[REL] FOTRS Ultimate Project

[Larrywb57]

Originally Posted by propbeanie

As for the time in-port, can we have other users of the 'beta' report in please? Thanks

Finished my third patrol this morning. Home port is Midway, arrived on 28 April 1942. Was offered a new command but decided to stay with the USS Porpoise, a porpoise class submarine. Started on fourth patrol on 20 May 1942. Picked up a downed aviator as I left Midway. Me thinks there is something brewing close by.

Keep up the work on the next release, looking forward to it. Thanks!

[propbeanie]

OK, thanks Larrywb57,,, 22 days in port...

[Larrywb57]

Originally Posted by propbeanie

As for the time in-port, can we have other users of the 'beta' report in please? Thanks

Propbeanie,

Just finished another patrol. Arrived at home port of Midway on July 11, 1942 at 06:19 hrs. Office calendar showed July 12, 1942. The porpoise class boat under went a refit, half-cut conning tower. Wasn't offered the SJ (surface) radar but, the Improved SD Radar for 500 points of renown, which I brought. Received mission to transport friendly agent to Japan. Departed Midway on July 29, 1942 at 11:19 hrs.

Larry

[propbeanie]

Thanks for the report

Must be some good service personel and welders at Midway, with nothing else to do, to get you in, boat serviced, and the conn chopped up and re-done ~and~ get the radar installed, all in 17-18 days, depending on how they're counting!...

[CapnScurvy]

Thought I'd provide a "heads up" on our next version of the "beta". We're finalizing our modifications, and when Rockin Robbins combines all aspects of our mod together we will check it for completion, then release it for you to try.

Here's a partial list of our changes/additions:

1. "Ultimatev0.63 Carrier_Plane Fix v0.7 Akitsu Gunz" from s7rikeback (see his README).

2. "Shinshu Maru Class Japan Transport Ship Mod" and the Daihatsu Landing Craft boats from ZUIKAKU1944. Also his NCL_Katori, and AFS_E13A_Jake Floatplane.

3. The NCL_Isuzu (Nagara) from noshiro.

4. AI Subs with Torpedoes, 9 Japanese subs whose original models came from keltos, one American Fleetboat, one German U-boat. All are considered to be “Surface Craft”, they will not submerge. More on the AI Torpedoes in #11.

5. Added two new American subs for "static" display (no visible crew/no guns to fire) for use in Harbor setups. The "AI_Fleetboat_Static" a Tambor class; and the "AI_Pigboat_Static" an S-Class boat.

6. Made new Recognition Manual pictures for the AI_Subs, and a few of the other ship units.

7. The changes made to the ship "Type" to allow for plane spawning from specific ships (see the following list), over 41 in all.

8. Changes made to the AirStrike and Sim .cfg files to have better plane activity, and to control the AA/Cannon "Range" of fire. The AA Gun "Range" change is necessary to have the AI Sub Torpedo fire correctly.

9. Correction to the Flotillas.upc file in section [Flotilla 2.Base 3], changed "AvailabilityInterval=1942-02-29" to "AvailabilityInterval=1942-02-28". As we are constantly finding within the Stock game, no such "date" exists as February 29, or June 31, or April 31 etc.

10. Updated the Data/Roster/Names.cfg file to include the newly added ship units, and renamed the following:
* Type17=Submarine
* Type18=Light Warship with Scout Planes
* Type19=Heavy Warship with Scout Planes

These new "descriptions" will be displayed in the RM under "Class:".

11. Added AI Torpedoes to 82 of the warships of different nationalities that had them as weapons. They will fire at various intervals once a target has reached the range of 1400 yards. Each ship “class” will have varying numbers of torpedoes:

* Japanese Submarines will have a total of 24 torpedoes Bow facing
* Japanese Midget Sub will have a total of 4 Bow facing
* American and German subs will have 24 torpedoes per Bow; the same to the Stern.
* PT Boat and Schnellboat will have 8 total; 4 firing to Port, 4 firing to Starboard
* Specific Heavy Cruisers, Light Cruisers, Destroyers will have a total of 17 torpedoes per side

Due to the fact that the torpedo is unable to “lead” a target, a higher number of torpedoes were required to provide a better sense of accuracy in some situations.

12. The Hatsuharu DD has been changed to be more accurately displayed, following a Shiratsuyu class model. The Shiratsuyu has been modified to use only one "Loadout" model, to appear slightly different than the Hatsuharu.

13. Changes made to the "Air" folder include the addition of the Aichi E13A Jake Floatplane. Reworked the equipment files for the IL2 Sturmovik Fighter Bomber, B24 Model H Heavy Bomber, B24 Model C Liberator to better have these planes carry weapons...as well as the Jake Floatplane.

14. The Sensor file (.sns) was reworked for many of the units (Ship/Plane) per s7rikeback's corrections.

15. Changed the floating behavior of the Survivor Rafts/Boats to have them appear more natural in mild to heavy seas. No more "heavy bobbing", leading to capsizing while the sea state is moderate. The Special Operations Raft was modified as well.

16. Speech was reworked in the specific area of “Yes Sir” to eliminate it repeating, plus reworking the length of its duration that prevented other phrases to be heard. Also eliminated most of the "shouting" of sub crewmen when circumstances arise.

17. Many new images were added/reworked to accompany the new added models, or personnel that inhabit these models.

18. Revisions to the Roster/Names.cfg to include the newly added units; plus changes made for spelling/different descriptions of units.

19. Many other tweaks were made to the units regarding “Dates” primarily to make sure the dates conform to the correct time the game expects changes to take place. Also, changes made to gun placements, traverse bearings, elevations too numerous to count were made throughout the file.

20. Changed the Captains Room "Options" Radio to have a greater highlighted image when mousing over it.

21. Corrections to the Kent and Sirtori torpedo spawn gun's where they were not hidden from view.

22. Changes made to the player subs Hydrophone/Sonar equipment and upgrades, to better have the equipment show as expected when on the sub or when offered when in-port.

23. Revisions to the "Help" and "Mouse over" text messages to better reflect information for the player and to contain "new" information when warranted.

24. Changes to the player subs overall performance in duration of mileage. and battery use/recharge capabilities.

25. Added the Moon to the night sky which had been eliminated by FOTRS....made it 50% smaller in size than stock.

26. Changed the color of the Crewmen "picture" that are killed on the Crew Management page to blue. Changes to the Crew Management screen to highlight the Watch Crew duty cycle. Highlighted the "selected" mission on the Single Missions screen for better viewing.

27. Added a "Watch Crew's Lounge" compartment to the players sub for keeping the Watch Crew from unnecessary harm when receiving damage from depth charges. A player will need to manually move each crewman to the "Lounge" for them to stay safe. Make sure you move them back into the Watch Crew Compartment to perform their duties when surfaced.

28. The "Repair Team" compartment has been expanded to keep the Deck Gun crewmen (both main Deck Gun and AA/Flak crewmen) safe when submerged (much the same as the Watch Crew Lounge does for the Watch Crew). You will be required to move the crewmen to the specific gun stations in order for the guns to fire when surfaced as needed.


==================

The following units have been added or changed:

ADDED:

LAA_AAPlatform (Allied Anti-Aircraft Bunker with 40mm Quad Bofors)
LAA_AAPlatformJP (Japanese Anti-Aircraft Bunker with 25mm Triple Turret)
AI_Fleetboat_Static; Type=17
AI_Pigboat_Static; Type=17
AFS_E13A_Jake Floatplane
AI_Fleetboat; American AI Submarine; Type=17
AI_Uboat9d2; German AI Submarine; Type=17
JP_ShinshuMaru; Japan; Type=103
NA25Daihatsu; Japanese Small boat/Landing Craft; Type=0
NADaihatsu; Japanese Small boat/Landing Craft; Type=0
NCDaihatsu; Japanese Small boat/Landing Craft; Type=104
NCA_SaltLakeCity, Type=19.....has Planes
NCL_Isuzu (Nagara); Type=6
NCL_Katori; Type=18....has Planes
NKLMS_Ada; Type=102
NKMSS_Aden; Type=102
NKMSS_Ansyu; Type=102
NLCVA; Allied Higgins Landing Craft; Type=103
NPT_Schnellboat, Type=0....3D model change
NSS_A1; Japan AI Submarine; Type=18....has Planes
NSS_AM; Japan AI Submarine; Type=18....has Planes
NSS_C3: Japan AI Submarine; Type=17
NSS_Jyunsen1; Japan AI Submarine; Type=17
NSS_JyunsenB; Japan AI Submarine; Type=18....has Planes
NSS_Kaidai4; Japan AI Submarine; Type=17
NSS_Ko; Japan AI Submarine; Type=17
NSS_Sen_Taka; Japan AI Submarine; Type=17
NSS_Sen_Toku_I; Japan AI Submarine; Type=18....has Planes

CHANGED:

NAuxCru; Japan; Type=18....has Planes
NBB_Alabama; American; Type=19....has Planes
NBB_Fuso; Japan; Type=19....has Planes
NBB_Ise2; Japan; Type=19....has Planes
NBB_KGeorgeV; British; Type=19....has Planes
NBB_Kongo; Japan; Type=19....has Planes
NBB_Montana; American; Type=19....has Planes
NBB_Nevada; American; Type=19....has Planes
NBB_New_Mexico; American; Type=19....has Planes
NBB_North_Carolina; American; Type=19....has Planes
NBB_Pennsylvania; American; Type=19....has Planes
NBB_Queen_Elisabeth; British; Type=19....has Planes
NBB_Tennessee; American; Type=19....has Planes
NBB_TennesseeEarly; American; Type=19....has Planes
NBB_Tirpitz; German; Type=19....has Planes
NBB_West_Virginia; American; Type=19....has Planes
NCA_Aoba; Japan; Type=19....has Planes
NCA_Baltimore; American; Type=19....has Planes
NCA_Deutschland; German; Type=19....has Planes
NCA_Lutzow; German; Type=19....has Planes
NCA_Maya; Japan; Type=19....has Planes
NCA_Myoko; Japan; Type=19....has Planes
NCA_Northampton; American; Type=19....has Planes
NCA_Pensacola; American; Type=19....has Planes
NCA_Pensacola_II; American; Type=19....has Planes
NCA_Portland; American; Type=19....has Planes
NCA_Quincy; American; Type=19....has Planes
NCA_Takao; Japan; Type=19....has Planes
NCA_Tone; Japan; Type=19....has Planes
NCL_Agano; Japan; Type=18....has Planes
NCL_Brooklyn; American; Type=18....has Planes
NCL_Cleveland; American; Type=18....has Planes
NCL_Fiji; British; Canadian; New Zealand; Type=18....has Planes
NCL_Katori; Japan; Type=18....has Planes
NCL_Kuma; Japan; Type=18....has Planes
NCL_Naka; Japan; Type=18....has Planes
NDD_Hatsuharu; Type=4....3D model change
NDD_MomiII; Type=109.....3D model change from the Momi DD
NDD_Shiratsuyu; Type=4....3D model change
NDE_PB102; Japan; Type=0....Changed this from a Type=17
NKSS_CAT; Japan; Type=18....has Planes
NL_B; Japan; Changed Dates
NL_C; Japan; Changed Dates
NLUS_Bremen; German; Type=18....has Planes

I'm sure I've left some things out that have been modified.....maybe one of our other modders can fill-in any changes I've missed?

=============

But lets be clear about this, Fotrs ULTIMATE has the most varied and exhaustive ship/plane inventory of ANY mod for SH4!

With 64 different types of aircraft

251 different surfaced AI ships

An ever increasing Campaign structure to have these units preform in a game world that's modified well beyond the stock game standards.

When players ask, "What's the difference between ULTIMATE and another mod?" You only have to look at one fact, ULTIMATE is the only large scale modification to have current community members "actively" working on an ever increasing improvement to the game. There is nothing like it for SH4!!

[propbeanie]

... We do need beta-tester input on the "balance" of the AI, specifically if the escorts, DD and other smaller craft are too dumb, or at least in the ballpark with their reactions to your sub. We've more closely "tuned" the "CrewRating=" lines early in the war, that progress upwards towards a peak in early 1944, then declines slightly toward 1945. Traffic follows along similar lines, with more single and double groups of ships un-escorted early, with an ever increasing amount, skill-level and variety of escort vessels - at least, that's the intention. This is not to say that you won't encounter tough escorts early, just fewer of them, and smaller "convoys" - hopefully. Let us know what you think, as your career advances. Remember now, zig-zag can be ~your~ friend too!

[pdiddy]

Just got SH4 up and running today on a new laptop in anticipation of the next release.

Thanks in advance to all who have worked on this. Not only for keeping this game alive but for making it as good as it's ever been!

[Jeffg]

This is a great group of submariners who want to make this simulation feel like you are really there in the Pacific. They put a lot of hard work and time into this project and I only wish them as always the best.

JeffG

[torpedobait]

The upcoming release coincides with my brand new Logitech 5.1 Surround Sound system. I can now hear all the ambient sounds, plus realistic placement of voices. Can't wait to experience the fruits of your much appreciated labors. Hats off to you, mod team. Salute!

: Kaleun_Cheers:

[aanker]

Thank you for your hard work and dedication to accurate detail CapnScurvy & Team, I can tell you are proud of your baby. Basically you have completely rebuilt and 'finished' SH4 v1.5 in addition to combining and building FOTRSU.

What a project !!!

[Captain Dave]

I too have been following along on the re-tooling of Fotrs Ultimate. The mod team deserves a big round of applause. You folks have gone above and beyond what the original developers have done. Thank You for your time and dedication.

[Faith]

As far as I know, this will be the first mod to have working torpedoes for surface ships on such a large scale. I'll be very happy to see it ingame.

[Hitman]

Epic

Looking forward to this

[vmialpha454]

I am very excited as well. I can’t wait to see what is in store. Thanks for all your hard work, team!

[captcrane]

Gotta say this sounds EPIC can't wait to download it. Thanks for all of the teams hard efforts, time, and skill in making this MEGA MOD available to all!