Merchant Variety Pack - Mid/Late War v1.1 Released

[iambecomelife]

http://rapidshare.de/files/3328448/MVPMLWv1.1.7z.html

Download this instead of v1.0, which had a problematic batch file and minor errors with the skins. It should work with non-C: installations now. Unfortunately I had to make the batch file much more sparse than it was before, but it works. It can be used side by side with the early war edition; just run the corresponding batch file appropriate for whichever career you're currently playing.

[terrapin]

Should be up in a few minutes at http://U-Boot.Realsimulation.com also...

[sdcruz]

fantastic! thank you very,very,very,very much!!

regards
Shelton.

[rulle34]

First, abig thanks for this mods you have done. They really take this game up several levels.
Second: I have a question, how shall I do if I want the possibility to change between this two mods (mvp first and second)? For i.e I have two campaigns running, one early and one late. How can I quickly change? What I can understand, I have to manually put these C3 file in the folder manually??

/Rulle

[iambecomelife]

First, abig thanks for this mods you have done. They really take this game up several levels.
Second: I have a question, how shall I do if I want the possibility to change between this two mods (mvp first and second)? For i.e I have two campaigns running, one early and one late. How can I quickly change? What I can understand, I have to manually put these C3 file in the folder manually??

/Rulle

Put both the folders (MVP and MVPMLW) in your root directory side by side and run the early war batch file or late war batch file depending on when your current career takes place. The changes will apply to all campaigns. If you have two campaigns so far apart you will have to alt-tab and run the appropriate batch file whenever you switch. The MVP can't automatically tell whether early or late skins should be used.

You're correct about the C-3. It and the ocean liner deck (nppld) must be manually placed in data\textures\tnormal\tex.

[Average Joe]

iambecomelife,

Thanks for releasing your MVPLW (late-war) package!

Compared to early-war MVP, MVPLW merchant ships look more 'weathered', and hull(?) skins are generally less vivid. It looks like they've through a long war :lol:

I also have a 100%-stock v1.0 install SH3, and many times have loaded it to take screenshots, then compare pics with MVP (now MVPLW too) skins.

I'm -always- amazed with the level-of-detail your modded skins add to the game.

So far I've compared MVPLW skins during a bright day. It'll be interesting to see what they look like at night, with some light fog too, etc.

Thanks too for the easy batch-file setup. :up:

[iambecomelife]

iambecomelife,

Thanks for releasing your MVPLW (late-war) package!

Compared to early-war MVP, MVPLW merchant ships look more 'weathered', and hull(?) skins are generally less vivid. It looks like they've through a long war :lol:

I also have a 100%-stock v1.0 install SH3, and many times have loaded it to take screenshots, then compare pics with MVP (now MVPLW too) skins.

I'm -always- amazed with the level-of-detail your modded skins add to the game.

So far I've compared MVPLW skins during a bright day. It'll be interesting to see what they look like at night, with some light fog too, etc.

Thanks too for the easy batch-file setup. :up:

I aim to please :up: .

I conducted some experiments during a storm and found that camo and civilian-skinned ships seem equally easy to spot. I guess the game just isn't advanced enough to simulate the impact of camoflage on vessel visibility.

[sdcruz]

iambecomelife

Are you going to concat these files so that we have one file that stretches from 1939 to 1945?

Regards
Shelton.

[Detritus]

Woot! Big thanks again, mate :rock: Been waiting this with my tongue hanging out. Gonna install it right now... wait: I'm just sort of Halifax, with at least 5 weeks game time to go before back in port :damn:

[rulle34]

First, abig thanks for this mods you have done. They really take this game up several levels.
Second: I have a question, how shall I do if I want the possibility to change between this two mods (mvp first and second)? For i.e I have two campaigns running, one early and one late. How can I quickly change? What I can understand, I have to manually put these C3 file in the folder manually??

/Rulle

Put both the folders (MVP and MVPMLW) in your root directory side by side and run the early war batch file or late war batch file depending on when your current career takes place. The changes will apply to all campaigns. If you have two campaigns so far apart you will have to alt-tab and run the appropriate batch file whenever you switch. The MVP can't automatically tell whether early or late skins should be used.

You're correct about the C-3. It and the ocean liner deck (nppld) must be manually placed in data\textures\tnormal\tex.

Thank you!
Since you have to manually put in the C3 file, does this mean that you only will have ONE skin for the C3, no matter if you run the "early" batch or the "late" batch?

/Rulle

[Letum]

Thankyou very much - both packs are very good!

[Woof1701]

Thanks from me as well. Will have a look at it tomorrow!!!

What would you say is a realistic period to use Mid and Late War skins?

[The Avon Lady]

What would you say is a realistic period to use Mid and Late War skins?
Read the ReadMe. :yep:

[Woof1701]

I can't. Don't have 7z on my machine at work :damn:

[terrapin]

I can't. Don't have 7z on my machine at work :damn:

No gugsch uff mei seid. I hab's readme online :D

[iambecomelife]

Thanks from me as well. Will have a look at it tomorrow!!!

What would you say is a realistic period to use Mid and Late War skins?

Use the civilian skins from 1939 to late 1940. Around the beginning of 1941 most British ships should be camoflaged, so use the camo one for 1941 onwards. For early 1942 you may want to alt-tab and run the program if you get close to the US East Coast, since many American ships remained uncamoflaged until the summer of that year. After mid-1942, though, pretty much every large ship you meet should be in camo.
I read some interesting stuff about the dangers of uncamoflaged ships once. In one 1940 HX convoy the "Janus", a Swedish tanker, was placed next to two British tankers. The "Janus" had a bright gray and white paint scheme and was so visible in the full moon that all three ships were spotted and sunk - fortunately, with light casualties.

http://uboat.net/allies/ships/photos/sw/janus.jpg

[iambecomelife]

First, abig thanks for this mods you have done. They really take this game up several levels.
Second: I have a question, how shall I do if I want the possibility to change between this two mods (mvp first and second)? For i.e I have two campaigns running, one early and one late. How can I quickly change? What I can understand, I have to manually put these C3 file in the folder manually??

/Rulle

Put both the folders (MVP and MVPMLW) in your root directory side by side and run the early war batch file or late war batch file depending on when your current career takes place. The changes will apply to all campaigns. If you have two campaigns so far apart you will have to alt-tab and run the appropriate batch file whenever you switch. The MVP can't automatically tell whether early or late skins should be used.

You're correct about the C-3. It and the ocean liner deck (nppld) must be manually placed in data\textures\tnormal\tex.

Thank you!
Since you have to manually put in the C3 file, does this mean that you only will have ONE skin for the C3, no matter if you run the "early" batch or the "late" batch?

/Rulle

There are actually two skins - one camo and one with a black hull and black funnel. I wanted to do more but the C-3 dat file only supports one skin.

[iambecomelife]

BTW, to those who want the mod in one package, I am tentatively planning to do so. The new release will correct errors with existing skins, have the easier install process for both versions, and contain MANY more prewar skins. Now that I understand the premise behind the random number selection I can add some companies I left out of the last release - as long as I find enough research materials, of course.

[rulle34]

BTW, to those who want the mod in one package, I am tentatively planning to do so. The new release will correct errors with existing skins, have the easier install process for both versions, and contain MANY more prewar skins. Now that I understand the premise behind the random number selection I can add some companies I left out of the last release - as long as I find enough research materials, of course.

Sounds great!! :up:
Big thanks for your great work with these mods and thank you for your answers.

/Rulle

[Spaxspore]

iambecomelife,

Thanks for releasing your MVPLW (late-war) package!

Compared to early-war MVP, MVPLW merchant ships look more 'weathered', and hull(?) skins are generally less vivid. It looks like they've through a long war :lol:

I also have a 100%-stock v1.0 install SH3, and many times have loaded it to take screenshots, then compare pics with MVP (now MVPLW too) skins.

I'm -always- amazed with the level-of-detail your modded skins add to the game.

So far I've compared MVPLW skins during a bright day. It'll be interesting to see what they look like at night, with some light fog too, etc.

Thanks too for the easy batch-file setup. :up:

I aim to please :up: .

I conducted some experiments during a storm and found that camo and civilian-skinned ships seem equally easy to spot. I guess the game just isn't advanced enough to simulate the impact of camoflage on vessel visibility.

I love the early war skins, am doin my 1st patrol with the mid/late skins so i loaded the skins ver1.1. Its late '41 and am Runnin a type VIIB, I came across a convey, but guess what... a nasty strom a is brewing and the visiblity is niel :(. I cant see the pretty skins in the dark :(, oh well may be next patrol.


Capt. Hendrick Mauser
Aboard U-48
Deep Altanic Convoy Hunting
Late 1941

Hello,

I have a problem with Mid/Late Skins Pack. Skins simply do not change when I run batch file.
I'm sure I have installed it properly, as it is in ReadMe written.

My game path is D:\games\silhunt3
And I've edited file MVPMLW.bat so it starts now from this:


D:
PAUSE
cd D:\Games\SilHunt3\
PAUSE
@echo off
Cls
set %random%=0
set /a num=%random%/6546+1
if %num%==1 goto 1
if %num%==2 goto 2
if %num%==3 goto 3
if %num%==4 goto 4
if %num%==5 goto 5


Is it allright?

BTW, Early Variety Pack works pretty well.(i'm using MVPMI.bat)

Thanks for your great mod,

Best Regards,
Andrew Nazarov

[999-Jay-999]

I am waiting for when iambecomelife gets the hole shabang into one mod and allows easier installation with a more user friendly batchfile...

As easy it is right now for some it still seems a headache for those like myself that are not in the right frame of mind to fiddle with this that and the other when trying to NOT muck up there install directory.

I to have my game on drive D:/Games/SH3 so..... little waiting may be in order....


Eager to use this as I have been using the early edition since release..

Well done for such a great mod iambecomelife !

[Nilas]

Really great stuff! One question please.. since there's 'only' 5 skins per vessel here and 15 in the early war ed. won't you have to manually delete the last 10 (6-15) in each folder if you don't want the early skins to be used?

[HundertzehnGustav]

one person thanks
:D

loved the first pack, great work :D even tho the mapping is buggy as heck.
MUST HAVE :rock:

[FullFathomFive]

I have been enjoying the Early War pack almost from the day one of release using the original install procedure. Terrific work, iambecomelife, and , indeed, a must have! :D I am, however, having a problem using the Mid-Late War release. Following the non- JSGE install directions closely (I think!!!), when clicking the .bat file there is no indication that files have been installed (as I get with the Early War pack), just two lines of what I think are the opening and closing lines of the batch process. Should there be more happening? After running this very abbreviated .bat, and also after deleting everything "five or higher, an "in game" check shows my merchants still wearing their last batch of Eary War duds..... Some words of advice for an old guy will be much appreciated.... and thanks again for these great additions to SHIII!

[JBClark]

Nice work :up: , many thanks. :D

[iambecomelife]

To you guys who are having trouble installing, I'll take a look at it but I'm not at my own computer right now. As a last-resort workaround you can rename the skins based on the nomenclature for the default tga's. This is guaranteed to work, but you won't see the changes in skins that the batch file gives you. Here's a sample of the changes you need to make:

B1.tga to NKLS_T01.tga
L1.tga to NLL_T01.tga

and so on. Put them in your data\sea\[unit] folders. Here's a key:

B - NKLS or C-2 cargo
C - NKSQ or Coastal Merchant
D - NOTM_T2 or T2 Tanker
E - NOTMS or T-3
F - NOTSF or Small Tanker
G - Victory Ship
H - NKSs or Small Merchant
J - NPPL or Ocean Liner
K - Transport
L - NLL or Liberty Ship



IMPORTANT - Chack and see how many spaces are in each name (I can't remember offhand if it's NKLS_T01.tga or NKLS__T01.tga.)

Also, check and see if the paths in the batch file match the directory you've installed the pack to; see the readme for detailed instructions. If you STILL can't install it, try designating the full path for all the command lines in the batch file, using the [find] and [replace] functions in msword to do it quickly. For instance,

copy C:\SilentHunterIII\MVPMLW\B1.tga C:\SilentHunterIII\Data\Sea\NKLS_T01.tga, etc, etc.


Avonlady and Woof1701 invented a batch file that looked like it would work regardless of paths, but it didn't work on my own installation, except on drive C:\. The current batch file has elements of their work and an old batch file I developed with CRULL's help. Sorry about this; I really wish that getting random skin changes was more straightforward. :damn:

[Beery]

Hi iambecomelife, or anyone who knows these mods and/or merchant vessel history.

I'm looking at the Merchant mods (all of which are very nice indeed by the way), and I'm considering the best way of incorporating them in RUb. Jaesen Jones has created a system that handles the randomization and the change of skins after 1940 so that it all happens automatically when the game is loaded before each patrol. Anyway, I have a couple of questions:

Firstly, in real life, when did the changeover to camouflage happen? Was it something that happened all at once, or was it more gradual? If it was gradual, what would you estimate were the start and end dates?

Secondly, if there was a gradual change in colour schemes, would convoys have been mostly camouflaged during the transition, would ships in a convoy have tended to be all the same - i.e. all camouflaged or all non-camouflaged, or would there have been a mix of camouflaged and non-camouflaged ships in the same convoy?

Also, what about the C3? I notice only one skin of this type was included in each of the mods. Why is this?

Another thing. Did any ship colour schemes change significantly at later dates? Now I have a way of making random changes based on any date in the war. Is there any guidance anyone can give me regarding other changes that they would like to see implemented.

Also, any idea if the textures would work if they were put in the textures folder rather than in the ships folders?

Finally, I noticed in a number of the game's ship folders, there are three different skin files. I assume these are for when there are multiples of a ship type in a convoy. Is that right? If there's only one of a certain type in a particular convoy, does it always choose the #1 skin, or does the game choose randomly?

I appreciate any help anyone can give me.

[Beery]

Bump.

[iambecomelife]

Hi iambecomelife, or anyone who knows these mods and/or merchant vessel history.

I'm looking at the Merchant mods (all of which are very nice indeed by the way), and I'm considering the best way of incorporating them in RUb. Jaesen Jones has created a system that handles the randomization and the change of skins after 1940 so that it all happens automatically when the game is loaded before each patrol. Anyway, I have a couple of questions:

Firstly, in real life, when did the changeover to camouflage happen? Was it something that happened all at once, or was it more gradual? If it was gradual, what would you estimate were the start and end dates?

Secondly, if there was a gradual change in colour schemes, would convoys have been mostly camouflaged during the transition, would ships in a convoy have tended to be all the same - i.e. all camouflaged or all non-camouflaged, or would there have been a mix of camouflaged and non-camouflaged ships in the same convoy?

Also, what about the C3? I notice only one skin of this type was included in each of the mods. Why is this?

Another thing. Did any ship colour schemes change significantly at later dates? Now I have a way of making random changes based on any date in the war. Is there any guidance anyone can give me regarding other changes that they would like to see implemented.

Also, any idea if the textures would work if they were put in the textures folder rather than in the ships folders?

Finally, I noticed in a number of the game's ship folders, there are three different skin files. I assume these are for when there are multiples of a ship type in a convoy. Is that right? If there's only one of a certain type in a particular convoy, does it always choose the #1 skin, or does the game choose randomly?

I appreciate any help anyone can give me.

Thanks for the compliments.

The switch to camoflage in the British and US merchant navies is hard to pin down. I know that several (if not most) companies definitely were not using it in the fall of 1939. Belligerent nations obviously made the transition faster, so British ships started receiving camo by late 1939 while neutral vessels remained in their company liveries, with large flags painted on their sides to advertise their nationality. Based on the few available photos that can definitely be dated, by 1941 it would have been very difficult to find a British ship that was not painted grey or a similar neutral tone. Larger, more important vessels like liners and big passenger/cargo ships seem to have received it first, with lesser ships following.

After Pearl Harbor and the German declaration of war, some American companies unwisely kept their ships in the civilian schemes, giant flags and all. By the spring of 1942, though, the number of camoflaged US vessels jumped. To my knowledge it would have been virtually impossible to find an uncamoflaged US or British oceangoing vessel by late 1942-early1943.

There would definitely have been mixed convoys in the early years, since the Ministry of War Transport did not have the luxury of forming convoys with exclusively camoflaged ships. Also, many convoys would include neutral ships that stayed in their company liveries while the war was in full swing. I recently posted an anecdote from 1940 about a Swedish tanker that was so brightly painted it got the ships stationed in neighboring columns sunk. This would indicate that at least initially the MOWT did not prevent civilian-painted vessels from joining the convoys.

For the greatest realism I would probably suggest:

1939 - All vessels civilian-painted, except for a few valuable vessels requisitioned as oilers, transports, etc.

1940 - Perhaps 1/3 - 1/2 of belligerents' merchants painted grey. Neutrals continue to wear company colors.

1941 - Very few belligerent nations' vessels unpainted. U.S. ships still in civ. colors.

1942 - U.S. gradually paints its vessels, with vast majority camoflaged by summer of that year.

1943 onwards - Virtually no major uncamoflaged British, US, or Norwegian ships. Small numbers of ships (primarily US oilers, store ships, and transports) adopt Naval camoflage measures, such as disruptive schemes.

We're on the verge of being able to clone the merchant ships, thus making it possible to assign schemes based on nationality. For now, though, the Early War Edition of the MVP contains a small number of grey ships to simulate pre - 1941 instances of camoflage. Once the cloning process becomes commonplace it will be a simple matter to give the British and French alone camo ships in 1940, add camo to Americans in 1942, and so on. Plus, it would be pretty hard-core to have to identify funnel colors and company names before you shoot; under the current system, ships' skins are assigned irrespective of nationality.

[Beery]

Thanks for the info. This will be a great help. :up:

[Beery]

I have implemented the MVP mods in SH3 Commander 1.43 (due out anytime now). Because of the way SH3 Commander works I had to make a few changes - not to the skins, but to the process of getting them in the game. The SH3 Commander version replaces ALL the merchants that the mod covers (i.e. the T01, T02, and T03 skins). This means that players won't see the standard game skins for these merchants at all anymore. The only skins remaining in the game (for the 10 or 11 merchants covered by the mod) will be Iambecomelife's. I just felt that Iambecomelife's skins looked a lot cleaner than the originals, so I wanted to do a full replacement. What this means is that, in a convoy, players will now see multiple variations of Iambecomelife's skins - up to three per ship type. This means that an entire convoy will feature the new skins, but it comes at a cost in terms of the variation in the most common merchant schemes, but I felt that full coverage might work well - if not, then it can be changed back, and in the meantime people can use the standard MVP mod to achieve the desired result.

When players use SH3 Commander to load the game, the peacetime paint schemes will change to camouflaged schemes automatically as time goes by. The simple act of using SH3 Commander will set in motion both the randomization and the date-based changes. Currently, the changes all take place at the beginning of 1941, but later versions may make the changeover more random, with some ships changing earlier and some later.

Anyway, I hope players will like how I've implemented the mod.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v207/Beery/MVPConvoy.jpg

[iambecomelife]

That sounds great. I've improved the skins for the liberty ship and small merchant; I may send them to you later on.

[Beery]

That would be great. Thanks. :up:

[HEMISENT]

Beery, great news that you've found a way to include this awesome mod in RUB. Cannot wait for its release(but i guess i'll have to, right).

Thanks once again to both you and iambecomelife.

[Beery]

Beery, great news that you've found a way to include this awesome mod in RUB. Cannot wait for its release(but i guess i'll have to, right)...

No need to wait. It's now available as part of the SH3 Commander mod (www.beerymod.com/SH3Cmdr1.43.7z).

[BigDuke66]

Are there also camo skins for the 2 new ships that where in the MVP Add-on?
The Add-on made 2 new series called M and N for Transport and Large Cargo.
But M and N aren't in this MVPMLW pack.

So is there something new, or should I just delete every tga file above 5 like the readme says or do i have to delete them all for those 2 Types?

[iambecomelife]

Are there also camo skins for the 2 new ships that where in the MVP Add-on?
The Add-on made 2 new series called M and N for Transport and Large Cargo.
But M and N aren't in this MVPMLW pack.

So is there something new, or should I just delete every tga file above 5 like the readme says or do i have to delete them all for those 2 Types?

You'll need a recent version of Real U-Boat if you want camo skins for Sergbuto's merchants. I created some camoflaged textures for these ships but never released them, so Beery made some camo skins of his own. Whatever you do, don't delete all the existing tga's for the ships; otherwise you'll get snow-white, blank vessels of those classes.

[BigDuke66]

Thanks for the answer and a thousend thanks for those skins.

[BigDuke66]

Sorry that I have to annoy you again with it but I checkt the additional merchants Skins from sergbuto and those from the Rub mod. They are both the same so I still don't have the camo Skins for both of them for the later War.

If your skins for both are ready would you mind to release them?


Also Sergbuto made the C3 finally also use mutli skins like the other merchants do. Maybe a Early War Pack and a Mid/late War Pack for the C3 would also be a good idea.

Then we would finally have ALL merchants with multi skins for both periods.