
|_____________________Menu Area________________________|
CIC
______________________________________________________
| ____________ | |
| |_____7______| | 14. Insert |
| ________ | |
| | | | - Radar |
| | | | - Sonar |
| | 10 | | - Radio Direction Finder |
| | | | - Listening (passive sonar) |
| |________| | - Plot Board |
| ______ ____ | |
| | 11 | | 8 | | |
| |______| |____| | |
| ______ | |
| | 2 | | |
| |______| | |
| ______ | |
| | 1 | | |
| |______| | |
|___________________| Radius Ring |
|____Message Area___|__________________________________|
|_____________________Menu Area________________________|
1. Rudder Angle 2. Speed
3. High Preassure Air 4. Battery Power
5. Aft Ballast 6. Forward Ballast
7. Torpedo State (Quick Ref.) 8. Diving Plane Angle
9. Viewing Direction 10. Depth Gauge
11. Compass 12. Rate of Change of Depth
13. Boat Attitude (Bubble) 14. Selected Insert
Periscope
_____________| |______________
| |
| |
========| View with Hash Marks |========
========| |========
|Angle(absolute) Magnify |
|_______________________________|
Bridge
______________________________________________________
| |
| |
| View From Bridge |
| |
| |
|______________________________________________________|
| Angle in Degrees From Current View |
|______________________________________________________|
Notes On Torpedoes
Your submarine is configured with 6 forward tubes and 2 aft
tubes. Each torpedo tube is loaded with one torpedo and you
will have 24 reloads available, for a total of 32 torpedoes
in all.
Your crew will load torpedoes after you have fired them and
closed the outer doors. Once the torpedoes are loaded, they
are primed (set for depth and armed). When you fire a
torpedo, a large quantity of air is required to force it out
of the tube.
A torpedo has sufficient range to hit a target that is well
over the horizon, assuming you can aim that well. Each is
equipped with both a magnetic exploder and a contact
exploder. So you can achieve a hit on a ship even if there is
no physical contact. However, CINCLANTFLT has issued the
following warning.
"The Magnetic Exploders currently installed on the MARK 41
series have been known to detonate prematurely within the
magnetic field generated by larger vessels. Commanding
officers should be aware of this behaviour and react
accordingly."
Notes on Damage Repair
As the Captain of the submarine, you are responsible for
ordering emergency repair work for any damaged spaces. Due to
manpower limitations, you only have one damage control crew.
When they are assigned to do repair work, they will work
until the level of damage is reduced to a lower level. You
will see the change in the Damage Control State Board. But
remember, you command and they blindly obey. If you interrupt
them and/or change their work assignment, the damage control
crew will do as they are told and any repair work done to
that point is wasted.
Certain areas of the submarine are integrated together, more
for your convenience than anything else. When assigned to
repair one of these areas, they will begin working where the
most damage has occurred. Where damage is equal, then the
crew will start on the most valuable compartment. Damage
repair areas include:
- Forward and Aft torpedo rooms
- Engine room
- CIC
(radar, sonar, sound, RDF and plot)
- Control room and Conning tower
- Planes room
- Steering gear
- Ballast tanks
- Battery compartment
Notes on Combat Strategy
Hey! You're the Captain!
Notes on Entering Commands
As the captain, you are responsible for issuing commands for
any and all functions that are required for the safe and
efficient operation of your submarine. Several methods for
entering commands are provided depending upon the function
desired. A mixture of 'hot keys' and menus are provided.
Menus
The menus operate on three levels. The first level represents
a selection of general functions, the second level represents
the selection of specific functions and the third level
executes the specific function requested.
When you are in menu mode, the following HOT keys perform the
following functions.
'left arrow' OR
'4'
moves the menu selection bar one option to the left. The menu
bar will wrap around when necessary.
'right arrow' OR
'6' OR
'space key'
Moves the menu selection bar one selection to the right. The
menu bar will wrap around when necessary.
'up arrow' OR
'8' OR
'return' OR
'down arrow' OR
'2'
Select the option that is currently highlighted by the menu
selection bar. When you are at a second level menu, and you
select an option that is used to change the speed or toggle
some aspect of the game, the 'up arrow'/'8'/'return' keys
will act to speed up the function selected while the 'down
arrow'/'2' keys will act to slow the function down.
Other keys.
Each menu option starts with a unique letter for that series
of options. To select the desired option, just enter the
letter. The default action taken is the same as to hitting
the ENTER key. Any key that is not 'HOT', as defined above,
will take you out of menu mode and return you to command
mode. For safety reasons, the key you enter to get back to
command mode will not be acted upon but the keyboard
interface will consume the key stroke.
Menu Options
Level 1: MAIN
Function:
Allows you to select a specific set of functions.
INSERT
Select a new insert for the current screen.
COMPARTMENT
Select a new compartment.
MODE
Change a mode of operation of a specific function.
RANGE
Change the range of an insert or adjust the magnification
factor.
NOISE
Turn noise element on or off.
TIME
Change the time attributes of the game.
FIX
Repair damage in selected compartment.
EXIT
Used to exit the game and manage setup files.
RETURN
Return to command mode.
Level 2: INSERT
Function:
Allows you to change the screen insert currently displayed.
You may select one of the following.
RADAR - active radar
SONAR - active sonar
LISTEN - passive listening
DIR FND - passive radio direction finder
PLOT - Plot board
MAIN - return to the main menu
Level 2: COMPART
Function:
Allows you to change compartments.
CONTROL - control room
RADAR - active radar room
SONAR - active sonar room
LISTEN - passive listening room
DIR FND - passive radio direction finder room
PLOT - plot room
BRIDGE - bridge (if you are on the surface)
MAIN - return to main menu
Level 2: MODE
Function:
Allows you to control operating modes for various functions.
DRAG - toggle the trace function (radar/sonar) on or off
VERBOSE - toggle text messages on or off
CLR MENU - toggle 'menu clear on level 2 select' on or off
HOLD - toggle pause on or off
MAIN - return to main menu
Level 2: RANGE
Function
Set the base operating range or magnification.
RANGE - set the range for the current insert
MAGNIFY - set the magnification
MAIN - return to the main menu
Level 2: NOISE
Function
Toggle noise elements on or off.
ALL - all noise elements
ENGINE - engine noise
SONAR - sonar noise
RADAR - radar noise
TARGET - target noise
BLAST - explosion noise
MAIN - return to main menu
Level 2: TIME
Function
Change the speed of various functions
RADAR - change sweep speed
SONAR - change sound propagation speed
PAN - change pan speed for periscope and bridge
TEXT - change the speed that messages appear
GAME - change the speed of the whole game
MAIN
Level 2: FIX
Function
Repair damage to compartments on the submarine
BALLAST - repair ballast tanks
STRN GR - repair steering gear
ENGINE - repair engine room
POWER - repair battery room
TORPS - repair torpedo rooms
XCNT RM - repair control room and conning tower
CIC - repair CIC and related compartments
DVG PLN - repair diving planes
MAIN
Level 2: EXIT
Function
Exit and control functions.
EXIT - exit and save game
RESUPPLY - radio to resupply sub to head towards your position
SV SETUP - save new defaults
RS SETUP - restore saved defaults
DF SETUP - restore factory defaults
MAIN - return to main menu
Hot Keys
Command mode operation is based upon defined 'HOT' keys.
These keys are used to perform functions and issue commands.
Keys are available for manoeuvering, selecting inserts and
attacking.
H - Toggle hold on and off
S s - Sonar
L l - Listen (passive sound)
R r - Radar
D d - Direction finder (radio emissions)
P p - Plot
F9 - decrease insert range
F10 - increase insert range
tab - Toggle periscope up and down
z - Pan left 1 increment
Z - Auto Pan left
x - Look forward
X - Look aft
c - Pan right 1 degree
C - Auto Pan right
ALT F9 - decrease magnification
SHFT F9
ALT F10 - increase magnification
SHFT F10
SHIFT F1 to SHIFT F8 - Toggle open/close outer door(s)
ALT F1 to ALT F8
F1 to F8 - Fire
< , - range ring out
> . - range ring in
+ - increase speed
- - decrease speed
& - crash dive
4 (left arrow) - turn left
6 (right arrow) - turn right
8 (up arrow) - planes up
2 (down arrow) - planes down
7 (home) - blow aft ballast
9 (pg up) - blow forward ballast
1 (end) - flood aft ballast
3 (pg dn) - flood forward ballast
esc - menu toggle
Notes on the Scenario Builder
The BATFISH Scenario builder has been included with the
package. The scenario builder will accept a text file as
input and generate the scenario file used by BATFISH. For
example, if you create a file named MYSHIPS.RAW, the command
SCENARIO MYSHIPS.RAW
will build and load the scenario you have constructed.
The internal structure of the scenario file consists of 3
types of statements. These are:
Comment Statements
Break Statements
Ship statements
Comment Statement
A comment is a line of text with the first character in a
line being a '!' character. You may place any text on the
line and you may have as many comments as you like.
Break Statements
A Break Statement indicates to the Scenario Builder that one
scenario is to be separated from another scenario. This
statement must have a '+' character as the first character.
You may enter any information you like on this line, after
the '+' sign, and the Scenario Builder will treat this as
comment text.
Ship Statements
A Ship Statement indicates to the Scenario builder that you
want a specific ship to be loaded from the information you
provide. Note that all numbers are either positive or
negative whole numbers. The general structure of the
statement is:
<ship type> <x> <y> <crs> <spd>
<ship type>
Must be one of the following:
CARRIER
CRUISER
BATTLESHIP
DESTROYER
SUBMARINE
RESUPPLY
CONTAINER
TANKER
TROOP
<X>
Is the x value of the starting position. This value is given
in meters (or yards) and must fall in the range of -99,000 to
99,000.
<Y>
Is the y value of the starting position. This value is given
in meters (or yards) must fall in the range of -99,000 to
99,000.
<crs>
This is the initial course of the ship. This value is given
in degrees and must be in the range of 0 to 359.
<spd>
This value represents the initial speed of the ship. It
represents knots (or miles per hour) and should be in the
range of 0 to 30.
See the example provided for details or have a look at the
default BATFISH Scenario File provided in SCENARIO.RAW.
There is no limit to the number of scenarios that can exist
in a file. The level of complexity is up to you. You should
remember that the more ships you put in, the slower things
will run. If you have a fast enough machine, this will not be
a factor. Don't forget your resupply boat(s).
Remember to include a resupply sub early enough in the
scenario file for you to reload from.
If you have an existing submarine, and want to start a set of
newly loaded scenarios, remember to force the scenario number
back to zero using the command:
BATFISH <console code> 0
Using the previous example, that is a console code of SUBM,
the command would look like this:
BATFISH SUBM 0
Example of a Scenario File.
!
! My BATFISH Scenario file
! June 1, 1990
!
! 3 scenarios and a resupply submarine
!
!---------------------------------------------------
! Sen 0. Cannot forget supply boat.
RESUPPLY 30000 40000 121 14
!
+ Sen 1: a tanker and troop transport
!
TANKER 20000 5000 321 2
TROOP 23000 7000 281 14
!
+ Sen 2: two tankers and a destroyer
!
TANKER 40000 21000 253 13
TANKER 40000 24000 253 13
DESTROYER 51000 -18000 109 27
!
+ Sen 3: this is deadly... try it
!
SUBMARINE -10000 20000 185 12
SUBMARINE -12000 21000 185 12
SUBMARINE -14000 22000 185 12
SUBMARINE -16000 23000 185 12
DESTROYER -18000 -21000 215 14
DESTROYER -20000 -22000 215 14
DESTROYER -22000 -23000 215 14
!
! this is the end of the scenario file
!
