[REL] rudewarrior's "Just Follow Orders!" Mod - NOW 2.0

[rudewarrior]

Originally Posted by sharkbit

I've been away from Silent Hunter for almost a year now. The call of the cold, grey Atlantic has called me back.

I'm not sure this is the place to gripe about this since it is really a computer problem and not a mod problem, but....I've been dying to try this mod since it came out, so I downloaded it last week and started through the install instructions and ran into a problem.

For some reason, the .exe file doesn't work. It is like my computer doesn't even recognise the file. It is just a box. All the other files in the mod are there. I tried redownloading it and unzipping with the same result.

I downloaded it onto my laptop and the file is there with the little captain's hat logo on the .exe file and it opens fine so I put the file onto a flash drive and tried to load it onto my desktop computer with the same result. It doesn't even recognise it on the flash drive so I know it is a issue with my computer and not the mod or the download.

Judging from some of my google searches and limited computer knowledge, I thought it might be a registry problem. I tried a few things that I found during my searches with no luck.

The last thing I tried was a Windows Repair from the Windows XP disc where it reinstalls the Windows files but doesn't erase all of your files. No joy though. Plus it turned into a somewhat longer experience than what I had hoped when some of my drivers disappeared and I had to find them on the internet using my laptop, putting them on a flash drive, then loading them back onto my desktop.

The game runs fine otherwise and I have not noticed any other issues with other programs so I'm left wondering why my computer is having issues with this .exe file and no others, at least as far as I can tell.

My computer is getting up there in age and my wife is not buying into getting a new computer "...just so you can play that damn submarine game!!!"

Any ideas are appreciated. For now I am probably going to figure out how to use the orders manually. Either put them on a Word document and just follow them as they apply or try to come with some mini-mod that I can use. We'll see.

It looks like a great mod though. Thanks for the hard work you have put into it.

I used MS Visual Studio 2012 to write it, and a freeware compiler called Sharpdevelop to compile it. Keep in mind that I am not an expert, but there seemed to be a lot of references to .NET framework. Try updating .NET framework to the newest version possible and see if that helps. After that, I'm out of ideas.

Hope this helps!

[sharkbit]

Thanks for the tip but it didn't work. I'm officially stumped.

[HW3]

Try running it as administrator is the only thing I can think of. It's been along time since I had XP so I do not even know if that is an option though.

[sharkbit]

Didn't work either. Thanks though.

[rudewarrior]

Originally Posted by sharkbit

Any ideas are appreciated. For now I am probably going to figure out how to use the orders manually. Either put them on a Word document and just follow them as they apply or try to come with some mini-mod that I can use. We'll see.

If you want to update save game by save game, there is a brute force method that I used while I was writing the program. You can have all of the files set up by date in JSGME. Then just initialize the appropriate date. However, you would have to make sure that there are copies of each of the four templates in somewhere in each of the date folders. The reason is that the dated folders only have the template that is being updated because the .exe file counts backwards. Just copy the templates to the next date forward starting at 19390801. Just don't overwrite any files each time you copy forward and you will have an up-to-date set of four. Then you can just enable the templates by date before loading a save game. Ugly, but effective.

Maybe this will work for you.

[Lanzfeld]

Rudewarrior,

This mod looks so great. Nice job. I want to use it but it occurred to me that I don't actually have to try and install it. Can you upload PDF's of all the orders and maps so I can just print them out and have them "in hand" instead of in game? I can just look at the dates to see when they apply and have them in a stack next to my computer.

Thoughts?

[Tycho]

Originally Posted by Lanzfeld

Can you upload PDF's of all the orders and maps so I can just print them out and have them "in hand" instead of in game?

Look in folder: JFO!_Mod_v2\Documentation\English\Notes\

Not pdf but txt files:
Route Antar Restrictions.txt
Standard Operating Procedures.txt
Tactical Convoy Procedures.txt
Target Attack Restrictions.txt
Torpedo Setting Procedures.txt

[Lanzfeld]

Originally Posted by Tycho

Look in folder: JFO!_Mod_v2\Documentation\English\Notes\

Not pdf but txt files:
Route Antar Restrictions.txt
Standard Operating Procedures.txt
Tactical Convoy Procedures.txt
Target Attack Restrictions.txt
Torpedo Setting Procedures.txt

That's a start Tycho thanks!

Hmmm...still need those maps. I really want this mod but really don't want to install all that stuff you know? A PDF of those chart would allow people to use this excellent mod without messing with the 1024 file.

[rudewarrior]

Originally Posted by Lanzfeld

Hmmm...still need those maps. I really want this mod but really don't want to install all that stuff you know? A PDF of those chart would allow people to use this excellent mod without messing with the 1024 file.

It's really worth it to install! Plus the maps won't help you in a pdf format. They are all overlays, meaning, they are designed to be dragged over the map to work. Look at the first post and look under entry number 2. You can see how the overlay works, so having a pdf of the map probably won't help.

However, if you are compelled to print something out, print out the pictures under entries 2 and 3 in the first post, that is about the best you're gonna get.

Good luck!

[3catcircus]

Originally Posted by rudewarrior

It's really worth it to install! Plus the maps won't help you in a pdf format. They are all overlays, meaning, they are designed to be dragged over the map to work. Look at the first post and look under entry number 2. You can see how the overlay works, so having a pdf of the map probably won't help.

However, if you are compelled to print something out, print out the pictures under entries 2 and 3 in the first post, that is about the best you're gonna get.

Good luck!

So I've been trying to figure out your install instructions too. The problem I see (as apparently do others) is it is just too confusing for anyone but advanced users.

I gotta manually edit an .ini file (not knowing what the actual x/y positions should be) and manually move some .tga files into a certain folder? I gotta figure out whether I should use JSGME or SHCommander or do both or run the JFO executable or all three? What if I already have JSGME installed somewhere else? Now I gotta install it a second time into SH3Commander? And then I gotta exit the game and re-run it or something?

Between the readme and the forum thread, there appears to be at least three (possibly) four different ways of activating this mod (and thus, at least as many ways for an inexperienced user to screw it up).

Is there a fool-proof method of activating the mod, given the following boundary conditions:

GWX3 installed with the Integrated Orders and Contact Color mods
SH3Commander installed
A single JSGME install, not in SH3Commander

[sublynx]

Printing the text files and following the orders from the prints is the easiest solution. You can also have a print of the maps in order to follow the Prize rules and route Antar.

[rudewarrior]

Originally Posted by 3catcircus

So I've been trying to figure out your install instructions too. The problem I see (as apparently do others) is it is just too confusing for anyone but advanced users.

See first post:

**THIS MOD ULTIMATELY IS NOT DIFFICULT TO IMPLEMENT, BUT THERE ARE SOME CONSIDERATIONS THAT MAKE THIS SOMEWHAT OF AN ADVANCED MOD.**

I gotta manually edit an .ini file (not knowing what the actual x/y positions should be) and manually move some .tga files into a certain folder? I gotta figure out whether I should use JSGME or SHCommander or do both or run the JFO executable or all three? What if I already have JSGME installed somewhere else? Now I gotta install it a second time into SH3Commander? And then I gotta exit the game and re-run it or something?

This is why. It takes time and research to understand how the menu_1024_768.ini file works. We (as in the modding community) can explain it to you, and we will be happy to assist you in understanding it, but it takes time and patience to learn how to edit it. There are many resources on this forum to help with it. You can start here. Ultimately, it takes research to figure out how it works and it takes time to implement the changes and make sure they are working correctly. Every mod requires some alteration to your system and takes time and patience to implement properly. In fact my menu.ini file is actually overwritten 4 times in my particular "mod soup" and each iteration has several different edits to that particular file.

Between the readme and the forum thread, there appears to be at least three (possibly) four different ways of activating this mod (and thus, at least as many ways for an inexperienced user to screw it up).

And experienced users as well. Now think about how many times I screwed it up trying to write it.

Is there a fool-proof method of activating the mod, given the following boundary conditions:

GWX3 installed with the Integrated Orders and Contact Color mods
SH3Commander installed
A single JSGME install, not in SH3Commander

Yes, I have it set up that way, but the key is to install SH3 Commander directly into the GWX folder. This allows you to use one JSGME install, and thus you can title your mods things like: SH3 Cmdr_Insert Super Cool Mod Title Here. That way everything is in one place and you can take care of it all at once.

I took a very long time to write a very long readme on how to install this mod. In fact I would say that the ratio of the size of the readme compared to the actual size of the mod may actually be the largest on this forum. I knew it would be complex, so I wrote the readme as explicitly as I had to when I was writing up experiment procedures when I was working on my Physics PhD. However, it still requires a certain amount of base knowledge which you will have to acquire before you can implement it. I suggest that you should start becoming very familiar with the menu.ini file, since the vast majority of the more complex mods work with it.

Hope this helps!

[3catcircus]

Thanks! It'll take me a while to digest (and probably as much time doing trial-and-error testing) before I figure out if I've done it correctly.

Originally Posted by rudewarrior

See first post:

**THIS MOD ULTIMATELY IS NOT DIFFICULT TO IMPLEMENT, BUT THERE ARE SOME CONSIDERATIONS THAT MAKE THIS SOMEWHAT OF AN ADVANCED MOD.**



This is why. It takes time and research to understand how the menu_1024_768.ini file works. We (as in the modding community) can explain it to you, and we will be happy to assist you in understanding it, but it takes time and patience to learn how to edit it. There are many resources on this forum to help with it. You can start here. Ultimately, it takes research to figure out how it works and it takes time to implement the changes and make sure they are working correctly. Every mod requires some alteration to your system and takes time and patience to implement properly. In fact my menu.ini file is actually overwritten 4 times in my particular "mod soup" and each iteration has several different edits to that particular file.



And experienced users as well. Now think about how many times I screwed it up trying to write it.



Yes, I have it set up that way, but the key is to install SH3 Commander directly into the GWX folder. This allows you to use one JSGME install, and thus you can title your mods things like: SH3 Cmdr_Insert Super Cool Mod Title Here. That way everything is in one place and you can take care of it all at once.

I took a very long time to write a very long readme on how to install this mod. In fact I would say that the ratio of the size of the readme compared to the actual size of the mod may actually be the largest on this forum. I knew it would be complex, so I wrote the readme as explicitly as I had to when I was writing up experiment procedures when I was working on my Physics PhD. However, it still requires a certain amount of base knowledge which you will have to acquire before you can implement it. I suggest that you should start becoming very familiar with the menu.ini file, since the vast majority of the more complex mods work with it.

Hope this helps!

[BigWalleye]

Originally Posted by 3catcircus

Thanks! It'll take me a while to digest (and probably as much time doing trial-and-error testing) before I figure out if I've done it correctly.

Once upon a time, I taught basic computer skills to graphics arts students, many of whom had never touched a computer. The first thing I taught them was how to break a computer. "Pick it up, hold it over your head, and smash it on the floor. Whatever else you do, you may make a mess, but you won't break anything."

The same applies here. Make backups of files before you change anything. Keep a copy of the original download zip for every mod you use. Be prepared to go back and uninstall, then reinstall everything. This takes maybe half an hour. THAT is the worst damage you can do. So relax and give it a try.

[Aquelarrefox]

hi im very interested of making a spanish version of this mod. Could be posible to get the text of the pages?

its very interesting , and the inmmersion is one of the most important thing in this game. as a captain in u-bouts rules are very important in vouyage.

im slowly traslating it