[WIP] Wolves of the Kaiser:1914-1918 Mod

[Aktungbby]

I know. I just saw an opportunity for some teasing, hence the smileys. Nothing was meant by it, and I apologize if I said it wrong. :sunny:

Nah; yer :O: &:rotfl2:made your point and humorous intent abundantly clear:up: . Congrats on yer nomination as moderatii per annum!:yeah:

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

The way it works with major mod projects you do what you can when you have time and the energy. You know you are looking at years ahead of you and you have to ration your energy for it all, as there is no half way way to do it, it is all or none. So I am sure "I" appreciates our support but his own inner clock and compass will guide him and he has shown the strength and the determination to be a finisher. I have every confidence in him and this fine project which will be a first for the era and the subject.

and btw, it is December 7, and i trust all hands will stop for a moment and give thanks for the service given on that day.

[Admiral Halsey]

btw, it is December 7, and i trust all hands will stop for a moment and give thanks for the service given on that day.

I know I will. If not for some lost paperwork my great-granddad would have been on the Arizona during the attack. Also today is my younger siblings birthday so it's a delicate balancing act for me today.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Your great grand father would have been serving under my cousin Captain Franklin Van Valkenberg if he has gone aboard the Arizona, and might have remained at his post as did the Captain and many of the crew. Thanks for your kind comment.

[iambecomelife]

I've just run into another frustration...I am completely unable to launch S3ditor on my computer, and I'm not sure why. It crashes immediately. I suspect it may be because an automatic update to Microsoft.net framework has made it incompatible. This is very frustrating, and if I cannot find out what the problem is there's no way for me to complete the mod. I am desperately trying to restore my computer to a configuration that will let me run S3ditor.

Not sure if the creator of S3ditor (skwasjer) even visits here anymore.

I am using Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit). If anyone has a 64-bit Windows OS and has updated recently , please try to install S3ditor and let me know if it launches.

http://s3d.skwas.com/

This could kill the whole project. :nope:

[TorpX]

Ok, I just installed Win 7, 64 bit (home premium) recently, and installed a gazillion updates, including the Microsoft.net framework stuff, and I just checked S3D, and it seems ok. I haven't used it for anything, but I was able to open a file I picked at random.

I hope this helps.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

IF we have to we will buy you a computer that can run the program Iam, dont worry too much. hoipefuly it is the update that caused some glitch. we can also try to track down the maker of the program, Let us know if you have any success with a restore.

[jhapprich]

I encountered that problem using the wrong graphic card drivers

[Admiral Halsey]

IF we have to we will buy you a computer that can run the program Iam,

I would try and buy him both Apple and Microsoft if it meant this mod stays alive.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

I really dont think we should burden our maker with making an Apple version but we will see what he wants to do. It is his project. Hopefully it is a driver issue or something a restore might fix. The new Microsoft updates can indeed be a problem i try to control that carefully myself. Let us hope for the best.

[iambecomelife]

A new computer?! Come on guys - I can't accept that!! :doh:

Seriously, though - I am humbled by your offer, and how much interest the fans of this mod have taken.

Fortunately, I managed to get up and running again with a restore point...all is well for now. I'm a little upset that I haven't found out exactly what was causing S3ditor to crash, but at least it's working again. I will be working on a holiday update in the coming days.

Big sister to the dry cargo ship I posted earlier....a highly flammable "sister", too. :rotfl2: You'll probably want to keep your distance while shelling this target. I tried to go for the retro look, with three tall masts, a thin funnel, and a straight bow. Ships like the T3 and T2 look terribly out of place for the early 1900's, in my opinion.

U-53 class submarine is provided for scale.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Tankschiff.jpg~original

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Excellent again with the ship work.

A note, as a fellow ship modeller of that era, the funnels were rarely canted, most were straight up and down but some were like what you have there. just a note. I love the period look of the bluff bows and the ship types of that era, sadly what survived that war didnt many of them make it thru the 1930s and WWII so few people have seen ships of that type in real life.

In the US many were scrapped for the war effort but the UK lost theirs in the wars.

re help, we mean what we say when we support you. And a Ninja one way air drop of a computer is easy to arrange with no return address :) so you are warned. With respect of course. If it ever happens again. You are not alone in this endevour. ..tho you are indeed the Captain and Commander.:salute:

Just please keep daily or significant back ups of your work seperate on media or partitioned drives as that is the only un recoverable event.

[iambecomelife]

Preview of what's being worked on now. More progress shots of this and other models to come, as well as updated game features & interface work; Merry Christmas to all who have given their support.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/krin.jpg~original

[Admiral Halsey]

Do I spy with my little eye a Christmas Dreadnought? Oh and I found out what my first captain will be called when the mod is released. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lothar_von_Arnauld_de_la_Peri%C3%A8re

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Wow wonderful work! i reccognize those ships very well, having commanded them all in various wargaming engagments with the Naval Wargamming Society in the UK many many years ago, as both Kapitan and Admiral. It is very exciting to see the big brothers coming to life under your noble skills sir.

Seeing them brings to mind the many many discussions and debates each year in the naval appropriations of each nation all the decisions about number and location of turrets, size of ships, armament, armour strength, speed and so forth as each of the great fleets was created. As an interesting historical note, the cost of these great ships was enormous for that era and would be even more so if it were in modern costs. 20,000,000 pounds of money of that era was required for each ship yearly of that size so imagine the overall cost, in creating both the ships and all of the equipment, armament, ammunition, training ashore and at sea of the crews of hundreds of thousands of sailors and officers, proviisioning, suppying and training of all of the same, fleet bases, harbours supply stations, coaling staitons world wide, defense, and deployment. The ships themselves were just the tip of the huge spear each fleet consisted of. And then each of the classes of ships large and small each ship had its own character, history, trimphs and tragedies and much of that will be forever unknown. Your work is helping lift the curtain on that, and for that I am so grateful.

thank you so much for giving the past and its history a voice again. Not even Scapa Flow could keep those ones asleep...and you are doing so well. thank you!

[iambecomelife]

Wow wonderful work! i reccognize those ships very well, having commanded them all in various wargaming engagments with the Naval Wargamming Society in the UK many many years ago, as both Kapitan and Admiral. It is very exciting to see the big brothers coming to life under your noble skills sir.

Seeing them brings to mind the many many discussions and debates each year in the naval appropriations of each nation all the decisions about number and location of turrets, size of ships, armament, armour strength, speed and so forth as each of the great fleets was created. As an interesting historical note, the cost of these great ships was enormous for that era and would be even more so if it were in modern costs. 20,000,000 pounds of money of that era was required for each ship yearly of that size so imagine the overall cost, in creating both the ships and all of the equipment, armament, ammunition, training ashore and at sea of the crews of hundreds of thousands of sailors and officers, proviisioning, suppying and training of all of the same, fleet bases, harbours supply stations, coaling staitons world wide, defense, and deployment. The ships themselves were just the tip of the huge spear each fleet consisted of. And then each of the classes of ships large and small each ship had its own character, history, trimphs and tragedies and much of that will be forever unknown. Your work is helping lift the curtain on that, and for that I am so grateful.

thank you so much for giving the past and its history a voice again. Not even Scapa Flow could keep those ones asleep...and you are doing so well. thank you!

My pleasure!

You mentioned turret arrangements. While researching the "Kaiser" and her (his?) sisters I've been trying to discover exactly how the steam launches and boats were arranged before battle. Most models I've seen on the internet seem to show these ships in harbor. From the way the boats were stowed in non-combat situations, they would block some of the midships turret firing arcs, or possibly get set on fire by the turret blast.

I know that in WWII the Japanese would remove most lifeboats from their battleships before combat to clear turret arcs and to reduce the fire/splinter hazard. IJN battleship sailors had to rely on life vests if their ships sank. Maybe the Kaiserliche Marine did the same thing?

I used to think that these ships were a little weird because of the offset turrets amidships, but now I like their appearance. Tough looking and much better armored than the "Iron Dukes", "Invincibles", etc.

Thanks for your comments, and if anyone can help with the boat stowage issue, it would be welcome!

[U505995]

If you plan on adding the petrol boats make sure it has a deck gun. In shells of Fury you have 6 torps and no gun. Not only is that inaccurate it's a pain in the rear because you have to let all the small ships go.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Kaiser he is a fine design and one of my own favorites.

Boat storage was indeed important, here is one of the highest resolution of of the fleet in habour with boats on davits..

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/34/First_and_second_battleship_squadrons_and_small_cr uiser_of_the_-_NARA_-_533188-2_restored.jpg/800px-First_and_second_battleship_squadrons_and_small_cr uiser_of_the_-_NARA_-_533188-2_restored.jpg

click on image for higher rez

.during battle some boats were stowed below by hatches in the main deck, some left in port, and some were slung in davits for immediate use when underway as in this picture of the High Seas Fleet departing for Jutland:

http://pubpages.unh.edu/~jpsabol/jutland/pics/nav002.jpg

and the Battle cruiser Squadron at the same time:

http://pubpages.unh.edu/~jpsabol/jutland/pics/ship1b.jpg


as you say they would be vanished in the first burst of fire for the muzzle flash of the main guns was tremendous, Railings were bent below as well for teh same reason. shell casings littered the decks and were very hot and would set boats on fire as well. I will find fleet at sea pictutes for you there are a few taken from Zepplins and other air service...

you think well about detail, my respects very much.

Sometimes a few lanuches were left on deck for rescue and work...when underway as here in this picture of the FdG

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c9/SMS_Friedrich_der_Grosse2.jpg

Here are rare and quite good photos of the High Seas Fleet at the height of its development:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WAP1wvyI5g#t=113 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6WAP1wvyI5g)


and in this interresting film at 1:21 you will see a photo of a Konig Class BB at sea with boats on deck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Epb8Y355yic

good detail pictures of the Derfflinger are what that film is about..which was a fine ship as well.

Finally some of the few actual phoitos from Jutland during the battle including one of the SMS Lutzow which fired the first shot from the bridge of another High Seas Fleet ship.

[Admiral Halsey]

So that was a dreadnought you posted IABL. With that info I need to ask you a question. Have you started work on HMS Dreadnought yet?

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

I am guessing he may not even model the original Dreadnought, she was a minor unit by the time the Great War game along but who knows how much energy our creator has :) Weill be interesting to see what may happen by the time this remarkable project launches.

On thinking over the way the capital ships operated in war time conditions some comments came to mind, the firing of the main battery guns was a significant event in both practice and in actual action. It caused tremendous stress on the gun barrels, mechanism and the ship itself. For that reason turret dispostion and reinforcement in terms of ship structure and members was critical to consider, and the cost of setting turrents amid ships for additional fire power also caused great strain on ship structure and limited interior space. By the end of the war design had shifted to fore and aft main batteries for those reasons.

Also the firing of the big guns caussed always damage to the decks, and bulkheads, paint blistered and burned from the muzzle blasts and the wooden decking often took damage as well from ths ships own guns. ...not to speak of damage from enemy fire. It was no small matter to fire the guns, and the barrels has a specific life time which would be affected by wear, and even in normal firing, the wear of the gun bore woudl change the deflection and the angle of fire achieved by each individual gun. So turrent captains were in charge of maintaining their guns quality and accuracy along with the Fire Control Officers and it was a complex and demanding aspect of the Big ships and their batteries. the ammunition itsself often had to be specifically machines for individual types of battery, and type, and the storage of the ammunitoin as you will well know was a critical matter and caused the loss of ships due to magazine fires esp for the Royal Navy at Jutland. Fortunatley for the High Seas Fleet due to an accident involving a magazine fire and flash back the High Seas Fleet has fitted fire proof doors to all their major ship magazines and did not suffer from this hazard.

the Heligoland class German battleships which I believe you have already modelled? was one of the most intensive with four turrets amid ships, they were called the "turtles" by the Fleet and tho it looks ungainly they were good ships and delivered an awesome rate of fire on the broadside.

the key was always to try to cross the enemy fleet's T, which was one of the main goals of a fleet admiial of that era....and coudl have devestating affects as it took high level of training to turn a fleet about, a matter which the High Seas Fleet achieved without mishap at least twice in Jutland and on other occasions.

lots to think of and to remember when it comes to deploying the fleets or squadrons in any missions you design, i will be happy to advise on standard fleet deployment practices of that era.

[Hitman]

Also the firing of the big guns caussed always damage to the decks, and bulkheads, paint blistered and burned from the muzzle blasts and the wooden decking often took damage as well from ths ships own guns. ...not to speak of damage from enemy fire. It was no small matter to fire the guns, and the barrels has a specific life time which would be affected by wear, and even in normal firing, the wear of the gun bore woudl change the deflection and the angle of fire achieved by each individual gun. So turrent captains were in charge of maintaining their guns quality and accuracy along with the Fire Control Officers and it was a complex and demanding aspect of the Big ships and their batteries. the ammunition itsself often had to be specifically machines for individual types of battery, and type, and the storage of the ammunitoin as you will well know was a critical matter and caused the loss of ships due to magazine fires esp for the Royal Navy at Jutland. Fortunatley for the High Seas Fleet due to an accident involving a magazine fire and flash back the High Seas Fleet has fitted fire proof doors to all their major ship magazines and did not suffer from this hazard.


IIRC there was a set of bells that ringed furiosly when teh ship was rigged for combat and hatches closed, so that nobody remained on deck. Anybody there after the ship commenced firing would be simply blown away and teared appart by the expansive waves on the air, coming from the explosions. :o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj-15O-BTDw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcfzpsbr6A8

[Admiral Halsey]

I am guessing he may not even model the original Dreadnought, she was a minor unit by the time the Great War game along but who knows how much energy our creator has :)

I hope he does make her as even though she was a minor unit by the time the war started she was the ship that sank and killed Otto Weddigen.

[Chrisi078]

wie viel % ist die mod fertig und wirt es eine Beta geben?

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Wir wissen nicht genau, wie viel fertig ist, hat er gesagt, er kann noch ein Jahr mindestens, und es gibt noch keine Beta.

[iambecomelife]

I hope he does make her as even though she was a minor unit by the time the war started she was the ship that sank and killed Otto Weddigen.

I strongly prefer to model ships that were very common in WWI (the "M" class destroyers, for example, with hundreds built.).

However, HMS Dreadnought, RMS Lusitania, and HMHS Britannic are three "unique" ships that are high priority to model due to historical value, even though there were few or only one member of their respective classes.

As usual, all I can say is it's a matter of how much time I have (and support from anyone who's interested). :D

Apologies for the delay with updates; I will try to post more screens in coming weeks. I have done more work on the "Kaiser" battleship, but it would be redundant to show more screens of it at this point...

[Admiral Halsey]

HMS Dreadnought, RMS Lusitania, and HMHS Britannic are three "unique" ships

Good to hear that you're making the Britannic. If i'm in the Kea Channel on 21 November 1916 could I expect to see her there? Maybe running into a mine perhaps?(Don't know if that's possible but would be quite cool to see. It's probably just the matter of making the minefield dense enough to guarantee a hit.)

[Sledgehammer427]

hey IABL,
Just popping back in to let you know that I've been quietly following your work, and I'm still stunned as ever, and beyond excited at the huge potential this mod has. I'm not above making another install. This would definitely be a mainstay in my compute the second it gets released. Sign me up for the beta :D :O:

[actonw5]

I have joined the forum largely to follow the progress of your mod. Best of luck - keep up the great work.

[Sailor Steve]

WELCOME ABOARD, actonw5! :sunny:

A great many of us are enthusiastic about this mod. :yep:

[iambecomelife]

Well, the project had another narrow escape....on Wednesday my house was partly flooded due to bad weather, and I rescued my PC from the water just in time...if the flooding had happened while I was at work, I dread to think of what would have occurred.

Anyways, a question for people who know a lot about German battleships: when did the Germans start painting their battleship funnels red? Was it done throughout 1914-1918? I assume it was as an identification measure. Would the red funnels have been applied to all ships or were there exceptions?

Also, did the Germans ever use complex camouflage on capital ships in WWI? All of the photos I have seen seem to show battleships with basic, solid gray/whitish paint schemes.


Thanks!

To Adm. Halsey: famous U-Boat victims will be in the campaign layers at the times they were lost; if I have time to model the Britannic (a big if) then you will see her if you know when and where to be. The "Aboukir", "Hogue", and "Cressy" will definitely be in their location in 1914 because the ship model for that type of cruiser is nearly complete. It might be "easy" to cheat and ambush these ships for tonnage, but I'm a big fan of historical accuracy. Plus, many U-Boat successes could easily have been failures due to dud torpedoes, etc. Knowing [where to look] is only half the battle, as GI-Joe would say...

[Sailor Steve]

Glad it survived.

Anyways, a question for people who know a lot about German battleships: when did the Germans start painting their battleship funnels red? Was it done throughout 1914-1918? I assume it was as an identification measure. Would the red funnels have been applied to all ships or were there exceptions?
According to this source (https://sites.google.com/a/coldie.net/thomo-s-notes/Home/Wargames-Research/Naval-Games/Colour-Schemes-of-World-War-I-Warships) special paint schemes were only done for recognition purposes and only painted once at sea, being overpainted grey again before land was sighted. He claims that capital ship aft funnels only were painted dark red, and only at Jutland. He further states that at Dogger bank the aft funnels were all light blue. None of the several books I have mention it at all, so further than this I don't know.

Also, did the Germans ever use complex camouflage on capital ships in WWI? All of the photos I have seen seem to show battleships with basic, solid gray/whitish paint schemes.
I've looked through several books, and none of them say. Websites such as Wiki mention camoflage on British and American ships, but don't mention Germans. I've looked through a couple of forums, and the concensus seems to be that even the British used camo only experimentally, and the Germans not at all.

[iambecomelife]

Glad it survived.


According to this source (https://sites.google.com/a/coldie.net/thomo-s-notes/Home/Wargames-Research/Naval-Games/Colour-Schemes-of-World-War-I-Warships) special paint schemes were only done for recognition purposes and only painted once at sea, being overpainted grey again before land was sighted. He claims that capital ship aft funnels only were painted dark red, and only at Jutland. He further states that at Dogger bank the aft funnels were all light blue. None of the several books I have mention it at all, so further than this I don't know.


I've looked through several books, and none of them say. Websites such as Wiki mention camoflage on British and American ships, but don't mention Germans. I've looked through a couple of forums, and the concensus seems to be that even the British used camo only experimentally, and the Germans not at all.

Thanks! I am amazed at how much you subsimmers know about my most obscure requests...your link also taught me that German battleships should only have the circle painted on their turrets from 1917 onwards; not throughout the war....very informative.

[Admiral Halsey]

To Adm. Halsey: famous U-Boat victims will be in the campaign layers at the times they were lost; if I have time to model the Britannic (a big if) then you will see her if you know when and where to be. The "Aboukir", "Hogue", and "Cressy" will definitely be in their location in 1914 because the ship model for that type of cruiser is nearly complete. It might be "easy" to cheat and ambush these ships for tonnage, but I'm a big fan of historical accuracy. Plus, many U-Boat successes could easily have been failures due to dud torpedoes, etc. Knowing [where to look] is only half the battle, as GI-Joe would say...

Thanks. That's why I love the RSRDC so much due to its accuracy. I wait until the battles finish and pick off the survivors as it's less cheaty IMO.(The area around Savo Island normally nets me a nice hunk of tonnage.)

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

I am glad you escaped the flood. Please be sure your work is backed up every day if possible on media out of the computer.

re paint, no they never used any dazzle scheme on the Battleship squadrons.

the funnels were never painted entirely ever. They had bands of colour for ID for squardons, parallel bands usually white or light colour. Red was not used ever to paint the entire funnel or was blue that report is anomalous from everything i know. It was an id scheme used by a number of navies but none used entire funnels being panted that I know of.

You will see on the lead ship here, bands of light colour at the top of the aft funnels...

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-73C_mQmXgRg/T3Dezv_2tSI/AAAAAAAAAG4/ZwbHM2HK58k/s320/e00723684b4e3ae1e959a.jpg

and in this photograph, the lead ship has bands of ID marking on the lead funnel:

http://www.battle-of-jutland.com/images/high-seas-fleet.jpg

and this one of the Battlecruiser Squadron, you can see ID bands on both funnels:

http://www.cityofart.net/bship/germans_surr.jpg

there is a book by Hipper about the Battlecruser squadron and it has photos with the painted bands on the funnels, that may help if you can find it.

I believe squadrons of teh Battle Fleet had demarkations based on ship type, for instance the Heligoland Class Dreadnoughts of the Highs Seas Fleet were grouped in one squadron, which made sense as the ships all had the same engines and speed and handling characteristics and that made command and control easier. I seem to recall seeing them with four strips on the funnel at one point, but that may be a vagary of memory as it has been many many years since I commanded the High Seas Fleet in wargaming with the Naval Wargame Society in London in teh 1970s. We had full fleet engagements with all ships involved and keeping so many ships underway and operating safely in close proximity with poor visibility at times was no joke.

Remember also that all command and control was mostly thru flags and lights, as radio was unreliable and unpredictable, so flag hoists which were often obscured by funnel smoke esp at high speed were the main method and squadrons had to pass the signal down the line of battle, at night which the High Seas Fleet had trained for and the British fleet had not, coloured lights were used on the fore mast and the smaller ships such as the torpedo boat destroyers were controlled from a light cruiser in command of the individual squadrons or a lead boat.

It is really remarkable there were not more collisions and accidents when underway but that was due to the high standard of training which both fleets achieved thru constant practices and fleet manuvers and exercises in both peace and war. The comsumption of coal and supplies was enourmous if you recall that the demand created for coal by those huge engines underway esp at high speeds was just incredible. Coaling ship was an all hands operation that took days for the largest ships. That plus all of the spares and maintenance and supplies and upkeep, routine replacement of gun barrels, and ammuntion it is staggering the expendicture for a large battle fleet when the upkeep of an individual large dreadnought could reach 20 million pounds A YEAR. That plus the cost of new ship construction with new classes of both captial ships, and crusers both heavy and light and the ever evolving design of the countless torpedo boat designs and classes ...and then minelayers, mine sweepers, patrol trawlers, anti submarine shps, and later on early air craft service ships, and tenders ......net barrier tenders, and so forth, ...it was a huge undertaking by both fleets.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nrg1/TheBattleOfJutlandMay311916.jpg

sorry to ramble but these thoughts came up as we discusses the funnel markings.

A number of marking schemes were tired over the years, often involvilng both paintings the ship funnels, usually with bands of colour...and also colouring the heavy gun amunition with coloured dye.. a practice that the Japanese Imperial Fleet used as late as WWII which mystified and actually alarmed the US navy which thought eronously that the IJN was using gas shells when actualy they were using dye to mark range and fall of salvo spreads.

In summary for accuracy purposes i am thinking the best guess is using a dull shade of white for the bands avoids making mistakes about colour but i dont think making entire funnels any other coour than the naval gray is safe without more proof....unless anyone has it.


hope that helps.

btw for the purpose of teh final format of the mod if you need nice images of ships of that era one of the finest british naval artists was Bernard Finnigan Gribble...some are here:

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nrg1/Naval%20Vessels.html

[Char]

You keep Throwing all this at him he'll never get done guys! :haha:

Next thing you know,you'll be giving him accurate Rivet counts to Model!
:har:

All in fun though,Good to see you made it through the Flood!

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Hmm. let's see, rivet counts....starboard or port side? :):arrgh!:

[Admiral Halsey]

Hmm. let's see, rivet counts....starboard or port side? :):arrgh!:

Aww, you took the joke I was going to make.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Well you could still take "Fore or Aft" :) :salute:

[Ekaton]

Would you include german coastal defence ships?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried-class_coastal_defense_ship
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odin-class_coastal_defense_ship


I know that they were considered useless even before the war and were withdrawn from active service as soon as 1915 but since then they were used in ports - mainly as barracks ships. They are pretty unique among the german ships and could add some ambience to the ports.


EDIT:

Also, how about creating a special program like SH3 Commander which could maybe allow player to get many awards from many countries and other things (like banner from a sunken ship maybe) based on your savegame, manage your crew more easily or even interact with them? This would help overcome some hardcoded limitations perhaps.

[iambecomelife]

Would you include german coastal defence ships?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siegfried-class_coastal_defense_ship
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odin-class_coastal_defense_ship


I know that they were considered useless even before the war and were withdrawn from active service as soon as 1915 but since then they were used in ports - mainly as barracks ships. They are pretty unique among the german ships and could add some ambience to the ports.


EDIT:

Also, how about creating a special program like SH3 Commander which could maybe allow player to get many awards from many countries and other things (like banner from a sunken ship maybe) based on your savegame, manage your crew more easily or even interact with them? This would help overcome some hardcoded limitations perhaps.

I would like to have those ships ingame, but honestly I don't think I will be able to. It takes a long time to do a single capital ship, so unless I can recruit several more people to help with ship modeling it will be difficult. And I don't know much about programming so I would not be able to implement your suggestions without help. Appreciate the ideas though.



Here is progress on the Kaiser Class battleship. There will also be another variant without the large admiral's bridge forward or the parade deck aft.

Still working on anchors, the tertiary 88mm armament, torpedo net booms, and more detailed main gun turrets.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Battleship1.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Battleship2.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Battleship3.jpg~original

EDIT: I need help with another detail: What were the bow crests for ships of this class? I believe they would have each carried some kind of emblem on the bow, but I have not been able to find good pictures of them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Ekaton]

Kaiser had Prussian crest I think but I am not sure. Prinzregent Luitpold beared bavarian CoA I think, but also not sure.

Friedrich der Grosse had German CoA:
http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j444/WhyMe-PB/ShipBucket/BBFriedrichderGrosse.png


Others I have no idea.

This is supposed to be depicting SMS Kaiser but I think that this might be another one, maybe Kaiserin.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Bundesarchiv_DVM_10_Bild-23-61-37,_Linienschiff_%22SMS_Kaiser%22.jpg

EDIT:

This is supposed to be Friedrich der Grosse:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Dasmodernedeutsc00lichuoft_0110_-_Foto_Cay_Jacob_Arthur_Renard_%281858%E2%80%931934 %29.jpg

Here I found sth that might have been Konig Albert's crest:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-frc3/t1/s403x403/1782131_582075181884622_1330660596_n.jpg

http://www.deutsche-schutzgebiete.de/webpages/SMS_Prinzregent_Luitpold_Boje.jpg


EDIT 2:

SMS Kaiser in closeup:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/78/SMS_Kaiser_parade_1913-14.jpg


EDIT 3:

According to this (http://www.forum-marinearchiv.de/smf/index.php?topic=9097.60 ) site crests are like this:
SMS Kaiser - http://images.zeno.org/Meyers-1905/I/big/Wm04798a.jpg
SMS Prinzregent Luitpold - http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_FJIwg2jbUP4/Rj4ZmH8XXjI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/3eQm7SqkH1Q/s320/449px-Wappen_Deutsches_Reich_-_K%C3%B6nigreich_Bayern_%28Grosses%29.jpg
SMS Kaiserin - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Wappen_Deutsches_Reich_-_Alliance-Wappen_der_Kaiserin_Auguste_Victoria.png/250px-Wappen_Deutsches_Reich_-_Alliance-Wappen_der_Kaiserin_Auguste_Victoria.png

[iambecomelife]

Thanks! Very nice emblems, and they add quite a splash of color to the ships' bows. Incidentally, those pictures offer some excellent views of the ships' rigging - I will be adding more of it as I put on the finishing touches. It fascinates me how intricate the wires were.

[Ekaton]

It's been a while, more than a year now, since I followed this mod regurarly so I have a question - is the prize system going to be implemented in this mod? I think I remember mentioning that this was possible to do in SH4 and that systems of launching boats from a ship was being developed.

[Sailor Steve]

Please remember that every request you have means extra weeks or even months of work for IABL, and he is working absolutely alone on all this. Also is it possible to reduce the size of that one picture? It is too large to look at comfortably.

[Admiral Halsey]

I've been dabbling with the Op Monsun files trying to fix that conning tower upgrade bug.(No luck with that sadly.) I'll admit i'm no expert but if you need any help with this mod IABL i'll be glad to offer my services.(Just don't ask me to model any of the ships. Even my stick figures look horrible.)

[iambecomelife]

It's been a while, more than a year now, since I followed this mod regurarly so I have a question - is the prize system going to be implemented in this mod? I think I remember mentioning that this was possible to do in SH4 and that systems of launching boats from a ship was being developed.

The prize warfare system will be included. However, you will not be able to take ships prisoner and return them to port; there is simply no way to implement this within SH4's hard coded restrictions.

To have prize warfare I will clone the different merchant ships and each will have several versions:

-Friendly
-Neutral, No Contraband
-Neutral, With Contraband
-Enemy, No Contraband
-Enemy, With Contraband
-Enemy, Q-Ship Variant

However, most ships will display a manifest when you get close to them. Early in the war, if a ship is not carrying contraband you must leave it alone - otherwise you will lose renown for sinking it. Between 1914 - 1916 it will be possible to encounter Allied ships that you may not sink.

Later in the war (Spring 1917 - 1918) unrestricted warfare will exist, and you will be able to torpedo British/French ships without warning if you wish. You will still need to approach ships from neutral countries to find out if they have contraband.

There will always be the chance that a "Neutral" is actually a British Q-ship, so the whole process will be like a game of Russian Roulette. Should you sink a ship without warning and risk a renown hit? Or do you close to examine the manifest and risk having your submarine sunk if it's a disguised decoy ship? These were real problems for U-Boat commanders, and they will be in this game.

[Ekaton]

Thanks for your reply! It's really amazing that you were actually able to represent the system of ship manifestos in SH4, would never guessed that it's possible. Anyway, great job and keep up the good work! :salute:


EDIT:
Do you need any help with Q-Boats? I have a polish book about them and I can provide some information you may need. Also it provides an interesting info which may be of use to you when creating them - there were about 150 fights between Q-Boats and U-Boats and they managed to sink only 14 subs and damaging 60. Amazingly more Qs were lost then subs - 27 out of about 200 used during the war.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

I see you got the crest info you needed, yes they had them and those are good sources for the images.

Heraldry was very important in all of the military services at that time as it was very much part of the ethos of life for the aristocracy and the officer corrps of all of the main national serivces other than the US were often considered "upper Class" and were expected to act as Gentlemen of honour because of that. Ships had the same ethos esp captial ones.

the rigging was essential for ship operations, esp the flag hoists on both masts, often hoists were duplicated fore and aft due to being obscured by funnel smoke as commands were passed "down the line" when the fleet was underway in line ahead...amazing work on that ship, the textures are superb! well done.

[auricom]

hey just want to chime in with some words of support. Long time SH4 player and I wish you the best of luck completing this mod. Very much looking forward to playing it some day.

[Lindley]

Two excellent WW1 documentaries told from the German Naval perspective:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEmwjtr5MQc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVqZvedVSuM

Also a great book German view
WW1 U-boat :http://www.amazon.co.uk/Raiders-Deep-Lowell-Thomas/dp/1904381030/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1394118855&sr=8-1&keywords=lowell+thomas+raiders

:Kaleun_Periskop:

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Doing research on Zepplin Height climber air ships, i came across a battle between two Naval Zapplins, coordinated with a small squadrom of German Submarines of the high seas fleet who lured in and then attacked in concert a squadron of light cruisers of the RN.

Could make a fascinating battle for the mod...here is the history and images..


http://alh-research.tripod.com/Light_Horse/index.blog?start=1237294859

[GilligansBoat]

I do have a question- what is the estimated time until an alpha or beta release?
Cheers! :salute:

[Admiral Halsey]

I do have a question- what is the estimated time until an alpha or beta release?
Cheers! :salute:

Here's what the last statement on the release of the mod said. For the record, I am setting a tentative release date of May 7th, 2015 - the 100th anniversary of the "Lusitania". Keep in mind that this project has often had to take second to various things: law school work, studying for my state's bar exam, and the other odds and ends life likes to throw at you (or that you throw at yourself). Development was completely suspended for much of 2010 - 2011.

I have reasonable work hours for now but I may be continuing my education in early 2014. Regardless of what's in store, I will keep everyone informed.

[GilligansBoat]

Here's what the last statement on the release of the mod said.

Thanks! :salute:

[Admiral Halsey]

Thanks! :salute:

No problem.

[Sepp von Ch.]

The prize warfare system will be included.


Fantastic news, I can´t wait ambecomelife!:arrgh!:

[tomPA]

It takes a long time to do a single capital ship, so unless I can recruit several more people to help with ship modeling it will be difficult.Perhaps i can help you a little bit.
My name ist Tom and i am quite familiar with 3d Modeling. I did a lot of Addons for M$ Flightsims, Orbitersim and others.
I have made 3D models of almost all classes of german naval vessels (including the high seas fleet) in MAX format for my personl use. Polycount is between 50k and 100k with one single material texture. Drawcalls could be optimized for gameplay, but all of the run already very smooth in Vehicle Simulator (which i build them for).
If you want some screenshots and an example, please send me a PM with your mail.

cheers

Tom

[Aktungbby]

tomPA!:Kaleun_Salute:We need all the good modders we can get!

[GlobalExplorer]

IABL, anything new on the terrain textures you teased us with? You know the ones that make the Irish coast finally look like the Irish coast?

I think they are beautiful, and could be very useful outside of the WWI mod if you would release them seperately.

[GlobalExplorer]

This is a screenshot you posted a year ago.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/A-04.jpg

[Jimbuna]

Perhaps i can help you a little bit.
My name ist Tom and i am quite familiar with 3d Modeling. I did a lot of Addons for M$ Flightsims, Orbitersim and others.
I have made 3D models of almost all classes of german naval vessels (including the high seas fleet) in MAX format for my personl use. Polycount is between 50k and 100k with one single material texture. Drawcalls could be optimized for gameplay, but all of the run already very smooth in Vehicle Simulator (which i build them for).
If you want some screenshots and an example, please send me a PM with your mail.

cheers

Tom

Welcome to SubSim Tom, I've sorted out your account so you should be good to go now :sunny:

[tomPA]

Hi,

mail is underway......

@all..

couldnt resist to post this one. Isnt Subsim, but Vehicle Simulator instead. F215 class frigate meets Gazelle class unprotected cruiser. Almost 140 years in between the two vessels...

cheers

Tom
http://www.thomas-ruth.de/preview/090414a.jpg
http://www.thoma-ruth.de/previev/090414a.jpg

[GlobalExplorer]

tomPA
Wow that looks impressive! I hope you two join hands together somehow and get those ships into the game.

[MiG-23Flogger]

Hmm I would like this to be extended to include British Subs and possibly an Ottoman Navy Good luck anyway !
This looks intresting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89meraude-class_submarine

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

First off, Tom those look to be very nice models I am sure Iambercrobie will be in touch if he wants the help.

second off, adding other services to a mod effort being undertaken by one man is far from realistic and borders on just ..well. not possible. Please keep requests to a minimum and within reason for the mod as detailed in the past many pages. We are here to support the mod maker not burden him. thanks. For the record, adding active ships like submarines is one of the most complex tasks for modding any of the Silent Hunter games, and calls for a pressing need if required. He may be able to add Turkish ships for the Med actions, but as said, lets not weigh him down too much at this stage. He has already achieved miracles.

[Admiral8Q]

Ahoy TomPA! :arrgh!:
Welcome to the Subsim. :ahoy:

[Admiral Halsey]

So any news from the front IABL?

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Periods of silence at sea in combat are welcomed by sailormen as a time to fit ship, mend gear and prepare for action to come. For our mod maker I am sure it is a time for many duties including working on this fine project. I wish him well as always and encourage patience among us all. Rememberance too for Memorial day.

[peterthegreeksailor]

Britanic.... hospital ship: She was requisitioned by the British Admiralty during WWI for use as a hospital ship before she could begin a career as a commercial liner, and was sunk off Crete by either a German mine or torpedo. Now pretty much considered a loss to a mine. Her wreck has been found and is being explored but is very deep. there were three sister ships one being the Titanic, one of them actually rammed and sunk a German U boat that was trying to torpedo her.

http://archive.timesonline.co.uk/tol/viewArticle.arc?articleId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1916-11-23-08-006&pageId=ARCHIVE-The_Times-1916-11-23-08

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/6025/britanic4.jpg

are you going to make her in dazzle?

http://www.maritimequest.com/liners/olympic/26_olympic_ww1.jpg
HMHS Britannic sunk off Kea island on the morning of 21 November 1916 near Athens not off Crete that's historically inaccurate!

[iambecomelife]

Periods of silence at sea in combat are welcomed by sailormen as a time to fit ship, mend gear and prepare for action to come. For our mod maker I am sure it is a time for many duties including working on this fine project. I wish him well as always and encourage patience among us all. Rememberance too for Memorial day.

An important announcement about the mod:

First off, thanks for the positive sentiments.

Also, to anyone who is concerned about few posts recently, do not take silence the wrong way.

As of May 2014, I decided that the game will be developed for Silent Hunter 3 as well as 4. While implementing new ships into SH4, I discovered that the program suffered from severe instability - after about 30 minutes of play, the new ships caused the game to crash. So far I have not been able to resolve these problems, although I will continue to work on them.

While using SH3, I have been extremely impressed with how its engine has handled various improvements, including new submarine and ship models. Furthermore, new crew models based on SH4 have been tested successfully (with some limits). This has always been a big immersion killer for me - now, you will have SH4 quality crew for your submarines.

As old as SH3 is, when you add improved crew, new particle effects, better environmental mods, and more the game looks quite beautiful. Over all, SH3 has exceeded my expectations. I owe the GWX team, Onelifecrisis, privateer, racerboy/TDW, vanjast, skwas, Der Teddy Bar, flakmonkey, and many other modders a tremendous debt.

Although it may seem like more work, adding the mod to SH3 is a way to spread the risk, in case problems with the base SH4 engine cannot be resolved.

More news later. As long as the admins aren't opposed, there will also be a WOTK SH3 thread soon.

[Admiral Halsey]

Will this be a GWX compatible mod or will it need stock SH3 to work? Also i'm quite glad this is moving to SH3 since as much as I love SH4 ever since i've got SH3 i've had to admit that it just has this element that makes it much better.

[Hitman]

That's great news regarding SH3 IABL :yeah:

Sad to hear that SH4 gives some problems, though, but probably for a german uboat game the best base is ... well, a german uboat game like SH3 :D

[peterthegreeksailor]

In SH3 you can switch between german and english from option so it would be more realistic! :Kaleun_Los:

[Sailor Steve]

As long as the admins aren't opposed, there will also be a WOTK SH3 thread soon.
:o


:)


:D


:rotfl2:


:yep:


:rock:


I think the only argument is going to be between Jim and myself to see who gets the honor of making it a sticky.

I hope SH4 works out, because it does have a more realistic crew management system and better graphics, not to mention the wonderful 'General Quarters' function. That said, SH3 has Commander with it's fine controls and Ship Names function. I can't wait to get to work on WWI merchant names.

Yes, I'm excited again.

[Jimbuna]

Well you can have the honor but I'll take the honour :smug:

[LGN1]

...
Furthermore, new crew models based on SH4 have been tested successfully (with some limits). This has always been a big immersion killer for me - now, you will have SH4 quality crew for your submarines.
....


Great news, Iambecomelife!

Any plans about sharing how it works so that other mods can also benefit from your great discovery?

Regards, LGN1

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Helping Peabody with the Japanese campaign I saw the limits and in some ways the fragile nature of the SH4 engine you ran into. SH3 is solid and tested and can carry a heavy load. I feel your decision shows both realism and fortitude and i applaud you for both. Please keep us informed and know we are behind you 110 percent and will of course help in any way we can.

Tho you are the creator and the Master and Commander we are indeed willing hands with stout hearts and true and will be behind you until launch and beyond. I am passing on the thread link to some professional sailormen who have expressed an interest in your work and they may in time have valueable feedback. I have btw entered into the ship building trade myself, just completed a Laker 1910 freighter and in the process found an amazing resource page of ship types of ships used by the USN during WWI showing valueable ship details:

http://www.shipscribe.com/usnaux/AK/ww1/w1ak.htm

i found it of great help. Have been making early steamships, but mostly coastal and insland water but i am seeing hull curves in my sleep :)

great work sir and carry on.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

several photos just found one i have seen before ..in case they are helpfull

Control Room UB 110

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/292x348q90/819/bncb.jpg

U 118 on the beach in the UK

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/456x289q90/849/hlbz.jpg

[iambecomelife]

Thanks much! The control room of UB-110 is surreal looking - I know it would take me a lifetime to figure out those pipes & valves!

I read that Kaiserliche Marine U-Boat men were blindfolded and drilled relentlessly on what controls to use in an emergency - so they could do it under pressure, if the power went out.

@LGN1 - It's pretty simple to get new figures into SH3 with limited animations (using the "Watchman" controller via S3ditor to get bodies to rotate) - I'm very surprised nobody has done it before. The downside is you don't have a wide range of body movement, but in my opinion the better looking figures are worth it. I will post pictures later.

[Admiral Halsey]

Hey IABL. Will this be a GWX compatible mod when you make it for SH3 or will it be a stock mod?

[HerbertMcCheese-Wang]

What state is the mod in for SH4, can I play it and would I enjoy it? Or are there some glaring holes?

[denis_469]

An important announcement about the mod:

First off, thanks for the positive sentiments.

Also, to anyone who is concerned about few posts recently, do not take silence the wrong way.

As of May 2014, I decided that the game will be developed for Silent Hunter 3 as well as 4. While implementing new ships into SH4, I discovered that the program suffered from severe instability - after about 30 minutes of play, the new ships caused the game to crash. So far I have not been able to resolve these problems, although I will continue to work on them.

While using SH3, I have been extremely impressed with how its engine has handled various improvements, including new submarine and ship models. Furthermore, new crew models based on SH4 have been tested successfully (with some limits). This has always been a big immersion killer for me - now, you will have SH4 quality crew for your submarines.

As old as SH3 is, when you add improved crew, new particle effects, better environmental mods, and more the game looks quite beautiful. Over all, SH3 has exceeded my expectations. I owe the GWX team, Onelifecrisis, privateer, racerboy/TDW, vanjast, skwas, Der Teddy Bar, flakmonkey, and many other modders a tremendous debt.

Although it may seem like more work, adding the mod to SH3 is a way to spread the risk, in case problems with the base SH4 engine cannot be resolved.

More news later. As long as the admins aren't opposed, there will also be a WOTK SH3 thread soon.

I have you problem (CTD after insert new ships) in 2008 year. Year after release himself mod for SH3. I can say, that it is problem with video memory. I can not resolve this problem from 2008 year ... Apparantly need new engine for SH3 and SH4.

[iambecomelife]

What state is the mod in for SH4, can I play it and would I enjoy it? Or are there some glaring holes?

It's not fit for release yet. Largely because I have a development staff of one, and this employee has a job and studies. Which means less time for this employee to research, for example, what German WWI medal certificates look like. Or damage properties of the British 9.2" gun. :haha:

Still, I do what I can when I can. :up:

FYI I may have pinpointed the cause of the crashes I was having...excessively large terrain tiles. Those new European land textures I posted earlier came with a price...serious instability when you approach the shore. I have reduced the size of the textures to 1024 x 1024, and I'm satisfied with the stability as well as the land appearance - it is a good compromise.

[Char]

That's good to hear! I've been keeping an eye on the thread and I'm happy to see you're working on both SH3 and SH4...But I wonder if you have the Time to do both?

Regardless,I will continue to support you in you endevour as best as I can! Which will mostly just be pats on the backs and Thumbs up! :D :up:

[Admiral Halsey]

Hey IABL. Will this be a GWX compatible mod when you make it for SH3 or will it be a stock mod?

Could you please answer this?

[iambecomelife]

Could you please answer this?
Sorry - forgot to answer. I'm thinking of basing it on GWX, as long as none of that mod's creators object strongly. Everyone whose components are used will be credited.

[Admiral Halsey]

Sorry - forgot to answer. I'm thinking of basing it on GWX, as long as none of that mod's creators object strongly. Everyone whose components are used will be credited.

I'm pretty sure they won't so long as you give them the proper credit. You should ask them though first as that is the proper thing to do.(Who knows you may even get some of them to help you even.)

[iambecomelife]

I'm pretty sure they won't so long as you give them the proper credit. You should ask them though first as that is the proper thing to do.(Who knows you may even get some of them to help you even.)

That's what I mean; I will be asking before I release anything.

[merc4ulfate]

I would look forward to playing this mod

[in_vino_vomitus]

I would look forward to playing this mod

Me too....

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Glad you figured out it was the land tile texture size...and i am very glad you were able to keep them too, making them smaller. they are superb. thanks so much for your continued energy and optimism it will bring this mod home I feel and I am very grateful you have the strength to keep going.

as for basing the mod on some other mod, the main point is to release yours, i would not worry about the other stuff as any of us can enhance the game ourselves who know such mods..and it should never impede your work which is far more interesting to me than the SH3 mod packages of others. thanks.

[Ekaton]

Any news?

[iambecomelife]

Any news?

Well, take your pick...:haha:

UNIFORMS

Things have been very quiet for the past 3 weeks due to potential major life changes (nothing bad...considering continuing my education (again) among other things).

However, before then, I worked on the uniforms yet again as a mini-project. It was very successful:

-More historically accurate patches showing crew specializations (torpedo experts, mine experts, signalmen, and others)

-Previously, only two heads could accommodate the new sailor's cap I created in Wings3d; now, there are about 5-6 heads to choose from.

-Tweaked the uniform brightness to work better with post process filters.

-Introduced leather overcoats and leather pants with different amounts of weathering. Now the crew will look less pristine.

SUBMARINES

-Major changes to the U-51 Class model; it was successfully introduced into the SH3 game engine. It is far from great but much better than in the screenshots posted earlier. Lots of work on the hull form, indentations for torpedo tubes, and some work on rigging. Now you can raise or lower the masts using the periscope key (for now at least - I hope to remap a different key so that both periscopes are usable). A WHOLE LOT of work on the skin, which made a big difference. Historically correct speeds, fuel capacity, and crush depth have been introduced, working off the Type VIIB as a parent unit.

SHIPS

-Miscellaneous work to the merchant ship I showed earlier; however, not much screenshot-worthy stuff. I don't want to spend lots of time right now doing skins for ships and different models - that is simple, and can be done closer to the release date. As always, a huge amount of work still needed on the High Seas Fleet and Grand Fleet ships; military vessels are much more time intensive than civilian ships.

INTERFACE

-Lots of work on the campaign selection screen. There's been an emphasis on German heraldry & establishing a WWI ambience. On the campaign selection screen, each flotilla available is represented by the coat of arms for whichever city it was based in - Kiel, Danzig, Cattaro, & more.

PARTICLE EFFECTS

-Very big breakthrough last month. I have always really disliked SH4's standard effects for smoke, fire, and shell explosions. In addition to the new smoke and fire I already posted, I managed to implement many SH5 effects for SH4. Stock SH4: hit a ship with the deck gun and there's a small flash. Now, see mushroom clouds, fire trails, or sparks with chunks of metal flying through the air. Armor Piercing and High Explosive shells can be assigned different impact effects. Get ready for explosions, shell hits, water splashes, and spray that are MUCH MORE VIVID than SH4 out of the box effects.

[Admiral Halsey]

PARTICLE EFFECTS

-Very big breakthrough last month. I have always really disliked SH4's standard effects for smoke, fire, and shell explosions. In addition to the new smoke and fire I already posted, I managed to implement many SH5 effects for SH4. Stock SH4: hit a ship with the deck gun and there's a small flash. Now, see mushroom clouds, fire trails, or sparks with chunks of metal flying through the air. Armor Piercing and High Explosive shells can be assigned different impact effects. Get ready for explosions, shell hits, water splashes, and spray that are MUCH MORE VIVID than SH4 out of the box effects. Me likey! :yeah:

[TorpX]

Sounds Good! :yeah:

[in_vino_vomitus]

Sounds Good! :yeah:



:agree: And how! :)

[Char]

Glad to see Progress Marches on.Honestly can't wait to get my hands on any Semblance of a release and play the crap out of it.Will most likely make a few videos of it and Stream it on Twitch! Keep up the good work man! :salute:

[iambecomelife]

Thank you for the comments, and expect screenshots between this Friday - Sunday.

[Admiral Halsey]

Thank you for the comments, and expect screenshots between this Friday - Sunday.

New screenshots? :Kaleun_Party:

[Jimbuna]

Thank you for the comments, and expect screenshots between this Friday - Sunday.

looking forward to it :cool:

[krashkart]

As am I. WWII is so... 1940's. :O:

[iambecomelife]

First off some images of new particle effects. Yes, I know - the sub is US but I will have my latest WWI German subs imported soon.

Target merchant ship at anchor, in dazzle paint:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Singlescrew.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-5-29.jpg~original

Impact effects for HE and AP shells.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Explosions.jpg~original

Closeup of burning debris falling from the ship as it is shelled:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/HE-Explosion.jpg~original

Closeup of armor piercing shell hit, with superheated metal/sparking effect:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Sparx.jpg~original

Closeups of HE explosion effect:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Mushroom.jpg~original

New smoke and flame for sinking ships:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Sinking1.jpg~original

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

[iambecomelife]

Campaign/Flotilla Selection Screen for the SH3 version of the mod. Shields represent the heraldry for the cities where the flotillas were based during WWI:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Menu-Screen.jpg~original

Images of the U-51 Class submarine in SH3, with animated flag, new crew, and retractable masts; it will soon be imported into SH4. partial credit to Jochen, whose textures for the Type VII (after heavy modification) improved the model's appearance dramatically. His excellent work is at the link below:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=212486

Note the more detailed, dual wireless aerials on the later versions of the model - I am constantly tweaking and improving the vessels & submarines of WOTK between screenshots.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/U51-Dusk.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/U52-Stern.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Farmland2.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Farmland.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Calm1.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/U51-Overcast.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/U51-Crew.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/U51-Fire.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Tilt.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/U51-Overcast-BowShot.jpg~original

[krashkart]

OMG. It's beautiful. :o

[Jimbuna]

SERIOUSLY AWESOME!! :sunny:

[Admiral Halsey]

Those screenies are absolutely beautiful! A couple of them look like RL shots!

[Hitman]

OMG amazing :o:o:o:o:o:o

And did I see it right? Are the SH4 crew now replacing the SH3 bots???? :yeah::yeah::yeah:

[raymond6751]

Amazing work. This will be fun.

[Sailor Steve]

I have to add my kudos to the rest. It is amazing! :rock:

As am I. WWII is so... 1940's. :O:
Don't like that uber-modern high-tech stuff, huh?

[iambecomelife]

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Small-Uboot2.jpg~original


http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Small-Uboot.jpg~original

Texture for the UB-II Unterseeboot. No rudder or propellers yet. The camouflage is based on a real pattern that was used for the UB-I boats - I'm not sure if it was used on the UB-II's.

Since these pictures were taken I've changed the stern to make it more accurate.

If anybody knows the correct colors for the anti-fouling paint below the waterline, please don't be shy. I am using green for now.

[Admiral Halsey]

I never knew the early U-Boats had as many masts as a Tall Ship.

[iambecomelife]

I never knew the early U-Boats had as many masts as a Tall Ship.

The masts were erected when they needed to communicate by wireless. It must have been an awkward, hazardous process for the crew. In fact, on the very early U-Boats the crew needed to put in place masts, ventilators, and canvas screens by hand - and take them back down again when it was time to dive. This was extremely dangerous, of course, if a destroyer was bearing down on your submarine. Diving times were insanely long. Eventually, later classes built shortly before WWI had acceptable diving times of only 1.5 - 2 minutes.

By World War II, radio sets were more powerful, and you no longer needed giant masts on board your submarine. That's why you don't see masts on WWII Type VII and Type IX submarines.

[Admiral Halsey]

A two minute dive time!:huh: And I thought the IXD2s had long dive times

[Jimbuna]

Looks like this eagerly awaited mod is progressing really nicely...time to sticky the thread.

[Admiral Halsey]

Looks like this eagerly awaited mod is progressing really nicely...time to sticky the thread.

The mod's progressed enough to be stickied? Don't know how big of a thing that is but either way congrats IABL.

[in_vino_vomitus]

Those screenshots look amazing - Excellent work :)

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

wonderful indeed. very good progress

re bottom paint, High Seas Fleet and later the Kreigsmarine used a dark red for captial and surface ships, i do not know about the submarines but am trying to find out here is info on WWI fleet colours

There exists however both anecdotal evidence from prewar submariners and an actual Kriegsmarine paint code for green anti-fouling paint on the underbodies (Schiffsbodenfarbe I Grün [DKM 24a and 24b]) of early, prewar boats.

German High Seas Fleet, WWI

by John @ WEM (http://www.shipmodels.info/mws_forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=119) Wed Mar 31, 2010
Battleships, Armoured and Small Cruisers (North Sea and Baltic Sea):
Superstructures, Light Grey, RAL 7035—use Colourcoats RN 03;
Hull, Agate Grey, RAL 7038—use Colourcoats KM 13 (exact match);
Boot-topping, Slate Grey, RAL 7015—use Colourcoats KM 06;
Underwater Hull, Brownish-Red, RAL 3011— use Colourcoats US 14.
Ship's Boats:
Exterior, Pure White, RAL 9010—use Colourcoats C 03;
Interior, Bright Wood—use Colourcoats US 15;
Captain's Gig, Dark Blue to Black—use Colourcoats KM 07 for Dark Blue, or C 02 for Black;
Motor Boats, Light Grey, RAL 7035— use Colourcoats RN 03;
Steam Boats, Mahogany—use Colourcoats US 15;
Deck/Linoleum, Red-Brown, RAL 8012—use Colourcoats ACSM 11;
Deck/Wood, Birch or Maple Veneer—use Colourcoats IJN 09 or C 01.

here is an interesing account of a man who made a model of a UB1 and did a LOT of research for it..it notes red bottom paint.

http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/models/ships/SMS_UB_2/tkoehl/

this parent site has detailed renders and I believe some plans of WWI ships..

http://www.dreadnoughtproject.org/models/

[iambecomelife]

Some images of updates to the crew uniforms - now there are more patches to represent helmsmen, artillery specialists, signalmen, and more. The caps have been tweaked some more - they still need a new UV map.

The interior has been modified slightly, with the S-Boat command room as the basis. Still need to get rid of all the American labels and WWII equipment. I added a weathered steel skin and modified the post-process filters - I'm trying to go for a much more eerie, claustrophobic, and grim atmosphere ... Stock SH4 has a bright "Pacific" ambience that doesn't quite go with an Atlantic sim.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Officer1-2.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/characters2.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/characters1.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Interior1.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/sh42014-08-1719-37-41-66.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/sh42014-08-1720-18-00-66.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/sh42014-08-1720-15-58-49.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/sh42014-08-1720-15-42-22.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/sh42014-08-1720-11-06-51.jpg~original

[iambecomelife]

Some work on merchant shipping from Thursday - I tried a larger vessel of 12,000 GRT. Interestingly, she was unfortunate enough to be torpedoed during both WWI and WWII - on the second occasion, with catastrophic loss of life.


I worked from several photographs and a copy of Talbot-Booth's Merchant Ships, which had a line drawing. Changes were made to the superstructure and deck arrangements, among other things. Not an exact copy, but enough like most WWI ships...I really do not like the idea of having modern tankers, Liberty Ships, etc in WOTK; all post WWI merchant units will be deleted and replaced by old-fashioned variants from 1880-1918.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Image-02-1.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-2-28.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-23-9.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-3-28.jpg~original

[Jimbuna]

Coming along nicely.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Very nice work on that hull shape, you have the clipper stern just right and the overall structure is very good. I am very glad you are taking the time to give us accurate shipping, it was an essential part of the naval war of that war, merchant shipping indeed it was the life line of all of the major modern nations of that time, and it was REAL shipping not these contemporary box carriers we suffer with now. Each ship was made with great skill by trained shipyards, manned by highly skilled real seamen who navigated by the stars, crewed their ships with brawn, and courage and skill, stoked and sweated and swore and sailed the seas as sailormen had for centuries, and you honour them by giving them life in this mod.

The crew uniforms are superb! You also honour them, i was thinking as i looked at those pictures few of that war from either side saw such men or such crews, their duty was not in the headlines, with a few exceptions but we get a glimplse of the entire naval service by seeing the details of the various ratings, and your willingness to do the research is astounding and i greatly appreciate it. My family were in that service and wore those uniforms and you have achieved a lot of accuracy tho our family albulms are black and white :) from that war at least.

I agree about the Pacific ambience esp of teh lighiting see if you can mute the brilliance and the shading. May take some tweaking but I am confident you can do it. I will lend a hand with that if helpful.

I have sent you links for some very good refernces for shipping adn will find more. Merchant that is.

here are some plans, one i sent you already of typical three islander merchants of the era...the US navy used a vast fleet of transports and merchant ships and the links i sent you will give good photos.

here is the file of plans

https://www.mediafire.com/?pp74q29gcqbbn37

some photos of US Merchant ships of 1918

https://www.mediafire.com/?yoitd69frsh42r3

One thing that amazzes me is some of the ships of that era had open bridges, doing the Atlantic time after time on an open bridge amazes me. some of the smaller British and German naval vessels had that too notabley the Torpedo Boats and the Torpedo Boat destroyers a custom that survived into WWII, actually in the Med it was an asset for detecting and avoiding air attacks but sadly if there WAS a successful attack on the bridge of such ships the mortality was high.

[Xall]

Hello dear developers.

I would like to begin with that the amount of work, dedication and attention to detail you guys put into this project is really fascinating and inspiring.
I hope the project is getting along well and you have my best of wishes.

There is one thing however that I hope you guys will add to this already amazing mod and that is:

The ability to walk around in the control room and on deck, climbing up the ladders and interacting with the periscopes and other equipment such as radio or hydrophones.

I really enjoyed this features in Silent Hunter 5, it gives me the feeling of freedom and makes me feel more of a captain.
Now I understand that you can kinda "fly around", but that just ruins the immersion and one cannot interact with anything without using the menu.

Have a nice day and good luck!

[iambecomelife]

Hello dear developers.

I would like to begin with that the amount of work, dedication and attention to detail you guys put into this project is really fascinating and inspiring.
I hope the project is getting along well and you have my best of wishes.

There is one thing however that I hope you guys will add to this already amazing mod and that is:

The ability to walk around in the control room and on deck, climbing up the ladders and interacting with the periscopes and other equipment such as radio or hydrophones.

I really enjoyed this features in Silent Hunter 5, it gives me the feeling of freedom and makes me feel more of a captain.
Now I understand that you can kinda "fly around", but that just ruins the immersion and one cannot interact with anything without using the menu.

Have a nice day and good luck!

You can actually pretend to walk around on deck thanks to the camera modifications in TMO 2.5 (which I sometimes test this mod with). You can also click on certain pieces of equipment to interact with them - not a perfect solution I know, but it's something. I would like to create a mod to add footstep noises when you move the camera but I am not sure how to make it work.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Was just admiring the photos of the crew at stations and marveling at how well you have done with that. one question, i see what appears to be an officer and it looks like he has a neck tie and shirt, which is accurate..however..is it possible to raise up the collar a bit more? they wore stiff collars on their shirts back then, they were actually detachable and buttoned to the shirt front as a spearate piece and reached up to almost the ears...it just came to me to mention it...here is a sample of that ..
http://www.thirdreichmedals.com/alert_files/arthsfpicu.jpg


the central officer has a U boat badge...

http://www.thirdreichmedals.com/hsf.html

this is not a major issue but just wanted to mention it. thanks so much for ongoing work on a superb project.

[keltos01]

This is becoming a seriously awesome mod ! I really can't wait to see more, congratulations on your achievements so far and most of all, to your unfaltering dedication !

Chapeau bas !

Keltos

[Hitman]

Hopefully lots of those WW1 merchants will also make its way to a WW2 japanese merchant fleet pack that enrichens SH4 :)

At least it will compensate a bit for the loss of Tater's project :wah:

[Chad]

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Image-02-1.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-2-28.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-23-9.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-3-28.jpg~original

iambecomelife, your modeling skills for these vessels amazes me. I love how manage all the details and keeping the low polygon requirements. Great job. :up:

[iambecomelife]

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/zLBS.jpg~original

Tomorrow will mark the 100th anniversary of one of the most important U-Boat successes (and one of the greatest tragedies for Britain during WWI). I'll be doing a little model work Monday, as my own minor commemoration - it will be posted later.

Regarding collars, the game goes berserk when you make even minor changes to the human torsos, so I don't think collared shirts are possible. Capt. Cox is one of the few modders who could possibly do it, and I have not heard from him for a while.

[Admiral Halsey]

The sinking of the Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy right? Fun fact about them, all three were Cressy-Class Armored Cruisers.

[Jimbuna]

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/zLBS.jpg~original

Tomorrow will mark the 100th anniversary of one of the most important U-Boat successes (and one of the greatest tragedies for Britain during WWI). I'll be doing a little model work Monday, as my own minor commemoration - it will be posted later.

Regarding collars, the game goes berserk when you make even minor changes to the human torsos, so I don't think collared shirts are possible. Capt. Cox is one of the few modders who could possibly do it, and I have not heard from him for a while.

The sinking of the Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy right? Fun fact about them, all three were Cressy-Class Armored Cruisers.

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2245368&postcount=268

[iambecomelife]

You guys know your history!

Interesting thing I found out about these ships while researching the mod: they shared a serious design flaw with the ocean liner "Lusitania". The designers added a centerline bulkhead from front to back, basically splitting the interior in two - this was intended to keep flooding on one side of the ship from affecting the other side.

Apparently, nobody bothered to think about how dangerous this would be in the event of a severe list. This feature trapped water on one side of the cruisers when they were torpedoed, and caused "Aboukir", "Cressy", and "Hogue" to capsize or tilt during the action on September 22, 1914.


Once again, this was repeated when "Lusitania" sank in 1915 - the heavy list kept many of the lifeboats from being lowered.



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

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/HMS-Aboukir-1914.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/HMS-Hogue-1914.jpg



HMS "Hogue" has the dual ID bands on the 1st and 4th funnels - I'm not sure if the ships had funnel markings when sunk, or if they had all been painted out to a solid grey.

I already did anchor chains and anchors for the model but didn't like them - I will revise this week.

[Admiral Halsey]

Funny thing about that bulkhead design. If the Titanic had it she would've been fine after hitting the iceberg. Also from what i've read it also doubled as extra space for coal. Hope that the game will be able to simulate that right though. Oh and love the models.

[Add man]

really excited for this :D keep up the good work guys!:subsim:

[iambecomelife]

Just a quick update today: Changes to the crew page background.

OPTION 1: The original change from some months ago - this was criticized as being cluttered, and making it hard to see the text.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/menu-02.jpg~original

OPTION 2: The revised background, with fewer items.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Backg-v2.jpg~original

OPTION 3: Like Option 2, but with a map to add variety to the background. Yes, I know it's WWII, but I think it goes well with the other items, and it doesn't have any visible WWII Kriegsmarine insignia.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Backg-v1.jpg~original




I'm not sure which one you people would prefer; let me know. Ideas for completely different backgrounds are welcome.

By the way, I just imported the hull of the U-51 boat into Silent Hunter 4 and was very happy with the results. The texture was 1024 x 1024, and looked good. Too early for screenshots because it's still covered in the parts for the "Porpoise" class, but things are coming along well..

[Admiral Halsey]

I personally like option 3 the best.

[ReallyDedPoet]

Nice, I like the more simpler look of 2. Good to hear things are progressing with this :-)

[Jimbuna]

Option 2 and coming along nicely :cool:

[Hitman]

Me also option 2

I especially love the personal card/book, and if you could crop the image in a manner that the text ends exactly over the lines that would be awesome :yeah:

[Taucheisen]

To me option 2 looks best.
Keep up the good work!! :up::up:

[iambecomelife]

UPDATE: Wolves of the Kaiser delayed until 2114. Research assistants walk of the job, demanding a 10 treat-per-hour minimum wage....

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Strike.jpg~original

More screenshots coming up.

[iambecomelife]

Testing the U-51 boat in the English Channel, in a variety of sea conditions. I've added leather jackets (in different states of cleanliness) as an option for crew clothing. As usual, this is a work in progress, with simpler parts of the boat being updated & improved.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Screen12.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Screen11.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Screen10.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Screen9.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Screen8.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Screen7.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Screen5.jpg~original


http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Screen3.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Screen2.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Screen1-1.jpg~original

[ReallyDedPoet]

Looks great :yep::up:

[Jimbuna]

:rock::rock::rock:

[CCIP]

Fantastic work as usual! :up: I've been on a big WWI history kick over the past couple of months, so I'm excited for this more than ever :)

Also, Option 2 is my favourite of the bunch - a well-worn, clean desk is exactly the kind of place to make important decisions about your crew!

[iambecomelife]

Thanks for the comments and feedback! The crew page screen will probably be #2, with some modifications.

Be aware that the U-51 Class, despite being larger than a WWII Type VII, only has eight torpedoes and two tubes each in the bow and stern for a total of four - this means racking up tonnage will be tough. Plus, dud rates for the early torpedoes were very high (over 50%) - Weddigen was extremely lucky to be able to sink "Aboukir", "Cressy", and "Hogue" with just one miss.

The deck gun will be adjusted to be like NYGM for Silent Hunter III, where many dozens of rounds are needed to sink ships. No 10-15 hit kills, unless you are shelling something like a small sailing ship.

I imagine some people will like the challenge, while others will be eager to get promoted to the U-87 or U-93 Class boats, which had 12-16 torpedoes and four bow tubes.

Of course, I could provide you with an alternate way to sink ships, aside from the torpedoes and deck gun (wink! wink!) Stay tuned for more screenshots very soon.

[Admiral Halsey]

The deck gun will be adjusted to be like NYGM for Silent Hunter III, where many dozens of rounds are needed to sink ships. No 10-15 hit kills, unless you are shelling something like a small sailing ship.

You sure about that? From what I've read most of the top scoring U-Boat aces during WW1 only used the deck gun and needing something like 36+ shells to sink a ship seems excessive. For example Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière who sank the most tonnage of any U-Boat commander in either war with 453,716 tons sunk only used his torps 74 times and hit on 39 of them.

[iambecomelife]

You sure about that? From what I've read most of the top scoring U-Boat aces during WW1 only used the deck gun and needing something like 36+ shells to sink a ship seems excessive. For example Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière who sank the most tonnage of any U-Boat commander in either war with 453,716 tons sunk only used his torps 74 times and hit on 39 of them.

Capt. de la Periere was a unique case, because he had a master gunnery officer on board who was freakishly accurate, and could sink smaller ships with about 2 shells. Also, he once loaded about 1000 shells for his sub. From what I've read this would not have been typical of most U-Boats. Typically, they would have had no more than a few hundred shells on board, plus deck officers with average marksmanship.

I guess I should clarify that larger merchants will take dozens of shells (especially if you are on one of the old, kerosene-powered U-Boats with only a 50mm gun). In WOTK there will be lots of smaller vessels like coasters, sailing ships, and trawlers that are less than 2500 tons - these can definitely be sunk with a few shells.

[Admiral Halsey]

Capt. de la Periere was a unique case, because he had a master gunnery officer on board who was freakishly accurate, and could sink smaller ships with about 2 shells. Also, he once loaded about 1000 shells for his sub. From what I've read this would not have been typical of most U-Boats. Typically, they would have had no more than a few hundred shells on board, plus deck officers with average marksmanship.

Really? I'm guessing he sacrificed a lot of torps to take that load on board. Will you make a "Take extra shells" loadout option for those who don't like to waste torps on larger merchants especially early in the war?

[Sailor Steve]

One of the problems I see is that a large number of ships were sunk using neither torpedoes or the deck gun, but scuttling charges, something which is not possible in the game. Not having that ability and having the gun and torpedo limited to historical parameters will leave the player without the prime weapon he needs to accurately play the game.

[Admiral Halsey]

One of the problems I see is that a large number of ships were sunk using neither torpedoes or the deck gun, but scuttling charges, something which is not possible in the game. Not having that ability and having the gun and torpedo limited to historical parameters will leave the player without the prime weapon he needs to accurately play the game.

Well considering IABL has figured out a way to implement prize rules to the point you can get punished for not following them he might be able to figure out a way to do that. Still if he can't giving people a 1000+ shells as a substitute(or at least an option for it) would be nice.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Sorry to disagree with you Sailor Steve but your criticism of the mod as it is developing is unwarrented and We like to be supportive here for this amazing effort. He is achieving miracles with this development and I applaud his dedication and ingenuity. If you wish to make your own mod you can certainly focus on that detail you mention but frankly history does not always allow us to re create it in total with any sim esp an older one like this. this is truly an amazing achiievement here, and worthy of support and praise and not criticism.

As for Capt. de la Periere, he was loved and somewhat hated by his own crews as he crammed in shells wherever there was any conceivable space, including the usual storage for food, which was packed UNDER or behind the shells requiring the crew to be on meager rations until those shells were epxended. He managed to take aboard far more ordinance than anyone else, and indeed it was frowned upon by the Command ashore and he actually had to use subterfuge for they started inspecting his boat before departure as they knew what he was up to.

He was truly a marvel and not only a great gunnery officer but a fantastic seaman and true sailor man as well. I am glad to see you have reserached with the depth of your experience Iam....and am so impressed with all you are achieving.

I am wondering if someday we may see Zepplins over the lfeet ...sigh i loved those big ships of the sky but they were not a major factor of the war ....tho they were used often with the High Seas Fleet when it was at sea.

thanks so much for this amazing effort, truly one of the uniquely successful major mods I have ever seen. Well done!

[iambecomelife]

Sorry to disagree with you Sailor Steve but your criticism of the mod as it is developing is unwarrented and We like to be supportive here for this amazing effort. He is achieving miracles with this development and I applaud his dedication and ingenuity. If you wish to make your own mod you can certainly focus on that detail you mention but frankly history does not always allow us to re create it in total with any sim esp an older one like this. this is truly an amazing achiievement here, and worthy of support and praise and not criticism.

As for Capt. de la Periere, he was loved and somewhat hated by his own crews as he crammed in shells wherever there was any conceivable space, including the usual storage for food, which was packed UNDER or behind the shells requiring the crew to be on meager rations until those shells were epxended. He managed to take aboard far more ordinance than anyone else, and indeed it was frowned upon by the Command ashore and he actually had to use subterfuge for they started inspecting his boat before departure as they knew what he was up to.

He was truly a marvel and not only a great gunnery officer but a fantastic seaman and true sailor man as well. I am glad to see you have reserached with the depth of your experience Iam....and am so impressed with all you are achieving.

I am wondering if someday we may see Zepplins over the lfeet ...sigh i loved those big ships of the sky but they were not a major factor of the war ....tho they were used often with the High Seas Fleet when it was at sea.

thanks so much for this amazing effort, truly one of the uniquely successful major mods I have ever seen. Well done!

Thanks for your comments Admiral and good to see you posting here again! Although FYI I'm not offended by Sailor Steve - we're buds and we've corresponded before; he's definitely not trying to be a downer. :)

Now, speaking of explosive charges ... let's just say I recommend you guys keep watching this thread! More screenshots to come very soon. Thanks to S3ditor I may have some tricks up my sleeve...:ping:

I don't know if I want to include a 1000 shell loadout option because it was so exceptional, as you have pointed out. When I read about this I assumed the boat must have been extremely cramped and uncomfortable - your comments confirm it! Thanks for the insights. If I do include this loadout it will require a lot of renown points.

For players who want to sink a lot of ships I can goof with the deck gun values, torpedo explosive power, and torpedo dud rates - creating a "noob friendly" variant of WOTK: 1914-1918 would take no time at all, with the modding tools we have these days.

I found out that some of the Kaiserliche Marine diesel boats that originally had just 6 torpedoes were modified to carry 10 torpedoes or more as the war went on; this will be implemented with entirely new submarine classes as a work-around. For instance, there will be "Early U-31 Class" (6 torpedoes) and "Late U-31 Class (10 torpedoes)", etc to represent these submarines after the offensive loadout was improved with refits.

[avers]

Finally, a ww1 mod for SH i can't wait for this mod, it sounds awesome! Btw I may be able to provide some historical information. I have the book called, hitler's u boat war by Clay Blair and there's a chapter in the prologue about u boats in WW1.

[avers]

Wow, seeing that the 1st post was posted in 2009 and this mod is still
Being worked on, I'm expecting some cool stuff.

[Lindley]

One of the best books on WW1 Submarine warfare:

Raiders of the Deep by Lowell Thomas.
He also wrote Count Luckner:The Sea Devil.

I highly recommend both books.:Kaleun_Thumbs_Up:

[avers]

Is this mod going to be for both sh4 and 3?

[Admiral Halsey]

Is this mod going to be for both sh4 and 3?

Should be. Originally it was going to be just for SH4 but a little while ago IABL ran into trouble while and decided to make it for SH3. He overcame the trouble and IIRC said this was no going to be for both SH3 and SH4.

[Deamon]

I found out that some of the Kaiserliche Marine diesel boats that originally had just 6 torpedoes were modified to carry 10 torpedoes or more as the war went on; this will be implemented with entirely new submarine classes as a work-around. For instance, there will be "Early U-31 Class" (6 torpedoes) and "Late U-31 Class (10 torpedoes)", etc to represent these submarines after the offensive loadout was improved with refits.
That is correct. But not only some of the boats. It was a general tendency as u-boat operations became more and more dangerous and subs were increasingly forced to attack submerged they naturally wanted to have more torpedos so the earlier designs with only few torpedos got exteriour storages for 4 torpedos and additional were crampped inside the boats as well. So they got 4+ additional torpedos in later upgrades. The newer designs of course had more torpedo storage by default.

Also a little remark on your ship models. Particularly the merchant ships, i think you make the bow and stern way too bulky.

What concerns the issue with howmany shells you can sink a merchant. I think in reality you can sink even a large merchant with a dozen shells, provided all bulkheads are open so that the air can escape it just would take an eturnaty to fill with water.

[iambecomelife]

That is correct. But not only some of the boats. It was a general tendency as u-boat operations became more and more dangerous and subs were increasingly forced to attack submerged they naturally wanted to have more torpedos so the earlier designs with only few torpedos got exteriour storages for 4 torpedos and additional were crampped inside the boats as well. So they got 4+ additional torpedos in later upgrades. The newer designs of course had more torpedo storage by default.

Also a little remark on your ship models. Particularly the merchant ships, i think you make the bow and stern way too bulky.

What concerns the issue with howmany shells you can sink a merchant. I think in reality you can sink even a large merchant with a dozen shells, provided all bulkheads are open so that the air can escape it just would take an eturnaty to fill with water.

Thanks for the feedback. I hope to improve my modeling as I gain experience.

Do you know exactly how many torpedoes the different classes had by the end of the war? Especially the following:

1) U-19 Class
2) U-23 Class
3) U-27 Class
4) U-31 Class
5) U-51 Class
6) U-66 Class
7) U-81 Class
8) U-87 Class
9) U-93 Class

Thank you.

[Jimbuna]

U-19 Class.....4 tubes (2 bow, 2 stern) 6 eels
U-23 Class.....4 tubes (2 bow, 2 stern) 6 eels. SM UB-23, (2 bow) 4 eels. SM UC-23, 3 tubes (2 bow/external; one stern) 7 eels.
U-27 Class.....2 tubes (bow) 4 eels.
U-31 Class.....4 tubes (2 bow, 2 stern) 6 eels. SM UB-31, (2 bow) 4 eels. SM UC-31, 3 tubes (2 bow/external; one stern) 7 eels.
U-51 Class.....4 tubes (two bow, two stern) 9 eels. SM UB-51, 5 tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) 10 eels. SM UC-51, 3 tubes (2 bow/external; one stern) 7 eels.
U-66 Class.....5 tubes (4 bow, 1 stern) 12 eels.
U-81 Class.....6 tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) 12 eels.
U-87 Class.....6 tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) 16 eels.
U-93 Class.....6 tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) 16 eels.

[avers]

Should be. Originally it was going to be just for SH4 but a little while ago IABL ran into trouble while and decided to make it for SH3. He overcame the trouble and IIRC said this was no going to be for both SH3 and SH4.

well whatever SH its for, I will get this mod!

[d@rk51d3]

WOW. :o

Where have I been for the last 5 years.
This is the first I've seen of this thread.

:rock:

[avers]

Hey guys, I don't know a lot about World War 1, so could you guys please tell me about some books about both the land war (both western and eastern fronts) and the sea war?

[Sailor Steve]

There are a huge number of books about the First World War. I don't even know where to tell you to start.

Of course if you want to find out a little at a time you might start with this thread.
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=214193

[Jimbuna]

Some cool books here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=atlas+world+war+1&tag=googhydr-21&index=stripbooks&hvadid=48450317898&hvpos=1o2&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=11474793835657301156&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=b&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_8qgjbmwc63_b

[Sepp von Ch.]

Just a quick update today: Changes to the crew page background.

OPTION 1: The original change from some months ago - this was criticized as being cluttered, and making it hard to see the text.



OPTION 2: The revised background, with fewer items.



OPTION 3: Like Option 2, but with a map to add variety to the background. Yes, I know it's WWII, but I think it goes well with the other items, and it doesn't have any visible WWII Kriegsmarine insignia.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Backg-v1.jpg~original




I'm not sure which one you people would prefer; let me know. Ideas for completely different backgrounds are welcome.

By the way, I just imported the hull of the U-51 boat into Silent Hunter 4 and was very happy with the results. The texture was 1024 x 1024, and looked good. Too early for screenshots because it's still covered in the parts for the "Porpoise" class, but things are coming along well..


I vote for option 3!:yeah:

[Char]

Good to see this continues! I freaked out when I didn't see it in the Mods pages. Totally missed the Sticky... :oops:

[avers]

Hey IABL, I see you've been doing a lot of work on modeling the ships and aircraft. But have you've done any work yet on the campaign?

[Admiral Halsey]

Hey IABL, I see you've been doing a lot of work on modeling the ships and aircraft. But have you've done any work yet on the campaign?

That's actually a good question. Have you started to model any of the campaign layers yet?

[avers]

[QUOTE=iambecomelife;2249560]OPTION 2: The revised background, with fewer items.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Backg-v2.jpg~original







I like option 2

[iambecomelife]

Hey guys, I don't know a lot about World War 1, so could you guys please tell me about some books about both the land war (both western and eastern fronts) and the sea war?

For an overview of the 1914 - 1918 campaign, I would recommend Edwyn A. Gray's "The U-Boat War: 1914 - 1918". It can be found on Amazon in both paper and electronic editions for a reasonable price. In my opinion it's only of average quality due to a somewhat non-systematic approach and several glaring errors (for example, the author somehow lists two different deaths for Walter Schweiger, who sank the "Lusitania" - mine and escort vessel). Nevertheless, there simply aren't too many other books in the field, and the author's narration of the different U-Boat patrols is appropriately dramatic.


I would also recommend the memoirs of Admiral Scheer and Sir John Jellicoe, both of which cover the strategic aspects well. Be advised that these two men are quite heavy on the anti-British and anti-German propaganda (the other guys committed all the atrocities! Yeah, sure...) :shifty:. What's more, both were acting as apologists for their conduct while in command - of course, this makes their books self-serving. Take their commentary with a grain of salt.

To those who asked, the campaign layers are in the very early stages.


Unfortunately I do not have screens of prize warfare implementation yet, but it IS COMING. Below, some other things worked on recently...

Changes to the environment - I have been experimenting with different shades of green and blue for the water to make it seem less like the Pacific ocean. Note that the water reflects less sunlight than in other mods for SH4...

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Bea2-1.jpg~original



http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Bea1-1.jpg~original

Work on the "Project 25" series. I used a new system of hull creation (slicing a cube and working in the vertical plane first) - the results were MUCH easier to texture than the submarines I used to make. I will probably use this for all ships in the future.

Gratings and some rivets are actual 3d parts, and not just drawn on the TGA/DDS files.

Note the six torpedo tubes (4 bow, 2 stern) like a WWII Type IX boat; many WWI boats only had two forward facing tubes. The Project 25 boats also had a very impressive torpedo arsenal - 16 torpedoes instead of just six like the U-19 class, etc.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Proj25-01.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Proj25-02.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Proj25-03.jpg~original



http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Proj25-04.jpg~original

[avers]

Looking good

[Hitman]

The use of the polys on your hulls is nothing short of amazing! Excellent economy for incredibly good looking results :yeah::salute:

[Admiral Halsey]

These are the nicest looking user made subs and ships i've ever seen IABL.

[iambecomelife]

Would like to thank all you guys for your consistent support!

Unfortunately I was not able to create the planned prize warfare update in time: that old nemesis Real Life (TM) has been driving me crazy! Moving, studying law, running a business in addition to my "real" job, and a little bit of romance....!:/\\k:

However, I will be preparing the traditional big Christmas update, so stay tuned for that. The prize warfare update has finally been started, after major delays, so that will be another thing to look forward to. I will try to give you some screenshots in the very near future!

[avers]

Would like to thank all you guys for your consistent support!

Unfortunately I was not able to create the planned prize warfare update in time: that old nemesis Real Life (TM) has been driving me crazy! Moving, studying law, running a business in addition to my "real" job, and a little bit of romance....!:/\\k:

However, I will be preparing the traditional big Christmas update, so stay tuned for that. The prize warfare update has finally been started, after major delays, so that will be another thing to look forward to. I will try to give you some screenshots in the very near future!

its ok, IABL take all the time u need

[Legion1183]

For such a small core team and other subsimmers working on this so far it looks amazing perhaps you should consider iambecomelife and the others working on this of developing indie games with such dedication and passion so far. In the screen shots you have posted you could definitely pull it of.

[Hitman]

We are not going anywhere IABL :shucks:

Take your time, familiy and real life come first :up:

[Buddahaid]

No kidding. This is the only sim I'm looking forward to anymore. :salute:

[avers]

hey guys, back on the topic of WW1 books I found a book on amazon, its called, "The Great War at Sea: A Naval History of the First World War',. Does anyone know if this book is good?


EDIT: I noticed in an earlier post that IABL said that the estimated release year was 2114. Is this the actual estimated relase year or just a joke?

[Jimbuna]

If it is the one below then it is the one Steve and I have been discussing only two days ago:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-War-Sea-Naval-History/dp/1107036909/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418997617&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Great+War+at+Sea%3A+A+Naval+History+o f+the+First+World+War

I have these two under the xmas tree:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fighting-Great-War-Sea-Technology/dp/1848321899/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418997331&sr=1-2&keywords=The+Great+War+at+Sea%3A+A+Naval+History+o f+the+First+World+War

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Naval-Battles-First-World-War/dp/1473821118/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1418997472&sr=1-25

Also waiting of the March 2015 release of this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-War-Sea-Naval-1914-1919/dp/184832183X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418997571&sr=1-2&keywords=war+at+sea+atlas

[avers]

1st, yes jimbuana the first link in ur last post is the book I was talking about. 2nd, I know its probably too early to ask this question and I don't want this question make the team rush, but ill ask it anyway:O:. Do we have an estimated release date and how much longer before this mod is released? Again, i'm not trying to rush anyone i'm just curious and excited.

[Jimbuna]

1st, yes jimbuana the first link in ur last post is the book I was talking about.

I'm not sure if Steve has it but I do have both books in the second and third links.

[Sailor Steve]

2nd, I know its probably too early to ask this question and I don't want this question make the team rush, but ill ask it anyway:O:. Do we have an estimated release date and how much longer before this mod is released? Again, i'm not trying to rush anyone i'm just curious and excited.
We have a saying here that goes back to SH3's release almost ten years ago, and we use it any time someone asks that question:

It will be ready when it's ready.

[Sailor Steve]

I'm not sure if Steve has it but I do have both books in the second and third links.
I don't have any of the books on that list. I do have Richard Hough's book of the same name
http://www.amazon.com/The-Great-War-Sea-1914-1918/dp/1841580538
and also one by A. A. Hoehling.
http://www.amazon.com/Great-War-Sea-History-1914-18/dp/0313204683

I've always liked both, but from what others have said the newer one on Jim's list is probably better. Also it's hard to go wrong with Friedman.

[iambecomelife]

hey guys, back on the topic of WW1 books I found a book on amazon, its called, "The Great War at Sea: A Naval History of the First World War',. Does anyone know if this book is good?


EDIT: I noticed in an earlier post that IABL said that the estimated release year was 2114. Is this the actual estimated relase year or just a joke?

Oh, come on!!! 100 years from now? :D

Trust me, it won't be that bad.

When I don't have time for modeling, I like to play with the game interface. In my opinion a sterile interface has been a big weakness of many modern simulators; to make this mod feel like a total conversion, the player will receive various newspaper notifications.... There will also be a combination of generic war news and headlines when important events take place (Jutland, Dogger Bank, the Armistice, &c.)

So, when you carelessly sail into a British minefield (and oblivion), do not worry. Rest assured that your wives/sweethearts back home will be able to read about your demise:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/DieVaterland-Sublost.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/DieVaterland.jpg~original


Due to the medal graphics setup of SH4, it should be possible to have different announcements for different medals.

German speakers, is this a good name for a German newspaper? I took Spanish in High School, so my knowledge of German grammar is sadly lacking. And I don't trust online translators too much. Feel free to suggest a better name. :-?

[TorpX]

I don't speak German, but the period newspaper screens look good.

Very appropriate, I think.

[Sailor Steve]

Oh, yeah, it looks awsome! :rock:

The papers remind me of Aces Of The Deep. Once it's released we need someone to do a WW2 version, make these games what they should have been from the start. :sunny:

[Admiral Halsey]

So will these be what shows up for the death and end patrols screens? As for the name I suggest going for any defunct German newspapers that were operating during WW1.

[whmsju84]

I don't speak German, but the period newspaper screens look good.

Very appropriate, I think.
I had six years of German in high school and college and believe that the name of the paper should be "Das Vaterland." The word "Land" is neuter, which controls, which means that the article should be the neuter "das," not the feminine, "die."

[Aktungbby]

whmsju84! after a six year silent run! :Kaleun_Salute:

[von Marr]

I have been sub sim gaming for years but have just come across the mods for WWI sub combat. Is there an actual download for the Wolves of the Kaiser mod yet or am I just missing it?

Thanks
Von Marr

[Jimbuna]

Hasn't been released yet, still a WIP (work in progress).

Welcome to SubSim :sunny:

[iambecomelife]

OK: TIME FOR A GUESSING GAME !!!!! :rotfl2::rotfl2:

I'm trying to step up ship production: here are some screenshots of what was probably the most hated merchantman in 1914; she was portrayed as the "bad guy" (girl?) in one of the greatest maritime tragedies of all time. However, recent research has shown that she may not have been to blame for the disaster.

She survived this incident and resumed trading, only to be torpedoed and sunk off Fastnet Rock in 1917. Who is this mystery ship??? A tip of the Kaleun's hat to whoever is the first to guess the name of this "villainess"!

Overall, the model is fairly low-poly. More details will be added soon. I modified her from her original plans slightly, with longer derricks and an enclosed lower bridge - a feasible modification that may have been done prior to her loss.

Basically, this will be a stand-in for the "Medium Freighter" you would see in games like "Aces of the Deep". It's easily customizable with different funnels, deck houses, and mast arrangements.

Note the U-87 and human figure for scale purposes.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Kgirl3.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Kgirl1.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Kgirl4.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Kgirl2.jpg~original

Thanks for the comments on German grammar! I made sure to save the paper as an adobe .psd file, so it is easy to edit.

That way, I can also add miscellaneous news & propaganda to different newspaper headings.

[Jeff-Groves]

Is that the Storstad?

[iambecomelife]

Is that the Storstad?

You guys can't be fooled! :D

Didn't expect anyone to guess the identity this soon - lol.

[Admiral Halsey]

Oh cool. I'll finally get to see what a reverse-slanting prow looks like. Also any guess as to when you'll start modeling the queens of the ocean?

[iambecomelife]

Oh cool. I'll finally get to see what a reverse-slanting prow looks like. Also any guess as to when you'll start modeling the queens of the ocean?

Unfortunately it may be some time. I will be buying some more books specially for the purpose - there's a nice new series on the famous White Star and Cunard liners that I want. The online research phase for one major ocean liner has already begun (which one? It will be a surprise).

One issue is that I feel like some earlier ships I've posted are poor quality, in my opinion, and should not be in the mod. The following ship models I designed earlier will definitely be replaced:

-SMS Moltke Battlecruiser
-SMS Helgoland Battleship
-HMS Orion Battleship
-SS Sandalwood Light Merchant

The following ship models are likely to be replaced:

-Multiple British destroyer classes (Beagle Class, "M" Class, etc)

-HMS Invincible Battlecruiser

I want to revise these ships with higher polys and a new modeling technique: starting out with a cube, slicing it in half, and segmenting it into vertical sections. It gives much better results than my old technique of starting out with a cylinder.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

I use the same approach for my hulls i think you will find it easier to make the compound curves in ships of this era with the rectangular shape start. Good luck with it all.

all is looking good

happy new year to all shipmates.

[Aktungbby]

von Marr! :Kaleun_Salute:

[ReallyDedPoet]

Welcome von Marr to SUBSIM :sunny:

[Admiral Halsey]

he online research phase for one major ocean liner has already begun (which one? It will be a surprise).

I'm going to say its one of the German 3 funnel liners. Most likely the Imperator.

[iambecomelife]

I just found a picture of a model of the "Storstad" that's kept at the museum in Pointe-au-Père ...

http://www.wallyzone.net/webalbumv2/images/Lieux/PointeAuPereMuseeMer24072003/1024/012_Pointe_Au_Pere_Musee_Mer_Maquette_Storstad.jpg

Interestingly, there are several differences in appearance between the model and the set of plans I have for her... for instance, the big ventilation ducts extend all the way from the deck on "Storstad's" plans...on the model, they extend from the funnel casing. Also, the forward superstructure is shorter on the model than on the plans. Oh well; I guess I will have to use artistic license. If anyone can come up with good photos of the ship, please let me know. Would love additional pictures of the model from any Canadian fans (if it's not too out of your way).

BTW, look for an "Orion" rebuild soon...the original model was mediocre at best.

[Jeff-Groves]

The 1914 photo on Wiki shows a good shot of the side of the Storstad.
I believe you mean the ducts just in front of the funnel correct?

And a question....
Any plans to do the Proteus-class colliers?

[Add man]

The 1914 photo on Wiki shows a good shot of the side of the Storstad.

just in case you were too busy to look up that image! :cool:

http://i2.wp.com/moocs.southampton.ac.uk/shipwrecks/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2014/08/Storstad_Montreal_1914.jpg

(Though you've probably looked it up already)

[Admiral Halsey]

Isn't that her after she was damaged in the collision with the Empress? The bow seems to indicate that at least.

[Add man]

this was more so for a silhouette shot, really

but to answer your question, yeah, this was after the collision with the Empress of Ireland

[Admiral Halsey]

this was more so for a silhouette shot, really

but to answer your question, yeah, this was after the collision with the Empress of Ireland

I knew what you were posting it for. I just couldn't tell whether or not it was after the collision which is why I asked.

[Char]

I see we're coming along fine. I remember you saying a while back you hoped to get this running in some form by May 15th of this year. Wondering if you're still even close to that goal? Not that I would care if it wasn't, just wondering :salute:

[Admiral Halsey]

I see we're coming along fine. I remember you saying a while back you hoped to get this running in some form by May 15th of this year. Wondering if you're still even close to that goal? Not that I would care if it wasn't, just wondering :salute:

Doubt we'll get a full version but maybe an alpha?

[ReallyDedPoet]

It will be worth the wait I'm sure.

[iambecomelife]

Regarding colliers for the mod, I am not sure if "USS Cyclops" and sisters will be included. Interestingly, I found a European design slightly similar to the "Cyclops" but smaller (less than 5,000 tons). These ships were used to carry bulk grain, and will probably be included.

Thanks for the "Storstad" picture. Changes were made to the ventilators on my 3d model.

I see we're coming along fine. I remember you saying a while back you hoped to get this running in some form by May 15th of this year. Wondering if you're still even close to that goal? Not that I would care if it wasn't, just wondering :salute:

Sadly, the May 15th deadline is ... well ... dead. This is really a labor of love, done in between two jobs (my "official" job and a small business), and other hobbies.

However, rest assured things are indeed coming along nicely, as screenshots this weekend will show. I am as committed and as excited as when I started the project. There's so much in my head...it's just a matter of committing ideas to the SH4 platform. :sunny:

Again, new screenshots this weekend.

[Buddahaid]

Looking forward to those screen shots. :up:

[iambecomelife]

Got sick but I'm recovering....more battleship work! :sunny: Still learning the ropes,
but I feel happier with this version than the model I posted a couple years ago.

No ship's boats, casemates, rigging, or deck fixtures yet. I want to provide
more realistic boats/steam launches especially...there are good sources
for HMS "Dreadnought" out there, and I doubt the boats used on later battleships
were radically different from hers.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Thun03.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Thun01.jpg~original

But wait...there's more! As stated earlier, I wanted to make visual damage to ships more interesting.
Hit an ammo bunker and you may get to see some "battleship guts"...lol.
Not entirely ahistorical, because when "Queen Mary" exploded witnesses
noticed entire turret roofs flying in the air. Note the Shell Bins, wheels,
breechblocks, firing chamber, and other gear. Sighting hoods will be mounted in
the final variant.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Turret01.jpg~original

The 13.5" turret interior is based on drawings of the "Dreadnought" and her 12" because I do not have a 13.5" interior source for this ship class.
The turret details are EXTREMELY incomplete but I'm pleasantly surprised at how low poly the detail is...so less strain on your systems. Final version
will have men at work..does anyone know how many men would have been stationed in a turret? The figures I have seen include
men working in the barbettes, magazine, etc, and of course that's too many.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/sh42014-10-1218-15-22-44.png~original

An alternate atmosphere, plus land textures. I still want to tone down the bright blue, although it looks nice. The sea includes my work plus other modders'
updates which will only appear in the final version if permission's granted...just a warning. Any thoughts about which ocean versions you like?

[Admiral Halsey]

I love the fact you're adding 3D damage to your models. Seems to be the one thing no one ever has done when making new ships for the game.

[iambecomelife]

More progress on this model - I finally broke down and attempted a decent looking anchor for the ship.

Railings, chains, more superstructure, and deck fixtures have been added among other things. Didn't have time to do boats and rigging yet.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-4-30.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-7-24.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-8-22.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/starfish.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-9-23.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-10-18.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/anchor.jpg~original

[iambecomelife]

The old version of this model, from 2009, by way of comparison...
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/WIP4.jpg~original

[Admiral Halsey]

Looking better but can't really tell without textures on it. Does look a lot smoother though on the edges for sure.

[iambecomelife]

Looking better but can't really tell without textures on it. Does look a lot smoother though on the edges for sure.

The old model was basically the King George V World War II battleship model from Silent Hunter 3 with a few changes. You can tell that the funnel size and superstructure details are incorrect. This new model was made completely from scratch, using plans for the "Orion/Monarch/Conqueror/Thunderer" and the best ship model pictures I could find on the internet.

http://www.modelshipgallery.com/gallery/bb/hms/thunderer-700-hk/thunderer-01.jpg

[avers]

Hey IABL, seeing at how good of a job you are doing with this mod, do you think you'll still be making mods when WOTK is done?

[iambecomelife]

I intend to keep making mods until my old bones give out!!!:D Actually, I'm Generation Y, so these bones are not really that old...haha!

Anything in particular you were thinking about? One possibility I've been kicking around since about 2008 was a "Kriegsmarine 1946" mod - where the war lasts several years longer - maybe with D-Day being a failure, or the Ardennes offensive turning into a huge German success. There would be widespread use of new technology like Type XXI's, Type XXIII's, Me-262's, Go-229's, and so on. On the Allied side, naval vessels like the "Montana" battleships, HMS "Vanguard", and for submarines maybe the "Tang" class boats (1949 - not the "Tang" that was sunk). Or maybe an armed version of the "Albacore" class. Allied aircraft would be planes like the Gloster Meteor, P-80, B-29, and maybe F-86.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Uss_albacore.jpg

[iambecomelife]

I started building boats for the battleships - first is this 45 foot Steam Pinnace. It will be available as both a shipborne craft and an independent unit.
Historically, they were armed with machine guns,
cannon, and even torpedoes...nasty little pests. Keep in mind that your deck crew will be
MUCH more vulnerable to small arms than in standard SH3 and SH4.


http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/lancha-proto.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Parallel.jpg~original

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/lancha1.jpg~original

[avers]

I intend to keep making mods until my old bones give out!!!:D Actually, I'm Generation Y, so these bones are not really that old...haha!

Anything in particular you were thinking about? One possibility I've been kicking around since about 2008 was a "Kriegsmarine 1946" mod - where the war lasts several years longer - maybe with D-Day being a failure, or the Ardennes offensive turning into a huge German success. There would be widespread use of new technology like Type XXI's, Type XXIII's, Me-262's, Go-229's, and so on. On the Allied side, naval vessels like the "Montana" battleships, HMS "Vanguard", and for submarines maybe the "Tang" class boats (1949 - not the "Tang" that was sunk). Or maybe an armed version of the "Albacore" class. Allied aircraft would be planes like the Gloster Meteor, P-80, B-29, and maybe F-86.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Uss_albacore.jpg

I was thinking more mods for SH4, WW2, the pacific war. Even though Ducimus with TMO, RFB team with RFB, as well as valoda (sorry if I mispelled your name) with FOTRS (as well as lurker with RSRDC) have done a great job, I still find bugs and Ive been thinking of some cool things to put into SH4. So what do u think IABL?

[Sailor Steve]

I started building boats for the battleships - first is this 45 foot Steam Pinnace. It will be available as both a shipborne craft and an independent unit.
Historically, they were armed with machine guns,
cannon, and even torpedoes...nasty little pests. Keep in mind that your deck crew will be MUCH more vulnerable to small arms than in standard SH3 and SH4.

Cool! I've long wished that the MFM contained more tiny coastal freighters and tankers, and this looks to fulfil that lust for me.

One word on them, though. The pre-war battleships carried three different boats with two smaller 14" torpedoes each, but their main purpose was to patrol when the ship was anchored in a foreign port, just in case. They were never deployed at sea, at least as far as I know.

[Admiral Halsey]

Snip

Would love to see that. Though before doing that could you make a bug fix mod for Operation Monsun? Namely the two chief bugs I have with it which are the conning tower bug and the fact if you start as a Type IX from the beginning of the war you never get an upgrade.

[iambecomelife]

TBH I have been pretty satisfied with the Pacific mega-mods as they are, so I don't think I will be doing much repair work to iron out bugs. I have plans for the Atlantic theatre, but I'm not sure what, if anything, will come of them. My hope is that in the next several years someone will develop a naval platform that's extremely moddable, allowing me to abandon use of the Silent Hunter series for my work.

My immediate hope after WOTK would be something else for the WWI timeframe utilizing SH4, which will be kept under wraps for now. Once again, it's hard to tell what the future holds, and I don't want to make promises - WOTK is a huge commitment as it is.

[iambecomelife]

Cool! I've long wished that the MFM contained more tiny coastal freighters and tankers, and this looks to fulfil that lust for me.

One word on them, though. The pre-war battleships carried three different boats with two smaller 14" torpedoes each, but their main purpose was to patrol when the ship was anchored in a foreign port, just in case. They were never deployed at sea, at least as far as I know.

Thanks for the tip. I will be PM'ing you soon, Steve.

I will probably have these as coastal craft around major bases,
and not on the high seas...encountering them in mid-Atlantic would
indeed be weird.

[avers]

My hope is that in the next several years someone will develop a naval platform that's extremely moddable.

You and me both.

[Hitman]

TBH I have been pretty satisfied with the Pacific mega-mods as they are, so I don't think I will be doing much repair work to iron out bugs

What it really need is the merchant fleet expansion, something tater and sergei started but shelved :wah:

But since many of the Marus were ex-WW1 ships from other nations, I guess many of the merchants you create for WOTK can be easily updated to WW2 japanese fleet style (Gun platforms, radio masts) and released as a merchant fleet expansion for SH4 :)

[manfas]

I've just discovered this thread. This mod is amazing! I always dream of WWI sub sim based on SH3 or SH4. Will the Mediterranean campaign be included or only North Sea and Atlantic?

[ReallyDedPoet]

Welcome to SUBSIM manfas :sunny:

And yes this is a great thread-project :yep:

[pezo89]

Hi,
where can i get this mod? :S

[ReallyDedPoet]

It has not been released yet. Welcome to SUBSIM by the way :-)

[Jimbuna]

I've just discovered this thread. This mod is amazing! I always dream of WWI sub sim based on SH3 or SH4. Will the Mediterranean campaign be included or only North Sea and Atlantic?

Hi,
where can i get this mod? :S

Welcome to SubSim :sunny:

[iambecomelife]

You and me both.

I was hoping that the new naval sim "Naval Action" would support inclusion of more modern ships. Unfortunately, I read the forums and they seem pretty adamant about making it an age of sail only sim. The big question, I guess, will be if it is possible to mod in new 3d objects, damage effects, and rotating turrets for that game.

Re: the Mediterranean - the Mediterranean will be included in the initial release of WOTK.

Now that the HMS "Orion" rebuild is nearing completion, I will be going over more older models that I'm not satisfied with. I don't like my earlier version of HMS "Bellerophon" and HMS "Hercules", so they will be revised or eliminated from the mod. I also want to test my prize warfare idea soon - that should happen this weekend. Stay tuned.

[leadtail]

Re: the Mediterranean - the Mediterranean will be included in the initial release of WOTK.


Would you like my Bisson DD and the Curie models and files?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v225/leadtail/SHIII/Bisson03.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/leadtail/media/SHIII/Bisson03.jpg.html)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v225/leadtail/SHIII/SH4Img2012-04-13_225616_677.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/leadtail/media/SHIII/SH4Img2012-04-13_225616_677.jpg.html)

[chrysanthos]

indeed nice work looks promising:up:

[iambecomelife]

Thank you; French models would be much appreciated. Please PM me the link.

[avers]

Hey IABL,one question out of curiosity, why did u chose SH4 as the game to mod and not SH3?

[RuDamP]

Sorry, I'm new to the forum, when the release or beta version ??:yeah:

[Jeff-Groves]

Hey IABL,one question out of curiosity, why did u chose SH4 as the game to mod and not SH3?
I think Sh4 has the most potential for outstanding New mods.
The visuals are killer if everything is done right.

[Sailor Steve]

Sorry, I'm new to the forum, when the release or beta version ??:yeah:
When it's done. :sunny:

[leadtail]

Thank you; French models would be much appreciated. Please PM me the link.

PM sent. I also have a model of the Battleship Courbet.

[captziggy]

I really like the mod.It would be a great expansion to SH4.

[iambecomelife]

I think Sh4 has the most potential for outstanding New mods.
The visuals are killer if everything is done right.

That's the main reason. SH4 also offers several unique advantages:

-More realistic crewmember appearance
-Destructible shore targets (still working on this for SH3)
-Torpedo-carrying AI units
-Higher resolution ship textures

To the newcomers, this mod has NOT been released - not a beta, nothing. There is nothing available for download. If any of you have experience with 3d modeling or texturing I'd be happy to have you on board, but otherwise there are no files from WOTK for you to access - until I release it.

Thanks for your models, Leadtail - I will be checking them out this weekend.

Sailor Steve, you have a PM.

[Hitman]

Speaking of 3d stuff, I placed here the models I kitbashed for the defunct JMFM mod:

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/9mt1aqnu21x9l/SH4_Models

Maybe some of it is of interest to you IABL, because IIRC those were old WW1 ships bought by the japanese after the war ended.

I also opened a thread in the main forum so that anyone interested in them for PTO can get them.

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?p=2287564#post2287564

[Jeff-Groves]

I haven't forgotten the images Mate. I just got home from a big job.
:nope:

[raymond6751]

I really like the mod.It would be a great expansion to SH4.


Will be.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Yes at this point, SH4 is our best version for a complex mod such as this..tho SH3 remains very good as well with the right environmental mods.

great to see the progress is continuing here.

[iambecomelife]

Speaking of 3d stuff, I placed here the models I kitbashed for the defunct JMFM mod:

https://www.mediafire.com/folder/9mt1aqnu21x9l/SH4_Models

Maybe some of it is of interest to you IABL, because IIRC those were old WW1 ships bought by the japanese after the war ended.

I also opened a thread in the main forum so that anyone interested in them for PTO can get them.

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?p=2287564#post2287564

Thanks; the models will be appreciated. Adm Von Gerlach, check your PM.

In other news, Sailor Steve generously provided a list of common maritime patrol planes and seaplanes - I have spent some time tracking down profile images of them, starting with the Central Powers faction's aircraft. Quite a project in and of itself.