CB-Help!
Need some advice. I attempted plugging in your Campaign_Rnd from the DL as is but it crashed as you predicted it might.
I then located and copied each complete VIIA entry from your file and pasted to the end of the relevant [RndGroup] changing the ReportPosProbability= to "0"
see sample of first loaded Rnd Group below.


[RndGroup 61]
GroupName=HX39Convoy
Category=0
CommandEntry=0
Long=-7617918.000000
Lat=5345865.000000
Height=0.000000
DelayMin=60
DelayMinInterv=7860
SpawnProbability=95
RandStartRadius=1.000000
ReportPosMin=600
ReportPosProbability=0
Heading=138.606003
Speed=6.000000
ColumnsNo=4
Spacing=700
DeleteOnLastWaypoint=true
CurrentInstanceID=0
GameEntryDate=19390803
GameEntryTime=200
GameExitDate=19391229
GameExitTime=0
NextWP=0

[RndGroup 61.RndUnit 1 thru 17]

[RndGroup 61.RndUnit 18]
Name=Type VIIA#1
Class=SSTypeVIIA
Type=200
Origin=German
Side=2
Commander=0
CargoExt=-1
CargoInt=-1
CfgDate=19390101
No=2
Escort=false
SpawnProbability=100
CrewRating=4

I then went into data/cfg /contacts.cfg and changed the
"Display Range To Opportunity Radio Contacts=33000" per your instructions.

"reccommend increasing your opportunity contact report range greatly to take advantage of the GERMAN only "contact" reports
this is found in data/cfg contacts.cfg"
Is there a difference? GERMAN vs ALLIES If so where? I saw nothing to diiferentiate

Started a campaign mission and was immediately swamped with multiple red squares all over the map along with the normal convoy reports text messages.
No blue sub icons visible. How do I get rid of the red squares and get the sub icons as in your screen shots?

I'm pretty sure the VIIa's are running but what am I doing wrong here.
This will be awesome once I get the bugs worked out

if your using a custom campaign then some have added literally dozens of new convoys to the SCR layer-- so you will be recieve-ing contact reports from the convoys in that layer--

yes it is a tedious job to get rid of the allied contact reports--

you could use the search and replace function in wordpad to replace

ReportPosMin=

with

ReportPosMin=-

(note the minus sign)

this will kill ALL the contact reports for everything

then you will have to find all the patroling subs you've added
(you have added the patroling subs i hope?)
and switch the contact reports back on for them only--then you have only "contact" reports from the german subs--

you have to add the patroling subs to get the sub contact reports--
tho they are really reporting the convoy routes rather than their postions-it's up to you to patrol along the routes plotted out by the subs and find the convoys--

to find the patroling subs in the rnd file you downloaded scroll to the very end of the file or do a search for Wolf


//////////////////////////

Sergbuto!! yep it makes for really atmospheric patrols--:up:

Using NYGMv2 so I assume there's additions based on the RUB work

Just did that with the RND file

I think this was the problem, all I originally replaced were the "attached" VIIA's
at the end of the convoys from your example-never thought to look for patrolling subs at the end-I just added them and re-numbered them to fit the sequence. Just put it all back together and started a fresh campaign mission. Will let you know how it turns out.

your gonna have to read the thread thru and thru again H' ..and do a bit of thinking..if you going to have any success adapting this to NYGM or any other major campaign mod--

another fascinating patrol--

didn't find a convoy but picked off a couple of lone merchants travelling near the routes--and one as i was using the Mediterean route as a marker for the trip home--

occurs to me that i could add the hunter killer groups in the same way--travelling along the convoy routes in the same way as the patroling u-boats--would make sense--the more you play like this the more things start to suggest them selves--and it all seems perfectly logical--

http://www.ebort2.co.uk/files/wolf12.jpg

Yes in RL the hunter killer groups would be somewhere halfway between 2 convoys along the same route to take over DC duty allowing the escorts to return to convoy so in theory you could add them

Looks like its getting bigger every day:o

:up: seems a better idea than having them wandering "more or less" at random around the map--- i'm allso tempted to have a look at the aircraft allso--
i haven't tried adding aircraft with specified routes in SH3--i'm guessing it will work--giving aircraft the same job of patroling the convoy routes will enable me to specify what type and how many aircraft are likely to be encountered--and help ensure that any patrol along the routes is liable to have it's surprises no matter wether you locate a convoy or not--if it works well i might reduce the number of spawned aircraft to balance it out allso perhaps pop in a few lone destroyers allso to allow for escorts refueling/re-arming/repairing and catching up or leaving a convoy...

add ing in a few more lone merchants with the wolfpack "escort" attached will allso create some interesting moments --finding a lone merchant being attacked or on fire with the u-boot still in the vincinity (no escorts to kill them) will be a nice touch--

some-day all campaigns will be made this way :ping:

plenty of scope for escorts coming and going along the routes---

read this sort of thing a lot so it might even be considered un-usual not to meet escorts along the routes at some point
(these were not Hunter Killer groups but escorts refueling re-arming and relieving other escorts who then them selves would return to their home ports for refueling etc--so it's applicable right thru out the war..)

http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/sear...Bww2&x=20&y=15



EDIT;

decided the quickest way to simulate this and focus the campaign on the convoy routes would be to move some of the stock hunter killer groups onto the main convoy routes---with some reduction in probable numbers of escorts in the group--
so i just altered the waypoints of the first three british killer groups in the RND file (which appear in early 1942) so they now travel the HX OA and HG convoy routes till the end of the war--no point adding huge numbers of ships to the campaign, when using the ones allready there in a more resource friendly fashion not only simulates "better" tactical use of available warships- it allso means the campaign doesn't load like a snail crawling across your desk lol--
the RN didn't have an unlimited number of ships --no idea why most of the hunter killer groups are wandering around in the middle of no-where more or less--after all if the U-Boats are NOT along the convoy routes then they are not a danger anyway so why waste resources trying to find them.. ACK!!!
Coastal Command and the RAF can do the searching in the transition zones

I've added attached AI subs to all the convoys in the NYGM rnd file and I guess it's time to start attaching the "wolfpack" subs to patrol the convoy routes. Using the paper map supplied with the game gives the long/lat around the outside perimeter. Question I have is how do I convert the numeric value as in the sample below to actual longitude/latitude that I can referance on the map. Would be nice to see what area I'm actually working in.

[RndGroup 1896]
GroupName=HX39Wolf
Category=0
CommandEntry=0
Long=-7617918.000000
Lat=5345865.000000

what you do is this H'

find the convoy that you want the patroling subs to "shadow"

copy it -waypoints and all- from the RND file into a new wordpad document

then replace the ships with the subs and sort out the RndGroup and RndWaypoint numbers accordingly for the new group
like thus

[RndGroup 1718]
GroupName=HX39Wolf
Category=0
CommandEntry=0
Long=-7617918.000000
Lat=5345865.000000
Height=0.00000
DelayMin=60
DelayMinInterv=7860
SpawnProbability=100
RandStartRadius=1.000000
ReportPosMin=600
ReportPosProbability=60
Heading=138.606003
Speed=9.000000
ColumnsNo=2
Spacing=700
DeleteOnLastWaypoint=true
CurrentInstanceID=0
GameEntryDate=19390803
GameEntryTime=200
GameExitDate=19421229
GameExitTime=0
NextWP=0

[RndGroup 1718.RndUnit 1]
Name=Type VIIA#1
Class=SSTypeVIIA
Type=200
Origin=German
Side=2
Commander=0
CargoExt=-1
CargoInt=-1
CfgDate=19390101
No=1
Escort=false
SpawnProbability=100
CrewRating=4

[RndGroup 1718.RndUnit 2]
Name=Type VIIA#1
Class=SSTypeVIIA
Type=200
Origin=German
Side=2
Commander=0
CargoExt=-1
CargoInt=-1
CfgDate=19390101
No=1
Escort=false
SpawnProbability=100
CrewRating=4

[RndGroup 1718.Waypoint 1]
Speed=9.000000
Radius=50.000000
Loop=-1
LoopProbability=100
Long=-7358918.000000
Lat=5052065.000000
Height=0.000000

[RndGroup 1718.Waypoint 2]
Speed=9.000000
Radius=100.000000
Loop=-1
LoopProbability=100
Long=-6792918.000000
Lat=5124065.000000
Height=0.000000

etc etc etc

the reason this is the best way to go with a custom campaign (any campaign in fact) is just that they may have altered the routes from the stock ones even slightly and it makes it impossible to find the convoys (except by accident)-
you need the patroling subs to give you accurate information (within the random limitations) so you can draw the routes onto the map- and patrol the routes your self--
you don't need to add too many before the map starts to come alive with a constant flow of up-dating sub "reports"....
you will need the patroling routes to up-date on the same dates as the convoys if you want to keep them accurate--so choose the main routes such as the HX one and do all the HX39 HX40 etc etc routes seperately to keep thing accurate and dynamic as the time goes by--
the paper map show the seven or eight main routes that would be ideal to select (the rest you can add if you want more reports and a greater variety choice of patrol zones)

it doesn't take many before your map starts to look like this

http://www.ebort2.co.uk/files/wolf13.jpg


here i am chasing my luck with three routes down towards the Azores (i'm just about to get killed by a catalina here -so my luck ran out lol)

http://www.ebort2.co.uk/files/wolf14.jpg

it's highly dynamic and nothings garantued---all you can say is that as you have used the same information for the patroling subs as was used by the convoy itself- there is a good chance that your going to be some-where close if you stick to these routes and work out a search pattern..

course there's nothing to stop you adding in a few contact reports from convoys if you get too much bad luck too often--but it does work out over several patrols--you'll be finding them easily one patrol --the next you can't pin them down for love nor money---great dynamics:up:

determined to catch one of these Azores convoys, so i reloaded the previous in base save and went back to the bone yard...still no luck on the convoys ..but picking off lone merchants who are wandering around the area---plenty to be working on tho..stay where i am or try a different route?..go north ? south? etc etc..

http://www.ebort2.co.uk/files/wolf15.jpg


going to hit lucky soon here tho--the Northerm atlantic routes have a much higher probability of hitting a convoy--but want to see if there's a "knack" to finding convoys with this set up--so i'm going for the less well travelled routes to practice..

Thanks CB
I'm starting to add the patrolling subs tonight.
Why is it that you just did the rnd. files but left the scr. files alone-what's the difference? As you can probably tell this is my first experience with tinkering with either but your idea has so much merit I can't pass it up.

:up: Cheers H'

the reason i'm working on the RND layer rather than the SCR - is really because my campaign is (apart from all this stuff) basically as stock--so all the main convoys are in the RND layer--(im not even sure if there are any convoys in the SCR as stock? dunno) the other reason is that i haven't tried working on the RND layer before so like you wasn't sure if there was any difference between the RND and SCR layer---seemed best to work on the RND layer just in case theyre was--:D :up:


i'm hoping to learn a few things as i go along so i can refine the idea...

i wish there was a

MaxDelayInterv

to go along with the

DelayMin=60
DelayMinInterv=7860

that way you could set some of the convoys and subs to spawn at tthe more or less exactly the same moment and this would mean that some of the sub reports would genuinely be "shadows" rather than route intelligence--tho the good things about the patroling subs is that they are doing the same thing as you---if you find a convoy along a route and it has no wolfpack attached to it--but one of the patroling subs turns up then it will attempt to attack at the same time as you--so it is dynamic--

if over time you find it is just too difficult to find convoys then you can simply increase the spawn rate fro the convoys and this will create more convoys travelling the routes---i have done four patrols at the azores and not so far located one convoy--tho i did find a Med/UK convoy on the way home once---so i might step up the frequency of the azores routes to balance the gameplay a little--but my money is on the fact that after a while you might get a bit of hunch as to where to hunt for the best results--

i know where to fiind the lone merchants now which is new!!

Ok, a stupid question (probably more to come)keep in mind I'm new at this, but what do these numbers mean?

Here's something to consider which I knew but just discovered how they did it. In NYGM convoy speeds are no longer the same speed for the entire route. There are numerous additional waypoints changing speeds by 1 or 2 knots + or - at each one. This makes locating a convoy a bit more difficult (I really like this feature) but now there are two schools of thought.
1. Match the exact same convoy speed along the entire route and "shadow?" the convoy.
2. Set AI sub speed at a standard 9 kts for all waypoints and potentially catching up to and overtaking the convoy.

Any thoughts?
Since I haven't heard from anyone else on this thread doing this with NYGM yet I guess I'm flying a bit blind here.

the delay is the delay before the convoy ship sub etc spawns into the game --minimum time before etc..

same with the interval --minimum amount of time before it spawns again..AFAIK


as far as the speed of the convoy goes---and the patroling subs---i dont think it is that critical--up to you--
it makes life quicker and easier to take the info straight from the convoy waypoints--

Bit of an eye opener as regards to escorts/hunter killer groups

Atlantic

Yup i have a book called
"From Africa To the Arctic
A Year on The destroyer HMS Beagle during WWII"

By Peter Ward
(Leading Seaman on board)
in which he details all the ships on the Arctic convoys- names numbers types etc--huge numbers of Destroyers--sometimes TWO escort carriers, cruisers the whole mile and a half--massive convoys- massively escorted/defended-:yep: :up:

CB
An update for you. I have been able to successfully add quite a few patrolling wolfpacks(40+) into NYGMv2 Campaign rnd file. Had to clear up a bit of a problem with the rnd file being out of sequence but right now I'm in my first campaign mission in 42 and I've got patrolling U Boats giving me their position reports as expected. I'm now attempting to chase the nearest one down.
I can see already that I need to fine tune the probability of reports. I've actually got too many popping up all over....but that's an easy fix I think.
At least the darn thing works.

Good news!!

after a while you stop noticing all the reports and just concentrate on the ones that your most interested in--they're were a good number of boats at sea usually as the war went on so it might be more or less realistic to have a lot of reports--

you can drastically reduce the number of reports you see on the map by cutting down your

Display Range To Opportunity Radio Contacts

in the contacts cfg:up:

this way you only get those that are within a set distance of you--which if you have a lot will easily balance it out--making it a good thing rather than a distracting thing--

Thanks CB, I'll give that a shot. I did manage to finally intercept a convoy
and they were already zig-zagging. The DE's were also on heightened alert so I guess the attached AI subs actually did make a showing. I saw no battle damage on any ships indicating that they did nothing but die a fast and furious death for the Fatherland. Oh well maybe next time.

The mod works great-Thanks

Now what about those weather fronts you mentioned earlier moving as a group?