Kpt. Lehmann's GWX Mod Blog
 

It is the natural course of evolution for things to get even better. The GW Dev team has listened intently to the user and has addressed all major issues. (such as difficulty of installation and key mod replacements)

A word about performance related issues: When I put together GW 1.0... I did so with a system that BARELY met recommended specifications to run stock SH3... and GW 1.0 and 1.1a ran smoothly on that system... even using TankerIV's seafloor texture mod.

You must have the recommended specs to run SH3 1.4b stock to expect good performance. Many players fail to keep their own system free of spyware and viruses which have an entirely negative effect on performance... as does running ANY other program in the background such as your web browser.... and GW is often blamed for these performance problems.

Also, GWX will be a direct auto install that will self-verify that you are applying it to a stock SH3 1.4b patched installation of the same. If this is not done properly... it will not istall. This is to protect us and you from misunderstanding... and the old "GW screwed up my installation when..." statements.... or "I got a CTD when I ran GWX... there must be a GWX bug!!!" stuff.

I'm sure you can understand that it is extremely frustrating over here when you find that it is a user issue most of the time. That being said... we understand that not everyone has an equal familiarity with the SH3 file structure.

This is not the GWX team looking down our noses at anyone. It is just how things are.

A word about the texture folders in SH3.

The low resolution texture folder in SH3 is useless... I suggest all users DELETE it as it is a drain on system resources.

The high res texture folder should be kept as EMPTY AS POSSIBLE!!!! ALL textures should be re-packed into dat files wherever possible.

Both the low res and high res folders are "checked" by the engine when loading and spawning units etc etc... The more there is in there... the more performance is affected.

ALL textures in GWX that can be packed into dat files will be so.

With the exception of U-boat interiors... ALL textures in GWX have been checked for size and wherever found re-sized to stock SH3 regular texture sizes.

There is almost NO difference in game in detail by doing so!

Direct installation + dat file repackaging + texture size corrections = BIG IMPROVEMENT over the original GW 1.0 performance... which was already good by SH3 recommended spec standards...

AND

doing so has allowed us to DOUBLE the content without doubling the size... infact a compression test of the beta so far that I did earlier this week...

showed that for the moment... the GWX beta... with all of its inclusions and improvements...

Is SMALLER at the moment than GW 1.1a even though it is a major rewrite.

GW 1.0 modded 2800 files.

GWX mods 5200 files and counting... with little projected memory size increase over GW 1.1a.

Concerning the size of the mod in relation to other contemporary games... We are well within the middle of the road. Complaints about the size of GW/GWX are baseless IMHO.

How's that for "more bang for your buck?"

:smug: Please note... this is the first time I can ever recall using the "smug" smiley.

Yours truly has done most of the dat file re-packaging... TEDIOUS STUFF!!! Regarding attention to detail... ALL of the team has done a yoeman's job ... and the job of an army.

...to awesome effect.

I'm really happy that the original devs left SH3 in a moddable state... and no offense is meant to them...

...but EVERYTHING we have done... has been without their help... and with challenges from every possible angle that threatened to wreck our work... and even the existence of our little band of U-boatmen.

From everything I can tell, are still on target for beta testing to begin following the conclusion of next weekend... give or take a few days to account for expected uploading issues.

The beta session will last approximately 30 days and will be a closed session due to recent events. We have formulated a list of approximately 25 users (we know nothing of their system specs) that we will be contacting in private regarding the beta test.

The beta is quite solid as it stands... and an open session would be quite chaotic... but we know we aren't perfect and aren't afraid to say so. Besides, 50 more mk1 eyeballs over 30 days should be enough to shake loose anything of consequence that we missed.

The Noob wrote:

"Kpt. Lehmann,

I don't like that new auto installer. I mean, what about JSGME? And the many changes i had to do for GW 1.1a to be like i want it...i don't like that idea, seriously. How about making an "Advanced Install" option where you can select where it installs and so on?

That damn auto installer spoils GWX for me."


My answer: We understand the concern... I've had many discussions concerning the employment of the same. Though GWX contains much of the things broad-spectrum players enjoy... such as candy for the eye and ear...

...the construction of GWX has been ALL ABOUT THE CODE... and making the AI react more aggressively towards the player. (no we didn't touch the executable and no we did not mod the AI itself... but we did mod the HELL out of how it perceives its surroundings.)

The modding we have done... from gunnery... to the AI reactions... to the damage model... and even allowance for changes in the campaign files... is knitted together like a spiderweb.

The auto-installer is here to stay for us as it removes the NUMBER ONE complaint for potential GW users... Difficulty of installation.

Indeed we have modded some things so fully and completely... that any alteration of key files will yield in some cases more than one game-breaking change.

This in actuality can make the use of JGSME after installation of GWX a really good idea...

However, I can tell you this after hundreds of PM's and communications elsewhere... that the average gamer does not know how to mod his or her game... and they do not generally come here to post to see what else is out there.

Without being a jerk... We have to consider that our user base reaches into many places we only hear about out of total surprize... and after media exposure factored into the mix... We have begun to recognize that we've hit a nerve somewhere... and how it may serve the SH3 community as a whole.

The auto installer makes it easier for the new guy to use... broadens our user-base... and brings this community new modders that may build "the next great thing."

We have to protect the integrity of the GW mod. There is no two ways about it. This does not preclude individuals modding their game to meet their personal wishes... It is about producing a quality mod... and auto-installers are not at all uncommon where other freeware mods are concerned.

In the end... whether you love us or hate us... we are assisting with the continued longevity of the Silent Hunter series and submarine simulations beyond today... and protecting freeware modders by competing with payware producers that have failed to live up to expectations of the most basic kind... credit... where credit is due.

When we first started... we simply had one goal... to produce a good mod that could stand on its own come what may... rise or fall... irregardless of whatever else was out there...

Never in our wildest dreams did we think that it would go as far as it has...
... but since it has gone this far... We intend to be good custodians until the GW story is finished.

I've read post after post by new SH3 users who say "Hi I just bought SH3 and have installed GW... Wow!!!" etc etc etc...

You might think this makes me happy... No... I get some satisfaction out of it yes... but it makes me feel responsible for their experience with GW because it reflects on this community.

I take that obligation seriously... WE take that obligation seriously at GW HQ.

I still think it is not nice that you aren't going to be able to extract the GWX files into a specific directory to "take a look" at them. An "Advanced user" option would be really good. That auto installer "checks that you are installing it on your SHIII install" basically restricts this.

Sorry mate. We designed GWX to be played... not disassembled. You can still take a look at them in the SH3 program files.

Otherwise there is no point to our releasing GWX as a package. We might as well release a whole series of optional mods and be done with it.

No Herr Noob... we've chosen our course.

No matter how good we are or what we release... Someone won't like it or be happy with it. That much is inevitable no matter what form the release takes. Without a doubt others will object to the auto-installing mod concept as well.

Auto-installers are common elsewhere... there is no reason it cannot be the same in our case.

The benefits FAR outweigh any perceived negatives.

I hope you'll try it... but if you feel you cannot... we wish you the best.

Our decision has been made mate... and in the process you still have complete ability to tweak your own game via JGSME.

No one is harmed or restricted by this process... and those who simply don't like our work... don't have keep it... or even download it.

... but if ya don't... yer missin' out! :arrgh!:

Of course i'm going to try it out. ;)

The only things i changed was the aditional speech files ("Computing solution for aft tubes", i didn't like that) and changed the crash dive soundfile. And that i still can do with auto install.

I, as a l33t Computerdude with mad skillz like the way GW 1.1a installed, thats all. Just said the negative things about auto-install.

I am sure as hell going to try GWX! :D

I don't "disassemble", i just have the Silent Hunter 3 Compulsive Tinkering Disorder

LOL... how the heck do you think that GW got started!!!

(Help I can't stop modding!!! Please send a rescue launch!!!):lost:

:rotfl::rotfl:

It all sounds great to me i cant wait to start a new career with GWX:yep: :arrgh!:
Sounds to me you guys went the whole way barvo:up: :rock:

I agree with the Kpt about the auto-installer. We modders are a minority and as such GWX has to be catered to the vast numbers of players who want to just load & play.

Besides, if GWX is all it's cracked up to be who needs to mod it (not much pressure then guys:lol: )

Of course, there will be some who will want to personalize their installation but that shouldn't be too much of a hardship to inspect and make changes.

Well I'm sure we'll still be able to make some changes with SH3 Commander though. :up:

Does the auto-installer at least give you the option of choosing the installation folder you want to use? If it doesn't that's a major design flaw. Having it doesn't impede the install-and-play user but it does unnecessarily impede the modder.

For example, my stock installation is my guaranteed clean installation. No mods. It doesn't even get played. It's only there to copy from. If I install GWX it will absolutely NOT go anywhere my stock installation. No mod ever will.

I'm sure that there will be nothing to worry about regarding the install path.

These guy's know what they are doing.

I think that we need to concentrate on the positives of GWX as no-one but the GW Dev team know what to expect.

I have multiple installs at the moment, much the same as many of you and I'm not worried in the least.

I will take GWX as it comes.

Having recently put SHIII back on to my PC, then tootling off to find this GW mod (which crashed on install as one of the source files is corrupted- I downloaded it again and will be attempting a second go tonight) I was inder the impression you could simply install the GW mod to the JSGME 'mods' folder and 'install' it that way using the mod enabler... :-?

We're not talking about GW, we're talking about the new and currently unreleased GWX.

I don't care if the interdependencies of the many changes mean GWX should be installed intact and without other mods. I already run multiple installations of SH3 so one more won't be an issue.

I care greatly if the auto-installer refuses to allow me to specify the installation folder as I will not let it or any other mod install over my stock 1.4b. It's simply not going to happen on my PC. I rely on having a known clean copy of 1.4b as the source for my other installations.

I assume that if you have renamed your clean copy of SH3+1.4b to something other than the original installation path then this won't be a problem.