[REL] Merchant Fleet Mod for Silent Hunter 3

[iambecomelife]

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06/2/2017

MFM Version 3.3 Available below.


http://www.filehosting.org/file/deta...7/MFM-v3.3.rar

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02/20/2017

COMING SOON: MERCHANT FLEET MOD v 3.3

An announcement: after a long hiatus I have started work on the Merchant Fleet Mod v3.3.

Before you get too excited, this mod is intended as an interim solution....it is my attempt to correct the most glaring defects from the Merchant Fleet Mod 3.2:

-Tankers will have engine rooms and fuel bunkers in the correct position
-Hitpoints reduced so that most ships sink with between 1-3 torpedo hits
-Mass for certain ships corrected so they do not lag behind in convoy
-Possibly, heavier armament for some ships after 1942
-Slightly greater variety in armament types
-Armor reduced from ~15cm to 1-3 cm to represent unarmored ship structure (again, this was a reason for difficulty in sinking.
In reality, cargo ship plates are 1" thick, give or take. Older ships will have about 1cm to represent rusted hull plates.
Modern ships will tend to have 2-3cm armor to represent new steel plates.)

What MFM 3.3 IS NOT:

This mod will NOT feature new ship models, new cargo, new crew figures, new weapons, or any bells and whistles. It is intended to improve "craftsmanship".

Basically, the gaol is to improve gameplay for stock SH3 and supermods like GWX/WAC and to "hold you over" until I create my new cargo ship mod for the Silent Hunter series.

Yes, there WILL be a full fledged replacement MFM, to replace all my now obsolete ship models. But this is not it. Again, it is an attempt to clean up defects from when I rushed this mod into production years ago.

As such it will be released pretty soon. Work on improving the tanker compartments is going quite smoothly.

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MERCHANT FLEET MOD - INITIAL RELEASE INFO

This mod's designed to replace Stock SH3's paltry merchant roster with a huge variety of surface craft, from motor launches to tramp steamers to fleet oilers. It has its roots back in the early days of Silent Hunter 3, when I noticed that the existing merchant ships were sometimes crudely detailed, or were types that would rarely have been encountered during the Battle of the Atlantic.

The mod uses about 60-70 base models and over 3,000 skins to create profuse variety amongst shipping in both convoys and random merchant encounters. Skins from dozens if not hundreds of historical companies are represented. Nations featured in this initial release are as follows:

United Kingdom
United States of America
Denmark
Norway
Sweden
The Netherlands
Belgium
Ireland
Argentina
Brazil
Panama
Canada

Whereas before you encountered a monotonous selection of C-2's and coastal merchants in all nations' rosters, now almost anything is possible. That speck on the horizon could be a brand-new, 10,000 ton tanker or a rusty old tramp making its rounds from coast to coast. It could be a bulk freighter loaded down with minerals, a tiny steam launch, or a fast freighter-transport, carrying troops and war materiel for an Allied invasion.

Neutral ships will be common, and they may or may not be carrying cargo to the enemy. As commander, it will be up to you to decide based on vessel location, paint scheme, deck cargo, and behavior whether or not a target is legitimate. This mod is intended for serious players - sink anything that moves and you may well end your patrol with a huge renown hit.

Installation is quick and easy, using Jonesoft's Generic Mod Enabler.

PRIMARY FEATURES:

1) Dozens of ship models inspired by photographs of typical ships constructed between 1900 and 1945




2) Tremendous paint scheme variations, based on hundreds of historical shipping companies and wartime camoflage patterns




3) Neutral ships, which may or may not be legitimate targets. Hull flags, lettering, and shipping company names printed on the sides of vessels.









4) Different amounts of smoke affect ship visibility. Particle effects for coal-burning steamers and modern motorships.





4) Changes in armament and coloring as the war goes on. Weapons range from light AA guns to Hurricane fighters. By 1942, expect most ships to be camoflaged and armed.



5) Varied damage resistance depending on vessel size and age.







6) Easy installation/uninstallation with the click of a mouse (JSGME required).

7) Compatibility with existing Silent Hunter 3 supermods.

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GET IT HERE [UPDATE: REUPLOADED 1/03/2012]:

[LINK REMOVED]

SKIN PACKS (Not required but recommended)
[LINK REMOVED]



Version 3.2 (improved ships removed to prevent crashes with supermods. Changed eqp file to tanker T14B. Recompressed due to error messages following downloads.)

SKIN PACKS as of 6/09/10 (~ 3,000 skins, with hundreds of variations):

[LINKS REMOVED]

LIGHT VERSION (IMPROVED STABILITY FOR GWX INSTALLS & OLDER MACHINES. NO NEUTRAL SHIPS EXCEPT AMERICAN VESSELS.)

[LINK REMOVED]

Version: 3.1 (improved stability to prevent career & museum crashes, especially with GWX. Added tanker T19A.)

[LINK REMOVED]

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Skin Packs:

[iambecomelife]

Miscellaneous screens - just a sample of the variety you can expect.

[iambecomelife]

MERCHANT FLEET MOD SKIN PACKS

Extract to JSGME and install, depending on the time period you wish to simulate. Circa 1941-1942 you will see increasing numbers of camoflaged ships.



http://www.filefront.com/16685183/MF...kin_Packs-1.7z

http://www.filefront.com/16685157/MF...in_Packs-2.7z/

[Reece]

Very good, this has been a long standing mod, I think you will be relieved to have it completed since you have the WW1 mod on the go as well.
Many thanks.

[Sailor Steve]

[rowi58]

GREAT



rowi58

[Red Heat]

Originally Posted by iambecomelife

MERCHANT FLEET MOD SKIN PACKS

Extract to JSGME and install, depending on the time period you wish to simulate. Circa 1941-1942 you will see increasing numbers of camoflaged ships.



http://www.filefront.com/16685183/MF...kin_Packs-1.7z

http://www.filefront.com/16685157/MF...in_Packs-2.7z/

Outstanding work, Thanks!

[jaxa]

MFM is a great addon, but I have problem with new ships in recognition manual - some drawings are too big for page. I'd like to change background colour too - from white to light brown, like in stock book. How to do it simply?

[Sepp von Ch.]

By this version 3.2 is not necessary to edit the EnglishNames.cfg and germanNames.cfg in data-sea folder??

[LGN1]

Hi,

I just had a great experience with this mod:

My watch crew spotted a lone freighter at the border of the Celtic Sea heading for the St. George's Channel. Since it was getting dark and the wind speed was 11m/s, I decided to attack on the surface. I shadowed the target for some time and realized that the target was not zigzagging.

I set up a perfect 90°-attack and was just about to release a torpedo when I saw 'EIRE' and the Irish flag on the hull Since I had met similar ships earlier that were British, I had to decide quickly what to do It didn't zigzag so it could well be an Irish vessel. I couldn't see any guns on it so I decided to get close enough to get spotted and see how it would react. And indeed, it didn't start any evasive actions and turned out to be neutral. Fortunately, I didn't attack it

But soon after a British aircraft appeared and I had to dive...



Great work and great idea with the 'neutral' ships, Iambecomelife! It adds a lot when you have to decide whether to attack or not.

[Steve Gad]

Originally Posted by iambecomelife

Miscellaneous screens - just a sample of the variety you can expect.

PLEASE someone link to a working skin packs address. Many thanks. GAD

[hauangua]

Originally Posted by Steve Gad

PLEASE someone link to a working skin packs address. Many thanks. GAD

Hi Steve :
ftp://Maik:Woelfe@hartmuthaas.no-ip....IAMBECOMELIFE/

[GailOx]

Could anybody provide a working link for the main mod itself?

Edit: Found it a page back, thank you! (I should have looked harder!)

[iambecomelife]

Be advised, new version to be released in 1-2 weeks.

Once again, this is basically to correct issues with damage & ship speed. IT WILL NOT CONTAIN NEW SHIPS. The successor to the MFM (all new ships & much more) is scheduled to begin late 2017 - 2018. Right now, completing my WWI mod is priority. It may be for SH4 and SH5 only, unless anyone clamors for a SH3 version.

[papa_smurf]

You deserve a break after this......

(btw, is this compatible with OLC Gold MkII?)