I've uploaded the work I've been doing for the next Beta to Double R. A new Beta should be out soon.
My latest changes have to do with the remaining crew repeating the "Yes Sir". I had fixed the Officer of the Watch from doing it, but several more crewmen needed the same work over.
The SD Radar will now turn "ON/OFF", giving you the ability to
not get a Radar Report of aircraft (especially friendlies) when your surfaced and using Time Compression. You'll be able to turn "OFF" the SJ too, eliminating its reports:
Your watch crew will still report on objects detected (Air / Surface). You can either elect to not fill the Watch Crew slots within the Crew Management Page, or expect them to still report what they see.
The SD will also have a Command Button within the Radar Menu :
The default SD status is "OFF"....you'll have to either use the "T" key to turn it ON, or the above Command Button. The Message Text Box will provide the status as to which mode its in....ON/OFF. The SJ will display its Command Button as above....lite up.
The "Help" menu in-game was revised to mark the changes, plus the Keyboard Layout images are revised too. By all means....make a printed copy to use while playing.
Some changes were made to the U.S. subs regarding their .eqp and .sen files.
Corrections were made to Pearl Harbors friendly traffic. The following had occurred several times during my tests:
I found several plane groups were set to fly too low...100 meters or so, while trying to fly over the island. Not going to happen without a "Boom"! The repaired harbor traffic file is included.
Besides the work we had done previously on the 0.53 version of the Beta, this next release will help in getting us closer to our finish line. Plenty more to do but, you guys give us your opinion to what you notice, and we'll try to fix it!
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I just realized that this new, yet to be released Beta has
these modified fixes/additions within:
This addition tries to fix the Subs upgrade/refit orders with common date's throughout the equipment inventory. This includes all Conning Towers, the various sensor upgrades, the various sub guns. Dates are to follow a pattern through out the game time period, which I hope will allow for an upgrade/refit with no problems in loss of equipment, or mismatch of equipment.
The crew management was overhauled to allow for correct implementation of crew, and their respective Qualifications. The proper qualified crewmen will be placed in their respective sections...no more torpedo man in the watch area, unless you put him there. Deck Gun crew were enlarged to have 4 men manning the guns. A different Ammunition image was used for the guns, with the added Burst Shell for the Anti-Aircraft shell. Renown will be required to upgrade equipment as the different equipment becomes available, yet if you wish to return to an older/smaller gun, it will be available too.
A correction was made to the stock game Balao Torpedo files that caused two tubes not to be displayed upon an upgrade.
The default Deck Gun will be the Stern 3"50 Caliber for all boats. However at specific intervals you'll be able to upgrade to a 4"50, then a 5"25....choosing either a Stern, or Bow. There are a few exceptions, the Narwhal will only have twin 4"50's; the S-Class will only have Bow mount deck guns, a choice of all three as time allows. There will be an offer to purchase the twin 5"25's after Jan. 1945 for most of the other subs.
The default AA weapon will be the .50 Caliber Browning for all boats (I put it on the S-Class, Start of War Conning Tower). As time allows, an offer to purchase the 20mm's (first the single, then the twin) will come before the 40mm's (single and twin). These upgrades will be purchased with Renown while you're in port.
Additions to the sound file relate to the Burst Shell, plus new "Yes Sir" phrase to eliminate the repeat of the phrase on a given command...a stock game issue.
The camera was corrected to allow for the proper assent/descent of the sub.
I shortened the maximum limit of Time Compression from 8192 to 2048 in the hope of giving the game a chance to come out of a TC without issue. It will require the player to wait a bit longer, but the trade off is to gain in game stability.
By request, I checked and found the Camera Icon on the HUD display to be less transparent then it could be. It should appear brighter now.
Changes to the Early War Conning Towers include a taller platform for the AA guns to "see" over the sides of the tower. The S-Class early war tower will get AA guns.
Changes to the menu.txt and menu_1024_768.ini files were made to reflect the above changes.
I added the Propbeanie "UPCchangeReviewII" to this Scurvy Fix. There was a "Jap_CoastalBattery.mis" file in it, plus a merge with his UPC files with mine. I made some minor changes to s7rikebak's P40 Warhawk to the armament and its "basic" loadout. It will have a bomb and firing wing guns for attack, plus will be located within the U.S. Airbases for use as any other aircraft.
The 40mm Bofor Twin will now work as expected. It was causing a CTD when fired...a stock game issue. That's why the gun was never present in-game....it had some errors that had not been corrected.
Another stock game flaw was not getting the Captain's Log Book to show the complete page at higher resolution...like 1920x1080. It was corrected. The Camera for the Hydrophone/Sonar station was changed to allow a larger viewing area due to it narrowing with a 1920x1080 resolution.