[REL] FOTRS Ultimate Project

[yyzBegonia]

Originally Posted by propbeanie

Oh no! this has GOT to be one of the fastest acting cases of modditis I believe I have ever ~seen~! Are you running a fever there yyzBegonia, or just dizzy (with excitement, seeing your idea work)? Excellent job sir! Carry on! - Caution, this is contagious...

I just relieve myself from last several crazy-busy weeks because today I finally finished them off!
I just wanna experiment that if I can do it on my own. I still think Jeff's suggestion will be a better choice because it seems more flexible and easier to mass-product. Editing all the dds. files is indeed tons of works

[propbeanie]

Nah. Like I say, when doing the dds files, "copy and paste", "copy and paste" ad infinitum, ad nauseum... just don't get lost where you are in the process, or strange things can happen, like whole days missing from your life; coffee pots missing all their nourishing liquid; dozens of doughnuts missing from the box...

All you do is paste your edits into the #2 dds (in the Shiratsuyu's case), then "Save As..." and change the number - or if doing Jeff's way, one skin with no lettering, but the lettering shows up as "equipment"... Still have to have that kana on a "transparent" background ~and~ with Jeff's way, we could include numbers that change ...

[yyzBegonia]

Originally Posted by propbeanie

Nah. Like I say, when doing the dds files, "copy and paste", "copy and paste" ad infinitum, ad nauseum... just don't get lost where you are in the process, or strange things can happen, like whole days missing from your life; coffee pots missing all their nourishing liquid; dozens of doughnuts missing from the box...

All you do is paste your edits into the #2 dds (in the Shiratsuyu's case), then "Save As..." and change the number - or if doing Jeff's way, one skin with no lettering, but the lettering shows up as "equipment"... Still have to have that kana on a "transparent" background ~and~ with Jeff's way, we could include numbers that change ...

Yeah I'm doing it in this way!
I've done these skins so far:
Akatsuki-class: Akatsuki, Hibiki, Ikazuchi, Inazuma (There's only 4 ships in this class in total)
Asashio-class: Asashio, Michishio, Asagumo, Yamagumo
Fubuki-class: Fubuki, Shirayuki, Shinonome, Murakumo, Isonami
I found there's usually 3 or 4 skins within a class, I may expand them into 4 or even 5 & 6, do we need modify other files such as .dat to include those additional skins?

[propbeanie]

Using SOP (Standard Operating Procedure), the skins are controlled in the Data / Roster / Country / ShipName / ShipName.cfg file, which is text-editable. You don't want gaps in the dates (no skin shows), and if you overlap the dates, the computer makes the choice. Other aspects of the game are very particular about settings, but just look-out for spelling and correct paths in this.

[Rockin Robbins]

Originally Posted by propbeanie

Using SOP (Standard Operating Procedure), the skins are controlled in the Data / Roster / Country / ShipName / ShipName.cfg file, which is text-editable. You don't want gaps in the dates (no skin shows), and if you overlap the dates, the computer makes the choice. Other aspects of the game are very particular about settings, but just look-out for spelling and correct paths in this.

I wonder how we know about this......... While playing with skins the FOTRSU team got whacked about right smartly! And we uncovered dozens of stock game defects in the process. But it all works well now.

Getting authentic ship class names in Kanji isn't something you plan when you're setting up a mod. It's something a great user brings and says "how do I make this happen?" Thank you yyzBegonia, we would never have caught the problem and opportunity without you!

[yyzBegonia]

Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins

I wonder how we know about this......... While playing with skins the FOTRSU team got whacked about right smartly! And we uncovered dozens of stock game defects in the process. But it all works well now.

Getting authentic ship class names in Kanji isn't something you plan when you're setting up a mod. It's something a great user brings and says "how do I make this happen?" Thank you yyzBegonia, we would never have caught the problem and opportunity without you!

Hi Rockin Robbins! I've basically finished the Japanese DD skins with corrected kanas, do you want those skin samples? I can send you a private massage attracted with links I would be so glad to help you fantastic team!

[Faith]

I apologize for cutting this discussion, but I wanted to make a suggestion for a future addon to FOTRSU.

Right now, there are AI Fleet Boats, AI U-boats, and AI Jyunsen coming in the near future. But there has never been an AI british sub. I feel it would be an excellent addition to the game. While T and U class subs sunk little in the Pacific, they were responsible for the loss and damage of quite a number of japanese ships. The Dutch Navy also used a number of british vessels.

At the current moment, the USA are the only ones who possess submarines on the Allies. I feel as if America is the only one fighting the submarine war. In GWX, you could cross italian subs when you entered the Med, which reminded you that Germany wasn't alone in it's battle against merchant shipping. In SH4, with far more friendly nations, who historically possessed sizable submarine forces, there's the impression of an "Americanized" war. Don't get me wrong, you regularly see australian and Commonwealth vessels, but the Silent Service feels very mononational.

If I have to give one event that would justify the appearance of British/Dutch subs, it would be the beaching of O-19 (which wasn't british, but looked very much like one), near the end of the war. The crew was picked up by USS Cod, the only international submarine-to-submarine rescue in history.

Thanks in advance for reading and considering this.
Edit 1: Rereading this made me realize that I'm repeating myself quite a bit

[propbeanie]

We do have an L12 and a Triton (both from keltos01) close at hand for future consideration... Some moderate arm twisting and away we go! Actually, we'll probably wait until after this next release and make sure things function as intended, before we add anymore subs or ships to the mix beyond what we have currently, but we should be able to do those two, and maybe more with add-in mods.

[Jeff-Groves]

Link sent to a test file propbeanie.


I did find out a few things getting this to work as it is now.
You can not attach the placer node to the main hull. It does not show up.
Now if there is no fore and aft 3D model it will probably work on the main hull.
A few other things could improve it if needed.

[propbeanie]

So, the "lettering" hangs on the ~inside~ of the hull if you ain't careful... I'd sent yyzBegonia an example grid overlay for a dds skin, and just to the left of the current kana on the sides of the ships, we're actually seeing the skin inside-out and backwards... Strange how they do some of these ship skins, especially the warships, and the bigger they are, the stranger they get...

I don't see a link in a PM or email or the top-secret Google Drive "repository", so I'll see if s7rikeback might have gotten it. Or did you use the ultra-secret super-private web site that I can't remember the link to (it's a ~secret~ ) - did you maybe hang it on the hull?... sorry, bad joke...

[yyzBegonia]

Ummmmm.... Does the conning tower of Salmon-class has been deliberately modified? The AA MG is moved higher and create a new, higher aft deck for the CT. BTW, the guy standing rearmost seems like a gold medalist of Olympic gym while he is standing stably without even stretch an armrest in a 10 m/s wind speed rough sea

[CapnScurvy]

Ummmmm.... Does the conning tower of Salmon-class has been deliberately modified? The AA MG is moved higher and create a new, higher aft deck for the CT. BTW, the guy standing rearmost seems like a gold medalist of Olympic gym while he is standing stably without even stretch an armrest in a 10 m/s wind speed rough sea

The early war stock tower has the AA guns shooting below the top edge of the tower wall. The gun is raised to prevent you from firing straight through the subs side wall (which a player did with the old stock setup). Not historically accurate?!? But, makes good sense.

And yes, there's no "seat belt" used for the watch crew.

[propbeanie]

... and they recruit nothing but the best for the USN. Just ask my dad...

[Jeff-Groves]

PM sent.

[Gewehr 43]

Originally Posted by propbeanie

OK Gewehr 43,

1. No... put the best "Watchmen" on the deck-watch team. On the crew page, find the "qualified" fellows with the highest Watchman and Leadership abilities (without "Leadership", they are apparently mutes). The game doesn't always give you the best watch crew, and sometimes they're downright incompetent, not warning of an aircraft until the dropped bomb has landed in your bunk and exploded, and you get the now-infamous "We're under attack, sir!"...

2. At this time, intel on the nets and minefields is sadly lacking, but we do expect our "spies" to be able to update things, hopefully soon, on some of that intel. We do have to get some portable radio sets out into the field. Be prepared for a Spec Op mission next... Trying to figure out a useable way to display it is a bit of a problem. If we use one of the in-game pull-out maps, we can't show changes over the course of the war, and trying to draw on the Navigation map is NOT the easiest thing I've tried to do... We'll work something out.

3. Are you on Silent Running? That will bring all noise making to a halt, including the pumps. Also, bulwark damage is not repairable by your team. If you're leaking, and the pumps can't keep up, sometimes the only option is to come up in depth a little, to lessen the pressure on the leak. Anything external is not repairable from the interior, so you might have to surface to fix certain things, and even then may not be able to do so. Also, several "systems" can't be fixed if they're damaged beyond a certain percentage, like 80% or more.

4. Yes, they do (in theory). Supposedly, you'll get a newer boat sooner, if you score high and / or get promotions. Promotions can also happen just over the course of time. I haven't been promoted very often in the game, since I seem to "die" every career, sometimes not even finishing one patrol... I'm also not real familiar with this aspect of the game, but CapnScurvy or someone else might have more details. Just remember, pinning those medals on your shirt pocket can be hazardous. Do be careful of the "sharipies"...

Thanks for the detailed reply. I really appreciate it. Unfortunately, it appears to all be moot. All of a sudden every single save game that's not one of the auto-saves in port crashes on loading. I've changed absolutely nothing. No new mods. No new windows updates. Nothing. But now, every time I try to load an on-patrol save, the game goes thru the loading bar, displays the "no mission too difficult" screen, then immediately crashes to the desktop.

I had several different careers going and was on my 4th patrol with one sub, so I thought maybe that save just went corrupt. So, I started a new career with a new sub. Had an awesome patrol with a crappy little S-boat in which I sunk a heavy cruiser with Mk10s in a daring night surface attack, and survived a completely flooded engine room after being hit by aerial bombs. I had to leave the house, so I saved while on patrol. Insta-crash on load.

Any suggestions?