Smooth sailing can be taken too far..

[Greystone]

My sub looks like its skimming across the water on roller skates. I recall seeing a mod somewhere that addresses realism in that area; pitch, roll, whatever..
I searched but no luck; anyone point one (or them) out to me? Thanks.

[merc4ulfate]

Originally Posted by Greystone

My sub looks like its skimming across the water on roller skates. I recall seeing a mod somewhere that addresses realism in that area; pitch, roll, whatever..
I searched but no luck; anyone point one (or them) out to me? Thanks.

Improved Ship Physics 2.6

It is in the download section

There are multiple versions of this mod meant to be used with other MEGA mods so if you are not using it with a MEGA mod make sure to get the stand alone version.

[Greystone]

Thanks merc4ulfate..
I located the Improved Ship Physics mods on page 3 on the "SubSim Downloads - Newer site", and became uncertain on how to proceed.


There were several there, two of which were listed as version 2.6


The mods shown were:
Improved Ship Physics 2.6_TMO_RSRDC_OTC
Improved Ship Physics 2.x Patch
Improved Ship Physics_2.6_TMO_RSRDC
Improved Ship Physics 2.15
Improved Ship Physics 1.1


Being relatively new to SH4, I'm not familiar with the acronyms, (TMO, RSRDC, etc), and in the descriptions provided with the mods, all said something to the effect "To be used with..."(insert acronym) etc., so I thought it best to get back to you for confirmation on which one, if any, I should proceed with ie: I wasn't clear on which is for my "stand-alone" version. (v1.5 without a mega-mod)


The current mods on my installation (all through JSGME) are:


Real Environment mod (for version 1.5)
Extra Ammo
Stop the Shouting
Less Water Limber Holes
Webster's 100' Underwater Visibility for v1.5
Webster's Better Sub Marker
Webster's Better Air Patrols


I hope this is enough info for you to be able to advise which, if any, of the Improved Ship Physics mods has the best chance to work with my installation & mod setup; and if none, any alternatives that come to mind..

[merc4ulfate]

Originally Posted by Greystone

Improved Ship Physics 2.6_TMO_RSRDC_OTC
Improved Ship Physics 2.x Patch
Improved Ship Physics_2.6_TMO_RSRDC
Improved Ship Physics 2.15
Improved Ship Physics 1.1

The current mods on my installation (all through JSGME) are:
Real Environment mod (for version 1.5)
Extra Ammo
Stop the Shouting
Less Water Limber Holes
Webster's 100' Underwater Visibility for v1.5
Webster's Better Sub Marker
Webster's Better Air Patrols

This is a simplified explanation as there are far more detailed explanations of what is in the mods from their read me files.

TMO (Trigger Maru Overhauled)
and
RSRD (Run Silent Run Deep)

are two super MODS and two of the finest. TMO brings a bit of realism through the player side controls and RSRD bring more realism through historical traffic and engagements. So if you want to Catch Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's Center Force coming through the Sibuyan Sea or Nishimura and Shima through the Surigao Strait just be there the day it really happened and you will see it. It also increases historic merchant traffic.

Certain mods are compatible with each other and certain mods are not and will only crash your game and make you generally unhappy. For this reason some mods specifically say what they are designed to work with such as Improved Ship Physics_2.6_TMO_RSRD, meaning that you load TMO, then RSRD then ISP 2.6 and in that order and all should be well with the world.

If you add mods that are not compatible with each other you can have anything from corrupt save games, odd ship movement or crashes upon coming across a certain ship that was in one mod then corrupted by another mod.

Research is key and if you are recent to the game I would start slow. Get the mods you think you want and then try them out one by one and then combine the once you know to be compatible and in the order their instructions call for. The order of integration is very important.

I always loved TMO+RSRD+ISP together. Right now I am giving Fall of the Rising Sun Ultimate a go as the only MOD in my list.

Another key point is to do a clean install when changing MODS. Yes it might be annoying but a clean install will guarantee adding and removing the mod has not corrupted a single file, which can happen. It's software ... anything can happen LOL.

What ever the mod you use READ THEIR INSTRUCTIONS AND README FILES CAREFULLY!!!

Somehow, this person does not get it to properly install the game as well as the modes.


Und ja, ich bin deswegen richtig sauer.

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by Greystone

Thanks merc4ulfate..
I located the Improved Ship Physics mods on page 3 on the "SubSim Downloads - Newer site", and became uncertain on how to proceed.


There were several there, two of which were listed as version 2.6


The mods shown were:
Improved Ship Physics 2.6_TMO_RSRDC_OTC
Improved Ship Physics 2.x Patch
Improved Ship Physics_2.6_TMO_RSRDC
Improved Ship Physics 2.15
Improved Ship Physics 1.1


Being relatively new to SH4, I'm not familiar with the acronyms, (TMO, RSRDC, etc), and in the descriptions provided with the mods, all said something to the effect "To be used with..."(insert acronym) etc., so I thought it best to get back to you for confirmation on which one, if any, I should proceed with ie: I wasn't clear on which is for my "stand-alone" version. (v1.5 without a mega-mod)


The current mods on my installation (all through JSGME) are:


Real Environment mod (for version 1.5)
Extra Ammo
Stop the Shouting
Less Water Limber Holes
Webster's 100' Underwater Visibility for v1.5
Webster's Better Sub Marker
Webster's Better Air Patrols


I hope this is enough info for you to be able to advise which, if any, of the Improved Ship Physics mods has the best chance to work with my installation & mod setup; and if none, any alternatives that come to mind..

stepping in for the merc...(only because i saw this while he was out enjoying himself )

ok, the acronyms designate mega-mod sets which re-define many, many features of the Stock SH4. here is short set of mods:
Stock = the game as you purchased it from Ubisoft, whether on CDROM or steam or wherever.
TMO=Trigger Maru Overboard
TMOwTW=Trigger Maru Overboard with Training Wheels (easier version than its predecessor)
RSRD=Run Silent, Run Deep
FOTRS=Fall of the Rising Sun
FOTRSU=Fall of the Rising Sun Ultimate (vastly different from its predecessor)

there are many others but at least this gets you moving in the right direction.

so, each of these megas redefines various aspects of the game such that making one change to ships' physics, for example, is more than just changing one value in one file. megas are very complex changes to many of the games files that work together. megas take a long time to develop with most of the time spent on testing the effect of the proposed changes to the basic game play.

likewise, minor mods have to be written to work with specific mega-mods or they will not only not-work, they will screw up your installation.

so, now, you will start to "notice" in the download section of Subsim, all of the minor mods that are written for specific megas: environment changes, ship physics, 3000 yd tool, menu items, weapons and their availability, etc. when Subsim-ers see a mod or ask about a mod, the second or third question they ask is: is this mod compatible with this or that megamod? it all has to hang together or you get what's known as "mod soup" and you have to re-install and start all over again.

ok, i hope this helps. if not, feel free to ask more questions. meanwhile, good luck. and good hunting.

[merc4ulfate]

Originally Posted by Greystone

Being relatively new to SH4, I'm not familiar with the acronyms, (TMO, RSRDC, etc), and in the descriptions provided with the mods, all said something to the effect "To be used with..."(insert acronym) etc., so I thought it best to get back to you for confirmation on which one, if any, I should proceed with ie: I wasn't clear on which is for my "stand-alone" version. (v1.5 without a mega-mod)

I would suggest getting (CLICK HERE >>>)FOTRSU=Fall of the Rising Sun Ultimate

and running that as the only mod in your list and see what you think. It is a really well done Mod and covers a great deal of aspect of controls and game play as well as visuals.

[Greystone]

merc4ulfate & KaleunMarco:
Thank you so much for your time & energy to help me get a handle on some of these issues.
One characteristic I've come to most appreciate from you & others here is the capacity for empathy; rare these days.
I'm both intimidated & humbled by the sheer amount of insight & understanding I need to comprehend & fathom in order to work with this game & the possibilities it has to offer.
Yikes...JSGME has already red flagged me on the few mods I've implemented. Sheesh..

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by Bleiente

Tja - ich werde DICH holen und dann brechen mit allen Mitteln.

calm yourself, mein herr. this is supposed to be collaborative fun.
beruhige dich, mein herr. das soll gemeinschaftlichen Spaß machen

[propbeanie]

Originally Posted by Greystone

... I'm both intimidated & humbled by the sheer amount of insight & understanding I need to comprehend & fathom in order to work with this game & the possibilities it has to offer.

We've all "been there, done that" in the game. It can be very frustrating with any game to "get up to speed", but it seems the Silent Hunter series is especially frustrating. But once you get things the way you like, you won't have to have that feller up in the row boat hollering "Mark twain! Er, sorry! Two fathoms!"... I know I know, bad joke...

A few little points before you go: When you are activating and de-activating mods with JSGME, it is usually faultless. There is a little a little tool you can use with a fresh SH4 and JSGME install, which you get to from the blue "Tasks..." menu in the middle of its Window. Before you install a mod, use the "Generate snapshot of game files". It is only valid though, on a fresh install, otherwise the "snapshot" may be tainted by bods coming and going. Keep it in mind though. It will take longer to run than a mega-mod activation takes though, and if you use the "Compare game files to snapshot", that runs even longer. Another little nugget there is "Export activated mod list to -->", and I usually use "clipboard". That allows for quick, easy pasting, such as:

Generic Mod Enabler - v2.6.0.157
[F:\Games\FotRSU63\MODS]

100_FalloftheRisingSun_Ultimate_v0.63_PublicBeta_E N
Cumulative Fix 07 for v0.63 with Scout Planes_AI Subs
08pbSubsAndBBandSuch

This is an old list, in an old install of mine, and is not a valid mod list, just an example.

One last thing... when you change a mod list, it affects your Game Saves, rendering them useless, until you happen to restore an exact configuration. It's best when changing mods, to empty your Save folder, which by default is "C:\Users \UserName \Documents \SH4". Depending upon your Windows version, that might be "My Documents", and in XP, it would be under "C:\Documents and Settings \UserName \My Documents\SH4". Trying to use a Saved Game from one configuration in another usually results in a "confused" game, and maybe a CTD (Crash To Desktop). With the use of MultiSH4, you can have multiple installs of the game, with different mods in each, and never have to worry about that (famous last words...) - and not to confuse the issue...

[Greystone]

propbeanie: Thanks, again, for your generous support..
One question; (probably one of those that seems legitimate when making the query, only to sound stupid when one gets the answer), but you said "It's best when changing mods to empty your Save folder".. When I add, remove, change, whatever, mods through JSGME, I do so while I'm at home port.

If I go to home port, exit to desktop while I'm there, then empty my Save folder, then alter mods in JSGME, how do I get back in if there're no saves left to load?

[propbeanie]

That's what I'm getting at. You can cross-contaminate the Saved Game and the new Game configuration if you use old Saves.

Say you're playing the Stock game, no mods. You have a great career going, and you've Saved a replay of one of your Quick Missions that you're going to go back in and playback and record to a movie with MSI Afterburner and then convert and post it on YouTube. You'll be famous. If you add a mod, say Trigger Maru Overhauled v2.5 while doing all of that, and you load that Saved Game from the Stock version into the new TMO version, you stand a chance of ruining your TMO install and the stock Saved Games you have. Same thing happens in reverse, if you save data from a TMO career, and then remove the mod, you can no longer use the TMO Saved Games. That all comes about from "compatibility", or lack thereof. Changes are made to the game with the mods, rendering old Saved Games incompatible, and as I mentioned, you can ruin a good save by loading it in an incorrectly configured game. You'd think the game would have something to catch that for you, but it doesn't.

The Save folder is limited to a three character name by the game, hence the "SH4" name in My Documents. MultiSH hooks into the filemanager.dll of the game, and let's you change that. So for my mods, I've got SH4 is a "Stock game Save folder", FRS is a Fall of the Rising Sun Save folder, TMO is for TMO, FSU for Fall of the Rising Sun Ultimate (etc.). You can use MultiSH4 to help you have several installs of SH4, and a different Save folder for each of them, or you can use it to swap Save folders in and out for you - although I always got confused doing that - "Let's see, what is my Save folder?..."

As you experiment with mods, you could also copy and move the folders underneath the SH4 folder, and then let the game create new ones for the mod you're using. Get finished with the mod, you can copy that data folder and move it elsewhere, if so desired, and then move the old Saves back in the SH4 folder. The only problem with changing those Save folders is that you do lose the screen settings and gameplay options you set previously

[merc4ulfate]

Originally Posted by propbeanie

That's what I'm getting at. You can cross-contaminate the Saved Game and the new Game configuration if you use old Saves.

Say you're playing the Stock game, no mods. You have a great career going, and you've Saved a replay of one of your Quick Missions that you're going to go back in and playback and record to a movie with MSI Afterburner and then convert and post it on YouTube. You'll be famous. If you add a mod, say Trigger Maru Overhauled v2.5 while doing all of that, and you load that Saved Game from the Stock version into the new TMO version, you stand a chance of ruining your TMO install and the stock Saved Games you have. Same thing happens in reverse, if you save data from a TMO career, and then remove the mod, you can no longer use the TMO Saved Games. That all comes about from "compatibility", or lack thereof. Changes are made to the game with the mods, rendering old Saved Games incompatible, and as I mentioned, you can ruin a good save by loading it in an incorrectly configured game. You'd think the game would have something to catch that for you, but it doesn't.

The Save folder is limited to a three character name by the game, hence the "SH4" name in My Documents. MultiSH hooks into the filemanager.dll of the game, and let's you change that. So for my mods, I've got SH4 is a "Stock game Save folder", FRS is a Fall of the Rising Sun Save folder, TMO is for TMO, FSU for Fall of the Rising Sun Ultimate (etc.). You can use MultiSH4 to help you have several installs of SH4, and a different Save folder for each of them, or you can use it to swap Save folders in and out for you - although I always got confused doing that - "Let's see, what is my Save folder?..."

As you experiment with mods, you could also copy and move the folders underneath the SH4 folder, and then let the game create new ones for the mod you're using. Get finished with the mod, you can copy that data folder and move it elsewhere, if so desired, and then move the old Saves back in the SH4 folder. The only problem with changing those Save folders is that you do lose the screen settings and gameplay options you set previously

I delete all my saved games if I change mods ... Do a complete CLEAN install and then run the game with my new mod.

Originally Posted by KaleunMarco

calm yourself, mein herr. this is supposed to be collaborative fun.
beruhige dich, mein herr. das soll gemeinschaftlichen Spaß machen

All right again - my "bad" twin Jack had taken the helm for a while....

[Rockin Robbins]

The takeaway is that if you're playing a game you really like, don't change the mods until you have finished that career or cruise. Once you change your mod configuration, there's no going back to that savegame without some strange things going on.

You can get away from that but it involves using a little program in the downloads section called MultiSH4. The only mod in the SH4 stable that actually changes the Sh4.exe file, this allows you to copy your base game files to different directories for different mod configs. Use JSGME inside each installation. Okay that's confusing....

You might have a /SH4 TMO directory with all the game files for Trigger Maru Overhauled. You might have another completely different game directory /SH4 FOTRSU also containing all the game files. You only have to install Silent Hunter 4 once. I suggest making an SH4 Pristine game directory, copying all the files from /Silent Hunter Wolves of the Pacific into it and and write protecting it as soon as you install the first time. NEVER PLAY THE GAME in SH4 Pristine. That's your treasure chest for original files. You'll need it.

Then make a parallel directory and call it whatever you wish /SH4 FOTRSU. Install JSGME, Large Address Aware and MultiSH4 into that directory. First run Large Address aware and tell it to modify the sh4.exe in that directory to be large address aware. Then run MultiSH4 and you can change the three letter directory in My Documents to any three letters you want. That's a problem with FOTRSU, I suggest FSU, but it's up to you--anything you can identify. Then use JSGME to install your mods.

Each version of Silent Hunter 4 will now have its own configuration safely imprisoned in its own directory and its own safely confined data directory, so you won't have mod cross-contamination. To run the one you want, just run sh4.exe inside the directory with the mod configuration you want.

See? Clear as mud!