[REL]Lifeboats for SH3!(Update V4.0, Dec. 27, 2008)

It works.
I've sunk several ships that spawn Life rafts through the debris now.

[Rubini]

Originally Posted by privateer

It works.
I've sunk several ships that spawn Life rafts through the debris now.

That is good! Can you send me the files to take a look?

Anyhow, I just tested a bit others debris (using DivingDuck debris models) using the same LB mod implementation. You know that it uses Floating object controller to have the buoyance behaviour. But the problem is that non flat objects seems to stay a bit "out the water" and AFAIK it´s impossible to adjust this for all situations on the controllers/objects coordenates. The unique possibility (and i don´t know if it is possible) is to make the game think that a non (or almost no) flat object start from its half, then it will float "correctly" (3d model inside coordenates perhaps?). I hopes that you understand my poor english.

If a solution can´t be find, we yet can always use flat (or almost flat) objects like small wood pieces, small buoys, etc to simulate the (permanent) debris.

[Rubini]

Originally Posted by privateer

It works.
I've sunk several ships that spawn Life rafts through the debris now.

Now I understood better what you means here! Excelent! If the overall effect is good this could be a more easy solution, because it´s very quick to be implemented. Anywhow that non flat objects buoyance behaviour (to we also have permanent debris) remains to be solved.

[Reece]

Don't you ever rest Rubini?
Personally I'm glad you don't!

[sergbuto]

Connecting lifeboat spawning to debris means that lifeboats appear long after the ship has sunk. Did not look realistic to me.

Rubini,

As to WaterInteraction spawning of lifeboats from sinking ships, have you check that for different ships and weather conditions to avoid unpleasant surprises?

[HundertzehnGustav]

Originally Posted by sergbuto

Not entirely true. F.e. lifeboats were never debris in my work/mod and spawned/worked fine in my install. It is just there was no interest in finishing the mod up after SH4 came out. Looks like you have it now. Good luck with completing it.

HEHHH
that be not entirely true either.
ther WAS interest...



...and still IS

[Rubini]

Originally Posted by sergbuto

Connecting lifeboat spawning to debris means that lifeboats appear long after the ship has sunk. Did not look realistic to me.

Rubini,

As to WaterInteraction spawning of lifeboats from sinking ships, have you check that for different ships and weather conditions to avoid unpleasant surprises?

Hi Serg,

I have not yet the time to test/look at this new possibility. But "thinking with my knobs" I was imagining how it will work and this scenario (that you also described above) also at first don't please me - the fact that the LB will only appears pratically after the ship sink. But have its merits. The implementation will be much more easy and quick. The life boats, even appearing after/during the ships sinking can appears a bit away from the center of the explosions, etc.

Anyhow the devolepment of the life boat animations and also the solution for some permanent debris problems will be the same for both main solutions: my first one, a bit more elegant for LB IMO and the Privateer idea (attach them to debris).

Another fallback from attaching them to debris is that probably will be not more totally controlable the number of LB per ships and also probably only one type of LB will appears. But this needs more investigation. I don't know yet if the stock debris are different for each class of ships (i means ships size):hmm:

[Graf Paper]

I shall grace this thread with my 400th forum posting to offer an idea.

Assuming it is possible to make the lifeboats and survivors destructible, could it be implemented where a kaleun would suffer a renown penalty for gunning down survivors and, conversely, receive a renown bonus for aiding survivors?

To balance this tactically, a kaleun would be faced with maintaining stealth by remaining unseen by survivors ( or ensuring none lived to report the u-boat's disposition to Allied rescuers ) and being humane by rendering aid that would leave the u-boat vulnerable to being attacked or stalked by units that recieve radio reports of the news offered by the survivors?

Regardless, even if this mod is only eye-candy, it is yet another triumph of the masters, Rubini, privateer, and company!

I can hardly wait for this one!

I wonder if the shipwake could be altered to spawn occasional debris, in the form of trash tossed overboard, that would aid a u-boat watch crew in knowing if shipping traffic has been in the area recently? "Debris, spotted! Bearing 37 degrees!"

What I wouldn't give to be able to rewrite the game engine to make such features readily implemented!

[Rubini]

Originally Posted by Graf Paper

I shall grace this thread with my 400th forum posting to offer an idea.

Assuming it is possible to make the lifeboats and survivors destructible, could it be implemented where a kaleun would suffer a renown penalty for gunning down survivors and, conversely, receive a renown bonus for aiding survivors?

To balance this tactically, a kaleun would be faced with maintaining stealth by remaining unseen by survivors ( or ensuring none lived to report the u-boat's disposition to Allied rescuers ) and being humane by rendering aid that would leave the u-boat vulnerable to being attacked or stalked by units that recieve radio reports of the news offered by the survivors?

Regardless, even if this mod is only eye-candy, it is yet another triumph of the masters, Rubini, privateer, and company!

I can hardly wait for this one!

I wonder if the shipwake could be altered to spawn occasional debris, in the form of trash tossed overboard, that would aid a u-boat watch crew in knowing if shipping traffic has been in the area recently? "Debris, spotted! Bearing 37 degrees!"

What I wouldn't give to be able to rewrite the game engine to make such features readily implemented!

AFAIK, will be not possible to make the LB destructible in Sh3.

About release some trash...in theory is possible but needs test to see how they will behaviours in all situations...

[Rubini]

Originally Posted by sergbuto

As to WaterInteraction spawning of lifeboats from sinking ships, have you check that for different ships and weather conditions to avoid unpleasant surprises?

For now only one ship type, but in all weather conditions. Obviously we need to check all this before release anything. The LB attached to ships can have it's height (relative to water) moment to spawn adjusted easily. Another scenario that could appears here is that with some ships, big waves, they need to be set to appears only very later...what in the end could be near that "attached to debris solution"...needs tests.:hmm:

[mkubani]

Just my 2 cents. The best thing would be to have the life boats spawn when the ship receives a critical hit or reaches the flooding limit. I would love to see the boats slowly moving away from the sinking ship. Oh, expect many cool pics in the Unofficial Screenshot thread after the release of this mod!

[LordNeuro"Serbia"]

Originally Posted by privateer

He looked so lonely.

No words to exprecs what i m felling now. This is fantastic work. Thx u all for making thise posobol. I hope u will make it posobol too execute a direkt order from the furer lete in the war. Just funtastic work. I think the ubi is now at looking aat u moding skils. Keep up the exelent work

[Philipp_Thomsen]

Another important thing, my friend, is to make them pop-up in different times, not all at the same time. Put some delay between items (life boats) as the ship sinks (not after). If you're worried about the manual work of doing it to each ship.dat, don't worry, I can do this part of the job for you no problem. The good part is that this is definitive, and MUCH more realistic. As soon as the ship is doomed to sink, the life boats starts to pop-up, one by one, with some good 30 seconds of delay between one and another.

In my opinion it can't be better then that...

[Rubini]

Originally Posted by Philipp_Thomsen

Another important thing, my friend, is to make them pop-up in different times, not all at the same time. Put some delay between items (life boats) as the ship sinks (not after). If you're worried about the manual work of doing it to each ship.dat, don't worry, I can do this part of the job for you no problem. The good part is that this is definitive, and MUCH more realistic. As soon as the ship is doomed to sink, the life boats starts to pop-up, one by one, with some good 30 seconds of delay between one and another.

In my opinion it can't be better then that...

If we opt to use them attached to debris, them they will only spawn when the ships is sinking/after sink, all practically at same time.

If we opt to use them attached to each ship then is possible to make then appears before the ships sink and with some time between then - i already made it this way since the first test version as you can see on the video (sometimes more, sometimes less time betwwen them). If we opt for this way to have LB, what is really more elegant and realistic i will need help for sure to adjust all the ships. Do you read my PM to you?

Anyhow is clear for me now , unless news discoveries pop up, that the privateer idea is the best for permanent debris (and they use the same "permanent" solution that I made for LBoats), then this will be the way to go for debris. But for Lifeboats we have these two choices.

I plan to release a complete "attached to debris version" soon (including the life boats) for tests (I just need to have some conversations with privateer first). This way we can really judge before the mod reachs its final stage. This version is very easy to do and works imediatelly for any mod or even stock game! (not only GWX)

[Philipp_Thomsen]

Originally Posted by Rubini

If we opt to use them attached to debris, them they will only spawn when the ships is sinking/after sink, all practically at same time.

If we opt to use them attached to each ship then is possible to make then appears before the ships sink and with some time between then - i already made it this way since the first test version as you can see on the video (sometimes more, sometimes less time betwwen them). If we opt for this way to have LB, what is really more elegant and realistic i will need help for sure to adjust all the ships. Do you read my PM to you?

Anyhow is clear for me now , unless news discoveries pop up, that the privateer idea is the best for permanent debris (and they use the same "permanent" solution that I made for LBoats), then this will be the way to go for debris. But for Lifeboats we have these two choices.

I plan to release a complete "attached to debris version" soon (including the life boats) for tests (I just need to have some conversations with privateer first). This way we can really judge before the mod reachs its final stage. This version is very easy to do and works imediatelly for any mod or even stock game! (not only GWX)

In my opinion we should definetively go for the more elegant and realistic way. Once we release all the existing ships all we have to do is state publicly what is needed to be changed in the .dat files and the new ships will be out of the docks with the life boats already attached, by the person who did it (new ships). You have to keep in mind that sometimes a ship takes more then one hour to sink, so nobody would wait that long just to see the life boats in the debris. Makes no sense in my opinion. What we should do is to put this into the .dat files in a way that once the ship is doomed, life boats start to appear. And also another very interesting thing to do would be to increase the number of debris after the ship sinks, to be more realistic, and to put some PEOPLE in the debris, coz you know, in a sinking not everybody manages to save himself.

So after torpedoing a ship we would have life boats poping up with a random delay between them, and when the ship finally sinks, a lot of debris and some people floating in the water (with just their heads and arms out of the water, not floating like dead man, but if this is not possible, some dead man floating is good enough).

I STRONGLY recommend that this mod is done this way. Even if in the end you guys decide to do the easy way (debris) I would like to know what I have to change in the .dat files so I can do this mod for myself. I have the time to spend doing all the necessary modifications on those ship.dat files and I'm willing to help. Maybe I don't know everything I need to know to help, but I learn very fast and I have a lot of creativity.