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

[iambecomelife]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RhUYvGSGwQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HKpmiA38h4&t=3s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHb3u1F7KSk


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Autumn 1914. Europe is in turmoil; idealism and glory are dying with the Continent's youth in the trenches. Your nation is in the grips of its enemies' deadly blockade. Desperate for victory, Imperial Germany's Navy has turned to a barely tested mode of warfare to counter the Grand Fleet's might. Likewise, a public weary of slaughter in the trenches looks to its undersea pioneers for tales of gallantry.

Lead your submarine and crew against the might of Britain's Grand Fleet. Stalk enemy battlecruisers and pre-dreadnoughts as they sail into your crosshairs. Scout out "Neutral" freighters carrying contraband using an all-new Prize Warfare system. Blast holes in enemy craft from a distance with torpedoes or close in for the kill with small arms, shells, flares, and explosive charges. Cringe as explosions send shells, wood, men, and metal hurtling towards your conning tower. As the conflict drags on, war weariness sets in and more nations turn against the Kaiser. Sonar, depth charges, mine barrages, and the infamous Q-Ships make war at sea the same nightmarish struggle found on land and in the air. The last embers of prewar chivalry flicker and die; desperation to survive is paramount. Will you survive the "War to End All Wars?" Or will a cold steel hull be your only tomb?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


CORE FEATURES

-Choose from at least six main WWI U-Boat types, with more to come.

-A complete campaign from 1914-1918. Start at multiple points in the war. Single missions, both generic and historical.

-Authentic WWI weapons ***8211; torpedoes modified to be identical to historical counterparts. Use high calibre deck guns, flares, and explosives charges in attacks on the surface.

-Prize warfare rules for attacks on merchants. Neutral and enemy ships may choose to respond to your presence and reveal their shipping manifests. Examine cargo & itineraries to determine if a ship may be sunk. Renown penalties early in the war for sinking ships without contraband or ships sailing to neutral destinations.

-Both ballasted and loaded variants of the same merchant ships.

-Supply, sabotage, and rescue missions add to the variety of your patrols.

-Warfare spanning the North Sea, Channel, Arctic, and North Atlantic Approaches (Mediterranean & US Theatres in future expansion packs)

-Unique shipping routes & patrol routes for vessels. Grand Fleet battleships will sally out from their bases for target practice. Early in the war, cruisers & gunboats will be used as patrol ships in the Channel & North Sea. Troop convoys, groups of trawlers, and lone merchants will be present, and cargo manifests will correspond to the location a ship has sailed from.

-Historical upgrades & revisions to your U-Boat. Get larger & better craft as your reputation improves.

-Historically Correct uniforms for officers and crew.

-Win medals & awards for your feats of daring. Get unique items from your superior officer or the Kaiser himself. A ***8220;swapping out***8221; system to get around the 8-medal limitation of SH4.

-Improved allied countermeasures overtime. Depth charges, sonar, bomb throwers, increased convoying, aircraft patrols, and, of course, Q-Ships in a variety of sizes and configurations.

-Entente submarines and escorts with working torpedoes.

-Supporting raids by German cruisers, submarines, and commerce raiders.

-Historical tonnage totals by famous captains, including Schweiger, Rose, and Valentiner.

-Neutrals that may or may not be carrying contraband. Choose to risk closing with a enemy merchant to ID it, or attack without warning/inspection and risk a renown hit when you get back to base.

-Models of famous U-Boat victims, including "HMS Pathfinder", "Aboukir", "Cressey", "Hogue", "Drake", etc.

-Hospital Ships, refugee ships, Belgian Relief Commission steamers, and other protected craft.


-Dozens of different merchants, from 12,000 ton tankers to sailing ships to coastal launches. Hundreds of new skins representing major combatants and neutral countries. New, more detailed cargo ship models ***8211; the Merchant Fleet Mod ships will not be used. Appropriate changes to ships over time. Merchants will gain camouflage schemes, dazzle paint, armed guard contingents, extra lookouts, and weaponry.

-Vast minefields in the channel. Mines may be partially marked on your maps depending on intelligence information. Mine barrages with multiple mines linked together. Antisub nets, obstacles, blockships, and hydrophone stations add to the hazard. No more "turkey shoot" harbor raids.

-For the first time, ship names painted on the hull. Neutrality hull flags, lettering, and home ports. Historically accurate funnel colors depending on vessel nationality.

-New port buildings & bases. High-res terrain tiles based on Google Earth photos.

-Historical differences in weaponry. British armour-piercing shells will do less damage than German ones. British torpedoes will have a higher dud rate.

-Signal flags, rockets, and semaphore men on merchants & warships.

-Diverse passengers and crew on board ships. Observe them to help decide if a ship is a legitimate target.

-Better maritime ambience. Lightships, lifeboat stations, new lighthouse models, shoals, and reefs. Marine life, including fish, whales, & sharks. Debris in harbor and flotsam from sunken merchants.

-More lifeboats, rafts, and survivors following sinkings. Groups of survivors & wreckage randomly spawned in midocean.

-Period aircraft, including torpedo planes and zeppelins. Scouting reports from friendly airships.

-New interface screens, menus, and music to reflect a WWI ambience.


POSSIBLE FEATURES


-British campaign for the North Sea & Atlantic region

-Limited surface warfare, including Pacific operations circa 1914


-Austro-Hungarian campaign with appropriate medals, ranks, & uniforms

-German campaign off the US coast & in the Dardanelles


-Major warships from France, the US, & possibly other smaller navies

-Shore bombardment missions, with destructible buildings

-Troop columns, trains, barracks, and other objects ashore

-Internal cargo nodes on merchant ships; cargo & passengers will be visible if a vessel breaks up or if its cargo hold is damaged.

-Unique items for the interior of your craft. For instance, a photo of the Kaiser, the ensign from a sunken merchant ship, etc.



[IMG]https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/picture.php?albumid=1311&pictureid=11321

[iambecomelife]

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FAQ:

1) What's the release date?

Really. You should know better than to ask something like that.

2) How large is your mod team?

We have about 3-4 core members, with several subsimmers offering assistance.

3) How do you expect to accomplish this?

Note that this is a modding project that encompasses work for another major game; I've had a bit of a head start with the work. Plus I have a large amount of research materials & ship models from the Merchant Fleet Mod and prior work. Additionally, this will be completed in installments; warfare off the European coast will have top priority. Additional nations, etc may or may not be included depending on where we need to concentrate.

4) May I join?

Sure; please contact me and BE HONEST ABOUT HOW MUCH TIME YOU CAN DEVOTE. Also please be prepared to contribute work of reasonable quality/accuracy.

5) What are the system requirements?

Ideally your system should exceed stock SHIV requirements, due to the more detailed vessel models and higher resolution textures. Precise reqs are not available yet.

6) Will [insert my favorite unit] be included?

Not sure. Although we appreciate unique vessels, more common ships from major navies will have top priority. If you want a unit included, PLEASE help us out, whether it involves modeling or research.

7) What does this mean for the Merchant Fleet Mod?

The MFM will serve as a basis for shipping in this mod. Another modder has volunteered to continue to work on it (although I will also still be involved). As stated above, the MFM ships themselves will not be included; they are being replaced by more detailed models. I am attempting to have a smaller number of base models, used in conjunction with the node system to add variety. Early results seem promising.

8) What do you need right now?

MODELING NEEDS

-Assistance with submarines and surface vessels; I can do the merchant shipping and some of the warships.
-Help making playable submarines, especially animated parts, deleting torpedo tubes & torpedo firing buttons in the interface, etc.
-Help making smoke floats, small arms, & flares.

PRIMARY RESEARCH NEEDS

-WWI flotilla organization (very important)
-Ranks on board typical submarines (how many officers? Enlisted men?)
-Photos/maps of Allied & Central Powers ports
-Photos of naval explosive charges
-Historical changes to minefields between 1914-1918
-Positions of lightships & lighthouses
-Closeup shots of light naval weapons (12 pounder, etc.)
-Photos of British airships
-Photos of German naval uniforms & decorations. Research on different decorations amongst regions in Germany.
-Close-up shots of sub conning towers
-More profile drawings of subs, especially with below waterline view

[iambecomelife]

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[iambecomelife]

GERMAN SURFACE UNITS: PART I

German battlecruiser "Moltke". Together with her sister "Goeben" she presented a major threat to British shipping at the outbreak of the war. Modern-day historians generally agree that she & the other German BC's were superior to their Royal Navy counterparts in terms of armor, underwater protection, & gunnery. These images show the model's parts together in Wings3d; the subcomponents will be imported individually.









German battleship "Helgoland". The "Helgoland" and her sisters mounted 12 12" guns in a distinctive diamond-shaped layout. They were easily identifiable due to their three funnels. Later battleships tended to have superfiring turrets instead of "wing" turrets, which reduced the available broadside. At "Jutland" several ships of this class destroyed HMS "Black Prince" during the night action after she blundered into the High Seas Fleet battle line. All four members of the class survived the war; "Ostfriesland" was destroyed off the US coast postwar as a target for land-based bombers.

[Carotio]

Sounds like a lot of work...
Good luck with that project :salute:

But basically, this is an ATO mod, being that the Imperial Uboats operated in Atlantic/Mediterrenean only... and should be in the ATO forum, no...? :03:

[iambecomelife]

BRITISH SURFACE UNITS: PART I

WIP of an "Orion" class battleship. This model is somewhat less detailed and some parts may be replaced prior to release. The hull was taken from SH3's "King George V" battleship.



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[URL="http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/report.php?p=2281039"] (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=156161) http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/smartdark/progress.gif http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/smartdark/edit.gif (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/editpost.php?do=editpost&p=2281039) http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/smartdark/quote.gif (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=2281039) http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/smartdark/multiquote_off.gif (http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=2281039)








"Invincible" Class battlecruiser. This was one of the first models made for the project; it will be replaced with a more detailed version later.





Obj file for "HMS Cressy", one of three sister ships sunk by U-9 in one morning at the outbreak of the war.







Model of the "HMS Defence", sunk by German battlecruisers at Jutland in 1916.

[iambecomelife]

RESERVED

[cgjimeneza]

this sounds interesting to say the least

and with my new PC finally up, I have the horsepower and space for a few more SH4 installs

mucha suerte con el proyecto (good luck with the project!):woot:

[ETR3(SS)]

Good to see people still coming up with modding ideas for this old broad (SH4) still! I wish you luck with this mod. :salute:

[dcb]

Very interesting idea, but looks like a huge amount of work will be needed to get this super-mod done. Good luck with your project!:up:

[cgjimeneza]

Good to see people still coming up with modding ideas for this old broad (SH4) still! I wish you luck with this mod. :salute:

Hey, she's a fine lady, the best there is LOL!!!!, :yeah:

[miner1436]

Can't wait.:yeah:

[Hitman]

Now this is looking really great :D

I hope that you go step by step and do not have a too ambitious schedule that ends up ruining the project. I have waited too long for such a project to see it now die due to overload :shifty:

IABL, you can contact Horsa for some very nice models of german and british BBs, he can tell you who is the author and if permissions are required. :salute:

I am able to provide you with very interesting details about german torpedo shooting and tactics, as well as about how they constructed the firing solutions etc.

I'll try to put together a folder with material for you this week and send it.

Cheers

[iambecomelife]

Sounds like a lot of work...
Good luck with that project :salute:

But basically, this is an ATO mod, being that the Imperial Uboats operated in Atlantic/Mediterrenean only... and should be in the ATO forum, no...? :03:

Well, there's the potential for a PTO surface warfare component so it's sort of in the right place ... plus, this forum seems to have more traffic. :D

And thanks for the offer, Hitman.

[iambecomelife]

WIP pictures of a small British merchantman. It was created using the NKSQ from SH3. Hull text is symmetrical, so you won't see any backwards lettering. The damage model is being tested in a simple mission, with an American S Class sub standing in for the Germans. So far, so good...

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Sandal1.jpg

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[keltos01]

and don't forget there could be a US campaign in their operation zone southeast of Ireland too, so I think this is the right forum too, and yes, more traffic.

nice work on the Sandalwood.

keltos

[ivank]

I like!
Maybe, and just maybe, when TSWSM v1 and v2 is released, we can help you expand this mod into a version of TSWSM!?!:D

[DarkFish]

looks great:D
If I hadn't become a student lately I'd have been happy to help you, but I'm a little short on time ATM...

[Webster]

sounds like a great project :up: looks nice

im sure you will be able to get all the help you need because modders always love challenges like this.

[AVGWarhawk]

I have alway wanted a WW1 sim for the boats in the UBI engine. This looks very very cool gents. I look foward to the release. :D

[Carotio]

Well, there's the potential for a PTO surface warfare component so it's sort of in the right place ... plus, this forum seems to have more traffic. :D

I guess you're right. I missed the part of surface warfaring and Pacific missions.
And yeah, more traffic in this part... :D

And I do look forward to some WW1 action too for a change....

[Sledgehammer427]

boy oh boy, if 3d modeling programs could talk, mine would be throwing a fit...:D
started work on the U-1, not much to show that's worth a screenshot

[Bubblehead1980]

Well I never found myself wanting to try WW I U boats but now I do..lol.Good luck guys, can't wait to give it a run.

[iambecomelife]

boy oh boy, if 3d modeling programs could talk, mine would be throwing a fit...:D
started work on the U-1, not much to show that's worth a screenshot

Good to hear, but is there any chance of adapting the model for the U-19, U-35, and other more modern boats? We really need to start work on their exteriors. Don't take this the wrong way, but as Deamon pointed out the U-1 saw little service.

FYI I will be drawing up a more detailed "plan of action" so that the work's a little less haphazard. Expect to receive it by PM soon.

[Task Force]

This looks very good IABL & crew.:up:

[iambecomelife]

I just found a nice (but tragic) clip on Youtube commemorating the "Lusitania" sinking. I might like to use something similar to replace the starting menu movie. After all, a bunch of swarthy American sailors will look a little bit out of place in a WWI mod. :hmmm:

Oh, and one quibble - in the movie at 1:00 it looks like U-20 has two torpedo tubes on her starboard side, implying a total of 4. My sources indicate she had only two forward TT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN95z_ZkT2c&feature=related

[linerkiller]

I just found a nice (but tragic) clip on Youtube commemorating the "Lusitania" sinking. I might like to use something similar to replace the starting menu movie. After all, a bunch of swarthy American sailors will look a little bit out of place in a WWI mod. :hmmm:

Oh, and one quibble - in the movie at 1:00 it looks like U-20 has two torpedo tubes on her starboard side, implying a total of 4. My sources indicate she had only two forward TT.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wN95z_ZkT2c&feature=related
Iam...probably you have already noticed that the underwater scenes are taken from U-571 and the u-boot depicted is nothing more than a VIIC. If you want a good ww1 U-boat reproduction search into youtube for the movie Britannic, ( fanta-historical movie based on the sinking of titanic's sistership in the first world war). The U-boat is very good, it seem to be the same class of Max Valentiner's U-39.

Congratulations for the idea of creating a ww1 mod...good luck!
lk

[GerritJ9]

I'll start scanning the relevant pages of "Geschichte des deutschen UBootbaus""..........

[iambecomelife]

I'll start scanning the relevant pages of "Geschichte des deutschen UBootbaus""..........

Thank you very much. Again, we really need scans of the middle-war U-Boats like U-19, U-35, and U-87 that were common & medium-sized. Very important for players who aren't interested in cruiser subs or tiny boats with two torpedoes.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

I hope this project indeed comes to be...are these surface ships actually working in the game yet?

and a small note about lusitania, it as indeed carrying a huge number of rounds of ammunition contrary to what the British said at the time, so it was indeed a legitimate target. Such is the sad state of truth in war.

[linerkiller]

I hope this project indeed comes to be...are these surface ships actually working in the game yet?

and a small note about lusitania, it as indeed carrying a huge number of rounds of ammunition contrary to what the British said at the time, so it was indeed a legitimate target. Such is the sad state of truth in war.
More than four millions rounds to be precise...enough to feed my lee enfield until 3000 a.c.:O:!

However, her sinking had been a very bad event, maybe the first pace towards 20Th century brutalities and aberrations.

[iambecomelife]

The small British merchant is the only one tested ingame so far. However, this is good news for all ships b/c it proves that very high resolution skins & scratch-built hulls are possible.

I'm not entirely satisfied with many of the older models, so they will be redone.

[Hitman]

and a small note about lusitania, it as indeed carrying a huge number of rounds of ammunition contrary to what the British said at the time, so it was indeed a legitimate target. Such is the sad state of truth in war.

Well yes it was a legitimate target BUT not for torpedoing without previously allowing crew and passengers to get safe. The only merchants that can be torpedoes without previous warning must meet two conditions: 1) Be from an enemy nation, and 2) Be armed (Normally with a deck gun)

Lusitania was a legitimate prey under the prize rules, but only after stopping and checking papers and cargo as well as saving crew and passengers.:hmmm:

[iambecomelife]

Keltos & Sledgehammer, let me know which medium boats you are working on apart from U-1. Once the models are finished we can begin to make some minor interior modifications, work on sub paint schemes, and really get the ball rolling with this thing.

[Sledgehammer427]

I need something to work on, gimme a class and I'll do my best:D

[GerritJ9]

Wish I could help........ but my modding skills are dreadful, I couldn't even get my "Clemson to IJN PB102" and "C&D (i.e. Admiralen) to IJN PB106" projects to work properly:wah:
All I can contribute is finding and scanning info....:damn:

[Rockin Robbins]

A great thread like this can live wherever it wants.:rock:Awesome! This alone shows why the drink coaster business model for simulations makes no sense whatever. By traditional computer game conception, SH4 is an ancient, obsolete drink coaster.

IABL, this project alone shows that SH4 is maybe an adolescent. It hasn't realized 30% of its potential, except for the fact that Ubi has to cut it off at the knees in order to make any more money in the submarine simulation genre.


Wonder if they did that for chess or poker? They've been playing baseball for a few years, why not just replace it with something new? It's old technology! Oh, you mean they actually have a sustainable business model? That makes no sense whatever! Nobody would pay to watch a baseball game and then have to just go home. Next time they want to watch they just have to pay again. What sense does that make?

This is a great project and will live on my hard drive right beside TMO and RFB installations. You, keltos and peabody and the whole family of modders reveal the underlying hidden greatness in Silent Hunter 4. Salute!:salute:

[ivank]

deep man, very deep

[iambecomelife]

I need something to work on, gimme a class and I'll do my best:D

High priority subs right now are:

U-19 Class (same class that sank "Lusitania")

http://uboat.net/wwi/types/images/u19.gif

http://uboat.net/wwi/types/index.html?type=U+19

U-31 Class (some of the most successful boats of all time)

http://uboat.net/wwi/types/images/u31.gif

http://uboat.net/wwi/types/index.html?type=U+31

U-66 Class (four bow & 1 stern torpedo tubes - roughly similar to a Type VII)

http://uboat.net/wwi/types/images/u66.gif

http://uboat.net/wwi/types/index.html?type=U+66

[iambecomelife]

A great thread like this can live wherever it wants.:rock:Awesome! This alone shows why the drink coaster business model for simulations makes no sense whatever. By traditional computer game conception, SH4 is an ancient, obsolete drink coaster.

IABL, this project alone shows that SH4 is maybe an adolescent. It hasn't realized 30% of its potential, except for the fact that Ubi has to cut it off at the knees in order to make any more money in the submarine simulation genre.


Wonder if they did that for chess or poker? They've been playing baseball for a few years, why not just replace it with something new? It's old technology! Oh, you mean they actually have a sustainable business model? That makes no sense whatever! Nobody would pay to watch a baseball game and then have to just go home. Next time they want to watch they just have to pay again. What sense does that make?

This is a great project and will live on my hard drive right beside TMO and RFB installations. You, keltos and peabody and the whole family of modders reveal the underlying hidden greatness in Silent Hunter 4. Salute!:salute:

Thank you for the kind words. I agree that devs need to pay more attention to:

1) Putting out a quality, non-rushed product the first time around

2) Providing sustained technical support

3) Engaging the mod community.

[Hitman]

You'll love this :D

A high res plan of the famous UB-III class:

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/6967/ub3s.th.jpg (http://img25.imageshack.us/i/ub3s.jpg/)

[Sailor Steve]

Looks pretty cool so far!:rock:

Modern-day historians generally agree that she & the other German BC's were superior to their Royal Navy counterparts in terms of armor, underwater protection, & gunnery.
That's putting it mildly. German sighting systems were better and let the gunnery officers get on target faster. The downside was that they required better attention and the sighting officer tired faster. British guns were every bit as good, but there were ongoing problems with the shells themselves. Armor? Even Tiger only had 9" on the main belt, while the Germans all had between 11.8" and 13.8". If by underwater protection you mean compartmentation, they were about equal. As for anti-torpedo protection, only the British had any, only on a couple of experimental installments, and only at the very end of the war.

I can get you the specifics if it helps. I don't know how that stuff works in the game.

[Bartolomeus]

This is a very interesting mod! Looks amazing so far.

[iambecomelife]

You'll love this :D

A high res plan of the famous UB-III class:

http://img25.imageshack.us/img25/6967/ub3s.th.jpg (http://img25.imageshack.us/i/ub3s.jpg/)

Excellent. Do you have any more?

As for battlecruisers, I would have hated to have sailed on one of the British ones. The loss of "HMS Hood" proved that not even late-model British BC's were properly protected. Aesthetically, however, they are among my favorite ships. As of this month I have collected lots of screenshots & diagrams for creating models of the "Lion" class and "Queen Mary" variant.

[horsa]

Well done for tackling this one, guys. :up::up::up:

SH4 is a splendid graphics platform.
IMHO you have wisely concentrated on the subs, which is what SH4 was designed for. :yeah:
The models you have showcased are mouth watering.

As a great fan of WW1, I will be following this one with great excitement and wish you every success. :rock:

[iambecomelife]

Looks pretty cool so far!:rock:


That's putting it mildly. German sighting systems were better and let the gunnery officers get on target faster. The downside was that they required better attention and the sighting officer tired faster. British guns were every bit as good, but there were ongoing problems with the shells themselves. Armor? Even Tiger only had 9" on the main belt, while the Germans all had between 11.8" and 13.8". If by underwater protection you mean compartmentation, they were about equal. As for anti-torpedo protection, only the British had any, only on a couple of experimental installments, and only at the very end of the war.

I can get you the specifics if it helps. I don't know how that stuff works in the game.

...And speaking of the "Tiger", she was such a MISFIT - lol. She was rushed into combat without being ready & her gunnery was notoriously bad. Plus many of her crew were ex-convicts, deserters, disciplinary cases, and other Royal Navy "toughs". Still, they (and the ship) fought bravely & came through Jutland in fairly good shape. :yep:

[keltos01]

passed a thousand views on this thread ! :yeah:

means people are interrested right ?? :hmmm:

keltos

[Sledgehammer427]

I would think so.
that, and the lack of sticky traffic leaves more to the forum viewers to look at more recent topics:O:

[sergei]

passed a thousand views on this thread ! :yeah:

means people are interrested right ?? :hmmm:

keltos

Oh hell yes!
This looks VERY interesting. Looking forward to it :up:

[Fluffysheap]

World War 1 is tremendously underrepresented and a great setting for a new mod. Sadly I cannot be of much use as I have no modeling skill and even less time. But, how will the Prize Rules be handled?

[iambecomelife]

World War 1 is tremendously underrepresented and a great setting for a new mod. Sadly I cannot be of much use as I have no modeling skill and even less time. But, how will the Prize Rules be handled?


This will be covered in a later post. Stay tuned.

[Rockin Robbins]

deep man, very deep
Yeah, deep, very deep and I forgot all about your contributions! My apologies to you and all the others I have left out in my accolades above. Go guys go!:yeah:

[iambecomelife]

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/MR6.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/MR1.jpg

An "M" Class British destroyer. There will be literally hundreds of these escorts patrolling the Channel and the North Sea - plus armed trawlers, drifters, gunboats, launches with machine guns, trawler/submarine decoy teams, and many other little nasties. :rotfl2:

[denis_469]

iambecomelife - may be you can made ships from WWI in variants for WWII in each time? For example during WWII in Turkish navy was ex-kaiser navy battlecruiser "Goeben", in british and other navyes was many destroyers from WWI. For example british detroyers "S" class.

[AVGWarhawk]

passed a thousand views on this thread ! :yeah:

means people are interrested right ?? :hmmm:

keltos


Oh no, they are just bored as hell. Hell yeah this mod could fly very well. From what I have seen already the work is excellent. As Hitman said..'mouth watering.' I believe you have the making of a major hit here. :up::yep:

[iambecomelife]

iambecomelife - may be you can made ships from WWI in variants for WWII in each time? For example during WWII in Turkish navy was ex-kaiser navy battlecruiser "Goeben", in british and other navyes was many destroyers from WWI. For example british detroyers "S" class.

Maybe later, but for now I am trying to get all of the ships in their WWI configurations.

FYI I have made some changes to the british merchantman - now, most of the human figures are independent destructible objects. In other words, they can be killed or injured by gunfire. I still need appropriate damage effects for them, b/c whenever they are damaged they simply catch fire, like wood & metal objects.

Am also working on placement of minefields - I had a little trouble at first but it's going better now. Sank three of the "Sandalwood" type freighters by directing them into a minefield - unfortunately, just one lifeboat was observed. ;)

The default SH4 mines will be used as templates for wooden antisubmarine obstacles, hydrophone posts, electrically triggered barrages, and other weapons.

[AVGWarhawk]

Getting more interesting with each post! :yep:

[denis_469]

Maybe later, but for now I am trying to get all of the ships in their WWI configurations.

FYI I have made some changes to the british merchantman - now, most of the human figures are independent destructible objects. In other words, they can be killed or injured by gunfire. I still need appropriate damage effects for them, b/c whenever they are damaged they simply catch fire, like wood & metal objects.

Am also working on placement of minefields - I had a little trouble at first but it's going better now. Sank three of the "Sandalwood" type freighters by directing them into a minefield - unfortunately, just one lifeboat was observed. ;)

The default SH4 mines will be used as templates for wooden antisubmarine obstacles, hydrophone posts, electrically triggered barrages, and other weapons.

Not bad! Not wait it's total. It's very hard. I himself for war Elite v.3.0 try made bottom sonar posts, but not can. So if you can... I hope that you can.

[iambecomelife]

The British engines - aft merchantman is going to be released in advance. It is almost ready for beta testing; please let me know if you are interested.

[Sledgehammer427]

Started on U-19 ditching U-1. no loss, I got a better idea with modeling the U-boats, and it is turning out very well :up:

[Hitman]

@IABL: Sent you a PM with information some days ago, but haven't any reply. Plese just confirm reception, in case I have to re-send it, thanks :up:

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Wow. I am very impresed and happy to see this work underway. I have studied, and gamed WWI era for over 35 years, and had family in the Imperial High Seas Fleet, and some family papers remain. Also i have been working to help continue the Iron Seas Project for DC and we have a number of ships made, tho none to the detail that is possible in SHIV. This is a noble effort and i highly support it. I can help with history and data on ships if useful. My grandfather's first command was a four piper American DD, and he knew some of the submarine history from back then, even saw some captured prize german U Boats and I had photos, but not sure if i can lay hands on them now. I just wanted to thank all working on this and will keep an eye on developments and am cheering you on. I also have 3D Max and can help with conversions if the process is worked out.

Salute

PS and yes my earlier posts about the tragic loss of the Lusitania ...she was indeed sunk without warning which should have been given under prize rules. Many U boat skippers were very honourable about that...and some were not sadly. I am glad we can choose in the sim which to be.

[iambecomelife]

Wow. I am very impresed and happy to see this work underway. I have studied, and gamed WWI era for over 35 years, and had family in the Imperial High Seas Fleet, and some family papers remain. Also i have been working to help continue the Iron Seas Project for DC and we have a number of ships made, tho none to the detail that is possible in SHIV. This is a noble effort and i highly support it. I can help with history and data on ships if useful. My grandfather's first command was a four piper American DD, and he knew some of the submarine history from back then, even saw some captured prize german U Boats and I had photos, but not sure if i can lay hands on them now. I just wanted to thank all working on this and will keep an eye on developments and am cheering you on. I also have 3D Max and can help with conversions if the process is worked out.

Salute

PS and yes my earlier posts about the tragic loss of the Lusitania ...she was indeed sunk without warning which should have been given under prize rules. Many U boat skippers were very honourable about that...and some were not sadly. I am glad we can choose in the sim which to be.

Thank you to you and everyone else for your offers, photos, interest, and support!

And yes, I agree it's important to allow the player to decide what kind of Commander he will roleplay as. In the next few days I am going to have some very important tests involving the British merchant and my method of introducing prize warfare & contraband searching. You can shoot at anything that moves, but don't be surprised when you get a massive negative renown hit back at base! This mod is, ideally, a game for the thinking player.

[iambecomelife]

Started on U-19 ditching U-1. no loss, I got a better idea with modeling the U-boats, and it is turning out very well :up:

Excellent. U-19 is a much better choice.

BTW, I am revamping the European coastline so if anybody has access to charts/maps from the period, that would be helpful.

Am also brushing up on European architecture of the day - I want to include coastal villages, wireless stations, & troop depots either as destructible objects or just scenery.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

that allowing of choice and its consequences will be great as in that time with radio marconi style being so unreliable and often units at sea on their own devices. such decisoins were in the captain's hands.

iambecomelife that is wonderful that you are doing details for coasts and coast towns, that so much adds to the immersion and there are many significant coastal towns that will add to the playablitiy of this mod. I do have some old charts but they are too large to scan i am sad to say, and very old and time worn. Some i am afraid to unfold anymore. But i will look online for resources that may help. Postcards are a good source for coastal towns...

http://marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/html/Stamps/Steamers/Hohenzollern_05t.jpg

The Impaerial Yacht entering lock at Holtenau

also excellent pics of bases and ports from naval print companies:

http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/german_naval_bases.htm

http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/images/wilhelmshaven2.jpg

Wilhelmshaven

http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/images/kiel.jpg

Kiel

http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/images/malta6.jpg

Malta Harbour

http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/images/portsmouth17.jpg

Portsmouth...

http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/ImagesSep9_2007/JamesDixon/RosythNavalBase.jpg

Rosyth Naval Base

btw this is from a renarlkable historic diary kept by a RN sailor James Dixon aboard the HMS Australia.

http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/macslog/ExtractsfromJamesDixonsDi.html

incidentally this would work well with the German plans to lure out the Grand Fleet for attirtion attacks by U boats.

In 1916, the German plan was to lure parts of the British Grand Fleet out into the North Sea by swift surface raids on East coast towns such as Scarborough and Sunderland. Meanwhile, German submarines were stationed several miles outside the main British naval bases of Rosyth and Scapa Flow for the purpose of sinking British battleships with torpedoes as they left port to deal with the surface raids.

German submarines (U-boats) patrolled in zones off the East coast of Britain with the intention of sinking British warships as they left their ports at Scapa Flow and Rosyth.However this plan proved ineffective as the German U-boats failed to sink a single British warship. Towards the end of May 1916, Admiral Scheer, Commander of the German High Seas Fleet, decided on a further - more risky - decoy operation to lure British battleships out of port.

[linerkiller]

If that could interest someone...my personal drawings of Lusitania and Hospital ship Mauretania.:up:

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/7879/rmslusitania1915.png
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/1239/hmhsmauretania.png

Hope they could be useful:DL!

[Sledgehammer427]

WOW LK! nice job with the drawings!

[iambecomelife]

If that could interest someone...my personal drawings of Lusitania and Hospital ship Mauretania.:up:

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/7879/rmslusitania1915.png
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/1239/hmhsmauretania.png

Hope they could be useful:DL!

Great job!

Just yesterday I was wishing that someone had done detailed line drawings of the Cunard four-stackers. Any plans of the Britannic?:D

Had some advanced legal reading yesterday & couldn't do as much as I wanted, but I will be free in the afternoon. Next updates will be, hopefully, first tests of prize warfare, tests of new terrain tiles, and starting work on new uniforms. :rock:

[ReallyDedPoet]

This looks like it's going to a good one, nice :yep::up:

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

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

[linerkiller]

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://1.bp.blogspot.com/_2-njNUsZCNc/RiHmjQewypI/AAAAAAAAAAc/-JLEp1dU3Rc/s1600/Britanic.gif

are you going to make her in dazzle?

http://www.maritimequest.com/liners/olympic/26_olympic_ww1.jpgThat one is the Olympic....;)

About the britannic...yes, i have one but it's not 100% satisfactory:88)!
Here it is:
http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/6352/hmhsbritannic.png

[FIREWALL]

@ IABL :DL I can hardly wait till you release this.

And it couldn't come out at a better time if you know what I mean. :03:

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

sorry about that Olympic slipping in there>..here is the Britanic:

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/7522/britanic3.jpg

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

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/3172/britanic5.jpg

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/3549/britanicmodellarge5.jpg

[iambecomelife]

Well, after a lot of tears & toil I've finally managed to install torpedoes on merchant ships. :DL

No, not because it's historical - rather, this is the first step towards adding new effects when a merchant ship encounters your submarine. I am going to use the torpedo spawn effect to spawn various objects & effects from merchantmen:

-Lifeboats
-Jollyboats with the ship's cargo manifest & officers
-Life Rings
-Smoke Pots
-Life Jackets
-Cargo Crates
-Oil Drums & Barrels
-Panicked crewmen jumping overboard

The great thing is, you can simply create a 3d object, add it to the "Library" folder, and then specify it in the torpedo spawn effect file & have it appear, instead of a torpedo. This means that you can place weapons nodes all over a ship that will spawn as many or as few objects/characters as you want. The launcher even specifies an ammo loadout, so you can control how many items are spawned. Now freighters, troop carriers, & hospital ships can have the appropriate # of lifeboats with the right characters on board.

Just remember to be careful when the merchant's jollyboat spawns - If it's a Q-Ship you'll get a blast of shrapnel instead of a cargo manifest. :-?

[Bubblehead1980]

nice...really looking forward to the day this comes out.

Curious, what type of ASW will be in the game? Can not say I know much about WW I ASW.I know they had depth charges and primitive sonar, did they have ASW aircraft ?

[Turbografx]

Sweet mod idea!

This is the most excited I've been for SH4 since seeing Tomi's engine room work. Finally, WWI subsim with graphics that don't want to make you puke!

[iambecomelife]

nice...really looking forward to the day this comes out.

Curious, what type of ASW will be in the game? Can not say I know much about WW I ASW.I know they had depth charges and primitive sonar, did they have ASW aircraft ?

There were quite a few ASW planes and airships. However, they didn't have nearly as many successes as in WWII. Perhaps 2-3 sinkings, plus one British submarine sunk in error by a French seaplane. Mines will be your greatest enemy, followed by escort craft & Q-Ships.

[FIREWALL]

@ IABL My Dr. has informed me I'm not long for this world. :cry:

So could you hurry up and finish so I can have a chance to play this before I go to meet my maker ?


Thx Sincerily FIREWALL http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/2334/pinocchioemoticon.gif

[Sledgehammer427]

you know IABL, all of your ideas sound great and all, but it just struck me how easy they all sound.

"torpedo launchers" spawning liferafts
*forehead slap*
explosive jollyboats
*forehead slap*
the list
*slap*
goes on

[iambecomelife]

you know IABL, all of your ideas sound great and all, but it just struck me how easy they all sound.

"torpedo launchers" spawning liferafts
*forehead slap*
explosive jollyboats
*forehead slap*
the list
*slap*
goes on

The ideas aren't hard - it's mainly the time and meticulousness. For instance, it took me MUCH longer than necessary to get object launchers on merchantmen simply because I made an error with the equipment nodes' sequence (node # 13 had overlapping dates).

Soon I hope to have a few uniform pics to show you...

[iambecomelife]

Some uniforms put together using photoshop and the few references I can find. One officer & one crewman. Eventually I may create an actual 3d cap bage model with improved resolution. I have added shoulderboards and a necktie to the officer figure. The color of the crewman's jacket is basically a guess, so if you can correct it please let me know.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Unis1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/unis2.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/unis3.jpg

[iambecomelife]

Armed merchant ship in dazzle camoflage.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Dazz1.jpg

[Hitman]

Nice uniforms, but if you read real life accounts of commanders (F.e. Max Valentiner) you'll see how they were actually in even worser condition than their WW2 counterparts LOL. Valentiner describes themselves upon boarding an enemy merchat as looking like a horde of indians, with faces painted orangeish by the oil and grease, half nude because the clothes did not withstand well so much humidity, and red eyes popping out.:haha:

[iambecomelife]

Nice uniforms, but if you read real life accounts of commanders (F.e. Max Valentiner) you'll see how they were actually in even worser condition than their WW2 counterparts LOL. Valentiner describes themselves upon boarding an enemy merchat as looking like a horde of indians, with faces painted orangeish by the oil and grease, half nude because the clothes did not withstand well so much humidity, and red eyes popping out.:haha:

Yikes. My thinking was that their uni's would have been a bit cleaner than in WWII because many patrols had a shorter duration. It's a shame b/c I love the more formal look that some of the Kaiserliche Marine uniforms had, as opposed to the more functional Kriegsmarine clothing.

I suppose I can add some dirt/grease textures to overlay onto the uniforms & bodies.

BTW, good news - last night I managed to get ships to launch boats with the torpedo launcher. Now it's just a matter of cloning the launcher, adding different boat types, texturing, and so on.

[keltos01]

Yikes. My thinking was that their uni's would have been a bit cleaner than in WWII because many patrols had a shorter duration. It's a shame b/c I love the more formal look that some of the Kaiserliche Marine uniforms had, as opposed to the more functional Kriegsmarine clothing.

I suppose I can add some dirt/grease textures to overlay onto the uniforms & bodies.

BTW, good news - last night I managed to get ships to launch boats with the torpedo launcher. Now it's just a matter of cloning the launcher, adding different boat types, texturing, and so on.

nice uniforms !

could you pm me the hows to do that for our Japanese Campaign : we need IJN uniforms not german there !


Great work, I am still looking at what WWI sub to model, RL is busy and I work on the IJN campaign first.

I might go to the army museum in Brussels soon (this week ?) , tell me if I can photo / copy anything you can't get your hands on ok ?



Keltos

[Turbografx]

IAMBL,

You might want to consider contacting Deamon/Heinrich. He was/is working on an WWI indie subsim and had produced some good Uboat models. He might also be able to help with other information from his research.

[iambecomelife]

nice uniforms !

could you pm me the hows to do that for our Japanese Campaign : we need IJN uniforms not german there !


Great work, I am still looking at what WWI sub to model, RL is busy and I work on the IJN campaign first.

I might go to the army museum in Brussels soon (this week ?) , tell me if I can photo / copy anything you can't get your hands on ok ?



Keltos

Most of the data you need is under Data\Library\Characters\MARINE.dat.

Open the file with S3ditor and expand node #3 - it expands into a huge list of all of the heads, bodies, and legs that the game uses.

The models can be exported and imported using Wings3d, etc. The textures are under Data\Textures\Tnormal\Tex. I edited them using Photoshop.

Thanks for your offer. I would appreciate any information on Belgian ports during the war, as well as all kinds of pictures of clothing. Naval uniforms (especially German), dockworkers' clothes, & doctors' & nurses' uniforms, maybe.

[iambecomelife]

IAMBL,

You might want to consider contacting Deamon/Heinrich. He was/is working on an WWI indie subsim and had produced some good Uboat models. He might also be able to help with other information from his research.

Thanks; we've been in contact via PM, and I will talk to him again in the next few days.

[Hitman]

Yikes. My thinking was that their uni's would have been a bit cleaner than in WWII because many patrols had a shorter duration. It's a shame b/c I love the more formal look that some of the Kaiserliche Marine uniforms had, as opposed to the more functional Kriegsmarine clothing.
Not necessarily shorter, there were some very long patrols in the Mediterranean, and anyway the main difference is that submarine technology was starting and also general motors/mechanics were not as developed ( Specially the diesel engines). They discovered the hard way that humidity condensation was a huge problem, that it would shortcut electric wires, and used grease all around as insulator, as plastic was not yet discovered or well used. Add to that the fact that some diesels were 2 stroke and reversible, and that 4 stroke ones were over-oiled and lost and burnt a good deal of the lubricant oil, and you get a good picture of how dirty and unhealthy those boats were. Look at the fac of the guy behind, he looks really dirty: http://img1.photographersdirect.com/img/15009/wm/pd576393.jpg

The two others might have cleaned up a bit for the picture or be officers, but undoubtedly there is lots of dirt and grease in that engine room.

[keltos01]

Most of the data you need is under Data\Library\Characters\MARINE.dat.

Open the file with S3ditor and expand node #3 - it expands into a huge list of all of the heads, bodies, and legs that the game uses.

The models can be exported and imported using Wings3d, etc. The textures are under Data\Textures\Tnormal\Tex. I edited them using Photoshop.

Thanks for your offer. I would appreciate any information on Belgian ports during the war, as well as all kinds of pictures of clothing. Naval uniforms (especially German), dockworkers' clothes, & doctors' & nurses' uniforms, maybe.

thanks

keltos

[DarkFish]

your ships look absolutely stunning, but I'm missing AO maps (the shipname_O01 textures). You might want to consider adding them as it makes them much better looking.
A good tutorial for automatically creating them using the free 3d editing program Blender: http://www.katsbits.com/htm/tutorials/blender_ao_baking_terrain.htm

Looking forward to this mod:up:

[iambecomelife]

your ships look absolutely stunning, but I'm missing AO maps (the shipname_O01 textures). You might want to consider adding them as it makes them much better looking.
A good tutorial for automatically creating them using the free 3d editing program Blender: http://www.katsbits.com/htm/tutorials/blender_ao_baking_terrain.htm

Looking forward to this mod:up:

I'm not much good with this sort of thing, but this might be a great time to learn.

As I mentioned, the merchant ships' boats are appearing successfully when I designate them as torpedoes. The problem is that I have to overwrite one of the torpedoes with the boat model.

What I need is a weapons node exclusively designed to launch/fire boats, so that the torpedoes and the boats etc. can coexist. Preferably several different nodes, so that I can spawn different types of boats & passengers. I have been trying for hours to clone the torpedo launcher or create a gun with a boat model as its "shell" - so far, no luck.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

wonderful work..that dazzle paint job is spot on. Uniforms are great as well. They started out clean at start of cruise :) surface ships were hard too, as they were coal fired many of them.... coaling ship was a dirty dirty dirty job, my grandfather used to describe it saying for 3 days everything would be black on board and on all hands. :)

great great work going on here. that idea of the torps triggers is just wizard!.

[msalama]

And yet another great mod in the making, and from the looks of it a keeper too! Brilliant work guys :rock:

[Hitman]

I understand how you will make the merchant spawn a boat that brings papers to the U-Boat, what I don't get is how you will make then a trigger for the merchant to stop and send the boat, and most important, for us to check wether it has contraband or not and decide if sink it :hmmm:

[iambecomelife]

I understand how you will make the merchant spawn a boat that brings papers to the U-Boat, what I don't get is how you will make then a trigger for the merchant to stop and send the boat, and most important, for us to check wether it has contraband or not and decide if sink it :hmmm:

Trust me - this has been thought of and if my ideas work (and depending on my real life workload) I will have a working demonstration within several weeks at most.

The one thing I might not be able to get around is the merchant stopping; however, the player should be able to position his sub in front of most merchants to trigger the collision avoidance "stop/reverse" routine. I will also tweak vessel acceleration values so that a merchant can't flee like a sports car once it has stopped its engines - hence there should be plenty of time to take care of business.

Some ships will have their behavior modified so that they slow & spawn boats; others will maintain stock enemy merchant behavior and try to escape from you - the latter will mostly be fair game.

I am thinking about using particles.dat and a water interaction controller instead of a torpedo clone to spawn the boats - more news later.

[iambecomelife]

Just managed to make the 4.7" gun "fire" a boat. :DL


This means that there is no need to use the torpedoes as boats, which had been very problematic.
If someone could tell me how to copy entire nodes & subsections using S3ditor, I'd be grateful - this will speed up the process immensely.

[Sledgehammer427]

Just managed to make the 4.7" gun "fire" a boat.

awesome, that means you can knock the range down to like 250 meters and it won't "fire" a boat until you are within that range

[Hitman]

he player should be able to position his sub in front of most merchants to trigger the collision avoidance "stop/reverse" routine.LOL just the opposite of the real life praxis ... else the Kaleun wanted to give the merchant fellow a good ramming chance :haha: but anyway better than anything :up: I just hope the merchant AI is not also programmed to ram submarines :D

I will also tweak vessel acceleration values so that a merchant can't flee like a sports car once it has stopped its engines - hence there should be plenty of time to take care of business.That's a much needed tweak in any case. I have heard reports of this causing problems with convoys -when they need to turn, but hopefully with the much smaller WW1 ones it shouldn't be that bad.

The main problem is that so far all SH series (SH1 I'm not sure however) have insisted in making the convoys turn in a completely unnatural way. They pretend the ships to the sides to suddenly speed up hugely and make the long way around a semi-circle to keep their position any time. However, the logical way to do a turn with a formation of miscellaneous merchant ships IMHO is in to turn unsimultaneously X degrees (Not much more than 45) and then the sides slowly speed up to regain the original position and spacing. In real life convoys, the outmost columns were not occupied by the fastest ships, but simply by the less valuable ones, which normally weren't also the fastest.

[Stary Wuj]

Great idea!

Very impressing :rock:

With Best Regards

Stary Wuj

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Check on making a ship stop, i think there are problems with this. I know in the development of the Japanese Campaign there were problems with stopping ships completely for simulating landings....check with Peabody on that, as he may have good info on that. I am very excitied about this mod, i really love this era and if this works out will be happy to help make expansions with the surface warefare aspects.

[Barrett]

shouldn't this thread be in the ATO mods section? ;)

[Sledgehammer427]

If the ATO Mods got more traffic then yeah, it would be.

[Rockin Robbins]

This thing is a 500 pound gorilla. A 500 pound gorilla goes anywhere it wants to.:D

[iambecomelife]

Regarding the placement of this thread, there may be a small amount of Pacific/Indian Ocean warfare in this mod, so it's not totally out of place. Although obviously, warfare in the Channel/North Sea is the top priority for now.

I spent some time on merchant shipping and cargo manifests this weekend, but not much work that's screenshot-worthy. More news later.

[bill clarke]

Brother am I looking forward to this. :up: Guys

[keltos01]

any intel on what the japanese did in WWI ? I know they were on the allies side, but 'that's about it... for now..

keltos

[G.K.]

They helped Allies to catch Graf Spee's fleet, but there was no encounter at all.
Also, they sent a destroyer squadron to Mediterranean for convoy duties, one fo them was a total loss after torpedo hit from A-H sub;)

[iambecomelife]

I just wanted to commend GerritJ9 publicly for his excellent historical research. He has been behind the scenes providing a lot of information from print sources difficult for US citizens to obtain, so three cheers for him. :up:

[Sledgehammer427]

:up:

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

The IJN had a major role in the Pacific in several ways, including the siezure of several German island bases, and above all the siege of Tsingtao, the largest German base in the Pacific, their Pacific Gibralter which they had lavisxhed vast amounts of money and effort. THis was both a naval and a land engagment and lasted a long long time and involved thousands of troops on both sides and ships and many remarkable feats by both sides. Unfortunately the isolation of the base doomed the German efforts hence the dispatch of Graf Spee to try to get home. He almsot made it, if he had only engaged the British ships as they lay at anchor in Stanley Harbour trying to get steam up. The outcome might have been very differnt, tho acts of valour continued after that, it was a doomed result for the two surviving ships.

This would be an ideal battle scenario for the mod.

http://www.greatwardifferent.com/Great_War/Tsing_Tao/Tsing_Tao_00.htm

[iambecomelife]

Just a little status update - I've been busy with school & work but I am more confident than ever that the contraband system will work. It's impossible to overemphasize how important S3ditor has been - NONE of this would have been possible without it.

I've spent the past weeks doing lots of research on WWI freighters & passenger ships, as well as some research on German uniforms. I have a few new screenshots available but I want to wait until the project's a little more advanced before releasing them.

[ivank]

No its okay, release them now.

[Hitman]

I am more confident than ever that the contraband system will work.

Good to hear that :up:

It's impossible to overemphasize how important S3ditor has been - NONE of this would have been possible without it.

None of this? I'd say 99% of what has been made wouldn't have been possible without Skwasjer's genius! He has well deserved the Knight's cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, Diamonds and ice cake!

No its okay, release them now

:har:

I second that, who cares about such details as projects progress?

[Sailor Steve]

More on the Japanese: They had a cruiser escorting the same convoy that HMAS Sydney was with when they got the radio distress call from the station on the Cocos/Keeling Island that they had been attacked by SMS Emden. The Japanese captain wanted to go after Emden, but the Captain of Sydney was in charge and went himself.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

The Emden has a remarkablle cruise, would be wonderful if we could have a campaign around Cape of GOod Hope, Falklands action and then the resulting ship chases and search for the Emden. Emden ended up on the reef and the wreck lasted until some years ago.

http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/macslog/GermanWW1LightCruiserSMSE.html

this render was done from a wonderful 3D model made by Chris Schell recently....that he generously shared gratis for Poser and as an OBJ

http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/6618/smsemdenatseainthesouth.jpg

http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/1484/emden.jpg

http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/MoreImages7/EmdenDestroyed.jpg

and the Koningsberg woudl be a great subject for a campaign too, she was a beautiful ship and a fast one and even sunk a British cruiser the Pegasus before she got bottled up on an Afrikan river.

http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/konigsbe.html

[keltos01]

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/9264/zeebrugge.jpg (http://img8.imageshack.us/i/zeebrugge.jpg/)

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/8287/deutschlandbatteryooste.jpg (http://img40.imageshack.us/i/deutschlandbatteryooste.jpg/)

380 mm gun from the Deutschland battery near Ostend.


http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/4799/brugescanaluboot.jpg (http://img17.imageshack.us/i/brugescanaluboot.jpg/)

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/4862/ub10.jpg (http://img17.imageshack.us/i/ub10.jpg/)
A bit unlike WWII bases ! not really made for the Uboots that pier !

the net :

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/5139/zeebruggeantisubnet.jpg (http://img17.imageshack.us/i/zeebruggeantisubnet.jpg/)

Uboot berthed at the mole - zeebrugge :

http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/4527/zeebruggeubootmole.jpg (http://img29.imageshack.us/i/zeebruggeubootmole.jpg/)

http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/5057/lubeckbattery.jpg (http://img91.imageshack.us/i/lubeckbattery.jpg/)
Lubeck battery

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/9523/molezeebruggewwi.jpg (http://img8.imageshack.us/i/molezeebruggewwi.jpg/)

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/6115/44555912.jpg (http://img11.imageshack.us/i/44555912.jpg/)

http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/6906/89159651.jpg (http://img35.imageshack.us/i/89159651.jpg/)



I wish they still were there on our coast ;) :

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/7982/35015841.jpg (http://img42.imageshack.us/i/35015841.jpg/)


Zeebrugge and Ostend Raids - Osprey book.

so there could be many more scenarios than just the North Sea, good !

keltos

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

the Zeebrugge action would be a great scenerio for the mod ...with the chance of patroling U boots to sink the attacking cruiser force. What an adventure and a Forlorn hope that all was. GREAT pics ..

found more evidence of Japanese fleet units helping in the Pacific, this from a remarkable log kept by an ordinary seaman aboard the HMAS Australia in WWI:

http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/ImagesSep9_2007/JamesDixon/HMASAustralia1.jpg
HMAS Australia 1

War and service in New Guinea.
Britain declared war on Germany on Tuesday August 4, 1914, as part of the British Empire, Australia also was at war. Australia with other fleet units sailed north to seek out the German naval ships, but to no avail, she coaled ship at Port Moresby. This operation was always a nightmare for any ship's company, it was a dirty job, covering the sailors in every nook and cranny, plus the ship, in fine coal dust, then when the actual coaling was complete, there remained the need to clean ship both above and below decks.
Now the flagship sailed off to Noumea, another coaling and the escort of two New Zealand troopships to occupy German Samoa.
These days we tend to forget how active Germany was in our Australian sphere of influence prior to WW1, in New Guinea and around many islands in the Pacific.
Australia sailed from Fiji in company with HMAS Melbourne on September 2, 1914, to rendezvous at Rosiland Island with Submarines AE 1, AE2, Encounter, Sydney, Parramatta, Warrego, Swan, plus the trooper Berrima, with members of the volunteer Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force ( ANMEF ) on board, Grantala a hospital ship, and colliers to total 14 ships in the convoy.
http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/ImagesSep9_2007/JamesDixon/HospitalShipGrantala.jpg
Hospital ship Grantala.
Their destination Rabaul to capture the German wireless station. Both Herbertshohe and Rabaul were secured by this force.
http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/ImagesSep9_2007/JamesDixon/TrooperShipBerrima.jpg
Trooper Berrima,carried ANMEF to New Guinea September 1914.
Our Submarine AE 1 disappeared off Rabaul on September 4, and her wreck has still not been found in 2008.
http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/ImagesSep9_2007/JamesDixon/SubmarineAE1.jpg
AE 1 lost off New Guinea 1914, and never found.
Prisoners from the fight at Rabaul were taken onboard HMAS Australia, after spending time in the NG area, the ship sailed for Suva arriving on October 12.
The inevitable coal ship found 1,700 tons loaded between 1330 ( 1. 30 PM ) and 0300 ( 3 AM ) the next day, the flagship had an extreme appetite for consuming coal, between October 15, and November 3, James records no less than 7 coal ships, taking into her bunkers 9,624 tons.
Eastwards.
The ship sailed eastwards to Mexico, where she met up with 3 Japanese cruisers and HMS Newcastle, in WW1, Japan was on our side, in contrast with the distant WW2, when that country precipitated war with the United States with her cowardly attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1942. Off went the Squadron to the Galapagos Islands, but the German Asiatic Fleet no where to be seen.
Close to the Panama Canal, the Japanese cruisers parted company. The canal was closed to ships over 430 feet long and drawing over 24 feet, thus Australia needed to round Cape Horn to reach the South Atlantic. In rough weather and early into the New Year of 1915, Australia arrived in the Falkland Islands at Port Stanley.
Britain colonises Falklands.
Not withstanding any claims by Argentina, Britain went ahead in 1842, declaring a Colonial Administration over the Falklands, which at that stage had strategic usefulness because of their proximity to Magellan Straits with its passage from the South Atlantic Ocean into the Pacific Ocean via Cape Horn. In 1845 the town of Stanley was established, and Britain has remained ever since.
http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/ImagesSep9_2007/JamesDixon/FaulklandMap.jpg
The strategic position of the Falkland Islands
German Supply ship.
January 6 found SS Elenore Woiermann, a German Supply ship in sight, her 99 crew were taken on board Australia, and the enemy ship sunk by gunfire.

[more info for pacific campaigns in WWI]

http://ahoy.tk-jk.net/macslog/ExtractsfromJamesDixonsDi.html

[Starforce2]

I am going to put an announcement of your mod on the filefront site. Even though i really don't care to play german, I'll defently give this one a try. Though I am surprised a ww1 TC gets annoucned before an atlantic side supermod for the germans we already have from the uboat add-on. Didn't see that comming.

[misfitdreamer]

i'm glad someone is finally doing this, and that it is finally being done well.

are you pretty set on releasing this for sh4? do you think you may move to sh5 as it nears release or create a version for sh3?

[iambecomelife]

i'm glad someone is finally doing this, and that it is finally being done well.

are you pretty set on releasing this for sh4? do you think you may move to sh5 as it nears release or create a version for sh3?

I am very flexible regarding the platform - almost everything I want to do can be done in SH3 as well. However, I like the better human figures, terrain, and other features of SH4.

By the by - I've been sick as a dog or working like a dog for several days now. I hope to have better news soon.:nope:

[keltos01]

I am very flexible regarding the platform - almost everything I want to do can be done in SH3 as well. However, I like the better human figures, terrain, and other features of SH4.

By the by - I've been sick as a dog or working like a dog for several days now. I hope to have better news soon.:nope:

you gotta rest some, such a campaign is for the long run anyways.

keltos

[Starforce2]

http://silenthunter.filefront.com/news/Wolves_of_the_Kaiser_19141918;44403

Here ya go! :salute: Good luck! If you want more updates, just pass me some pix and we'll do another one...or host the beta :D

[iambecomelife]

Thanks very much for the promotion and the photographs, people.

Will be working on several things in the coming days:

-Additional modifications to stock uniforms
-A selection of period merchant ships
-Work on large British units, like the "Lion" & "Iron Duke"
-Slight modification to the interiors - hydrophones need to be removed because to my knowledge all WWI subs used "carbon microphones" instead.

[iambecomelife]

I noticed that some of the merchant hulls I designed have unusual dark patches on them when they are rendered by the game. Will use updated versions of the Merchant Fleet Mod hulls instead and add the more detailed superstructures & human figures I've been working on - then post the results. :)

Here's a sample of some of the sources I have (primarily, Duncan Haws's excellent books on old-fashioned merchantmen.)

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/WSL-1001.jpg

[iambecomelife]

Preview picture of some changes to the land textures (being tested at the moment in SH3). They were creating by cropping and merging some aerial photographs. I also went into Terrain.cfg and made some very simple changes to the tiles per kilometre & image dimension sections.

While looking at the textures I noticed that Northern Germany seems to have quite a few palm trees - is this a stock bug, or is it from a mod that I'm using?

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/MWSnap0482009-10-2702_17_42.jpg

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

I am working on getting a copy of a Scapa Flow scenery that was done for another sim by a very talented Modder ..once i get a hold of it, i will pass it on.

Also do you need a Sampson Class US DD? just had a buddy make a 3D model of one, he is doing the US Fleet circa about 1912 ship by ship..has done a observation kite balloon towable by the capital ships too. Is in either OBJ or Poser file if you can use either. I can ask him about use if you are interested...might save some work. He has also done a good SMS Emden CL, and three early US BBs, a coatal monitor and a steam launch.

[iambecomelife]

I am working on getting a copy of a Scapa Flow scenery that was done for another sim by a very talented Modder ..once i get a hold of it, i will pass it on.

Also do you need a Faragutt Class US DD? just had a buddy make a 3D model of one, he is doing the US Fleet circa about 1912 ship by ship..has done a observation kite balloon towable by the capital ships too. Is in either OBJ or Poser file if you can use either. I can ask him about use if you are interested...might save some work. He has also done a good SMS Emden CL, and three early US BBs, a coatal monitor and a steam launch.

Thanks. I'd be very much interested in the scenery and the ships. If he has other vessels it's even better. Please do contact him! Of course he'll get all the credit he desires.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

ok will do ..his name is Chris Schell, and he is doing some really nice ships. If they are OBJ format i figured you guys might be able to convert them into the mod...if he gives permision, he has given permission for people to use them as long as it is non commerical but i know we would all want to ask him about it directly.

so far he has done the USS Virginnia, USS Connecticut, USS Minnesota, USS Wilkes Sampson class DD and a monitor and a harbor defense ship and steam launch and the SMS Emden, here is his page:

http://www.sharecg.com/pf/theschell

he does really nice work i will e mail him tonight

UPDATE: Chris has replied and is open to considering the idea, he is honoured to have his ships thought of ..he said he thought SHIV looked like a wonderful game but probably too much for his comp :) I have PMd you his note iambecomelife

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

HEre is the reply from Chris Schell about possible inclusion of some of his ships, the WWI era US Dreadnoughts, support ships, and the German Light Cruiser Emden if they are compatible with the format here...and if things feel comfortable for him...re the attribtion and protectoin of his ships ....he has wanted to have them available freely .anyway..here is his note...


Hey Chris...

Interesting offer... i checked out the site link you provided and it looks lik a wonderfull game... though i doubt my comp could handle it.. lol... old p4's just aren't up to snuff any more...

I would have a couple of concerns with your idea... first... i would need to be guaranteed both credit and retention of the rights to my models... as you know i've put alot of work into them and don't want to lose my own rights to my work... we'd have to set up some sort of agreement where in terms of use etc are set out word by word and binding... (i went through something similar when i agrred to allow my works for inclusion on the artist3d magazine cover disc)

second... would this be a free to download mod... or a paid add-on? if it's a paid item.. ie users would have to buy the mod then i may have some further requests/concerns... i've made my items free for everyone as you know and don't want them being resold (as per my readme's)... if you could give me further details i may consider the request in detail...

over-all i am honoured by the request and a little amazed... i really don't think my models are that great...lol... and i thank-you for the thought...

respectfully
Chris


two of Chris's ships:

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/3084/ussconnecticut.jpg

USS Connecticut Dreadnought

http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/1484/emden.jpg

SMS Emden Light Cruiser of the Far Eastern Squadron

[theschell]

I just thought i would introduce myself... my name is Chris schell and i'm the modeller that Adm. Von Gerlach was refering... i also should mention that i've produced a lightship... i may be interested in helping out... pending further discussions on the matter... and thank-you for your interest...:DL

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Ahoy there Chris, nice to have you Aboard!.

here is one of Chris' models i really enjoy, being a airship enthisisast...it would be great if we could enable observation balloons and even zepplins! :)

http://www.sharecg.com/images/medium/53085.jpg

Kite Observation Balloon by Chris Schell

[theschell]

Ty Admiral... it's a pleasure to be aboard... theschell reporting for duty and ready to haul anchor sir!... lol... and ty for your vote of confidence with my models... i'm still trying to figure out how to reduce the poly counts without losing details... ugh... it's a long process with a steep learning curve...:)

[theschell]

I understand that iambecomelife is the guy to talk to about details for the possible use of my models etc... i beleive Adm. Gerlach was going to provide my contact information to him... feel free to email me so that we can discuss the idea in depth...:)

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Yep I sent him your e mail :)

[theschell]

ty sir... and again... thanx for the support and interest...:)

[keltos01]

two of Chris's ships:

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/3084/ussconnecticut.jpg

USS Connecticut Dreadnought



he doesn't thik they are that great ?:o

your friend needs glasses !

keltos

[keltos01]

I just thought i would introduce myself... my name is Chris schell and i'm the modeller that Adm. Von Gerlach was refering... i also should mention that i've produced a lightship... i may be interested in helping out... pending further discussions on the matter... and thank-you for your interest...:DL

Thank you Sir !

Great work there :up:

Welcome to Subsim

keltos

[bill clarke]

Would it be impolite to enquire how this project is going in terms of being almost finished :D

[iambecomelife]

Ty Admiral... it's a pleasure to be aboard... theschell reporting for duty and ready to haul anchor sir!... lol... and ty for your vote of confidence with my models... i'm still trying to figure out how to reduce the poly counts without losing details... ugh... it's a long process with a steep learning curve...:)

Pleased to meet you - I'm honored!

Don't be concerned at all about the quality of your models - you seem to have a lot of experience modeling large surface units. I'm really impressed with what I've seen so far.

This mod, like all of my others, is going to be 100% freeware. There are no plans at all for me to receive any kind of payment. I would like to warn you, however, that in the past other modders have used my work in payware mods without permission. I will do everything in my power to make sure that this doesn't happen to our models this time around.

You will be credited and will retain all rights to your models. If you'd like a formal agreement, could you please draw it up and give it to me to review?

I am going to email you a document listing plans for the mod in more detail. A rough schedule for completion of the different phases is still being drawn up -I will distribute that to you and the other modders involved as soon as possible.

Someone asked how much of the mod was completed - at this point, no more than about 10%. SH4 has tentatively been chosen as the platform. The final version may be adapted for SH3 or even SH5 - my main concern is building up a library of WWI period vessels, scenery, and crewmember models. Once this is done, the project will gather steam rapidly, since the Silent Hunter games themselves provide such good platforms.

Again, thank you for your help.:salute:

[AVGWarhawk]

These ships are beautiful. I have seen many mods come out but I have to say this one is very very exciting...specifically seeing these ships of WW1. :yeah:

[KG_Jag]

I am enjoying following this work and look forward to seeing it progress.

[theschell]

lol... actually sir i've very little experience when it comes to computer 3d... i've only begun posting models about 7 months ago... and only truely been creating them for poser (my warship collection) for about 5 months... most of my experience comes from building plastic model kits... which i've been doing for well over 30 years... i now do large scale scratch builds for museum display... so i use alot of my plastic kits and model builds as reference... and then also have built a rather large library of actual photo's from the era to use as reference... i'm still learning this whole 3d thing... lol...

As for the usage... i shall contact you via site pm and we can discuss things a little further... i would alike an agreement in place as you say... so we can discuss and agree to terms... if i'm satisfied with terms then i'd in general be happy to allow for it... :)

[theschell]

Ty Keltos... lmao... actually i'm kind of forced to wear a pair... i've been wearing glasses since i was 6... lol... being typical of my breed of artist i'm never quite happy with my work... i always seem to notice small details that could have been done better... and i really wish i could lower the poly count and keep the details... you can't really see them in the pics here but the access hatches even have the door-clasps modelled in... i may have over-done it a bit?... lol

[theschell]

By the way... here is one of the best sites i've ever seen for information about different types of ww1 ships... they give class data, design data, names of ships in the class and even some basic deck-plans to work from... if you don't already use it as a reasource i highly rcomend it... i use it regularily for information when i build my museum display models...

http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/warship.html

If you need more reasources and references let me know and i'll see what i can do:)

[iambecomelife]

By the way... here is one of the best sites i've ever seen for information about different types of ww1 ships... they give class data, design data, names of ships in the class and even some basic deck-plans to work from... if you don't already use it as a reasource i highly rcomend it... i use it regularily for information when i build my museum display models...

http://www.worldwar1.co.uk/warship.html

If you need more reasources and references let me know and i'll see what i can do:)

Thanks for your post. I did use this website when I was building "HMS Orion" and "HMS Defence" - unfortunately I'm no longer 100% satisfied with those models. I may use it once again to conduct revisions.

You have a PM; please check your box.:DL

[theschell]

There are some other excellent reasources as well which i'd be more than happy to provide....

http://www.navsource.org/archives/01/13a.htm
http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk/index.htm

these two site have extensive archives of old photos and postcard art of the ww1 combat ships of almost all classes from every major country during the war...

[theschell]

ty for the pm and your response here iambecomelife... you're very welcome... if i can be of help with reference materials, information etc i'd be happy to help further... this seems like a worthy enterprise... i sent a reply and an second pm to you... let me know what you think and we'll work something out... no probs...:DL

[iambecomelife]

ty for the pm and your response here iambecomelife... you're very welcome... if i can be of help with reference materials, information etc i'd be happy to help further... this seems like a worthy enterprise... i sent a reply and an second pm to you... let me know what you think and we'll work something out... no probs...:DL

Check your hotmail email address, please.

Thanks

[theschell]

It may take some time to send those parts files to you, i'll have to zip up the 500+ mb of parts as seperate folders and send them to you 10mb at a time via email... they're in obj. format already as i use Hexagon from Daz Studios as my primary modelling program... my downloads are all complete with obj.s as this is the native file format for both Daz and Poser... they also come complete with textures and material zones set... though depending on what you do you may have to set new materials...

I'll see about starting to sort and prep them to send to you tommorrow or friday at the latest... so you should have them for the weekend... if all goes well... lol:DL... when i start to parcel them up i'll make a list of the parts available and send it to you so you know what i'll be providing...

[iambecomelife]

Excellent. This means that I will have a lot more time to work on vessels like cargo ships, tankers, & liners (which I have much more experience with). Can't wait to see what the ships & parts look like on my comp!

[theschell]

http://www.sharecg.com/images/large/53466.jpg

What you see in my promo images is pretty much it... my pics are just the raw models with some basic lights and a water prop rendered in Daz Studio... no post work our touch-ups to the images or models.... the models themselves are available at sharecg... http://www.sharecg.com/pf/theschell and there are large promo images like the one in the link above for each model... the only thing i'll have to send via email is that parts collection...

[keltos01]

http://www.sharecg.com/images/large/53466.jpg

What you see in my promo images is pretty much it... my pics are just the raw models with some basic lights and a water prop rendered in Daz Studio... no post work our touch-ups to the images or models.... the models themselves are available at sharecg... http://www.sharecg.com/pf/theschell and there are large promo images like the one in the link above for each model... the only thing i'll have to send via email is that parts collection...


they are.. WOW ! sinkable ! ;)

keltos

[iambecomelife]

I tried importing one of the models but it crashed wings3d - even when I substituted a blank .mtl file.

I will keep trying and post the results.

[keltos01]

I tried importing one of the models but it crashed wings3d - even when I substituted a blank .mtl file.

I will keep trying and post the results.

I could try with 3ds if you want ?

keltos

[theschell]

if nothing else i know hexagon opens them and can export 3ds format as well as obj and others... i've had 3ds files crash hexagon it's wierd sometimes...

Part of the problem may be the size of the obj's... my ships are huge poly counts... daz studio handles high and extremely high poly models well... poser has some probs when rendering my models but can load them just fine... also a suggestion... my texture maps are 3000x3000 by 300dpi... which seems to be too high res for most programs to handle... try just importing the obj without textures... i've been told that sometimes helps

[theschell]

I'll do a test with wings 3d and see what the problem may be... i'll let you know...

[theschell]

ok... having tested in wings... i was able to get the obj. for my motorlaunch to open... though it took a few minutes... but not anything larger than that... some of my ships parts such as gun turret components and such opened just fine as well... but more complicated parts such as the pre-built superstructures i have wouldn't open and crashed wings as well... i'm thinking that wings just can't handle the poly counts... which isn't an uncommon problem... and i've heard mention on some of the poser sites i belong to of similar problems with wings and high-poly models...

[theschell]

i also tested in blender and that program will open them no probs... what format do you need them in?

[theschell]

hello all:)... happy to report that i've sent a list to iambecomelife via email of the parts i have available and will be providing towards this project... i'll start sending parts along later this evening... so hopefully they'll help... if there's anything else i can do to add to this worthy venture please let me know....:DL

[keltos01]

very good news !:up:

keltos

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

good to hear Chris, like having a virtual shipyard to go to for parts and assembly :) thanks a lot.

[theschell]

Ok... no probs everyone... i just hope you can use some of it... all the ships parts are now sent... (iambecomelife check you emails please :)) if there's anything more i can do to help don't hesitate to ask ...any word on the prob opening my ships with wings?...

[iambecomelife]

Thanks a lot! I downloaded Daz3d and managed to open the destroyer with no problems. However, I have no idea how to model with this program - do you have any advice or preferred tutorials? I know there's always Google, but you can never seem to sift through all the bad advice & poor tutorials... thanks again.

[iambecomelife]

Work on the WOTK merchant fleet continues, using Wings3d. Here's one vessel with a scratch-built hull. It really isn't that much work to make a ship that can have symmetrical lettering, emblems, and hull flags - this tub is far from great, but I hope that the SH5 crew pays more attention to merchant ship texturing this time around. Just saying. :-?

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Larr1.jpg
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Larr4.jpg

Homeport & funnel colors were ID'd using one of Talbot-Booth's merchant ship ID books, plus WWI identification booklets issued to the Royal Navy.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Larr2.jpg

Couple of slackers astern...:arrgh!:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Larr3.jpg

I will add some more details like ladders & doors - then I'll use this as the basis for many of the other civilian ships.

[theschell]

Daz3d studio is simply a rendering engine... i bought the skeleton set-up tools pack from daz studios to go with it... that allowed me to rig models once i had them done... i use daz's Hexagon modelling program to actually construct the models... if you can get that... there are a whole series of tutorials on the daz studio website for basics... for both daz3d and hexagon (their modelling app) also... renderosity has some good tutorials and a whole forum area just dedicated to hexagon and another for daz...
http://www.renderosity.com/ you'll have to join (free membership)
http://www.daz3d.com again free membership... check the community and support areas for advice and tutorials...

[iambecomelife]

Several variants of the split superstructure freighter:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/neuts1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/neut3.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/neut2.jpg

[iambecomelife]

Daz3d studio is simply a rendering engine... i bought the skeleton set-up tools pack from daz studios to go with it... that allowed me to rig models once i had them done... i use daz's Hexagon modelling program to actually construct the models... if you can get that... there are a whole series of tutorials on the daz studio website for basics... for both daz3d and hexagon (their modelling app) also... renderosity has some good tutorials and a whole forum area just dedicated to hexagon and another for daz...
http://www.renderosity.com/ you'll have to join (free membership)
http://www.daz3d.com again free membership... check the community and support areas for advice and tutorials...

Thanks for the tip; I will try loading yout parts into wings3d for now.

[theschell]

very nice work on the freighters...:DL:DL

oh... i forgot to mention.. i said about daz because you can open my models and then export the model in different formats... incase the format for my items is the prob... Hexagon is their actual moddelling app... it's a fairly easy one to use... very intuitive...

[theschell]

there is a way to do some basic modelling in daz itself... but it's all done with basic primitives... which you can then save out... but it's very basic... and you would have a hard time doing anything truely decent...

I'm glad the parts came through ok... i hope they will help...

[keltos01]

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/6737/santostefano.jpg (http://img402.imageshack.us/i/santostefano.jpg/)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEoG6cBCtkM

real life movie of the sinking of the Cruiser "Santo Stefano"

keltos

[Hitman]

Several variants of the split superstructure freighter:

Oh, great a good chance to test my Kaleun's eye :D

Here's my estimate: 4000 GRT, 90-100 metres long, 20 metres mast

Am I very far off? :hmmm:

[iambecomelife]

Oh, great a good chance to test my Kaleun's eye :D

Here's my estimate: 4000 GRT, 90-100 metres long, 20 metres mast

Am I very far off? :hmmm:

Fairly accurate but I meant for the GRT to be lower. Maybe the hull should be narrower & less deep.

theschell, I managed to open some of your simpler objects but the larger ones keep crashing wings3d. I will try Hexagon & some other apps to see if I can learn them.

Thanks.

[theschell]

Hexagon is probably the easiest to learn... and is the only modelling app i know how to use... i found wings and blender to be confusing and hard to understand... lol... i'm not great at this 3d modelling thing... also... there's a huge wealth of tutorials and forums for help with hexagon... so it was easy to find help with it...:)

Sorry my models parts aren't working out as we'd hoped... that kinda sucks...:cry:

[Hitman]

Fairly accurate but I meant for the GRT to be lower. Maybe the hull should be narrower & less deep.


The cranes are double, each side leaning over a cargo bay, of which there are four. Although those cargo bays are visibly shorter than on a regular ship, the hull shape is more rounded, and I was inclined to estimate each one at 1000 GRT (Since the overall size is already meant for including the total weigth of the ship, i-e- machinery, superstructure, etc.). But I also considered that the cargo bays could be estimated as only two larger ones instead of 4 smaller. In that case the size of those bays would be around 1250-1500 GRT, leaving the ship somewhere between 2500 and 3000 GRT. Not something that would have an effect on its length or mast heigth, but of course the tonnage varies sensibly :hmmm:

Therefore, in my opinion this ship's hull is closer to 4000 than to 2500 tons, but hey, don't take my words for truth because I use the same method as the real Kaleuns did, and those overestimated wildly the size of their targets :haha: (Works great for estimates of length and heigth for speed and distancem though)

[Rockin Robbins]

Wow! I missed a lot in this thread. Go guys, go! I can't wait to burn more of my precious hard drive space for a separate installation of the Wolves of the Kaiser mod.:up::up::up::up::up:

[iambecomelife]

I just noticed that the European coastline is VERY poorly modeled in certain areas, such as near the Channel and several French ports.

NOT good, seeing that most of the action will take place in this area. Hopefully it's an issue with mod conflicts & not an unresolved bug. It's very frustrating to come close to land and see buildings floating in midair, mountains split in half, and other glitches.:damn:

[WalterJConklin]

Does SH4 support the importation and use of Digital elevation model (DEM) for rendering the terrain?

Sincerely,
Walter

[Turbografx]

I just noticed that the European coastline is VERY poorly modeled in certain areas, such as near the Channel and several French ports.

NOT good, seeing that most of the action will take place in this area. Hopefully it's an issue with mod conflicts & not an unresolved bug. It's very frustrating to come close to land and see buildings floating in midair, mountains split in half, and other glitches.:damn:

Maybe someone from one of the Atlantic theater mods might be able to help.

[theschell]

Hey everyone... just dropping in to see how things are progressing... haven't seen or heard anything in a while...:)

[iambecomelife]

Hey everyone... just dropping in to see how things are progressing... haven't seen or heard anything in a while...:)

I still haven't managed to open the more complex objects in Wings3d. If I have the time I will try to learn how to use another program that can open your files but for now I will use the battleship parts I have built myself. It's a real shame because your American BB's looked great.

I had to redo one of my merchant ships after Windows update automatically restarted my computer before I could save it. :damn:

However, I'm just about through (see below).

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-5-16.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-4-20.jpg

[iambecomelife]

Work on the merchant shipping is going really well. Tomorrow there will be screenshots of even more cargo ships; all the models more detailed than those that were used in the Merchant Fleet Mod betas. With the merchant fleet mod I focused on having a very wide variety of different models. Now my focus is on a small number of basic ship sizes (1,500 GRT, 3,500 GRT, 5,000 GRT, 10,000 GRT) with several different cranes, bridges, lifeboats, stacks, & other features. And if you're the kind of sadistic captain who loves blowing apart crates, blasting deck furniture, etc with the gun, eat your heart out. :D

Tomorrow I hope to refocus efforts on the U-Boats themselves and the crewmen. I just realized that a very simple way to alter the crew uniforms had been staring me in the face all along. Will give it a try & post the results!

[iambecomelife]

Wireframe view showing some variants of an eight-derrick merchantman.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/wireframe2.jpg

I am negotiating with USS Sea Tiger & some other modelers for use of their work, including submarines, vehicles, & aircraft. Look for some more sub updates in the near future.

[theschell]

Ouchies... that sucks.... i hate when that happens... more than once i've lost projects because windows couln't find windows so to speak...lol...

I'm sorry that my parts weren't more usefull... i had hoped you'd be able to get more use out of them...:cry:... the merchant ships are looking great though... excellent work there ! :yeah:

[---Dagon---]

English submarine of type L series III
It was used in WWI became for mod Great War: Battle for Baltic

http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/2160/sh4img20091116175753743.jpg

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/9726/sh4img20091116182845446.jpg

http://img694.imageshack.us/img694/8785/sh4img20091116182608069.jpg

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/5905/sh4img20091116182652323.jpg

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5625/sh4img20091116175943841.jpg

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/8793/sh4img20091116180728239.jpg

http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/8901/sh4img20091116183112147.jpg

[keltos01]

Dagon you are a master modder ! :yep:

keltos

[trynnallen]

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/6737/santostefano.jpg (http://img402.imageshack.us/i/santostefano.jpg/)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEoG6cBCtkM


Except that it's not a crusier. It's looks more like the A-H BB Viterbus Unities.

[iambecomelife]

Except that it's not a crusier. It's looks more like the A-H BB Viterbus Unities.

That's right - it's the dreadnought Szent Istvan. One of my favorite WWI battleships. :yep:

And excellent submarine, Dagon. :up:

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Yes that was a lovely full dreadnought. The Austro Hungarian Navy and fleet were a very interesting subject for study and they did the very best they could considering that the Allies were so close to their ports, that region had some very interesting battles and events.

[iambecomelife]

I finished some models of an engines - aft freighter:

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/wireframe3.jpg

Right now I'm negotiating with the BF 1918 modders for some aircraft & zeppelins in exchange for battleships & cruisers.

I spent some time on crewmembers' clothes. If anyone has good closeups of Imperial German Navy enlisted man's hats I'd appreciate a look. Also, I've been looking for photos of semi-casual wear. Plain white shirts seem to have been common, but I would like a little more variety.

[theschell]

i have three pics of general german navy uniforms from a pdf of ww1 german unifroms... they aren't great but might help... i'll send them via email...:)

[Rockin Robbins]

Right now I'm negotiating with the BF 1918 modders for some aircraft & zeppelins in exchange for battleships & cruisers.

What do you think this is, the National Football League?:har: Don't forget to ask for a future draft pick or two!

[keltos01]

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/5853/newvanguarduboot0.jpg (http://img180.imageshack.us/i/newvanguarduboot0.jpg/)


new vanguard's Uboots of the Kaiser Navy p. 5

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/4822/newvanguarduboot1.jpg (http://img252.imageshack.us/i/newvanguarduboot1.jpg/)


new vanguard's Uboots of the Kaiser Navy p. 9

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/3532/newvanguarduboot22.jpg (http://img340.imageshack.us/i/newvanguarduboot22.jpg/)



new vanguard's Uboots of the Kaiser Navy p. 10

http://img252.imageshack.us/img252/2104/newvanguarduboot.jpg (http://img252.imageshack.us/i/newvanguarduboot.jpg/)


new vanguard's Uboots of the Kaiser Navy p. 18

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/4546/newvanguarduboot2.jpg (http://img180.imageshack.us/i/newvanguarduboot2.jpg/)


new vanguard's Uboots of the Kaiser Navy p. 20

http://img524.imageshack.us/img524/3003/newvanguarduboot3.jpg (http://img524.imageshack.us/i/newvanguarduboot3.jpg/)


new vanguard's Uboots of the Kaiser Navy p. 37

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/389/newvanguarduboot4.jpg (http://img514.imageshack.us/i/newvanguarduboot4.jpg/)


new vanguard's Uboots of the Kaiser Navy p. 41

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/7521/ivivosnap203736.png (http://img340.imageshack.us/i/ivivosnap203736.png/)


http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/6859/ivivosnap204235.png (http://img685.imageshack.us/i/ivivosnap204235.png/)


Morgenrot, 1933 movie filmed in a WWI Uboot, action taking place during WWI.

not all white those uniforms !

keltos

[iambecomelife]

Thanks!


Another thing I forgot to ask is if anybody knows the exact script used for the "Kaiserliche Marine" lettering printed on sailors' hats. If it's not available, a similar script would do fine. If there's an adobe photoshop plugin with suitable, "Germanic" looking text that would be terrific.

[iambecomelife]

I made some progress with crew figures. Unfortunately it's exam time, so no more updates until around Christmas break!

[ghcpa9]

Can't wait to see how this mod turns out.

:woot:

[iambecomelife]

Just noticed that the original SH3 figures can be adapted quite well to a WWI uniform. Using textures alone you can make it look as though the men are wearing overcoats.

I'm not satisfied with the existing hat models as substitutes for the WWI German enlisted man's naval cap, so I will try creating one from scratch and importing thru Silent 3ditor.

[iambecomelife]

Main menu screen that I am testing in SH3. This was put together hastily and doesn't represent the final product, so please bear with me.
http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/mainmenu.jpg

[AVGWarhawk]

Excellent! I like it very much. :yeah:

[keltos01]

Excellent! I like it very much. :yeah:

I concur ! :up:

keltos

[iambecomelife]

Kaiserliche Marine Officer's uniform - again being tested in SH3. Note the crown emblem on his cap, instead of the Third Reich eagle, along with the crowns on his cuffs and the gold stripe indicating rank. I found that using Photoshop I could create the illusion that he was wearing a long overcoat, instead of the work shirts that stock SH3 crewmen wear.

The coat is a modded version of the leather officer's jacket in GWX. The face comes from fubar's bearded reskin of the default SH3 officer heads.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Officer2.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Officer1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Officer3.jpg

The officer on the bridge. It took some work to modify the channels so that the default SH3 crewmember's features didn't show through, and to keep the uniform from looking featureless when exposed to different levels of light. At the moment things seem to be going well. I will create several different jackets for officers of different rank, as well as maybe some sweaters for casual clothing.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Officer4.jpg

[keltos01]

wonderful !

if you care to tell me sometimes in the future how to do that and not get funny characters or alien looking crew in SH4 I'd appreciate it, I still need to do the IJN crew's shirts etc.. but it kindo crashes when I alter a 3D model and re import it in the .dat

thanks

keltos

[Hitman]

That long coat is what I have been trying to create for a long time :damn:

Would you please share the textures for SH3 use? I want to give the watch crew nice grey leather coats :wah:

[iambecomelife]

That long coat is what I have been trying to create for a long time :damn:

Would you please share the textures for SH3 use? I want to give the watch crew nice grey leather coats :wah:

Sure. I will PM you a link.

[iambecomelife]

It's that time of year again - Exam time! :DL

My apologies to Hitman & everyone else - I will try to take care of my obligations within 1.5-2 weeks, when things settle down again.

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Thank you for the amazing work ...good luck on exams. :) happy holidays too.

[keltos01]

U161 U135 U139 blueprint (war reparation) :

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/6294/u161u135u139blueprint.jpg (http://img513.imageshack.us/i/u161u135u139blueprint.jpg/)

UB 103-117

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/3932/ub103uc97.jpg (http://img191.imageshack.us/i/ub103uc97.jpg/)

U 152 UC 22 UC 97

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/5903/u152uc22uc97.jpg (http://img9.imageshack.us/i/u152uc22uc97.jpg/)

As Japan was offered german Uboots after WWI as reparations they studied them and then built their own long range boats.

keltos

[keltos01]

New blueprint found !!!
still don't know when it's from, but that's a submarine alright !

http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/2200/50180201005001.jpg (http://img22.imageshack.us/i/50180201005001.jpg/)

http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/5396/submarinem.jpg (http://img695.imageshack.us/i/submarinem.jpg/)


http://img22.imageshack.us/img22/1812/kcopyx.jpg (http://img22.imageshack.us/i/kcopyx.jpg/)

unknown :

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/1586/unknownsubmarinebluepri.jpg (http://img34.imageshack.us/i/unknownsubmarinebluepri.jpg/)

http://img64.imageshack.us/img64/2084/uelargeminelayer.jpg (http://img64.imageshack.us/i/uelargeminelayer.jpg/)


http://translate.google.be/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=fr&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Frarebook.dl.itc.u-tokyo.ac.jp%2Fhiraga%2F&sl=ja&tl=en


YATAA !!!!!


keltos

[Bartolomeus]

Nice looking uniforms! Great work!

[iambecomelife]

Thanks a lot for the plans.

I am away from home right now but I will resume work on the mod right after New Year's. Spent a lot of time researching British and French pre-dreadnoughts & old battleships; everyone knows about the "Invincible" & "Lion" but I want some really unique targets. :)
http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/8959/frdanton3318756hj3.jpg
Sergbuto just mentioned a possible fix for the problem of wings3d models crashing in S3ditor. If it works then I expect to have some in-game shots of the "Moltke", U-9, "HMS Defence", and others.

[theschell]

Hey all... just dropped in to check up on progress... looks like some really good work is going on... nice job on the unifroms and such.... also wanted to say Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to one and all!:DL

[iambecomelife]

Thanks (belatedly) Chris.

After not having computer access I started modding ships again with Wings3d; I am not having as many problems getting the models imported.

I just managed to create a "stripped down" version of the "Biyo Maru" from SH4. Although this doesn't sound like much it is a pretty big breakthrough; now I can use it as a "parent unit" for more realistic looking ships - just like how I used the SH3 Liberty Ship to create the 40-50+ ships in the Merchant Fleet Mod beta.

Research on U-Boats & more important units is also ongoing, of course. I hope to find more shots showing the submarines at an angle, b/c profile drawings don't always give a good idea of how a sub was shaped.

[theschell]

hey all... just a quick note for those who are interested... i've held off on modelling my ww1 series of ships as i continue to try and reduce the poly counts and still keep the details... for anyone that downloaded my models from sharecg i'll be putting out a "fixed" version of my USS Wilkes 4-piper destroyer that fixes some issues wit the mapping shortly... i'll continue my large surface unit models once i accomplish a lower poly model i'm happy with... in the mean time i've ben doing WW2 Armour... which has kept me busy.... lol

I'm glad to hear things are progressing smoothly again here... keep up the great work! i'm realy looking forward to the end results:D

[Raptor1]

Thanks a lot for the plans.

I am away from home right now but I will resume work on the mod right after New Year's. Spent a lot of time researching British and French pre-dreadnoughts & old battleships; everyone knows about the "Invincible" & "Lion" but I want some really unique targets. :)


Unique targets...Agincourt is going to be in, right?

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

The Agincourt would be GREAT to have! what a ship that was, a one vessel fleet lol.

[iambecomelife]

The Agincourt would be GREAT to have! what a ship that was, a one vessel fleet lol.

She's my personal favorite, because I love midships turrets (even though they weren't very practical). I will try to get multiple ship classes done first, however - then, if there's time, important "one-shots" like "Dreadnought", "Agincourt", & others.

[Highbury]

This was about to drop off the main page :down:

Hope all is going well when you get the time for it. Still lookin forward to this one.

[Task Force]

I think he said something about him haveing exams up the page...

[shamuboy1]

Oh wow, if you are doing the Britannic and Olympic that would totally make SHIV totally awesome! Maybe you should think about doing Maurentania or Lusitania.

[iambecomelife]

Oh wow, if you are doing the Britannic and Olympic that would totally make SHIV totally awesome! Maybe you should think about doing Maurentania or Lusitania.

Yes; I have studied plans of the "Britannic" closely. Generic liners are a priority right now, but if there is time I will work on famous ships. A couple WIP shots from this week's work (also posted on the WWI: Total War modding thread at www.twcenter.net (http://www.twcenter.net)). I am not sure about the maximum rotational arcs for the BCs' midship turrets - if you know, feel free to contribute.




http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/invy1.jpg


http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/invy2.jpg

[linerkiller]

The HMS Invincible!!!! Hope this could be turned aso in a playable ship :D!!!!!

[trynnallen]

Standard figures for SeeKrieg are 105 degrees or 120 degrees. I think the difference is IMHO is a safety margin. 120 degrees was possible, but 105 was probably operational norm.

[iambecomelife]

Standard figures for SeeKrieg are 105 degrees or 120 degrees. I think the difference is IMHO is a safety margin. 120 degrees was possible, but 105 was probably operational norm.

Thanks! I'll enter that using S3ditor.

Update on the model, with a texture applied. The main guns are really Japanese 14"; I will either shrink the barrels slightly or build a different turret from scratch.


http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Invincible%20Renders/bow-1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Invincible%20Renders/turret.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Invincible%20Renders/profile-1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Invincible%20Renders/stern.jpg

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

The Saftey stops were hammered home at about 100 degrees usually, which gave a margin for blow back error, not all the shells were made correctly even at the best of founderies and there were accidents and it was especialy needful to be careful in the heat of battle when things got heated up. Great ship! very very nice.

[linerkiller]

Starboard profile of the RMS Aquitania. Not very detailed but I hope it could be useful:salute:!
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/742/rmsaquitania.jpg

[gamer025]

A WWI Mod for SH3?! :rock:

MUST HAVE! How far along is it?

[iambecomelife]

A WWI Mod for SH3?! :rock:

MUST HAVE! How far along is it?

Very basic stages. Much work remains to be done on player and AI units and the campaign layers have not even been started. However, I have a lot of experience with campaign and interface modding - it's just a matter of finding the time to get the work done.

[iambecomelife]

Work on the mod continues. I decided to try my hand at editing the main menu graphics - almost posted asking for help but I figured it all out myself. :rotfl2:

The WWII Pacific - themed images have been replaced with appropriate WWI photos and paintings. The background movie is a dramatic clip showing the Lusitania sinking. I will have the interface available for download as a SH4 mod in a day or two so that anyone who's interested can critique it.

[Bubblehead1980]

Glad you are making progress, really looking forward to this mod:salute:

[Turbografx]

I can;t wait! This and the Baltic mod are the most interesting in a while!

[iambecomelife]

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/intro1.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/intro2.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/intro3.jpg

As promised, here is the preview intro for WOTK. Simply download and enable it through JSGME and uninstall when you've had your fill. It should not affect gameplay in any way because it's just an interface mod.
Post comments here or on the release thread; be advised that a few scenes are a bit disturbing.

http://www.filefront.com/15552405/Wolves_of_the_Kaiser_Intro.7z

[atoll1]

Good stuff!:DL

What's the title of the movie from which the background movie is based?

[iambecomelife]

Good stuff!:DL

What's the title of the movie from which the background movie is based?

A 2007 film called "Lusitania: Murder on the Atlantic".

It's a pretty poor film for the most part (and it uses a WWII sub as the U-20), but the sinking scene was very well done.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1043496/

[keltos01]

A 2007 film called "Lusitania: Murder on the Atlantic".

It's a pretty poor film for the most part (and it uses a WWII sub as the U-20), but the sinking scene was very well done.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1043496/

I have the german 1933 movie Morgenrot filmed in a WWI Uboot if you want. The Uboot belonged to the norvegian navy at the time of the filming, it's quite good, kindo a 1933 Das Boot !

keltos

[Bubblehead1980]

I would love to see that.....

[Freakwave]

very ambitious mod! :salute:

[iambecomelife]

I just got the "Invincible" to appear ingame. It took damage and fired on my sub when I surfaced. At this point it still has lots of parts from its parent unit (King George V), so no screenshots yet.

[iambecomelife]

Tomorrow I will try adding new gun turrets so that the "Invincible" has the right weapons. At the moment I need to add the following weapons to the game:

British 12" (Battleship/Battlecruiser variant)

British 12" (Pre-Dreadnought variant)

British 13.5"

British 9"

British 7.5"

German 11"

German short-barelled 88mm (for UB-type submarines)

[keltos01]

Tomorrow I will try adding new gun turrets so that the "Invincible" has the right weapons. At the moment I need to add the following weapons to the game:

British 12" (Battleship/Battlecruiser variant)

British 12" (Pre-Dreadnought variant)

British 13.5"

British 9"

British 7.5"

German 11"

German short-barelled 88mm (for UB-type submarines)

nice progress !

but are you testing in SH IV or III ?

keltos

[iambecomelife]

I am testing with SH3 for now, although I should be able to import the models into SH4.

I finally got the Invy looking somewhat presentable. Still no secondary armament for the time being, and several details need to be corrected; however, it has been a good learning experience.

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Invy-Sea1.jpg



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

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Invy-Sea3.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d54/iambecomelife/Untitled-9-15.jpg

[keltos01]

British M class submarine

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/6334/hmsm1fromairportbow.jpg (http://img691.imageshack.us/i/hmsm1fromairportbow.jpg/)

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/226/800pxhmsm1submarinemode.jpg (http://img69.imageshack.us/i/800pxhmsm1submarinemode.jpg/)

http://gamecow.egloos.com/

Design

The guns were 12-inch (305 mm) 40 calibre Mark IX guns from spares for the Formidable-class battleships (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formidable_class_battleship). The mounting allowed them to elevate by 20 degrees, depress 5 degrees and train 15 degrees in either direction from the centre line. The weapon was normally fired from periscope depth using a simple bead sight on the end of the gun aligned with the target through the periscope at a range of around 1200 metres. The exposure time of the gun above the surface was around 75 seconds. The submarine had to surface to reload the gun, which would take about 3 minutes. In practice the concept was not very successful and only three of the four M-class boats ordered were completed, all between 1917 and 1918. M-class submarines are sometimes called submarine monitors (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monitor_warship_type).
M1 and M2 also had four 18-inch (450-mm) torpedo tubes whilst M3 and M4 had 21-inch (533 mm) diameter tubes and were 3 metres longer to accommodate them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_M_class_submarine


what about modding this one ?

keltos

[pontius]

All is looking very good IABL! The skin of the Invincible could be abit sharper though :03:
Another interesting english sub would be the K-class :D But there is so much important stuff left to be done. When all works out ok, maybe I can contribute a WW1 vessel. 3 D is done, Uvmap, skin and import left to do and I did this last time 2 years ago, so it will take time to relearn.... :yawn:

-pontius

[MGR1]

The Invincible does indeed look good, but the wee "hook" at the top of the bow looks a bit odd? IIRC, the class didn't have anything like that. Looking at the wireframe you posted earlier, is it based off the Colorado model?

@Keltos; the M was an interesting idea, but they were never actually used in anger. M1 was sunk in a collision, M2 was converted to handle a seaplane and sank in an accident; and M3 was converted into a minelayer.

@pontius; the K's were deathtraps!:o I bet the crews were happy to see the back of them when they were decommisioned! I don't think anyone wanted a repeat of the "Battle of May Island".....

If any British sub should be done, then it has to be the E Class!:yeah:

The only issue is a lack of decent plans you could build a model from.:hmmm:

Mike.:)

[iambecomelife]

British M class submarine

http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/6334/hmsm1fromairportbow.jpg (http://img691.imageshack.us/i/hmsm1fromairportbow.jpg/)

http://img69.imageshack.us/img69/226/800pxhmsm1submarinemode.jpg (http://img69.imageshack.us/i/800pxhmsm1submarinemode.jpg/)

http://gamecow.egloos.com/

Design

The guns were 12-inch (305 mm) 40 calibre Mark IX guns from spares for the Formidable-class battleships (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Formidable_class_battleship). The mounting allowed them to elevate by 20 degrees, depress 5 degrees and train 15 degrees in either direction from the centre line. The weapon was normally fired from periscope depth using a simple bead sight on the end of the gun aligned with the target through the periscope at a range of around 1200 metres. The exposure time of the gun above the surface was around 75 seconds. The submarine had to surface to reload the gun, which would take about 3 minutes. In practice the concept was not very successful and only three of the four M-class boats ordered were completed, all between 1917 and 1918. M-class submarines are sometimes called submarine monitors (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monitor_warship_type).
M1 and M2 also had four 18-inch (450-mm) torpedo tubes whilst M3 and M4 had 21-inch (533 mm) diameter tubes and were 3 metres longer to accommodate them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_M_class_submarine


what about modding this one ?

keltos

Honestly I would rather model German subs first, such as the U-9, U-19, and UB boats. If any British subs are included I would prefer to include some of the more common ones, like the "E" class.

As for the Invincible, it still has some features of the "Colorado". I tried giving it a higher res skin but it crashed the game. The final product should be more polished.

[iambecomelife]

This weekend I managed to complete most of the crew uniforms for a possible SH3 version of the mod. The officers have several varieties of long coats/coveralls with gilt caps, and the men have black or grey work coveralls, plus brimless caps with the tricolor emblem. They also have lettering across the front "Kaiserliche Marine" for now, although I will create mods for "Flanders Flotilla", "U-Cruiser Flotilla", etc.

[iambecomelife]

Current version of the "Invincible" in SH4.

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

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

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

[Sledgehammer427]

I don't care if the pics are too big! looking d*** fine IABL! :up:

[iambecomelife]

I don't care if the pics are too big! looking d*** fine IABL! :up:

Thanks!

Next I hope to add the secondary guns, plus some static officer & sailor figures (I can't stand the default AI ship crewmembers, even though they move).

Afterwards I'd like to work on a few more of our worthy foes - "Indefatigable/"Australia"/"NZ", "Lion", "Queen Mary", and some pre-dreadnoughts. Also start on improved U-Boat conning towers.

[GlowwormGuy]

Wow! That just looks amazing. You know how much I love the Great War period warships - just seeing that really made my day.

Did you get to read Robert Massie's Castles of Steel? The U-boat fleet really played a very important part in the Great War but at the start no one could predict it would be such a deadly and feared weapon. Old Forkbeard Tirpitz believed in it but many others thought that they were little more than toys. Of course - as you rightly are trying to simulate - the whole issue revolved around the use of standard Cruiser Rules for sinking merchant ships. And they didn't really know too much what would happen in U-boat vs warship combat until Weddigen sunk the three Cressys.

There's a lot of behind the scenes politicking going on during the war as Tirpitz and the fleet commanders want to push the limits of their weapon as it is the best - and often times the only (because the Hochseeflotte is 'shackled' to port by the Alle Hoch) way to strike back against the Allies. Like there would be times that the ships can undertake more unrestricted submarine warfare tactics and other times they'd be limited (the negotiations with Pres.Wilson would determine that subs could attack only such and such ships or that passenger vessels would absolutely not be attacked) or even withdrawn from the anti-merchant campaign altogether and employed offensively against the Grand Fleet. Indeed the standard Hochseeflotte strategy, harking back to their Jeune Ecole roots, was to try and weaken the Royal Navy strength as it sortied through mine barrages, ambushes of their light forces or catching their scouting heavy ships (ie. Beatty's Battlecruisers and any supporting battle squadron) in a trap with the German battlecruisers as bait and the battleships of the Hochseeflotte as the steel teeth, and of course with submarines which, happily for the Imperial Navy, were more potent than many traditionalists had imagined.

Hopefully as it grows and goes there will be expansions into the Mediterranean perhaps or the possibility to command light warships like small TBs?

Is there a mission editor guide for SH4? I'd like to check that out and perhaps in future I can come aboard as well!

All the best of luck with this project! It looks awesome =)

[pontius]

She looks beautiful in SH4. :up: