[WIP] SH4 Launch Program-Feature Requests/Wish List/Suggestions

[Donner]

This thread will be dedicated to ideas for skwasjer's upcoming SH4 Commander (working title for now) launch program.

Please post your wish list of requested features/suggestions here. This first post will be updated *nearly* daily with current suggestions. Please, Please, Please re-read this first post for these updates. I would like to *try* to keep repeat feature requests to a minimum.

As per skwasjer's post stating that he was picking up the development of this mod, SH4 Commander will be in the "second chair" until he completes S3D. Therefore, there is no indication of when this mod will be ready.

skwasjer will be trying to setup a program with basic functionality first.

If you would like to help with this mod (researching, number crunching, etc), PM either skwasjer or myself.

Feature Requests:

• Listing of time, date, location, class and the name of the ships you have sunk.
• Computation of how many torpedoes were fired and hits/misses
• "scuttlebut" were you would learn the latest news and gossip from other skippers.
• Crew members are transferred after a while, just like in RL
• Crew management
• Multiple installs and rollbacks
• Implementation of "skin packs" for different periods of the war
• Set Commander's name
• Choose name and number of submarine
• Individual records for each crewman and showing who shot what down.
• Ability to add/remove medals & Badge (Dolphins)
• To Promote/Demote any Crewman
• Integrated GIEP mod
• Gramophone randomization
• Integration of radio management mod
• As per your 'scuttlebut' suggestion I'm thinking of taking parts of the program online, iow. post patrol logs and reports to a server, so they can be browsed online, or in the program by others. You'd only get access to logs that are in the same time period of your career and/or home port...
• Inclusion of battleflags mod, so that flags get rendered dynamicly onto your active skin. I have DDS/TGA filters and can render files programmatically without problem. If anyone has other ideas based on graphics manipulation, please go ahead and suggest.
• Basic options: time compression, game options, graphics options, disable movies, use or not use gu.exe (or schedule it), etc...
• Use recon photo's or screenshots for loading screens
• More to come....

[399nkov]

Howdy Donner; this mod sounds interesting.

Taking a pic to confirm a sinking and given some credit for a damaged ship, if thats possible. Just my thoughts.

[ReallyDedPoet]

I am just glad this is being worked on, it is appreciated
If I can think of any suggestions I will post back, I like what I see on the
present list


RDP

[Torps]

Yah this is a great idea, keep up the good work.

[skwasjer]

Thanks Donner, for picking this up. I will take the next week or so to sleep over the basic program and interface. Most ideas come to me while I sleep, then the next morning I go 'eureka'!

Some ideas/features I've thought of myself (some ideas require collaboration with and/or permission of the original mod authors):

• Integrated GIEP mod
• Gramophone randomization
• Integration of radio management mod
• As per your 'scuttlebut' suggestion I'm thinking of taking parts of the program online, iow. post patrol logs and reports to a server, so they can be browsed online, or in the program by others. You'd only get access to logs that are in the same time period of your career and/or home port...
• Inclusion of battleflags mod, so that flags get rendered dynamicly onto your active skin. I have DDS/TGA filters and can render files programmatically without problem. If anyone has other ideas based on graphics manipulation, please go ahead and suggest.
• Multiple game profiles each with their own specific settings (you've already got this partially covered with 'Multiple installs')
• Basic options: time compression, game options, graphics options, disable movies, use or not use gu.exe (or schedule it), etc...
• Use recon photo's or screenshots for loading screens

I'll without a doubt come up with more myself, but I rather see suggestions from the would-be users

[Digital_Trucker]

Whoa, you are one ambitious fella, swas (but we knew that already from S3D ). If you do consider the integration of the GIEP and RadioStationManager functions, you not only have permission, but I'll toss ya the source code for both (in Visual Basic, so it may not be too helpful:hmm: ).

One other thing I would like to see is the "seasonalization" (dang, I made up another word) of the thermal layer as is accomplished by the Thermalizer by Castorp345.

[skwasjer]

I am just querying now (I don't need immediate help with this)

Are there any of you that have experience with localizing software into your native tongue? With experience, I really mean some form of previous experience with localization in general and/or software. Text will be stored in XML files, so some experience with that is a must as well (though it should prove fairly easy if you don't, trust me).

It would be nice if some dedicated people are willing to translate the software while keeping standardized terms (as much as possible) in mind. Translations must obviously be clear and exact. Better no translation than a crappy one.

Be advised it could be alot of work, because you have to work your way through each release to update what has changed, added or removed!

I will write in English by default and translate to Dutch myself.

[Paajtor]

Can we still post requests here?
I have one for the 1.5 Uboat-addon, that just got released:

The German crew still has American voices...and simply copying German voices from SH3 (with or without GWX2.0), doesn't work for 100%.
link

I would like to request such a future for this program...so, being able to set the voice-language, prior to game-launch.

[GerritJ9]

Paajtor, you can activate a German speechpack before game launch with JSGME, so I don't think THIS particular feature is really necessary. It works perfectly on SH4 v1.5 with the GWX 2.0 speechpack- any faults in speech lie in the speechpack itself and have already been partially ironed out. The remaining faults will be rectified as time goes by.

[tater]

Seems like this sort of app might be able to take a patrol report and use it to alter the campaign...

[skwasjer]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. Keep them coming.

In about a week or 3 I will actively start work on this.

[Paajtor]

Originally Posted by GerritJ9

Paajtor, you can activate a German speechpack before game launch with JSGME, so I don't think THIS particular feature is really necessary.

Sure, that is possible.

But I prefer to install mods, and leave them alone after that.
A tool like this SH4Launch, can tell the game which voices to load...so you can have several speechpacks installed (in folders that SH4L creates), and just use SH4L to activate one - with 1 click, instead of moving files around.

...at least, I hope this is possible.

[ustahl]

And it would probably work much faster.
The speech file sets are quite large (my "special compilation" German SH3 speech set is 182 MB), so enabling and/or disabling speech sets with JSGME take a little while each time.

[Lt commander lare]

hi i think this would be a great program for everyone to enjoy and i think an abandon ship option should be included if you can make to the surface because in the movies at least the crew abandoned ship with some deaths occuring in the process

lt commander lare