Seeking news re IAMBECOMELIFE'S Merchant Ship Mod

[rascal101]

As the title suggests I am seeking news re IAMBECOMELIFE's merchant ship mod, I know it was released but there were problems with getting it to work can any one tell me if this was solved

Regards
Rascal

[melnibonian]

We've been waiting for three years for this mod and nothing has materialised yet.

If you ask me it's a total waste of time (unfortunately) :cry:

[Sailor Steve]

I disagree that it's a waste of time. I think the better course might have been to release them one at a time, and I'm still unable to use the beta version, but I think this will still happen, and I'm looking forward to it.

[sergei]

I've managed to get some of it working simply by cutting it down to a smaller size.
I think the 93(!) ships it added were just too much for my PC.
So I've taken 20 merchants and 5 tankers I most liked the look of and added just those.
Game runs just fine. New ships turn up as singles and in convoy and look real pretty.
It requires a little bit of work, but is not difficult.
You just gotta be real careful you don't have a ship in the roster with no corresponding model in the Sea folder.

[Stiebler]

The NYGM mod has had a sub-set of IABL's merchant fleet for about two years now.

They are perfectly stable, excellent ships that are pretty to look at and sink well.
[But note, they have been rezoned for use with NYGM's slow-sinking model, so will *not* function with any other super-mod, nor with stock SH3.]

The full merchant fleet from IABL definitely has some issues of mutual compatibility, probably owing to overlapping ship IDs, but restricted sets of ships have been recommended by others in IABL's main sticky thread at the top of this forum. A problem in the past has been that some of IABL's ships could not be torpedoed (the torpedoes passed straight through the hull). I don't know whether this affects his new merchant fleet. Something to watch out for.

Stiebler.

[sergei]

A problem in the past has been that some of IABL's ships could not be torpedoed (the torpedoes passed straight through the hull). I don't know whether this affects his new merchant fleet. Something to watch out for

That's good to know Stiebler. I did make a quick mission using some of the ships I added, to make sure they sank properly.
I think I'll make up a mission using all of them, just to double check I can sink 'em all.
Thanks for the info :up:

[iambecomelife]

As the title suggests I am seeking news re IAMBECOMELIFE's merchant ship mod, I know it was released but there were problems with getting it to work can any one tell me if this was solved

Regards
Rascal

The second beta I wanted to release was never stable enough in my opinion. I simply wouldn't feel comfortable declaring it to be the final product.

I restarted work on the mod about 2-3 weeks ago. Ships that were causing crashes are being replaced by new models that are both more detailed and more stable.

[iambecomelife]

We've been waiting for three years for this mod and nothing has materialised yet.

If you ask me it's a total waste of time (unfortunately) :cry:

I myself would prefer it if things were going faster, but work and school must come first.

[rascal101]

Take your time my man - practice makes perfect -

You may want to time your release to coincide with the relase of SH5 - I imagine there will be a pronounced influx of people anxious to update their installation of SH3 imediately following the release of SH5

I dont know if you've been monitoring developments re SH5 but its a lemon, dead on arrival, unless your under 14.

Sorry, more precisely, dead long before arrival - I'm just not aware of any medical term for this besides 'abortion' which is a little harsh for this forum

Regards

JI myself would prefer it if things were going faster, but work and school must come first.

[iambecomelife]

Take your time my man - practice makes perfect -

You may want to time your release to coincide with the relase of SH5 - I imagine there will be a pronounced influx of people anxious to update their installation of SH3 imediately following the release of SH5

I dont know if you've been monitoring developments re SH5 but its a lemon, dead on arrival, unless your under 14.

Sorry, more precisely, dead long before arrival - I'm just not aware of any medical term for this besides 'abortion' which is a little harsh for this forum

Regards

J


Yes, I have been monitoring the SH5 DRM fiasco. I was looking forward to playing this game only to find out about these issues. Nobody expected that UBI would treat us legit users like criminals while essentially rewarding pirates.

Anyway, check the main MFM thread for more WIP-updates in the days to come.

[evan82]

A problem in the past has been that some of IABL's ships could not be torpedoed (the torpedoes passed straight through the hull).
I use few old IAMBECOMELIFE's ships, but after some zon spheres correction.:salute:

[sergei]

I made a mission to check the 25 I am using.
I can torpedo them all and they sink just fine :DL
They sure do look pretty iambecomelife, thanks for the hard work :up:
I think quite a lot of people hare will be sticking to SH3 for their U Boat fix. There's a lot of life in the old dog yet.
Looking forward to any more work you do on this.

[A6Intruder]

I made a mission to check the 25 I am using.
I can torpedo them all and they sink just fine :DL
They sure do look pretty iambecomelife, thanks for the hard work :up:
I think quite a lot of people hare will be sticking to SH3 for their U Boat fix. There's a lot of life in the old dog yet.
Looking forward to any more work you do on this.

Dear Sergei,
maybe you could post a list of these 25 ships you got to work.
Would help me, and i am sure, others also.
Thanks in forward.

Best regards:salute:

[melnibonian]

I myself would prefer it if things were going faster, but work and school must come first.

Please don't get me wrong. I understand that you're held up with other things and I am not accusing you for everything. I'm just stating how unfortunate it is that so few of your fantastic models will eventualy reach SH3 in a finished state.

[elanaiba]

I know this is not what you want to hear, but its probably best to move this kind of mod to SH4 due to the dynamic loading and changes in technology that allow better use of memory.

That game is much better for "lots of ships models".

[piri_reis]

Well yeah SH3 load times are killing me, last night I started adding ships from the Merchant Mod, in groups of 3. Creating the necessary Roster files, and copying over the Sea/(ShipModel) folder. (using JSGME in the process)

Then go start up the game (gwx3) and check the museum. I got 10 of them working perfectly, no crash, no effects missing or anything. Then I go try a career, it starts crashing on me.

It's perhaps the third time I spent many hours on this. Plus the beta testing I had done before. It's just taking way too much time to load up and check these. I love the models the work IABL has put in them and I really want to get some of them in my game, but the career crashing at the last second, just discourages me big time.

[sergei]

Dear Sergei, maybe you could post a list of these 25 ships you got to work.

I'm not near my gaming PC at the moment, I'll post a list tomorrow when I get a minute

[A6Intruder]

I'm not near my gaming PC at the moment, I'll post a list tomorrow when I get a minute

Please do not forget the list.
Best regards:salute:

[Sailor Steve]

I know this is not what you want to hear, but its probably best to move this kind of mod to SH4 due to the dynamic loading and changes in technology that allow better use of memory.

That game is much better for "lots of ships models".
Which also means it's much better for applying individual models to a variety of nations...and names.:sunny:

[bigboywooly]

I know this is not what you want to hear, but its probably best to move this kind of mod to SH4 due to the dynamic loading and changes in technology that allow better use of memory.

That game is much better for "lots of ships models".

wont disagree with that
Certainly makes ship variations/skins by nation etc a lot easier

Just a pity the water looks like jello and the interface is unbearable

[sergei]

Please do not forget the list.
Best regards:salute:

Sorry A6Intruder, and anyone else who may be waiting.
I recently got totally sidetracked by something else.
Anyway, here is a mix that I have found works for me.
By the way, I added up what I was using and it comes to 15 merchants and 5 tankers, seems I miscounted before. It is not the 20 merchants I claimed previously. It is only 15, and 5 tankers. Sorry if anyone thinks I may have misled them,

Tankers: T01B, T04B, T07B, T08B, T014B
Merchants: M01B, M02B, M04B, M07B, M010B, M012B, M013B, M014B, M17B, M22B, M24B, M27B, M30B, M34B, M37B

[sergei]

Just to add to this, you will notice I have only used 'B' models.
In case you are not aware, 'A' models are American, and 'B' models are British. (I think!)
I am sure I read somewhere in the original thread that some of the A and B models conflict with each other, which is why I decided to add only with models from one country to my game.

[melnibonian]

Just to add to this, you will notice I have only used 'B' models.
In case you are not aware, 'A' models are American, and 'B' models are British. (I think!)
I am sure I read somewhere in the original thread that some of the A and B models conflict with each other, which is why I decided to add only with models from one country to my game.

Is it possible to upload your version of the mod? That way we can all try it and test it without having to fiddle through all the files.

Thanks in advance

[sergei]

Is it possible to upload your version of the mod? That way we can all try it and test it without having to fiddle through all the files.

Thanks in advance

I've just had a long hard think about that melnibonian, and to be honest with you, I don't think I can.

I could post details of how I got bits of iambecomelife's mod to work for me. I think that would be AOK. I don't think anyone here would object to that.
(Well, I hope so. Cos that's what I've done!)

But iambecomelife has spent so long on this mod, it's obviously such a labour of love for him, that I couldn't feel right taking some of his ships, and then packaging them up into a mod friendly format and releasing them for other people.

I'm sorry melnibonian, I hope you understand this, it is nothing personal.

Having said this, anyone who turns up here, I will happily help them make some of iambecomelifes ships work in their game.

[Sailor Steve]

Just to add to this, you will notice I have only used 'B' models.
That's too bad, as you will lose at least half of the names from SH3 Commander's lists. I was actually hoping to eventually have models for each ship for every country that used them.

Another reason for SH4.

[sergei]

That's too bad,

Hey Steve, how you doing?
Hope life is treating you better than last time I checked.

Yeah it sucks that I can only get one type of model to work.
Until iambeconelife finishes his work, I can seem to be able to get either the A types or the B types working, but not both.
It's still all good. Cos it's better than having neither!
Take care mate :up:

[sergei]

That's too bad, as you will lose at least half of the names from SH3 Commander's lists.

Yeah Sorry about that Steve, but it seems that some of the A types and B types of the same number have ID conflicts.

[ryanglavin]

Take your time my man - practice makes perfect -

You may want to time your release to coincide with the relase of SH5 - I imagine there will be a pronounced influx of people anxious to update their installation of SH3 imediately following the release of SH5

I dont know if you've been monitoring developments re SH5 but its a lemon, dead on arrival, unless your under 14.

Sorry, more precisely, dead long before arrival - I'm just not aware of any medical term for this besides 'abortion' which is a little harsh for this forum

Regards

J


Sorry that this isn't the place for a SH5 arguement, but you've never played the game before, you don't know if its bad or not.

[sergei]

Sorry that this isn't the place for a SH5 arguement, but you've never played the game before, you don't know if its bad or not.

You are right, this isn't the place.
But his post was 5 days ago.
Why trawl it up now?

Anything to add to the thread aboud iambecomelifes extra ships?

[A6Intruder]

Yeah Sorry about that Steve, but it seems that some of the A types and B types of the same number have ID conflicts.

Why do not use B-Models in A-Locations? Schould work should`nt it?
Best regards:salute:

[bigboywooly]

Why do not use B-Models in A-Locations? Schould work should`nt it?
Best regards:salute:

The reason for the A and B verions are so each will have country specific skins
Adding say all the B versions to the US roster instead of the A version will give the US flagged ships British skins and vice versa

[A6Intruder]

The reason for the A and B verions are so each will have country specific skins
Adding say all the B versions to the US roster instead of the A version will give the US flagged ships British skins and vice versa

I did not check all skins of the 20 Ships but the first 4 did not have flags on hull etc. but even there are some of them we do not have to take all of them to the US. It is a little Handwork but the ships are worth to be used.:up:
Best regards:salute:

[Sailor Steve]

It also means that the American ships will get British names as well.

[A6Intruder]

I checked every ship of the twenty. None of them has a flagpainting. Some of them have a "Rooper" outside. ImO we could use them for other countries too.
I will use some or all for Canada, New Zealand, Russia. Norway, USA and Australia.
I do not mind anout the names. New great ships or right names i know how to choose.
Best regards:salute:

[iambecomelife]

I checked every ship of the twenty. None of them has a flagpainting. Some of them have a "Rooper" outside. ImO we could use them for other countries too.
I will use some or all for Canada, New Zealand, Russia. Norway, USA and Australia.
I do not mind anout the names. New great ships or right names i know how to choose.
Best regards:salute:

I think you mean "Ropner", for Ropner Shipping Co. These merchantmen were very distinctive with their billboard lettering and green hulls. They actually had individual names painted on the side, but to avoid conflicts with SH3 Commander's vessel naming system I substituted "Ropner Shipping" for "Wandby", "Daleby", etc.

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

http://www.uboat.net/allies/ships/photos/br/somersby.jpg

I am going to update the mod so that some British vessels have Swedish, Irish, Norwegian, Panamanian, Brazilian, Danish, and American hull flags & billboard letters. These will represent neutral vessels carrying supplies to the Allies. They may appear in convoy or sailing alone. This will have the added benefit of more nationalities without cloning models. The flags will either be hidden or new 3d objects textured with the main tga file, as opposed to the Flags.dat file.