[REQ] New Ships Added To Game

[tater]

Most needed (IMO):


Fox Tare Dog
Sugar Baker Sugar (WIP!) (steel sea truck)
Sugar Able Sugar/Sugar Charlie Sugar.
Sugar Dog (wooden Sea Truck)

Matsu DE
http://www.combinedfleet.com/matsu_c.htm

Kaibokan
http://www.combinedfleet.com/Kaibokan.htm

Small subchasers
(your PT would be a good addition the IJA used them)

Not common, but damm pretty ships:
http://www.combinedfleet.com/Tokusetsu%20Junyokan!.htm

tater

[tater]

Is changing a node as simple as changing the name?

Say you have:

cfg#P02_NKSCS_Taihosan as anode in the dat, can you simply change the name to:

cfg#A01_NKSCS_Taihosan and it's an AAA node?

tater

[skwasjer]

Yes and no...
Most nodes it won't be a problem, but S3D does not yet show you all the data for those chunks (some info I still have to implement, and some data I don't know what it does (yet! no time...)). In itself, not knowing what data means is not a problem, because S3D will simply copy and write it back unmodified. But because it may be data the engine may not expect (if you change that predefined label), you may be in trouble.

Your best chance is to take a ship that contains all nodes you need, and strip any unneeded ones. That, or at least clone nodes that have the same function (iow. P01 to P02). You can export nodes from multiple ships into one if needed, as long as you keep the part leading the label name the same. This is also true for controllers!! Don't assume - because it shows no data in the properties - that it is empty. It is empty because S3D doesn't interpret some controllers yet. So, better be safe, and take existing nodes and only change the part after the cfg#xxx...

[DeepIron]

Is changing a node as simple as changing the name?

Conceptually, yes. I guess the game AI wouldn't care if you called a 6" gun a 30mm...

I've been spending time today working out a graph that shows file config dependancies along with a spreadsheet that shows the different parameters for objects. Got the idea from reading about the RFB mods... There's a lot going on and I can see how tweaking one item may necessitate tweaking others...

BTW guys, can someone tell me just what a .zon file is used for? It describes "boxes and spheres" and I'm thinking it's used in ship physics calcs...

Thx!

[tater]

zon is for damage on ships. WernerSobe is the experten.

I will try cloning between ships.

tater

[skwasjer]

The boxs/spheres are used by the engine for collision detection and things like the strength of compartments iic. Different sections of the ship can behave differently to damage/hits this way...

[DeepIron]

Thx guys...

Cloning would be a good way to start... Working on a copy is always safer...
The part that alludes me now, is what files get changed to tell SH4 that there is a new ship available?

[Digital_Trucker]

That would be the files in the BlahBlahBlah\Data\Roster and \Data\Sea folders. The vessel would be described in the Sea folder like the others are and then put into the Roster for the country/countries that uses the vessel.

[tater]

If you tell me a ship you want, I can make a JSGME file structure template for you for it.

tater

[DeepIron]

Thx DT... that sounds almost too simple...

@tater, I'm thinking about one of the sea trucks (Sugar Charlie Sugar) initially (just for you). However, is there a way to set up a generic fill-in-the-blanks type of template?

BTW, the wife would like a little of my time tonite so I'll pick up again in AM... l8r...

[Digital_Trucker]

Originally Posted by DeepIron

Thx DT... that sounds almost too simple...

Yeah, it was wasn't it? I'm trying to cut down on the long drawn out explanations that usually get me an "all I asked was a simple question" (not here, other forums, I don't know enough to give long winded explanations here ).

In what little bit I did trying to create an invisible clone, other than the 3D work and equipment changes, it was basically a copy and rename thing. But you had to do some renaming inside the files too. Kind of like taking a piece of code from one program and modifying it to conform to the naming conventions of a different program. (I know, you should make a subroutine out of it anyway, but you get what I mean).

[tater]

Originally Posted by DeepIron

BTW, the wife would like a little of my time tonite so I'll pick up again in AM... l8r...

There's 3D, and there's 3D

<G>

tater

[Digital_Trucker]

Originally Posted by tater

There's 3D, and there's 3D

<G>

tater

:rotfl: And you better know the difference!:rotfl:

[DeepIron]

But you had to do some renaming inside the files too.

Renaming inside the files, that's the rub... I think you and tater are right, copy or clone and make changes to the appropriate config files... Now I guess it's just a matter of knowing what and where to change... That would take care of satisfying the AI and game engine...

If you're thinking about just changing the file info and not the actual meshes/textures, would you be kind enough to document what and where you changed items please? I'm thinking it would be cool to get a modding thread stickied later, once we've got the process down for others. Kind of a "step-by-step" if you're agreeable...

Tomorrow I'm going to make a stab at modding an existing SH4 vessel to a Sugar Charlie Sugar sea truck... Basing it on the existing NKMCS_Zinbu files which, while they are not the closest, will suffice for this effort. I'll use the Sanko Maru on page 77 of the ONI 208-J Supplement No. 2 for the pattern. I need to get an idea of the scale, but I can do that from an existing mesh and comparing it to an ONI entry...

Fortunately, the SH4 vessel meshes are broken into logical segments, hull, superstructure, cranes, etc... so I can work on one piece at a time. Doing the mesh ought to be fairly straightforward, it's just pushing vertices around... Doing the texturing will take a bit more time as the meshs will have to be unwrapped and the UVs mapped. Then texturing... (not my strong suit) etc...

Now, gents, once the meshes and textures are done, how are we going to stuff them back into a .dat? :hmm:
I know Skwasjer is planning on import/export in S3D, but it's not there yet... (maybe we can twist his arm, or just out and out beg him to move it up his priorities list! ) Once the new model is completed, the X,Y,Z locations of all components need to be encoded into the .dat along with the texturing info etc...

[skwasjer]

If you twist my arm, I won't be able to type...

I know people are anxiously awaiting support for models. It's just that as long as S3D is not stable or fully functional on the controllers-front, I will keep improving that part.

Model export/import is the next big thing after the current scheduled release (which is due in days). No promises but it will take probably 3-4 weeks more for a release including it, and then some more weeks to get the bugs ironed out.
You can try using Pack3D until then, although it has issues of its own...