Help? Designating Name/Number for Career Sub

[panthercules]

Rats - somewhere recently I saw some posts about being able to change some file somewhere to tell the game to assign you the name and number you want for your boat when you start a career - however, I think it was some random posts inside some thread about some other topic, and I can't seem to find it again (I thought I had remembered to bookmark it, but apparently not). IIRC, the trick had something to do with altering the availability dates of the names so that the one you wanted would be the only one available so the game would assign it to you, but I can't remember what file it said the name/number choices were stored in. I searched around inside my SH4 folders (using Windows search function) but couldn't locate any promising files with boat names.

Anybody remember those posts or otherwise know how this can be done? I figured out at some point how to go back in and change things after starting the career and saving some games, but it was pretty complicated and it seems like it would be a lot simpler to just have the game give me the right name and number from the start.

[aanker]

Yeah, I think it was Beery ... From my notes: he said before you start a career alter the Data\Roster\American\Submarine\SSGato.cfg file (for example) so it only has one unit entry:
Quote:

[UnitClass]
ClassName=SSGato
UnitType=200
AppearanceDate=19411201
DisappearanceDate=19450902
DisplayName=US Gato
[Texture 1]
TextureName=data/Submarine/NSS_Gato/NSS_Gato_T01.tga
LightmapTextureName=data/Submarine/NSS_Gato/NSS_Gato_O01.tga
StartDate=19411201
EndDate=19421231
Frequency=1
[Texture 2]
TextureName=data/Submarine/NSS_Gato/NSS_Gato_T02.tga
LightmapTextureName=data/Submarine/NSS_Gato/NSS_Gato_O01.tga
StartDate=19430101
EndDate=19450901
Frequency=1

[Unit 1]
Name=USS Wahoo (SS-238)
DOC=19411201
DOD=19450902

"That will give you the USS Wahoo every time you choose a Gato in a career."

Can't find the original post but it is here somewhere. lol

Art

[tater]

LukeFF's mod to adds hull numbers to the name:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=113111


Here ya go, I did it for you with the stock files, too:

http://mpgtext.net/subshare/393ChooseYourSubName.rar

That is a JSGME mod format. So DL either of those links above. LukeFF's has the sub hull numbers.

Throw it in MODS (better, throw a COPY in MODS). Drill all the way in to the Data/Roster/American/Submarine directory in the mod. You will see a bunch of cfg files. Open the sub type you want, and there is a long list of names. [Unit 1], [Unit 2], and so forth. Delete all the subs you don't want. Make sure that the one sub remaining is renamed Unit 1 (the one you like might be Unit 17 in the list), and that it has a date range that works for you.

Activate mod. Play game.

If you want random names again, uninstall mod with JSGME and you are back in business.

tater

[panthercules]

Awesome - thanks for the quick and thorough responses! Doing it before the start is definitely easier.

[sqk7744]

Great links thanks Tater!