I'm with you. Land masses aren't that big a load. SH1 - SHCE showed land masses visually, on SJ, and they were nicely displayed, plus a visual SD air search radar, a visible bathythermograph for water density/temperature layers, and SH1 was a DOS & Win 3.11 game. Ran on a x86 computer.

I've been very disappointed with SH4, even when modded the best I could do - or anyone else, it still isn't as good as SH1. Did I mention SH1 had a working TDC too?

SH1 features a Captains cabin and logbook, a Calendar with sunrise, sunset, the moon phases, moonrise & moonset times to assist in planning actions; for attack, recon, etc. Also a working TDC that I always used to fire, SD A-Scope air search radar pictured below on the right, SJ-1 40,000 yard PPI on left, (in this pic it is showing a land mass) - earlier SJ was 20,000 yards PPI, and earlier still the 20,000 yard A-Scope.

. . . http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p...ps9b92b96a.jpg

If UBI had the SH1 features above, the SH1 submarine operations, the SH1 Escorts' ASW performance to track your boat in a realistic manner (remember the wagon wheel?), combined with the graphics of the SH4 water & SH4's beautiful models of warships & marus, that would have been a product.

Land masses didn't slow SH1 down when displayed visually (there were things to see) or on the SJ.

I'll admit I prefer SH4 because of the graphics, but there is so much that could have been added to make it right that a primitive DOS game running on an old x86 had.

RAD AWESOME SICK GRAPHICS!!!!!!!1111!!111!!!
 

Problem there is kids (defined as those who weren't born yet when the first PCs came out, Zenith Heathkit TRS-80 Commodore 64 etc) have the attention span of a gnat and don't care about realistic operations. They want eye candy, they'll pay big bucks for eye candy, so eye candy is what the game companies focus on, because eye candy is what sells.

But don't get me started on that. :salute:

I've had them all, the original four color CGA "GATO" for the 286 back in the 80s, Microprose Silent Service 1 and 2, assorted others from obscure publishers and SH 1 through 4. SH4 LOOKS better than the old four color GATO, IIRC the sea was light blue, sky was magenta and everything else was black or white. Kinda like Chuck Yeager's flight sim or the original F-15 Strike Eagle.

Back on topic, I've got something pretty close in damage tweaks - deliberately slowed down to let a destroyer catch up with me (this is in my WIP mod, trying to figure out why they come pinging at 6 to 8 knots and don't speed up for a run, the tin cans in other missions don't let you outrun them submerged). WHAM WHAM WHAM 5 out of 8 tubes damaged with two forward and one aft damaged but still able to fire, one propeller shaft 90% damaged, 28% hull damage, both periscopes OK and nothing destroyed. Career start mission so not many decent mechs aboard, so it took a while before I was able to fire from any tube besides 3, 4 and 6. Detection seems pretty good except for that screwy thermal layer which I somehow can't put a dent in.

Visual detection seems right on, reducing the max visual range in the AI_Sensors.dat file from 9500 to 7500 was all it took. Changes a lot of other things about AI visual detection too, calm water sunny day the max range they can see a surfaced sub is 7500 yards, then the max range for everything else including night surface attacks and periscope detection is reduced correspondingly. :up:

If you guys ever get the numbers finally tweaked to your liking, please post the changes you made so I/we can duplicate them. :-)

I posted Hitman's settings to make a night surface attack more realistic - and possible. I also posted a link to Medal of Honor winner Eugene Fluckey's method of night surface attack, posted on Tom Martin's site that I like to use when conditions are right:
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~tlm/silent/barb_report.html

TorpX is tweaking scene.dat (I think)

I'm just subscribing to this topic in case anyone has better ideas or if TorpX finds a magical solution : )

In the meantime, Happy Hunting!

Last year I made a mod for bubblehead where I reworked the env and tweaked cfg and other things for a realistic night attack. I spent more time adjusting light settings and colors in env than anything. I never really finished it, although Bubblehead tested it a lot and basically liked it as it was.

I don't remember all the changes. I did adjust where light keeping light on the clouds near the moon, instead of all clouds basically the same reflection from horizon to horizon. The goal was easier night attacks under low light conditions, more dangerous with higher light. I also nulled searchlights on all ships except escorts and adjusted those to be more reasonable.

Sseem I could pull off reasonable surface attacks from 1500-2000 yards and still be able to turn and escape, of course crew ratings effect that.

I made several versions because bubble and I differed some on distance, but probably could find the more recent two files I emailed Bubble. If someone wants to try and and work on it, just PM me..

I haven't played in several months, my PC with all my file blew up, just have them because Bubble was doing testing and I emailed them to him..

For TMO

This is the sim cfg that I've used since Aanker posted it including the only modification that I made which was to change the speed factor for both active sonar and passive (hydrophone) to 12 knots for reasons as stated in previous posts.

Spider subsequently came up with what he thought was the correct tables to change within the sensors file using the S3D - Silent 3ditor. I downloaded S3D, but couldn't figure out how to use it and the above was working so well that I never followed up with it.

Using this cfg I finished my last campaign, am half way thru another and have yet to have anything I'd regard as really unrealistic occur. So I'm content with it. Good hunting.:arrgh!:

I did tweak the scene.dat, but my changes were limited to those that would produce bigger waves. I really don't know enough to intelligently rework the whole file. The standard file I included is based on the RFB 2.0 file, and I included an alternate built on the most recent TMO file.

Right now, I am working on the ships, and this is proving to be difficult enough. However, if some of you want to develop a combination of scene.dat/Sim.cfg files, that are compatible with RFB, and that you consider better and more realistic, I would be happy to include these with the next ISP release.

[I remember Armistead's screens of his work, and thought the night moonlight shots were very good, but don't know if his file versions would work well with RFB.]

Is this based on stock SH4? Or, perhaps more importantly, will this work with stock SH4? (I remember somebody said that the sim.cfg file just contains multipliers for the values in the sensors.dat file, so if it's based on a mod with a changed sensors.dat file, then I suppose that would need to be part of the solution...)

TorpX, I don't dare edit what you and the RFB team released - or Ducimus' TMO either. They are what both mods worked hard and compromised many things to get in their end result. You guys did an outstanding job and had reasons for everything.

I stick to modding a personal modded install based on so much I learned from both RFB & TMO, and others' input too - like Hitman's.

So, it's like 3 - 4 different SH4 installs which is nice : )

Yes, this will work with SH4 Stock 1.5. Hitman modded his Stock files to get these values. I use these values - or real close, and can do night surface attacks to my satisfaction under the right conditions at night.

A skipper would be risking his command going after an escorted convoy on the surface in daylight. I do 95% of my periscope attacks on escorted convoys at dusk - dark too, and when a surface attack is out of the question.

I try to be realistic or what I think would be historically accurate, based on numerous patrol attack reports I have read. They are all on the internet now which is nice.

Happy Hunting!

Eeek, a snipeder! Or a spidener?
 

"Spider subsequently came up with what he thought was the correct tables to change within the sensors file using the S3D - Silent 3ditor. I downloaded S3D, but couldn't figure out how to use it and the above was working so well that I never followed up with it."

If I'm the "Spider" you're referring to all I did was reduce ranges to something inside the orbit of Jupiter, they CAN detect you outside those ranges but only when you're really visible and conditions are just right. It feels more realistic to me.

As for Silent 3ditor it's not that complicated, assuming you're proficient browsing files with windows explorer and editing text files, Silent3ditor is merely a decompiler.

Open Windows Explorer, browse to the \Silent Hunter 4 Wolves of the Pacific\Data\Library folder. First file in the list should be AI_Sensors.dat. Copy that file and browse to a backup folder and paste it, now you have a safe copy of the file to restore if you blow something up.

Start Silent 3ditor, File, Open, a standard Windows Explorer opens, browse to the same place and open AI_Sensors.dat.

https://scontent-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hpho...39533572_n.jpg

The first four nodes are the only ones really needed, the nodes expand just like folders in windows explorer. Expanding a node you find obj_sensor then another obj_sensor with the actual specs in that, find the range and reduce it. Do the same for all four, AI_radar, visual, hydrophone and sonar, then save and exit Silent 3ditor, test in game. If it seems too easy and/or the escorts can't see you until you ram them reload the file and increase the range. If the whole thing capsizes get the backup AI_Sensors.dat file and copy into \Silent Hunter 4 Wolves of the Pacific\Data\Library, yes to overwrites. As long as you make a backup copy of any file you try to edit before editing it's impossible to screw it up.

Even for an officer. :salute:

EDIT: almost forgot (one of my grandkids talked me into doing a simple mod for Oblivion, simple mod led to a more complicated one which led to another and chaos reigned all over the kingdom), the numbers I used;

AI_Radar: 25000 reduced to 15000
AI Visual: 9500 - reduced to 7500
AI Hydrophone: 6000 - reduced to 4000
AI Sonar: 4000 - reduced to 2000

Note that those are not absolute limits, a better than average operator in better than average conditions CAN pick you up outside those ranges, but it's really rare. If the max range is 25000 there's a slight chance they'll detect at 28000, a little better chance at 20000, good chance at 10000 yards. Reset to 15000 changes those to 16000 with an elite crew in a flat calm, 10000 with a veteran crew with small waves, 5000 for an average crew with a moderate swell. Again all the testing I did (before I got distracted with sword and sorcery) was with the default sim.cfg, combine both and the enemy would probably be a bunch of blind deaf lubbers who couldn't find a shark in a wading pool. Either the numbers on both would have to be adjusted upward or the original sim.cfg would need to be used to avoid going to the other extreme of never being detected.

Now that's cold.

Thanks Sniper and sorry about the name confusion. I'll have to try the editor again.

Yes it will. I also use it in S.H.5 and it works quite well there to.:yeah:

Update to this, I started having frequent crashes trying to load save games in careers, so went back to stock game to troubleshoot. Got one of those huge European liners with a couple escorts, the escorts detected me well outside of five miles and came at me while the troopship started zigzagging. Fired fish at the escorts, sank one and damaged the other, apparently jamming his rudder so he couldn't turn. Fired one into the troopship who stopped DIW. After a few minutes raised the scope, located the damaged escort still steaming off to the horizon 5000 yards and increasing. Noted splashes around the scope, changed to external view to see what in the world that passenger liner was firing at me with.

It wasn't the passenger liner. It was that escort, over 5000 yards away, firing at my periscope and getting hits every time I raised it. Um yeah, the AI don't cheat. Much. :doh:

Copied the altered AI_Sensors.dat file into the new test copy and restarted a new career, we'll see how that goes.