[REL] AOB Wheel

[vanjast]

ClickMEEEEE (7.5MB) (http://www.vanjast.com/SH4Mod/AOBWheel.zip)

[Edt - 11 March - ShipInfo added]
http://www.vanjast.com/SH4Mod/ShipInfo.zip
[/edt :)]

Notes:
1) There are slight changes in the scopes to achieve the accuracy needed to use the AOB wheel.

2) The Axis scopes are a compromise of HardCode, which I can do nothing about, and information that is available. Updates will occur as info becomes available.

3) The AOBWheel_Pdfs.zip contains the necessary user documentation for JSGME installation, or manual installation.

4) Of course you have to print the wheel PLATE BMP files and make the wheel yourself. A good fun exercise and the more precise you are, the more accurate it'll be. :)

IMPORTANT NOTE
The one file that most used in mods is the Cameras.dat file.
The ManualScopeScaling.pdf contains simple instructions how to change this manually, if you have other mods that use this file.

Enjoy and complain to me if 'it doesn't blow your hair back'..:arrgh!:

K_F

[vanjast]

For the people who want this for SH3, I have to get hold of a ship length table, preferably in Excel format.
;)

[Mav87th]

Hey Vanjast - dying to get to try this, but would you be kind to explain why the changes to min and max zoom level are as they are. As you know i have roamed quite a bit with getting realistic zoom levels and angular angles in the periscope sight for about 1 year ago. I'd like to know what you found out here :)

[vanjast]

There are 3 things (that I've found) that have to be matched.

- The Bearing Indicator at the top of the scopes
- The zoom levels
- the Scope Gradations.

1) The Bearing indicator is hardcoded, and uses the Bearing.dds image file. One cannot do much about this AFAIK, so I start at this point.

2) I put an Iowa class ship in front of me at 1Nm and turned the scope to get a 'bearing difference' (BD) on the bow and stern. At a range of 1Nm the BD had to be X degrees. I adjusted the zoom level to obtain the X degrees.

3)After that it was a matter of drawing the gradations on the scopes to match Zoom and BDs. Placing the scope vertical centreline midway on the ship length, I positioned the gradations to match the ship length. This would be 1x Zoom

4)Next was to make sure the 4x zoom mode was accurate by adjusting the 4x zoom level factor. Checking this so the gradations match 1x mode

4)To check the gradations at various zoom levels, I would turn the scope and do random bearing measurements on parts of the ship. This all looked OK.

5) Lastly was to randomly do the same checks on a few other boats in the game. All looked OK

6) With the obscope Sextant set the zoom level so as to be able to fit 60 degrees vertical. I made this zoom level 0.5x. The zoom factor numbers do not match the 1x mode due to the fisheye lens effect where stretching occurs as you move away from the centre point. I think this can be corrected for by adjusting your eye distance factor which I must find to play with, but for now this works.
This 0.5x mode is only accurate for Sextant measurements, although it is still accurate for ship measurements if you have the ship centred (locked),

This reminds me to put up a 'ship dimension' PDf file which I used.... Forgot about this :ahoy:

Edt: The big problem is that there is only 1 Cameras.dat file for both Allied and Axis views. This is not bad for the fleet boats and the game was originally geared for this, but it's not good for the UBoat/Japanese boats as their scopes are slightly different. Playing with the zoom factors will mess things up for either side, as explained above.

:)

[vanjast]

What this little thing does, is introduce a necessity for proper accuracy in the 'measuring equipment' (scope scaling and timing). Without this the Wheel is all but useless (It could make a nice frizzbee :D)

I'd imagine back then, a lot of effort must have gone into that disk, some say they've seen hanging around the WO's neck. For me it's been about 5 weeks parttime work, that is, most of my spare time.

For now it's rest time until I get inspiration (ahhhh!!! hooters bar, topless babes dancing on a bar, streaking girls at a cricket match..... :yeah:) ..I digress... ahemm.. you know what I mean :arrgh!:

[joegrundman]

Hey Vanjast

why do you call it an AOB wheel, when it's for getting a speed estimate?

[vanjast]

I suppose it's really a speed wheel.
I think AOB got jammed in my brain as one has to turn the wheel to AOB to get the corrected values - AOB just didn't go away..:D

[joegrundman]

Fair enough:DL

since some people have already made replica Submarine Attack Course Finders, do you mind if i post some pictures how we can use that tool for resolving speed with your method?

[vanjast]

No problem... feel free.:up:

[Mav87th]

ok - final question Vanjast cus i could not read it out directly from your answers. Did you do the same tests on the vertical scale - cus i have for about a year ago found that the vertical scale suffers from compression at the horizon - i'd realy like to know how you solved that, so i can make the Betterscopes mod work correctly for the small lines left of the centerline on the scope please look at this post/thread http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=134349&highlight=angular+angle It's so cool you have made this work Vanjast

[vanjast]

ok - final question Vanjast cus i could not read it out directly from your answers. Did you do the same tests on the vertical scale
I've found that the compression depends on your zoom factor. The higher the zoom factor the less the compression.

If you look at the obscope Sextant, I had to make the zoom factor 0.5x toget the full 60 degrees FOV in, and you'll notice the compression here. It also happens on the horizontal scale.

I think there is also an 'eye distance'(or focal length) factor that one might be able to adjust to get around this compression - I'm not sure where this is though.
:)

[vanjast]

Tried a career with no dud torps to test the wheel. I also installed Webster's Acceleration Mod for this career test.

Found a convoy off Formosa and spend the better part of the night avoiding an outside escort. I had to abandon battery charging for more speed, but eventually wormed my way into position, and found troopships galore, on their way back from the Philipines.
I'd sort of worked out a 'ball-park' convoy speed of about 10 Knots while avoiding the escort, but decided to use the wheel anyway :haha:. And got a figure of 9 knots ??? - I didn't like this result so put in 9,5 knots target speed (how's that for not trusting my own thingy :arrgh!:). So got close a possible ~1Nm and let off 3 torps.

Well i should trusted the wheel as the torp hit foreward when I aimed in the middle :damn:, but it sank anyway. Webster's mod definitely prevented the hyperdrive effect.

here's the first hit.
http://www.vanjast.com/SHPics/Hit01.jpg

[vanjast]

Bump me, hump me...

Added the ship info link in the top post.
:arrgh!:

[Mav87th]

I am wondering a little Vanjast why you have chosen the high zoom levels you did?

The fleet boat periscopes had x6 as the HIGH zoom and x1.5 as the LOW zoom.
I can understand the necessity for the x0.5 in the observations scope.

Personaly I would prefer (no pun intended, this is just my personal preference) that the Attack Scope had correct zoom levels for both high and low for two main reasons.

1) Its the zoom the US captains saw durring the war - aka what you can see they saw

2) You can use the ticks in both HIGH and LOW zoom as x1.5 is one fourth of x6 - so in LOW scope one tic is 1 degree while in HIGH scope one tick is 0.25 degree, leaving the large ticks as 1 degree dividers. This can be utilized to set torpedo spread and measure ship lenghts etc. etc. etc.

Great mod Vanjast - i sure as hell know how much time you have used finding the right Angular Angles in cameras.dat :rock:

[Mav87th]

I looked in the ship info pdf.

A little warning about the ship lenghts - i checked the Kiturin Maru (Passenger - Modern Liner) and saw that its ship lenght is listed as 130 (must be meters) witch is 426.4 ft.

In the ONI-208-J Kiturin Maru is listed with 427 ft of lenght at Water Line and 446 ft. Over All.

So be carefull where your taking your measurements from.

Kiturin should fill 4 degrees AT THE WATERLINE if the range to it is 2000 yards (1829.3 meters) but 4.25 degrees if measured at the outermost points of the ship on both bow and stern.

[vanjast]

That shipinfo.pdf comes direct from the game file.
There is a possibility that the 3D model might be different dimensions, and this is going to be trial and error.
:cry:


I am wondering a little Vanjast why you have chosen the high zoom levels you did?
To match the bearing indicator.
:)

Just to add a bit:
The last time I looked the RFB team adjusted the gradations to 17 pixel gap, widened the scope mask to 32 degs for 1.5x zoom and 8 degs for 6x zoom. I noticed that the bearing indicator, although accurate on the vertical centre line, it was out when measuring the length of the ship.
So it was a toss-up between widening the Scope mask even more, or bringing the masks and FOV back close to stock. A bit of number juggling (commonly called Maths :) ) and I decided to use standard 32 Deg (1x) and 8 Deg (4x) FOV scales.
The problem with the wider FOV now makes itself a pain with regard to the UBoat scopes, as they had much widers FOVs. I'm still going to deal with the UBoat ones and have a lot of mask space still to play with.
:)

[Mav87th]

So what your saying is that if i want to proceed with using x6 zoom i will need to widen the scope mask to mimic 8 x 17(pixels pr. degree) to get the an image that is alligned with the graduations on the scope graphic ? As it is now the graduations on the ships in my mod are correct, but the graduations are not in line with the bearing indications. When shooting torpedoes with a spread fx. it works fine for me to use the graduations on the scope.

[vanjast]

That's about it... With the 17 pixel gap you'd have to widen the mask.
Then compare the gradations and bearing indicator for each gradation - write it all down on a printed scope screengrab, then adjust the gradations to fit the bearings.

You will have to do the same with the UBoat scope mask as the cameras.dat file uses 1 setting for both scopes. If they were individually settable I'd see no problem in going the 1.5x, 6x route.
:)