Current ZeeWolf Releases

[frinik]

New version of German 3 mission successfully installed and played. I like the artillery barrage and the new initial placement for player´s Tiger makes more sense.Good work Zee!. Barely moved 50 metres and killed 3 T34s only thanks to much more efficient and active friendly PAK and Tiger-Panzer IV crews!!!!

More tanks too.FPS however decreased from 18-23 in the original version to between 8.1 to 11.2 in new version.Still playable.The questionis why such a steep decrease????.

Very positive experience overall

[ZeeWolf]

Thanks Kamerad!

ZW

[frinik]

Zee thanks folr the releases.However just a couple of questions of general interest.

I like many others already have the new German mission 3( Defending Simashkovo) with the artillery barrage etc.What´s new about this one?

2) Can you tell briefly what the May updates will offer in terms of game play etc?

Cheers and thanks for the hard work!

[ZeeWolf]

Originally Posted by frinik

Zee thanks folr the releases.However just a couple of questions of general interest.

I like many others already have the new German mission 3( Defending Simashkovo) with the artillery barrage etc.What´s new about this one?

2) Can you tell briefly what the May updates will offer in terms of game play etc?

Cheers and thanks for the hard work!

It's the same one (GM3). I wanted to put them together in one zip and Pass
word for convenience.
I'm sorry that was not mentioned, another "can't see the forest for the trees" thing.

Cheers
ZW

[frinik]

And the May updates?

[ZeeWolf]

Originally Posted by frinik

And the May updates?

The may updates are simply small changes to some files that is probably
going to be unnoticed to you as you play the sim but I felt necessary to
do. One thing that will help in keeping things user friendly is I will no longer
put files in the single mission releases that will affect other missions. This
will make installing and un-installing of the mission alot easier while keeping
other files undisturbed .

ATB
ZW

[frinik]

Zee, I successfully downloaded the whole package. I played Mission 4.Unfortunately I have to report very low fps(3.9 to 5.1) even lower than Kursk Mission 1 and choppy play.
The first time mission loaded but when I tried to start my Tiger it crashed with runtime error message.Second time I played it but had to steer my Tiger always to the right as it was pulling me to the left.Then just 200 metres from the action my Tiger stalled and was like stuck in quicksand with the caterpillar tracks halfway buried into the ground.No matter how hard I tried shifting forward, backward and side ways I couldn't move my tank.I had to content myself with watching the Panzer 4 on top of the hill firing and destroying Soviet units which I couldn't see .I finally self-destructed and ended the mission without firing a shot!
Tried again but mission crashed soon after starting with runtime error again.I played it again one last time after lowering resolution to 800 X 640 and some other features. FPS did pick up a bit but not much.I decided to run my tank using the F5 view.I finally managed to get to the battlefield and destroyed 1 Su and 2 T34S.My tank was hit repeatedly and both tracks were disabled thus unabel to complete mission. However most Soviet units were put out of action.My problems aside good, solid mission with an intense and exciting tank battle.Good battle immersion Zee. However I 'll have to wait for my new rig ( hopefully within 2 weeks) before I can play it again in normal conditions.Once again a small comment ; the in game maps are very unhelpful.Would it be possible to have instead the pre game maps with the objectives available when playing a mission?

Soviet night mission # 3 very pleasant. Seeing that beautiful full moon I felt so romantic that I drove my T34 and burnt a few Tigers and Panzer IVs to entertain my Belle so we could have a tank lit dinner .

Anyway job well done Zee tremendous work!

Zee I understand your point about new playable tank. However I would argue that the KV85 is as tough and nasty as a T34/85 althouh it's 85 mm gun( a ZIS 53???) is not as effective.What would be interesting in the medium or long term would be to have an option for the player to chose one of various playable models prior to starting a mission.Panzer Elite has that option and Steel Fury through its various mods or fairly simple mission editor also allows it.It would give everybody the chance to chose the tank/SP or armoured vehicle that they really enjoy playing and make the missions playable over and again.

Cheers

[ZeeWolf]

Originally Posted by frinik

Zee, I successfully downloaded the whole package. I played Mission 4.Unfortunately I have to report very low fps(3.9 to 5.1) even lower than Kursk Mission 1 and choppy play.
The first time mission loaded but when I tried to start my Tiger it crashed with runtime error message.Second time I played it but had to steer my Tiger always to the right as it was pulling me to the left.Then just 200 metres from the action my Tiger stalled and was like stuck in quicksand with the caterpillar tracks halfway buried into the ground.No matter how hard I tried shifting forward, backward and side ways I couldn't move my tank.I had to content myself with watching the Panzer 4 on top of the hill firing and destroying Soviet units which I couldn't see .I finally self-destructed and ended the mission without firing a shot!
Tried again but mission crashed soon after starting with runtime error again.I played it again one last time after lowering resolution to 800 X 640 and some other features. FPS did pick up a bit but not much.I decided to run my tank using the F5 view.I finally managed to get to the battlefield and destroyed 1 Su and 2 T34S.My tank was hit repeatedly and both tracks were disabled thus unabel to complete mission. However most Soviet units were put out of action.My problems aside good, solid mission with an intense and exciting tank battle.Good battle immersion Zee. However I 'll have to wait for my new rig ( hopefully within 2 weeks) before I can play it again in normal conditions.Once again a small comment ; the in game maps are very unhelpful.Would it be possible to have instead the pre game maps with the objectives available when playing a mission?

Soviet night mission # 3 very pleasant. Seeing that beautiful full moon I felt so romantic that I drove my T34 and burnt a few Tigers and Panzer IVs to entertain my Belle so we could have a tank lit dinner .

Anyway job well done Zee tremendous work!

Zee I understand your point about new playable tank. However I would argue that the KV85 is as tough and nasty as a T34/85 althouh it's 85 mm gun( a ZIS 53???) is not as effective.What would be interesting in the medium or long term would be to have an option for the player to chose one of various playable models prior to starting a mission.Panzer Elite has that option and Steel Fury through its various mods or fairly simple mission editor also allows it.It would give everybody the chance to chose the tank/SP or armoured vehicle that they really enjoy playing and make the missions playable over and again.

Cheers

Yeah the old laptop has met it's match in mission 4. But the run time
error can be a signal to reboot and clear everything fresh.
And of course frinik I agree about the KV-85 and because you understand
my vision for TvsT I will accommodate your suggestions as best I can.
But the first playable tank will take the most time because I have yet to
have made one. So the first one for the Soviet side makes the best since
from my stand point to be the JS2. And is sure to be a welcome addition
for the Soviet guys. Then the lessons learned will enable me to hold to a production projection and time table for future Playable s that will be much more comfortable committing to and making announcements concerning.

2 more weeks and it's bye bye laptop huh? That's great

Cheers

ZW

[frinik]

Well it's not bye-by exactly.That laptop, a Toshiba upper end satelite( with embedded Harman Kardon speakers) is wonderful.The graphic card is very good( ATI 3850), the 17" brightscreen is great, 4 gigs of ram and 320 gbs of hard drive but the processor is simply too slow for your new mods at 2.0 ghtz.Every other game plays very well and it's only 15 months old.The stock TvsT missions play at 20 to 30 fps on that laptop.

I will keep it but to play ZeeWolf's enterprises releases and mods it will have to be on the new one!Plus with a pc, unlike my laptops, I can upgrade my graphic card which I will do in the near future.

Looking forward to playing a JS2 although my beef with them is low ammo count( only 28 shells ) and slow reload rate( 16 to 22 seconds depending on the model).Against hordes of Tigers, Panthers or Panzer IVs it's going to be tough play to stay alive!!!!But they have a tough hide

Zee what do you mean by reboot and clear everything fresh?????

Good work! MerZee beaucoup! Wir danken Zee!

[Akula]

hello Zeewolf

Is the latest file the mission 6 file on your website or where can I find your latest release? Sorry for asking what is probably very obvious...

Thanks!

[ZeeWolf]

Originally Posted by Gian

hello Zeewolf

Is the latest file the mission 6 file on your website or where can I find your latest release? Sorry for asking what is probably very obvious...

Thanks!

Hello Gian,
The mission 6 file on my web site is a free mission, to get the latest stuff
you will have to jump on board Project ZeeWolf and become a member.
So, all you do is make a papal payment by clicking the link at the bottom
of this page:

http://www.tanksimzw.com/Project-index.htm


Cheers!

ZeeWolf

[Akula]

Thanks for the clarification Zeewolf!

I might just do that.

Cheers,
G

[ZeeWolf]

Originally Posted by Gian

Thanks for the clarification Zeewolf!

I might just do that.

Cheers,
G

You'll be glad you did

Cheers!

ZeeWolf

[ZeeWolf]

Originally Posted by ZeeWolf

http://www.tanksimzw.com

The 2012 April Update

This is the 2012 April Technical Update. And some more adjustments and
changes that have come out of the many hours of testing and experimenting.

1.) I eliminated the use of a common hmap.raw and hwater.raw for several missions.
Now all missions have there own *.raw files. This was a source of allot of (but
not all) the restart crash issues.

2.)Changed the "EndMissionMenu". Now if you are killed you will have to return to
the single mission menu to restart the same mission. This will help with crash
reduction and the floating tank issue as well.

3.)Re-worked all of the German missions to increase the FPS issue. Also did a little
work to the Kursk and Winter missions, but with less results.
NOTE If you have a nVidia card try setting your "Maximum pre-render frames" to 3
and your "Antialiasing - Transparency" to Multisample.

4.)Re-worked the Early Tigers suspension. More of a smoother movement (not perfect).
The Mid Tiger's will be done in the next Update.
5.)Human animation has been given a more refined "Death" animation while running.
More work is needed before I add crews in the vehicles etc. All new Human
animation has to be "Key Framed", which is very time consuming, but I am thankful
that it can be done at all. Adding new animations is really a very easy process,
once the Key Framing is done.

6.)Figured out the Wingman code. So, now you will have a much more life like "Wingman"
Kamerad. You will have to be consiterate of him though. He will be on your right side
and will maintain that position faithfully. Try to go no faster then 12-15 Kph and
make sure if he takes a hit and stops, stick around until he recovers. But, overall
he is a great joy to have along side. The new "Wingman" is in German Missions 1,2 &
6 and in Kursk Missions 1 & 4.

Also No Russian Missions are included, only the German Missions have been updated.
Many more new additions and enhancements that you will be sure to notice and appreciate.

This is the file that includes all my completed work in T34 vs Tiger to date
and includes work on all know issues from prior updates.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Project ZeeWolf's 2011 November Update!

Greetings Kameraden and thanks again for your support!

This is the 2011 November Update with Winter Mission 2.
And some more adjustments and changes that have come out
of the many hours of testing and experimenting. The most
notable for the up coming playable units is the knowledge
gathered while fixing the (playable) T34-85. This has
made the control of the T34-85 much better then before.
For once you can drive it like it was designed. The T34
was designed to be driven like an old pickup truck (Without
a Granny Gear). And like a pickup you have to put it
in gear to steer it No turning in neutral.As well as the use
of the throttle between gear changes to increase your speed.

The automotive characteristics of the T34 is completely
different from the Tiger, being much less sophisticated
and easier to produce is just one of the stark contrasts
in design philosophies between Germany and Soviet Russia.
Which, by the way is a fascinating study.

Here I will give a brief tutorial on how to drive the
T34 manually:

1.) Start your engine and place it in 1st gear (do not
change RPM before engaging it in gear).

2.)Now that you are in gear you can turn the tank
(remember this).

3.)Now you are in the direction you want, increase the
RPM to increase your speed. When your RPM is around 1800
change gear to 2nd gear and repeat this process of using
the engine speed to increase your speed through the gear
range.

A TIP TO REMEMBER: YOU HAVE TO BE IN GEAR TO TURN THE T34,
AND 2 YOU HAVE TO USE AN INCREASE IN RPM BEFORE GEAR CHANGES.

The Tiger, on the other hand, was designed like a modern
bulldozer.
The driving characteristics are very different [from the T34].
The major difference (as far as we are concerned with here)
are with the use of a governor to control the engine RPM.
This works with the transmission creating a semi-automatic
relationship with the engine RPM and POWER demand.

So, with the engine RPM set to 2000, all you need to do is
change gears, to both increase and decrease vehicle speed.
Leaving the changes to engine speed to a minor adjustment.

A brief tutorials on how to drive the Tiger manually:

1.) Start your engine and set the RPM (a minimum of 1200,
2000 preferred).

2.) Turning the Tiger CAN be done in neutral.

3.) Change gears to change speed of Tiger, leaving the RPM set.

This is a good time to mention this, your Tiger will cost
down a hill. I have reached speeds of 65+KPH (40+MPH) as I
coasted easily down steep hills.

A FEW MORE TIPS TO REMEMBER: SET RPM SOON AFTER YOU START
YOUR ENGINE. THEN MAKE SURE YOU RELESE THE BRAKE BEFORE
MOVING YOUR TIGER. ALSO SET YOUR BRAKE IF YOU ARE ON AN
INCLINE.

NEW MODEL ADDITIONS:

1.) The German PanzerJager Marder II SdKfz 131

with 75mm Pak40 in summer and winter camo.

2.) The sIG33 L/11.4, 150mm, Heavy Infantry Howitzer

The code that mimics tank destruction and damage has once
again been tweaked.
This area is where your feed back is vital. So, let
me know of any anomalies.

Also all Kursk Missions have been up dated to reflect the new
changes.There too is a new start position in the Russian mission 1.
Giving you a much better chance at surviving with a little patience.

Reminder: you can change your video settings during the mission
by hitting the "ESC"key as well as assign your own choice
of keys to the new "Screen Capture" option in the Control
Setting menu all during the mission.

The "2011 August Update" August 5,2011

This Update with the "Winter on the East Front"
Expansion Pack/ Mission 1 (beta) is completed
and uploaded.

You will see for yourself the amount of work that
has been done and I must say I am very proud of
the quality of this effort.
At this point your help with your feedback is
very important so please respond. Your help will go
to fine tuning that is still needed as
well as encouragement as "Project ZeeWolf"continues
this very enjoyable endeavor.

You will find the new Winter Mission 1 under the
"Project ZeeWolf" menu selection.

As the Winter mission starts you will be give time
to check-out your Tiger for a few minutes before
the other Tigers move out to take position. Follow
along the road until you see the open area just before
the hill you are to defend. Your help is vital to the
success and survival of your other Kameraden.
If it starts well you will be surprised at how fast
the sweet taste of victory comes.
But if it goes bad it goes REAL bad - quick.
The Soviets have brought up 16 ML20-152mm heavy guns
in two battery separate lines. They will pound the
life out of all things German. Your only hope against
them are two LeFh18-105mm howitzers that can pick them
of from the west side of the river.

SINGLE MISSIONS

All missions have been updated. Some with
more changes than others including the Kursk
missions.

Added was the new Winter Mission 1 (beta)

_______________________________________

GRAPHICS MODS

Changed the Main Gun view and Binocular view
enhanced the targeting marks to better reflect
the original Tiger's

New Katyusha rocket model. (better performance)

Added new winter camouflage to units and men etc..

___________________________________

SOUND MODS

New Katyshua Rocket sounds (you'll love this)
MachineGun,
20mm Flak

___________________________________

GAMEPLAY MODS

Added a wing man and new supply Hanomag
program script.
Also a six man squad to follow your Tiger

Re-worked the ballistic model, with this
still being a WIP.
___________________________________

CAMPAIGN Expansion Pack

The new "Winter on the East Front"
this has all the environmental data to
produce a wealth of new missions.
But there is only one mission included
in this beta release, Winter Mission 1
It starts out in the early part of 1943.

___________________________________

ENVIRONMENTAL MODS
Winter terrain and new ground bump map detail

Winter Forest. High land forest and Low land.

New Sky map.

Winter water.

Water explosions for High Explosive (HE)
and Standard Explosive rounds.
___________________________________

MORE!

ZW


The 2011 Memorial Day Update May 29,2011

This update Replaces the Easter Update and adds many new changes
on top of the Easter update's advancements in performance.
The Kursk Mission one is now using the High resolution Kursk Map to
end the swamp effect.
Also some new sounds where added thanks Tiger Kamerad "Walshy".
although I did edit them so to run at there optimum in game speed and
I hope you approve.
There is included the reworked stock German mission 4 that is now the new
German mission 7. This came about because another Tiger kamerad expressed
to me he missed that mission and said it was a favorite of his.
So, the new German mission 7 was conscripted back into service.


The 2011 Easter Update (Beta)
Included:
1.)Changes to eight game system files that change the version of
DirectX 9c to a more resent release. The files are:
1.Editor.exe
2.Behavior.dll
3.Controls.dll
4.engine.dll
5.J5Script.dll
6.objects.dll
7.Service.dll
8.UI.dll

2.) A rework of game files with the focus on better performance. This
includes many hours of testing and re-testing for the optimum results.

3.) A new mission file structure that uses one set of terrain raw data
files and and one set of Micro, RouterZone and TerrainZone bmp files
that will support a very large number of separate SP missions. This will
have a great affect while continuing a campaign and reducing the cache
file changes, that are among the many other advantages.

4.) The new playable Tiger went through allot of testing and some requested changes.
The things gleaned here will help in all future playable tanks.

There has been much more done than listed here and much more to come
I can assure you of that. I wanted to have the winter maps and missions
included in this update but I just did not met this deadline so please forgive
me for that, it will be in the very next update with some other surprises

ZW



The October v.1A Update is complete!
is a major move forward in the over all goal of re-creating and
reviving the WWII tank simulation T34 vs Tiger

This release is the apex of all my work from the beginning early 2009
to October 31 2010. Thus this October Update makes all previous
releases obsolete. The work involves improvement to the core of this
Sim. I am personally very proud to release this work to my Project
ZeeWolf Members and loyal supporters.

Included:

Kursk Mission 1 - 3

Russian Single Mission one and three

German single mission one, three, four and six.

All missions have been updated with the new models

Also included is the new playable Tiger.

AI Tiger, Panther D, PanzerII and PanzerIV

And along with an enormous number of technical changes.

and includes the fixes found and sugestions by our awesome beta testers.


Vorwärts Kameraden!

ZW


This is the thread that will clarify the current Project ZeeWolf releases.

1.) 4-10-2010, Pre Kursk Alpha v1 (275mgs) This is the accumulation of all
completed work, updates bug fixes,etc. on T34 vs Tiger from the beginning
of Project ZeeWolf. It also includes three all new single player missions:
Russian Mission 1 and German Missions 1 and 6 (Dose not include Kursk
Mission 1).

NOTE: Pre Kursk Alpha v1 file will be the foundation of all future releases and makes
all previous releases obsolete.

2.) 4-14-2010, German Mission 3. This replaces the stock German Mission 3


3.) 4-14 to 4-27-2010, Kursk Mission 1 Version4 to Version5 Beta only
releases.

4.) 4-28-2010, Kursk Mission 1 Version 6 Pre-Alpha for general release.
All members will be issued this first Kursk Mission 1. This will be upgraded
to a full Alpha release if in time no other issues arise that slipped by our
beta testers.

5.)4-30-2010, HIGH-END Kursk Mission 1 Version A1. This is the Kursk
Mission 1 that requires a very powerful CPU and is available to all members
by request.
Note: It's EITHER v.6 or the High End v.A1 that can be installed not both.

6.) 5-23-2010, New ZW May Update Included are 4 Auto-Installation programs:

1. May Updates. Install this file first over your exiting Install.
2. New German Mission 4
3. New German Mission 3 (same as the 4-14-2010 but without the files that May Update has)
4. New USSR Night Mission 3

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

7.)June 30 2010 Kursk Mission 2 "the Gantlet"

8.) July 1 2010 June's Final Update.

1.Fixed Swamp effect.
2.Fixed flying Tigers.
3.Fixed tank ant hill effect at the end of waypoint path.
4.New morning Sky.
5.New trees.
6.Re-calibrated main Gun's range optics.
7.Zitadelle_.reg adds ZITADELLE Campaign to the T34 vs Tiger Reg Key.
This will enable the missions in all campaigns to be viewed in the menu. It's called "Zitadelle_.reg".
All you do is double mouse click on it one time, that's it!. The location is:

<drive>\Lighthouse Interactive\T34vsTiger\Zitadelle_.reg

This is the best way I could come up with that will add what is needed
to the registry without going in the registry or creating a exe file.



And of course much more to come

ZeeWolf

--------------------------------------------------------------

[VAseMkIII]

Zee its great to see that you are still working away on TvT, with regards to the performance issues one test that might be worth doing is replacing the the new models in a scenario with stock models from the original, all of the stock models have at least two or three LOD levels in them.

You could compare the FPS hit between the two, my suspiscion is a lack of LOD in the new Models and the fact that there is no 0 LOD ie not drawn in the engine, all of the new models are being drawn at full bore all the time, which is killing the FPS. It might be an Idea to see if you could implement a 0 LOD function as this would greatly enhance FPS, the real killer for the game is there is no occlusion in it either

Just a sugestion to try thats all

I have also found that the less errors, be they red or yellow, there is in the execution HTML file the better the game runs too.