[REL] Observation Periscope Color Filter
 

http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/j...cuur4_19xx.jpg
Decided to release this cause... well, I thought someone might actually like it.



Pack containing all versions, except the 2 listed below individually (.zip, 13.5MB)*

OPCFv1.3_RFB20 (.7z, 330KB)

OPCFv1.3_TMO19 (.7z, 400KB)



*pack includes versions for RFB1.52, SCAF for 1.5, stock 1.5, TMO1.52 and RFB1.4, SCAF 1.2, stock1.4, TMO.



...why?

While doing some reading on the periscopes on fleetboats during WWII, I discovered that there were colored filters placed in a disc as part of the rayfilter assembly. The disc contained 4 such filters; 1 clear, 1 red, 1 green and 1 yellow. These filters were intended to aid visibility in different lighting conditions, and could be rotated into place.



So what does it do?

Well, like I said, using a colored filter can help visibility. Particularly at night, a bright filter can help. Don't expect night vision or something, but it can certainly help spot a flag or the contours of a ship more easily. Try it for yourself and see if you like it, it's not exactly a big and extensive mod. And even if it was, it's easy enough to peel back using JSGME.

It only affects the no.1 / observation scope. Historically, these were better suited for observation at night / low light, so I figured I'd make them a little more usefull under those conditions. It also helps to set the scopes a bit more apart, normally there really isn't much difference between the 2 scopes.



So how do I install this junk?

In the .zip you'll find 3 folders, JSGME ready (extract these 3 folders into the MODS folder). Each folder is for a different color filter; you can use only 1 at a time, enable the color you want and play the game. Try them all to figure out for yourself which one you prefer.

Don't forget to disable the previous version before trying another. No biggie if you enable more than 1, but only the last one enabled will work since when you enable it, it overwrites the earlier one.



On compatibility:

Currently there are editions for several mods based on version 1.5 of the game and for stock v1.5. There are also editions for mods based on version 1.4 of the game. I can adapt it to more mods and stock v1.4, but I don't have the files used for those and don't know the locations of those files, any help would be appreciated. :D

For most editions, all I did is edit the mask used for the obs. scope, so it won't mess up any of the workings of the mod. It will work with any other mod, as long as it doesn't change the mask used for the no.1 periscope.

For stock it's a little more complicated, since I had to separate the mask for the no.1 from the one for the no.2 scope. To achieve this, I changed "Menu_1024_768.ini" to point to the new mask file for the observation scope. Any mod that also changes any of those 2 will conflict with this mod.

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If you're brave enough, there's a work-around;
1. open up "Menu_1024_768.ini" (.:\...\Ubisoft\Silent Hunter 4 Wolves of the Pacific\Data\Menu\) in notepad and hit ctr-F. Search for "G2B I140" ("G2B I136" for 1.4).
2. In that block of text, change the line of code that points to the mask file so that it reads:

Mat 0=data/menu/skins/american/gui/layout/"filtermask".dds, where "filtermask" is the edited .dds filename you just downloaded.
(Mat 0=data/menu/gui/layout/"filtermask".dds for 1.4)

(you only need to change the last part, the rest should be correct)
3. save the file.
4. now copy the new .dds file to the location you just specified in the .ini.
(.:\...\Ubisoft\Silent Hunter 4 Wolves of the Pacific\Data\Menu\Skins\American\Gui\Layout\)
(.:\...\Ubisoft\Silent Hunter 4 Wolves of the Pacific\Data\Menu\Gui\Layout\) for 1.4

Congratulations, you just made a mod! :know:

Those are the manual installation instructions as well. If you're doing a manual install and you come across a "Menu_1024_768.ini" where the filename is not "Periscope_Mask_1024.tga", it's likely that another mod has already separated the masks for the 2 scopes. You could change the filename already there to the one from this mod (depends on which edition you download), or change the filename of the new mask to match what is in the .ini.

Before overwriting anything or making changes to files, make a backup!

Please don't complain to me if you mess something up, I did my best to make this as clear and simple as possible. If you need help, ask beforehand, not when it's too late. :cool:

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Any feedback is more than welcome, enjoy! :up:

Arclight, you rock!

Thank you for this!

And the fans go wild. :lol:

Thought I might as well get it done rather than just thinking about it. ;)

Now if you'll excuse me, I need some sleep. Let me know how it works out. :zzz:

Gonna try this for sure!:up: One question: Must you be in port to enable?

my guess is proly not.

i change skins mid patrol (because grey looks great one session, and black the next..im eclectic)
and i think its basically changing a skin. so why not

I'm gonna check it out,

You should be able to change it whenever. It does not affect any game mechanics or mission layers, just a small change to a texture.

Tested it in a single mission. Started with the mod enabled, saved, closed the game, disabled the mod, started back up and loaded the game without issues. ;)

so that's why you like to create skins !!!:rotfl:

Another version please
 

Any possibility of getting a version for TMO?

I like it! Looking forward to using the yellow filter during the daytime to see if I can squeeze out a little more contrast.

I think the yellow one serves you best at night, but it's all up to user preference. ;)

To be honest, I haven't really found the red one usefull yet, but the subs had a red filter, so I made a red filter. :D
Absolutely, I'd be happy to. I'll download that mod tonight to get the files I need to work with, release should be 1 or 2 hours after that. :up:



I've got a 1.1 version ready, where the green one is a little more opaque ("more green") and the red one a lot more. Yellow stayed the same. I think the new set is closer to what you see in the title-picture. I'm curious what people think about the current version; whether they think it needs changes and which?

I can't find any information about how clear the filters should be. Nor can I find anything to suggest which filter was suitable for what conditions. I'm thinking yellow for low-light, red in bright conditions and green as an intermediate, but it's all unfounded/unconfirmed. :-?

Nice work :yep::up:


RDP

Some time ago I found that I could also add one for SH3 by simply adding a draggable colour filter with an Alpha channel. I have it showing only the bottom part over my scope and thus I can enable it while playing by simply dragging it down :D

If you like the idea, it's all yours :lol:

Thanks for sharing :up:

Version 1 for TMO 1.52 is up and running, link is at the top with the others. Confirmed to work as intended... on my end anyway. :lol:

That was my first experience with TMO, and I must say I'm impressed. Looks and feels solid, nice button on the interface for deep dive, scopes look excellent, sounds are good, nice loading screens, cool movie in the background at the main menu, etc. Too bad Ducimus isn't around anymore to thank and compliment him on a job well done. :-? :cry:

* Hitman, that sounds completely awesome and approaches how it was way better than this. I'd like to incorporate it, but I haven't got a clue where to start. :lol:

Having it draggable sounds interesting Hitman, could it also be set up as a new 'view' in menu_blah_blah.ini? That way you could have each colour filter as an icon on the button bar.