[WIP] - SH3Weather Update 1.5

[Skweetis]

RELEASED!!! LINKS ARE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST!!!

Hi All,

Im back after a long break, the birth of my son last year has demanded much of my time. This resulted in some neglect of the SH3Weather application, which I have corrected now for the upcoming release.

Here is a list of what has been changed for version 1.5

- Adjustment of random weather values/intervals based on personal testing, user suggestions and positive feedback of the GWX default weather settings.
- Implemented full installation package.
- Corrected issue with WINDRAND= key being removed from scenario files if October or November are selected for patrol month. (thanks to Lurker_hlb3 for finding this one)

**Additional features ONLY available when used with SH3Commander 2.6 or greater**
- Read Month and Flotilla when launched via SH3Commander and select them automatically. User will still be able to manually configure weather through the SH3Weather 1.5 interface, but not month or flotilla.

Note: This program writes directly to specific values in your campaign (*.mis) files rather than overwrite the entire file itself, and therefore is compatable with any mod(s) that you may have installed. Source code for the SH3Weather program (written in Visual Basic 6 SP6) is freely available to anyone who PM's me for it, PROVIDED NO PART OF THE CODE OR PROGRAM IS USED FOR COMMERCIAL/FINANCIAL GAIN. SH3Weather is provided free of charge, with no warranties or guarantees, express or implied.

Jscones has also been generous in offering to host the SH3Weather program on his site, as has Mr_Chris via FileFront, so the new version will be easier for most users to get than the current RapidShare option. The addresses for download will be made available when the release is built.

Also, please PLEASE PLEASE!!!! use this thread only to notify me of problems or suggestions with the version you are using. BE SURE TO LET ME KNOW WHICH VERSION IT IS!!!!

Thanks to all for your patience in my absence, and for the support and encouragement many of you have given me.

If you have any questions or support issues related to SH3Weather, you can PM me here at subsim.com

Thanks a million to Lurker_hlb3, TheLuckyOne17 and Jscones for their invaluable help in testing, troubleshooting and guidance in producing this upcomming version. Extra special thanks to Jscones and Mr_Chris for hosting!

DOWNLOADS:

Jonesoft: http://www.users.on.net/~jscones/software/products/Setup_SH3Weather_1_5.exe Courtesy of Jscones.

FileFront: http://files.filefront.com/Setup_SH3Weather_1_5exe/;6612411;;/fileinfo.html (http://files.filefront.com/Setup_SH3Weather_1_5exe/;6612411;;/fileinfo.html) Courtesy of Mr_Chris.

Cheers,

James

[ReallyDedPoet]

Look forward to it, thanks.

[rudewarrior]

Hi, looking forward to the new version!!!

Just wondering if you have happened to notice this post:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=103091?

I have been having this issue as well, and I am wondering (assuming SH3 Weather is the issue) has it been corrected?

Again, thanx for the excellent work.:up:

[Jimbuna]

Sounds good mate...and congrats on you family addition :up:

[ReallyDedPoet]

If you use SH3 manually rather than through SHCommander, will this work if you have multiple installs.

[bigboywooly]

You can start SH3 weather on its own
If you have SH3commander it starts it for you

Either way you can use it :up:

[Skweetis]

Actually, this issue about save game crashes.... I wonder, those of you that are having it: are you saving when in the vicinity of a large convoy? I have in the past (in fact from the beginning of SH3's release) had issues where I was unable to load a save that was made while attacking or trailing a large convoy.

Just curious if these are the same circumstances under which others are experincing this problem, especially with how most of the major mods do increase the size of convoys (and by no fault of their own..) the SH3 save engine cannot handle that many objects when saving....

Just a thought.

Cheers,

Jamie

PS - Damn, im gone for a spell, come back, and I have the accursed Medic as my avatar.... *shudders*

[theluckyone17]

Nope... at least, not for me. It's difficult to say what the cause of it is, simply 'cause it takes so long to replicate the problem. The last time I had the issue, though, I resolved it simply by reopening SH3Weather, reapplying the weather changes, exiting from SH3Weather, then firing up SH3Commander to start SH3.

I haven't suffered from this bug since I found the fix above, but the next time I do, I'll document my steps, and save before/after copies of the configuration files to see if we can nail this bug to the wall.

Edit: Hey! I've got Popeye for my avatar! WOOT! Next time I get a HK tailing me, I'll tie him to Bernard along with a sack of spinach cans, toss 'em over the side, and wait for the Brit's to pick them up.

Edit #2: Speak of the devil. It happened again. Gimme a sec, and I'll post up my research.

[theluckyone17]

Allrighty... I'm back. So here's the sequence of events:
Saved the game the way I usually do earlier this afternoon: Save the game, then use the "Save and Exit" option, selecting the same file, and hitting "Cancel" when it asks me to overwrite. Exit out of the game as usual (this way, I'm not abandoning the career). Did not rollback SH3Commander.

Restarted SH3 by SH3Commander after picking the wife up from work and returning home. Reloaded the game, just to have the bug hit. Closed out of SH3 via "Alt-F4". Did not roll back SH3Commander.

Saved a copy of the Campaign and Cfg directories, along with the requested SH3Weather.log file. Ran SH3Weather, selected September and Random, had SH3Weather do its thing, then closed it. Copied the directories and the log file to another directory. Restarted SH3 and reloaded. Same problem occurred.

Saved and exited this time, saving to the "Bug" file. Attempted to restart the original bugged "ToPatrol" saved game. Bug hits again, boat's at the bottom of the ocean. Saved the game to the "Bug" file again. Used the usual procedure to save & exit. Rolled back SH3Commander this time.

Reran SH3Weather, selecting Random September weather again. Saved the directories and the log file again. Started SH3 back up, loading the "ToPatrol" game. Successful. The bug did not occur.

Here's the final SH3 Weather Log:
#2007-01-05 13:56:14#,"1","0","0","0","193","1","1","0","1","11",9,3,#FALSE#
#2007-01-05 16:53:34#,"1","0","0","0","76","1","1","0","1","11",9,3,#FALSE#
#2007-01-05 17:09:16#,"1","0","3","6","4","1","1","0","1","11",9,3,#FALSE#

My installed Mod's, according to JSGME:
GWX - No Medals on Crew
GWX - Main movie - 'Das Boot'
GWX - 16km Atmosphere
GWX - Dec 23rd Corrections
Longer Repair Times LITE v1.31 (GWX compatible)
(along with GWX, obviously)

I'm going to try copying back those original files from the first backup, and see what happens.

Update: I rolled back SH3Commander, and copied the original corrupted files (then entire Campaign and Cfg directories), and reproduced the crash. Now I'll copy the new, working, directories back, and verify that they're still working. Then we get to compare the files, and see what SH3 doesn't like, right?

[Skweetis]

Lucky, thanks for the detailed information, Im going to do some more investigating! Keep it coming, cause if SH3 Weather is causing this bug, I want to make sure its good and squashed in the next release.

Im just leaving work now, and will look at this in further detail when I get home in about an hour.

CHeers, and thanks for the information.

James

[theluckyone17]

Alrighty :rock:.

Continued research: It's definitely the campaign files. I've got the original campaign files saved, and the new files that work. If I copy the original campaign files over the working copy, SH3 bugs out. Copy the working files back, and SH3 works perfectly fine.

I diff'd/compared the campaign files, and here are the results:
Corrupted Campaign_LND.mis:
Line 11: Fog=0
Line 17: WindHeading=193
Line 18: WindSpeed=0

Working Campaign_LND.mis:
Line 11: Fog=3
Line 17: WindHeading=4
Line 18: WindSpeed=6

Corrupted Campaign_RND.mis:
Line 11: Fog=0
Line 17: WindHeading=193
Line 18: WindSpeed=0

Working Campaign_RND.mis:
Line 11: Fog=3
Line 17: WindHeading=4
Line 18: WindSpeed=6

Corrupted Campaign_SCR.mis:
Line 11: Fog=0
Line 17: WindHeading=193
Line 18: WindSpeed=0

Working Campaign_SCR.mis:
Line 11: Fog=3
Line 17: WindHeading=4
Line 18: WindSpeed=6

Edit: Corrected file names.

[JScones]

Additional features ONLY when used with SH3Commander 2.7 or greater
- Read Month and Flotilla when launched and select them automatically. User will still be able to manually configure weather, but not month or flotilla.
Really looking forward to this - I actually started passing the necessary parameters to SH3Weather back in R2.6 (when the feature was first added), hoping that you'd modify it to read and use them.

Anything that makes it easier for players. :up:

[Skweetis]

Fixed the version compatability, thanks for the heads up J! :oops:

Im dillegently getting back into this, and resolving this crash issue... interesting that the different MIS files make a difference, as I always thought the MIS weren't read on save load.

There seems to be a pattern there with wind and Fog being 0 for the "corrupted" campaign files.

For reference, the log file contains the values written to the campain files as follows:

Now, Clouds, Rain, Fog, WindSpeed, WindDir, CloudsRand, PrecipRand, FogRand, WindRand, Interval, SelectedMonth, Season, InMedSea <==Edit: removed PHP tags for better readability

That's snipped directly from the code that writes the log entry.

Thanks for the additional info Lucky, we'll get to the bottom of this.

James

[Hartmann]

Downloading now

thanks :up:

[Skweetis]

Lucky,

Is that log posting a cut and paste job? or did you type it in manually?

The reason I ask, is that the first line in the log, which also happens to correspond with the "Corrupted" campaign entries you posted, the interval value is "1 1", this should be "11", I am curious where the space is comming from, and if it is somehow being generated by the program, that may be what is causing the problem....

Let me pick apart the code...


Ill be back.

James

[theluckyone17]

Erg.

The SH3Weather.log content is a copy & paste job, but I verified it from the original log files, and the space is not there. Must've slapped a space in there somehow either pasting it in afterwards, or editing (or maybe the cat walked across the keyboard when my back was turned... yeah, that's it! Blame it on the cat!:cool:).

I dug a little deeper... started with the corrupted campaign files, and started changing those values until I found out what SH3 was complaining about.

Line 18, which should be the WindSpeed line... if I changed that value from 0 to 3, leaving everything else the same, SH3 loads that saved game without a problem. Since the working campaign files generated by SH3Weather didn't complain about the 6, I assume any positive, non-zero value will work here. Change it to 0, and I betcha SH3 complains.

That help at all?

[Skweetis]

Seems you may be on to something. Perhaps SH3 can't handle a 0 windspeed? Odd that I haven't run into this. Let me manually change my campaign file to have 0 wind speed, and load my save game.....

if this is the case, Ill make minimum windspeed 1....

Thanks a million for helping me test and figure this out!

EDIT: By the way, if it turns out that it IS the 0 windspeed that is causing the problem, it was your cat that made me use it as a valid value.... yeah, that's it.... the cat

[theluckyone17]

I assume the units for the WindSpeed variable in the configuration file is m/s... at which point, I want to say I've seen SH3 have a dead calm before. Usually at the start of a patrol, but I think I've seen it in mid patrol, too. I could be wrong, but...

... on the other hand, SH3 could just have a problem loading a saved game when the wind is 0 m/s, while it handles a currently running game perfectly fine. That'd be an awful strange bug, though.

I don't mind helping out at all... the way I look at it, I just compared results, and that's easy. I didn't have to debug someone else's code to do it, and that makes me very happy (not a professional programmer, btw, and the chance of debugging someone else's code is why I'm not :doh:).

As for the cat thing... well, I do believe he just earned a nickname. Bernard.

[Skweetis]

Nope. I set windspeed to 0 in all three files, to no effect. I was able to load a save without issue....

Let me see what else...

Edit: Lucky, the point you made about saving with a 0 windspeed may be valid, let me try that. Before I can start changing code, I have to reproduce it here. Currently, I only have the GW mod previous to the GWX release (ill update that tonight, and see if I can get the same results) and SH3Commander/SH3Weather. Ill be adding LRT 1.31 Lite as well once I upgrade to GWX.... I think it will be a late night for me, 'cause I can't let things go unsolved... hehe

[Skweetis]

Scratch that. I loaded a save game that was created with a windspeed of 0. Worked fine....

Id like to try launching my save game with your bad .mis files.... see what happens...

In the meantime, Im off to update to GWX....

[Samwolf]

Actually, this issue about save game crashes.... I wonder, those of you that are having it: are you saving when in the vicinity of a large convoy? I have in the past (in fact from the beginning of SH3's release) had issues where I was unable to load a save that was made while attacking or trailing a large convoy.

Just curious if these are the same circumstances under which others are experincing this problem, especially with how most of the major mods do increase the size of convoys (and by no fault of their own..) the SH3 save engine cannot handle that many objects when saving....

Just a thought.

Cheers,

Jamie

PS - Damn, im gone for a spell, come back, and I have the accursed Medic as my avatar.... *shudders*

If this info helps, I've had the save game reload problem long before using SH3Weather.

I did notice that the saved Crew_Career_00.cfg file somehow gets set to the default file from SH3 for that sub while the saved game Crew_Career_x.cfg file still has whatever crew you had when you saved the game.

Tried copying over the Patrol crew Config file to the 00.cfg file and sometimes it will reload but not all the time. I had this bug show up since stiock SH3, could never figure out the pattern to why a savegame gets corrupted. I always save on the surface, no enemies sighted, TC=1, gramaphone off.

[Skweetis]

Lucky,

When you get a chance, can you try this for me:

1)restore the MIS campaign files that cause the problem...
2)replace the [Mission] section in each "bad" file with the [Mission] section from the "good" MIS campaign files that do work

Let me know what happens...

cheers,

James

[Skweetis]

If this info helps, I've had the save game reload problem long before using SH3Weather.



All info helps Samwolf, the more I have, the better chance I have of figuring out what the issue is, and if SH3weather is the cause. Regardless of what the cause is, finding an answer, and then possible workaround is a benifit to all the community.

I truly appreciate any and all information that is provided!

Thanks for contributing!

Cheers,

Jamie

[theluckyone17]

Lucky,

When you get a chance, can you try this for me:

1)restore the MIS campaign files that cause the problem...
2)replace the [Mission] section in each "bad" file with the [Mission] section from the "good" MIS campaign files that do work

Let me know what happens...

cheers,

James

That works... which makes sense, because the .mis files differ in that [Mission] section only. At least, according to "Active File Compare" (a shareware Windows diff knock-off... I've never used it before, but it looks to do the job. Booting into Linux to use 'diff' would be a pain).

I'm going to try something... After I did the above, I saved a new save file (I have been right along, but always loading into the original save file that had the issue). Now that we've copied the working [Mission] block into the .mis files, I'm going to edit those .mis files to set WindSpeed to 0 again, then load the new save file, rather than the original one.

[Skweetis]

Posting way to many times in my own thread, I apologise....

Lucky,

I was reading through previous threads of yours, and you mentioned that you wanted to know what files specifically that SH3Weather writes to, so I figured Id post the source for the write command to the mis files. This is all that SH3Weather writes to any SH3 files. You will notice that it uses a WRITEINI module, since most of the SH3 cfgs use a .ini structure for their files (makes my job easier)...

'----Write to SCR
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_SCR.mis", "mission", "Fog", Fog
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_SCR.mis", "mission", "FogRand", FogRand
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_SCR.mis", "mission", "Clouds", Clouds
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_SCR.mis", "mission", "CloudsRand", CloudsRand
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_SCR.mis", "mission", "Precip", Rain
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_SCR.mis", "mission", "PrecipRand", PrecipRand
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_SCR.mis", "mission", "WindHeading", WindDir
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_SCR.mis", "mission", "WindSpeed", WindSpeed
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_SCR.mis", "mission", "WindRand", WindRand
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_SCR.mis", "mission", "WeatherRndInterval", Interval
'----Write to LND
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_LND.mis", "mission", "Fog", Fog
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_LND.mis", "mission", "FogRand", FogRand
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_LND.mis", "mission", "Clouds", Clouds
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_LND.mis", "mission", "CloudsRand", CloudsRand
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_LND.mis", "mission", "Precip", Rain
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_LND.mis", "mission", "PrecipRand", PrecipRand
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_LND.mis", "mission", "WindHeading", WindDir
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_LND.mis", "mission", "WindSpeed", WindSpeed
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_LND.mis", "mission", "WindRand", WindRand
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_LND.mis", "mission", "WeatherRndInterval", Interval
'----Write to RND
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_RND.mis", "mission", "Fog", Fog
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_RND.mis", "mission", "FogRand", FogRand
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_RND.mis", "mission", "Clouds", Clouds
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_RND.mis", "mission", "CloudsRand", CloudsRand
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_RND.mis", "mission", "Precip", Rain
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_RND.mis", "mission", "PrecipRand", PrecipRand
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_RND.mis", "mission", "WindHeading", WindDir
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_RND.mis", "mission", "WindSpeed", WindSpeed
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_RND.mis", "mission", "WindRand", WindRand
WriteIni App.Path & "\data\Campaigns\Campaign\Campaign_RND.mis", "mission", "WeatherRndInterval", Interval

That is a copy paste from the VB6 code (Don't show Jscones, 'cause he did give me tips on how to do the same thing with less lines of code, I just couldn't bring myself to edit the write part I had so painstakingly written out! Though let him know that all of the nested IF's I had are now CASE statements! I digress...)

The values are generated by the program, then written to the files as shown above. This is the limit of what it writes...

Hopefully this will give Lucky, and other concerned users as to what is happening to their files. I will be happy to share the source code to anyone who requests via PM, provided they make no profit (ie charge) for any part of its use....

Cheers,

James

[Skweetis]

Lucky,

guess I posted previously at the same time....

can you post the "broken" [mission] section? I'll load it into mine and see what happens....

and so I can closely reproduce... are you submerged, or surfaced when saving?

Cheers and thanks for your diligence. If we get to the bottom of this, Ill petition Neal to change your title to Bug Hunter! hehe

James

[theluckyone17]

Blech. Not for your code, but for this bug. I'm starting to get annoyed with it.

I performed the above... having overwritten the non-working [Mission] block with the block from the working .mis file, successfully loading it, then saving it again... and changing WindSpeed line to 0 in the .mis files, then loading the new saved file again... SH3 borks.

The code is fairly straight forward. It really can't be much simpler, really. I don't think this is SH3Weather's code... it just edits the .mis file, and it's kinda hard to mess that up. Invalid syntax or an invalid value, maybe... but anything else, ought to be SH3.

There must be something else to this bug than just that WindSpeed line, since changing it to zero for you doesn't replicate the bug (but it does for me).

I wonder what happens if I create a new captain using SH3Commander, use the bad .msi files, and start a new career?

[theluckyone17]

Sorry for the double post, but seein' as this is a different... line of attack, I figured it was worth it.

If you can't replicate the bug by setting WindSpeed to zero in your .mis files, then there's got to be more to the bug than just that. Samwolf's post got me thinking, so I popped on over and started checking out my crew config files, too.

Oddly enough, there is a discrepancy. I've got three saved game files... the first two were from .mis files that were valid, so SH3 loaded fine. The last saved game file was a .mis file that wouldn't work.

The first two crew_config_*.cfg files are identical. The third is different. After a quick glance, it looks like the crew had been moved around (all three saved game files should be within a minute or two of each other, since they were saved during this bug-checking). I don't remember moving crew around during all of this.

[Skweetis]

Lucky,

A garbage value is a possibility, but the values for all the variables that are created in SH3Weather are output to the log file, which as shown above, seem okay (with the exception of the space in the interval value, but you explained that. Frisky Bernard :P). All the datatypes for the variables are integers, with the exception of the 29th flotilla Boolean and the date/time stamp for the logfile (shown as "Now" in the above description.... I'm stumped...

I've been away a while, so how many other users do you recall are experiencing the "Death Dive" on load of a save? Do you recall if they are using roughly the same mods? I wonder if something that gets written by SH3Weather, and GWX or another mod is creating a subkilling concoction.... conflicting values of some sort that makes the SH3 engine barf....

I'm going to try to replicate your mod setup (since they seem to be inline with what floats my boot anyway! ;) ) and see if I have the same experience....

The ONLY other culprit I can think of is hardware, bad ram.... do a google search for a program called MemTest... run it overnight (takes at least 8 hours to get accurate results, but the longer you go, the more accuracy) and see what results you get. The program works by testing each block in memory to see if it returns the same data that was written to it. Good to do anyway to see what is in your machine, and how well it is performing.

Cheers

James

[Samwolf]

Sorry for the double post, but seein' as this is a different... line of attack, I figured it was worth it.

If you can't replicate the bug by setting WindSpeed to zero in your .mis files, then there's got to be more to the bug than just that. Samwolf's post got me thinking, so I popped on over and started checking out my crew config files, too.

Oddly enough, there is a discrepancy. I've got three saved game files... the first two were from .mis files that were valid, so SH3 loaded fine. The last saved game file was a .mis file that wouldn't work.

The first two crew_config_*.cfg files are identical. The third is different. After a quick glance, it looks like the crew had been moved around (all three saved game files should be within a minute or two of each other, since they were saved during this bug-checking). I don't remember moving crew around during all of this.

I've had the crew changed around in the patrol saves and that seems to be ok. It's the Crew_Career_00.cfg file that somehow ends up with totally different crew names. The only place I find the "new" names is in the original Crew_Config_<uboat type_#>.cfg file. It seems that somehow the 00.cfg file gets replaced with the default one somewhere in the save process and it now no longer matches the patrol files. Not sure if this causes the sinking bug but it's the only file I can look at that is different when I run into the problem

[Skweetis]

Odd thing for me, is I have logged more hours in SH3 than my wife would like, and have never experienced the sinking bug. I've had corrupted saves, but never a sinking problem on load...

I'd really like to figure it out though, because I don't like leaving things unsolved. I'm a software tech, and these kinda things eat away at me... hehe

[theluckyone17]

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=103234
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=96357
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=100595&highlight=saved+game+crash
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=99927&highlight=saved+game+crash
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=101072&highlight=bottom+dive+saved+game

There's some info there, but not much.

At this point, I'm happy with a fix if the problem occurs... I'd be happier with knowing how to prevent it, but if I can rescue a corrupted save game file, I'll be happy enough. I think I'm going to keep playing around with some fresh saved games and the .mis files, to see if I can keep replicating this bug.

I've got a copy or three of Memtest86 around here... I might run it through multiple PC-Check runs over the weekend, too. I suppose you could call me a "Jack of All Trades" computer technician, since I work for a fairly large company providing general support (with a really bad name, I might add, which is why that description's the most you're going to get out of me ;op ).

Samwolf: Oddly enough, that Crew_Career_00.cfg is different than the patrol cfg and the Crew_Config_<uboat type_#>.cfg. The crew_career cfg has the same crew names and positions as the ubout type cfg, but it has more stuff added to each crewmember... mostly variables that I assume are related to types of qualifications and promotions.

[Skweetis]

Cheers again Lucky for all your help, I really appreciate it!

Once my GWX download is done, Im going to test the hell out of this tonight.

Hopefully we can crack this....

EDIT: My main concern is that the problem seems to occur with your saves when certain values are written to the [Mission] Section in the .mis files. I'd like to find out what values are being created in those files that are conflicting with your saved games, so I can eliminate them and prevent them from causing problems for other users. It has to be a combination of something...

Thanks,

James

[irish1958]

I can't be much help. In almost 2 years of play, I have never had a problem with a save; and I have never had a problem with SH3 weather.

[dize]

how about giving us a dl link?

[Skweetis]

HI Dize,

If you read at the beginning of the thread, it isn't available yet, I haven't finished updating the program and testing. Im just letting people know that Im back working on it, getting information on existing issues, collecting suggestions and giving all a headsup as to what will be changed when the new version is ready.

Hense the [WIP] in the subject line... Work In Progress.

Thanks for your enthusiasm though. When it is finished and a d/l is available I will let everyone know.

Cheers,

James

[irish1958]

Hay Sweatis, Welcome back and congratulations on your new addition. Your program updates the campaign files (.rnd, .lnd and .scr0 There is a thread about changing these files to reduce the possibility of having several weeks of bad weather. http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=96710 When your program changes these files, I think it removes these modifications, and reverts the random number to 1, instead of leaving it at 2. Is there any way to use your program without loosing these changes?

[Skweetis]

Hi Irish

Unfortunately, no. However, in my revisions, I may increase cloud rand to 2 for some seasons. all the weather settings that get written to those campaign files are generated by a moderately complex algorithim based on what month and what season the patrol is started in. This algorithim was created using weather data compiled by a few helpful forum members to get as balanced and realistic weather value given the limited variables we have to work with.

Based on my own testing with the currently released version, there are a few tweaks I would like to make to this algorithm to generate more balanced weather.

Hopefully you and other users will be pleased with the results.

Cheers,

James

[lurker_hlb3]

Alrighty :rock:.

Continued research: It's definitely the campaign files. I've got the original campaign files saved, and the new files that work. If I copy the original campaign files over the working copy, SH3 bugs out. Copy the working files back, and SH3 works perfectly fine.

I diff'd/compared the campaign files, and here are the results:
Corrupted Campaign_LND.mis:
Line 11: Fog=0
Line 17: WindHeading=193
Line 18: WindSpeed=0

Working Campaign_LND.mis:
Line 11: Fog=3
Line 17: WindHeading=4
Line 18: WindSpeed=6

Corrupted Campaign_RND.mis:
Line 11: Fog=0
Line 17: WindHeading=193
Line 18: WindSpeed=0

Working Campaign_RND.mis:
Line 11: Fog=3
Line 17: WindHeading=4
Line 18: WindSpeed=6

Corrupted Campaign_SCR.mis:
Line 11: Fog=0
Line 17: WindHeading=193
Line 18: WindSpeed=0

Working Campaign_SCR.mis:
Line 11: Fog=3
Line 17: WindHeading=4
Line 18: WindSpeed=6

Edit: Corrected file names.


I've found the "cause" of the CRASH DIVE problem.

If "WindSpeed" is = to "0"

It looks like the SH3 Game engine can't deal with 0 windspeed.

Have tested this a number of times. As long as windspeed is 1 or greater it works fine.

[Skweetis]

Hey Lurker,

Can I get some more information on this issue from you? When I set WINDSPEED to 0 in my campaign files, and load saved game which I created with that value, I do not get the Crash Dive bug.

Specifically,when you created the save file that produces the problem:

-Were you submerged or surfaced?
-Were there other vessels around?
-Any damage to your uboot?
-Does this dive happen immediately upon load, or after you perform a crash dive?
-What mods do you have enabled, and what versions are they?
-Are you using SH3 Commander, if so what version?
-Which version of SH3Weather are you using (1.00, 1.01 and 1.02 are the only that were ever released.)

Thank you for any information you can provide, the more I have, the more likely I am to be able to reproduce the problem. If I can reproduce it here, then I stand a better chance of figuring out what causes it.

Thanks,

James

[Corsair]

Can't be of any help either as I am using SH3 Weather with my NYGM install and never encountered a problem.
A big thks from a satisfied user, looking forward to next version...:up:

[theluckyone17]

Hey Lurker,

Can I get some more information on this issue from you? When I set WINDSPEED to 0 in my campaign files, and load saved game which I created with that value, I do not get the Crash Dive bug.

Specifically,when you created the save file that produces the problem:

-Were you submerged or surfaced?
-Were there other vessels around?
-Any damage to your uboot?
-Does this dive happen immediately upon load, or after you perform a crash dive?
-What mods do you have enabled, and what versions are they?
-Are you using SH3 Commander, if so what version?
-Which version of SH3Weather are you using (1.00, 1.01 and 1.02 are the only that were ever released.)

Thank you for any information you can provide, the more I have, the more likely I am to be able to reproduce the problem. If I can reproduce it here, then I stand a better chance of figuring out what causes it.

Thanks,

James

Ok... this bug has irritated me more than I'm willing to admit:
-Were you submerged or surfaced?
Surfaced

-Were there other vessels around?
Nope

-Any damage to your uboot?
Nope

-Does this dive happen immediately upon load, or after you perform a crash dive?
Immediately.

-What mods do you have enabled, and what versions are they?
See my post above. (Happened back when I had NYGM, too)

-Are you using SH3 Commander, if so what version?
2.7 (Happened with 2.6, too).

-Which version of SH3Weather are you using (1.00, 1.01 and 1.02 are the only that were ever released.)
1.02

I could be wrong about this, too, but I want to say every time I've ran across the problem, it's been the first save after the start of a patrol.

[lurker_hlb3]

Hey Lurker,

Can I get some more information on this issue from you? When I set WINDSPEED to 0 in my campaign files, and load saved game which I created with that value, I do not get the Crash Dive bug.

Specifically,when you created the save file that produces the problem:

-Were you submerged or surfaced?
-Were there other vessels around?
-Any damage to your uboot?
-Does this dive happen immediately upon load, or after you perform a crash dive?
-What mods do you have enabled, and what versions are they?
-Are you using SH3 Commander, if so what version?
-Which version of SH3Weather are you using (1.00, 1.01 and 1.02 are the only that were ever released.)

Thank you for any information you can provide, the more I have, the more likely I am to be able to reproduce the problem. If I can reproduce it here, then I stand a better chance of figuring out what causes it.

Thanks,

James
Ok... this bug has irritated me more than I'm willing to admit:
-Were you submerged or surfaced?
Surfaced

-Were there other vessels around?
Nope

-Any damage to your uboot?
Nope

-Does this dive happen immediately upon load, or after you perform a crash dive?
Immediately.

-What mods do you have enabled, and what versions are they?
See my post above. (Happened back when I had NYGM, too)

-Are you using SH3 Commander, if so what version?
2.7 (Happened with 2.6, too).

-Which version of SH3Weather are you using (1.00, 1.01 and 1.02 are the only that were ever released.)
1.02

I could be wrong about this, too, but I want to say every time I've ran across the problem, it's been the first save after the start of a patrol.

Same for me

Also the month of the campaign was set to Oct. for the Type XXI and Nov for the Type IX

also

I did some other testing an noted that if the month of Oct. / Nov. was selected that the line "WindRand=" is being removed from all three campaign files. All other months appear to work correctly

[Skweetis]

Awesome catch Lurker!!!!!:rock: :rock: :rock: :rock: :rock:

I looked through the code, and lo-and-behold, missing from the Autumn season (which in the atlantic algorithm is October and November) was a typo for the Windrand variable name (was misspelled as Winrand)...

This would cause the module that writes to the campaign files to remove it when those month's were selected, since essentially the value it expected did not exist!

Lucky:.... could you confirm or deny if the months you saved where you get the problem are either Oct or Nov? and tell me if you have a WindRand= entry in your campaign file? It may be that having WINDSPEED=0 and no WINDRAND= may be gumming up the works...

I have since corrected this for the upcoming release... my apologies for the chaos this may have caused....

Big catch Lurker, pat yourself on the back!

Cheers and thanks,

James

[lurker_hlb3]

I was using "User Define Weather", I think this "Crash Dive" problem is a problem in "core" SH3, please note that WindRand= was present when I saw the problem. I would recommend that when you generate the WINDSPEED values make sure it's 1 or greater

[theluckyone17]

Lucky:.... could you confirm or deny if the months you saved where you get the problem are either Oct or Nov? and tell me if you have a WindRand= entry in your campaign file? It may be that having WINDSPEED=0 and no WINDRAND= may be gumming up the works...No dice here. I saved the weather as September, and I do have a WindRand=1 in each of the campaign*.mis files.

I'll try using SH3Weather right now to generate October weather, and corroborate Lurker's findings.

Btw, check your mail. You should have three zipped files, two containing "corrupted" campaign files that don't work for me, along with one that does. I threw in the cfg directory for giggles, just in case in becomes handy.

****
Update: Yep, generating October weather leaves a missing WinRand line in the campaign files here, too.

I ran across something odd, too. I backed up a copy of my current campaign files ('cause I've learned the hard way), then ran SH3Weather. Simply selected "October", leaving the radio button "Random Weather" checked. Hitting the "Generate" button yields a pop-up "Run-time error `13`: Type mismatch.", with an Ok button. Hitting the OK button kills SH3Weather.

Repeating those actions yields the same, until I cycle the random/user-defined types by hitting the "User-defined" radio button, then the "Random Weather" button, then selecting "October", and finally "Generate."

Once I've performed those steps, I can't seem to get the problem to replicate itself, until I copy the original campaign files back into place. I sent a copy of these your way, too.

Maybe I've just got a copy of SH3 that likes to generate screwy campaign files? *need a smiley face for somebody-shoot-me-before-SH3-starts-listening-to-me-and-really-messing-with-my-head emotions*

[lurker_hlb3]

Lucky:.... could you confirm or deny if the months you saved where you get the problem are either Oct or Nov? and tell me if you have a WindRand= entry in your campaign file? It may be that having WINDSPEED=0 and no WINDRAND= may be gumming up the works...No dice here. I saved the weather as September, and I do have a WindRand=1 in each of the campaign*.mis files.

I'll try using SH3Weather right now to generate October weather, and corroborate Lurker's findings.

Btw, check your mail. You should have three zipped files, two containing "corrupted" campaign files that don't work for me, along with one that does. I threw in the cfg directory for giggles, just in case in becomes handy.

****
Update: Yep, generating October weather leaves a missing WinRand line in the campaign files here, too.

I ran across something odd, too. I backed up a copy of my current campaign files ('cause I've learned the hard way), then ran SH3Weather. Simply selected "October", leaving the radio button "Random Weather" checked. Hitting the "Generate" button yields a pop-up "Run-time error `13`: Type mismatch.", with an Ok button. Hitting the OK button kills SH3Weather.

Repeating those actions yields the same, until I cycle the random/user-defined types by hitting the "User-defined" radio button, then the "Random Weather" button, then selecting "October", and finally "Generate."

Once I've performed those steps, I can't seem to get the problem to replicate itself, until I copy the original campaign files back into place. I sent a copy of these your way, too.

Maybe I've just got a copy of SH3 that likes to generate screwy campaign files? *need a smiley face for somebody-shoot-me-before-SH3-starts-listening-to-me-and-really-messing-with-my-head emotions*


I think you will find that after the WindRand= line is removed, when you generate more weather using a different month or "User Define Weather" the WindRand= line is now after Briefing= instead of after WindSpeed= where it's suppose to be.

[Skweetis]

Updated Original Post to reflect current status of project.

[irish1958]

I like to watch the way you guys work.

[Samwolf]

THIS UPDATE IS IN BETA TESTING, AND NOT RELEASED YET. RELEASE IS SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 20th, 2007

Are you still planning a 1/20 release? About to start a new career but I'll hold off if this is still on schedule.

[Tikigod]

It's the 20th. Where is it?

[_Gabriel_]

It's the 20th. Where is it?

THIS UPDATE IS IN BETA TESTING, AND NOT RELEASED YET. RELEASE IS SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 20th, 2007.

Sounds for me, they hope to release it till that day, you all should remember Duke Nukem Forever "When its done" ;)

Greetings

Gabriel

[gdogghenrikson]

It's the 20th. Where is it?

It is the 21st, where is it!

[Tikigod]

It's the 20th. Where is it?
It is the 21st, where is it!
THIS UPDATE IS IN BETA TESTING, AND NOT RELEASED YET. RELEASE IS SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 20th, 2007.

Sounds for me, they hope to release it till that day, you all should remember Duke Nukem Forever "When its done" ;)

Greetings

Tikigod

[_Gabriel_]

THIS UPDATE IS IN BETA TESTING, AND NOT RELEASED YET. RELEASE IS SCHEDULED FOR JANUARY 20th, 2007.

Sounds for me, they hope to release it till that day, you all should remember Duke Nukem Forever "When its done" ;)

Greetings

Tikigod

hmm, looks like i have a "déjà vu" ;)


Greetings

Gabriel

[Samwolf]

I've been holding off starting a career because I've been waiting for this mod. :cry:

Now I'm waiting on nvdrifters longer wakes and LRT 1.32. It's beginning to feel like I'll never get to start a career.

Has anyone heard from Skweetis since the 13th?

[FIREWALL]

Just saw your thread this morning. Good to have you back, and
Congrats,,,,, on both additions :D

[fredbass]

I've been holding off starting a career because I've been waiting for this mod. :cry:

Now I'm waiting on nvdrifters longer wakes and LRT 1.32. It's beginning to feel like I'll never get to start a career.

Has anyone heard from Skweetis since the 13th?

Mods can be enabled or disabled any time you're in port using JSGME. You don't have to wait if you don't want to.

You can use version SH3weather 1.02 until the new one comes out, if you want. It's a separate program that isn't installed thru JSGME anyway. It's just copied into the SH3 folder which only needs to be ran when you're in port so next time you're in port, you can switch them.

[Samwolf]

I've been holding off starting a career because I've been waiting for this mod. :cry:

Now I'm waiting on nvdrifters longer wakes and LRT 1.32. It's beginning to feel like I'll never get to start a career.

Has anyone heard from Skweetis since the 13th?

Mods can be enabled or disabled any time you're in port using JSGME. You don't have to wait if you don't want to.

You can use version SH3weather 1.02 until the new one comes out, if you want. It's a separate program that isn't installed thru JSGME anyway. It's just copied into the SH3 folder which only needs to be ran when you're in port so next time you're in port, you can switch them.

Thanks Fredbass.

I mainly wanted to wait for the new version because it fixes an Oct/Nov bug. I guess I can start the career, hopefully by the time I need to run SH3Weather for Oct/Nov the new version will be released, besides it looks like nvdrifter is gonna be a week getting his longer wakes mod out.

[JCWolf]

Now this is a cool and diferent work...
I like the idea and the mod mate...
Keep up the good work bro...:up:

[Lanzfeld]

I remember that CB poseted a really good weather fix (as linked in a post above I think). Will the SH-3 1.5 have the same fix as CB's?

I am really sick of 3 weeks of heavy fog and rain.

[Tikigod]

Its the 23rd. :ping:

[Skweetis]

Sorry for the delay, I know this was to be released on the 20th. Had a family issue, so I was out of town all weekend.

I will be releasing the build tomorrow, and barring any explosions, should be available for download by Thursday,

THanks all for your patience.

James

[Samwolf]

Glad to see ya back, hope all is well for you.

[Jimbuna]

Sorry for the delay, I know this was to be released on the 20th. Had a family issue, so I was out of town all weekend.

I will be releasing the build tomorrow, and barring any explosions, should be available for download by Thursday,

THanks all for your patience.

James

Good luck...just love your avatar :rotfl:

[mr chris]

Great news i hope all is ok with your family:up:

[Tikigod]

It's THURSDAY! Day 20 +5

Sorry for the delay, I know this was to be released on the 20th. Had a family issue, so I was out of town all weekend.

I will be releasing the build tomorrow, and barring any explosions, should be available for download by Thursday,

THanks all for your patience.

James

[vodkavera]

Where is this mod eventually downloadeble?

/VV;)

[Skweetis]

Hi All!

Okay, Release is built, installer packaged, I am now sending it out to Jscones and Mr_Chris, each of whom will be hosting the program (again my many thanks to them)

As soon as I have confirmation from them that it is up on their sites, I will post the links.

Thanks for your patience, and I hope you all enjoy.

Cheers

James

-PS Thanks for all the concern, everything is okay, just a little hiccup is all...typical family stuff!

[_Gabriel_]

Hi All!

Okay, Release is built, installer packaged, I am now sending it out to Jscones and Mr_Chris, each of whom will be hosting the program (again my many thanks to them)

As soon as I have confirmation from them that it is up on their sites, I will post the links.

Thanks for your patience, and I hope you all enjoy.

Cheers

James

-PS Thanks for all the concern, everything is okay, just a little hiccup is all...typical family stuff!


great news mate.

thx, cant wait for it :)


Greetings

Gabriel


P.S. typical family stuff? :) well yes good is always when all can be fixed :)

[Samwolf]

Glad to hear all's ok.

Looking forward to this update.

[Skweetis]

Its released! See the Original Post for the Download link to Jscones website. Mr Chris' alternate download will be up soon.

Thanks all for your patience thus far.


Please keep all bug reports, experiences and suggestions contained to this thread only, or PM me directly, as I will be asking admins to delete any others to keep the board clean.

Thanks for your cooperation!

Enjoy!

James

[Samwolf]

Yessssss!!! Thanks Skweetis:up:

[Tikigod]

woohoo! thanks.

[Myxale]

:rock:
Talk about bloody hot summer!:rock:

Kudos for your latest baby!

[mikaelanderlund]

:up: :up: :up:

Mikael

[_Gabriel_]

ahh thx mate, after download is finished i will start my duty :)


Greetings

Gabriel

[Samwolf]

**Additional features ONLY available when used with SH3Commander 2.6 or greater**
- Read Month and Flotilla when launched via SH3Commander and select them automatically. User will still be able to manually configure weather through the SH3Weather 1.5 interface, but not month or flotilla.

Question, will "time in port" be added to the month? When I load SH3 before leaving on a patrol, SH3 Commander will "assign" a time in port before I leave, is this taken into account when determing the month? I'm assuming that since SH3Weather has no idea of what upgrades I'll be taking there's no way that time can be added. Between time in port and upgrades I could leave a few months after the date I loaded the game.

[vodkavera]

Its released! See the Original Post for the Download link to Jscones website. Mr Chris' alternate download will be up soon.

Thanks all for your patience thus far.


Please keep all bug reports, experiences and suggestions contained to this thread only, or PM me directly, as I will be asking admins to delete any others to keep the board clean.

Thanks for your cooperation!

Enjoy!

James

Is this an update and I need a original program or can I just download 1,5??

/VV

[Skweetis]

Hi Sam,

The date that is used will be whatever SH3Commander sends to it. Even if the start of the next patrol is calculated for November, but after upgrades and repairs you actually begin you patrol in December, all will be okay.

The random weather settings progress smoothly from month to month, so you won't have outrageously different weather.

Hope that answers your question.

As a side note, I have also added Mr_Chris' download link on File Front for those that would prefer to download from there.

Cheers,

Jamie

[Samwolf]

Hi Sam,

The date that is used will be whatever SH3Commander sends to it. Even if the start of the next patrol is calculated for November, but after upgrades and repairs you actually begin you patrol in December, all will be okay.

The random weather settings progress smoothly from month to month, so you won't have outrageously different weather.

Hope that answers your question.

As a side note, I have also added Mr_Chris' download link on File Front for those that would prefer to download from there.

Cheers,

Jamie

Thanks Skweetis. Since I was manually calculating the patrol date (not always very accurately) with 1.02 this will be an improvement.

[Kumando]

Can someone teach me how to use this? I used the generator before entering the game in SH3CMD and the weather did not change, another thing i dont understand is, is this mod supost to change more often the weather or only for giving the user the abilitie to change the weather when he wants?

[Lanzfeld]

Can someone teach me how to use this? I used the generator before entering the game in SH3CMD and the weather did not change, another thing i dont understand is, is this mod supost to change more often the weather or only for giving the user the abilitie to change the weather when he wants?

Not sure about if this version changes the weather more often but I used the last version in NYGM and I had 7 m/s, no precip (although graphically there still was precip), and heavy fog (visibility 500 meters) for three weeks in the water due east of England. Not very realistic and I wish it would have changed.

[Lanzfeld]

Can someone teach me how to use this? I used the generator before entering the game in SH3CMD and the weather did not change, another thing i dont understand is, is this mod supost to change more often the weather or only for giving the user the abilitie to change the weather when he wants?

Not sure about if this version changes the weather more often but I used the last version in NYGM and I had 7 m/s, no precip (although graphically there still was precip), and heavy fog (visibility 500 meters) for three weeks in the water due east of England. Not very realistic and I wish it would have changed.

Can anyone report on this version 1.5 and if it fixes this problem?

[Corsair]

If you did saves of the game during these 3 weeks, then it is one of SH3 stock problems. The weather is scheduled to be checked regularly, but when you save, the "counter" resets to zero. So the more saves, the less chances of having weather change.

[Lanzfeld]

Is the "time counter" based on realtime or gametime.

What I mean....is it effected by TC?

[Skweetis]

Corsair is correct. When you save and reload, the weather timer is reset. Currently, depending on the season, sh3weather assigns a "check to see if the weather changes" interval of between 5 hours and 11 hours (of in game time, NOT real world time. This is only a check to see if the weather is going to change. What percentage of chance is hardcoded in SH3. If the chance to change passes (that is, the chance that there will be a change of weather is true) then there are only 3 rates of weather change (that is how fast it will change) we can choose, slow/minor, medium/average and fast. This again is hardcoded.

When you save the game, the current value of the time counter is not saved. Therefore, if the set interval is 11 hours game time, and you save the game when you are1 hour away from the next time SH3 is going to check to see if the weather is going to change, that counter gets reset, and you will have to wait another 11 hours of in game time before the next check is done to see IF the weather is going to change.

Again, it is important to remember that this interval is only a time to check to see IF the weather will change, it does not mean that it WILL change at this time. In my testing, I have found the possibility of weather change to be around 20 to 30%, though probably closer to 20%. Thats a one in 5 chance.

Visualise it this way, take a regular 6 sided die, and roll it once every 5 seconds. Imagine that every time you roll a 1 on that die, the weather would change, any other number, and nothing happens. This is basically how SH3 handles weather changes, only it does the same thing using the weather interval based on in game hours.

These values are also only read in from the Campaign files when a patrol is started (however there is unconfirmed evidence that SH3 reads and applies Campaign again the next time SH3 is loaded, and applies those settings, even when in mid patrol).

The basic premise of SH3Weather is to at least randomise with some small level of realism what the weather patterns, and values are at the begining of the patrol. Once SH3 is running, it controls the show. Without SH3weather, you are using the exact same interval, rate change and other values every time you launch SH3.

I kinda rambled here, but I hope that explains things better. If you would like more information or clarification on how SH3Weather works, I am happy to explain.

Cheers,

Jamie

[Lanzfeld]

Corsair is correct. When you save and reload, the weather timer is reset. Currently, depending on the season, sh3weather assigns a "check to see if the weather changes" interval of between 5 hours and 11 hours (of in game time, NOT real world time. This is only a check to see if the weather is going to change. What percentage of chance is hardcoded in SH3. If the chance to change passes (that is, the chance that there will be a change of weather is true) then there are only 3 rates of weather change (that is how fast it will change) we can choose, slow/minor, medium/average and fast. This again is hardcoded.

When you save the game, the current value of the time counter is not saved. Therefore, if the set interval is 11 hours game time, and you save the game when you are1 hour away from the next time SH3 is going to check to see if the weather is going to change, that counter gets reset, and you will have to wait another 11 hours of in game time before the next check is done to see IF the weather is going to change.

Again, it is important to remember that this interval is only a time to check to see IF the weather will change, it does not mean that it WILL change at this time. In my testing, I have found the possibility of weather change to be around 20 to 30%, though probably closer to 20%. Thats a one in 5 chance.

Visualise it this way, take a regular 6 sided die, and roll it once every 5 seconds. Imagine that every time you roll a 1 on that die, the weather would change, any other number, and nothing happens. This is basically how SH3 handles weather changes, only it does the same thing using the weather interval based on in game hours.

These values are also only read in from the Campaign files when a patrol is started (however there is unconfirmed evidence that SH3 reads and applies Campaign again the next time SH3 is loaded, and applies those settings, even when in mid patrol).

The basic premise of SH3Weather is to at least randomise with some small level of realism what the weather patterns, and values are at the begining of the patrol. Once SH3 is running, it controls the show. Without SH3weather, you are using the exact same interval, rate change and other values every time you launch SH3.

I kinda rambled here, but I hope that explains things better. If you would like more information or clarification on how SH3Weather works, I am happy to explain.

Cheers,

Jamie

Top notch explantation!
Many thanks and good work.

[matttm]

Silly question, but can someone like Neil ask the developers how the weather works? The SH4 people also developed SHIII, yes? Not asking for changes, just how does it work...

Matt

[Sailor Steve]

Silly question, but can someone like Neil ask the developers how the weather works? The SH4 people also developed SHIII, yes? Not asking for changes, just how does it work...

Matt
Nobody has ever actually gotten in trouble for spelling Neal's name wrong, but you really don't want to see a grown man cry, do you? Of course he might shout and pull his hair, and that can be pretty funny sometimes...:rotfl:

[Lanzfeld]

Whenever I try to generate random weathr for a patrol that starts in november I get a "run time error 13".

Any ideas? I am using 1.5

[fredbass]

Whenever I try to generate random weathr for a patrol that starts in november I get a "run time error 13".

Any ideas? I am using 1.5

I've actually had the same thing happen a few times too. Don't know why, but after I restarted again, it worked ok. (don't remember what month though)

Edit: I'm running it through Commander.

[Skweetis]

Runtime 13? Ill look into it.... Its most definately my fault!

Cheers!

James

[Lanzfeld]

Even with your great work Skweetis the weather in this game is *******ED. Two and a half weeks of clear, no precip, light fog (which I hate as it makes the horizon look bad), 11 m/s so no deck gun. Comeon!

Are people using this 1.5 mod with GWX or are they using just plain GWX weather?
Does GWX weather change more often?

I think one benefit of 1.5 is you can start from base with less then perfect weather.

[Lanzfeld]

Does SH-3 Weather 1.5 do anything but randomize the starting weather or does it do more then that?

Please give details.

[Rubini]

I have a suggestion to you Skweetis,

And i hopes that could be a good one.:D

IN GWX I set the weather to be more frequently changed by the game with more probability to change in all environments. The main problem in ShIII is that the game reset the time counter when you save reload and also that if you use large interval or choose to have no changes on environments...well, you will frequently have long, very long time without any weather change in game.

So, with these two main problems in mind, can you make a randomize that only mess with the weather state when you start a patrol (sometimes raining, sometimes bad weather, sometimes a clean day, etc...) but preserving the short (with a few range random) weather probability to change during the patrol?

What I mean is that you could maintain the Weather Change Interval at 5-7 for example and the Weather main variable adjust to have clouds, sun or rain at the start of patrol, the wind no more than 6 at start of patrol and the environments settings (cloud, precipitation, fog and wind) at least at small variation and sometimes at heavy variation. The final result could be a always variable weather condition when starting a patrol but also with a great probability to have always changes on weather state during the patrol, avoiding that so long fixed weather.

I'm saying all this because the Weather mod is great but as it is now sometimes it adjust the weather to have a long and almost fixed weather during the patrol because sometimes uses "rigid" environment variables as a choice (for example long interval in hours or no "changes" option for the environment).

Hopes that you understand me and my english!
And keep up the good work mate!:up:

Rubini.

[Lanzfeld]

SKWEETIS,

I have a question for you.

I went directly into the campaign files (all three) and changed the weather manually to start with medium fog (setting 2). I then started my patrol new but the weather was light fog. How does your program set the starting weather? I know that for the rate of change of the weather you set the time interval (at the bottom) and you set the rate of change for each weather aspect (0, 1, or 2 for none, little, great) but where do I set the "starting" conditions?

[Matyas]

hi Skweetis,

I suffer from the same "my weather doesn't change at all" problem because I save and reload my game quite frequently (I usually play it on 8x time compression, so I play one day in simulation time at maximum.)

My question is: is it possible to manually hack the appropriate file(s) and change the frequency of possible weather change (or directly the weather conditions) during a patrol? I imagine as follows: I'm fed up with clear weather-->I save my game and exit-->I hack the appropriate file(s) manually--> reload my game and confirm happily that the weather has changed (to stormy for example).

In fact I experimented with changing the wind value in the .mis files (in the Campaign folder), but after reloading my patrol I experienced the same 7kts wind as before... (despite I manually overwritten the wind value to 11 kts in the .mis files)

Do you have an answer to my question perhaps?

Thx in advance,

Matyas

[kwikpoppa]

I had this error also,I looked in my carrer patrol config. file(my docs/SH3/data/config /carrers/your "captains name"/patrols config.)Open with notepad,change patrol number in ther from patrol 0 to patrol 1.
Here is what you will see
[INIT]
Patrols=0---------if this is 0 change to 1
Size=25
[PATROL 000]
PatrolNumber=1
StartYear=1939
StartMonth=9
StartDay=1
StartHour=9
StartMin=32
EndYear=1939
EndMonth=9
EndDay=19
EndHour=13
EndMin=42
RealYear=2007
RealMonth=3
RealDay=6
RealHour=23
RealMin=9
StartLocation=752
EndLocation=752
SubType=1
SubVersion=0
SubName=U-1
PatrolArea=AM23
TonnageSunk=6513.000000
MerchantTonnageSunk=6513.000000
WarshipTonnageSunk=0.000000
ShipsSunkNb=3
WarShipsSunkNb=0
PatrolCraftSunkNb=0
CorvetteSunkNb=0
FrigateSunkNb=0
DestroyerEscortSunkNb=0
DestroyerSunkNb=0
MineSweeperSunkNb=0
LightCruiserSunkNb=0
HeavyCruiserSunkNb=0
EscortCarrierSunkNb=0
AircraftCarrierSunkNb=0
BattleCruiserSunkNb=0
BattleShipSunkNb=0
MineLayingShipSunkNb=0
AuxiliaryCruiserSunkNb=0
MerchantShipsSunkNb=3
SupplyShipNb=0
FuelTankerNb=0
CargoShipNb=0
TroopTransportNb=0
PlanesDownNb=0
FighterAircraftNb=0
BomberAircraftNb=0
DiveBomberAircraftNb=0
TorpedoBomberAircraftNb=0
ScoutAircraftNb=0
HelicopterNb=0
AirENVIRONMENTALNb=0
CompletedPatrol=Yes
PatrolGridObjCompleted=Yes
ReachGridObjCompleted=Yes
OffDead=0
PODead=0
SeamenDead=0
OffWounded=0
POWounded=0
SeamenWounded=0
NbMedalsWounded=0
NbMedalsUboat=11
NbMedalsFront=0
NbMedalsKnights=0
NbMedalsGerman=0
NbMedals1stCross=0
NbMedals2ndCross=0
PromotionsNb=0
AssignQual=Yes
Flotilla=903
NbDaysInBase=27
HullIntegrity=73.981834
DeltaRenown=555.574951
NbSaves=2
ChangedRank=No


Hope this helps ya.....

[Dustyboats]

Thank you for the great mod James......I was getting so damned sea sick !!!!!

[antidotos]

I do not know if this is possible with Sh3weather update or any other mod.
As currently there is no way to correctly model weather change in the game campaign my intention is to use my own weather tables (from various sources) and imput the weather by saving the game at a convenient time (this is debatable.... every two days at dawn..... with no enemy in sight) and editing the saved games. I know there is a potential for CTD though.....
Is this possible and which tools would be available for this ?
Thanks for any information.

[BelegDraug]

How do I set up the SH3Weather to be used with SH3Commander? I install Weather, later Comander, but no optinons or nothing appears to happen... THX! in advance... PD: I use GFX too!

[slow_n_ez]

SH3Weather,exe needs to be put in main SH3 program folder ... where the SH3.exe is .... don't do anything with it ... Run from desktop the SH3Commander and do what you want in in... when done click on " run SH3 " and the weather app will open for you to set it ... wait for the OK box to appear and click OK to confirm the weather text has been saved... then the game opens

[robbierob2005]

It works!!!!

[flag4]

Alrighty :rock:.

Continued research: It's definitely the campaign files. I've got the original campaign files saved, and the new files that work. If I copy the original campaign files over the working copy, SH3 bugs out. Copy the working files back, and SH3 works perfectly fine.

I diff'd/compared the campaign files, and here are the results:
Corrupted Campaign_LND.mis:
Line 11: Fog=0
Line 17: WindHeading=193
Line 18: WindSpeed=0

Working Campaign_LND.mis:
Line 11: Fog=3
Line 17: WindHeading=4
Line 18: WindSpeed=6

Corrupted Campaign_RND.mis:
Line 11: Fog=0
Line 17: WindHeading=193
Line 18: WindSpeed=0

Working Campaign_RND.mis:
Line 11: Fog=3
Line 17: WindHeading=4
Line 18: WindSpeed=6

Corrupted Campaign_SCR.mis:
Line 11: Fog=0
Line 17: WindHeading=193
Line 18: WindSpeed=0

Working Campaign_SCR.mis:
Line 11: Fog=3
Line 17: WindHeading=4
Line 18: WindSpeed=6

Edit: Corrected file names.


I've found the "cause" of the CRASH DIVE problem.

If "WindSpeed" is = to "0"

It looks like the SH3 Game engine can't deal with 0 windspeed.

Have tested this a number of times. As long as windspeed is 1 or greater it works fine.


hi hunter's

have been crash diving on load again. need some help please.

i have found this thread about the sudden plunge - think this might be it.

thing is i dont know how to go about changing the info in my computer. dont know where to go - how to do it - what to click - how to open etc.

could a kind individual give me a 'walk-through.'

i'm using XP home edition. sh3, sh3 commander, removed sh3 weather with roll back. wiped old careers -( i think ?)

if not i will have to clean out sh3 et al. and start again.

many thanks
flag4

[slow_n_ez]

go to :

C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\SilentHunterIII\data\Campaigns\Campa ign

to open the " .mis " files just double click them and you get a pop up box ,, choose your own program to open it .... put a dot in it ... next screen you get choose Notepad ..... PAY ATTENTION before clicking OK ... remove the check mark in the box at bottom that says " always use this program to open this type of file " .... then click OK and you'll get the info ... follow the quoted post in your post ....


edit : make sure to make a back up copy ( just copy and then paste everything in that folder to a place not in SH3 files ) .............. if you screw up the editing , just put the back up copies back in that folder

[Dutchman 51]

Skweetis,

Your original post said to post a question if you have problems, questions, etc. I don’t know if you are continuing to monitor this Subsim forum posting or not, but here goes.


I am running SH3, with GWX2.0, SH3 Commander 2.7 on an XP. I loaded SH3 Weather 1.5 from the following pathway: C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\SilentHunterIII\MODS\SH3Weather

A few questions.


After launching SH3 through SH Commander, the Weather Window would pop up, and after your selection, it would launch without problems. Now, SH3 Weather will not open after launching through SH3 Commander. I can still open up SH3 Weather through using All Programs to select SH3 Weather. Is this correct, or should the Weather window still pop up every time from SH3 Commander?
When you select User Defined Weather, does this weather then apply to weather for any selection you choose, such as training, single missions, campaign? For example, I am wanted to generate weather for a single mission with storm, clouds, heavy rain. I cannot seem to see the effects of these manual changes, so I am not sure if I am using SH31.5 Weather correctly, or you only see the User Defined Weather in the Campaign mode. In this example, I was tying to see what a Force 10 Gale in the North Atlantic would like on the surface.
In the Read.me notes for 1.5, you have the following statement: “Read Month and Flotilla when launched via SH3Commander and select them automatically. User will still be able to manually configure weather through the SH3Weather 1.5 interface, but not month or flotilla.” I am not sure I understand what you are meaning here, if there is another way to explain it, I would appreciate it.
What is your suggestion on how best to use SH3 Weather 1.5 with regards to using Random or User Defined selections?
I also read your post #86, which did help a lot.


Appreciate your thoughts.

[Subtype Zero]

Dutchman,
You may be interested to know that I sent Skweetis a weather question via PM over 2 months ago and have not heard from him, so I assume he is no longer visiting this forum. :cry:

As far as your first question, I think the SH3 Weather program only runs at the beginning of a campaign patrol. As far as I know, you cannot open it up whilst mid patrol. Hope this helps!

[Dutchman 51]

Thanks S Z,

The exact workings of SH3 Weather were unclear to me, so thanks for your insight. I was eventually hoping to be able to set the weather so while in the North Atlantic, I could experience the gales and 20 ft seas, similar to what was in Das Boot.:damn:

I am just restarting with the Silent Hunter Series, after a playing the original Silent Hunter Commander some 7 or 8 years ago.


I noticed you are not running GWX2.0. Are you in the middle of a patrol and don't want to change, or do you like what you have at this time.

Thanks for responding

[bigboywooly]

I am running SH3, with GWX2.0, SH3 Commander 2.7 on an XP. I loaded SH3 Weather 1.5 from the following pathway: C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\SilentHunterIII\MODS\SH3Weather

.

Mine is in the Ubisoft\SilentHunterIII folder and pops up when I run SH3commander

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h22/bigboywooly/ScreenHunter_182.jpg

[Dutchman 51]

Thanks BBW,

I put SH3Weather in the SH3 folder and it appears to be working correctly now. I had it in the Ubisoft\SilentHunterIII\Mods folder, which is what I thought you were supposed to do to use JSGME tool. Thanks also for your screenshot of your folder, this helps in seeing what correct locations of other mods and files.

Mark

[Hondo314]

Whenever I try to generate random weathr for a patrol that starts in november I get a "run time error 13".

Any ideas? I am using 1.5

I have this problem occasionally after selecting October or November too. Maybe it had to do with whatever fix Skweetis implemented for the Windrand variable deletion bug he had for those months. Did he ever get you an answer?

[Keelbuster]

Whenever I try to generate random weathr for a patrol that starts in november I get a "run time error 13".

Any ideas? I am using 1.5
I have this problem occasionally after selecting October or November too. Maybe it had to do with whatever fix Skweetis implemented for the Windrand variable deletion bug he had for those months. Did he ever get you an answer?

Just installed SH3 weather after being fed up with the constant fog and heavy rain in GWX 2.0. I ran SH3 commander (2.7), had the SH3 weather pop up - (october) and I hit OK, and got the same runtime error (13). SH3 is loading anyway, and i fear career corruption...maybe i should have started a new career rather than apply it at patrol 11.

[Jimbuna]

You were in port before rou activated.....yes http://img98.imageshack.us/img98/1817/thinkbigsw1yo4.gif

TBH....I'd have performed a rollback first, then started a new career.

[rifleman13]

Ahoy there!:ahoy:

I've been playing GWX 2.1 for a while now and my time for it has decreased because of some RL issues.:-?

The most likely candidate without sacrificing some realism is of course eliminating the weather or at least dropping the wind speed to less than 10 kts. This is to speed up some torpedo damaged ships with the deck gun!:D

Is this mod compatible for 2.1? :hmm:

My other mods include some eye candy like the Torpedo Damage and the Lifeboats. These all excellent realism mods but RL does not permit me to fully enjoy them.

Thanks and keep raking up the tonnage!:arrgh!:

NB:THREAD RESURRECTED!:up: After 4 months!:rotfl:

[irish1958]

GWX2.1 has a better weather model, and I have discontinued using SH3Weather. Also Reece has a med that will stop the incessant bad weather.