Hi tater.

A suggestion...

...setting the startpoint of the subs that launch out of Pearl Harbor west of the International Dateline. That puts it west of Midway and cuts in half the trip to Japan. Which on my machine can take 12 minutes since it can only crunch data as fast as 3000x.

If we could have the home return target not be Pearl Harbor but instead the same general area as the launch point -- that too would save a huge amount of travel time.

I'm not interested in that sort of mod, frankly. Any kind of stand-alone to do that should work. You could dump the UPCData folder stuff from mine, and load it over TM or something (assuming ducimous doesn't alter the minesweeper or subchaser).

The idea is to be as vanilla as possible. I added Beery's career start dates because it made testing very much easier (and I'm used to them), as well as the fact that I want to start playing with the patrol objectives.

tater

Well if you just kept this as an ongoing campaign layer mod i would be happy .

Slow couple days. Family stuff, little kids, swimming, etc. I'll get back to to it tonight a little. I'm also trying to make decent alpha chanels on art that is pissing me off (ONI images).

BTW, I didn't mean that reply to sound snotty, sorry captainkobuk. I'm open to any/all suggestions, just for now more directly related to the actual traffic. It's just something else to have to learn how to do. The campaign stuff isn't as "technical" as the other mods, just lots of scut work.


tater

Tater,

just wanted to drop a line to say "great job!":up: I have been using the latest version of your layers in my current 1942 Asiatic Fleet campaign, and the results are astonishing! On my way to Philipines I found a convoy of tankers and transports in the Java Sea, zig-zagging all the way to Balikpapan. Plotting it to get the basis course and lurking around at visibility limit (It's night) has been one of the most gratifying experiences yet in my years of subsimming since SH1 & AOD. This behaviour really adds to the inmersion and now you can easily understand the reasons for the meager succes of real skippers when compared to us gamers! Plotting a zig-zagging convoy and getting into the proper attack position in time before the convoy zigs away is a real challenge and you are left with a stupid face many times. The challenge of doing it before dusk and before the convoy reachesa traffic node where it might very well change course and dissapear just adds to the captain's nightmare. I'm really loving it even if I don't score any success at all. KUDOS:rock:

P.S. I'm on my first mission but so far no CTDs or strange behaviours. The traffic is noticeably reduced when compared to the stock 1.2 game, which is IMO very good news as I felt there was an overabundance of targets before.

Thanks. The credit for the zig-zagging actually being in game largely belongs to mcoca. Without his automated campaign editor it would be impossibly difficult to prepare the literally thousands of waypoints per mission. Thanks also to lurker_hlb3, who has helped me understand how to code this (and has simply provided the base code in many cases).

A big part of the reduced traffic is actually reduced contact reports. The merchant traffic is still pretty thick I think. I suppose i need to calculate the expected number of merchant at sea any given moment and look at scaling it to RL.

I kept the "convoys" early war and reduced them in % for each ship such that you might get a huge convoy (5-10 ships) now and again, but the average might be only a couple ships with a subchaser escort, lol.

If you get a photo mission to someplace like Palau... save often. LOL.

This sounds like a winner! Thanks tater.:up:

Tater--I've been playing your campaign a lot and I think it's excellent! I actually have to hunt and I think that's a huge realism plus. Less contacts on map is a Very Good Thing!!!! And that zig-zagging has tripped me up a couple times too!

Escort and general ship station keeping looks to be working fine. I've actually been looking for "what's wrong" but haven't found anything I'd want to complain about at all (yet ;) ).

Nice Job! Have a Single Malt Scotch on me!!! Send me the bill LOL.

Cheers!

Peto

I was testing infiltrating the Palau anchorage last night (since there are 2 photo missions there). Date was january '43. I spotted a warship near the SW channel (was on surface at night), went to binos and CTD.

Argh. First CTD other than the taihosan I've had since the columns problem was fixed. Now I need to study every group in and out of palau in that period and find it. Anyone else messing about in that area let me know what you see.

tater

FYI Tater--if you have any special testing you'd like help with let me know. I've become a big fan of your campaign in a short time and am willing to help you out however I can. I do have modding experience, just a little out of shape and lazy since you guys are doing such an awesome job! And for that, you and the other modders all have my Thank You!!!!!!

Peto

Next version might come with a few test missions---simply a mission where I put a US sub someplace, and then it still loads the campaign layers normally. Saves transit time, etc. I have one for Palau, and another for Truk so I can poke around quickly.

Tater, these campaign mods are fantastic!!! If you have time (ya, right) you can pop into the UBI forums and read my AAR using your modified campaign files (titled Hat Trick). I really enjoyed that encounter largely due to your modifications, so thank you, once again!!

I just wanted to relay something I found when I was playing the other night. I ran across a KMSSBIYO that was transiting the Tapaan Passage (Northern Celebes) and got hung up on a sub net. I was able to free him from his plight (by blowing him up) but I don't know if maybe he zigged a little too close to the shore or what.

Chuck

Oh, thanks!

I forgot, I need to merge to the minefields (my reefs are in there, though I think I will change that in the final version. I left them in minefields because the less I mess with campaign.cfg, the more compatible it is) to test Tawi Tawi vs traffic!

tater

Campaign is still rocking for me too! had a radio message that caught my attention though:

22:23 Radio Enemy Task Force
Long 113 41' E
Lat 22 42' N
Course ESE
Speed 0 Knots
March 6 1942

The 0 knots is what caught my eye. I've had these types of things happen when writing for SH3 or when I used to script for SH2. It's easy to miss a waypoint speed change or not have a speed set at the origin of a group.

Thought I'd let you know. It was too far for me to go as gas was limited LOL.

Peto

Added to the list. Good stuff, tater! :up: