[WIP] Wolves of the Kaiser:1914-1918 Mod

[Kapitain Oliver Leinkraunt]

Yes, you have reason. the Panther was a torpedo boat; I don't know how I thought that it was a cruiser
Some times ago you have started the U-87 class; that class was very similar tha the U-43 class.

Can you add this class, please.
An other things; why the submarines, like U-9 and U-51, don't have the anchor?

[iambecomelife]

Originally Posted by Kapitain Oliver Leinkraunt

Yes, you have reason. the Panther was a torpedo boat; I don't know how I thought that it was a cruiser
Some times ago you have started the U-87 class; that class was very similar tha the U-43 class.

Can you add this class, please.
An other things; why the submarines, like U-9 and U-51, don't have the anchor?

I will add the anchors once I update old models - there are a number of older ship and submarine models that I've decided to replace or improve due to inadequate detail.

I don't think I'll include the U-43 Class. They were interesting boats but I don't want there to be too many classes with only 2-8 torpedoes (like the U-19 and U-31 Class). That's why I'm trying to include classes like the U-87 (12 torpedoes) and the U-93 (16 torpedoes).

Which reminds me that conserving torpedoes will be important. Some submarines only had two torpedoes (UB-I boats). If you have one of the older or smaller submarines in "Wolves of the Kaiser", you will need to rely heavily on your guns and your demolition parties to sink small or medium-sized ships. If you spot a battleship or an ocean liner while on patrol, you will want to have torpedoes available.

Still, if there is time and I get enough help modeling subs/ships/buildings/planes/people/etc etc ... then sure! There will be a U-43 Class.

[avers]

hi IABL, are you going to be adding in the USS Olympia? I just got back from Philadelphia and I went on the Olympia and I think it would be neat to see this Spanish-American war vet (she did serve in WW1 as well) in the game.

[iambecomelife]

For the United States, minor warships like destroyers and patrol craft will be a priority.

Each unit larger than a destroyer represents a relatively big time investment, so completing battleships/battlecruisers/cruisers from Great Britain & Germany comes first. If there is time, then anything is possible.

[iambecomelife]

By the way, a TREMENDOUS amount of progress is being made behind the scenes ... that is why things have gone slightly quiet since the Lusitania video was posted.

In a way, the virus attack was a blessing in disguise:

-I now have a much bigger hard drive of nearly 1 terabyte along with my original (cleaned) hard drive (on my old one I was nearly out of space).

-On my old windows installation, models and reference documents were badly organized - I now have a new, logical system with photos and line drawings organized according to U-Boat class, etc.

Depending on how well things turn out in the coming months, we may well get a good selection of warships for the US and other countries aside from Germany and the UK.

Kapitain Oliver Leinkraunt, I will be PM'ing you soon.

[Sailor Steve]

This is all good to hear.

[avers]

That is awesome great job IABL and team

[Kapitain Oliver Leinkraunt]

[iambecomelife]

A little preview: After all, in World War I, not just the men had guts...the ships did too....

BTW, If you were torpedoed, you had better hope the engineer room crew managed to shut those doors. If not, the boilers could literally be blown out of the ship foundations-along with anything in their path.

Then they'd have seconds to find a rope or ladder out of the engine room, in the dark, with rising water, before the lifeboats left. The merchant marine in WWI and WWII were heroes, but stokers were heroes among heroes. The tradition remains today...when the "Marine Electric" sank recently, her engine crew stayed below to secure everything, giving their lives so the other crew could escape.



I looked at various plans and found that the boilers from "Titanic" are a good stand-in for many boilers of the era - civilian and military. This is not an exact copy, of course, to save on computer rendering and time. Bolts at the top of the boiler face aren't included because they will be covered by the uptakes, so there's no point modeling them.

I am going to see if I can use Silent 3ditor to prevent rendering boilers/interior parts at long distances. At close range, boilers will be visible if you blast a hole in the engine room, if a ship has a structural failure, or there is a catastrophic explosion.

Next step will be skinning and adding particle effects (steam for damage, and possibly a unique explosion graphic for when damage reaches 100%).

[avers]

Looks great keep up the good work.

[Kapitain Oliver Leinkraunt]

IMPRESSIVE, VERY IMPRESSIVE

[Jimbuna]

Looking better with every update

[iambecomelife]

WIP of a 12pdr 12 cwt quick-firing gun for the "Monmouth" class cruiser. It's low-poly to save resources (the "Monmouth" class mounted ten of them).

The 12 pounder was also part of the armament of HMS "Dreadnought", and several of Great Britain's WWI destroyers. On very small escorts like Drifters, it would have been the main armament. It was a mediocre weapon, with little value against the TB's/destroyers it was designed to sink. It did lacked stopping power, and it was calculated that one 4" hit was equal to about four 12pdr hits. Nevertheless, it was quite common, and will be seen in "Wolves of the Kaiser" on many ships built between 1890's to 1914.

As the war went on, Royal Navy ships were equipped with more effective 4" and 4.7" guns as anti-destroyer armament.

This gun is still powerful enough to leave your sub unable to dive if you take one hit to the pressure hull, so be careful out there.

[iambecomelife]

Was pretty sick this weekend...nothing like modding to make you feel better!

The 12 pounder guns have been installed. I skinned the ship, and added lots of details, including ports for the anchors and recesses for the 6" guns and 12 pdrs in the hull.










I am also experimenting with more complex rigging on the ships - this model has circular wire spreaders for the top cables in the rigging - you can see these on the masts of similar ships of the era.

I've been experimenting with simpler skins, with decals and 3d objects to give a greater sense of detail.

Like the "Lusitania" model, the railings are made using an alpha channel, which saves a huge number of polygons and looks better (IMHO) than actual, 3d rails.

Not 100% happy with the portholes, which may need to be redone...

[Kapitain Oliver Leinkraunt]

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That is a perfect model