Optical Targeting Correction RFB 1.4

[Captain Diver]

To whom it may concern,

I recently tried to download "Optical Targeting Correction RFB 1.4" from our download section. However "GameFront" states that the file cannot be found or is no longer available. I have tried to PM the owner of that Mod but I do not know if he is still here, so I am asking anyone out there that might know if there is another location that I might download from. Any consideration that you could afford in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Respectfully,

Captain Diver

[les green01]

yep I got the same response ill check around

[in_vino_vomitus]

It ought to be up on this site - I DL'd it a month or so back.

[TorpX]

I wasn't aware there were any versions of OTC for RFB.

[in_vino_vomitus]

I wasn't aware there were any versions of OTC for RFB.


It's funny - I seem to remember downloading it when I set up an RFB install [I thought I ought to try it out] But checking out the MODS folder, I see that you seem to be right - I can only put it down to early onset dementia - whoops :(

[BigWalleye]

I wasn't aware there were any versions of OTC for RFB.


There definitely are. There just isn't one for RFB v1.5.

To whom it may concern,

I recently tried to download "Optical Targeting Correction RFB 1.4" from our download section. However "GameFront" states that the file cannot be found or is no longer available. I have tried to PM the owner of that Mod but I do not know if he is still here, so I am asking anyone out there that might know if there is another location that I might download from. Any consideration that you could afford in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Respectfully,

Captain Diver

CapnScurvy is around. He was on last night. I expect he will respond shortly.

Capn, you out there?

CORRECTION:

The latest release of RFB is v2.0, with a patch to v2.3. It is NOT v1.5. There is an RFB v1.52 available here: http://www.silenthuntermods.com/forum/index.php?topic=160.0

[merc4ulfate]

To my knowledge there is no OTC for TMO only RSRD.

All OTC mods can be found in the download section of subsim. If you get them anywhere else you take your chances.

[CapnScurvy]

Yep, still here.

I responded to Captain Diver's PM the other day, and found he's referring to the fact that the OTC for RFB 1.4 was taken down from the GameFront server (which is where the SubSim "Downloads" menu link will take you.....found HERE (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom//downloads.php?do=file&id=3334)).

GameFront removes uploads after a specific amount of time. SubSim doesn't, yet there is a specific amount of server space SubSim gives to us, which I'm at my limit. Actually, I reached my limit some time ago and had to ask for more from Neil Stevens which is where I am today....at my limit again. Still not enough to put all my mods, or their various versions in one place.

That's why the RFB 1.4 version of OTC was on the GameFront site. It's an older mod, for an older version of RFB, that just isn't going to draw much interest.

I'll look into it for you Captain Diver. As you pointed out, your particular situation has valid reasons why you haven't moved up to version 1.5. Reasons that I'm completely sympathetic with! What I can do is see if I've still got the OTC for RFB 1.4 mod (I think so), put it onto the GameFront "permanent" mod uploads server.....which means they won't remove it, nor can I change anything with it once its uploaded. Then I can let you know that it's there for you to download. This will take some time though. Today I'm not home to even look for the mod on my computers, plus IF I'm going to upload the OTC mod for RFB 1.4, I think I'll try to make a version compatible for the older RSRDC v390.....much as what your mod list has now. I know many folks use RSRDC, in its many versions, so, I think I should make a compatible version for it too.

I should tell you though, RSRDC has it's flaws. One that I've discovered is Lurker permits many of his ship speeds, in their "historical" routes, will drop below half the ships rated maximum speed when traveling these routes. When this occurs, the subs sonar (no matter what sub you use, or what year it is) won't allow the target ship to be heard by you...the Captain, when you listen for yourself at the sonar station. Your sonar man will hear it and give you a report within the Message Box, but if you try to pin point the ship yourself with the sonar......you won't hear a thing, even if the ship is within viewing range!

Also, many times you'll get a CTD with RSRDC when using the Museum. Sometimes its a specific plane he's added, others it's a specific ship or sub. I usually try to fix this CTD Museum problem since I've found anytime the Museum piece causes a CTD, so it will when its encountered within the game. The fact that I make a mod to overlay another, I'll try to fix what's broke, because chances are, a user will find the flaw and blame my mod for the problem!

That's pretty much why I've tried to avoid making mods compatible to other mods. The RFB 1.4 is just one of a long list of RFB versions (which I was a part of at one time). RSRDC changed versions as often as a person changes his socks! It's hard to keep up with the changes, when your compatible mod needed to be updated to match.

[BigWalleye]

To my knowledge there is no OTC for TMO only RSRD.

All OTC mods can be found in the download section of subsim. If you get them anywhere else you take your chances.

The mod entitled 1.5_Optical Targeting Correction 031312 TMO 2.5, found here, http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/downloads.php?do=file&id=4051, is intended for use with TMO v2.5. There is no version of OTC compatible with RFB v2.0, which is the most current version of RFB .(NOT v1.5, as I misstated above.:/\\!!) There is a version of OTC for RFB v1.4, http://www.silenthuntermods.com/forum/index.php?topic=160.0.

I understand that CapnScurvy was working on a version of OTC for RFB v2.0. I don't know what the current status of that project is.

[Captain Diver]

To everyone concerned,

Thank you all for your quick response and input to this situation, I can not thank everyone enough for this. I would also like to thank the people who put in the long hours creating these wonderful mods to make SH4 such a blast to play.

Sincerely,

Captain Diver

[pdiddy]

CapnScurvy,

Another shameless plug by me for OTC for RFB 2.0 (RSRDC 575)

If subsim upload space is holding you back, I'll offer my unused space for rent...for cheap...goose egg cheap!

[Crannogman]

CapnScurvy, what led you to stop at RFB 1.4? Eg, did you find that be the purest form of the mod? Or too much work to keep up with them all, and RFB the least popular?

[CapnScurvy]

I didn't like the way LukeFF decided to take RFB.

SWDW asked me to come onboard with him years ago to work on RFB. He was managing the overall project. I did, along with several others including LukeFF. SWDW stepped away from the project and left it in LukeFF hands. At the time of the management change, my Ship Centered, Accuracy Fix (SCAF) was incorporated in RFB. Much like Optical Targeting Correction, it corrected the mast height measurements, giving a player a better chance of using the Stadimeter as it was intended. The fact that the stock game had ships producing found Stadimeter ranges off by as much as half the true range distance was the main focus.

LukeFF decided to remove SCAF from his version of RFB due to his idea that it gave a player too accurate of a Stadimeter reading. Nothing could be further from the truth, but that's the way he saw it. He even has gone so far has to have some ships deliberately list inaccurate mast height measurements, just for the ability of throwing off a player's range reading. His idea of the 'ol "fog of war" BS, that he thought was realistic.

I don't buy it!! I won't make another compatible mod for RFB 2.0. I'm tired of walking behind someone else's ideas. What I will do is make a mod that's better. Been working on it for a while, have no set time for completion.

[pdiddy]

What I will do is make a mod that's better. Been working on it for a while, have no set time for completion.

Excellent!

[pdiddy]

P.S. Testing OTC for RFB for personal use:

http://snag.gy/D3jAl.jpg

[CapnScurvy]

P.S. Testing OTC for RFB for personal use:

http://snag.gy/D3jAl.jpg
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/smartdark/user_offline.gif http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/smartdark/report.gif (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/report.php?p=2286116) http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/smartdark/quote.gif (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=2286116) http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/smartdark/multiquote_off.gif (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=2286116)


pdiddy, I guess you're using OTC for RFB, the 1.4 version?

I should point out that when identifying the target in the Recognition Manual, don't forget to note where the proper point of height reference is for the particular target you've selected. In the case of your image of the Kitrurin Maru, the height reference point is the top of the funnel. Always use the RED marked reference point on the picture. Also, some ships have their national flag added to the RM picture.....use the top of the flag where it's positioned to the mast.

Another thing to remember is when using the Stadimeter, use the "L" key to lock the target before taking a reading. The important thing to know when doing this is when you "Send" the information to the TDC, the target's "Relative Bearing" is also sent to the TDC, not just the found range. Knowing this is very important when counting the Telemeter Divisions, then using the Omnimeter to find range. You usually will not want the target "Locked" in position to use the Telemeter Divisions to make a reading.

The trouble comes when you "Send" the found range after setting the Range Dial......you need to make sure the target is centered to the periscope or a wrong Relative Bearing will be sent to the TDC. If the center line of the scope is off center of the target, the wrong bearing is sent to the TDC. A good practice is to count the Telemeter Divisions while positioned on the height reference point, then "Lock" the target back to the center position before sending the found range to the TDC.

If you're "testing" the accuracy of either the OTC Stadimeter, or counting the Telemeter Divisions/Omnimeter process, you can do a couple of things. With the Stadimeter found range, use the active Sonar to ping the target, then "Send" the found range to the TDC. When you return to the periscope screen, the Position Keeper "Range" display shows the accurate distance to the target. Compare it to the Stadimeter found range...as long as there isn't too much time lost between the checks. This is also a good way to compare any mods accuracy with the Stadimeter.

The way to check the accuracy of the Omnimeter is to play the game with Auto Targeting selected. Let the game tell you what the accurate distance is when its shown in the PK Range display. Yet, use the Telemeter Divisions/Omnimeter to do it yourself, comparing the results. I think you'll find the accuracy acceptable. :up:

[pdiddy]

pdiddy, I guess you're using OTC for RFB, the 1.4 version?That's OTC with RFB 2.0 for SH4 v1.5.

I had to "futz" with it a bit, had a few CTDs, but I appear to now have a stable version (more testing required). Your changelog was extremely helpful. (I have OTC installed over a stock RSRDC version and over a TMO version so have some familiarity with the files.)

Using your Hiryu test mission verified the stadimeter accuracy initially. :up: And that screen shot is from your AOB test mission. All seems to be well so far. (I haven't ported over the whole mod, e.g. I left out the AI sensor tweaks, the ship*.sim files because of ISP, and the weapons/sensor upgrade tweaks.) I concentrated on the radar screens, corrected visual world, corrected rec. manual, omnimeter and range dial.

Although I've read/skimmed through the RFB manual and the thread here on Subsim, I didn't realize the RFB rec. manual was rigged until reading one of your posts. (I had read about the A-B-C ratings of reliability, but since they weren't in the rec. manual, had assumed that idea had been abandoned.) Anyway, I'm sure some love it, but I can't live with a rigged rec. manual. If the A-B-C ratings had been included, that would be one thing, and I get that ships changed their mast height and had different heights based on different drafts, many more ships to identify, etc. RFB is an outstanding mod, but having purposely incorrect values with no way of knowing the reliability of any given piece of information is its worst feature imo. The real manual (late war at least) had more and better information than what we get anyway (as I'm sure you know):

http://archive.hnsa.org/doc/id/oni208j-japan-merchant-ships/img/pg023.jpg

Besides it is way better sinking a "Nippon Maru" than a "Large Modern Tanker" or whatever!

Thank you for making this great mod which has added so much to SH4. (And thanks for the quick lesson in its use in the previous post.)

[avers]

I didn't like the way LukeFF decided to take RFB.

SWDW asked me to come onboard with him years ago to work on RFB. He was managing the overall project. I did, along with several others including LukeFF. SWDW stepped away from the project and left it in LukeFF hands. At the time of the management change, my Ship Centered, Accuracy Fix (SCAF) was incorporated in RFB. Much like Optical Targeting Correction, it corrected the mast height measurements, giving a player a better chance of using the Stadimeter as it was intended. The fact that the stock game had ships producing found Stadimeter ranges off by as much as half the true range distance was the main focus.

LukeFF decided to remove SCAF from his version of RFB due to his idea that it gave a player too accurate of a Stadimeter reading. Nothing could be further from the truth, but that's the way he saw it. He even has gone so far has to have some ships deliberately list inaccurate mast height measurements, just for the ability of throwing off a player's range reading. His idea of the 'ol "fog of war" BS, that he thought was realistic.

I don't buy it!! I won't make another compatible mod for RFB 2.0. I'm tired of walking behind someone else's ideas. What I will do is make a mod that's better. Been working on it for a while, have no set time for completion.

fantastic, I would love to see a new mega mod for SH4

[CapnScurvy]

I would love to see a new mega mod for SH4

Yes, there are still folks working on mods for SH4!! TorpX being one of them.

I could probably bring this up in its own thread, but I'll do it here.

One of the most obvious issues with the stock planes is that they don't attack as expected. They will fly over your position more than they will attack. The problem is in the visual sensors, and in which direction their pointed. Also, there's an issue in the general "loadout" of the aircraft.....if the plane doesn't have a bomb in the basic loadout, its more than happy to fly right over your sub, even though its within visual range.

I've also been working on adding additional planes to SH4 beyond the half dozen that's provided by the stock game. One in particular is a Japanese "Kamikaze" plane that will directly attack Allied forces with severe damage results. I'm almost done with it, and the effects are amazing. The Japanese plane will seek out enemy shipping, and deliver a direct blow to a target ship as expected.

I can tell you, if a sub get's hit, it won't be pretty!!

Pictures to follow!

[TorpX]

I've also been working on adding additional planes to SH4 beyond the half dozen that's provided by the stock game. One in particular is a Japanese "Kamikaze" plane that will directly attack Allied forces with severe damage results. I'm almost done with it, and the effects are amazing. The Japanese plane will seek out enemy shipping, and deliver a direct blow to a target ship as expected.



Sounds good Cap'n! :up:

[avers]

Yes, there are still folks working on mods for SH4!! TorpX being one of them.

I could probably bring this up in its own thread, but I'll do it here.

One of the most obvious issues with the stock planes is that they don't attack as expected. They will fly over your position more than they will attack. The problem is in the visual sensors, and in which direction their pointed. Also, there's an issue in the general "loadout" of the aircraft.....if the plane doesn't have a bomb in the basic loadout, its more than happy to fly right over your sub, even though its within visual range.

I've also been working on adding additional planes to SH4 beyond the half dozen that's provided by the stock game. One in particular is a Japanese "Kamikaze" plane that will directly attack Allied forces with severe damage results. I'm almost done with it, and the effects are amazing. The Japanese plane will seek out enemy shipping, and deliver a direct blow to a target ship as expected.

I can tell you, if a sub get's hit, it won't be pretty!!

Pictures to follow!

have u started a thread for this mega mod your working on yet?

[CapnScurvy]

have u started a thread for this mega mod your working on yet?

No, not yet. Still a little too early to get information out about it. However, I don't see why I can't show you what I've been up to with the one suicidal plane for the Japanese.

This is the Museum shot of the plane.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w132/crawlee/Kamikaze_zpscmesayc8.jpg

The bright yellow engine cowl should be enough of a warning!!

The AI has chosen a Casablanca CV.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w132/crawlee/Kami_1_zpsdulac3ag.jpg


http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w132/crawlee/Kami_2_zpsmqataaug.jpg

Looking good so far. Those guys on the deck better duck!

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w132/crawlee/Kami_3_zpsy9olnkvd.jpg


I forgot I had a couple of Kamikaze planes flying around in this test mission! A double whammy.

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w132/crawlee/Kami_5_zpsdbsiaoky.jpg


I think I've got the hit points set a little high!?!

http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w132/crawlee/Kami_6_zpsdzaxbruo.jpg


http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w132/crawlee/Kami_7_zps4fukn2yt.jpg


She didn't stay afloat for very long.


http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w132/crawlee/Kami_8_zpseabg5smp.jpg


So, I think a little more tweaking with the damage model and it's ready to go..... One more shot of it taking a crack at the Iowa.


http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w132/crawlee/Kami_Iowa_zpselyfne07.jpg


Anyway, my plan is to add several new planes to the Air group. I'm hoping to add a B-25, B-29, a P-36.....we'll see. I'm just learning 3D modeling so who knows what trouble I'll get into. I'd like to add the Akiga, and Kaga CV's but that's down the road.

No time table on anything, just plugging along. This time of year I can do things I normally don't have time for.

[avers]

I think it's good that your making new planes. I have a few neat ideas for the game, do u want to here them?

[CapnScurvy]

Sure!

Ideas.......we usually have a "boat load" of them. Figuring ways to implement them into the game is the trouble.

Some things can be manipulated to have the game think it's doing something, yet through modding, the results are actually something else. We didn't really change the way the game engine works (unfortunately no one has cracked the SH4 hard code to change specific processes/outcomes....if we did the folks around here would have you banned in a minute!! Not to mention legal implications from UbiSoft), but we can change the physical appearance of a process and make it appear something new has happened within the game. There's still limitations on just what we can do.

For example, the Kamikaze plane icon on the map screen is still going to be visible at the further out zoomed views because the darn thing is a plane. Sure I can remove the plane icons completely for all planes.....doesn't TMO or RFB do that? But, I really don't want to do that. The map screen in-game is your SD radar in use. I really don't want to take away the ability of using the Nav Map to show a planes location since that's the only physical way of displaying a planes position.......except for using my Radar setup that OTC introduces. Which, when I think of it, maybe that isn't such a bad idea. Use the Radar as it was intended to find approaching planes.......but wait, the problem still exist's......the Radar will still show the Kamikaze blip traveling away from the sub after it's hit the target because the Kamikaze plane itself isn't the delivering plane, it's just a bomb dressed up like a plane. The delivering plane is invisible to us, yet the game knows exactly where it is. Will show it on the map or Radar screens, and fire away with AA weapons after the Kamikaze bomb hits the target, and the invisible delivering plane makes it's get a way.

You see, we can dress up the monkey and make him dance, but it's still just a monkey underneath!

[avers]

Firstly I haven't played the game with RSRDC into the late war, so idk if this is already in a mod. My idea is to add some US heavy bombing raids on japanese bases ,like Rabaul or Balikpapan. I guess u could say that I want a mega mod that includes more aircraft events as well as other things.

[CapnScurvy]

Additional events to put to use additional planes is a good point. For instance, the Kamikaze plane wouldn't be of much good if it only showed up in the Museum, or when you wanted to make a specific mission for it through the Mission Editor......an Editor that not very many players know how to use.

I've got a Kamikaze plane in one of my "optional" mods for OTC...."Tokko's Revenge". Although it doesn't work as expected (it only heavily level bombs a target), I made sure it appears on several Aircraft Carrier's to be launched as the other CV based planes would. Adding it to several other land based sites would be appropriate too.

I've not looked at what Lurker did with his planes, so I don't know if he set up plane bombing routes or not......but yes, that's something that should be done. Again, there's little point in adding planes if they aren't used or left in the inventory.

You pointed out Balikpapan as a bombing site. A site I know all too well, due to my uncle (Father's brother) who's B-24 plane is still MIA from a bombing run in Oct. 1944. Dad was in the Pacific (his Tank Battalion left the States in late 1942) when he heard the news about his younger brother. Something he had a hard time getting over since his brother only joined the Air Corp due to Dad's letter's about the places he'd been to while over sea's. He qualified for pilot training, yet an offer came to him for a tail gunner position because of his small stature. He took it, because he thought the war might be over by the time he finished flight school! I have every intention of adding the 307th Long Rangers to the game.

What else you got? :yeah:

[avers]

I also think it would be cool to see some of the smaller lesser known bombardments of Guadalcanal, including air raids. Again idk if RSRDC already has some of the lesser known bombardments, but I will say that it would be neat to see some air raids on Henderson and some ship bombardments, like, " the night of the battleships," which was a bombardment on Guadalcanal by the battleships, Kongo and haruna, in October 1942. Plus could u possibly add in the battle of Rennel island? If u don't know what that is, either Google it or ask me.

[CapnScurvy]

You're right, I don't know anything about Rennel Island.....I'll look it up though.

Putting missions in place isn't too hard to do, just lot's of tedious typing that can easily be screwed up by a couple of misspelled words. Lurker did a lot of his mission building outside of the Mission Editor. Actually, it's better if you don't use the Mission Editor for some of the missions. The Mission Editor has a funny way of "saving" some of the built missions...... where you should still open up the mission .mis file with NotePad to edit some of the entries. I forget just what to do, but then again I forget where I put my glasses too!

Mission building still takes some trial and error game play. Like RSRDC's idea of having so many different way points, with different travel speeds between them. It's a good idea to have a ship change speeds as you follow it.....makes game play unpredictable. But, when you drop a ships travel speed to less than half its rated MaxSpeed from its .sim file, you'll not hear a thing through the use of the subs Hydrophones yourself. Even if the target is in eyesight of the sub.

I've also seen where a ship's route cuts right through a small land mass. I don't have to see it in-game to know that ship never see's the light of day on the other side of the land. So, you put a ship into spawning in-game only to have it crash/sink when it hits an island. That's one reason why Truk Island usually doesn't have ships spawn/end within the harbor. The narrow entrance is too hard to make sure every mission ship can make it through, without hitting something. So, most of the time the ships spawn/end outside the harbor.

[avers]

You gave me another idea, can u add in the air raids on Truk in feb. and April 1944? Also I have noticed some bugs in the game even with mods. One bug is that the base colors on the map don't change right away, like with Rabaul, after it was occupied by the japanese it was still blue. Another wierd thing is that sometimes there can be ships from one country sitting by an enemy base. Like one time I was patrolling off Rabaul after it was taken by Japan and there were a lot of Australian ships right by japanese controlled Rabaul.

The final big bug is that when i started a career with TMO + RSRDC in July 1945 Iwo Jima was still marked as red and there were still jap ships there, when there should be US ships and the island should be US controlled. So can u fix these problems? Also could u add more land defense guns to the bases and more harbor traffic? That would be cool.

[CapnScurvy]

The final big bug is that when i started a career with TMO + RSRDC in July 1945 Iwo Jima was still marked as red and there were still jap ships there, when there should be US ships and the island should be US controlled. So can u fix these problems?

I don't know, I've never looked at the issue of Dates/Time and which nationality holds what. I know there's a file that controls on whose side you're on, and when the side may change.....like the Italians....they flipped and flopped a couple of times. There's probably a file that controls a land base ownership just as well.

Also could u add more land defense guns to the bases and more harbor traffic? That would be cool.

Probably. :D

I know I'll be getting into those Land Air Base files to add the additional planes to their inventory.

[avers]

Ok, well u post and tell me if u found a way to fix those bugs or not. I have some more ideas, firstly, can u add some more ships to some nations? I think that the Dutch, Australian and British need more ships and aircraft. Also can u add in Japanese and German subs? That would be cool to see those. Can u also implement the battle of the Bismarck sea and other small engagements in 1943?

[pdiddy]

This is all awesome!



but wait, the problem still exist's......the Radar will still show the Kamikaze blip traveling away from the sub after it's hit the target because the Kamikaze plane itself isn't the delivering plane, it's just a bomb dressed up like a plane.


Would something like the Ohka/Baka (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokosuka_MXY7_Ohka) work better?

Bettys delivering Bakas!

************************************************** *****

On a separate note, since we're talking ideas: Does anyone use the 3d TDC (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=170944&page=32) mod anymore? I can't get it to play nice with OTC (and OTC is well...a must have mod!)

Is it impossible to mod the stabilized azimuth line for determining target speed and/or using the stadimeter vertically to find AOB detailed here (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=218130)?

[CapnScurvy]

Thanks for the ideas guys. Keep them coming.....

As far as the dates/time is concerned for events in-game, I can tell you there are lots of errors within the game that prevents things from occurring. Due to these errors, either equipment doesn't become available, or specific traffic doesn't spawn simply because a date is in error.

An example can be found within some of the .eqp files that define when a certain piece of hardware comes into being.

Of all the things one can say bad about a computer, the one thing that's stellar is a computer's ability to count 1+1=2! Simple math is no problem (neither is the tuff stuff either). 24 hours in a day, 365 days a year is a no-brainier. Yet, you put dates like Sept. 31, 194whatever into the mix, the game will practically stop cold in its tracks. No such date as Sept 31st.....right......

got you thinking!!

So, the Devs put in the wrong date and the computer can't compute how a year is now 366 days long?!? You won't get a CTD because of it, but you won't get the upgrade either because the computer can't understand when to start the upgrade. There are also dates that overlap.....the end date is the same as the start date of a different piece of equipment. How can the computer figure out which piece of equipment to use if the same date covers two different pieces of equipment?

Stuff like that you'll find throughout the game.

[HertogJan]

Stuff like that you'll find throughout the game.

Cleaning up the mess they left behind would be one hell of a challenge, if even doable. The game in that respect is SNAFU :shifty:

The sheer number of text and strings in files to check would crash a computer :smug:

Off topic but related to the messiness of this game:
Two months ago I re-installed my OS and today I installed this game, I run a defrag/ optimization prior of installing the game using AVG tuneup, went and checked the amount of fragmentation after installing SH4 v1.4. It had a amazing 2% fragmentation on a 360GG partitioned disk, after a new defrag I installed the "U-boat addon" and got the same result... 2% fragmentation.
(Up till now this is the only game I have which has that much fragmentation after a clean install). :nope:

[CapnScurvy]

Would something like the Ohka/Baka (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokosuka_MXY7_Ohka) work better?

Bettys delivering Bakas!

I've seen one of those over at the Air Force Museum (that's what we call it around here....the official name is the "National Museum of the United States Air Force (http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/)" :doh:). Jet propelled, traveling in excess of 500 mph, it would be pretty cool. I noticed my friend Peabody was working on adding such a model to the IJN planes for his and Keltos01 Japanese Sub Campaign mod which has never seen the light of day. Too bad! I noticed he hasn't been on the forum since 2013, probably not interested anymore.

I've found a couple of 3D models floating around on the web. I'll see if I can get one to work with SH4.

Is it impossible to mod the stabilized azimuth line for determining target speed and/or using the stadimeter vertically to find AOB detailed here (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=218130)?

I doubt it. The line would need to be aligned to a particular bearing, and stay there, no matter which direction the sub may turn. The "L" key for "Locking" onto a target does something similar, but it locks onto an object and stays put no matter which direction the object, or sub moves. The point being, this function is hard coded. We don't have access to the script that makes the "Lock" function happen.

Nor do we have access to the way the Stadimeter double image is moved on the screen. It's vertical travel is also hard coded. I'd like to have it work as in real life to move vertically and horizontally for finding AoB.....but it isn't going to happen. :-?

[pdiddy]

The point being, this function is hard coded. We don't have access to the script that makes the "Lock" function happen.


It seems the SH5 crowd is "patching" the .exe file. Are they manipulating the hard code?

[avers]

Hey again, I have some more ideas, I think it would be cool to start a career before the war starts and the attack on Pearl Harbor was implemented to the game, also, to go along with the bombing raids idea, I would like to see some of the early war jap bombing raids, like on Manila and wake, also it would be cool to see the "destruction of force Z" in the game. So, what do u think, cap'n scurvy, can this stuff be in the mod?

[HertogJan]

Hey again, I have some more ideas, I think it would be cool to start a career before the war starts and the attack on Pearl Harbor was implemented to the game,

Starting a new career to watch it happen would be great.:yeah:
With this game you can choose to either start in port or out at sea, I do wonder if we'd survive tho.:haha:

[TorpX]

Hey again, I have some more ideas, I think it would be cool to start a career before the war starts and the attack on Pearl Harbor was implemented to the game...

Fred has a mod, Pre-Pearl Harbor Career Start. There are different versions for RFB, etc.,etc.

[avers]

Hey guys, I have more ideas, in the game there are small sail boats (sampans, fishing boats, etc.) And I'm sure many have noticed that they can back up like they have a motor well they don't. So, can u make there movement more realistic? I think it would be good to see them act like sail boats. Also can u add in more minor boats and ships, like trawlers and some trawlers towing barges and some more sailing ships? It would be cool to see more diversity in the minor boats and they can be used as harbor traffic or we could see them on the sea.

[HertogJan]

We are talking 4-8 DD simply hunting in a group and multiple groups, Nets around harbors, minefields ... things I do not find to much off on the american side and those escorts are FAR more persistent than the Japanese from TMO. They can hound you for 48 hours not simply a few hours and leave. TMO is great and I love the challenge but in all my years I have yet to finish a campaign alive running the U-boats.


What he said ^
With visible mines and sub nets if doable but without the 48h hunt tho... need to work and sleep some.

[TorpX]

Hey guys, I have more ideas, in the game there are small sail boats (sampans, fishing boats, etc.) And I'm sure many have noticed that they can back up like they have a motor well they don't. So, can u make there movement more realistic? I think it would be good to see them act like sail boats.

I doubt this is possible. The sampans actually have a invisible prop in the middle of the hull that provides propulsion. The sails and wind won't make them go. It's kind of funny.

[HertogJan]

1)_ Had a mission the other day where I had to drop 19T of goods at location X now the mission itself was okay and fun but 19T is a bit much not to mention the way I had to deliver it... by way of rubber boat.... :o REALLY 19T, rubber dinghy?????
I like the idea of covert missions, photo recon and such, it gives more to the game but if you think about it this was plain weird. It would take some 45 round trips and close to a week to get it all to shore.

So as a suggestion it would be great to have a more realistic approach to those missions. (menu.txt editing)?
I know you can simply leave as soon as the dinghy as scratched the sub with that awful sound, its player dependent if he sticks around or not sure, but sticking around makes for some good challenges on its own.

2) The ability to set speed, heading and depth yourself by way of typed input instead of moving the dials.
Or better yet... a small window in which you see the numbers when you turn the dial. (gets you one step closer to real Navigation).

3)_ Some sort of ships physics like ISP for all the vessels?

[CapnScurvy]

Good ideas.

The first idea about having 19 tons of gear is an easy one to fix. Find the mission description and change it to 2000 lbs. Like a lot of things in game, miss spellings, or just not thinking about what's being written is through out the game.

Your second suggestion reminds me of the original Silent Hunter game when it was designed by Strategic Simulations. You could input a range figure by mouse clicking 5 separate rotating dials (each showing but one digit) until you got the range you wanted. Wanted to set 2500 yards...... you moved the second dial to the #2 digit, the third dial was set to #5, the remainder were kept at their default setting of zero.

Unfortunately, the periscope screen is not made up like the Sonar or Radar screens. Those are actual 3D modeled game features. The periscope screen is not a 3D model, but rather it's made within the 1024_768_menu.ini file. A completely different animal. Putting 3D rotating dials into the periscope screen just won't happen. Believe me, I would have done it if I could.

Neither will using a typewriter type of input. The game just won't allow it.

I've even tried to incorporate some kind of digital readout like what the German side of play has.....no luck!! The game was much better thought out and designed for the German's than it ever was for the American side of play.

[HertogJan]

Darn!

[TorpX]

Good ideas.



Neither will using a typewriter type of input. The game just won't allow it.



How about using the scroll wheel of the mouse to make finer adjustments? Could something like that work?

[CapnScurvy]

The Developers left us few options. Circular dials we can configure; I believe linear sliders can be used too (OTC's Omnimeter is an example) within the limitations of what the sliders are linked to. Like the Omnimeter, it's linked to the Message Text module because there were sliders used for expanding the size of the Text box, left and right.

Without the game engine already mapping out how a particular feature will work, we just can't make something out of our heads do what we want.

For instance, I've been working on the planes, particularly how do you change their attack flight patterns. Well.......you don't.

The game has the particular attack flight patterns hard coded. A level bomber (UnitType=301) travels at a predestined height, drops its bombs (provided the plane "detected" an enemy), then moves on out of sight. A Torpedo Bomber (UnitType=303) upon detection of an enemy target, will drop to just above the water. If it's not turned away by enemy fire, it will proceed in closer, drop the torpedo, then pull up abruptly in an attempt to gain altitude. If it was turned away on the first try, it will attempt to circle (if the hit points will allow) and attempt to make another run. As long as the weapon hasn't been dropped, the game instructions will force the plane to try again. It's only after the plane drops its "loadout" equipment, or reaches its maximum damage rating, will it move out of sight or crash. A Dive Bomber has a different pattern too.

My point being, there isn't anything we can change about these features.....except for the detection capabilities. The planes flight pattern is hard coded. Tucked away within files we can't open or change. So too are the interface inputs for the game.

One of the goofs in-game of these types of hard coded instrucions is the German Radar digital readout. The German Radar station offers a digital readout of a found target.....giving you an exact range figure when centered on a radar target (the German Radar looks like an A-Scope version). Great, that's just what we need for the American side!

Can a digital readout be added to the American Radar station? Sure can, here's one I did for an older Trigger Maru version.


http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w132/crawlee/519.jpg

But, here's the kicker. The darn thing only reads in metric units!

No matter which Unit of Measurement is chosen within the Options Menu.....it will only read in meters. Not much good for us trying to play an American game, using authentic unit of measurements!

By the way, for those that play the German U-Boat side of play......you're also screwed if you play using the Imperial Unit of Measurements and think the Radar digital readout is giving you Yards? It's not. The Dev's hard coded the thing to only read in meters.....no matter which option you chose. :/\\!!

[avers]

Hey, I have another idea, can u add in different colors to the bases, like blue for America, green for Australia and New Zealand, darker blue (or whatever color u want) for great britan, and a different color for the Dutch (I don't have an idea for the Dutch) and red for Japan?

[CapnScurvy]

Hey, I have another idea, can u add in different colors to the bases, like blue for America, green for Australia and New Zealand, darker blue (or whatever color u want) for great britan, and a different color for the Dutch (I don't have an idea for the Dutch) and red for Japan?

You mean for the icons displayed on the map?

I'll have to see.

The Dutch should use Orange if I'm not mistaken.

===================

Thought I'd post some pictures of what I've been working on. I found a free 3D model of the Yokosuka MXY-7 Kamikaze plane, and have been getting it into the game using Blender. Here's what I've got:


http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w132/crawlee/Baka01_zpscxzpae6n.jpg


The above image is from the Museum.

Below, their making a run on a Clemson CL:


http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w132/crawlee/Baka02_zpsxefjzk1i.jpg


http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w132/crawlee/Baka04_zpsp3egm1ly.jpg


http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w132/crawlee/Baka03_zpsjafcmnrs.jpg


http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w132/crawlee/Baka05_zpsauie1qvn.jpg


Better arm that 20 mister!!


http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w132/crawlee/Baka06_zpsqijamvcn.jpg


Still got a few things to do. Seems the lighting on the model is out of wack, and a couple of other things I'd like to tweak. If I was any good at modeling I'd try to see if I could animate the model to nose down into the target from a Level Flight bomb run of the Betty. Right now, the Dive Bomber approach seems to work/look the best.

[avers]

well, what I meant is the dot and name of the city and port, so change the color of the name of the port. the labels, u could do what the creator (sorry I for got his name) of NMMO did, put the flags of the port owner in the label. Also, will it still be possible to add in some plane battles, with the limitations you mentioned?

[HertogJan]

Orange for the Dutch is perfect. We use a Orange banner on to of the flag.
Red, White and Blue.

[pdiddy]

Thought I'd post some pictures of what I've been working on. I found a free 3D model of the Yokosuka MXY-7 Kamikaze plane, and have been getting it into the game using Blender.

Amazing!

[avers]

hi, so how is the mod coming scurvy? I also have another idea, can u add in American seaplane tenders, like the USS Langley?

[CapnScurvy]

hi, so how is the mod coming scurvy? I also have another idea, can u add in American seaplane tenders, like the USS Langley?

Slow, very slow. 3D modeling is not something I'm very familiar with, I'm learning as I go. That's why I really didn't want to post much about my work, I'm not going to set a time limit on completion.

Adding the Langley?.....well someone had better make the model for me 'cause I won't have the skill or time to do it myself. :D

[avers]

hi scurvy, im not a 3d modeler, but if you need help how about you start a thread for this mod so you can find more help.

[Longknife]

Adding the Langley?.....well someone had better make the model for me 'cause I won't have the skill or time to do it myself. :D

Anyone have a 3 view of it or some good images? I have been meaning to dust off 3DS Max for awhile but SH has been eating up all my free time.

[avers]

http://forum.valka.cz/attachments/5029/USS_AV-3_Langley_09020336.jpg

here's a side view of the USS Langley as a seaplane tender which is what it was during WW2.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/USS_Langley_%28AV-3%29_at_French_Frigate_Shoals_1937.jpg

heres a bow view.

[avers]

http://steelnavy.com/images/4Stack/Childs%20Destroyer%20Seaplane%20Tender%201939.jpg

Here's an image of a destroyer-seaplane tender, which is another type of ship I think would be neat to see in SH4.

[Longknife]

After some extensive searching there are relatively few images of AV-3 Langley. That said I am sure I could make it without a great deal of effort. This begs another question though...

Is it needed/wanted? A ship of negligible value lost in 42 would have little import/impact in this sim. While it would not be difficult to make this it would still take me 10-15hrs to make it & textures. Is it worth spending my time on?
A single ship such as this would by necessity need to be part of a larger package containing more vessels as I doubt it would get downloaded much more than twice. Once when I verify the download works & a 2nd time when you get it.

[Longknife]

http://steelnavy.com/images/4Stack/Childs%20Destroyer%20Seaplane%20Tender%201939.jpg

.

This I will make for my own enjoyment if nothing else. I have a special fondness for the flush deck destroyers.

[TorpX]

This begs another question though...

Is it needed/wanted? A ship of negligible value lost in 42 would have little import/impact in this sim. While it would not be difficult to make this it would still take me 10-15hrs to make it & textures. Is it worth spending my time on?

This is a good question. Imo, 'one-of-a-kind' ships of this nature offer little return for the work, unless, they can be deployed in altered/auxiliary/conjectural versions. That is, if it could be used to represent Allied/IJN second-line carriers/tenders/auxiliaries of some sort.

[avers]

hi scurvy, how is the mod coming? Like I said earlier, if u need help start a thread for this mod and you will reach ALOT more people.

[CapnScurvy]

hi scurvy, how is the mod coming? Like I said earlier, if u need help start a thread for this mod and you will reach ALOT more people.

Your right, I'll start a [WIP] thread soon.

I really never liked the idea of having a "work in progress" thread for a mod, but I see there are plenty of them still floating around....some for years now. Guess it won't hurt to start one.

My mods name is "Day of Infamy". I'll have it in the "SH4 Mods Workshop" pages soon.