**RELEASED** Improved Skies & Reflections

[Marhkimov]

**EDIT*** October 25, 2005 - COMPATABILITY ISSUES HAVE SURFACED



Marhkimov's Enhanced Ocean Reflections & Sky Mod v1.0
credit also goes to Beery ;)
RapidShare Here:
http://rapidshare.de/files/6722112/Marhkimovs_Enhanced_Ocean_Reflections___Sky_Mod_v1 .0.rar.html (http://rapidshare.de/files/6722112/Marhkimovs_Enhanced_Ocean_Reflections___Sky_Mod_v1 .0.rar.html)




And by request, I have made a LIGHT NIGHT version for those who use dark monitors, or for those who just want lighter-blue nights.
RapidShare Here:
http://rapidshare.de/files/6729890/Marhkimovs_LIGHT_NIGHT_mod.rar.html (http://rapidshare.de/files/6729890/Marhkimovs_LIGHT_NIGHT_mod.rar.html)



Check for availability on www.u-boot.realsimulation.com (www.u-boot.realsimulation.com)



******************************
WHAT IT DOES?
******************************

1. In short, I have altered Beery's sky files in an attempt to make a nicer looking sun reflection on the sea. IMOH, the default reflections were a little too bright, and it made the water look white when viewed from directly underneath of the sun (it looked exactly like milk). So I believe I have adressed that issue quite nicely. Scroll down for screenshots.

2. I also took the liberty of smoothing out the sea and water textures so that everything looks smoother and more blended together.

3. Both mods have light blue nights, but the LIGHT NIGHT mod is noticeably lighter... Choose whichever floats your boat...



******************************
TO INSTALL
******************************

1. use JSGME

2. manually place the included files into the correct folder. DON'T FORGET TO MAKE BACKUPS!



******************************
COMPATIBILITY ISSUES -EDIT-
******************************

if you are using a visibilty fix (such as rulle34's, Manuel Ortega's, etc.), or if you are using IUB, the weather will not work correctly. From what i am hearing, you won't be able to see rain or fog (I don't know the exact side effects for sure, but I know they are weird).

WHAT SHOULD YOU DO ABOUT IT?

In the meantime, you can use a .DAT extractor and extract my tga's and insert them into the DAT's of the mod of your choice. That should work...
Here is a Dat Extractor if you need it: http://rapidshare.de/files/6715467/DatTexExtract.rar.html (http://rapidshare.de/files/6715467/DatTexExtract.rar.html). Then follow these steps:

1) Extract the TGA's from my DAT files. (the DatExtractor program has a built in readme, so use that to help you)

2) Then using my TGA's, insert those into the corresponding DAT files of your desired visibility mod (Rulle34's, M. Ortega's, etc.).

Done!


And as far as I know of, these files will not conflict or interfere with any other mod. I recommend that you install them on top of RUB, as they will work best.

However, if you have a 'basic' SH3 or a completely 'vanilla' SH3, you can still install this mod. There will be no problems.

And to anyone who has used timetraveller's color tool to change the underwater colors, this mod will not affect your changes. The underwater colors are controlled by seperate files.

Murkiness and visability are also unaffected by this mod.

AIL Sky mod will also work in conjunction with this mod.



******************************
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
******************************

-I think that realistic-enthusiasts, screenshot-takers, and scenery-enjoyers will all consider this mod to be a nice addition!!!

-This is just a simple texture fix, but IMOH it is very nice. It helps to give a good atmosphere to SH3.



******************************
EXTRA: TIPS FOR EXTRACTING
******************************

If you are a modder, feel free to extract and edit my textures. Just remember to ask permission before you release anything. And give credit where credit is due.

So, after you extract the TGA's, you can use any graphics editor to edit the textures. When you are done, remember that you MUST re-pack the files back inside of the DAT files, otherwise the sun reflections will not work correctly. In other words, just placing the TGA's into data\textures\tnormal\tex will NOT work.

Also, do not change the size of the textures. As of now, SH3 can only read 512x256 sky textures. Any other size of textures will not work correctly. If someone ever changes this, I have 2048x1024 textures ready and waiting :yep:


******************************
Some screenshots
******************************

http://photobucket.com/albums/a172/hockeemaster/Ocean%20Mod/th_51549fcb.jpg http://photobucket.com/albums/a172/hockeemaster/Ocean%20Mod/th_57e22be9.jpg http://photobucket.com/albums/a172/hockeemaster/Ocean%20Mod/th_ca15ef42.jpg http://photobucket.com/albums/a172/hockeemaster/Ocean%20Mod/th_c131ec60.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/a172/hockeemaster/Ocean%20Mod/th_df5731e7.jpg http://photobucket.com/albums/a172/hockeemaster/Ocean%20Mod/th_ee1dfa65.jpg http://photobucket.com/albums/a172/hockeemaster/Ocean%20Mod/th_a7ca81ff.jpg http://photobucket.com/albums/a172/hockeemaster/Ocean%20Mod/th_508ccd1f.jpg

http://photobucket.com/albums/a172/hockeemaster/Ocean%20Mod/th_0ce5b512.jpg http://photobucket.com/albums/a172/hockeemaster/Ocean%20Mod/th_b9bdfb3a.jpg http://photobucket.com/albums/a172/hockeemaster/Ocean%20Mod/th_a815a5df.jpg

Click here (http://photobucket.com/albums/a172/hockeemaster/Ocean%20Mod/) to view larger sizes...




Screenshots from the LIGHT NIGHT mod:

http://img497.imageshack.us/img497/7078/18qs.th.jpg (http://img497.imageshack.us/my.php?image=18qs.jpg) http://img497.imageshack.us/img497/9363/25nu.th.jpg (http://img497.imageshack.us/my.php?image=25nu.jpg) http://img497.imageshack.us/img497/2198/31aa.th.jpg (http://img497.imageshack.us/my.php?image=31aa.jpg)



-Marhkimov

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Great work Mahrkimov buddy!!! :rock: :rock: :rock:

[Rubini]

marhkimov,

Great work. Some questions:

1.Any news on moon reflection?
2.I notice that your sun is smaller than mine. It's a mod or also your work? Or am i just imaginative? :hmm:

Rubini.

[Reece]

Excellent work Marhkimov! :up:
Now hurry up and complete it! :D
Just Kidding about hurrying up! :oops:

[Jotte]

Looks like a good one for my mod folder. :)

:up:

[Nippelspanner]

Just great! I will use it for sure...

[gdogghenrikson]

the pics look good...can't wait for the mod

[Marhkimov]

1.Any news on moon reflection?

Ah, sorry, I don't know what we can do about the moon.
In our SH3 community, you have your hex editors, ship modellers, realism purists, and action seekers... I can do some editing, but mostly I am just a simple textureman. ;)

2.I notice that your sun is smaller than mine. It's a mod or also your work? Or am i just imaginative? :hmm:

The pictures have been resized from 1024x768 to 768x576. Rest assured, you are not imaginative... You have only been deceived. ;)





Update for those who wish to know: I should be releasing the files within a few hours. :up:

EDIT: On second thought, I might not release it so soon... with much help from Seeadler, we might be able to create a whole new sky that will fix multiple problems... Ya know, kill two birds with one stone. ;)

[Marhkimov]

On a similar topic: In SH3, has anyone ever actually seen the arctic skies???


I, for one, have never seen it. I have sailed to the arctic before, but the skies always look exactly like the atlantic. That leads me to believe that SH3 does not actively model the arctic sky. In the 'Env' folder, there are settings for the actic, but I don't think SH3 calls upon them.


Upon further investigation, I used notepad to view the single missions and found out that each of them have pre-determined sea settings. It turns out that all of them (with the exception of Malta, which uses the medit. sea settings) use atlantic sky/water. This is what I have discovered:

SeaType=0 (atlantic)

SeaType=80 (mediterranean)

SeaType=??? (arctic)



I'll also bet my money that 'SeaType' is not being modelled in campaign missions. Everywhere you go, the game models the atlantic SeaType... That is a real gamebreaker for anyone who is sailing in the mediterranean, home of the 29th flotilla... MY FLOTILLA... :stare:


So to recap, how do we get all of our seas/skies (atlantic, arctic, and mediterranean)???

[Marhkimov]

Oh DUH!!! I'm such an idiot... :damn:


Look in the 'Env' folder, and you will find Env.cfg. It contains everything you would want to know. Here:

[Environment]
SeaTypeImageDimX=4320
SeaTypeImageDimY=2160
LandIDX=255
DefaultSeaType=0
SeaTypesNo=1

[SeaInfo01]
StartDate=0101
EndDate=1231
SeaInfName=SeaInf.raw
Compressed=NO

[EnvColors]
SeaType00=EnvColors_Atl.dat
SeaType80=EnvColors_Med.dat
SeaType150=EnvColors_Arct.dat

[SkyColors]
SeaType00=SkyColors_Atl.dat
SeaType80=SkyColors_Med.dat
SeaType150=SkyColors_Arct.dat

OMG... DUH!

[Seeadler]

SeaType are the grey values in the Sea???.raw file!
SeaType00 = black
SeaType80 = dark grey
SeaType150 = light grey
the *raw file can be opened in Photoshop to edit the grey values on the world map.

[Marhkimov]

Yes, I noticed that too... Could we be onto something???


Oh, and I recently began a career mission in the mediterranean, and guess what? I was sailing in Atlantic waters. I was correct, the career missions do not support any settings other than atlantic.


But hold up, I have an idea...

[Martin1813]

I don't understand the mean of this mod, with all due respect for your work, marhkimov. ;)

But the sun reflections should really shine bright, I think. It really blinds you if you look at it too long. That's why a lot of sailors wear sunglasses :sunny:
:-?

[Marhkimov]

I don't understand the mean of this mod, with all due respect for your work, marhkimov. ;)

Simply put, this mod aims at making a very nice water reflection. If you notice, the default reflections are waaaay too bright, and it makes the water look white when viewed from directly underneath of the sun (I don't have any screenshots yet). I also took the liberty of smoothing out the sea and water textures so that everything looks smoother and more blended together...

And even more simply put, any screenshot-taker or scenery-enjoyer should consider this mod to be a MUST HAVE!!!


*** Just the other day, I was browsing through the Screenshot thread in the General SH3 Forum, and I noticed that I could not find any decent pictures of u-boats *directly* in the sun... With my upcoming mod, people will produce more eye candy.

[oRGy]

Good work markhimov. Though I might make the reflection maybe just a little brighter/wider. In real life, the reflections are much more 'intense' than the game engine can deliver, though.

Anyway, yes, it seems only single missions call upon the different colours for arctic/med, which is a real shame. Though maybe basic.cfg or wherever could define the sea state, and maybe SH3 commander could then set it depending on your home base. So if you're in La Spezia, you might get the right colours.

Unfortunately it won't change dynamically...

[jaxa]

markhimov, it looks fantastic!
You should talk with Beery for include your work in next RUb version.

[Martin1813]

If you notice, the default reflections are waaaay too bright, and it makes the water look white when viewed from directly underneath of the sun

but imho that's how it should be. :yep:
(or maybe I've done too much sailing ad now my eyes are too sensitive :D :cool: )
(or maybe the sun reflections are not the same in California than in Normandy :sunny: )

[Marhkimov]

Try a "google" search and try typing in 'sea sun' or 'sun reflection.' You'll see some good examples of water reflections over the sea. Or better yet, I'll post a few:

http://snowcave.ru/speleoclub/images/album/alek-2001/sea-sun.jpg http://www.battery.co.za/Images/Profile/SUN%20SET%20OVER%20SEA.gif http://www.orkneypics.com/webpage/thumb/067/t067627.jpg

http://www.bbc.co.uk/guernsey/content/images/2004/07/21/sea_sun_sky_120_120x90.jpg http://www.bbc.co.uk/guernsey/content/images/2004/06/21/sunset3_120_120x90.jpg http://www.bbc.co.uk/guernsey/content/images/2004/06/21/sunset5_120_120x90.jpg http://static.flickr.com/1/2409273_c41311f40b_m.jpg

http://www.hep.lu.se/staff/tyapkin/photo/sweden/kullaberg/web/thumbs-640x480/sea-sun.jpg

If you guys wish, you can make a determination about realism...

[Marhkimov]

As someone noted earlier, these reflections are as bright as the SH3 engine will allow. It's a limitation of the graphic engine, so the only way that I could possibly "brighten" the reflections is to create contrast, by making the water darker... and I don't want to be meddling that much...

As for wider, I can do wider. I'm just not so sure that I should. It's all a matter of personal taste... I dunno, I'll see what happens... :D



...maybe SH3 commander could then set [the sea color] depending on your home base. So if you're in La Spezia, you might get the right colours.

Very easily done, indeed! ;)

That means that the sea won't change dynamically, but I think this is our fix... BTW, does anyone know why we would possible need the arctic sea type? There isn't really much of a reason to sail north of Iceland or Russia...

[Martin1813]

Ok marhkimov, I made a mission a now I see what you mean with "milky sea" and I agree with you. :up:

But, my first impression about your mod is still here : I think, imho, that your reflections are too pale. We can see it very well on your pictures.
It would be really really great if you could give to your reflection some brightness more. ;)

[Marhkimov]

Although this doesn't have anything to do with the sun reflection, here is what the night looks like. It's the same as Beery's dark blue night. It is definately dark, but not soooo impossible to see. Look:

Tugboat late at night
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a172/hockeemaster/SH3%20misc/07.jpg

C2 in the darkness
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a172/hockeemaster/SH3%20misc/71945b52.jpg

Almost breaking upon dawn (not really night...)
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a172/hockeemaster/SH3%20misc/19.jpg

[gdogghenrikson]

soo when is this mod coming out

[Marhkimov]

soo when is this mod coming out

When Beery comes online and says I can release his files. :lol:

I'm also hoping that he will incorporate them into RUb. Or even cooler yet, I hope oRGy wants them for IUB.

[Pablo]

Try a "google" search and try typing in 'sea sun' or 'sun reflection.' You'll see some good examples of water reflections over the sea.
If you guys wish, you can make a determination about realism...

Marhkimov,

I'd almost bet those pictures were taken using polarized filters to block out sun glare and unwanted reflections off the water. Without those filters - sun glare galore.

I think it's a good mod though - so now all we need is a "sunglasses" mod for the U-boat crews on the surface in daylight for clear and partly cloudy conditions... ;)

Pablo

[Marhkimov]

Well, think about it...

We are looking out of cameras too. That's why it's called freeCAM mode, not freeEYE mode... ;)

[Marhkimov]

As soon as Beery gives me the thumbs up ( :up: ) to release the textures, I will make it happen.

Hey guys, pester Beery if you really want this! ;) ;) :yep:

[Marhkimov]

RELEASED!

See the first post for the DL link and more info...

[Dowly]

I really like it! A keeper to my mod list! :up:

One day, me and my girlfriend were walking on a side of a lake. There was a full moon and I took photo of it. Hopefully we can have reflections like this on SHIII´s moon someday...

Here´s the pic (Not too good quality as I used my phone to take the photo):

http://img492.imageshack.us/img492/148/moon4us.jpg


EDIT: Oh and that bright light, no it´s not an UFO, just a lamp post. :know:

[Nippelspanner]

Hi,

first: What a great Mod! SH3 looks 25% better than before, just because of that!

But theres a Problem. I am using IuB and have a visibility from 16000 - 18000 meters on a clear day. But since ive installed this Mod i only can see for maybe 9000-10000m again, thats very annoying.

another problem. since your mod i have "broken" weather too. my navigator tells me that the sky is cloudy, but if i take a look its clear as glass...and its raining? :hmm:

mh, im using a underwarter visibility mod for IuB, for more transperency... and SH3 Commander... guess thats all. maybe a conflict there!? what do you use?

pls help, i want this mod to work perfectly with my sh3 :up:

[BladeHeart]

If you do get the ok, can you please upload it to Terrapin's site, as some of us cannot access rapidshare.

Thanks

:lurk:

[Martin1813]

:up:
forgive me marhkimov, it's superb ! :rock:

[Schultzy]

Thank you, thank you thank you!! I'm finally going to be able to hunt at nights!!

This is brilliant! :up: :D

[Kpt. Lehmann]

... and the crowd goes wild! Marhkimov does it again!!! :up: :up: :up:

Way to go buddy!

[Reece]

Many thanks Marhkimov, Most Excellent. :D :D

[Marhkimov]

I am using IuB and have a visibility from 16000 - 18000 meters on a clear day. But since ive installed this Mod i only can see for maybe 9000-10000m again, thats very annoying.

I'm sure it can't be because of my mod, because I have only included three files in it:

SkyColors_Arct.dat
SkyColors_Atl.dat
SkyColors_Med.dat

I also use the 18km visability mod and I see just fine... The problem is probably stemming from your Scene.dat file, and that is not part of my mod... Just reinstall your visability mod again, it will work.


another problem. since your mod i have "broken" weather too. my navigator tells me that the sky is cloudy, but if i take a look its clear as glass...and its raining? :hmm:

mh, im using a underwarter visibility mod for IuB, for more transperency... and SH3 Commander... guess thats all. maybe a conflict there!? what do you use?

Hmm... this problem is a weird one, but still, I'm sure it wasn't me. My files don't really affect anything... That's why I said there would be no conflictions with any other mod. Someone else is causing your problems...

And like I said, reinstall the 16/18km visability fix and everything should be solved.



***Glad you guys like my mod!! It will be on terrapin's site shortly! :up:

[gouldjg]

Great mod :up: :up: :up:

marhkimov

I am interested in using the 16km mod but I can cnnot see it on Terrapins site.

Has it got another name or is it not finnished yet?

Which reminds me to post a thankyou to Terrapin for his site.

[oRGy]

Hm - skycolors? I'm sure that Ortega in the vis mod messed with these to ensure proper clouds.

I'll have a look later on to see.

[Marhkimov]

Hmm.. So did Manuel Ortega change those files?


Here, Visibility Mod with fixed cloud dome by Seeadler:
http://www.mp-labs.com/sh3mods/visibility_mod_v092.zip (http://www.mp-labs.com/sh3mods/visibility_mod_v092.zip)

As far as I know, I use his visability mod and I haven't noticed any problems with clouds, fog, and rain...

[Kpt. Lehmann]

another problem. since your mod i have "broken" weather too. my navigator tells me that the sky is cloudy, but if i take a look its clear as glass...and its raining? :hmm:



I have run into this problem when testing weather mods... It appears to be related to TIME COMPRESSION.... IE weather changes repeatedly during long stay in time comression... you stop and go to bridge... your navigator told you it was sunny... but it is big storm and your watch crew is enjoying the whole thing in their normal duty clothes...

The way to fix this is simply dive the boat to periscope depth and re surface... the crew automatically dons appropriate clothing and further weather reports are accurate.

I don't suspect Marhkimov's mod at all.

Remember too that the visibility mod is still considered a beta.

Cheers!

Great sound mods Nippelspanner! :rock:

[Redwine]

Hi Marhkimov.....

I had tested it and looks great ! many thanks for the job :up:

But i lose the clouds...... I am using Mac Mollo Vis. Mod, with SeeAdler Sky Fix and i had modified the files to have my personalized underwater visibility.

I had this same problem before, when attempt to use some SkyColors files others than Ortega's Vis Mod ones.

Can you made a guide to manually modify the files ? Specially in Light Night Mod.....

Thanks in advance.

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Hmm.. So did Manuel Ortega change those files?


Here, Visibility Mod with fixed cloud dome by Seeadler:
http://www.mp-labs.com/sh3mods/visibility_mod_v092.zip (http://www.mp-labs.com/sh3mods/visibility_mod_v092.zip)

As far as I know, I use his visability mod and I haven't noticed any problems with clouds, fog, and rain...

I believe the answer is yes.

[Marhkimov]

I will guide everyone once I get some intel from Manuel Ortega... :up:

[Redwine]

I will guide everyone once I get some intel from Manuel Ortega... :up:

Sorry my bad english :D , but what do you means with intel ?

The matter is after put your files, i experience a loss of the clouds, in example, in the Biskmarck mission wich have a stormy sky, i can see a beautiful clear sky.

I attempt to compare the existing files with yours to found the changes you made, and then make the changes on my files but i cant found your changes yet.

Any help will be welcome, i like your night vision. :up:

Best regards, Red.

[Marhkimov]

I meant I was just going to talk it over with Manuel.

I need to figure out how to fix this...

[Manuel Ortega]

If I remember it well, from the files:
SkyColors_Arct.dat
SkyColors_Med.dat
SkyColors_Atl.dat

I only changed the 3d mesh of the sky sphere, so, my mod will be messed if that mesh is not the one I did. :(

[Marhkimov]

@ everyone who downloaded my mod,

if you are using a visibilty fix (rulle34's, Manuel Ortega's, etc.), the weather will not work correctly. From what i am hearing, you won't be able to see rain or fog (I don't know the exact side effects for sure, but I know they are weird).




WHAT SHOULD YOU DO ABOUT IT?

In the meantime, you can use a .DAT extractor and extract my tga's and insert them into the dat's of the mod of your choice. That should work...

Here is a Dat Extractor if you need it:
http://rapidshare.de/files/6715467/DatTexExtract.rar.html (http://rapidshare.de/files/6715467/DatTexExtract.rar.html)



Thanks, and a long term solution is in the works. :up:

[Hartmann]

Nice :up:

I have this mod installed...

16_km_visibility_mod_RWR_Moon_fix_Clear_water


It means that i have to extract the dat files and overwrite the files of the mod ? :roll: :88)

Perhaps is the time of a big Merge of mods in a Enviroment pack or something because there are some different mods with possible incompatibilities.

[gdogghenrikson]

@ everyone who downloaded my mod,

if you are using a visibilty fix (rulle34's, Manuel Ortega's, etc.), the weather will not work correctly. From what i am hearing, you won't be able to see rain or fog (I don't know the exact side effects for sure, but I know they are weird).




WHAT SHOULD YOU DO ABOUT IT?

In the meantime, you can use a .DAT extractor and extract my tga's and insert them into the dat's of the mod of your choice. That should work...

Here is a Dat Extractor if you need it:
http://rapidshare.de/files/6715467/DatTexExtract.rar.html (http://rapidshare.de/files/6715467/DatTexExtract.rar.html)



Thanks, and a long term solution is in the works. :up:

could you explain this in more detail?

[Marhkimov]

Ok, I'll try to make things a little more clear...


1) Extract the TGA's from my DAT files (the DatExtractor program has a built in readme, so use that to help you).

2) Then using my TGA's, insert those into the corresponding DAT files of your desired visibility mod (Rulle34's, M. Ortega's, etc.).

Done!



It means that i have to extract the dat files and overwrite the files of the mod ?

Actually, you'll be extracting the TGA's from my files, and overwriting the TGA's of the other files... but if you want my reflections and skies, then my TGA's are what you want. Those textures are responsible for fixing the sky and water reflections... In packing them into the visibility DAT's, you will have both mods combined.


Perhaps is the time of a big Merge of mods in a Enviroment pack or something because there are some different mods with possible incompatibilities.

You read my mind... I got a bunch of us modder-dudes together and am currently trying to get a long term fix working.





***So, if you guys can't follow these simple steps, then you'll just have to wait a while... ;)

[kriller2]

I have tried this mod yesterday and I think that the way the sun reflects in the water is not realistic there should be more bright reflections in the water (see screenshots), but night water looks very good :)

http://home.tiscali.dk/roesdahl/sh3/a1.jpg
http://home.tiscali.dk/roesdahl/sh3/a3.jpg

[Marhkimov]

I have tried this mod yesterday and I think that the way the sun reflects in the water is not realistic there should be more bright reflections in the water (see screenshots), but night water looks very good :)

http://home.tiscali.dk/roesdahl/sh3/a1.jpg
http://home.tiscali.dk/roesdahl/sh3/a3.jpg

Believe me, it is difficult to strike a balance between more or less reflection.

But despite that, I totally agree with you. If I could make the reflections look exactly like your pictures, I would, but I don't think that I can. The problem stems more from SH3, than from me. Lemme see if I can better explain myself...

The reflections in your pictures are very vibrant and intense, especially the sunlight that is DIRECTLY below the sun. That is something that cannot be replicated in SH3... I have made the reflections as white and bright as possible, but even so, in SH3, the reflections simply don't look anywhere near as intense as your pics. So, since I can't get that luminous intensity, adding a larger reflection would not be quite as effective as you might believe.


So instead, I decided that it would be better if I used my artistic license to make something up that would look nice. IMOH, I don't think I did such a bad job of B.S.'ing the reflections. I imagine that you'd probably see the same exact thing if you were to watch a Hollywood movie. And in some of my screenshots, I am reminded of some scenes from U-571 (bad movie, but hopefully everyone can agree that the visuals were stunning).


Thanks to everyone for taking the time to try out my textures,
-Marhkimov

[coronas]

I have an ATI 9200 Grafic Card; with this new visibility fix mod, the black triangles bug is gone!

[coronas]

Thanks for the amazing work!!! :rock:

[Marhkimov]

The simplest things always make for a more encompassing experience! You're welcome! :up:

[rulle34]

Nice mod marhkimov :up:
I will merge in these DAT's in to the 16 km vis mod. Then I hope someone could make the cloudfix into the scene.dat in 16km vis mod too.
Then we have a really nice mod ready for merging into the Environmental mod :up:
What do you think of that? :hmm:

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Nice mod marhkimov :up:
I will merge in these DAT's in to the 16 km vis mod. Then I hope someone could make the cloudfix into the scene.dat in 16km vis mod too.
Then we have a really nice mod ready for merging into the Environmental mod :up:
What do you think of that? :hmm:

Yes! Yes! Yes! Please do! :yep: This is great idea in case Seeadler, has a hard time making 16 km cloudfix. :up: Will you allow us to download your version in the meantime Rulle34?

[Redwine]

Just so good !! :up:

But it is posible to increase the night visibility, not spotting range, i am refering at my own visibility, the gamma of the screen ?

I can see the horizon line, very very soft now, but i am still in a hard darkness.

I can see the ship wakes if they are so near, but cant see any ship silouete.

Thanks in advance.

[Marhkimov]

If you are using my LIGHT NIGHT mod, then that is probably as light as it should be. Any lighter and you begin to see weird anomalies in the sky, such as pixelated splotching. If someone were able to fix this, then we could have lighter nights.

[Redwine]

If you are using my LIGHT NIGHT mod, then that is probably as light as it should be. Any lighter and you begin to see weird anomalies in the sky, such as pixelated splotching. If someone were able to fix this, then we could have lighter nights.

Thanks Marrhkimov..... any way i am aiming ships looking at their fluo wakes wichs are a little bit visible when the ship is near.

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Nice mod marhkimov :up:
I will merge in these DAT's in to the 16 km vis mod. Then I hope someone could make the cloudfix into the scene.dat in 16km vis mod too.
Then we have a really nice mod ready for merging into the Environmental mod :up:
What do you think of that? :hmm:

Yes! Yes! Yes! Please do! :yep: This is great idea in case Seeadler, has a hard time making 16 km cloudfix. :up: Will you allow us to download your version in the meantime Rulle34?

Bump! :P

[rulle34]

Nice mod marhkimov :up:
I will merge in these DAT's in to the 16 km vis mod. Then I hope someone could make the cloudfix into the scene.dat in 16km vis mod too.
Then we have a really nice mod ready for merging into the Environmental mod :up:
What do you think of that? :hmm:

Yes! Yes! Yes! Please do! :yep: This is great idea in case Seeadler, has a hard time making 16 km cloudfix. :up: Will you allow us to download your version in the meantime Rulle34?

Bump! :P

Im working on it right now :up: :sunny: (Light night is finished already) :sunny:

[rulle34]

If you are using my LIGHT NIGHT mod, then that is probably as light as it should be. Any lighter and you begin to see weird anomalies in the sky, such as pixelated splotching. If someone were able to fix this, then we could have lighter nights.

marhkimov
Is the day reflections from "Marhkimovs_Enhanced_Ocean_Reflections___Sky_Mod_v1[1].0" built in in the LIGHT NIGHT mod as well. Or is the LIGHT NIGHT only a mod with lighter night? :hmm:

[Rubini]

marhkimov,

Great work! :up:

I have some suggestions. I have tried a bit with the sea/sky textures at night and I find a intermediary point for sea night textures with a dark but yet with bit of reflection and this way my sea don't have that urticaria's appearance in some vision angles (I don't know if you mess with this or this is the RUB default).

The second point is for the night sky (that deep blue). I tried a texture with a degradê colors; very dark blue in the zenith with a progressive degradê until the horizon where the blue is slight more clear. I find it awesome. But I don't achieve to put a alfa channel on it (so no stars). I'm using GIMP. Can you do this (or try at least) for the night sky?

What do you think?

Rubini.

[Kpt. Lehmann]

If you are using my LIGHT NIGHT mod, then that is probably as light as it should be. Any lighter and you begin to see weird anomalies in the sky, such as pixelated splotching. If someone were able to fix this, then we could have lighter nights.

marhkimov
Is the day reflections from "Marhkimovs_Enhanced_Ocean_Reflections___Sky_Mod_v1[1].0" built in in the LIGHT NIGHT mod as well. Or is the LIGHT NIGHT only a mod with lighter night? :hmm:

After looking at the files in both versions... It appears both versions have the daytime sun reflections added.

The only difference appears to be the darkness level of night graphics.

I hope that helps Rulle34 sir. :ping:

[rulle34]

OK here is the 16 km visibility mod with NIGHT LIGHTS:

http://rapidshare.de/files/6887799/16_km_visibility_mod_RWR_Moon_fix_Clear_water_ligh t_night.rar.html

And here is the link for 16 km visibility mod with Environmental & sky mod:
http://rapidshare.de/files/6889162/16_km_visibility_mod_RWR_Moon_fix_Clear_water_Ocea n_Reflections.rar.html

:/\rlz:

[Marhkimov]

Is the day reflections from "Marhkimovs_Enhanced_Ocean_Reflections___Sky_Mod_v1[1].0" built in in the LIGHT NIGHT mod as well. Or is the LIGHT NIGHT only a mod with lighter night? :hmm:

The LIGHT NIGHT has the reflections built in, yes. I made it specifically for the people who have dark computer screens, but aside from that, it includes the reflections.


OOHOHOHOHOOO, and it seems that Rulle34 has unleashed something... YAY! :-j

[Rubini]

rulle34,

So the cloud fix isn't inside this update? :hmm:


Rubini.

[Marhkimov]

Yea, same question.. Is Seeadler's cloud fix built in?

[Redwine]

Here what i can see at night with your mod.......

http://img500.imageshack.us/img500/5348/night13al.th.jpg (http://img500.imageshack.us/my.php?image=night13al.jpg)

http://img500.imageshack.us/img500/3807/night27ga.th.jpg (http://img500.imageshack.us/my.php?image=night27ga.jpg)

As you can see, even using your mod my vision at night is very poor.

Interesting if it can be personalized, you mentioned some glitches.... can you guide me about wich settings i must to adjust ?

Thanks in advance....... Red.

[Rubini]

marhkimov,

Do you read my post above:

Great work! :up:

I have some suggestions. I have tried a bit with the sea/sky textures at night and I find a intermediary point for sea night textures with a dark but yet with bit of reflection and this way my sea don't have that urticaria's appearance in some vision angles (I don't know if you mess with this or this is the RUB default).

The second point is for the night sky (that deep blue). I tried a texture with a degradê colors; very dark blue in the zenith with a progressive degradê until the horizon where the blue is slight more clear. I find it awesome. But I don't achieve to put a alfa channel on it (so no stars). I'm using GIMP. Can you do this (or try at least) for the night sky?

What do you think? :hmm:


Rubini.

[Marhkimov]

@ Rubini

PM me with a link to the corresponding files (TGA or DAT, doesn't matter; use repidshare). I have photoshop so I can do some further testing on the matter.

Thanks.

[Rubini]

I will.:up:

Rubini.

[rulle34]

The LIGHT NIGHT has the reflections built in, yes. I made it specifically for the people who have dark computer screens, but aside from that, it includes the reflections.

Thank's :up: I just wanted to be sure :P


rulle34,
So the cloud fix isn't inside this update? :hmm:
Rubini.

Yea, same question.. Is Seeadler's cloud fix built in?

No, it isn't. I need some help to hexedit this fix in to this scene.dat.
I welcome some help from someone who can do this ;)

[Marhkimov]

rulle34,

So the cloud fix isn't inside this update? :hmm:


Rubini.


Yea, same question.. Is Seeadler's cloud fix built in?

No, it isn't. I need some help to hexedit this fix in to this scene.dat.
I welcome some help from someone who can do this ;)

Oh okay, no big deal... Manuel knows how to do that for us.

[rulle34]

That's great! :up:

And if you'll get new TGA's that will make it better, just let me know and I'll update the 16 km vis mod in just a minute :yep:

[Kpt. Lehmann]

:up: :up: :up:

[kriller2]

now all we need is the atmoasphere pack to work with timetravelers bigger waves mod... :hmm: http://www.delraydepot.com/tt/sh3.htm#bigwaves :rock: and the SH3 world would be complete...

[Marhkimov]

@ Kriller2

Maybe you can request that Timetraveller (or someone with similar programming abilities) make a program that allows the user to choose their own wave values... The program wouldn't be much different than the color changing and depth randomizer tools...

If you ask nicely enough, he just might do it... ;)

[Pablo]

rulle34,

So the cloud fix isn't inside this update? :hmm:


Rubini.


Yea, same question.. Is Seeadler's cloud fix built in?

No, it isn't. I need some help to hexedit this fix in to this scene.dat.
I welcome some help from someone who can do this ;)

Oh okay, no big deal... Manuel knows how to do that for us.
Hi!

Didn't Manuel already provide an update for his original scene.dat to include the "cloud distortion" fix and options for foggy/non-foggy water in his V092 update here (http://www.mp-labs.com/sh3mods/visibility_mod_v092.zip)?

I'm probably missing something, but it seems to me if you use the scene.dat from V092 you should have both clear water and a non-distorted sky. At least that's how I have it installed.

Pablo

[Marhkimov]

@ Pablo

I believe that the scene.dat is fully responsible for the viewing distance. So if we used the one from V092, we'd probably be able to see 18km... But again, I'm not entirely sure... Maybe you can test it in a single mission and report your findings? ;)

[Pablo]

@ Pablo

I believe that the scene.dat is fully responsible for the viewing distance. So if we used the one from V092, we'd probably be able to see 18km... But again, I'm not entirely sure... Maybe you can test it in a single mission and report your findings? ;)

OK, I get it - you really want 16km. Let me take a look....

[Marhkimov]

OK, I get it - you really want 16km. Let me take a look....

Well, it's not that I'm picky or demanding (though some would care to disagree ;) )... It's just that 18km doesn't work as correctly as 16km does. For instance, the WO can only report sighted ships at 16km or less, so it would be pointless if we (the player) can see them from 18km.

[Marhkimov]

Question to Pablo:


How does the mix of those two visability mods work on your system? It might work, and I am open to any and all ideas at the moment... So at what distance can you (with your own eyes) see other ships. Can you notice any bad interactions between the two mods? How's the weather (haha, no joke; how is the rain, fog, etc.).

Anyways, hope to hear from ya! :up:

[Pablo]

Question to Pablo:


How does the mix of those two visability mods work on your system? It might work, and I am open to any and all ideas at the moment... So at what distance can you (with your own eyes) see other ships. Can you notice any bad interactions between the two mods? How's the weather (haha, no joke; how is the rain, fog, etc.).

Anyways, hope to hear from ya! :up:
Say, Marhkimov...

I was grinding through the "8km visibility" thread, and from reading that it seems the maximum detection ranges set in "sensors.dat" and not "scene.dat." What do you think? Anyways, let me do a couple of runs here....

Pablo

[Marhkimov]

Say, Marhkimov...

I was grinding through the "8km visibility" thread, and from reading that it seems the maximum detection ranges set in "sensors.dat" and not "scene.dat." What do you think? Anyways, let me do a couple of runs here....

Pablo


How sure are you about that? I am actually using the sensors.dat from Rulle's vis mod combined with the scene.dat from Manuel's vis mod... Suffice to say, I can see 18km... Although I could be wrong... I will see what I can "grind" up...

[Pablo]

Question to Pablo:


How does the mix of those two visability mods work on your system? It might work, and I am open to any and all ideas at the moment... So at what distance can you (with your own eyes) see other ships. Can you notice any bad interactions between the two mods? How's the weather (haha, no joke; how is the rain, fog, etc.).

Anyways, hope to hear from ya! :up:
Hi!

My reading of the "8km visibility" mod dialogue(s) indicates that the size of the sky hemisphere, the cloud mapping, and the water clarity are handled in "scene.dat" while the maximum visibility range (16km, 18km, etc.) is handled in "sensors.dat."

Test method (thus far): I tested this out on the Academy naval gunnery course (clouds: clear; fog: none; precipitation: none) by starting the scenario, locking the UZO on one ship, and heading in the opposite direction at flank speed (or whatever it translates to in German).

Test results (so far): I consistently lose UZO lock just as I'm about to exceed 16km range; after losing lock, I can still see the smoke plume for a little bit, but the UZO will not retain lock. I can't tell exactly when I lose sight of the smoke plume - maybe another 1/2 km or so - but it's relatively soon after passing the 16 km mark. At that time, I reverse course and the watch crew detects the ship again at just under 16 km range. The sky has no distortion, and the water is clear.

I think these results are promising, and are consistent with retaining 16km visibility along with the other desired effects. I suggest replacing the "scene.dat" from Rulle34's latest compilation with the "scene.dat" from Manuel's "Visibility Mod V092" and conducting broader beta testing.

Pablo

note: edited to state results more precisely

[Redwine]

OK, I get it - you really want 16km. Let me take a look....

Well, it's not that I'm picky or demanding (though some would care to disagree ;) )... It's just that 18km doesn't work as correctly as 16km does. For instance, the WO can only report sighted ships at 16km or less, so it would be pointless if we (the player) can see them from 18km.

Hi Marhkimov....

Why you not increase the WO spoting range to 18Km ?

Go to the sensors.dat file

Open with Hex editor

In the line 06e53e you will find the Visual sensor.

In the line 06e5c2 you will found the MaxRange

Go to the line below 06e5d8 and change the first numbers in the line so it finish


06e5d8 00 00 a0 8c 46

the MaxRange text will finish as MaxRange. .FF

If i am not wrong your WO will give you "ship spoted sir" at 18Km.

May be this way is more easy...........


I am using the default Ortega's 18km....... and my WO tells me "ship spoted sir" at 30Km.

06e5d8 00 00 60 ea 46 MaxRange..´éF > 30000 meters



Ortega's Default :

06e5d8 00 00 40 9c 46 MaxRange..@.F > 20000 meters


For 18000 meters :

06e5d8 00 00 a0 8c 46 MaxRange. .FF > 18000 meters


All it is into the Manual Editing2 file i put into the "Blend.zip" file i hosted before some topics above.

Let me know if it has utility for you.

Best regards, Red.

[Manuel Ortega]

Redwine, you have said it: why not increase AI to 18km instead of reducing visual to 16km?

I didn't make my mod to get a limited visibility of 18km, or 17, etc... I basically increased all parameters to get more distance, as much as possible, and when I obtained an equilibrated parameters balance I could say: 'now we can see ships at 17,500m. But there is not any hex value called max_visibility_distance=17500 that can be tweaked as you wish, it would be a lot esier this way.

I don't know how to reduce the visibility to 16 km. In fact the present 18km was by chance. Instead, I would encourage all of you to investigate how AI ranges work and tweak it to get those 18 km. And still better, to found how to fix the visual limits at night (super-vision). I think this research would give us more possibilities to reach realistic visibility distances. We must increase it, not reduce it.

Please don't misunderstand me and don't think that I don't want to collaborate. All the opposite. It's only that I think that for obtain a future 30km mod, for example, we must reach the 20km, not 16km. And the limit is now imposed by the 'partialy unknow' AI engine.

[Redwine]

Redwine, you have said it: why not increase AI to 18km instead of reducing visual to 16km?


That's correct, if i do not understand their problem bad, they can see the ships at 18km or 17.5 to be more precise, and the WO do not give any alert "ship spoted sir" up to 16km.

They are looking for put both values together, but take the way to reduce your default dome from 18/17.5 down to 16 km.

My question is :

Why not.... to do the inverse way :) , instead to reduce your defalt dome value, why not to increase the WO capacity and put both values together ? :smug:

The WO or crew spoting range is ino "sensors.dat" in the line 06e5d8. :up:

I rised up it value up to 25km and now 30km.

They can put this value at 18km or 17.5km. :)




I didn't make my mod to get a limited visibility of 18km, or 17, etc... I basically increased all parameters to get more distance, as much as possible, and when I obtained an equilibrated parameters balance.


OK, it is clear, understand you tweeked the modelation dome. :up:



I could say: 'now we can see ships at 17,500m.


I understand, i know your default value was a little bit under 18km, but all people call your mod 18km in a "folks spelling".
All calls and refering to your mod as "Ortega's 18km", OK, they are 17.5 :up:



But there is not any hex value called max_visibility_distance=17500 that can be tweaked as you wish, it would be a lot esier this way.


Agree and....
Due to that i am saying to touch the line i mentioned....... it has a hex value to edit. :up:
Not to reduce your modelation dome, instead to increase the Crew spoting range because "it has" an easy Hexe value to edit in the sensors.dat in the line 06e5d8. :up:

For "ship spoted sir" at 17.5km > 17500m :

06e5d8 >>> 00 00 b8 88 46 >>> MaxRange..,.F




I don't know how to reduce the visibility to 16 km. In fact the present 18km was by chance.
Instead, I would encourage all of you to investigate how AI ranges work and tweak it to get those 18 km.


I do not investigate for enemy AI, but for my crew AI, it is into the lines i wrote above. :up:

May be for enemy AI there are a similar line into the AI_sensors.dat. :hmm:





And still better, to found how to fix the visual limits at night (super-vision). I think this research would give us more possibilities to reach realistic visibility distances. We must increase it, not reduce it.


I have now 30km WO capability, but ant night it is about 9km.
I think so night capabilities are reduced by lighting factor i watch in some files.
I tweek my crew spoting range to 30km with your default modelation dome of 17.5km ....... but at night they can spot ship only up to about 9km.




Please don't misunderstand me and don't think that I don't want to collaborate. All the opposite.


Who say that.....? :hmm: all the comunity are giving you tons of thanks for one of the best and "Must be" mods done for SH3. :rock: :up:




It's only that I think that for obtain a future 30km mod, for example, we must reach the 20km, not 16km. And the limit is now imposed by the 'partialy unknow' AI engine.


Great !! :up: so good you are working in a 30km bubble :up:

About to reach 20km....... if you are refering to our WO and his "ship spoted sir", it is in the lines above.

May be i am not so clear due to my bad english.........

Thanks a lot for your help Mac.........

Un gran abrazo Mac :up:

[Redwine]

Question to Pablo:


How does the mix of those two visability mods work on your system? It might work, and I am open to any and all ideas at the moment... So at what distance can you (with your own eyes) see other ships. Can you notice any bad interactions between the two mods? How's the weather (haha, no joke; how is the rain, fog, etc.).

Anyways, hope to hear from ya! :up:
Say, Marhkimov...

I was grinding through the "8km visibility" thread, and from reading that it seems the maximum detection ranges set in "sensors.dat" and not "scene.dat." What do you think? Anyways, let me do a couple of runs here....

Pablo


Thats is correct Pablo the crew capavility is in the "Visual" sensor into sensors.dat file.

My WO can visual detect ships at 30km day and 9km at night from weeks ago.

I am sure it is a visual detection and not radar or sonar detection because the call "ship spoted sir".

The value to tweek is in the line 06e5d8

For "ship spoted sir' at 17500m........

06e5d8 >>> 00 00 b8 88 46 >>> MaxRange..,.F


Personaly i think so it is a more easy way to solve the problem the guys have here.

[rulle34]

Redwine, you have said it: why not increase AI to 18km instead of reducing visual to 16km?

I didn't make my mod to get a limited visibility of 18km, or 17, etc... I basically increased all parameters to get more distance, as much as possible, and when I obtained an equilibrated parameters balance I could say: 'now we can see ships at 17,500m. But there is not any hex value called max_visibility_distance=17500 that can be tweaked as you wish, it would be a lot esier this way.

I don't know how to reduce the visibility to 16 km. In fact the present 18km was by chance. Instead, I would encourage all of you to investigate how AI ranges work and tweak it to get those 18 km. And still better, to found how to fix the visual limits at night (super-vision). I think this research would give us more possibilities to reach realistic visibility distances. We must increase it, not reduce it.

Please don't misunderstand me and don't think that I don't want to collaborate. All the opposite. It's only that I think that for obtain a future 30km mod, for example, we must reach the 20km, not 16km. And the limit is now imposed by the 'partialy unknow' AI engine.

Hello Manuel!
I have full respect for your work and thoughts about increasing the visibility and in this I agree in general. But as it is now "visibility" is devided in to two different things, and it''s important to sort this out:

1. When crew reports "ship spotted"
2. When you actually can see something in the horizon

With the 16 km visibility these two things have the same distance. , and that's was what i wanted to achieve with this mod. Personally I dont think it's realistic or fun to have my crew report a "ship spotted" at a distance of 18000 or 20000m when I can't see anything myself. First after setting the boat at flank speed in the direction they reported and first after a viewing distance at about 16000m Im able to actually see the ship my self.

About nightvsion, I and others have made lots of tweakings in sensors.cgf to obtain some realistic nightspottings, and I think we are close to a good balance.

Im in for an increased visibility, but Im not in for an increased visbility where only my crew can see anything. I want these distances where we both can see something to be the same. And if it's possible to do this Im in for that. But I don't want this to be some arguments abut what is better 16km or 18km or 20km etc.

But I do want to keep in mind what we mean by "visibility".

:sunny:

With this as background, I have a question for you Manuel and Redwhine:
Do you want to increase the visibility range for only when crew can report a "ship spotted" and you self have to wait several kilometers before you actually can see something in your binoculars, or do you want to increase the visibility so the distance is the same when crew reports and you self can see it in your binoculars?

[Redwine]

With this as background, I have a question for you Manuel and Redwhine:
Do you want to increase the visibility range for only when crew can report a "ship spotted" and you self have to wait several kilometers before you actually can see something in your binoculars, or do you want to increase the visibility so the distance is the same when crew reports and you self can see it in your binoculars?

I cant speak by Mac.... but if i not understand bad, he is working to reach a real visibility values for both player and crew.
It means he need to found how to enlarge the "world bubble" into where the game start up to modelate the objects to be watched.
Manuel "Mac Mollo" Ortega.......Master !! :rock: :rock: :up: :up:

Talking for me..... a reduced crew spoting range of 16km looks unreal for me.

As i wrote before, swiming in the west coast of Cozumel, i can see with no glases no UZO, construction in the other side of the Cuzumel channel, it has 19.5km wide. :sunny:

Flying you can spot a ship at 20 miles, and you can see if it is a Carnival or Royal Caribean...... of course a sub is not flying but if you do not take in account atmospheric humidity or dust in suspension...... if you use an horizon calculator, you will found, from a conning tower of 4m you can spot the 65m mast tops of a Warships from near to 40km. :huh:

Of course fog can reduce those values. :up:

In my opinion, only a personal preference, y prefer to have a real spoting range in my crew, even if my own is unreally reduced to 17.5km.

Just a personal choice. :up:


About the options here, Ortega's (Mac) Mod, has a "World Modelation Bubble" increased from default 8km up to 17.5km.

At 17.5km you can see smoke stacks, and at about 16.5km you can see the ships.

I do not know why for, all you have the WO limited to 16km, because Ortega's default is 20km. :hmm:

May be due your mods installed, but my point is :

To reduce the "World Modelation Bubble", from 17.5Km down to 16Km is hard and complex..... :88)

Then ...why not to increase the WO and Crew Spoting range from your 16Km up to 17.5Km ? :hmm: :up:

A crew spoting range>>> "ship spoted sir" of 17.5Km instead of 16Km is not to much diference and is not unreal :up:

And is an easy way to solve the problem stablished here

17.5Km is anyway under real values in a clear day for a big ship. :hmm:

As wrote before, i am using the Ortega's default 17.5Km "world bubble" and my crew has a 25km or 30km spotting range, i can adjust it at my pleasure. :yep:

If you dont like 25km, or 30km, you can put both together at same value........ Ortega's default 17.5km, called 18km in "folk spelling" :P

Best regards, Red.

[Manuel Ortega]

No, I'm not working on another visibility mod. Not at the moment, until AI system is more understandable, at least for me. :roll:

Another thing, inspired by the Redwine commentary... when you people talk about non-visible ships until 16 km, I understand that you mean ship smoke, isn't? I don't know if I said that there is a parameter called EarthRadius or similar, that defines the curvature of the horizon. I had to tweak it too, because ships were not visible at about 10 km with default game values.
All of you must know that seeing a ship at 17 km from a uboat bridge is barely impossible. You only can see masts (high masts), and smoke at that distance. With a little of maths you can verify it.

With a simple change of that EarthRadius value (multiply it x10 for example), Earth will be flat and a ship could be entirely visible at that distance (17-18 km). But you know that it is totally unrealistic :roll:

Also, I didn't touch the 'lock target' feature distances. It has a limit of 16km, because locking a target at 17 km when it's not visible is also unrealistic.

But I can assure that ships are visible at 17.5 km (smoke), and of course at 16 km.

[Redwine]

The matter Manuel is they do not spot the ships.....
they spot the top of the masts and follow some times the convoys looking the top of the masts.
It is well modelled in SH1.

Look at this......

http://radarproblems.com/calculators/horizon.htm

From a conning tower of 4m, and a theoretical clear day.....

You can spot the 30m masts tops of a cargo ship from near 26.7Km.

And a 65m mast tops of a Warship from 35.9Km.

Considering a small ship as a destroyer, its bridge and its radar antenas may be at 15m over the sea level, looking it from a coning tower of 4m it will be visible at 21km.

To start up to see the ships under 17km ...about 16.5 as in your mod...... is not bad. :up:

And the horizon (zero height) will be at 4.23 nautical miles about 7.8km, look bellow.

http://www.boatsafe.com/tools/horizon.htm

About the smoke columns, it is correct, in your mod, smoke columns appears first than the ships, smoke is visible a little bit under 18km and ships start up to take body a little bit under 17km.

Un abrazo, Red.

[rulle34]

But I can assure that ships are visible at 17.5 km (smoke), and of course at 16 km.

Smoke is "visible" for me! That's great :up:
Do you have the RWR ranges (radar warnings) fixed in the sensors.dat file also so this will work as it should?

[303_Michcich]

Is this mod RuB 1.44, HT 1.46 and Cmdr 2.2 compatible ? Beery, any plans to include this in future RuB/Cmdr ?