i would rather have the mod split up into pieces because i'm a pick and chooser.

Agreed. Especially, if you know that a certain option interferes with or detracts from another mod.

Target lock and marker
 

Hi,
Have just installed PE2 and have lost target lock and marker. Can I tweak a file to get it back?
RR

I used a photo of the oil well fires in the gulf as the base for the effect.:up:

For those that have the new shell fire explosion effect, Kriller says that there is a bit of fire stuck on a mast. I have re-checked my copy and I'm either blind or it's not in my version. Is anyone else having trouble with the new shell explosion effect?

@Dr.Beast - You say that the new shell explosions is slowing your computer down - does the normal mini explosion effect you sometimes get when exploding cargo slow your PC down in the same way and do any of the smoke effects slow your PC down, i.e. the black oil fire smoke?

EDIT: Either blind OR I've got the wrong set of mods enabled - that's very possible. :doh: .

Affirmative to all, but I stumbled upon something that may lead our investigation on the right track, once and for all.
So, there I was blowing up yet another ship, this time a Yamato, and guess what: torpedo 1 hits, the game begins to crawl. Anyway, having almost resigned to the fact that this is how things are going to be from now on, I surface my boat and line it up next to the Yamato so it can get some pounding (and thus test the effects I've added to the fleet boats). Pretty soon, the hull becomes a Swiss cheese and, for every new hole that opens in my sub's hull, I see the frame rates drop. All of a sudden the alarms went off: "Ship 3D Damage", I think. So, I turn that off, and what do you know...frame rates skyrocket! No more slowdowns of ANY kind! I saw barrage after barrage of enemy fire hit my ship, and my rig wouldn't even break a sweat! So I aimed the camera back at the crippled Yamato. Yep, no loss of frame rate! I turn on 3D damage, even at the lowest setting, and the game begins to crawl again...
I think we're onto something here, fellas. Unfortunately, it was very late when I discovered this, so I couldn't test any further, but I feel we have another lead to help us solve the mysterious slowdown issue. Any ideas of what to look into would be appreciated.

:o Nice work here! Dr. Beast, there is a big texture called damage... something in the misc directory I will look into this when I come home ! :up: maybe we can resize it or something.

Good stuff to know. At least we can turn it off, in the mean time.

If you're suffering from the same type of performance hit like me, then yes! It will make a HUGE difference.
Picture this: camera on target, pre-torpedo hit, 30-35 FPS. Torpedo hit and afterwards: 9-12 FPS!! Now, turn off Ship 3D Damage, and FPS will stay at the 30's for the whole duration, except at initial torpedo impact and until the water splash settles.
Heck, I'm SERIOUSLY contemplating bringing back a lot of the Special Effects I stripped! Kriller2 and test team, what say you?

Can you wait a little untill we know how much this affects performance, because if resizing the damage-texture / optimizing doesn't work we still have a issue and most users want to have the damage effects turned to yes :yep:

Sure thing. I'll try and locate the file you mentioned and see if resizing it has any beneficial effects. If I see positive results from my side, I'll start reworking the SFX so you can have something to test tomorrow. Time is running out from my part, I'm leaving on my easter vacations this Sunday and won't be online for two weeks.

There are two files which seem to be connected to 3d damage, one is called dmg_new01.dds and is 171 KB and the other which seems likely to be connected is DamageNoise.dds and is 1,366 KB and it's 1024 x 1024 pixels. One thing that may be causing a problem is the dmg_new01.dds file isn't symetrical - it's 256x512 - is it like that in stock? I think some graphics cards have trouble with non symetrical textures?

Dr.Beast - do you get any stuck fire effects on the new shell explosions?

Hmm...I'll check stock size when I get home.
Nope, can't say I've noticed any stuck fire effects. The other day I was pounding on a Hiryo with my deck gun for...dunno...10 minutes maybe? With NSM4 shells, which do pitiful damage, mind you, but with a faster reloading deck gun (1 round per 4 seconds). That mast fire Kriller2 mentioned might be part of SFX. It was more prominent in the previous version.

Kriller and crew,
just a quick word of thanks! finally got back into port and loaded up PE2 with your formal special effects and the tweaked down fog, its perfect! just sailing through my first storm, you did a great job balancing the new fog, weather, colors and sub roll. underwater shots look awesome with the high res addon! you guys do a fantastic job!

Ive spent many many foggy mornings and days in the atlantic, sometimes barely seeing past the bow of our fishing boat (only 50'), and it looks just the way you created it here. In fact i almost just want to sit on the bridge and steam the whole 1300 miles through the storm to my destination its so real.

got to go grab my rain gear be right back.

Here is what I am seeing when running the torpedo quick mission and after sinking the warships, set my crew to shoot on the sailing boat, the crew fires and the mast start to burn, but suddenly there are two fires sticking to the sailing boat like this and it keeps on hanging in the air :o I can't remember seeing that before, but maybe it's a stock bug.
http://img22.imagevenue.com/loc971/t..._122_971lo.jpg

@ATR-42 Thanks :D it's nice to hear, I have looked at several real life photos when the colours where decided for the mod.

Ah, that one...? I noticed that in the previous version of ROW Special Effects, but didn't really pay it much attention. The fire spawns from the wrong point, it seems. You can also see it in other ship's masts.

BTW, the more I see the new shell explosion effect, the more it grows on me. I'm beginning to REALLY like it! Some things are love at first sight, other slowly grow on you until you just can't do without them. ;)