American Civil War mod

[WalterJConklin]

I have always wanted to see an American Civil War naval PC game created. The discussion about the possibility of a Cold War got me thinking about solicating your opinions about the possibility an American Civil War Mod using the Silent Hunter IV game engine. Correct me if I am wrong, as I am not a naval history expert but I believe the Civil War saw the first and short-lived use of a submarine. That said, I believe an American Civil War in Silent Hunter IV might be a fun project. That is to say, if it would be possible to create drivable (or shall I say steerable) ships, notably ironclads. Scenery developers could backdate SH4 ports in the continental USA or create new ports and forts, which saw action during the Civil War era. What do you guys think about a Civil War mod?


Sincerely,
Walter Conklin

[AVGWarhawk]

Walter,

I changed the color from black to white. Can not read the black letters in smart dark forum colors.

[Canonicus]

As an avid and long time fan of the naval front during the American civil war...I would love to see a sim come into reality...

alas...I suspect it will never be done...for the obvious reason, (money)

[WalterJConklin]

Civil War PC games have been quite popular over the years.

[andycaccia]

Welcome! :D
I think it's a nice idea, but the submarines? American civil war saw mainly surface vessels...maybe a few "secret weapons" like primitive subs were actually used...i don't know much of american history, sorry..

[WalterJConklin]

As you pointed out, the Civil War saw limited use with submarines. The failed Hunley first comes to mind. A Civil War game using the Silent Hunter IV game engine, which I am really unfamillar with, would need to support playable ships. Is that possible now with the existing game engine? The submarine element would not be the main thrust of a Civil War naval game. I know Totem Games might be creating a Civil War naval game.

[andycaccia]

The creation of a mod that allows the player to take command of surface ship has already been discusse in many threads. The bad news are that it seems to be impossible, or at least very very difficult to achieve such. Not to mention that we would have to rebuild the entire campaign to fit the new theatre and of course create the models for enemy ships.
Seems *very* diffcult. A huge work indeed. I do not know if theer will be someone capable of making a total conversion like this. It's sad however... your idea is indeed brilliant ad orginal!!:up:
I think that all we can do is to wait for a specific game. (await and hope...as we say:cry: )

Thank you for you nice idea Walter!

[Torplexed]

To create a viable American Civil War naval game with ironclads and such you'd really have to start from the ground (waterline?) up. A lot of the combat took place in shallow water, estuaries, rivers, even swamps. You'd have to simulate things like log booms, currents, tides, shoals, snags, and old-fashioned mason forts. Plus, there were so many unique ship types of the era. From side paddlers to fully rigged sailing ships to monitors. The crude submarines built back then usually didn't survive the mission. The Hunley killed every crew that sailed in her. The partially-submerged Confederate 'Davids' did a little better but that just means some of the crew got out alive. Basically the Confederate fore-runners of the Japanese kaiten. Such a niche market in a niche market I don't know if it'll ever be covered.

[AkbarGulag]

Was the Hunley that wooden egg that you ride like a bicycle ? Moddeling a wooden egg would be easy for some I guess :lol:

The only sailing ship in SH4 is the ghost frigate/galleon.

[Torplexed]

Was the Hunley that wooden egg that you ride like a bicycle ? Moddeling a wooden egg would be easy for some I guess :lol:
You're thinking of the Revolutionary War sub the Turtle. CSS Hunley was hand-propelled too, but larger. Basically a streamlined boiler with an explosive charge on a wooden spar as a weapon.

http://blog.zbroj.info/img/hunley.jpg

[AkbarGulag]

Was the Hunley that wooden egg that you ride like a bicycle ? Moddeling a wooden egg would be easy for some I guess :lol:
You're thinking of the Revolutionary War sub the Turtle. CSS Hunley was hand-propelled too, but larger. Basically a streamlined boiler with an explosive charge on a wooden spar as a weapon.

http://blog.zbroj.info/img/hunley.jpg

Hey wow, thats pretty inovative :hmm:

Those submariner pioneers really had some OO's :cool:

[kylesplanet]

The Hunley had a bad habit of making widows. It went through more than one crew also. It is a really cool piece of history though. I really hope to get down to Charleston and see it this year.

You can also tour the USS Clagamore, DD USS Lafey, USCG Ingham and of course the Yorktown is there. I was down there about thirteen years ago and it was great.:yep:

[sergbuto]

Walter,

I changed the color from black to white. Can not read the black letters in smart dark forum colors.

And now the post is not readable for haylazblue settings of the forum because it is impossible to see white letters on the light grey background.

[Gunfighter]

The Hunley had a bad habit of making widows. It went through more than one crew also. It is a really cool piece of history though. I really hope to get down to Charleston and see it this year.

You can also tour the USS Clagamore, DD USS Lafey, USCG Ingham and of course the Yorktown is there. I was down there about thirteen years ago and it was great.:yep:
Hi If you do get down to see The Hunley post some photos I'd like to see them I am a great fan of The America Civil War and anything about Wild West.I help Run A Country & Western Music Club here in UK check out our site .
www.thebuckaroosuk.co.uk (http://www.thebuckaroosuk.co.uk) and links to "Gunfighters" and my photo gallery of our club "REBEL".
Bill across the pond

[USS_Trigger]

only see with the hunley is, can you imagine corssing hundreds of miles of ocean at 3 knots :rotfl:

[DavyJonesFootlocker]

You've got to be kidding. What next. SH4- 1 Million Years BC mod. It's nice to see your imagination working but really... besides I don't think a T-Rex could fit in a sub.:rotfl:

[skwasjer]

Walter,

I changed the color from black to white. Can not read the black letters in smart dark forum colors.

And now the post is not readable for haylazblue settings of the forum because it is impossible to see white letters on the light grey background.

Heh, yea.

@AVG or original author, please edit the post, select all, and click the 'Remove formatting' button in the top left corner

[andycaccia]

You've got to be kidding. What next. SH4- 1 Million Years BC mod. It's nice to see your imagination working but really... besides I don't think a T-Rex could fit in a sub.


Well, the idea itself is not bad...the fact is that's almost impossible.:cry:
I am thinking of WWI sh4 conversion...similar to Shells Of Fury. It could be interesting.
What do you think, guys??

[Torplexed]

Whenever I come across a poor text color/background combination I just highlight it by left-clicking/dragging the mouse across it. Instantly readable.

[Sailor Steve]

Whenever I come across a poor text color/background combination I just highlight it by left-clicking/dragging the mouse across it. Instantly readable.
It's twue! It's twue!

[Digital_Trucker]

Whenever I come across a poor text color/background combination I just highlight it by left-clicking/dragging the mouse across it. Instantly readable.
It's twue! It's twue!

Hot dang, only 10:20 and I learned something new already:yep: I can quit thinking for the rest of the day:sunny:

[jdkbph]

Cold War, American Civil War... next there'll be calls for an SH4 port to the Boxer Rebellion.

How about WWI? Dubya Dubya Uno. The Great War! The first wide-scale effective use of the submarine as a weapon of war. How obvious is that? And how cool would that be?

Now I like Shells of Fury, limitations and all, but come on... a mod'ed SH4 would blow that out of the water (pardon the pun).

Given that folks are seriously trying to turn SH4 into something else by stretching it far beyond it's capabilities (as far as I can see), I just can't understand the lack of enthusiasm for this idea.

JD

[Dogsbd]

You can also tour the USS Clagamore, DD USS Lafey, USCG Ingham and of course the Yorktown is there. I was down there about thirteen years ago and it was great.:yep:

A really great place to visit if you've not done so. I've been numerous times. My oldest sons Scout troop went down for 2 days / 2 nights in February 2003 and we slept aboard Yorktown, that was a lot of fun. Sadly this was on the weekend that the space shuttle Columbia was lost on re-entry, sort of put a damper on an otherwise fun trip.

[DavyJonesFootlocker]

Exactly what I was trying to say. Cold War Mod? How exciting could that be? Lemmie see now multiple enemies I can destroy by just pushing this little button here when I'm using the can.:yep: This was the reason I stopped playing IL2: 1946. Just too fantastical for my tastes.

[andycaccia]

How about WWI? Dubya Dubya Uno. The Great War! The first wide-scale effective use of the submarine as a weapon of war. How obvious is that? And how cool would that be?

Now I like Shells of Fury, limitations and all, but come on... a mod'ed SH4 would blow that out of the water (pardon the pun).


I agree... and it's strange that no one looks interested in making SH4 a WWI submarine simulator. That would be the easiest conversion of the ones that have been porposed...and probably the most exciting. :arrgh!:

And remember that in WWI the u boats performed better than WW2!

[WalterJConklin]

Guys,

I thought you might enjoy these renderings of the CSS Hunley and other ironclads. Now if there was only a way to import these models into Silent Hunter

http://www.geocities.com/yello_armadillo/Hunley/Gallery/gallery.htm

http://www.dowdey.com/interest.htm

[wolfast]

The Hunley had a bad habit of making widows. It went through more than one crew also. It is a really cool piece of history though. I really hope to get down to Charleston and see it this year.

You can also tour the USS Clagamore, DD USS Lafey, USCG Ingham and of course the Yorktown is there. I was down there about thirteen years ago and it was great.:yep:
I live in South Carolina and visit Charston 4-5 times a year and ALWAYS visit the Hunley..then the Yorktown/Clagmore... Its very much worth it!!!

[DavyJonesFootlocker]

Hey, Walt. Not every model can be incorporated into a game. If that sub is high poly then it may not be able to be played due to high res and high poly count. I had made a high-res model for an animation piece and it took at least 45 minutes to render on one frame and there were 200 frames to do. I quit the project before my PC blew up.