Guys, I want to thank you for your support and continued interest. All I can say is, things are going great and I am preparing for the Fall 2017 update.
Literally everything I have been trying recently has worked. There are new particle effects, new lifeboats, new survivors, and new crewmen on ships.
********************DAMAGE EFFECTS*********************
Remember the coal carrier? That's the testbed for Dynamic Ship Destruction. Virtually her whole hull gets smashed with holes when you shell her. No lousy damage decals. No random holing like SH4....aim at a point with your deck gun and watch the hull plates disintegrate. There are literally 30-40 different shell holes you can create.
Shell holes are "children" of the bow/stern section for proper display if the ship breaks up.
Hatch covers and crates get blasted off, as promised.
The first group of crew on deck abandoning ship has been added. About 15-20 survivor groups have been made for merchant sailors - next will be soldiers and civilians.
Lifeboat lowering procedure is around the corner (some limitations, but it will be there!)
Remember the boilers I made? I gave them real steam leaks, getting worse the more you shell them.
Lube oil tanks? Real items now, that leak oil when shells/torpedoes cause a rupture.
DSD/Dynamic Ship Destruction will be the standard for merchant shipping in WOTK. When I first promised these features, I felt confident I could deliver them, and I was right.
*****************PRIZE WARFARE*******************
About 80% of trade goods pop-up screens for prize warfare have been created.
********************THE SUBMARINES*******************
special thank you to Ducimus, if he still is around. I finally managed to add new crew to the interior, with his tutorial:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=175980
He made it easy! I watched "Das Boot" for the first time this month, and it is simply incredible how claustrophobic WWI/WWII submarines were. Now I can replicate that!
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As I may have mentioned before, WOTK video #2 (on the "Aboukir/Cressy/Hogue") has been cancelled, but I think it was a wise decision. More time towards the final product, and less time on advertising. My "Lusitania" video took a vast amount of preparation, and I'm not sure it's wise to get bogged down like that again.