Playable Viic/41 [mod Release

[cobalt]

Forward -

This was truly a work-in-progress modification. Without the help of everyone on this board, I could have never released this mod. Prior to making this, I had absolutely no experience in modding SH3, and didn't even know if it was possible to create a playable VIIC/41. When I posted the 3ds max renders I didn't really think that it would ever be made possible due to sh3 limitations and my complete lack of knowledge when it came to that area. With the help of quite a few members on this forum I was able to steadily make baby steps in completing the mod. I've spent about 60+ hours creating a mod that now looking back on it, if I knew what I was doing the first time, would have taken about 2 hours tops, considering I only edited the stock viic model anyways. My 60 hours were not wasted though, and I have learned a lot about modding sh3, hex editing, and how to drink entire batches of coffee in one sitting.

So here it is.





This modification has been made for the purpose of adding a playable

VIIC/41 submarine which unfortunately was overlooked by the SHIII

development team, most likely due to time constraints. Previously, the

VIIC/41 was a carbon copy of the regular VIIC. It used the exact model,

textures, and data as its predecessor. This has bothered me since I first made

it to 1944 and wanted to upgrade my old type7c.



IN REAL LIFE – The VIIC/41 was not an exact copy of the VIIC. It

had a stronger pressure hull which added 2.5mm of extra steel, increasing

the crush depth from 200m to 250m. Because of the increased weight, many

lightweight components and machinery replaced other heavier machinery.

The bow was slightly modified for better performance and most 41’s

also had 4 life raft canisters installed onto the bow. (I say most because it is

very difficult to tell exact specifications that covers all commissioned boats.

Even in the case of the VIIC, few boats were identically the same. Although

shipyards had the same blueprints, small deviations were often made. For

example, some VIIC’s were built in the shipyards with only two forward

tubes, or no stern tube.)



Pictures and documents about the VIIC/41 are few and far between. I’ve

seen models with and without the life raft canisters, and in the “blueprint”

view below you can see there is no bow deviation that sloops down.

However if you look at U-995 at Laboe, you can clearly see the bow differs

from the standard VIIC bow.




SHIII Commander addressed the cloned boat problem by simulating a

stronger hull by adding an increased crush depth when selecting the

VIIC/41. As great as this was, I still wanted to have a real feeling of playing

a different submarine when upgrading. I’d like to mention that without SHIII

Commander, this mod would not have happened. Visit

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=101815 to download

the latest version.



By installing this mod, you are not installing a completely new u-boat into

your submarine list. Unfortunately, and to my knowledge, that is not

possible due to hard coded game files. To get the full effect of this mod it is

highly recommended that you use with SHII Commander. What this mod

does is change the standard VIIC (which loads, when you choose the

VIIC/41) into a VIIC/41. I suggest using Commander because by just

placing the downloaded VIIC/41 files into their proper Cmdr folder, you will

be able to switch between VIIC and VIIC/41 upon choice when starting

commander. So for example, if you’re playing with a VIIC, and decide to

upgrade to the VIIC/41, after your current patrol you would upgrade via the

upgrade screen, exit out of SH3, and next time you start commander up to

play sh3, commander will know that you upgraded and show that your sub is

now a VIIC/41. When you start the game, the files inside Cmdr will

temporarily overwrite the core VIIC files, and make them into a VIIC/41. It

may sound a little complicated, but it is a very easy process. Basically, if you

choose a VIIC in the Cmdr menu, you will play as a VIIC. If you choose a

VIIC/41 in the menu, Cmdr will load the new DATs into sh3, and you will

play as a VIIC/41.





Installation: FOR COMMANDER USERS 2.7

1: ROLLBACK SH3Commander

2: SELECT “Use historic U-boat availability dates” in Cmdr.

3: UnRAR, and place the folders SUBMARINE, and TEXTURES into the

folder \SH3 Commander\U-boat\VIIC41\data

4: When starting a single mission with the new sub, make sure you choose

the correct options in the SH3Commander startup menu (IE choosing the

VIIC/41 in the Cmdr menu and the in-game menu, whilst selecting the same

years)

5: When in career mode, and you decide to upgrade from your old

submarine to the VIIC/41; After your current patrol ends, upgrade to the new

sub via the in-game upgrade screen, then exit out of SH3. When you restart

SH3Commander for your next patrol, it will have noticed that you upgraded,

and upon startup will place the core files into your SH3 folder.

****Sh3 commander will backup your original core files, so there’s no need to

backup.



Installation: FOR JSGME

1: Inside the included folder ‘U41MOD/DATA’ just place the SUBMARINE

And TEXTURES folders inside. Then add the complete folder ‘u41mod’ into

your MODS folder, and enable via JSGME.

DOING IT THIS WAY WILL CHANGE THE DEFAULT VIIC INTO

A VIIC/41 ALSO. If you choose this way instead of Commander, you just

have to turn it on and off whenever you decide to play the VIIC/41.



-THIS MOD WORKS WITH ALL MODS AND STOCK



SPECIAL THANKS-



This mod would not have been possible without the help of a great deal of

people from the community.



Special thanks goes to the following:

DivingDuck- Thanks for all the help with hex editing. I know I was a real

pain in the arse with the 10 or so emails I sent you.

Jscones- Thanks for helping me resolve the problem with GWX

Compatibility and testing my mod.

Jetsnake, Mast, Must Martin, Reece, Mountainmanuk,

Iblitz, and Shepelly, all for taking the time to test the mod pre-release.

Download from my filefront here:

http://files.filefront.com/CobaltsVI.../fileinfo.html

ENJOY!

[Mush Martin]

She Is Beautiful Dude Congratulations.
MM

[denis_469]

My congratulations. Fine mod.

[Shepelly]

What can I say but, MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAte

[Reece]

Thanks Cobalt, obviously no testing required!!

[azn_132]

Cobalt, I will give a big big thx to ur work and like ur VIIC/41 boat.

[JetSnake]

Great job Cobalt. Nice seeing it as it should be now.

[Venatore]

Cobalt,

From your first post giving a clue, and me guessing it (still waiting for my stuffed teddy bear) but I guess this VIIC/41 will have to do, mate I truely thankyou. It was a ruff ride to get here and you never gave up. I can see alot of hours sitting behind your computer, giving up your personnel time to create this U-Boat.

From me to you I thankyou for never giving up and always asking for help.

And now please...........................

Sit back and watch how your hard work now becomes one of the most downloaded mods ever since SH3 hit the stores

Venatore

[JScones]

With a model as good as this, it was hard *not* to test!

A "must have" for everyone methinks.

[Ocean Blue]

Thanks Cobalt !

It's good





The mods which continues evolving !

Thanks

[mountainmanUK]

@Cobalt.

Many thanks for sticking it out with this fine model, mate!

Your final results are a reflection on your hard work and dedication!

AS Venatore said....I reckon this will become one of the "most-downloaded" Mods in pretty short time!

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Cheers

Dave

[Penelope_Grey]

This looks great, I can definately see me getting a VIIC/41 now! The installation looks alright, I will probably use JSGME rather than commander because it looks easier.

Thank heavens for JSCones and his JSGME, that thing is a godsend for people like me and even for experts too. SH3 Commander rules too!

I'm very excited!

[Schultzy]

Great job Cobalt and all the others involved!

CONGRATULATIONS on the launch of your fine boat. She's a beauty.

[JCWolf]

WOW .....

Yes damn it , yes, yes ,yes....


Thanks for the new Hunter mate...

[Rab09]

I have a very hard time DLing from FileFont. Is there a Megaupload for this??