Strategic War Mod

[General Tso]

The mod may be downloaded here (version 1.019).

You need a minimum screen width of 1280 to run this mod properly.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?di2c8u6jjapilqo

Instructions for installing the mod are located at the bottom of this first post.

This mod is called Strategic War Mod and it works differently than most SH4 mods.
The mod is a separate program that you run from your desktop while the game isn't active.
It reads your most recently saved campaign game then displays the current status of your campaign.
It currently doesn't change any of your game files so game-play within SH4 itself is not altered.

I always thought that one of the shortcomings of the Silent Hunter series is that the player isn't given a reason to sink ships (other than for the fun of it).
This mod attempts to correct that by creating certain goals and strategic options with a person's current campaign.
Since saved game files for SH4 are not designed with this in mind I was greatly limited in what I could do, but I think that the mod is getting to the point where it might be worth trying.

In this mod you are given different reasons for sinking Warships, Freighters, Tankers, and Troopships.

Here are some screen shots that should give you an idea of what the mod is like.
The first picture is the main screen of the mod.
The next picture is of a help screen from within the mod and should give you a pretty good idea how to achieve victory.
The third picture is another help screen with some additional information.


Main Screen:
http://www.mediafire.com/i/?5ik5l1ac03lccjphttp://www.mediafire.com/i/?7cauep6ule1i02qhttp://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/947cef685ffdff2ca350244e573771cb9d9061f471a6312520 aeb13b9d6d7f1f6g.jpg


Help #1:
http://www.mediafire.com/i/?dsdj74v25a0ac7mhttp://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/8f6037f4216e885fc597b52208645a417d3f962f2b396a95d5 731e2af7f7a0d56g.jpg


Help #2:
http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/35e60dcb89c0beec5b212c6e126a2fb8e993ed0d8f6084176b 56f115256022b76g.jpg


How to install this mod.

The mod itself doesn't need to be installed. However you do need to install the Python scripting language plus an additional library called PyGame in order for the mod to work.


Step #1:
Download and install the Python scripting language. Note: PyGame currently requires version 3.1.3 of Python.

You can download Python here.
http://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.1.3/python-3.1.3.msi


Step #2:
Download and install the PyGame library.

You can download the PyGame library here. The PyGame library must be installed after you install Python.
http://pygame.org/ftp/pygame-1.9.1.win32-py3.1.msi


Step #3:
Download and unzip the mod. Open the "Strategic War Mod" folder. Double click on the "StrategicWar.pyw" icon to open the mod. If you want easier access to the mod just make a shortcut from this icon like normal.
You can extract the Strategic War Mod Folder to just about any location you like as long as you don't place it somewhere that would cause problems with another program that isn't expecting it.
I would recommend that you do not extract it to your SH4 mods folder as it may cause problems if you tried to do something with it while using JSGME. Placing it in your SH4 game folder should work OK.

If you get a "Load Failed" error when the mod starts:
The mod requires access to the game's "data" and "SaveGames" folders. By default it attempts to find these folders on it's own. If that fails then the mod will generate an error and you will need to manually enter the path. To do this open the options.txt file located in ModData folder (which is located in the mod folder). You can open it with any text editor. There is an option line for the "data" folder and one for the "SavedGames" folder. You may need to set one or both of these. Follow the directions in the options file when entering the path there.


There is no need to start a new campaign when trying out this mod for the first time.


You can change the display options in the options.txt file. There are instruction in the options file. The options include a full screen mode and a windowed mode where you can specify the size.

http://www.mediafire.com/i/?x1mvcm4gkqaygap

[keltos01]

So here what you sink affects the war outcome ! this is the missing dynamic campaign ;)

even if only a text based game addon it might give the sinkings a real purpose missing from the game

good work !

keltos

[NeonsStyle]

What a great idea... I stopped playing sh4 ages ago
because of this very reason... endless patrols, with
no variation, and no real point. If this mod works,
it might really give us a reason to fight.

What I really want tho, is ffs some variety in my
missions. When I first starting playing sh4, in my
first campaign, I had some good missions, sneaking
into harbours, deploying commando's n things like
that. But after those first few missions, from then on
it was the same thing over n over n over, go here,
find ships, sink them... I just wish each patrol
was different from the last... mixed in some commando
in dangerous water missions along with sneak into
harbours... I've only ever seen 2 of those missions.
The rest are all the same - sink a convoy. Got to
be mechanical...

But this mod, might at least give a damn good reason. :)

[Laffertytig]

this looks fantastic:yeah:

anyone here played the old red storm rising game? it was great in that your patols affected how the overall campaign played out, if you had a successful patrol then it would influence how other units would perform etc.

i wonder if such a things would be possible in sh4, or even sh3. an external program such as this could be run alongside the game maybe with a basic map of the pacific and with each patrol the results could be fed into it to influence how the war played out.

am i just dreaming or could this be achievable?

[General Tso]

this looks fantastic:yeah:

anyone here played the old red storm rising game? it was great in that your patols affected how the overall campaign played out, if you had a successful patrol then it would influence how other units would perform etc.

i wonder if such a things would be possible in sh4, or even sh3. an external program such as this could be run alongside the game maybe with a basic map of the pacific and with each patrol the results could be fed into it to influence how the war played out.

am i just dreaming or could this be achievable?

I loved the old Red Storm Rising game. I played that for many many hours on my Amiga computer. Actually as far as influencing the war, to a limited extent that's what this mod does, it only affects values in the mod (not in the game) and it doesn't have a built in map (which is a couple of big minuses of course). It might even be possible to consider a dynamic campaign where the mod changes the campaign files within the game. But that would a major task with potential for major problems. So I don't see it happening in the immediate future.

[Laffertytig]

yep that would be very cool but as you say, much work would be required.

still cant wait to try out your mod. any idea how close to release you are?

[Fish40]

Very interesting concept! Good work!:yeah:

[General Tso]

Thanks for all the great comments. All of the features in the mod are currently implemented and appear ready to go.

For the most part I've only run the mod using artificially created campaigns so there still needs to be some game balancing done. One thing that would be a help would be some input from different players on how many tons they think they could sink in a average patrol. It would be helpful if the tonnage was broken down into Warships, Freighters, Tankers, and Troopships. Since ships other than freighters aren't necessarily sunk on every patrol you need to either use fractions or else give the tons you think you can sink over a period of time - like a year, or the entire war.

One concern that I have is that all of the common campaigns (the standard one, RSRDC, TMO, etc...) do not have enough Tankers and Troopship. Has anybody been able to sink those kind of ships on a regular basis?

[Borgneface]

Hello,
Sorry for the late comment!
I agree this looks really good.....I like Dynamic campaign! Used it with Il2 Sturm...
Good show:yeah:

[Jan Kyster]

I would have said there are three links with error and can't see download link either :D

- but now see your sig (Soon available) :up:



Looks very interesting!

[fitzcarraldo]

Great work! This utility seems a great addon. Is it possible a similar mod for SH3?

Watching for download...

Best regards.

Fitzcarraldo :salute:

[General Tso]

I just added a note to the first post - I hope to have the mod ready within the next two weeks (maybe sooner). Right now all it needs is some testing for bugs and a lot of game balance testing. Once I feel that I have done as much of the testing as is possible by myself I'll make the first version available for anybody to test and play (and to point out anything that I missed :oops:). After that we will hopefully have a solid version for anybody to play.

If anybody wants to give some ideas on the average tonnage sunk per mission that would help with the game balancing. If I don't get a good grasp on the average tonnage by the time I release the first version, I plan on using the difficulty level in the mod to help narrow things down. If I find that everybody is using the easy level - I'll make it more difficult and vise versa.

Edit: I don't want to scare anybody off with all of this testing talk. All you need to do is play your campaign like normal then checkout the mod every so often as see how things are going. If the mod version is upgraded you can still continue with the same campaign so like I mentioned above the testing shouldn't require any changes in your game play (other than checking out the mod and letting me know whats happening).

[razark]

Looks like a cool idea. I'll have to check it out once it's ready. I loved the dynamic campaign aspect of RSR (and other Microprose games. Adds quite a bit of interest to see your actions actually affecting things.)

I'd really love to see it modify the actual in game campaign, but I'm guessing that would take a lot of work, and be quite a bit for one single modder. Maybe version 1.2? :D

[General Tso]

If this mod works out well as is. I'd be all for trying a dynamic campaign next, but as you said it would be a lot of work for a single modder. It would have to be a team effort.

There would be two options available as I see it.
1. Edit the campaign itself to do thing like reduce or increase certain types of Japanese shipping in specific places. Also Japanese/U.S. bases could change hands at different times depending of the player's actions. I'm not currently familiar with editing the campaign file so I'm not sure if this is possible, but it looks like it should be.

2. Edit the players saved game files. With this we could do things like causing your stay at base to be longer if your submarine is damaged. The more damage - the longer the stay. Different damage conditions could cause different results. We could even have things like major hull damage causing an extra long stay in base which would duplicate traveling to the main land for major dry dock repair. Meanwhile within the campaign the Japanese keep building more ship tonnage and gaining ground. The player would probably have to save the game just before entering base and then go to the mod while in base, but I think it could be done.

A good intermediate step might be to make some static changes to the campaign file that are done before the player even starts the campaign. Thing like adding more Troopships and Tankers (if necessary).

But that's all down the road. For now the main task is seeing if the mod if worthwhile as is.

[Jan Kyster]

...all it needs is some testing for bugsDon't overdo it - we're not used to be spoiled.... :D


Some links, sinkings by boat:

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan/IJN/JANAC-Losses/index.html
http://pigboats.com/ww2/ww2sinkings.html
http://www.valoratsea.com/JANAC.htm

US losses and damaged: http://www.usmm.org/shipsunkdamaged.html

[Mescator]

One concern that I have is that all of the common campaigns (the standard one, RSRDC, TMO, etc...) do not have enough Tankers and Troopship. Has anybody been able to sink those kind of ships on a regular basis?

See Tankers probably once or twice a Patrol. Sometimes 3 times. Troopships i think i've sunk 2 in the last 3 or 4 months.

Edit: Using RSRD

[General Tso]

Thanks for the historical info Jan Kyster. I've been using those type of web sites to get the numbers in the game as close to being historically accurate as possible. One of the things that I discovered while researching this mod is that there are no hard figures on Japanese ship production and tonnage sunk by U.S. submarines. Some of the values can differ by over 100% depending on where you look! So I have tried to make the numbers in the mod be as accurate as possible, but not at the sacrifice of game play.

Thanks for the ship siting info Mescator. That's exactly what I'm looking for. Your numbers are higher than I expected and give me hope that things will work out OK as far as finding the different ship types within the game. I and using TMO with RSRD on my system. Any campaign should work with this mod. It's just a matter of whether it provides enough targets of each type (Warships, Freighters, Tankers, and Troopships) without providing to many and unbalancing things. Since I'm creating the mod using RSRD I'll probably recommend using it, but it may not be absolutely necessary. When you say 2 Troopships in the last 3 or 4 months do you mean in game time?

[Mescator]

When you say 2 Troopships in the last 3 or 4 months do you mean in game time?

Real life, but you know it probably is equal xD. Don't play as much as I'd like to. They are fairly rare though, but i usually don't look at classifications so you probably want some more regular skippers to pitch in :)

[Istar]

Shouldn`t all the info you need to know about shipping be in the game files ?
(The various .mis files ?) It is defined in there what is spawned where and when and how often.
I`m not an experienced modder but maybe one of them could help you where to look and how to interpret the data.
If you could even make the program get it`s data from there then there is also no need to balance against various versions like stock (lot`s of traffic), TMO (less traffic) and RSRD(are there even other ships besides mine here ? :03:) since the program could do it for you. And since it would only be reading the files there is no risk of breaking anything game wise.

Though like I said.. get a experienced modder to help you out.

[General Tso]

I did do a few searches through the campaign folder for certain ship types and the tankers and troopships definitely come up less often then standard freighters. But since I'm not familiar with the campaign files I'm not sure of the exact situation. Any input from somebody familiar with the campaign files would be great!

So far I've been staying away from reading the campaign files into the mod because there is a lot of data there and it would greatly slow things down. Since it looks like the campaign files may have to be read eventually for several different reasons maybe I should at least look into seeing what is involved. :hmmm: Your idea may be good way to start using the campaign files, but I'm not certain if it will make it into the first version.

[Istar]

If it indeed would slow things down, maybe you could keep the reading of the campaign files a one time thing the program does when linking it to the proper game you wish to use it with. Then the program could write the data it needs in a file of it`s own and use that for further reference.

[vanjast]

I had a DGen campaign all worked out on paper but never had the time... but I'll part with some thoughts..

- Japan needs the raw materials from it's conquered countries to survive. Convoys (and ship numbers) are important for it's survival. Every fully laden ship returning home adds to the points pool.

Points are allocated to:-
1) Ship building
2) Aircraft building
3) Army supplies - troopships reinforcing territories

Convoys travel back and forth...

YOU are COMSUBPACs strategist, and you manage your subs.
You might allocate points to your pool, by the points value of the ships sunk(more challenging), or just have an infinite, steady influx of points from the mainland (as it was).

As the strategist, you allocate your sub fleets patrols watching them move on the BIG map. So there you are drinking your beer when on the map, one of your subs starts flashing - CONTACT...???

When you click on the flashing sub... DGEN writes single mission/patrol files relevant to this action.. off you go to the single mission 'activity' and the action starts.

At the end on the action which can be anytime, you exit - DGEN analyses the report and updates the relevant stuff,... the AI takes over you sub again (heaven forbid)... and you're back to your beer, and re-routing other subs to intercept...
As you can see.. you can now play multiple subs in many areas 'simultaneously' - you'll be very busy.
I've yet to work out what happens when many subs flash on the map at once..

Maybe throw in a bit of simple code breaking as well :)

;---------------------------------------------------------------
Assuming all works out well with the DGEN, you could have a battle on your hands. If you don't sink enough ships.. you'll see more aircraft and enemy ships.... making life very difficult.
This is from the Allied POV, and an AXIS DGen can also be made.

Maybe I should put some time into this
:)

[General Tso]

Istar, That might work. In order to keep things simple the first version of this mod won't read the campaign files. Once I get to the point of using the campaign files I'll look at that idea more closely.

vanjast, You have some interesting ideas there.

[Alexander Tau]

Looking forward to trying this out. I have always thought that while excellent in many ways Silent Hunter does lack info in-game for the Captain.

Those rare chances to assist friendly forces are always some of my favorite moments in SH. Knowing more about the War around me would also add a lot to the game.


A.T
(-)

[irish1958]

Does anyone if there is a map in which all the sinkings of Japan's ships are located? And broken down to merchant shipping and warships?
I haven't played the game anywhere as much as most, but I have felt that the amount of merchant shipping in the routes between Japan and the South China Sea ports and the Sea of Japan is grossly inadequate.
Japan had no oil and had to import 100% so there must have been a huge amount of tanker traffic; this is also true for other strategic materials.
Why is there not much more traffic in these areas?
In SHIII there is a mod called SH3Contacts which allows one to increase traffic by writing to the campaign files.
Nichols has made (a private) mod for SH4 but never released it.
Perhaps if you PM him, he might reconsider. This would solve you problem with the campaign files.
I am looking forward to this strategic mod; It will add to the game in a big way. But to improve game play, especially if your orders are to sink a certain type of ships, it is necessary to have the ships in the game in sufficient quantities to make the game interesting.

[fitzcarraldo]

Does anyone if there is a map in which all the sinkings of Japan's ships are located? And broken down to merchant shipping and warships?
I haven't played the game anywhere as much as most, but I have felt that the amount of merchant shipping in the routes between Japan and the South China Sea ports and the Sea of Japan is grossly inadequate.
Japan had no oil and had to import 100% so there must have been a huge amount of tanker traffic; this is also true for other strategic materials.
Why is there not much more traffic in these areas?
In SHIII there is a mod called SH3Contacts which allows one to increase traffic by writing to the campaign files.
Nichols has made (a private) mod for SH4 but never released it.
Perhaps if you PM him, he might reconsider. This would solve you problem with the campaign files.
I am looking forward to this strategic mod; It will add to the game in a big way. But to improve game play, especially if your orders are to sink a certain type of ships, it is necessary to have the ships in the game in sufficient quantities to make the game interesting.

I think RSRDC is the most accurate campaign, historically speaching. Contact Lurker for the information about the merchants and ships included.

Best regards

Fitzcarraldo :salute:

[iambecomelife]

This is pretty much a dream come true for me! :D Thank you for adding an element missing from so many subsims.

Excuse me for getting ahead of myself, but I'd like to know how easy it would be to adapt the mod to an Atlantic campaign? I am working on a WWI mod for Silent Hunter 4, and I would really love to have this sort of strategic combat between Germany and the Allies. The basic principles would be the same, as during WWI the main objective was also to starve an island nation into submission by sinking merchant ships.

[General Tso]

As long as the Atlantic campaign uses the same save game file format (which I assume it does) it would be pretty straight forward. It would still require some programming ability and the values within the mod would need to be changed to something appropriate for Great Britain and Germany.

I word of caution concerning this mod. I think it can add some interesting new ideas to the game, but in it's current form it's pretty basic.

By the way speaking of WWI, you can kind of blame that war on the slight delay in me releasing this mod. :03: I downloaded the demo for "Rise Of Flight" which is a pretty good WW1 flight simulator. The demo is only good for 14 days and the actual game is very expensive, so Ive been spending a lot of my computer time playing and tweaking the demo. Once I actually make up my mind concerning that game, I'll finish up this mod and release the first version. That should hopefully be sometime soon.

[jakla1027]

Whats the current status of this great sounding MOD??? Please give us an update!!!:o

[Treetop64]

Sounds like a great idea. Who knows, in time it could end up getting a life of its own and blossoming into something very comprehensive and in-depth much like DCG did for IL-2; started off fairly simple but evolved into an extremely useful and comprehensive utility.

:up:

[Sledgehammer427]

bump :D
any news?

[General Tso]

Sorry for the lack of response, real life got in the way. I was planning on doing a lot of testing (playing the game with the mod) and I just didn't have the time. As an alternative I just recently started creating some code that builds SH4 campaign files. I'm going to use these files to test the mod. Not quite a perfect solution but it should at least get things working close to where they should be. The different difficulty levels within the mod can then be used to further tweak things for individual players. I'm not going to make any promises but I'll try to release something in the near future - 1 or 2 weeks. I apologize for the delay

[Sledgehammer427]

no apologies man, real life ALWAYS comes first.

[jakla1027]

yes real life comes first, everthing else last, hope everthing is going good mate.

[SkyBaron]

wow that sounds like a cool mod!! What programming language are you using for this?


As an alternative I just recently started creating some code that builds SH4 campaign files.
Do you mean dynamically build new campaign files based on the last saved patrol(ex. more air patrol in the area where you sunk ships, etc)? That would be something!

[General Tso]

I'm using the Python programming language.

The code that creates campaign files is currently very simple and has nothing to do with actual game play. It's just used to create random saved game files based on the values of a dozen or so variables located in one of the Python files. When the mod is running and debugging is turned on the save game campaign data is loaded from the mod folder instead of the game folder. Pressing the F10 key creates a new random saved campaign based on the Python variables. By using this I can quickly test the mod under different conditions - A short 3 month campaign, or a campaign that lasts the entire war. A campaign that has a large number of ships sunk or a campaign that has a small number of ships sunk - things like that.

The concept of dynamically updating the player's campaign would be really cool in my opinion. Unfortunately this mod is currently not close to that level. This mod deals with the player's saved game files. To change the campaign itself would require changing the game campaign files via Python. This could be done but would require a lot of work. I probably couldn't do it by my self - I would need some help from people who are familiar with editing the campaign files. I could take care of the Python part but I would need help in determining how the campaign files need to be changed.

[General Tso]

After looking at my previous post I realized that it may be somewhat confusing for somebody not familiar with SH4 game files.

Among the many files and folders associated with SH4 there is a "Campaign" folder. This contains the data for the game's campaign and to the best of my knowledge the data in this folder never changes. Unless you install a mod that changes the campaign - then the data is only changed as the mod is installed. This is the data that would have to be changed between missions to create a dynamic campaign. My mod currently has nothing to do with this folder.

Another folder is the "SavedGames" folder. This folder contains the data that is saved when you save a game. My mod uses the data in this folder (it ignores non campaign saves). When I mentioned that I was creating new campaign files I may have been somewhat misleading. I'm actually creating new campaign saved game files like the ones in this folder.

[raymond6751]

Keep on plugging away at it. You have a great idea!

I'll be ready to test this as soon as it is ready.

[SkyBaron]

After looking at my previous post I realized that it may be somewhat confusing for somebody not familiar with SH4 game files.

Among the many files and folders associated with SH4 there is a "Campaign" folder. This contains the data for the game's campaign and to the best of my knowledge the data in this folder never changes. Unless you install a mod that changes the campaign - then the data is only changed as the mod is installed. This is the data that would have to be changed between missions to create a dynamic campaign. My mod currently has nothing to do with this folder.

Another folder is the "SavedGames" folder. This folder contains the data that is saved when you save a game. My mod uses the data in this folder (it ignores non campaign saves). When I mentioned that I was creating new campaign files I may have been somewhat misleading. I'm actually creating new campaign saved game files like the ones in this folder.

oh ok. I thought you meant the Campaign folder. No worries.:) The idea for this mod is already awesome as it is!

[jakla1027]

Any update this week?

[difool2]

I had a DGen campaign all worked out on paper but never had the time... but I'll part with some thoughts..

- Japan needs the raw materials from it's conquered countries to survive. Convoys (and ship numbers) are important for it's survival. Every fully laden ship returning home adds to the points pool.

Points are allocated to:-
1) Ship building
2) Aircraft building
3) Army supplies - troopships reinforcing territories

Convoys travel back and forth...

YOU are COMSUBPACs strategist, and you manage your subs.
You might allocate points to your pool, by the points value of the ships sunk(more challenging), or just have an infinite, steady influx of points from the mainland (as it was).

As the strategist, you allocate your sub fleets patrols watching them move on the BIG map. So there you are drinking your beer when on the map, one of your subs starts flashing - CONTACT...???

When you click on the flashing sub... DGEN writes single mission/patrol files relevant to this action.. off you go to the single mission 'activity' and the action starts.

Subwolves basically would do this-and is still a WIP (if not vaporware-hate to say that but it seems to be the current state of said project). These kinds of projects sound like fun-until you start realizing exactly how much work is actually going to be involved.

[General Tso]

Any update this week? I finally have some extended time to put towards the mod so that I plan to release the first version in the near future (days not weeks). :yeah:

Subwolves basically would do this-and is still a WIP (if not vaporware-hate to say that but it seems to be the current state of said project). These kinds of projects sound like fun-until you start realizing exactly how much work is actually going to be involved. I know exactly what you mean. I got a bit overwhelmed while trying to match the values in the mod with the real game. I finally realized that there is no way of knowing how many tons different players sink per month without uploading the mod and giving people a chance to try it. I'm going to get at close as I can and make the mod a little more flexible then release the first version.

[jakla1027]

Thanks for the update, sounds GREAT cant wait:yeah:

[General Tso]

After a slight delay I'm back at working on this mod. I won't have anything for this weekend but I'm hoping to have something by next weekend.

[fitzcarraldo]

After a slight delay I'm back at working on this mod. I won't have anything for this weekend but I'm hoping to have something by next weekend.

Great news! Many thanks!

Fitzcarraldo :salute:

[General Tso]

Just wanted to give an update. I'm still working on things. It probably won't be ready this weekend but I should have something ready shortly after that. It's a matter of days not weeks. I think the delay was worth it, I added some code that will make it easier to adjust the mod's victory conditions based on player's feedback.

[RobertoChorizo]

Wow. I just discover that project, and... Great idea, man!
I can't wait to try it! :D

[jakla1027]

Any updates you can offer us?:06:

[General Tso]

I have been able to put a good amount of time into the mod the last two weeks. In the process of fixing "a few minor problems" I ran into some other things that needed fixed, so it took a little longer than I originally thought. If things go well I might be able to release the first version this weekend. I know I said this before, but things are finally getting finished so there is a good chance for this weekend.

Part of the problem is whenever I work on creating a mod I keep finding one more tweak to add. The next thing I know it's two weeks and 20 tweaks later and the mod still isn't completed. I'm going to do my best to clean up whats currently in the mod and release the first version as is. So hopefully it will happen this weekend. :yeah:

[jakla1027]

Thanks for the update and hard work:rock:

[General Tso]

Just wanted to give an update. With one exception the mod is now working well enough to release a first version for testing. I need to add some code to make the mod work better for campaigns that are not started at the beginning of the war. If I don't find any other problems I'll release the mod after that is finished. Either late today or more likely sometime in the next several days.

[General Tso]

I finally released the first version of the mod (actually version 1.017). The first post of this thread has been updated with links and information. :woot:

I also updated the pictures in the first post. Nothing major but they do show a few small changes, plus some improved info on the help screens.

If anybody is interested in trying the mod I'll be glad for any and all feed back. Boy I hope I don't regret that statement. :03:

[fitzcarraldo]

I finally released the first version of the mod (actually version 1.017). The first post of this thread has been updated with links and information. :woot:

I also updated the pictures in the first post. Nothing major but they do show a few small changes, plus some improved info on the help screens.

If anybody is interested in trying the mod I'll be glad for any and all feed back. Boy I hope I don't regret that statement. :03:

Many thanks, downloading now!! :woot::woot::woot:

Regards.

Fitzcarraldo :salute:

[irish1958]

Downloading and installing now. I'll start a new install and career this weekend and test.
Thanks for your hard work;:salute: I have been waiting for something like this for a long time.:woot:

[Perijones]

First of all, congratulations for the great idea. Forgive my possible ignorance, but i am not having sucess in making the mod work in my computer. The monitor turns in blue and i have to reset the archive. I double checked the paths do Data and Save games folder. Any sugestion? Thanks in advance,

Perijones

[jakla1027]

First of all, congratulations for the great idea. Forgive my possible ignorance, but i am not having sucess in making the mod work in my computer. The monitor turns in blue and i have to reset the archive. I double checked the paths do Data and Save games folder. Any sugestion? Thanks in advance,

Perijones

Dido same problem here, i get a blue window with nothing in it, but i can minimize back to my desktop screen, any ideas????:06:

[eers75]

Hello, I have the mod up and running and I have not started a new campaign yet but it is reading some of my files from a campaign already in progress but ill know more when I start a new one.

My question is how do I resize the screen. When its up and running its about 3/4 down my screen and I cant see about 1/4 of the screen with the info. Ive tried to resize but no luck.

Also of note, it seems to be reading my campaign files of a campaign already in progress and it has my ships sunk correctly except for the warships. I have sunk at least 2 battleships and its only showing the merchants sunk. Maybe this will change once I start a new campaign?

Looks promising I just need to figure it out. Thanks in advance if you can help.

Edit: After reading more about this mod and how it works I dont belieive I have to start a new campaign for it to work properly is that correct Gen Tso?

[eers75]

Ok, I have figured out some of my own questions on this mod.

I at first thought that it wasnt reading my warships sunk however when I went back and looked at my patrol logs for some reason it has only merchants and the warships are missing from my patrol logs for some reason even though I know I have sunk many so far in my current campaign. So maybe bad save files on my end. So dont think thats an issue with this mod.

I still cant properly resize the main screen for this mod. Ive tried everything even down to adjusting my desktop resolution etc... and cant figure out how to get the screen so that I can see it all. The best I can do is go to a resolution that lets me move it around but its still not all on the screen no matter what resolution I choose.

Ill give more feedback later when I play more.

[TopcatWA]

Great mod. Thanks for the time & effort.:up::up:

[Perijones]

I obtained a little advance in make the mod work in my computer. But I've found a new problem:

"File "D:\SH4 - 2\Strategic War Mod\GameData.py", line 297, in ReadSilFile
temp_surface = pygame.transform.smoothscale(temp_surface, ( width, height ))
ValueError: Only 24-bit or 32-bit surfaces can be smoothly scaled"
This error don't let me use the mod. Any sugetions? I use TMO 2.1 + RSDC

P.S.: I found the error description in the error.txt (ModData).

Perijones

[General Tso]

Thanks for all of the responses.

Perijones:
The code that is giving that error is used to read the ship images from the game files. For some reason my game files must be either have 24 bit or 32 bit images and one or more of yours are different. I guess it could be caused by a mod or perhaps a different installation of the game. I'll look into making some changes and get back to you (in this thread) shortly. If I create something that's worth testing would you be interested in downloading a new GameData.py file and testing it? It would just be a matter of downloading the file and copying it to the game folder, then running the mod.

Jaka1027:
Could you please look in the error.txt file and let me know what you find. The error.txt file is located in the "ModData" folder which is located in the mod folder.

eers75:
This mod always uses a window of size 1280 x 1024 so you need to set your resolution to that level or higher. Thanks for mentioning your situation - I added a note concerning the resolution in the first post. If you are still having problems at higher resolutions please let me know. Please see below concerning your campaign problems.

Everybody:
You do not need to start a new campaign to try this mod. In fact using an existing campaign that you have been playing for a while might be better for testing since it's likey to have more ships sunk etc. Also please note that the mod only tracks your campaign up until the last time that you entered base. Your current mission will only show up the next time you enter base. The mod is set up to handle a campaign up till the very last save. Unfortunately the information for the current patrol is saved in a different format that I don't understand. Hopefully one of the modding gurus around here can enlighten me as to how that data is saved by the game so that I can change it in the future.

[eers75]

Thanks for all of the responses.

eers75:
This mod always uses a window of size 1280 x 1024 so you need to set your resolution to that level or higher. Thanks for mentioning your situation - I added a note concerning the resolution in the first post. If you are still having problems at higher resolutions please let me know. Please see below concerning your campaign problems.


Thanks for your reply Gen Tso. I have your mod working just fine now as I just made a patrol with a warship sunk and hurried back to base to see if it would show and it was there and so far I think your mod is working for me as intended.

I am however still having problems with the screen resolution. I have my resolution set to 1440 x 900 with the next highest being 1280 x 800. It works just fine but I have to use one resolution to see the top of the screen and then use a different one for the bottom. So its not a breaker for me because I can still use it but its not all that convenient switching resolutions is all. Im not all that computer savy and I have a pretty decent pc so im not sure how to get 1280 x 1024.

Also just wanted to thank you for this mod and the work you put in to is as Im enjoying it very much. I love the record keeping if u will and statistics aspect and it has made the game even that much more enjoyable. Salute Sir!! :salute:

[General Tso]

I thought anybody playing SH4 would have a graphics card that could display that window size - I guess I should have put some more thought into it. :hmmm:

If I can come up with some way to make it work on lower resolutions I'll do that, but I can't think of anything at the moment that wouldn't cause major work.

Do you have any resolutions where the height is greater than 900?

[General Tso]

To Perijones and anybody else that was having a problem loading the ship image files I just uploaded version 1.018 of the mod that should correct the blue window problem. You can get it using the link in the first post. This mod only corrects that problem so it doesn't need to be downloaded by other people.

[CCIP]

I have the same unfortunate "x900" resolution issue since I run the game on a laptop - but it's not actually a hugely big deal for me, because it only cuts off the very top of the screen. I'm only just missing the titles on the very top (that I can get by looking at the start of this thread). Now if you could just make it a tiiiiny bit smaller...

Superb work! :DL It's a simple but fantastic analysis tool. Gives me a reason to go for that extra warship kill - I'd always been lax on those, and seeing the sub sinking numbers (which at the start of '44 in my career are more than the number of subs lost historically in the war) really does give you that little extra motivation to try harder to save your comrades.

[General Tso]

CCIP is your resolution 1440 x 900 (the same as eers75 posted)?

If anybody else is having resolution problems please let me know what your maximum resolution is. If I can make it fit without having to make major changes to the mod maybe I'll make an optional full screen mode that doesn't use the desktop.

Edit: I found a relatively easy way to fix this problem - I'll make the number of rows displayed in the bottom boxes dependent on the vertical screen resolution. That would leave the horizontal layout the same. Is anybody having problems with their screen not being wide enough?

[CCIP]

CCIP is your resolution 1440 x 900 (the same as eers75 posted)?


1600x900, actually.

[General Tso]

Sounds good. I added some improvements but they aren't quite ready to be released. With the new improvements the mod should work fine on any computer that can display a resolution that's 1280 pixels wide or wider. The user will also have a choice (via the options file) to have the mod windowed or full screen.

I probably won't get back to my computer today but I'll try to finish the improvements on Sunday.

[Perijones]

General Tso,

Thanks for the atention. My problem of the blue window is solved. But the problem of the resolution remains. My maximun resolution is 1280x1024. I will wait a fix for this matter. Congratulations for the great job!

Perijones

[General Tso]

I just uploaded a new version of the mod (1.019), the link is in the first post like normal.

There are three new options in the options file - DisplayMode, DisplayWidth, and DisplayHeight. The default DisplayMode is active when you download the mod and should correct the resolution problems for most people. There are also options for a full screen mode and a windowed mode where you can specify the size.

If you are using a lower resolution (especially a width of 1280) then you should probably change the display to full screen.

Changing to full screen will sometimes increase the number of lines in the bottom two scroll boxes, allowing you to see more data at one time.

Also - you can now use the Esc key to exit the mod.

[eers75]

Awesome, ill give another try later. Thanks again for your work.

Edit: The resize works great and now I can see all of the screen, many thanks. Working great!!

[Perijones]

Thank you, general Tso! Now the mod is working great and without problems. Great work!

Perijones

[irish1958]

Working perfectly laptop with 1440x900 with Windows 7 64 bit.
thanks for your hard work!!!!!:salute:

[irish1958]

Now if I could just find some ships to sink!:oops:

[General Tso]

Now if I could just find some ships to sink!:oops:

I know what you mean, that's my single biggest complaint about this game.

[irish1958]

Yes.
Someone made the Pacific too big.:down:
Bummer!:wah:

[Galeocerdo]

Installed and runs with no errors.

Ran program after completion of first war patrol with SS-195 (USS Sealion). Hopefully allowing opportunity to earn the proper patrol history she was historically denied.

After intercepting the inbound Legasby invasion force we sent a (the?) troopship and two tankers to the bottom. I couldn't help but wonder how a robust dynamic campaign system would handle this outcome. Upon patrol completion I ran your mod and everything was reflected in the program, seems to work fine. While your Strategic War Mod may not operate to such a detailed level as to modify historical outcomes there seems to be great potential here.

Thanks for the hard work and good luck with whatever plans you have with this project.

G

[General Tso]

Thanks, yeah currently your success in the game only changes what happens in the mod and not within the game. I'm thinking of looking into making some modestest changes within the game. If I do that the first think I'll probably look at is increasing the time spent in base when your sub gets damaged. It would give the player an additional reason to keep the sub healthy and would probably be an easy mod to add.

[Jan Kyster]

Before entering port for ending a patrol, I open Data\Cfg\UPC.cfg and edit entry MinimumsDaysInBaseUS to reflect length of patrol, damage, refits to be done (tower, paint, equipment etc.) or simple fatique (as after heavy lengthy battles).

Normal setting in TMO is 14 days and depending of the above I may go as long as 2 to 3 months in port... this also reflects what I've seen in many war patrol logs...


Nice job! :up:

[General Tso]

I was thinking of changing the CareerTrack.upc file in the save game folder. I'm not sure if that would be possible, but I was thinking of looking into that possibility if anybody is interested. I wanted to do it that way because it would only change the player's save game.

The main question would be - is there an entry that I can add to the end of that file that would allow me to change the current date. Maybe a "change base" entry back to the same base or a "start patrol" entry would work? Does anybody out there have any experience editing the CareerTrack.upc file?

[Patchman123]

Where do you extract this file to?

The mod may be downloaded here (version 1.019).

You need a minimum screen width of 1280 to run this mod properly.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ep3g9yl12oat9mr/Strategic%20War%20Mod%20v1.019.zip


Instructions for installing the mod are located at the bottom of this first post.

This mod is called Strategic War Mod and it works differently than most SH4 mods.
The mod is a separate program that you run from your desktop while the game isn't active.
It reads your most recently saved campaign game then displays the current status of your campaign.
It currently doesn't change any of your game files so game-play within SH4 itself is not altered.

I always thought that one of the shortcomings of the Silent Hunter series is that the player isn't given a reason to sink ships (other than for the fun of it).
This mod attempts to correct that by creating certain goals and strategic options with a person's current campaign.
Since saved game files for SH4 are not designed with this in mind I was greatly limited in what I could do, but I think that the mod is getting to the point where it might be worth trying.

In this mod you are given different reasons for sinking Warships, Freighters, Tankers, and Troopships.

Here are some screen shots that should give you an idea of what the mod is like.
The first picture is the main screen of the mod.
The next picture is of a help screen from within the mod and should give you a pretty good idea how to achieve victory.
The third picture is another help screen with some additional information.


Main Screen:
http://www.mediafire.com/i/?5ik5l1ac03lccjphttp://www.mediafire.com/i/?7cauep6ule1i02qhttp://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/947cef685ffdff2ca350244e573771cb9d9061f471a6312520 aeb13b9d6d7f1f6g.jpg


Help #1:
http://www.mediafire.com/i/?dsdj74v25a0ac7mhttp://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/8f6037f4216e885fc597b52208645a417d3f962f2b396a95d5 731e2af7f7a0d56g.jpg


Help #2:
http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/35e60dcb89c0beec5b212c6e126a2fb8e993ed0d8f6084176b 56f115256022b76g.jpg


How to install this mod.

The mod itself doesn't need to be installed. However you do need to install the Python scripting language plus an additional library called PyGame in order for the mod to work.


Step #1:
Download and install the Python scripting language. Note: PyGame currently requires version 3.1.3 of Python.

You can download Python here.
http://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.1.3/python-3.1.3.msi


Step #2:
Download and install the PyGame library.

You can download the PyGame library here. The PyGame library must be installed after you install Python.
http://pygame.org/ftp/pygame-1.9.1.win32-py3.1.msi


Step #3:
Download and unzip the mod. Open the "Strategic War Mod" folder. Double click on the "StrategicWar.pyw" icon to open the mod. If you want easier access to the mod just make a shortcut from this icon like normal.


If you get a "Load Failed" error when the mod starts:
The mod requires access to the game's "data" and "SaveGames" folders. By default it attempts to find these folders on it's own. If that fails then the mod will generate an error and you will need to manually enter the path. To do this open the options.txt file located in ModData folder (which is located in the mod folder). You can open it with any text editor. There is an option line for the "data" folder and one for the "SavedGames" folder. You may need to set one or both of these. Follow the directions in the options file when entering the path there.


There is no need to start a new campaign when trying out this mod for the first time.


You can change the display options in the options.txt file. There are instruction in the options file. The options include a full screen mode and a windowed mode where you can specify the size.

http://www.mediafire.com/i/?x1mvcm4gkqaygap

[General Tso]

You can extract the Strategic War Mod Folder to just about any location you like as long as you don't place it somewhere that would cause problems with another program that isn't expecting it.

I would recommend that you do not extract it to your SH4 mods folder as it may cause problems if you tried to do something with it while using JSGME. Placing it in your SH4 game folder should work OK.

[tomoose]

Great work General Tso!!

I know this is pushing my luck but have you had a look at SH3 Commander?
People have been screaming for something similar for SH4 for years.

Just a suggestion.

Thanks again.
:salute::up::yeah:

[General Tso]

I'll check it out.

[Newinger]

Great work General Tso!!
I know this is pushing my luck but have you had a look at SH3 Commander?
People have been screaming for something similar for SH4 for years.

Just a suggestion.


I second this! You already have a very good base for doing this! I tried your tool and it looks great!

[Laffertytig]

anywhere else to download this, link aint working.

[General Tso]

I just tried using the link and it worked OK for me. Maybe it was a temporary problem.

[Laffertytig]

whenever i click the link on the 1st page i get a page not found message. how big is the file, maybe you could email me it?

[Laffertytig]

ive now tried both IE9 and firefox fox but still no joy.

what browser are you using to download from mediafire? is the download defo working?

[General Tso]

I'm using Firefox.

[Laffertytig]

so weird. any chance you could pm me the file?

would love to try this mod.

ps,

bizarrely its just started working again after so many days.:hmmm:

[CCIP]

Anyone still have a copy?

Unfortunately I have an out-of-date version myself (which works but has the wrong resolution).

[fitzcarraldo]

Anyone still have a copy?

Unfortunately I have an out-of-date version myself (which works but has the wrong resolution).

+ 1: Links death...

Regards.

Fitzcarraldo :salute:

[General Tso]

For some reason my mod file disappeared from the MediaFire site. I just replaced it and updated the link in the original post. It should work OK now. :yeah:

One of these days I need to work on adding the improvements I had planned for this mod.

[fitzcarraldo]

For some reason my mod file disappeared from the MediaFire site. I just replaced it and updated the link in the original post. It should work OK now. :yeah:

One of these days I need to work on adding the improvements I had planned for this mod.

Many thanks! Downloading now...:woot::woot::woot:

Best regards.

Fitzcarraldo :salute:

[adrians69]

I've just discovered this, so cool thanks very much for this mod! Works like a charm :)

[james_nix]

Never mind. Got it working by following the instructions . :)

[Bonden]

Will this mod work for surface ships also ?

I'm using the armed tug, current date 6/42 and i'm seeing dec. 6th and 7th. 1941. Tried using shift, ctrl and alt but the date stays between the 6th and 7th, 12/41.

Great mod :yeah:

Read directions again and all is well now - thanks again...