Additional Merchant Ship

[Cerberus62]

Cerberus 62 Additional Merchant Ships 1.1
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Are you hacked off by all the Liberty ships bobbling around in axis ports? Want some alternation? Especially historically correct ones? Or do you want some new target for your eels? Why shouldn't we utilize existing models of SH5 that are already in the game, but almost unused in the campaign?

Download
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Newest version available here: http://www.filefront.com/17622372/Ce... Ships 1.1.zip

Description
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This small mod consists of two parts:

Part 1
- adds a German freighter of the Ehrenfels type
- adds a German freighter of the Ems type
- adds a Hog Islander Type A to the German side

This part is for the purist. The first two models are look-alikes of Ehrenfels and Ems type freighters. In reality these ships have been converted to German auxilliary cruisers, on which two fairly accurate models in SH5 are based. The Hog Islander's silhouette bears a striking resemblance to a lot of German cargo ships build in the 1920s and 1930s, so I decided to include this ship in Part 1.


Part 2
- adds a British freighter of the North Sands type
- adds a British oiler of the Dale class
- adds another British troopship

This part introduces models that look similar to British ships. Since folks seem to be keen on fresh targets, I added them despite of the historical inaccuracy. If you dislike looseness you shouldn't install Part 2, if you enjoy some variety in the ships that you can sink, add it.

This mod uses original SH5 model files of the German auxilliary cruisers 'Pinguin' and 'Komet', of the Dithmarschen type supply ship and of the passenger liner 'Conte Verde' as proxies. Once installed the ships are used by the game engine as merchant ships of the appropriate types. You don't have to start a new campaign to make them appear randomly in the game.

Neither your campaign status nor the campaign goals will be affected in any way. And Liberty ships mentioned above will still be there - unless you decide to delete the LL.cfg in the data\Roster\German\Sea\ folder... Just kiddin' )

Install
-------
Extract the folders "Cerberus62 Additional Merchant Ships 1.0 (Part 1)" and "Cerberus62 Additional Merchant Ships 1.0 (Part 2)" to your MODS folder and install with JSGME. You may either install Part 1 only, OR Part 1 and Part 2 together. PART 2 REQUIRES PART 1 TO BE INSTALLED, IT WON'T WORK ALONE.

Attention: If you own a non-english SH5 version and you want the class names of the ships displayed correctly in your language, you must adjust the file names.cfg as following:

1. Copy the file \Silent Hunter 5\data\Roster\names.cfg of your original game folder to the mod folder \Cerberus62 Additional Merchant Ships 1.0 (Part 1)\data\Roster\names.cfg

2. Add the following lines (or customize the ship names in your language) in section [Sea] of the copied names.cfg and save the file:
CLSavannah=Brooklyn Light Cruiser (Mod.) <----- used for Cerberus62 Historical Equipment Mod only
DDType36A=Type 1936A Destroyer <----- used for Cerberus62 Historical Equipment Mod only
NKLEhrenfels=Ehrenfels Type Large Freighter
NKSEms=Ems Type Small Freighter
NKLNorthSands=North Sands Type Large Freighter
OLDale=Dale Class Fleet Oiler
TROronsay=Medium Troopship

3. Install with JSGME.


The Ships
---------

~~~ Part 1: Ehrenfels and Ems Type Freighters ~~~

Cargo ships of the Ehrenfels class where a common sight in German harbours during WW II. The nine ships of this class where owned and operated by the Hansa Line, Bremen. Two of them where requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) and converted to auxilliary cruisers in 1939/40, the MS Kandelsfels became the Schiff 33/HSK 5 'Pinguin' while MS Goldenfels changed into Schiff 16/HSK 2 'Atlantis'. The others vessels of this type where MS Ehrenfels, MS Reichenfels, MS Kybfels, MS Hohenfels, MS Tannenfels, MS Neidenfels and MS Moltkefels. Take a look at www.ddghansa-shipsphotos.de for lots of rare pictures of these ships.

Before requisitioned and converted to Schiff 45/HSK 7 'Komet' the 'MS Ems' was operated by the Norddeutscher Lloyd. The ships of the Ems class (sister ships that served during WW II beeing MS Drau, MS Eider, MS Iller and MS Mur) where rather small though modern and fairly fast vessels, originally designed for coastal cargo purposes.

I added new textures, which show these vessels in the typical early-war-paint with black hull and light grey superstructures. The game uses the new textures by chance in exchange with the standard haze grey colour textures.





~~~ Part 2: North Sands Type Freighter, Dale Class Oiler and Medium Troopship ~~~

Because you may find it funny to have more ships to shoot at I decided to use the AMC_Penguin files for another british unit. The silhouette of the ship looks somewhat like a North Sands freighter, cargo ships built in Canada during WW II for the British Merchant Marine. Though not delivered before 1942 in reality I made them appear earlier in the game. This means you don't have to wait so long to make them your prey.

The Dithmarschen type supply ship closely resembles oil tankers used by many nation in the WWII era, especially British fleet oilers of the Dale class in shape, size and displacement. Built between 1936 and 1941 these ships were replenishment oilers taken up for service with the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. Since they were much slower than the Dithmarschen class supply ships I adjusted the maximum speed to historical accurate 11.5 knots. The Dale class oilers are poorly armed, but this corresponds with historical conditions. So from now on, the Cimarron type T3 fleet oiler is no longer the only large allied tanker that you'll meet.

You haven't found the SS Conte Verde (or her sister SS Conte Rosso) in the campaign yet? Never mind, it's as difficult to find as the Queen Mary. As it looks similar to S.S. Oronsay and other two-funneled troopships I used the model file of this unit to add another british troop transport. And I gave her a new overall light grey texture. The class name is changed from "Type109=Rare Troop Transport" to "Type103=Troop Transport", therefore it's much more likely to meet this unit in the campaign. To keep a rather scarce appearance the config file contains the entry "IsUnique=yes".





Known Bugs and Limitations
------------------------------
Unfortunately, entries in the loadout definition file of the troopship are not recognised by the sim file, therefore I wasn't able to add any gun stations to this unit.
Tested with SH5 patch 1.20.


History
---------
v0.9 25 Sep 2010 First release
v1.0 01 Nov 2010 Mod now consists of two parts (German and British units), British oiler and British troopship added
v1.1 08 Dec 2010 Hog Islander added to the German side

Note to Modders
-----------------
You are free to include this work either full or in parts in your mods at your discretion.



~~~~~~~~ OUTDATED ORIGINAL THREAD STARTS HERE~~~~~~~~

Fellow subsimmers,

are you hacked off by all the Liberty ships bobbling around in axis ports? Want some alternation? A historically correct one? Why shouldn't we utilize existing models of SH5 that are already in the game, but almost unused in the campaign?

How it works:

1. Create a folder \data\Sea\NKLEhrenfels in your Silent Hunter 5 directory.

2. Copy the following files:

\data\Sea\NAMC_Penguin\NAMC_Penguin.cfg to \data\Sea\NKL_Ehrenfels\NKL_Ehrenfels.cfg
\data\Sea\NAMC_Penguin\NAMC_Penguin.eqp to \data\Sea\NKL_Ehrenfels\NKL_Ehrenfels.eqp
\data\Sea\NAMC_Penguin\NAMC_Penguin.sns to \data\Sea\NKL_Ehrenfels\NKL_Ehrenfels.sns
\data\Sea\NAMC_Penguin\NAMC_Penguin_sil.dds to \data\Sea\NKL_Ehrenfels\NKL_Ehrenfels_sil.dds

3. Open data\Sea\NKL_Ehrenfels\NKL_Ehrenfels.cfg with an editor and change the content to:

[Unit]
ClassName=NKLEhrenfels
3DModelFileName=data/Sea/NAMC_Penguin/Penguin
UnitType=102
MaxSpeed=15
Length=147
Width=18.1
Mast=36
Draft=5.8
Displacement=7170
DisplacementVariation=10
RenownAwarded=220
CrewComplement=40
SurvivalRate=70
SurvivalPercentage=40
RecManualCategory=Freighter
BowShape=Plumb
Superstructure=Composite
Islands=None

;************** THE END ************

4. Copy the file \data\Roster\German\Sea\AMCPenguin.cfg to \data\Roster\German\Sea\NKLEhrenfels.cfg

5. Open \data\Roster\German\Sea\NKLEhrenfels.cfg with an editor of your choice (it's a simple text file) and substitute
all of the text with the following entries (until ***** END *****):

[UnitClass]
ClassName=NKLEhrenfels
UnitType=102
AppearanceDate=19360101
DisappearanceDate=19451231
DisplayName=GE Ehrenfels Type Freighter

[Texture 1]
TextureName=
LightmapTextureName=data/Sea/NAMC_Penguin/NAMC_Penguin_AO01.dds
NormalmapTextureName=
StartDate=19360101
EndDate=19451231
Frequency=1

[Unit 1]
Name=MS Ehrenfels
DOC=19360101
DOD=19431231

[Unit 2]
Name=MS Reichenfels
DOC=19360101
DOD=19421231

[Unit 3]
Name=MS Kandelfels
DOC=19370101
DOD=19391231

[Unit 4]
Name=MS Kybfels
DOC=19370101
DOD=19411231

[Unit 5]
Name=MS Goldenfels
DOC=19370101
DOD=19391231

[Unit 6]
Name=MS Hohenfels
DOC=19380101
DOD=19411231

[Unit 7]
Name=MS Tannenfels
DOC=19380101
DOD=19441231

[Unit 8]
Name=MS Neidenfels
DOC=19390101
DOD=19451231

[Unit 9]
Name=MS Moltkefels
DOC=19401231
DOD=19451231

;***** End *****

6. Save your changes.

7. Open the file \data\Roster\names.cfg and add the following line in section [Sea]:

NKLEhrenfels=Large Freighter Ehrenfels type

8. Save your changes and quit the editor.

That's all. Next time you start SH5 you'll notice typical Hansa Line freighters of the Ehrenfels type sailing around as german merchant vessels. Because of the line UnitType=102 in the file NKLEhrenfels.cfg the game uses the 'new' ship the same way it does with e.g. the rather unsuitable Liberty ships.

With the instruction above it's simple to add other unit types to the pool: You may use the model of the Auxilliary cruiser Komet as small coastal cargo freighter of the Ems type. Look for NAMC_Komet and copy it to NKS_Ems likewise. Here's the data\Sea\NKS_Ems\NKS_Ems.cfg:

[Unit]
ClassName=NKSEms
3DModelFileName=data/Sea/NAMC_Komet/Komet
UnitType=102
MaxSpeed=14
Length=147
Width=18.1
Mast=36
Draft=5.8
Displacement=3287
DisplacementVariation=20
RenownAwarded=140
CrewComplement=40
SurvivalRate=70
SurvivalPercentage=40
RecManualCategory=Freighter
BowShape=Raked
Superstructure=Composite
Islands=None
;******** THE END *************

And here's the content for the data\Roster\German\Sea\NKSEms.cfg:

[UnitClass]
ClassName=NKSEms
UnitType=102
AppearanceDate=19380101
DisappearanceDate=19461231
DisplayName=GE Ems Type Freighter

[Texture 1]
TextureName=
LightmapTextureName=data/Sea/NAMC_Komet/Komet_AO01.dds
NormalmapTextureName=
StartDate=19380101
EndDate=19461231
Frequency=1

[Unit 1]
Name=MS Ems
DOC=19380101
DOD=19391231

[Unit 2]
Name=MS Drau
DOC=19380101
DOD=19461231

[Unit 3]
Name=MS Eider
DOC=19380101
DOD=19461231

[Unit 4]
Name=MS Iller
DOC=19380101
DOD=19461231

[Unit 5]
Name=MS Mur
DOC=19380101
DOD=19461231

;***** End *****

If you prefer to have another ship to shoot at (yee-haw! ) you may use the AMC_Penguin files for creating another unit in the e. g. british folder (\data\Roster\British\Sea\). The silhouette of the ship looks somewhat like a North Sands freighter, cargo ships built in Canada during WW II for the British Merchant Marine. The game will use them randomly, even in convoys.

To keep things clear I suggest to install the appropriate files with JSGME rather than copying them as aforementioned.

Additional Info
----------------
Cargo ships of the Ehrenfels class where a common sight in german harbours during WW II. The nine ships of this class where owned and operated by the Hansa Line, Bremen. Two of them where requisitioned by the Kriegsmarine (German Navy) and converted to auxilliary cruisers in winter 1939/40, the MS Kandelsfels became the Schiff 33/HSK 5 'Pinguin' while MS Goldenfels changed into Schiff 16/HSK 2 'Atlantis'. Therefor the DOD in the cfg file reads 19391231. Take a look at www.ddghansa-shipsphotos.de for lots of rare pictures of these ships. Before requisitioned and converted to Schiff 45/HSK 7 'Komet' the 'MS Ems' was operated by the Norddeutscher Lloyd. The ships of the Ems class where rather small though modern and fairly fast vessels, originally designed for coastal cargo purposes.

Have fun!

P. S.: Despite painstakingly usage of the search function I couldn't find a thread concerning this issue, though the AOTD mod uses two models similar (the CA Hipper class files for Prinz Eugen and the DD Type 34 files for a Type 36 A). But of course I'll take the blame if this should turn out to be an old hat... )

[The General]

This sounds fantastic! Can you put it in a JSGME friendly Mod folder?

[Trevally.]

Thanks Cerberus, this is great.


Thanks again.

[LordNeuro"Serbia"]

Now is thise JSGME friendly Mod or u have too manuely change things. I hope u cann make it JSGME friendly for peapol like me how r noobs in changing things and dont wont too mess up the existing game.
Cheers and keep up the good work.

[Trevally.]

The download is ready to install with JSGME.

I included everything Cerberus suggested, so there is now:-

GERMAN SHIPS
NKL Ehrenfels
NKS Ems

BRITISH SHIP
North Sands

[LordNeuro"Serbia"]

Thx for fest replay and thx for making it JSGME friendly. U gote the bear
Cheers.

[Cerberus62]

Thank you very much for your assistance, Trevally.

I wasn't sure if this little file tweaking hasn't been done before, so I did not ask for permission to upload a JSGME ready folder here (which I have kept ready, too). And since there hasn't been a response to the initial thread I thought that there is no interest in doing so.

I have finished some new textures for the mentioned merchant ships to increase the variety (and the historical appearance, of course). As soon as I will have granted permission I will upload the files for everyone's usage.

[Trevally.]

I have finished some new textures for the mentioned merchant ships to increase the variety (and the historical appearance, of course). As soon as I will have granted permission I will upload the files for everyone's usage.

That would be great Cerberus

You should start a new thread when you release and I will remove the above link.

[7thSeal]

Thanks Cerberus62 and welcome to Subsim btw, I'll certainly be giving this mod a try.

[LordNeuro"Serbia"]

And i think it would bee good thing too add screenshoots of the new shiping and textures.
Cheers

[Cerberus62]

Hi Everybody,

I don't want to seem impatient, but... How long does it take to get permission for uploading mods? Though I have e-mailed Neil Stevens my request three days ago, I haven't got any response.

Did I get something wrong? Perhaps another moderator is in charge of these tasks? Should I wait a little more? Since I want to share two mods I've finished any hint would be appreciated.

Thank you!

[TheDarkWraith]

have someone who is able to upload on Subsim upload them on your behalf

[Cerberus62]

Originally Posted by TheDarkWraith

have someone who is able to upload on Subsim upload them on your behalf

Thank you DarkWraith, think I'm going to visit filefront.com within the next few days...

By the way: Admiring your incredible mods, keep up the good work. To call it a great enrichment would be the understatement of the decade.

[Reece]

This seems like a nice breakthrough! Must give it a go!

[Cerberus62]

Hi again,

the Additional Merchant Ships Mod 0.9 is ready for download here:

(removed, for latest version see first posting of this thread)

The documentation folder includes pictures of the ships with the new textures. I've added a paintwork that shows black hull and light grey superstructures. This was some kind of merchant marine standard at the time. In the campaign the game engine will use either the new textures or the original overall light grey at random:

(removed, for pictures see first posting of this thread)

Have fun!