Stiebler
06-03-06, 12:24 PM
The addition of U-tankers to NYGM, HT and other mods has resulted in the need for new patrol grids where ‘NULL’ would previously be assigned. This occurs whenever your U-boat docks at a German base, such as a U-tanker, that is not its home port. The time at the base also needs to be reduced to a day or two.
I designed SH3Patrol to generate sensible random patrol zones appropriate for your port and your U-boat type with a minimum of overhead (program size is 180 Kbytes, mostly Windows data added by Microsoft), and with minimal impact on your SH3 files. SH3Patrol is expected to be run only rarely; it is certainly not intended that you should use it every time you return to port. It is not designed to replace the popular SH3Commander, but will sometimes provide solutions in circumstances where SH3Commander fails. It can readily be accessed with ALT-TAB from the SH3 main menu screen, saving the tiresome need to keep reloading SH3.
1. SH3Patrol will reduce your time spent at a U-Tanker/Ocean Tanker to 1-4 days, when run at the tanker base.
2. SH3Patrol will provide you with a new computed patrol square (replacing ‘NULL’) when run from any game saved at sea after departing from a tanker base or from a German port that is not your home base. You can also enter your own choice of new patrol square.
3. SH3Patrol will enable you to select a new patrol square if run while docked in your home base (this is not recommended usage).
4. SH3Patrol serves no purpose if run while you are docked at a German land port that is not your home base.
Full instructions are provided with the NYGM 2.0 documentation. However, since few people ever read instructions, the following key facts are provided:
a) The program file SH3Patrol.exe *must* be placed in folder 'My Documents\SH3\data\cfg'. It will not work anywhere else. I recommend creating a shortcut to it (right-click on the SH3Patrol.exe file), and dragging the shortcut to the desktop. Then it will always be instantly available.
b) If using SH3Commander, ensure that ‘Set Number of Days At Base’ is set to 31 days (the SH3 default time).
The time at a U-tanker/ocean tanker.
The time taken to refuel a U-boat from a tanker at sea was of the order of 2-16 hours, depending on the crew’s experience and the sea state. However, actual time spent at a tanker at sea depended on several other factors: the time spent to ferry spare parts, foodstuffs and personnel across with several dinghy trips; a storm at sea interrupting the supply process; waiting your turn while other U-boats were refuelled. In practice, a U-boat might spend up to a week waiting to be fully replenished. SH3Patrol mimics this by randomly altering refuel times between one and five days.
SH3Patrol will be released as an integral part of the imminent NYGM Tonnage War 2.0 release. I have been using it since February now, so it is very well tested.
Stiebler.
I designed SH3Patrol to generate sensible random patrol zones appropriate for your port and your U-boat type with a minimum of overhead (program size is 180 Kbytes, mostly Windows data added by Microsoft), and with minimal impact on your SH3 files. SH3Patrol is expected to be run only rarely; it is certainly not intended that you should use it every time you return to port. It is not designed to replace the popular SH3Commander, but will sometimes provide solutions in circumstances where SH3Commander fails. It can readily be accessed with ALT-TAB from the SH3 main menu screen, saving the tiresome need to keep reloading SH3.
1. SH3Patrol will reduce your time spent at a U-Tanker/Ocean Tanker to 1-4 days, when run at the tanker base.
2. SH3Patrol will provide you with a new computed patrol square (replacing ‘NULL’) when run from any game saved at sea after departing from a tanker base or from a German port that is not your home base. You can also enter your own choice of new patrol square.
3. SH3Patrol will enable you to select a new patrol square if run while docked in your home base (this is not recommended usage).
4. SH3Patrol serves no purpose if run while you are docked at a German land port that is not your home base.
Full instructions are provided with the NYGM 2.0 documentation. However, since few people ever read instructions, the following key facts are provided:
a) The program file SH3Patrol.exe *must* be placed in folder 'My Documents\SH3\data\cfg'. It will not work anywhere else. I recommend creating a shortcut to it (right-click on the SH3Patrol.exe file), and dragging the shortcut to the desktop. Then it will always be instantly available.
b) If using SH3Commander, ensure that ‘Set Number of Days At Base’ is set to 31 days (the SH3 default time).
The time at a U-tanker/ocean tanker.
The time taken to refuel a U-boat from a tanker at sea was of the order of 2-16 hours, depending on the crew’s experience and the sea state. However, actual time spent at a tanker at sea depended on several other factors: the time spent to ferry spare parts, foodstuffs and personnel across with several dinghy trips; a storm at sea interrupting the supply process; waiting your turn while other U-boats were refuelled. In practice, a U-boat might spend up to a week waiting to be fully replenished. SH3Patrol mimics this by randomly altering refuel times between one and five days.
SH3Patrol will be released as an integral part of the imminent NYGM Tonnage War 2.0 release. I have been using it since February now, so it is very well tested.
Stiebler.