I will not entertain you complicating things to win an argument with making up your own terms like formation and fighting fleets. The proper terms are flotillas and stacks in the one case; and combat and firing in the other. Aside from that let's discuss one point of your many above - "STACKING PENALTY IN COMBAT"
Don't muddle the issue with stating, "I have seen fleets that are not fighting at some point in time." So have I... all my fleets during peacetime and all my fleets sitting in port during war but not engaged in combat. Your problem - and the problem you are giving Forum - is that you pop out new terms that are not part of the game.
The correct term is COMBAT, and it occurs totally inside the "Battle Display". If we have a battle display, we have combat. It matters absolutely not if there is any "fighting going on" as per your incorrect claim. What matters is if there is "FIRING" occuring and "STACKING PENALTY". I will discuss separately.
1) FIRING: When units in the battle display FIRE the side being fired upon has its counters turn a lighter shade (which is easily noticed) and the indicator on the bottom right of counters of the units firing turns to a solid green and the mouse over of that "elongated circle icon" goes from "No target currently selected" to "Firing at (and name of ship)". There is absolutely no reference to "fighting" - so drop the ridiculous term. In actuality, the ships are fighting every minute when displayed within a combat window/BATTLE DISPLAY (even at night time) just like boxers are "fighting" every second of a round - and not just when they are landing blows.
2) STACKING PENALTY:
EXTREMELY WRONG! Any ship in a combat window - wether firing or not - contributes towards stacking penalty IF SUCH SHIP IS CAPABLE OF FIRING. Stacking Penalty is counted even at night and when absolutely nobody is firing (what I assume you refer to with "fighting"). Please open your game and check an actual battle. Do you see stacking penalty being recorded when the ships are not firing? Good... so why post such confusion as you are doing?
Stacking penalty is not recorded when ships are incapable of firing such as any gunboat or CV being "too disorganized to do anything in that round of combat" and ships that can't fire in combat because of design (TPs).
As regards all the rest of your presumed what size "formations" might be better or more convenient, you still miss the most important principle of successful sub warfare in all you write - and so simply fail. Regardless what size "formations", or how many, or however you define that... you will still lose majorly in U-boat warfare because you do not endorse the most important principle.
Seems you talk about everything else (admirals, convenience, etc) but the one factor that matters most - tactics regarding u-boat retreat to avoid subs being sunk while keeping the battle ongoing.
Don't muddle the issue with stating, "I have seen fleets that are not fighting at some point in time." So have I... all my fleets during peacetime and all my fleets sitting in port during war but not engaged in combat. Your problem - and the problem you are giving Forum - is that you pop out new terms that are not part of the game.
The correct term is COMBAT, and it occurs totally inside the "Battle Display". If we have a battle display, we have combat. It matters absolutely not if there is any "fighting going on" as per your incorrect claim. What matters is if there is "FIRING" occuring and "STACKING PENALTY". I will discuss separately.
1) FIRING: When units in the battle display FIRE the side being fired upon has its counters turn a lighter shade (which is easily noticed) and the indicator on the bottom right of counters of the units firing turns to a solid green and the mouse over of that "elongated circle icon" goes from "No target currently selected" to "Firing at (and name of ship)". There is absolutely no reference to "fighting" - so drop the ridiculous term. In actuality, the ships are fighting every minute when displayed within a combat window/BATTLE DISPLAY (even at night time) just like boxers are "fighting" every second of a round - and not just when they are landing blows.
2) STACKING PENALTY:
EXTREMELY WRONG! Any ship in a combat window - wether firing or not - contributes towards stacking penalty IF SUCH SHIP IS CAPABLE OF FIRING. Stacking Penalty is counted even at night and when absolutely nobody is firing (what I assume you refer to with "fighting"). Please open your game and check an actual battle. Do you see stacking penalty being recorded when the ships are not firing? Good... so why post such confusion as you are doing?
Stacking penalty is not recorded when ships are incapable of firing such as any gunboat or CV being "too disorganized to do anything in that round of combat" and ships that can't fire in combat because of design (TPs).
As regards all the rest of your presumed what size "formations" might be better or more convenient, you still miss the most important principle of successful sub warfare in all you write - and so simply fail. Regardless what size "formations", or how many, or however you define that... you will still lose majorly in U-boat warfare because you do not endorse the most important principle.
Seems you talk about everything else (admirals, convenience, etc) but the one factor that matters most - tactics regarding u-boat retreat to avoid subs being sunk while keeping the battle ongoing.
