Development Updates

[Usurpator]

Improved character models! Now they are able to change between different facial expressions and blink.

[derstosstrupp]

Originally Posted by SkvaderStudios

You are correct, and this is a feature that we have implemented. When the u boat is turning, the AOB (but not the heading or distance) values are updated.

Thanks! Glad you guys are using this man's tvre.org. It a shame he recently passed away, however in honor of him and his great work it sounds like the site will be maintained indefinitely.

Very much looking forward to this - keep up the good work!

[Hitman]

It was a common tactic of the U-boat to shoot "im Abdrehen", "while turning", during a night surface attack to enable a quicker escape, a tactic which was made possible by this feature of the TDC

I could be wrong here, but I think that tactic was actually used when shooting without TDC and with zero gyro angle. The necessary lead was calculated beforehand, and then the uboot turned to escape and let the torpedo when reaching the bearing to target needed for the calculated lead. This was also a tactic employed by torpedo boats (S-Boats). The reason for using it with no TDC is that it was a mechanical device, not a digital one, and as such the huge cascade of tooth-wheels needed some seconds to update the calculations after any change in the inputs. So shooting while the uboot was turning essentially threw off the solution and was not used.

[derstosstrupp]

Originally Posted by Hitman

I could be wrong here, but I think that tactic was actually used when shooting without TDC and with zero gyro angle. The necessary lead was calculated beforehand, and then the uboot turned to escape and let the torpedo when reaching the bearing to target needed for the calculated lead. This was also a tactic employed by torpedo boats (S-Boats). The reason for using it with no TDC is that it was a mechanical device, not a digital one, and as such the huge cascade of tooth-wheels needed some seconds to update the calculations after any change in the inputs. So shooting while the uboot was turning essentially threw off the solution and was not used.

That could very well be the case. What made me think that is I seem to recall reading Schussmeldungen where the shooting was noted as "im Abdrehen" and also noted that the TDC was used. I recall reading somewhere that the TDC had a feature, maybe in the later models, that you could set The turning speed of the boat, like "Rot 3" or "Grün 3" based on port or starboard rudder settings. As I think about it, it may have been from an excerpt from Schäffer's book about U–977. I don't have a copy of the book, wish I did, but I remember stumbling across an excerpt from it online where it was mentioned. I've tried to track that site down since but it seems to have been removed. That excerpt also had some interesting things to say about the Standsehrohr being a "technisches Wunderwerk", and its graticle having some kind of colored marks for different purposes. I've always deferred to your work on scopes, it's all I'll ever use, but I'd kill to find out more about these aspects from the book too.

Edit: See the link to Schußmeldung of J. Schepke below.
http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-100/KTB100-2Torpedo.htm

If you look at lines 22 and 23 of the report he did the shooting im Abdrehen (line 22), and on line 23 indicates the angle of turn and direction color for port/starboard as inputs, in this case "r 35" for 35 deg to port. At first I thought this might be the AOB, but that's on line 17. Line 14 has the same shot as being with Vorhaltrechner.

I would be interested in how that actually worked because it seems the computer could indeed compensate for a turn. An amazing piece of equipment that was actually not that far "behind" its American counterpart! And since our "TDC" isn't mechanical and since the devs have done their research and included "Lage laufend",we should be able to replicate this in Wolfpack it seems.

[AS]

Hi guys, I really do appreciate your work, but when it comes to lightning and colors it seems everyone doing a U-Boat sim is hopelessly spoiled by the (wrong) notion the movie "Das Boot" has spread among people. I have visited many submarines, including the infamous type VII and type XXI and many others. What they all have in common is the fact that they are NOT dark and grey inside, but white and bright due to the artificial light and bright paint job.
As much as I love the movie, it gives you a totally wrong idea of U-Boat interiour, since they had to build some parts larger than life to cramp in all the actors plus the camera and they painted everything in that greyish-dark color, which might be okay film.wise, but which is not realistic.

Cheers, AS

[Pikes]

I think you hit the nail on the head with "lighting". Colour is, of course, a result of light.

Did the uboats have dimmer or red lighting for day/night ops and night vision preservation? I would have thought bright light below would have been horrible for something which made attacks on the surface in low light.

Also, i'm not sure about this, but I would have thought the lighting on preserved uboats would have been made brighter for spectating, do the museums record the changes from the operational colouring and lighting?

Certainly ships and tanks paint insides white, and the end brightness and colour would be as a result of the electric lighting only, in the absence of sunlight.

[Snakeye505]

Hello everyone. It has been 5 or 6 years since I have logged in. Sh5 had just been released....Damn I am getting old.
Anyway looks like there have been many changes. Like others before me have said, I too am looking forward to the release of the new sim. The couple updates I have viewed it looks great. I will have to do a recurrent sub Commander school to redevelop my skills...lol

[Pandur]

great progress! is there any news about early access on steam?

[raymond6751]

I think this is a great concept and look forward to the release.

It has been a while since an update. Will you be releasing anything other than the build144 file?

The youtube vids appear to be something beyond 144.

[Usurpator]

Here is a new update showing some improvements of the lighting. We have been tweaking the light emitted from the light bulbs and added flares and shadows to create a more realistic atmosphere in the uboat.

I can't give you a release date for the early access yet, but we are going to release more information about this shortly!

[Usurpator]

Originally Posted by AS

Hi guys, I really do appreciate your work, but when it comes to lightning and colors it seems everyone doing a U-Boat sim is hopelessly spoiled by the (wrong) notion the movie "Das Boot" has spread among people. I have visited many submarines, including the infamous type VII and type XXI and many others. What they all have in common is the fact that they are NOT dark and grey inside, but white and bright due to the artificial light and bright paint job.
As much as I love the movie, it gives you a totally wrong idea of U-Boat interiour, since they had to build some parts larger than life to cramp in all the actors plus the camera and they painted everything in that greyish-dark color, which might be okay film.wise, but which is not realistic.

Cheers, AS

Hello! When choosing the colour scheme for the interior I did use Das boot as reference, mostly because it looks cool However, you are probably right about them beeing much brighter in reality. I thought the preserved museum boats were repainted after the war, but recently I've seen some old colour footage from uboats in use which do look brighter.

[makman94]

Originally Posted by SkvaderStudios

Here is a new update showing some improvements of the lighting. We have been tweaking the light emitted from the light bulbs and added flares and shadows to create a more realistic atmosphere in the uboat.

I can't give you a release date for the early access yet, but we are going to release more information about this shortly!

wow....thats great improvement on the looking of interior,Einar! it looks so good

something i notice is that radio and listening room are merged in one.Shouldn't these two rooms be separate ?
also, i think the hydrophone device looks different than the ones i have seen around on internet. i have the sense that the operator of hydro was sitting and the device should not be that tall.

[Gustavo Magalhães]

Hi,

The looks of the controls are amazing!
But i think you should also focus on the look of the players, that are with us on the U-BOAT.
Are you still in the development of the U-BOAT Engineers?

Thanks
By: Gustavo Magalhães

[Aktungbby]

Gustavo Magalhães!

[Jimbuna]

Welcome to SubSim Gustavo