:D :up: Great to hear!

Great work! Animo!

I finally got the ship to look respectable. A few WIP shots...

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/7478/ore14pa.jpg

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/6040/ore29kk.jpg

http://img89.imageshack.us/img89/8189/ore38pt.jpg

Things that remain to be done: reflections, ventilator shaft & derrick rearrangement, and a reworking of the deck textures. Also, if anyone knows how to change the position of the smoke, PLEASE let me know. Some ships did have a dummy funnel and a thin "exhaust pipe", but not many. I'd much prefer to use the aft funnel.

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/i...000/n13451.jpg

The model's largely based on the "Cyclops", since I couldn't find enough period photos of less-famous ships. I was hoping to use a different bridge to try and disguise the NKGN ancestry, but I think the default one will do. It has to; the other bridges I tried to use were nothing but trouble.

Another thing: With all these non-standard ships being used there would need to be a different naming system for the in-game ships. "Coastal Merchant" doesn't tell you much when there are two or three varieties of it. ATM I'm naming new variants "Merchant 'A'" and so on, because it's hard to describe in brief each ship's unique structural features. However, I'd like to use a different system once they're ready for release...

:o :o :o

:rotfl: :sunny: :|\ :-j :D :arrgh!: :up:

I love it! Its the greatest ship yet made for this game! I will be anxiously awaiting its release.

BTW - What's the tonnage?

(Good idea about the merchant names - if we get a lot of merchants, we will need less confusing names for some).

I'm not sure about the tonnage yet, but I think I'll be generous and make it over 5000 - lol. 8,000 grt might be good, since that was the approximate tonnage of the "Marore".

Hi iambecomelife,

where I can find information and photo or image of ship, merchant, warship?

Can you help me?

Best Regards

UBOAT234

For cargo ship pictures I use this site: http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/


For US warships, try www.navsource.org. I have to look at a lot of different sites to get pics of non-US warships.

Looks great.
The superstructures of the Cyclops were unique, though, weren`t they ? I`ve read that the system of coal transportation was usedonly on this particular ship.

It also seemed that each member of the class looked slightly different, or some of them did anyway.

Another pretty good site for warships, BTW, is:

http://warships.web4u.cz/staty.php?language=E

It has some diagrams from side and top angles and a few photos, as well as statistics.

Off topic, Iambecomelife, when will your next MVP with your new ship(s[?]) be ready? And did you ever get anything done with that Whale Factory?

Danke

Unfortunately it's likely to take a while. I'm hoping to get some excellent reference materials over the holiday season - ID books with line drawings of typical ships and literally hundreds of liveries. This is some hard-to-find stuff, which often dates from the 30's and 40's. Assuming I'm successful, I'd estimate a release date of late January 2006.

Re: the whaler: My experience with the ore carrier was frustrating but I learned a LOT about pack3d and wings3d. The factory ship should be a snap to make; it's just moving a tanker's bridge forward, creating the twin funnel arrangement, and maybe placing some additional lifeboats with some whale processing equipment amidships. It would be interesting to feature some whale hunting groups up near the arctic circle in campaign mode, BTW. The Flower Class corvette would make an excellent civilian whale hunting ship; IIRC that is what the civilian vessels were actually based on. In addition, surplus corvettes were sometimes used in this role during the early postwar period.

ATM I'm trying to add some varied merchants of 5000 tons or less. I recently shrank the NKGN into a 4500-5000 tonner with excellent results (what a versatile model!) I only need to move the propeller and gun nodes so that these objects don't wind up floating in midair/midocean.

I would like to see some screenshots of those 4000-5000 tonners when they are ready, if it's possible.

And about that whale factory - from those pictures you showed us earlier, I think the bridge from the T2 would be best, if you could remove it... :hmm: If you could move the bridge, replacing it seems possible to me but maybe I'm wrong.

If the MVP won't be ready until after Christmas, could you release a couple of ships early and add extra skins later?

hi iambecomelife,

I have try pack3d and extract obj file. but i can't modify uv map of the object. Why? is normal (wing 3d) mainly with the first one of the list.

I have also try, MILKSHAPE, and other. Now with 3ds but is complex.
I have other software, for edit uv map: es deep UV, but if I work a file and create a dat file, the system crash when load the unit ship.

Is very frustrating...
have a solution?

best regards

IMHO I'm not a big fan of the t-2. Maybe it's just me but I swear the SH2 T-2 looked much better. I recall that the funnel was more detailed, the proportions more accurate, and the bridge much more similar to a real T-2's. Then there's the skinning issue; while I was making the MVP that ...THING broke my heart several times over. Imagine - no company logos even POSSIBLE for such a vital ship. :down: Hats off to the SH3 devs, though, for outstanding Victory and Liberty Ship versions.

I don't want to release screeshots of the new stuff just yet - believe me, it's kind of bizarre. But I will if I manage to get the node problem straightened out; Commander1980's been really helpful w/this.

I am considering releasing the CAM ship if I can resolve the difficulty with the hurricane skin. I have the 'cane on deck and a catapult is a simple matter - the only problem is that it's textured as the merchant's hull :88) . Nobody wants a mod with such a glaring flaw. However, as I said, if this is resolved I'm pretty likely to release it. I think the average UBoat fan knows something of the CAM ships, and the whole concept is quite novel & exciting. OTOH I get the feeling that most simmers aren't as interested in run-of-the-mill cargo ships, and may enjoy encounters with more "glamorous" battleships, cruisers, and carriers more. If I release a dozen or so new cargo vessels with hundreds of skins that will generate a buzz among even the more casually interested players, whereas if they're released in a trickle people may not bother to download them. I will probably only release most of the merchants as single after the main pack comes out, in order to accomodate people with slower connections.

BTW, I've said this before, but wouldn't it be a good idea for the next generation of subsims to randomize the 3d size and features of ships? You could have a few dozen bridges, several crane styles, and hulls in "segments" that would govern the length (and, incidentally, allow for more interesting vessel breakups). You could go for several patrols without seeing the same ship, barring the usual mass produced types.

Oh, and could anyone familiar with texture/3d editing PLEASE help me with this CAM ship Hurricane skin problem? Don't be shy if you're a lurker; I really want to get a solution here.