A little trick to finding your home port

[FlyingThermos]

Most have probly noticed that while on patrol your home base will change. Sometimes you will get a message informing you that it has changed, but most the time you wont.

If you are not sure where to dock to finish your patrol open up in notepad(default location):

mydocuments/sh4/data/cfg/savegames/<savegame folder>/careertrack.upc

search the text for CSS_BaseChange

the LAST OCCURANCE of this text will be the base that you can dock at and look something like this:

[CareerTrack 1.CareerStatusSave 29]
ID=ID
Reason=CSS_BaseChange
NameDisplayable=
CurrentDate=1942-04-24 00:00:00
BaseIDLink=Brisbane

So in this case my base will be Brisbane and i would be allowed to end my patrol there.

Hope this help some folks out; cause it sure drove me nuts.

[Bill Nichols]

Most have probly noticed that while on patrol your home base will change. Sometimes you will get a message informing you that it has changed, but most the time you wont.

If you are not sure where to dock to finish your patrol open up in notepad(default location):

mydocuments/sh4/data/cfg/savegames/<savegame folder>/careertrack.upc

search the text for CSS_BaseChange

the LAST OCCURANCE of this text will be the base that you can dock at and look something like this:

[CareerTrack 1.CareerStatusSave 29]
ID=ID
Reason=CSS_BaseChange
NameDisplayable=
CurrentDate=1942-04-24 00:00:00
BaseIDLink=Brisbane

So in this case my base will be Brisbane and i would be allowed to end my patrol there.

Hope this help some folks out; cause it sure drove me nuts.


Thanks. My S boat out of Manila had an unannounced base change. I first went to Melborne, then to Pearl, before finally landing in Brisbane :damn:

[nattydread]

look west then north.

It seems they like to place you at the most forward port to the front, that means go to the westward most base and then north. If there is a basenorth of the western most base, thats yours. If there isnt a base north of the western most base, then the western most base is yours.

[ReallyDedPoet]

Nice work, another feature that I like about this game, not just going to a grid patrolling and that is it.

RDP

[AVGWarhawk]

Sometimes I get the base that I'm supposed to go to and sometimes not. What I do is hit the nearest base and get lucky. If not, I refit and head to the next sinking ships along the way. Sooner or later SUBCOM either provides the new base or I just keep working my way to each.

This is how they came up with 'There is a sailor in every port and port in every sailor' :rotfl:

[FlyingThermos]

Sometimes I get the base that I'm supposed to go to and sometimes not. What I do is hit the nearest base and get lucky. If not, I refit and head to the next sinking ships along the way. Sooner or later SUBCOM either provides the new base or I just keep working my way to each.

This is how they came up with 'There is a sailor in every port and port in every sailor' :rotfl:

That's what i call going with the flow.

Maybe someone needs to make a "Girl in Every Port" mod/minigame, kinda like a "hot coffee" for SH4 that would make those long time compression session really worth it while searching for your home.

[SteamWake]

Thanks for the tip its a good one.

I dont think that having to dig through a games data file to find your "home base" is exactly a nice feature though.

[FoddaUK]

Thanks for that.

I started out in Manilla, and after 2 patrols got myself back there only to be greeted by hostile fire on the way in. Made my way to Java where I finished one spectacularly successful patrol in Fremantle with 108,000 tons. For this I was awarded a new Gato class sub! WOOOO and indeed HOOOOOOOO!

However my next patrol is now out of Pearl...

All through this patrol I've not been sure whether I need to go back to Pearl or take my Gato to Fremantle.

Am I part of the Asiatic Fleet still or am I now a Pearly?

At least I can now go and check...

[FoddaUK]

OK... As an addition to my post above...

I've opened my careertrack.upc file and sure enough, you're right and the last entry for BaseIDLink is Fremantle:

[CareerTrack 1.CareerStatusSave 54]
ID=ID
Reason=CSS_BaseChange
NameDisplayable=
CurrentDate=1942-03-01 00:00:00
BaseIDLink=Fremantle

However...

My last two entries in that same file are:

[CareerTrack 1.CareerStatusSave 77]
ID=ID
Reason=CSS_NewCommand
NameDisplayable=USS Drum
CurrentDate=1942-03-05 20:22:38
UserPlayerInstanceDisplayableName=USS Drum
UserPlayerUnitIDLink=Gato

[CareerTrack 1.CareerStatusSave 78]
ID=ID
Reason=CSS_PatrolStart
NameDisplayable=USS Drum
CurrentDate=1942-03-27 02:22:38
DepartureBaseIDLink=PearlHarbor
DepartureFlotillaIDLink=PearlHarborCommand
ObjectiveTypesAssigned=


And although I docked at Fremantle I'm now in Pearl with my new sub. The interesting lines are highlighted...

Am I now under Pearl Harbour command and expected to go back there or am I still part of teh Asiatic Fleet and supposed to return to Fremantle?

Hmmm... :hmm:

[Capt.LoneRanger]

I posted this the day after SH4 was released, but thanks for the heads up.

[SteamWake]

This thread needs to be linked in the FAQ and or Guides section.

I see this question come up almost daily.

[The Oncoming Storm]

Thanks for the tip. I've been sailing from port to port trying to dock, and it's doing my head in.

[-Pv-]

"DepartureBaseIDLink=PearlHarbor
DepartureFlotillaIDLink=PearlHarborCommand
ObjectiveTypesAssigned="

These are the crucial entries in your last save.

"This thread needs to be linked in the FAQ and or Guides section.

I see this question come up almost daily."

There are several discussion threads devpted to this subject.

In addition to getting a base change you are not aware of, it's also possible to be made aware of a base change that does not get saved to your careerTrack file and CareerStatusSave ## entry.

In sort, you really cannot reliably end the patrol without lookin at this file. I wonder if the International Date Line bug affecting the Stragegic Map and Base Changes are related.
-Pv-

[joea]

We should not have to dig through files to find it where our base was changed to...imagine going back to your old base and digging through real file folders of orders and requisitions and such "Captain I found a form to send toliet paper earmarked for us to Brisbane!!" "Ah that must be our new base then..." :shifty:

[gg5056]

I Tried This, My Doc/ Sh4/cfg/ Etc. It Work Great.
I Always Check Status After In Finish Game.

[ReallyDedPoet]

Welcome:up: The Oncoming Storm


RDP

[banjo]

Thank you so much. This just happened to me and I wondered where to look to find out my new base.

[Frank Smith]

Most have probly noticed that while on patrol your home base will change. Sometimes you will get a message informing you that it has changed, but most the time you wont.

If you are not sure where to dock to finish your patrol open up in notepad(default location):

mydocuments/sh4/data/cfg/savegames/<savegame folder>/careertrack.upc

search the text for CSS_BaseChange

the LAST OCCURANCE of this text will be the base that you can dock at and look something like this:

[CareerTrack 1.CareerStatusSave 29]
ID=ID
Reason=CSS_BaseChange
NameDisplayable=
CurrentDate=1942-04-24 00:00:00
BaseIDLink=Brisbane

So in this case my base will be Brisbane and i would be allowed to end my patrol there.

Hope this help some folks out; cause it sure drove me nuts.Thanks a Million, I have tried docking at Brisbane 5 times. and you link tells me I should be in Fremantle.
MAny thanks

[Bear]

Thank You, Thank You. Man you are a life saver. I was thinking that something had screwed up in the program. I didn't get any message about a base change. After I read your post I looked up my base - sailed there and me and my Balo were mothballed in the middle of 43; ain't that a birch.:rotfl:

[mbthegreat]

nice one, it has been a major kick in the teeth to limp 1000s of miles with major damage to find my base has moved

[Frank Smith]

Great, perfect Now I can change base and Dock... but what do you do after you have been at the same Patrol Area 5 times and they send you back, reason: I can not make it say I have finished the Patrol. Gads Marshal Island is where Amelia Earhart went down, maybe you can make a RESCUE downed fliers there... have traveled around Marshal Is's, West 7 blocks south 5 blocks and very little is there.
HELP on Marshal Island Patrol appreciated...

[SteamWake]

Great, perfect Now I can change base and Dock... but what do you do after you have been at the same Patrol Area 5 times and they send you back, reason: I can not make it say I have finished the Patrol. Gads Marshal Island is where Amelia Earhart went down, maybe you can make a RESCUE downed fliers there... have traveled around Marshal Is's, West 7 blocks south 5 blocks and very little is there.
HELP on Marshal Island Patrol appreciated...

Patch notes


• Eliminate the instances where the player gets assigned the same mission multiple times, even though the game is meant to give you variety and different missions, of course depending on historical context.

[Frank Smith]

Thanks, Have installed v 1.1 patch... testing it, nice to have outside port to leave with. That is NICE. tested v 1.2 patch - clean install from CD. install v1.2 downloaded from UBISOFT site... total mess, blue/brown stripes, can only fire 1 torp. - fix install patch 2 times... strips go away . can fire 2 torps ... then failure..
everything else works great Deskgun, AA twin 20mm, torps are messed up.. even with 100% total clean install - no saved games - then instal v 1.2 patch reboot then install v 1.2 patch again... stripes gone, can fire only 2 torps... even in quick , and pre games and school ...
checked torps file seems to be 100% same as SHIII. no problems there. So back to SH4 & v1.1 patch. still can not complete Marshall Is patrol.
System Configuration :
AMD 64 CPU AM2 : AMD Athlon 64 x2 4600+ (Dual Core) AM2 1024K Cache
AMD 64 AM2 Motherboards : ASRock ALiveSATA2 K8T890, PCI-EX, DDR2,Sound, LAN
DDR2 memory : 2GB (2x1GB) PC4200 DDR2 533 Dual Channel
PCI-Express Video cards : GeForce 7600GS 256Mb PCI EXpress 16X dual
SATA 2 80GB HD.

Thanks for all the GREAT HELP.

[SteminDemon13]

woops, wrong reply

[roofinrobert]

Thank you for this info.
I had been cruising around trying to find a port to end patrol for quite some time,refitted and sunk many ships in my little quest but got tired of not knowing where to end patrol.
This helped alot.
Thanks again.:up: :up: :up:

[Melonfish]

to be honest i just follow my messages?
failing that the large blue anchor icon usually suffices... bugger going home anyway refit and fight on!
pete

[SteamWake]

to be honest i just follow my messages?
failing that the large blue anchor icon usually suffices... bugger going home anyway refit and fight on!
pete

Holy necropost batman !

Anyhow... Unfortunatly you dont always get the message or it is easly missed amongst all the contact spam.

Damage to your hull structure cannot be repaired anywhere but your home port. If you have hull damage you MUST return to home port or take your chances on the 'sudden mysterious catastrophic damage' "bug". Not really a bug but it happens.

From a 'role playing' point of view your sailors are going to want to go home sooner or later.

But its a game. Play it the way that YOU have fun with and enjoy !

[Iron Budokan]

Thanks for the tip its a good one.

I dont think that having to dig through a games data file to find your "home base" is exactly a nice feature though.

Agreed. It would be nicer if the game did this for you.

[Digital_Trucker]

If you use billkos damage analyzer ( http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=121353&highlight=analyzer ), it tells you what your current base is. If you lose track of your base, just save your game, alt-tab out and run the app, select the save file you just created and it will tell you what your home base is. It's also a wonderful tool to keep you informed about your boats damage status.

[SteamWake]

If you use billkos damage analyzer ( http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=121353&highlight=analyzer ), it tells you what your current base is. If you lose track of your base, just save your game, alt-tab out and run the app, select the save file you just created and it will tell you what your home base is. It's also a wonderful tool to keep you informed about your boats damage status.

That little ditty came out a looooong time after this thread was started.

A bit of topic DT but your sig stretching the margins is getting a tad annoying. ;)

[Digital_Trucker]

A bit of topic DT but your sig stretching the margins is getting a tad annoying. ;)

Already had one request (by PM) to shrink it a bit for a 1024x768 desktop user, did so and was told that the change did the trick. What size are you using for your browser? I seriously didn't believe that there would be many folks who didn't view the site in at least a 1024 pixel width. I certainly would have reduced it further had I only known that someone was being inconvenienced by it. I hope the size reduction completed today is sufficient for you and any others that care to view the site on a postage stamp.;)

P.S. I only posted what I posted because of the recent activity that indicated that folks were looking at this manual way of finding home after it was lost. I thought, perhaps, it would help to offer an alternative to the manual method. Guess that's what I get for thinking :rotfl:

[TopcatWA]

I mentioned this awhile back in the Mod Section of creating a Radio Message Mod updating message traffic to cover this adnormality. Got no response though..............Such a pity.:damn: