Merchant Fleet Mod Progress Thread

[iambecomelife]

This thread will feature regular updates on the progress of the Merchant Fleet Mod for Silent Hunter III. I am aiming for biweekly posts that will contain details on which merchant vessels are being included, historical information on typical WWII-era cargo ships, and screenshots of the modeling/skinning process, when appropriate.

EDIT: A beta version of the mod has been released:

Latest version:

http://files.filefront.com/13794822 (http://files.filefront.com/13794822)

Skins:

http://files.filefront.com/MFM+Skin+Pack7z/;13615137;/fileinfo.html

[iambecomelife]

Update #1 - Merchant M12B

I spent much of yesterday afternoon creating skins for M12B - a modern merchant with a long bridge deck. This style of merchant was designed with a midships island that extended beyond the superstructure. It was often used for high volume, low density cargoes like grain, cotton, and coal, as the increased hull space was a major asset. Most were purpose-built but a few were converted from traditional merchant ships. They were fairly common in the British, Dutch, Greek, and Japanese merchant navies - to my knowledge they were very rare in the US fleet.
The design became obsolete after the war, due to the increased number of purpose-built bulk carriers available to shippers.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/MWSnap2252008-09-2011_48_28.jpg

I have made at least four types of this ship since 2006. I'd like it more if I could imitate the "swayback" look that a lot of them had in real life, but that often causes texturing problems and increases the poly count.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-5-1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-4-2.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-16.jpg

This model was inspired by the "SS Hartlebury", built in 1934. Before the war broke out she and her fleetmates connected Liverpool and London with ports in the Americas and East Africa. By 1942 she had been armed with antisubmarine guns on the bow and stern, along with several light AA weapons. In late June of 1942 she joined Convoy PQ-17, bound for the Soviet Union. She escaped the initial Luftwaffe attacks undamaged but was forced to make for Archangel at her best speed after the convoy was ordered to scatter. She was intercepted by U-335 on 7 July and sunk with heavy loss of life. Despite assistance from U-335's crew only 20 men survived. 38 crewmembers were killed, including the master, who died of head injuries about a year after the incident.

http://uboat.net/allies/ships/photos/br/hartlebury.jpg
(from uboat.net)


http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/1903.html

[iambecomelife]

Update #2 - Merchant M15B

This ship represents medium-sized, modern motorships. It's loosely based on the composite superstructure version of the Doxford Motorship - a standard design produced by England and available in both composite and split deckhouse versions. They were popular replacements for the slow, coal-burning merchantmen that dominated the post-WWI British merchant navy. Several were built for foreign buyers, including Portugal and the Philippines.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-9-1.jpg


The model took only about an hour to make; it was pieced together from a modern split superstructure cargo ship that I am also working on (designation M14B). These ships in turn also share parts with the British-style medium tanker I posted screenshots of several months ago.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-8-2.jpg

BTW, I highly recommend using S3ditor for ship modeling - it is wonderful to be able to move nodes & components with a visual reference, instead of using guesswork. S3ditor also never corrupts data files like Pack3d sometimes does. The one major advantage of Pack3d is that it's good for importing obj files with multiple subparts - for this reason, I switch back and forth between pack3d and s3ditor depending on what I'm doing.

[bert8for3]

Looking forward to it :yep: :up:

[Task Force]

Sounds cool.:D

[Alex]

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/2592/popcorncowvv2.gif

[Reece]

Sounds good to me!!:up: I want a new fleet now!:yep:

[onelifecrisis]

IABL man you're like a woman - endless bloody foreplay! I want my wargasm already!

[nikbear]

Can't wait to see these baby's:yep:as long as this isn't a teaser and then nothing:cry:your ships look so beautiful and really do put the rest of the merchie's to shame but......the waiting's an absolute killer:nope:hopefully this is a sign of the greatness to soon come:up::rock:;)

[Hitman]

The good part of this is that no matter how long it took to have them in SH3, porting them to SH4 (If IABL sees fit) will be a much easier job :up:

[Jimbuna]

@Alex and OLC....... http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/7975/gigglebigtb9fg3.gif


Looking forward to it IABL http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/thumbsup.gif



http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/whistle.gif

[geosub1978]

We have already a first taste of the merchants from the NYGM pack and it is obvious that a lot of workinghours have been spent on them. Nevertheless, I noticded that liners and transports are missing. Have a look for example:

http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/1854.html
http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/721.html
http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/2953.html
http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/532.html
http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/406.html
http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/348.html
http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/739.html
http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/1030.html

[Letum]

I don't understand this thread.
Why make a empty post to edit later when you can make a full post at the right time?

[bigboywooly]

The good part of this is that no matter how long it took to have them in SH3, porting them to SH4 (If IABL sees fit) will be a much easier job :up:

:rotfl:

Placing themm into SH4 is simple
Porting them properly so they look the same as the SH4 ships is a whole different ballgame

[bigboywooly]

This thread will feature regular updates on the progress of the Merchant Fleet Mod for Silent Hunter III. I am aiming for biweekly posts that will contain details on which merchant vessels are being included, historical information on typical WWII-era cargo ships, and screenshots of the modeling/skinning process, when appropriate.
Ah SH3
What a quant ole game that was
Now as we await the release of SH6.6 Neptunes revenge how nice it is to see ppl still working on the old games
:o

Less threads more releases
Crack on mate

:rotfl:

J\k
Now release them already :doh:

[Alex]

Less threads more releases

:know: :hmm: :p :|\\ :ping: :up: :88)

[Alex]

Thanks for the update, IABL.
And keep up the good work ! :stare:

:88)

Release date, anyone ? http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/1406/party20hl1.gif

You're cooking your mod for too much years, mate. http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/8996/faim46cz8.gif :rotfl:

[Wreford-Brown]

Thanks for keeping us posted, IABL. There can never be enough variety of targets and this is one of the most eagerly awaited mods since jimbuna released the community unit mod.

[bigboywooly]

since jimbuna's community unit mod.

:o
:rotfl:

[Task Force]

I want it, these put every stock SH3 ship to shame.:rock:

[iambecomelife]

I don't understand this thread.
Why make a empty post to edit later when you can make a full post at the right time?

It was late, I was falling asleep at my desk, and I didn't feel like taking screenshots or writing up all the background info. :dead: :oops:

[iambecomelife]

This thread will feature regular updates on the progress of the Merchant Fleet Mod for Silent Hunter III. I am aiming for biweekly posts that will contain details on which merchant vessels are being included, historical information on typical WWII-era cargo ships, and screenshots of the modeling/skinning process, when appropriate.
Ah SH3
What a quant ole game that was
Now as we await the release of SH6.6 Neptunes revenge how nice it is to see ppl still working on the old games
:o

Less threads more releases
Crack on mate

:rotfl:

J\k
Now release them already :doh:

I almost did several months ago - only to realize that many of the proportions looked terrible. :damn: And the skinning could have been better.

As always, I regret the lateness and can't guarantee everything but I am going to do my best for a late November/Holiday Season release - either of the final product or an open version of the 2nd Beta.

@Geosub1978 - I agree about the passenger ships. I really want to do the "Arandora Star" & other medium liners - the default liners are much bigger than many of the ships that actually existed in the 1940's. Maybe after the initial release...

[Task Force]

This is going to be one heck of a mod.:p

[Sailor Steve]

@ geosub1978: You point out all the liners and troopships still undone. I counter with the hundreds of little ships, under 1000 tons, that need doing. Which ones are you more likely to encounter? Maybe we need to learn how to do this as well, rather than pointing out all the stuff we want one guy to do for us.

We're going to kill him if we keep this up.

[iambecomelife]

@ geosub1978: You point out all the liners and troopships still undone. I counter with the hundreds of little ships, under 1000 tons, that need doing. Which ones are you more likely to encounter? Maybe we need to learn how to do this as well, rather than pointing out all the stuff we want one guy to do for us.

We're going to kill him if we keep this up.

I honestly don't mind, and again - I will try to make some passenger ships - just that there are so many things undone. We need more coasters, auxiliaries, tug & barge combos, small craft - the list goes on & on. It would be nice if there were a few more merchant ship modders - the SH3 modding community seems a lot smaller than that of most popular games.

[geosub1978]

It would be nice if there were a few more merchant ship modders - the SH3 modding community seems a lot smaller than that of most popular games.

Please ckeck your inbox you will see something about that!

Anyway, generally speaking a tutorial on shipbuilding is needed, the threads are just too many and sometimes difficult to be followed by rooky shipbuilders who don't have much time but they want instead! I want to do this but me and I think many others, would ike to have a lesson on that! The circle has already been invented! For me opening SH3D is like swifting on a PC for first time in my life. And if there is someone who believes that we have to start SH3D and messing arround with no idea what we are doing then I believe that in the future the modding community will be even smaller than it is right now.

Iambecomelife, think if you could post a lesson on shipbuilding and SH3D instead of one or two of your new ships! Otherwise the most of us here will keep on watching believe that!

[Jimbuna]

@ geosub1978: You point out all the liners and troopships still undone. I counter with the hundreds of little ships, under 1000 tons, that need doing. Which ones are you more likely to encounter? Maybe we need to learn how to do this as well, rather than pointing out all the stuff we want one guy to do for us.

We're going to kill him if we keep this up.

I concur http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/thumbsup.gif

[nautilus42]

Originally Posted by iambecomelife
It would be nice if there were a few more merchant ship modders - the SH3 modding community seems a lot smaller than that of most popular games.

Hi IABL,

there will be enouph Merchant_ships for SH3, if you finally release your Merchant_Fleet_Mod_Pack, for the community. We all waiting along time for your work. You show us every times again and again nice pictures from your work, but where are the ships.
I know some shipbuilders that their vessels only in super_mods available. See in GWX, NYGM, WAC, LSH3. Also avaiable many converted SH4 merchantships.
The SH4 converted ships, were never in GWX and NYGM used only LSH3 WAC and have incorporated many SH4_ship.

I have two vessels for the next LSH3_Update built.: Russian and german Icebreakers.

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa272/trainer1942/Eisbrecher_01.jpg

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa272/trainer1942/Stettin_NEU_front.jpg

Maybe you will ask me: Why not for for the other Super_Mods???

Here the answer:
Because I use some LSH3_parts, and I have the permission from the LSH3_Team. If I were a new ship with only one GWX_part wants to build and publish later, I need permission from GWX_Team.
if I will build a ship with only one GWX_WAC_NYGM_part i need also permission from all the Authors, and that is for me to exhausting. You understand me???
To create a completely new boat to build, you need very good 3D knowledge and the associated program, both lacking in most Modder.

many greetings

nautilus42

edit: Please excuse my bad english. (transleted with google)

[bigboywooly]

Very nice nautilus42
Very nice indeed
Look forward to adding them ingame

I agree with what you say re modpacks
Most of GWX merchants were released to the public by AG124 anyway
Some of the Kreigsmarine units were not though as they were built by joint team effort though other warships were such as the River frigate

Yes there are very few individual shipbuilders out there now
Rowi builds for LSH3
There doesnt seem to be any coming from the sukhoi foums any more
IIRC Pontius builds for WAC
AG124 is busy in RL
Gerome builds for LSH3 but we know who to blame for that
:rotfl:

Of course there is still Von Dos and yourself that continue
Iambecome also
Apologies to anyone else i forgot

Still
If you have multiple installs as I and many others do its easy to take ships from WAC\LSH3\GWX and add to YOUR OWN install
Giving yourself a greater choice of units
Sinking mechanics may vary but easy to do

[Sailor Steve]

I honestly don't mind, and again - I will try to make some passenger ships - just that there are so many things undone. We need more coasters, auxiliaries, tug & barge combos, small craft - the list goes on & on. It would be nice if there were a few more merchant ship modders - the SH3 modding community seems a lot smaller than that of most popular games.
Oh, well, in that case I've found a couple of different big 12,000-ton freighters...:rotfl:

Actually I would like to learn this myself, but I've been so busy cataloging ship names I haven't had time for anything else.

[geosub1978]

Geosub, S3D comes in last position in the ship building process, before having to use it you need to build a 3D model + textures. This can be learned on a lot of website, there's plenty on tutorials that you can find with google, and plenty of video tutorials on youtube too.

You missed my point.

If I (and others probably) could stay in front of the computer searching the internet and this forum all the way back to 1998 compiling things, then after 1-2 years, or maybe much sooner who knows, we could become supermoders. If this is the case now then OK.

What I have asked is a tutorial in SH3 SHIBUILDING from experienced people of this forum to those who really want to get involved with it for our beloved SH3. Forget about S3D anyway! If there is not such a tutorial then the shipmoders will be only those who bigboywooly mentioned until they get bored!

I also don't mean that above mentioned moders have enough time for shipbuilding anywhen we want. What I mean is what I repeat:
...the circle has already been discovered for SH3!!!

My God I love this game!

[iambecomelife]

Yeah and you missed mine :roll: S3D is specific to SH3 & 4, 3D modelling is not. And the best way to find 3D modelling tutorials is on 3D tutorial websites and youtube, not on subsim. Why would people here spend hours to write something that you can find after a 30 seconds google search ?

There's a basic tutorial for SH3 ship modeling that I wrote a while ago - I will see if I can find it.

@Nautilus - nice job; I like the hull texture on the 2nd one. And awning frames are fun to make. :rotfl:

[geosub1978]

Yeah and you missed mine :roll: S3D is specific to SH3 & 4, 3D modelling is not. And the best way to find 3D modelling tutorials is on 3D tutorial websites and youtube, not on subsim. Why would people here spend hours to write something that you can find after a 30 seconds google search ?

You still miss it. Wait and see. Anyway.

[Madox58]

@ nautilus42

I built several units for GWX 2.1
BBW propably knows better then me which one's they are!
:rotfl:
NTRW,
Tacoma1939,
Colony1939,

I remember those.
Feel free to use them if you need to.
:up:

[VonDos]

Of course there is still Von Dos and yourself that continue
Iambecome also
Apologies to anyone else i forgot


Thanks for mentioning me :oops: :up: :oops:


Still
If you have multiple installs as I and many others do its easy to take ships from WAC\LSH3\GWX and add to YOUR OWN install
Giving yourself a greater choice of units
Sinking mechanics may vary but easy to do

And they works very fine! :yep: :yep: :yep: :up:

Regards, Von
(always busy on semi-secrets works :rotfl: :rotfl: )


PS
@ IAMBECOMELIFE: Waiting for your final fleet release! Keep up your huge, great, awesome work!!

[nautilus42]

@ nautilus42

I built several units for GWX 2.1
BBW propably knows better then me which one's they are!
:rotfl:
NTRW,
Tacoma1939,
Colony1939,

I remember those.
Feel free to use them if you need to.
:up:

Thanks privateer:up:

[skwasjer]

Yeah and you missed mine :roll: S3D is specific to SH3 & 4, 3D modelling is not. And the best way to find 3D modelling tutorials is on 3D tutorial websites and youtube, not on subsim. Why would people here spend hours to write something that you can find after a 30 seconds google search ?

You still miss it. Wait and see. Anyway.
There's no point in starting to learn shipbuilding with S3D (or other tools) without knowledge of 3D in general. S3D may look complex, but that's probably because said 3D-knowledge is lacking. Just simply (inherited) transformations (translation and rotations) with matrices is a mathematical concept you must first understand. At least to a certain extent. How models and texture mapping works, must first be understood as well. This is just to get the basic model set up. Even if you have a 'ready-to-use' ship from another game, you will still need to understand these fundamentals. Otherwise, you are bound to fail.

What Mikhayl means is (I guess), to bring all external 3D assets together with S3D requires at least intermediate knowledge of 3D technology, which would not be the scope of such a shipbuilding tutorial. There's plenty online tutorials of that kind already available.

That said, I do agree with you some more step-by-step tutorials on how to create a new SH-ship are definately neccessary. They don't need to discuss the general 3D technology, just how to set up a DAT-file correctly, incl. AI-behavior/armament/zoning, etc (which could be seperated tutorials). The problem is, it's alot of work and not very appealing to make to most :lol:

[geosub1978]

This is exactly what I want to say.

The point is that there is some disapointment/frustration here about the future because some things are depented on certain people and the rest just enjoy the products. Well, not all of us have the skill to do this for many reasons, not because we are idiots and we cannot use some software or because we are bored. Building a ship from point 0 without external help is impossible as you need tooooooo much time to obtain the knowledge how to do it (generally and for SH3 as well), which there is not . If we could bypass some steps with some help then I would DEFENETLY offered you something. And there are people here who can provide that help through some lessons/tutorials as there are such things for other kinds of mods.
That's all.

[G.K.]

This thread should be sticky...:hmm:

[Hitman]

This thread should be sticky...:hmm:

Ouch....me idiot have been reading it with great interest since the announcement yet failed to think of that :88)

Solved :up:

[G.K.]

BTW, since this thread has appeared i spend most of my free time here, looking at 2 merchants on the front page...:o

Would be happy to have some 10 or more to look at... And I guess I m not alone:damn:

[bigboywooly]

BTW, since tis thread has appeared i spend most of my free time here, looking at 2 merchants on the front page...:o

Would be happy to have some 10 or more to llok at... And I guess I m not alone:damn:

No you are not alone
Iambecome has been teasing us for years lol
He has released a couple though but we all wait for the pack

[G.K.]

BTW, since tis thread has appeared i spend most of my free time here, looking at 2 merchants on the front page...:o

Would be happy to have some 10 or more to llok at... And I guess I m not alone:damn:
No you are not alone
Iambecome has been teasing us for years lol
He has released a couple though but we all wait for the pack

Yes, this and XXIII is the reason why am I going to try NYGM after finishing GWX 2.0 career...:arrgh!:

[Sailor Steve]

I think when the pack is released you will find it appearing everywhere, including stock and GWX.

[geosub1978]

And WAC!! ;) :arrgh!:

[bookworm_020]

Bring it on!:arrgh!:

I'm hanging out for this mod for so long! I have to go and wipe my keyboard each time there is a new ship posted due to excess drool!

[Uber Gruber]

I've finally given up on SH3....played it to death so to speak so I probably wont ever see IAM's merchant pack. Perhapps it can be ported to SH4 but I've also decided not to play SH4 untill the Atlantic Campaign is fully implemented.

Its been great since Jan 2005 but 3.5 years of Sh3 and a little dabble in SH4 is enough for now....at least until i get the "sub itch" again :-)

In the meantime, i'm really getting into Project Reality....wow, what a great mod that is:rock:

[Philipp_Thomsen]

I've finally given up on SH3....played it to death so to speak so I probably wont ever see IAM's merchant pack. Perhapps it can be ported to SH4 but I've also decided not to play SH4 untill the Atlantic Campaign is fully implemented.

Its been great since Jan 2005 but 3.5 years of Sh3 and a little dabble in SH4 is enough for now....at least until i get the "sub itch" again :-)

In the meantime, i'm really getting into Project Reality....wow, what a great mod that is:rock:

I don't think you got it already... You wont EVER stop playing SH3.

You sometimes go out in a vacation, but someday you'll be back, skipper! :lol:

[iambecomelife]

Thanks for the sticky.

Coming up between now and Sunday: old merchants and various tankers, along with a shipbuilding guide. I'd post it now but I have a reading assignment.:damn:

[geosub1978]

along with a shipbuilding guide


Here we go! :|\\ :up: :up:

[onelifecrisis]

IABL, empty your inbox :up:

[iambecomelife]

IABL, empty your inbox :up:

Shoot.

[Konovalov]

Have taken almost 2 month break from SHIII GWX 2.1 and come back to find this. :rock: :rock: Can't wait. :D

[LordNeuro"Serbia"]

Have taken almost 2 month break from SHIII GWX 2.1 and come back to find this. :rock: :rock: Can't wait. :D
Same thing. I love thise. But i dont like i have too make abreak from SH3. But theats life.
Keep up the fantastic job:up:

[iambecomelife]

UPDATE #3: Trends in Tanker Design. T11A vs. T16A.

One of the things I am trying to do with this mod is to get a good cross section of ships built between 1900 and 1945. Many of the stock units tend to be mass-produced vessels like the T-2 and Liberty. In actuality, non-standardized vessels were the backbone of the Allied merchant marine - even taking into account heavy attrition and the construction programs for standardized ships.

Tanker T11A is supposed to represent one of the large, non-standardized vessels used to transport oil at the outbreak of the war. It's loosely based on the "E.M. Clark", "J.A. Moffett Jr.", "Charles Pratt", and other heavy tankers from between 9,000 - 9,900 GRT.

Typical features for old tankers include the three-masted configuration, vertical bow, a low superstructure, and an extremely tall, thin funnel. Ships of this type would have been constructed during and shortly after WWI.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/T11A.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/T11A-2.jpg

http://uboat.net/allies/ships/photos/pa/charles_pratt.jpg

http://uboat.net/allies/ships/photos/am/e_m_clark.jpg

The vessel was kitbashed from the "Arrow Tanker" and several other ships. Because it was so similar to the "Arrow" class it wasn't a particularly hard ship to build. One thing that was a little dicey was the bridge - it needed quite a bit of work so that I could emulate the two-tone bridge paint scheme seen on the photo of "E.M. Clark".

Compare T11A with T16A - a modern tanker of about 10,500 GRT built right before the war. The bow is raked, there is a more substantial bridge, and the low funnel indicates it's probably a motorship. Many ships of this general type were built at Bremer-Vulkan (sp) and other German yards for foreign buyers, including Britain; it's ironic that so many of them fell victim to submarines built in the same country.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/T16A.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/T16A-2.jpg

http://uboat.net/allies/ships/photos/br/frederick_s_fales.jpg

T16A is very loosely based on the "Narragansett" and "Frederick S Fales". Both were built in Axis countries shortly before the war - "Narragansett" in Germany and the "Fales" in Italy. After the war broke out they continued to transport petroleum products across the Atlantic.

On 22 Sep, 1940 the "Fales" was torpedoed twice by U-100 while sailing in Convoy HX-72. Her cargo of fuel oil exploded immediately, blowing apart the main deck and sinking her within minutes. 11 of her 43-man crew were killed.

"Narragansett" outlived her by less than two years. She was torpedoed by U-105 in 1942 while sailing independently with a cargo of refined petroleum. None of her crewmembers survived - possibly because she was sailing far from the major shipping lanes at the time of her loss.

All photos courtesy of uboat.net.

[Sailor Steve]

T-16???

You weren't just kidding when you said there were additions and changes! The pictures I'm working from only go the 12! How many freighters are there now? Small freighters?

Oh, they're looking great, by the way.:sunny:

[iambecomelife]

T-16???

You weren't just kidding when you said there were additions and changes! The pictures I'm working from only go the 12! How many freighters are there now? Small freighters?

Oh, they're looking great, by the way.:sunny:

Right now there are about 24 freighters and 18 tankers. I am not counting small ships because all of the small units are in need of revision. Also, some of the larger ships will not be released because their 3d modeling is obsolete; however, this applies to no more than about 5 of them.

WRT overall progress, as of this weekend the peacetime skins for 16 freighters and three tankers have been finished. Each unit has from 3-6 sets of 4 early war skins that will cycle according to the date when you use SH3 Commander. This makes a minimum of 12 and a maximum of 24 skins per ship.

[Sailor Steve]

Speaking of revisions, I see I've got my work cut out for me.
:rotfl:

[iambecomelife]

Minor update - I'm finishing mainly oil tanker skins now for several companies:

Eagle Oil Co.
Esso/Standard Oil
Anglo Saxon (Shell)
British Tanker Co.

I'm also resolving 3d model & hex-edit problems as I go along. This evening I will hopefully reconstruct the Modern British Medium Tanker (T07B) along with some of the smaller tankers of about 4000 GRT.

http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/ships/1937/BRITISH_INTEGRITY_972.jpg

Photo courtesy of clydesite.co.uk.

[mr chris]

This is good news.:yep:
Is it still looking good for a late Nov launch?
Just asking as i have some leave planned for then.

[iambecomelife]

This is good news.:yep:
Is it still looking good for a late Nov launch?
Just asking as i have some leave planned for then.

Late December is more likely TBH. I'll do what I can to get it out as early as possible but there's still a lot that needs to be finished.

[mr chris]

No worries.
Either late Nov or Late Dec is good as i have leave at both them times.
Will be good to finally see these ships in game.:up:

[G.K.]

Late December is more likely TBH. I'll do what I can to get it out as early as possible but there's still a lot that needs to be finished.

OK, so on the Christmas Eve I am going to set in front of the screen except of being with my family...:D

[iambecomelife]

Revised British Tanker Co. medium motor tanker. I shrank the hull from an 8,000 - ton ship to about 96% and imported a new superstructure. This model will only be assigned to Great Britain.


EDIT: Model has been revised. New screenshots will be posted later.

[nik112]

hi iam
i have a proposal for you
why don't you fix all those ships that included at nygm that can be installed at gwx 2.1
and then when you re finish the job release them as an update
cheers:ping:

[iambecomelife]

hi iam
i have a proposal for you
why don't you fix all those ships that included at nygm that can be installed at gwx 2.1
and then when you re finish the job release them as an update
cheers:ping:

No; except for the merchant M05A all of the NYGM ships that i built are obsolete. They have been replaced with new models in this latest Beta version that is under construction.

[Sailor Steve]

...along with some of the smaller tankers of about 4000 GRT.
:o

You're gettin' me all excited here. Those 4000-tonners represent one of the categories I've been having to fudge to make things fit.:rock:

Of course, as I said above, this means I'm going to have a lot of reorganizing ahead of me. But I'm looking forward to it.

[mainexpress]

Take your time I.A.B.L.,your nic should be Awesome Ships Become Life lol...:lol:,been waiting on your work for some time now,but im patient because i know the end result is gonna be awesome.

[linerkiller]

hi iam
i have a proposal for you
why don't you fix all those ships that included at nygm that can be installed at gwx 2.1
and then when you re finish the job release them as an update
cheers:ping:

No; except for the merchant M05A all of the NYGM ships that i built are obsolete. They have been replaced with new models in this latest Beta version that is under construction.And about the (possible) SH4 conversion: How that would be organized?:hmm:

Cheers and congratulations:up:

[iambecomelife]

hi iam
i have a proposal for you
why don't you fix all those ships that included at nygm that can be installed at gwx 2.1
and then when you re finish the job release them as an update
cheers:ping:

No; except for the merchant M05A all of the NYGM ships that i built are obsolete. They have been replaced with new models in this latest Beta version that is under construction.And about the (possible) SH4 conversion: How that would be organized?:hmm:

Cheers and congratulations:up:

I would need to read up on the conversion process because I am not familiar with it - I have heard that it's pretty simple. I will also have to add correct skins for the Pacific theatre & place several of the ships in the Japanese roster.

[iambecomelife]

UPDATE #4: British Tankers.

Miscellaneous screenshots from testing peacetime skins for British tankers. I was using a camera mod at the time they were taken.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/A1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/A2.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/A9.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/A10.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/A4.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/A5.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/A7.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/A6.jpg

[iambecomelife]

UPDATE #4 (Cont'd)




http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/L.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/K.jpg

[bigboywooly]

Very very nice
May even get me to fire SH3 up again :hmm:






Nah
:rotfl:

[Jimbuna]

Well I'm still into SH3 and looking forward to them :lol:

[melnibonian]

Let's just hope we will actually see them in SH3 before we move to SH4 ;)

[iambecomelife]

SHIPBUILDING TUTORIAL

Someone had requested this, so here goes. I will try to improve it in the coming days with screenshots & clarifications if need be.

1) Select a craft similar to the vessel you want to create. This means taking into account the length, width, draft, and function of the end product you want. If you want to mod the “USS New York”, for instance, the “Revenge” is a much better parent unit than the “Bogue”. If you’re making a large freighter, the Liberty Ship is a good option.

2) Copy the entire unit folder for the parent unit and paste it somewhere else.

3) Copy the Data\Roster\[Nation]\Sea\[Unit].cfg file and paste it somewhere else.

4) Rename ALL of the folder’s contents. Try to keep the number of digits in the new vessel name the same as in the parent unit. For instance, the Liberty Ship’s folder name is NLL_. Hence, we want a four digit name for a unit based on it. M01B, T01B, and T16A are examples of permissible names. Names with more or fewer digits may cause crashes.

5) Open the [unitname].cfg files and edit them to make them consistent with the new name. This can be done with Word, Wordpad or any other text editor. For instance, when I made the freighter M01B I changed the data from:

[Unit]
ClassName=LL
UnitType=102
MaxSpeed=10
Length=150
Width=19.5
Mast=22.5
Draft=7.0
Displacement=6820
RenownAwarded=310

To

[Unit]
ClassName=T02B
UnitType=102
MaxSpeed=10
Length=150
Width=19.5
Mast=22.5
Draft=7.0
Displacement=6820
RenownAwarded=310

Note that changing the displacement, speed etc is entirely optional and will not affect the game’s stability in any way. However, failing to change the [classname=] entry WILL INVARIABLY CAUSE A CRASH.

6) Open the DAT file in the [unitname] folder with Pack3d. On the bottom right you will see the CLONE button. Click on the unit’s main folder located on the left side of the window in Pack3d – then hit CLONE. After a few seconds you should see a message saying “cloning [unitname].cam”. This indicates the process is complete. You must clone every unit before running SH3 – otherwise you will experience CTD’s whenever the cloned unit and its parent unit appear together – like in Museum mode, in the same mission or career patrol, etc.

7) Close Pack3d. Open it again, select the unit’s DAT file again, click on the main folder, again, and hit the Pack3d button marked EXPORT ALL.

8) All of the unit’s 3d OBJ files should be in a subfolder to the main [UNITNAME] folder called “3d”. Open the OBJ files with Wings3d. Use wings3d to edit the various objects. Here are some tips regarding the nomenclature that the developers used:

-[unitname].obj is usually the main hull object
-[unitname].cosh is the smokestack
-[unitname_catarg01] is the first mast
-[unitname_catarg02] is the second mast
-[unitname_boat01] is usually a liferaft NOT a lifeboat!
-[unitname_barca01] is usually a lifeboat
-[unitname_macara01] is usually a cargo crane
-[unitname_pipes01] is a ventilation duct
-[unitname_F] is the front of a ship when it breaks up
-[unitname_B] is the back half of a ship when it breaks up

9) As soon as you finish editing an object, import it using pack3d or S3ditor. Both tools have buttons for importing modified 3d objects. However, S3ditor has a model preview function that enables you to view the modified parts in relation to the whole ship in real time. This cuts down greatly on how much time is needed to move different parts. It also displays the x, y, and z coordinates of each part, making it easier to put modified objects in their proper location.
10) Place the new unit folder in C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\SilentHunterIII\Data\Sea.
11) Place the new [UNITNAME].cfg file in Data\Roster\[Country]\Sea.
12) Open the Data\Sea\Englishnames.cfg file. Add an entry for the new unit at the bottom of the file. For example: M01B = Medium Merchant 01.
13) Run a mission with your unit to make sure it doesn’t crash the game. It will probably look weird for now – don’t worry about it.

14) This is one of the most time consuming steps. Use the x, y, and z coordinate entries in pack3d or S3ditor to place the funnels, masts, etc in their proper location. Start off with large increments of about 1.0 units and use smaller increments of about .1 and .01 as you maneuver each component into its right position. X and –X are left-right, Y is up, -Y is down, Z is towards the ship’s bow, and –Z is towards the ship’s stern. For instance, if I notice that the modded unit’s funnel is floating in midair at coordinate Y = 1.56, I might want to change the coordinate downwards by .2 increments to Y=1.36. As stated earlier, with S3ditor you can observe where the different objects are in the model preview window; with pack3d you will need to run a mission with the ship to see if an object was placed in the right location. I use the “Torpedoes” training mission for this function, replacing the stationary NKSQ tramp steamer with the unit I am working on. Note that you don’t need to restart SH3 for the changes to appear – simply end the mission after noting whether the objects are in the right place, alt-tab, make your coordinate changes with Pack3d or Wings3d, maximize SH3, and run the mission again.

15) Use Photoshop or a similar program to skin the new unit. Anything that works with TGA files should be OK. You may want to create alpha channels; I find that the ships look OK without them. It’s up to you. Stock units usually have about 4 skins but you can create more if you want – just remember to keep the skin name consistent. T01B_T05.tga, T01B_T06.tga, and so on. Note that if you create more than about 16 skins SH3 will not recognize them; instead of using M01B_T17.tga it will revert to the first skin. For most units you do not need to reload SH3 to see changes to the skins.

16) Edit the text information for the units to be consistent. Open the [unitname].cfg files and [unitname]_en.log files to add the correct speed, tonnage, renown, mast heights, and so on.

[iambecomelife]

UPDATE # 5 - The CAM System (part 1).

WIP shots of a vessel with a Hurricane mounted on the bow. Note the access platforms for the crew. The metal beams on the bow are part of the ship's anti-mine defenses and don't have anything to do with the CAM device - they were simply a common feature on British merchantmen later in the war.

I am going to create several other verisons of the CAM ship, using the unique vessel designation used by GWX so that they do not show up in convoy too often. These will replace the current version used in GWX (designated M36B).

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/CAM1-3.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/CAM2-2.jpg

This ship is loosely based on the SS "Empire Lytton" but is much smaller than she was (about 7500 GRT instead of 9800 GRT.) I have been unable to find a good photograph of "Empire Lytton" - both of the ones I have found show her at the time of her loss, with the hull scorched and almost totally obscured by fire. If you have access to a picture of her or a sister ship, PLEASE let me know.

Thanks.

[iambecomelife]

The CAM-Tanker ingame. Unlike the earlier CAM-ship versions I created, the ship's Hurricane fighter is an independent object that can be damaged or destroyed.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/CAM-4.jpg

[melnibonian]

Do we have an ETA for this Mod?

[iambecomelife]

Do we have an ETA for this Mod?

I'm shooting for sometime between late November and Christmas, in part because that's when I assume people will have some time off & will be able to play.

[melnibonian]

I'm shooting for sometime between late November and Christmas, in part because that's when I assume people will have some time off & will be able to play.
Aim well then as we're all really looking forward to this Add-On :yep: :up:

[iambecomelife]

Minor update:

-British early war skins for tankers and freighters have been completed.

-I am starting on skins for American merchantmen. This will be easier, as there are fewer American companies, fewer American ship types, and American & British tankers sometimes had nearly identical paint schemes.

-The Empire Class freighter has been redone. It has much better modeling & an armament more typical of British merchant ships.

-I am going to redo the CAM-ship as well.

-I completed the model for a high speed British blockade runner of about 3500 tons. It's supposed to represent the heavily armed, fast ships used for dangerous runs like Malta, North Africa, and so on.

Next update with screenshots will be Trends in Steam Merchants: Modern British vs. American Merchantmen.

[geosub1978]

Many Thanks for the shipbuilding tutorial! Soon I will start work!:D

[Reise]

Many Thanks for the shipbuilding tutorial! Soon I will start work!:D

Look forward to some releases
:up:

[Task Force]

Cant wait, I got a full 2 weeks of at Christmas.:rock:

[Ktl_KUrtz]

Edited: Sorry my mistake!
Hi Iambecomelife,
Will you be making skins for a Stock 1.4b version only?
That is to say for only those ships that are in stock.
This would be easy to install for those who do not want too many ships.
Kurtz

[iambecomelife]

Hi Onelifecrises,
Will you be making skins for a Stock 1.4b version only?
That is to say for only those ships that are in stock.
This would be easy to install for those who do not want too many ships.
Kurtz

Onelifecrises? He isn't helping me with this mod! :)

I was originally going to make skins for all the default units - now I'm not so sure. There will be a new Liberty Ship, and it will have a pack of unique skins - so technically yes, there will be skins for stock vessels.

[Jimbuna]

Looking forward to it http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/pirate.gif

[Sailor Steve]

Onelifecrises? He isn't helping me with this mod! :)
:rotfl:

I made the same mistake a few months back, only from the opposite direction. After one of his posts I responded telling him to stop yakking and get back to work on his ships.

Poor guy had no idea what I was talking about, and I was about as embarassed as a guy can get!:oops: :rotfl:

[iambecomelife]

Minor Update:

A couple nights ago I finally managed to do a Hog Islander, something I'd wanted to accomplish but I'd just never gotten quite right. It will be assigned to both US and UK shippers in the initial release (later releases (hopefully) will add versions for the USSR, Panama and maybe Brazil).

http://www.armed-guard.com/alcoaran.jpg

By now, almost all of the major US dry cargo companies are represented. American Export Lines, Alcoa, and so on.

It's late & I'm too tired to post anymore. :dead:

[Phoenix3000]

Wonderful work IABL,

We're all looking forward to this release!

Keep up the great work mate, excellent as always.

Px3000

[iambecomelife]

UPDATE # 6. HOG ISLANDERS vs. EMPIRE TYPES.

Although many people know about the Liberty Ships they did not represent the first attempt to mass-produce American merchant shipping. Towards the end of WWI the Wilson Administration awarded contracts for the construction of more than 200 merchantmen. Their goal was to create a "Bridge of Ships" for hauling men and supplies to the front lines in Europe.

Under the authority of the Shipping Board a vast new shipyard was constructed at Hog Island, PA. Thanks to a lack of Federal oversight the land on which it was built cost the Board twenty times its actual value. Cost estimates proved inaccurate, and the whole operation was plagued by fraud and mismanagement from beginning to end. For all the Wilson Administration's grandiose posturing, the Hog Island project did nothing to hasten America's victory. The yard's first vessel was not launched until August of 1918, and remained incomplete until after the November armistice. Eventually more than 100 "Hog Islanders" were built, but they compared poorly with similar designs from Europe. Many were laid up or sold for about a net loss of $200,000.00, even though the Government had promised that they would earn a profit.

Nevertheless they were reliable merchantmen, and many of them went on to provide much-needed cargo capacity during the interwar years and WWII.

Strange that Wilson's still revered as such a wonderful president to this day, whereas other leaders have been demonized for wasting much smaller amounts of taxpayers' money. And don't even get me started on his racism, First Amendment violations, persecution of antiwar activists, etc etc.:roll:

Anyway, enough ranting about ol' Woodrow. For the first time the SH3 series will have Hog Islanders in a variety of Historical paint schemes. American Export, Lykes, Alcoa Steamship, Waterman, and so on. As with all Allied merchantmen, neutrality markings will be replaced by camoflage paint as their nations become belligerent.



http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/White.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Waterman-1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Luck.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Hog.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Emp-P.jpg


Compare the Hog Islander with another standardized vessel - A British "Empire" type from WWII. It's a replacement for the vessel designated M35B in GWX. Compared to prewar types it has numerous gun mountings, sparse fittings, and a deckhouse covered in metal plates (large windows were vulnerable to MG fire). These ships had about the same top speed as a Hog Islander but had better cargo capacity, considering they were usually 6800-7200 GRT. They were built in Britain, Canada, and the US, although all seem to have been manned by British crews. As with the Hog Islanders, many Empire freighters survived the war to serve in the post-war merchant marine. By any measure the British and American standardized shipping programs of WWII were much more successful than the "Hog Island" disaster - this time, something actually got accomplished BEFORE the war ended. :shifty:

More pics:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Quad.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Emp-2.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Emp-1.jpg

Click here for more info:

http://tmh.floonet.net/articles/hogisle.shtml

http://smmlonline.com/articles/hogislanders/hogislanders.html

[Hellraiser]

Stuff like this is why I'm here .

I applaud the modders who follow the HISTORY and details of WWII as it actually happened...

Great work and I thank you sir. :rock:

Can't wait to download the finished product.

[Reise]

standardized vessel - A British "Empire" type from WWII

Empire ships not a standard type
Many different sizes and uses from Tug to cargo

http://www.mariners-l.co.uk/EmpIndex.html#index

Even Liberty not standard design
From first British ship Donington Court came design for British Ocean class

http://www.merchantnavyofficers.com/liberty.html

Next came Parks\Forts and Canadian classes all a little different as well as the liberty

http://fortships.tripod.com/

:up:

[iambecomelife]

I know - after all, some ships with the "Empire" prefix were generic foreign ships captured in Allied ports. But the ONI manuals do refer to a standardized "Empire Type" - in other words, British-designed split structure merchants built during the war. And I did post that they ranged from 6800 - 7200 GRT, so of course there were variations in appearance.

[Reise]

And a lot smaller

Empire Bairn Coastal Tanker 813 G T
Empire Bell Cargo 2023 G T
Empire Cadet Coastal Tanker 813 G T
Empire Captain Cargo 9875 G T
Empire Cedar Estuary tug 129 G T

Etc

Look through Empire link above and note tonnages

But you the builder
Am just a player

[iambecomelife]

And a lot smaller

Empire Bairn Coastal Tanker 813 G T
Empire Bell Cargo 2023 G T
Empire Cadet Coastal Tanker 813 G T
Empire Captain Cargo 9875 G T
Empire Cedar Estuary tug 129 G T

Etc

Look through Empire link above and note tonnages

But you the builder
Am just a player


Thanks.

I don't think I am releasing any small ships (sorry, Steve!) I made 5-6 of them but I'm not satisfied with how they look. Maybe after the main release I can rework them.

[mr chris]

Lovely looking addition there IBL.:yep:
Good luck with getting the rest of the ships ready for release.

[Philipp_Thomsen]

All this hard work on ships that will last a few seconds above water, not enough time to admire them! :lol:

Keep up the good work, IBL! Really looking foward to it! :up:

[Ktl_KUrtz]

All this hard work on ships that will last a few seconds above water, not enough time to admire them! :lol:

Keep up the good work, IBL! Really looking foward to it! :up:

Yes I agree!:up:
Your passed work has been the very best.
I am looking forward to the release.
KUrtz

[melnibonian]

I am looking forward to the release.
KUrtz
Let's just hope it arrives soon because we've been waiting for it for at least two years :hmm:

[Sledgehammer427]

I wonder if you can use Delftship to make simple submarines too...:hmm:
i've been wanting to make a typhoon for a while now and...well, its not as easy as one would hope

[iambecomelife]

No; all of my ships were created in Wings3d, using the hulls of SH3 vessels. I have never created any vessels from scratch except for one lifeboat (which did not work).

Thanks for the links. :ping:

[iambecomelife]

Minor update:

Thanks to a slew of exams & presentations, the shipyard lies silent. :damn:

Hopefully, I will have better news on Sunday!

[Sledgehammer427]

@IABL
exams???
college? highschool?
me too! (highschool)

[Alex]

Minor update:

Thanks to a slew of exams & presentations, the shipyard lies silent. :damn:

Hopefully, I will have better news on Sunday!
http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/4001/demon35zc0.gif http://img185.imageshack.us/img185/8545/chut04yg5.gif !

:stare:



:rotfl:

[Graf Paper]

He means medical exams and competency hearings at the nursing home.

I remember back in the day when we were all young men and IABL had first started work on this magnificent mod. :p

[Sledgehammer427]

ironically, i have a friend that works at one...gawd, smaller world

[iambecomelife]

Anvart, what happened to your posts?! I liked that drilling support ship! :hmm:

Anyway, a quick update now that the weekend's here. A non-standardized model in paint schemes for Isthmian and American Export. They were posted elsewhere but just in case you didn't see them:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-20-1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-22-3.jpg

Many freighter classes had similar features, so it's a struggle to make them interesting if they're of similar sizes. To distinguish this from the Hog Islander I gave it a British-style bridge, different bulwarks, extra cranes on the bow, and a taller funnel. Maybe now they look distinct enough.

[UberTorpedo]

iambecomelife,

Excellent looking ships :up:, but if you look closely at the painted US flags on the hull they appear to be the modern-day 50 star version (1959 to present) instead of the 48 star WWII flags. The animated flags on the stern look to be correct.
Keep up the good work!!! They're really top notch. :D

Cheers,
UberTorpedo

[Task Force]

Veary good IABC.:up:

[iambecomelife]

iambecomelife,

Excellent looking ships :up:, but if you look closely at the painted US flags on the hull they appear to be the modern-day 50 star version (1959 to present) instead of the 48 star WWII flags. The animated flags on the stern look to be correct.
Keep up the good work!!! They're really top notch. :D

Cheers,
UberTorpedo

Good point. I will try blowing up SH3's default US flag graphic & see how it looks.

[Anvart]

Anvart, what happened to your posts?! I liked that drilling support ship! :hmm:
...
Deleted (by me) as off topic ... (3 days off) ... :D

[iambecomelife]

I honestly didn't mind them, Anvart. That was some nice work.

Minor update: I finished American freighter neutrality skins. I've started on the tankers now. Because there are some skins that can be adapted from the T-2 tanker that I made earlier, this shouldn't take too long.

I assigned a modern 5,000-ton merchant to the US. Technically European style, but still similar to the ships of a few American companies, like Alcoa Lines & Grace Line. They were built right before the war to replace the old Hog Island types.

The old US flag has been replaced with a 48-star version (weathered and standard variants). :ping: If I have time I will retrofit the existing US skins with it.

[Rolf Eschke]

Wonderful Mod !
:up: :up: :up:

[iambecomelife]

Minor Update: Some new construction. Screenshots of WIP light tanker (3500-4000 GRT) and a medium freighter (3800-4200 GRT). Might try an oiler version of the tanker and a Q-Ship version of the freighter.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-15-1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-16-1.jpg

[iambecomelife]

Another thing - I am trying to design an old-fashioned light tanker. Denis469 has helped out but anyone with more pics of small tankers from maybe 1900-1925, please post.

Geosub1978, check your pm.

[andym]

Are these any help?

http://usera.ImageCave.com/andym/accia1b.jpg

Accacia.


http://usera.ImageCave.com/andym/rfamontenolmpl3384.jpg

Montenol


http://usera.ImageCave.com/andym/rfanuculampl3375.jpg

Nucula

http://usera.ImageCave.com/andym/rfapetrellampl3387.jpg

Peterela


http://usera.ImageCave.com/andym/rfapetroleummpl3374.jpg

Petroleum


http://usera.ImageCave.com/andym/rfaphilolmpl3376.jpg

Philol


http://usera.ImageCave.com/andym/rfascotolmpl3377.jpg


Ascotol

[iambecomelife]

Awesome! That's exactly what I wanted.

Thanks. :up:

[denis_469]

Another thing - I am trying to design an old-fashioned light tanker. Denis469 has helped out but anyone with more pics of small tankers from maybe 1900-1925, please post.

Geosub1978, check your pm.

Sorry, Iambecomelite - I send you all small soviet tankers what I have :(

I'm send you today 1-2 letter with other soviet ships. In letter would be 2 small tankers only. And tankers made from 1900-1925 year have many various silouettes.

[iambecomelife]

Another thing - I am trying to design an old-fashioned light tanker. Denis469 has helped out but anyone with more pics of small tankers from maybe 1900-1925, please post.

Geosub1978, check your pm.

Sorry, Iambecomelite - I send you all small soviet tankers what I have :(

I'm send you today 1-2 letter with other soviet ships. In letter would be 2 small tankers only. And tankers made from 1900-1925 year have many various silouettes.

Thanks! I will check them this evening.

AOTD_MadMax, you have a PM.

Minor Update: This girl's a long way from Philly. It's the medium-light freighter I posted earlier, now on trials. Her skin features the new clean 48-state US neutrality mark. :sunny:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/p1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/p2.jpg

[andym]

Do let me know if you want any more of different Nationalities.I have acess to a huge amount of ALL kinds of Vessels Pre WW1 to present.

[denis_469]

Next letter would be tomorrow. In 1st letter see in soviet tug boat tankers and reilroad ferry :D :rotfl:

I think, that you unknow about it's ships total:p

tanker tugs - Izhoretz class tug what I send you before.

Tankers in base Liberty ship class building for USSR only and made 3 ships total. All in USSR.

[mkubani]

My big dream is to have Merchant Fleet Mod released as a part of GWX Gold. That would be fantastic. :|\\

[melnibonian]

My big dream is to have Merchant Fleet Mod released as a part of GWX Gold. That would be fantastic. :|\\
Well that's the wish of many people but it all depends on IBL and when he will have his mod ready for release. The way we're going I doubt that we'll ever see it in SH3 (and I really hope I am wrong about that) :hmm:

[ozzysoldier]

you shud look at uboat.net
there are pic's of several ship's http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/1191.html for example
and http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/1189.html if you want warships
http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/1191.html

[iambecomelife]

My big dream is to have Merchant Fleet Mod released as a part of GWX Gold. That would be fantastic. :|\\
Well that's the wish of many people but it all depends on IBL and when he will have his mod ready for release. The way we're going I doubt that we'll ever see it in SH3 (and I really hope I am wrong about that) :hmm:

Have faith! I am going to have some more time off in the near future, which will be a big help.

Also, thanks to S3ditor and other improvements, shipbuilding & skinning require a fraction of the time that they used to take. Moving parts around often took at least 2 hours per ship with Pack3d; now this stage takes me about 30 minutes.

[Sailor Steve]

Here's an oddity I stumbled on: Brambleleaf, a WW1-era fleet oiler, built in 1917, sunk in 1942. Not the small tankers you were asking for, but check the funnel position.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/brambleleaf.jpg

http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/1777.html

[melnibonian]

Have faith! I am going to have some more time off in the near future, which will be a big help.

Also, thanks to S3ditor and other improvements, shipbuilding & skinning require a fraction of the time that they used to take. Moving parts around often took at least 2 hours per ship with Pack3d; now this stage takes me about 30 minutes.
That's great news IBL. I am sure everyone is expecting your mod and we're all looking forward to sink your babies ;) :yep: :up:

Now stop posting and get back to work ;) :p :D

[Alex]

So it's not released yet ? :huh:
I'm about to get very angry. :stare:

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/2859/mecontent06ul3.gif



:p :rotfl:

[iambecomelife]

Here's an oddity I stumbled on: Brambleleaf, a WW1-era fleet oiler, built in 1917, sunk in 1942. Not the small tankers you were asking for, but check the funnel position.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/brambleleaf.jpg

http://www.uboat.net/allies/merchants/1777.html

That's one weird looking tanker. :o It looks like she has most of the crews' quarters amidships - extremely dangerous in the event of fire. :hmm:

[iambecomelife]

AOTD_MadMax, Check your PM - I have sent you the tanker screenshots that you wanted.

And denis_469, thank you as always for your pictures - there is an excellent diagram of a light merchant.:up: It reminds me of the steamers from "Aces of the Deep".

[andym]

I know these arent strictly Merchant ships but what about some Submarine depot ships?

http://usera.ImageCave.com/andym/ships/hmsambrosempl3346.jpg
HMS Ambrose

http://usera.ImageCave.com/andym/ships/hmsluciampl3343.jpg
HMS St Lucia

http://usera.ImageCave.com/andym/ships/hmsmedway.jpg
HMS Medway



I also have quite a few pics of Troopships if needed.

[Commander Gizmo]

If you have time, can you explain why the 'slingback' look creates too many polys? I don't understand why this would be such an issue and would like to look at a work around.

[iambecomelife]

If you have time, can you explain why the 'slingback' look creates too many polys? I don't understand why this would be such an issue and would like to look at a work around.

It is only a problem with Long Bridge Deck ships. The midships castle needs to be sloped at either end. Typically, the midships castles on my ships are converted from the Liberty Ship deckhouse and other box-shaped components, with relatively few vertexes. Therefore, it is very difficult to get the sloped effect you see on most long bridge deck ships.

With tankers and most freighters, you can easily manipulate the main Liberty Ship hull object to create a "swayback" look because NLL_hull.obj has hundreds of vertexes.

It's a little hard to explain, but I hope this helps. If you know how to insert new vertexes into an existing model then this shouldn't be an issue.

@Andy - nice pics. I don't know about a depot ship but I am working on a small, modern oiler right now.

[Commander Gizmo]

Ah... Now I see what you meat. Is it really that much work to create a ship from scratch? I noticed that everyone seems to copy and modify existing ships. Is there a technical limitation to this that is unique SH3?

[iambecomelife]

Minor update: Not much to report in the way of modeling because right now I am creating recognition manual images & measuring mast heights. Definitely nothing screenshot-worthy. Nevertheless, this work is a crucial part of the mod. I hope to be finished by this weekend.

I am thinking about creating a separate merchant ID handbook to take the place of the old one from about a year ago. For now, though, the main product itself keeps me busy enough.:dead:

[mr chris]

@IBL Are we still looking at a Xmas Holiday release?

[iambecomelife]

@IBL Are we still looking at a Xmas Holiday release?

Yes.

[mr chris]

@IBL Are we still looking at a Xmas Holiday release?
Yes.

That is great news:up:

[Ktl_KUrtz]

Iambecomelife,
I want to say that do not be pressured with your Merchant Mod release date!
Your work is the best and you are doing it in your own time and for free as far as I am aware.
I suppose everybody is very excited and just cannot wait for its release.
Plenty of time.
KUrtz
Ps. Is it DOS activated like one of your first releases?

[bigboywooly]

Iambecomelife,
I want to say that do not be pressured with your Merchant Mod release date!
Your work is the best and you are doing it in your own time and for free as far as I am aware.
I suppose everybody is very excited and just cannot wait for its release.
Plenty of time.
KUrtz
Ps. Is it DOS activated like one of your first releases?

With the greatest respect Ktl_KUrtz some of us have been teased with release for years

Note the date on the post

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h22/bigboywooly/extra%20units/ScreenHunter_933.jpg

I can appreciate Iambecome wanting to get things as he wants before release though as is his mod
:up:

[Sailor Steve]

I am creating recognition manual images...
That's music to my ears! Soon I can start pulling my hair out...I mean reorganizing.

[iambecomelife]

Iambecomelife,
I want to say that do not be pressured with your Merchant Mod release date!
Your work is the best and you are doing it in your own time and for free as far as I am aware.
I suppose everybody is very excited and just cannot wait for its release.
Plenty of time.
KUrtz
Ps. Is it DOS activated like one of your first releases?

With the greatest respect Ktl_KUrtz some of us have been teased with release for years

Note the date on the post

http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h22/bigboywooly/extra%20units/ScreenHunter_933.jpg

I can appreciate Iambecome wanting to get things as he wants before release though as is his mod
:up:

Hey - did you want a bunch of ships that looked like floating cheeseboxes? :stare: Some of the ships I was about to release from 2006 were pretty awful, to say the least. :rotfl:


http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Longbridge.jpg


http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/MM01Stern.jpg

[Jimbuna]

Can I put that one above in GWX3.0 :hmm:

In the cheese box section :lol:

[iambecomelife]

THE CAM SYSTEM, PART 2.

The new version of the CAM-ship. It will replace the current version of M36B. This is basically an Empire Freighter with a few very minor modifications. I might create one more CAM-ship for the sake of variety, using a late 1920's-early 1930's motor merchant as the base unit.

This particular CAM-ship is using a disruptive camoflage skin derived from one of stock SH3's escort vessels.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-36.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-35.jpg

[BigDuke66]

Will this mod work with GWX and NYGM?

[melnibonian]

Will this mod work with GWX and NYGM?
Sure it will. You just need to put the ships into the appropriate folders and update the *names.cfg file

[Sailor Steve]

Will this mod work with GWX and NYGM?
Sure it will. You just need to put the ships into the appropriate folders and update the *names.cfg file
And it's a safe bet that within a week of its release representatives from the major supermods will be releasing new campaign files with IABL's ships installed for us.

[bigboywooly]

Will this mod work with GWX and NYGM? Sure it will. You just need to put the ships into the appropriate folders and update the *names.cfg file And it's a safe bet that within a week of its release representatives from the major supermods will be releasing new campaign files with IABL's ships installed for us.

Doubt new GWX files
Tis the reason I made them as generic as possible so no need for updated ones
Ships will show in convoys and single movements without any work

[geosub1978]

Actually this is a big trubble. I use to delete all the KSS-KSQ-KLS and other entries from the RND layer of WAC and GWX in order to have some variety. Unfortunately this caused up to four Proteus colliers to come up in a single convoy.

Oh, one important question: In the scr layer, is it necessary to define a class= or can it also be generic based on type=?

THX

[bigboywooly]

Proteus Collier in GWX is a type=100
So wont show regulary with generic entries
For the very reason you posted

SCR needs Class= or will CTD

[iambecomelife]

Actually this is a big trubble. I use to delete all the KSS-KSQ-KLS and other entries from the RND layer of WAC and GWX in order to have some variety. Unfortunately this caused up to four Proteus colliers to come up in a single convoy.

Oh, one important question: In the scr layer, is it necessary to define a class= or can it also be generic based on type=?

THX

Most of the merchant ships in my mod are going to be between 3000 and 5000 tons. These smaller vessels are more representative of WWII merchant shipping, & they will go a long way towards balancing out giants like the "Nereus" & "Proteus".

[mkubani]

IBL, please do get all your finished ships into GWX Gold. Please! :|\\

[ozzysoldier]

IBL can u make tugboats with real tow's like for example a barge ?

[iambecomelife]

IBL can u make tugboats with real tow's like for example a barge ?

A barge would be possible, but right now I don't know how to edit the AI so that it behaves properly - for instance, when its tug is destroyed it should not evade. I also don't know how to create realistic towing ropes.

However, I am creating several different types of smaller craft to be released along with the larger ships:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?p=988306

[Jimbuna]

IBL, please do get all your finished ships into GWX Gold. Please! :|\\

I doubt his work will be completed in time.....the strategic decision of what will and will not be included has already been made.

It may be possible as an additional mod sometime in the future.

That decision is down to IABL though....after all, it is his work.

[Sailor Steve]

As far as harbor traffic goes, there are a couple of landing craft I've seen in mods or in SH4. Americans at least used these for harbor personel shuttles, making the rounds to carry off-duty sailors from ship to shore.

[iambecomelife]

Another update: Right now I am doing the camoflage skins for the merchantmen (in between "breaks" working on small boats). After the Spring of 1942 pretty much every Allied merchant ship will be camoflaged. Americans will mostly be grey overall, while British will be either grey or disruptive patterns of blue, green, etc.
The all-grey skins are coming along fine - after all, they don't take lots of creativity. However, for the life of me I can't make a dazzle camoflage scheme that's compatible with the ships. I have one plausible scheme that I "stole" from a stock unit and it works great - however, I want a little more variety.

More news (and maybe some screenshots) later.

[Chisum]

I read this thread for the first time, man, you make an ENORMOUS job !
Congratulations.
:up:

I suppose that you know this website but if not I'm sure you can find some precious informations to your work:
http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/myalbum/

Probably more in this section:
http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/myalbum/viewcat.php?cid=172

Just a question: is it possible to writt the name of the ship on the front and name + heaven on the rear ?? It's an essential part of the realismus.
Thanks about your great job.
;)

[iambecomelife]

I read this thread for the first time, man, you make an ENORMOUS job !
Congratulations.
:up:

I suppose that you know this website but if not I'm sure you can find some precious informations to your work:
http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/myalbum/

Probably more in this section:
http://www.shipspotting.com/modules/myalbum/viewcat.php?cid=172

Just a question: is it possible to writt the name of the ship on the front and name + heaven on the rear ?? It's an essential part of the realismus.
Thanks about your great job.
;)

Thanks for the links.

Unfortunately it's not possible to have ths ships' names or home ports, except on the side of the hull. Historically, neutral ships often had their names painted on the side to facilitate identification but I am not going to feature this - SH3Commander is unable to match its list of ship names to paint schemes. Consequently, if the skin features one name the ship will appear on your patrol logs with another name after it is sunk - do you understand what I'm trying to say?

That is why I will only include skins with nationality, company name, and maybe home port printed on the side.

[Chisum]

Ok, I understand.
Thanks to the answer.

Yesterday I meet one of your ship in the game and it was a great moment. Some pics are here:
http://www.checksix-forums.com/showthread.php?p=856714#post856714

Telle me, I just found 2 ships on your filefront page, have you somewhere some other works ready to use actually ??

[iambecomelife]

Those were some nice screenshots (although I bet that destroyer crew wouldn't think so). :lol: Any publicity you can give regarding the new ship mods is most welcome. All of my current ship mods are on filefront, except for an early version of the Merchant Fleet Mod that I decided not to release. The version I am working on now has different models for all but one ship - in all, many new models and hundreds of skins have been added.

[Hellraiser]

Looks like they are password protected??:nope:

[iambecomelife]

Looks like they are password protected??:nope:

Tanker T08B and freighter M01A are password protected because they are pre-release versions. So are some of the lifeboat files (which are unusable by themselves anyway). Everything else, including the T-2 tanker, Empire Class, CAM-Ship, AA Ships, and Trawlers should be usable. If you really want to try them out then PM me for the passwords, but be advised this may cause difficulties when you install the final version of the Merchant Fleet Mod.

[iambecomelife]

Screenshots of a very small merchant vessel. One image has a motor launch for scale purposes.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-9-2.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-7-1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-8-3.jpg

[Chisum]

Fantastic job indeed !
Very appreciated.
Hope one day someone can do the same about the british merchant fleet too !!

Thanks again.
;)

[iambecomelife]

Fantastic job indeed !
Very appreciated.
Hope one day someone can do the same about the british merchant fleet too !!

Thanks again.
;)

Don't worry - even though these particular skins are American & Dutch this model will be available for the Brits, too.

[Anvart]

Last shots:
Porthole, life-buoy, rigging VS anchor = scale proportions ???

[iambecomelife]

Last shots:
Porthole, life-buoy vs anchor = scale proportions ???


You mean the anchor looks a little off? That can be fixed.

Hellraiser, check your PM for information on the Liberty and "Victor Ross".

Thanks.

[Anvart]

Last shots:
Porthole, life-buoy, rigging VS anchor = scale proportions ???


You mean the anchor looks a little off? That can be fixed.

...
Yeah, anchor very small ...

[G.K.]

So, are we still talking about release date before Christmas?;)

[bookworm_020]

So, are we still talking about release date before Christmas?;)

Which Christmas???:hmm:

J/K:up:

[iambecomelife]

So, are we still talking about release date before Christmas?;)

Which Christmas???:hmm:

J/K:up:

I am well into the camo skins, so it just might happen. I can definitely release an unpolished "open beta" for the community by then, but I am shooting for something more polished.

In other news, I finished a couple new CAM-ship models, an alternate Empire Freighter, and a twin-funneled freighter like the "Brant County" (seen below). They were rare, but they did exist and I needed a little variety from the standard one-funnel split superstructure config.

http://uboat.net/allies/ships/photos/nw/brant_county.jpg

Picture courtesy of Uboat.net.

[iambecomelife]

Variations amongst British wartime merchantmen. Note the difference between the "midships island" configuration and the ship with the superstructure resting on the main deck.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-2-3.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-3-4.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-1-3.jpg

[iambecomelife]

A few screenshots of large American tankers. Both have fairly extensive neutrality markings, which are appropriate for 1939 - early 1942. (Yes, some ships actually kept their markings even AFTER the declaration of war & merchant ship sinkings off the US East Coast!)

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-4-5.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-5-3.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-6-3.jpg

[Jimbuna]

Some really nice lookers there IABL http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/thumbsup.gif

[iambecomelife]

I was too sick to mod yesterday - I swear, this town is such a pesthole. Today I dragged myself out of bed & got some node positioning done. That way cargo & hull objects will not intersect the ships' weapons. As usual, having S3ditor has been a tremendous help, making it less necessary to alt-tab out of the game every few minutes.

It's my opinion that a lot of the merchantmen in SH3 are over-armed late in the war, so I am reducing the armament on many of them to about 4 AA guns and 1-2 heavy weapons (3 inch or 4.7 inch).

Tankers will tend to have slightly better armament than freighters, and large targets of 9,000 tons or more are very likely to receive top priority for armament early in the war. Just a warning for anyone who is used to charging in with guns blazin' circa 1939-1940. :)

[kiwikapitan]

Fantastic looking ships IABL. :rock:

Almost too good to put a torp into. But I'll admire them for a few seconds more before I push the red button. :lol:

I await the mod with great anticipation as do all my fellow kaleuns. :up:

[iambecomelife]

UPDATE: BRITISH MOTOR MERCHANTS.

Ever since the late 1800's steam engines had been the preferred means of propulsion for British merchant ships. This did not change during WWI. Although diesel engines existed a large diesel-based wartime shipping program was out of the question - in fact, diesel was not even popular for warships at the time, let alone civilian vessels.

Having a large established merchant marine was a mixed blessing for the British. Although it meant that they dominated man trade routes it also seems to have created a lot of conservativism amongst UK ship builders. As upstart maritime nations like Japan and Norway rapidly added diesels to their merchant fleet in the 20's and 30's, many British shippers remained satisfied with having large fleets of steamers. Many steamers relied on coal, which had several major disadvantages:

-Coal-fired engines required larger engine room crews, which meant more overhead costs.

-Coal engines had greater difficulty maintaining a constant speed.

-Coal took up more space than oil, leaving less room for cargo.

-In wartime, tall smoke plumes made coal burners easily visible to the enemy.

Eventually, the British government began to prod shipbuilders to replace old coal-fired tonnage with motorships. The Great Depression slowed the process, but by the early 1940's the UK had produced a large number of fine motor cargo ships, such as the "Wandby" (sunk 1940), the "Silverpalm" (sunk 1941), and the "Orari" (scrapped 1971).

In keeping with the state of merchant fleets in the 1940's there will be several motor merchants in varied styles. Some will look quite modern, while others will still incorporate features found in older ships. Below are three models in a variety of British paint schemes.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-9-3.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-81.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-8-4.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-7-2.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-6-4.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-2-4.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-5-4.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-10-1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-1-4.jpg

[iambecomelife]

WIP images of a 6,000-ton motor merchant.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/wip2-1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/wip1-1.jpg

[G.K.]

Excellent, I hope they would be ready to be sunk in December;)

[mr chris]

Fantastic looking ships there IABL:up:
Look forward to sinking them soon in game.

[Sailor Steve]

That's great news! I have a bunch of names for motor ships in the 6000-tons range. Some of the modern ones look like the existing NKMV model, but most of them look more like yours.

[mr chris]

You must have a pretty big hard drive for all these ship names Steve.:up:
Tis one of the things i like after a patrol. Is to look in my commander personal file and see names to the ships i have sunk. Just adds that little extra immersion to the game in my opinion.

[Jimbuna]

You must have a pretty big hard drive for all these ship names Steve.:up:
Tis one of the things i like after a patrol. Is to look in my commander personal file and see names to the ships i have sunk. Just adds that little extra immersion to the game in my opinion.

Actually....he had most of them on a USB pen drive at the SS Meet.

[iambecomelife]

That's great news! I have a bunch of names for motor ships in the 6000-tons range. Some of the modern ones look like the existing NKMV model, but most of them look more like yours.

Thanks to all you guys for your interest! And Steve - FYI I haven't forgotten about the ship pics for you - just that it's been crazy hectic for me recently. Very sorry for the delay - I will try to put something together for you on Sunday or Monday.

I just found out that the motorship is also a good basis for an old-fashioned 6,000 -ton steamer, More info & pix later...

[Sailor Steve]

Mr Chris: Names are cheap. 10,000 names on a list only takes up a few hundred KB.

IABL: I understand - no problems. And the more variety the better, so I'm patient.:sunny:

[geosub1978]

I saw this mod passing releazed, but I missed it!
http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/6896/hunter2ok0.gif

[iambecomelife]

Today I did more work on motor merchants. The gray-hulled ship is inspired by vessels from the Silver Line. This company tended to use more modern ships than most other UK shippers.

I will make [another] effort to resolve the reflection issue in the days ahead...

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-82.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-83.jpg



EDIT - photos of model M28B temporarily removed 12/19/08



You can type "Silver" in the Merchants section at Uboat.net to get an idea of what this company's ships looked like before they were camoflaged. Like many WWII-era merchants with light-colored hulls, they tended to suffer badly from rust:

http://uboat.net/allies/ships/photos/br/silverpalm.jpg

http://uboat.net/allies/ships/photos/br/silveryew.jpg

[Jimbuna]

Is there any possibility of a few Bank Line/Andrew Weir models :hmm:

http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/bank.htm

[iambecomelife]

Is there any possibility of a few Bank Line/Andrew Weir models :hmm:

http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/bank.htm

That's a good idea - those ships had a very unique looking style. I have thought of doing them, but the deckhouses beneath the masts might present a few problems, especially with cargo nodes. Still, I'll see what can be done.:sunny:

[HanSolo78]

Great looking models IABL!! :rock: :rock:
Can´t wait to sink them!

[Jimbuna]

Is there any possibility of a few Bank Line/Andrew Weir models :hmm:

http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/bank.htm

That's a good idea - those ships had a very unique looking style. I have thought of doing them, but the deckhouses beneath the masts might present a few problems, especially with cargo nodes. Still, I'll see what can be done.:sunny:

Rgr that....I sailed on a few in the late 70's http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/thumbsup.gif

[iambecomelife]

FYI the Silver Line motor merchant has been revised. I modded the hull and made extensive changes to the superstructure - apparently they had an extra deck for improved visibility since there was no midships island.

In other news, beta testers for Version 1.0 - be prepared for a PM in the next few days...

[mr chris]

I hope the beta testing goes well IABL:up:

[Alex]

Me too ! :yep:

;)

[iambecomelife]

WIP UPDATE

I think I need to skew average tanker size downwards, so here's a shot of an old WWI-era tanker of about 5800-6500 tons. The piping for the cargo tanks only extends from the stern to the back of the bridge superstructure.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-1-5.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-10-2.jpg

[iambecomelife]

The updated version of the Silver Line motor merchant. The bridge looks completely different. Still not 100% similar but more like the original. Not sure why I didn't catch some of the structural features the first time. :damn:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-2-5.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-7-3.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-8-5.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-9-4.jpg

The skin for ships of the "Silver Line". I want to do a more heavily weathered version later, to match most of the historical photos I have of this company's vessels.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/M28B_T05.jpg

A smaller motorship that I made a few days ago. During the late 1930's - early 1940's several shipbuilders experimented with different derrick/hold arrangements, apart from the traditional 5 - hatch, two mast style. Note the large midships hold with four cranes, and the aft mast with only two booms attached.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-3-5.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-4-6.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-5-5.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-6-5.jpg

[ivank]

Your ships look great! So when are the M12B and the M15B going to be released.

[iambecomelife]

Your ships look great! So when are the M12B and the M15B going to be released.

They will be released at the same time as the others - hopefully within about 1-2 weeks.

Sailor Steve, you have a PM.

[ivank]

Your ships look great! So when are the M12B and the M15B going to be released.
They will be released at the same time as the others - hopefully within about 1-2 weeks.

Sailor Steve, you have a PM.

YEA!!!!:rock::up:

[bigboywooly]

That will make Steve very happy
LMAO

Ummm how many units in that mod now Iam ?

[Sailor Steve]

Not sure why I didn't catch some of the structural features the first time. :damn:
Because we can only process so much information, and we're looking for one thing when another slips by. I'm always finding something I missed.

Sailor Steve, you have a PM.
Got it, thanks!

That will make Steve very happy
:yep: :yep: :yep: :yep: :yep:

[iambecomelife]

@BBW - About 45-50 ships. Freighters, tankers, and maybe a few auxiliaries ranging from 3,000 - 12,500 GRT. They may also be released separately for individuals to download as they please.

Some more motorship pix. This represents a modern (by 1940's standards) medium motorship with engines about 3/4 of the way aft. It is loosely based on some freighters built in Norway between circa 1938-1940, when the German invasion put an end to Norwegian shipbuilding. The ships were built both for Norwegian companies and foreign buyers, including Great Britain. They were designed for the grain trade but were perfectly capable of carrying general and/or military cargoes if necessary.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-4-7.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-5-6.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-6-6.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-7-4.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-9-5.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-8-6.jpg

[McHibbins]

Oh Man ! I can´t wait to download it :rock:

[piri_reis]

Exciting times indeed! Merchant Fleet is about to set sail :rock:

[Jimbuna]

I should imagine Steve is currently typing fifty to the dozen :lol:

[iambecomelife]

WIP shots of some 6,000 GRT steamships based on the "Silver Line" ship.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-5-7.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-6-7.jpg

An old-fashioned small steamer in a wartime paint scheme.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-76.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-u5.jpg

[iambecomelife]

Two small, fast motor merchants. Both are based on the hull of the steamer above. They are both about the same size as the steamer, but they incorporate more modern-looking features like a streamlined bridge, etc. Do they look identical to you guys, or are you able to tell them apart? I am thinking about making some changes to one of them so that they are more dissimilar.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-11-1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-10-3.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-13-2.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-7-5.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-8-7.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-9-6.jpg

[Sailor Steve]

It looks like the bow has more slope to it, but the fat funnel is a dead givaway.

[iambecomelife]

It looks like the bow has more slope to it, but the fat funnel is a dead givaway.

Still, I'm not satisfied with the differences. I am going to add another funnel to one of them -that should do the trick. Also, I will try to send you the information you asked for tomorrow.

Former beta testers for the old Merchant Fleet Mod, please check your PM's. Anyone who is interested in beta testing and hasn't received a message from me, please contact me on this thread or in private.

Thanks.

[Task Force]

got your PM IABC.:D:up:

[McHibbins]

Anyone who is interested in beta testing and hasn't received a message from me, please contact me on this thread or in private.



Here ! :rock::rock:

[bigboywooly]

Sweet
I will test if you like Iambecome
:up:

[mr chris]

Sweet
I will test if you like Iambecome
:up:

Aye im intrested as well if you need anymore testers that is.

[Pvt.Godfrey]

Im interested as well if you want any more.

[iambecomelife]

Thanks to everyone who offered to help! I am now finishing up a few more things:

-Skins for the newest ships
-A few more ship halves, mainly for the newest ships
-Correct draft entries
-Changes to the weapons loadouts
-Correct top speeds for all ships

Once these things have been taken care of I will put together the second beta.

Another motor merchant update is below. I revised one of the small motorships so that it was more distinct from its near-sister. The extra funnel should be an obvious feature:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-1-6.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-2-6.jpg

[Task Force]

Looks really good IABC. Cant wait to torpedo it.:D

[Jimbuna]

She is different...and a real good looker http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/thumbsup.gif

[Hitman]

The extra funnel should be an obvious feature:


But it will emit smoke in the later release, right? I mean, it is not supposed to be simply a comuflage measure, correct?

Looking beautiful as always :up:

[iambecomelife]

The extra funnel should be an obvious feature:


But it will emit smoke in the later release, right? I mean, it is not supposed to be simply a comuflage measure, correct?

Looking beautiful as always :up:

I'm asking Von Dos for some help with the smoke emission. I remember that he's designed 3-4 stack ships, and none of the stock cargo vessels had more than two funnels, so hopefully he can help out.

On the plus side, I have managed to make the second stack a destructible object. It's pretty dramatic, seeing the funnel go flying in the air when you load this puppy with ammunition. :arrgh!:

[Madox58]

If both stacks have thier own ID's,
place a new smoke section in the sim file assigned to the second stack.
If one stack is part of another object you can place a node much like an
equipment node there then assign it a smoke node in the sim.
:up:

[VonDos]

Agree, it's a ID question ^_^ just be carefull, always different IDs for differents things, you know it ^_^

(psin facts, i'm not an expert XD)

[iambecomelife]

Thanks guys! Now it can pollute the atmosphere TWICE as much as it did before. :rock:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-4-8.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-3-6.jpg

[Task Force]

*Cough cough wheeze*. I see IABC *cough*.

[Madox58]

Nice!!
:rock:

[iambecomelife]

Three American paint schemes for the fast freighter I posted earlier:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-11-2.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-9-7.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-8-8.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-10-4.jpg

[McHibbins]

Damned Iambecomelife ! Release it ! :D

[VonDos]

Good! ^_^

[Jimbuna]

Those skins are very classy http://www.psionguild.org/forums/images/smilies/wolfsmilies/thumbsup.gif

[ivank]

You sir are my hero!!! I can't wait to convert them into SH4 for TSWSM!!!

[iambecomelife]

You sir are my hero!!! I can't wait to convert them into SH4 for TSWSM!!!

Actually Sansal and Skwasjer should be your heroes. It's hard to overstate how important their software has been to me. I have very little experience with writing software - they took care of the hard part. I cringe when I remember what things were like back in 2006, when it took over a day just to complete the cloning process for each individual model. With Pack3d and S3ditor, the process literally takes about 5 seconds. For me, that means more time conducting research and modeling - hence, much more variety in ship types is possible.

Privateer, Der Teddy Bar, Racerboy, and many others have also been extremely helpful. :ping:

[iambecomelife]

Another benefit of using Skwasjer's software: I can now make Ship ID images that are a lot neater than the ones cropped from ingame screenshots. I will create one set of profiles optimized for the ingame ID book and another set for the Merchant Fleet Mod PDF.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-11-3.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-13-3.jpg

[rod_oil]

Excellent work, sir! :up:

[iambecomelife]

One of the last vessels modeled for the initial release - a medium, old-fashioned tanker. It will be assigned to the USA and Britain:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-16-2.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/1-1.jpg

[bigboywooly]

Cool

Now
As that unit has a country specific skin
How are you going to get around that by adding it to 2 rosters ?

[iambecomelife]

Cool

Now
As that unit has a country specific skin
How are you going to get around that by adding it to 2 rosters ?

It's going to be a cloned vessel in the initial, full version. However, many of the other ships are unique to one major country, and do not need to be duplicated.

[bigboywooly]

Guessed as much

So when I asked the total the other day and you said 40 to 50
Is that total ships or clones too ??


And a merry xmas Iam mate

[iambecomelife]

Guessed as much

So when I asked the total the other day and you said 40 to 50
Is that total ships or clones too ??


And a merry xmas Iam mate

To you too. With clones the full version comes to about 60 units, give or take.

Most are cloned for nationality reasons; at least one clone will be a Q-ship.

[bigboywooly]

Thanx for answering at this late stage of the day
Not to bad at all
Q ship eh
Sweet

[iambecomelife]

Thanx for answering at this late stage of the day
Not to bad at all
Q ship eh
Sweet

I really wanted to make lots of Q-ship models so that the player would be plagued by uncertainty. However, the file size & load time issues are obvious. At most I will probably use 3-4 different models.

[bigboywooly]

Cool idea
Just dont let slip which they are
Especially for ealy war

[iambecomelife]

To all potential beta testers - I am very tentatively setting a beta release date of 1/1/09 for the Merchant Fleet Mod's 2nd beta release (American & British Merchant Fleets). This is basically a wild guess - I might have it done on 12/26 (unlikely) or two weeks into January (also unlikely - probably too pessimistic). Depending on how stable it is I might distribute the beta to the entire community. Work will obviously continue, with patches, better damage modeling, more ships, and new nationalities (Holland, Denmark, Japan, etc). In fact the MFM will probably always be a work in progress. Nevertheless, there's light at the end of the tunnel. To think I once thought this would take me a month or two!

Merry Christmas, and thanks for putting up with me for two years. :dead:

[Hellraiser]

:up:

GREAT things are always worth waiting for.

[iambecomelife]

Guessed as much

So when I asked the total the other day and you said 40 to 50
Is that total ships or clones too ??


And a merry xmas Iam mate

I should have added something else: there is a way to have an almost infinite variety of merchant shipping in SH3 without the load times. I could keep the nomenclature system I currently use (M01B, T01B, etc) but instead of keeping the ID's static, I could use SH3 Commander to load one of several different models per identity slot.

There could be 4-5 different M01B's stored in a "bank" of merchant ships with one of the group selected either based on date or on a randomized selection process. Hence there would be different merchants available every time you ran SH3.

As long as vessel type and top speed were kept the same within a group, there would probably be no adverse effects on the saved games. Of course, you'd never see every model with each patrol but the potential for different vessel encounters over time would be staggering, at no extra cost in wait times or stress on the CPU.

Furthermore, with SH3 as it is now, late war vessels like the Empire Freighter take up space and consume resources even when you load up a career in 1939, before this type of vessel was built. With this system, your computer would use the Empire Freighter's slot (M35B) for a model you actually would have had a chance to encounter in 1939 - for instance, another variety of tramp steamer. In other words your computer would generate exactly what it needed WHEN it needed it.

[bigboywooly]

Hmmmm
SH3commander is very underused IMHO
Cool idea

[iambecomelife]

Minor update: I finished the ship halves this evening - now there is a little bit of node work that needs to be done, but nothing major. I am also redoing all of the ID manuals with S3ditor, as I had planned. Steve, I hope to send you the latest images and tonnages by tomorrow.

[JScones]

I should have added something else: there is a way to have an almost infinite variety of merchant shipping in SH3 without the load times. I could keep the nomenclature system I currently use (M01B, T01B, etc) but instead of keeping the ID's static, I could use SH3 Commander to load one of several different models per identity slot.

There could be 4-5 different M01B's stored in a "bank" of merchant ships with one of the group selected either based on date or on a randomized selection process. Hence there would be different merchants available every time you ran SH3.

As long as vessel type and top speed were kept the same within a group, there would probably be no adverse effects on the saved games. Of course, you'd never see every model with each patrol but the potential for different vessel encounters over time would be staggering, at no extra cost in wait times or stress on the CPU.

Furthermore, with SH3 as it is now, late war vessels like the Empire Freighter take up space and consume resources even when you load up a career in 1939, before this type of vessel was built. With this system, your computer would use the Empire Freighter's slot (M35B) for a model you actually would have had a chance to encounter in 1939 - for instance, another variety of tramp steamer. In other words your computer would generate exactly what it needed WHEN it needed it.
A good idea, but assuming that this will also require a modified EnglishNames.cfg file to go with each "alternate" model, then you'll need to consider SH3Cmdr's real ship names feature.

For example:

By default, SH3's EnglishNames.cfg has a line like "M35B=Empire Freighter" with corresponding model
SH3Cmdr replaces that with a different model and a new line in EnglishNames.cfg like "M35B=Something else"
Player sinks said ship, which appears in log as "Ship sunk!|Something else|etc"
Player finishes patrol, exits SH3. SH3Cmdr rolls back returning "M35B=Empire Freighter" to EnglishNames.cfg
Player updates their patrol log with real ship names option selected, however, a name will not be chosen for this sunken ship because the label ("Something else") does not exist in EnglishNames.cfgThis is not a critical problem, it just means that SH3Cmdr will not generate unique ship names for any of the "alternate" models.

The only way to ensure that ship names were generated would be if the ship model grouping was done in a way that meant that the class label did not require modification, but your example already suggests that this may not be possible.

As an aside, I have modified SH3Cmdr (for my own benefit) to allow unique ship names to be used based on the nationality of the sunken ship. It requires the user to record the nationality of each sunken ship on a piece of paper or whatever and then, once the patrol is completed, add corresponding country codes to each "Ship sunk!" line through SH3Cmdr's Patrol Log Editor.

SH3Cmdr then looks for the presence of a country code and if one is found, it pulls a name from a corresponding list of ships for that country. If there's no code, then it just does what it does now and pulls a name from a central bank of names. Too easy.

Whilst I haven't played SH3 since August, I had been following this approach earlier this year and it was working sweetly for me...my only drawback was that I didn't know for certain which ship names belonged to which country, but that's a minor data thing.

If, and only if, there is sufficient interest I might polish this up and release it as an SH3Cmdr and Patrol Log Editor update...but I would need the assistance of someone like Sailor Steve to split the ship names to each country first.

[bigboywooly]

I guess if the replacement ship was still the same sort\approx size - ie M08B=Medium Merchant 08

Then only the ships Sea folder would need adding in thru SH3commander
As the class name isnt changing then the ship names cfg would be good also