Alternative Recognition Handbook

[Von Due]

Browsing the web I found these pages from an authentic ship recognition handbook. Now I'm thinking how nice it would be to have a SH3 rec manual in the same format. Exactly how it should be done is up for discussion. Anyone interested in joining in on creating such a handbook for SH3+supermods like GWX and others?

[Fahnenbohn]

Nice find ! But there are more than 400 pages ?!!

[badwolf]

Unfortunately, the biggest problem with the ingame recognition handbook, is that most of it is hardcoded and can't be changed easily.
Pity as big improvements could be done in this area.

[badwolf]

It would have been nice to be able to change the layout, so that searching for ships was far easier. Especially as mods have added many ships to the game.
Due to hardcoding, the only solution was to start completely afresh, which won't be easy.

[Von Due]

When I was looking at this other mod CAWS, the modder managed to include a sheet on the orders page with link zones to pop up papers. If one could ask permission to use that for a draggable rec manual's page index, then that could very well solve the problem with having multiple pages. Luckily in SH3 we don't need 400 pages as the number of unique ships are far fewer than in the real world.

Some stray thinking: If we could use that sheet as a starting point, then change it to a slide in when hover the cursor near the edge in scope view to bring up the idex, hover the mouse over the page you want to look at and it pops up. Move the cursor away and the handbook returns to the off screen position. Can this be done?

[GT182]

Von Due, who would someone ask for permission? I doubt very much UBI would allow any messing about with hard coded material. But then again, I hope I'm wrong.

Who ever can do it.... just do it. It's only a mod.

[Von Due]

Originally Posted by GT182

Von Due, who would someone ask for permission? I doubt very much UBI would allow any messing about with hard coded material. But then again, I hope I'm wrong.

Who ever can do it.... just do it. It's only a mod.

For permission, I was thinking of the creator of CAWS

[GT182]

Originally Posted by Von Due

For permission, I was thinking of the creator of CAWS

Ahhhhh, ok. I misunderstood.

[Von Due]

Been thinking a bit more.

Using the WS MaGui mod, there is a custom made TDC panel on the Obs scope page, one you click a button to show and click again to hide. It's a fully funtional TDC panel.

One could use something like that, add a button to the scope page for a custom panel with links to pop up pages of the manual, or possibly another layer of click-to-stay/click-to-banish pages.

[Von Due]

Finally had the time to play around with the idea some more.

Here is a quick sketch of something that could turn into something more


Numbers in brackets refer to an index of all the ships in the rec manual in order.

It becomes increasingly apparent to me that something like this would help immensely in avoiding hundreds of clicks through the rec manual and still not being able to do a side by side comparison. Definitely on my to do list now.

If someone wants to play around with that image, then go ahead.

EDIT Seeing the png I attached was converted and shrunk down, you'll best open that image there in another tab and have your ways with it there.

EDIT 2 (nerd-out and replaced image) Turns out the ammo ship might be based on USS Mount Hood (AE-11) of the Mount Hood class, starting life as Marco Polo, a C2-S-AJ1. Only issue is AE-11 wasn't commissioned until 1944, a good 5 years after that "photo" was taken and M.P. wasn't built until 1943 either. Oh well....

[mikey117us]

This is a Link just for those interested the Book was actually 698 pages long. U-Boats Carried que Cards to Rundown a Basic Hull, Stack, Machinery, Hoists, and jigs, Bow Shape, Then Knew which section to search in the Book.
Link 1: The Card and Formula http://www.uboatarchive.net/KTB/KTBNotesGroener.htm

Link 2: Excerpts from "Die Handelsflotten der Welt"
http://www.uboatarchive.net/KTB/KTBN...oenerPart4.htm

Link 3:Sublynx work called, chart add-on 1.4
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...=197685&page=6

Sublynx has additional Mods dealing with ad-on charts and Colored Filters for Widescreen Magui version 1.6

[Von Due]

Sweet find there. Would be nice to make this work in a similar way.

EDIT: As for the chart add-on, I am struggeling to have additional charts working with my mod soup. Next is, I use the merchant fleet mod and J to Z Destroyers and want a rec manual like these that covers the new ships.

[sublynx]

There is no need to ask for any permissions from me. Just use any of my mods in anyway you like.

[Von Due]

Originally Posted by sublynx

There is no need to ask for any permissions from me. Just use any of my mods in anyway you like.

Thank you!

Another nerd-out:
Looking into the various ship classes, I stumbled across the fact that the only Cyclops (AC-4) was lost in 1918. However, there were sisterships, of the Proteus class, lead by Proteus (AC-9). Not a whole lot luckier, it was lost in 1941 but at least it's one that could be sighted in 1939-1941. That's one up for change.
There are other issues with classes and names, and it's not helped by the convoluted naming system for files in the SH3 folders. I have tga files that don't match any classes in EnglishNames.cgf, which to my understanding is where naming for the rec manual takes place.
Then there are ships that aren't mentioned in the rec manual, like other submarines, lightboats, and this very odd looking speedy boat with a flat box like top structure I never saw anywhere in the rec manual or museum. This blighter was found far west of Ireland in 1939.




EDIT: Slowly getting the tga files converted, only about 60 left. Still the issue of identifying all of them then work out a final master index.

[Von Due]

A thought that warrant its own post:

After looking at how SH3C can automate the skin change in the MFM, I wonder if it can automate the recognition manual as well, the way I picture it will be. Right now I'm picturing a master index pop up that has only a few options for sub-pop ups, each with only a small number of sub pages:
Navy or merchant
Number of chimneys
Position of chimney(s)
Superstructure (gap to bridge or not?)
Masts

By then the possible ships should be narrowed down sufficiently for sub pages small enough to fit on screen while have all the relevant possible ships in clear view.

The hope is that I can use the folder structure in SH3C's date folder to have SH3C pick the appropriate rec book, so that only ships active in that period will show up. Whether that can be done or not is to me a totally open question.