[REL] Strict Ranges 1.0
 

Strict Ranges 1.0 for Silent Hunter 4
by U-Bones @ subsim.com
http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze33y78/strict10.zip

NOTICE:
This mod is freeware, and is not to be used for commerical purposes in any way,
shape, or form. All ideas herein are considered intellectual property that
may not be used for any commerical and/or monetary gain.

CREDITS:
- TimeTraveler for his SH3 Mini-Tweaker
- nvdrifter for his extensive SH4 tweakfile work
- CCIP, for his orginal work on the sub battery fix.
- Berry for his Real Fleet Boat modpack
- Ducimus for his Trigger Maru modpack

INSTALL:
Use JSGME.
http://www.users.on.net/~jscones/software/products.html

COMPATIABLITY AND KNOWN ISSUES:
You should be in port (not at sea) before enabling this mod. Any of these
versions should be usable over any install, with no major issues other than the
TMaru Gar in the museum museum. Only the sub cfg and sim files are changed.

PERMISSIONS:
This mod is more of an idea than a real mod. Anyone can adapt it to their own
use, with appropriate credits.

about:
This mod is very simple, yet it can have a pretty profound impact on gameplay.
Some will not like it, others will. I hope you enjoy it.

In both SH3 and SH4, modders have entered range data into the sub sim files
using the mini tweaker in the format "range at speed". The implication in most
cases is that this is the most efficient speed. People also assumed this to be
true in game, but it was usually not. The game simply uses 45% throttle as the
most efficient setting. This often resulted in allowing the player to fine
tune speed and end up with as much as 150% of configured range. Often this
makes the distinction between "realistic fuel" checked or unchecked meaningless.

So I decided to see what would happen if I ignored the speed provided by
various sources as "range at speed", and simply used the speed that the game
considers most efficient. I think it works out pretty well.


STOCK Notes:
In the stock 1.2 game, ranges for the fleet boats are 15,000 miles at 10 kts.
This is actually pretty close to efficient, but 16.5 - 18K ranges were pretty
easy to achieve. The porpoise is a little worse. The S class is horrible. It
is listed as range 5000 by most sources, with notes indicating that radical
loads could streach this to perhaps 8k. In game it was set to 8K, but was
easily more than doubled. So the little boat with 5k legs ends up going 17k...
bad.

What I did was simple.

1. Set the telegraph to use .45 as "Ahead standard".
2. Checked new standard speed in game.
3. Set speed in "range at speed" to match actual 45% throttle.

This limits ranges to really close to what is set in "range at speed". No more
going way over this number.

4. I then went back and adjusted ranges.

5. Increased S class speed to 14.5 surf and 11 submerged
(there is also a 9kt submerged file for LONG recharges. Use only with standalone.)

The result is a S class that will suddenly make you SWEAT your fuel supply. You
will curse headwinds, bemoan storms, be jealous of your battery charges,
wonder if you will ever get where you are going, and then wonder if you will
get back. If you play the 9kt submerged, recharging half your battery will
cost you even more. The only downside to all of this is that you play a much
slower cruise speed.

The fleet boats will play really close to how they did before, very slightly
slower cruise. (10kt was already close to 45% on most) Once you get over the
telegraph change, the only real difference for the fleet boats is that you can
not "find" extra thousands of miles by selecting a different speed on the dial.

As part of this change, the telegraph is overhauled so some comments on that
are in order, as it will be odd for most. First off, the new telegraph will be
more in sync with verbal order confirmation, Slow, 1/3, Standard, Full, Flank.

Slow is now much slower, and is intended for silent running or creep speeds
submerged, and steerage speeds surfaced. 1/3 is well, 1/3. Verbally its a match,
but on the telegraph its 2/3. You will get over it. This setting is best for
patrolling an area with no schedule, or for cruising submerged. It is not
range efficient, but it is time efficient. Standard is the most fuel efficient
on the surface, but will drain batteries faster than neccessary submerged.
Full is doubletime, military, shake it don't break it. Flank is flank. If you
give these settings a chance, they will become very comfortable and usable.


RFB Version Notes:
I also applied this to RFB 1.27 files, but I only changed the telegraph and
the speed of "range at speed". Nothing else.

I left the ranges alone (as Berry did), and also left Berry's S class changes
intact. The biggest issue with this mod and RFB is that there is no longer a
"Show Range at Current Speed" button. I debated putting it back, but did not.


TMaru Version Notes:
I applied this to TMaru 1.2 files, and again changed the telegraph and the
speed of "range at speed". S class range reduced to 5600. Other ranges were
already reduced across the board.


SPECIFIC SETTINGS:

==================================
Telegraph settings
Data\Submarine\NSS_*\NSS_*.cfg
==================================
(Slow,1/3,Standard,Full)
Stock .4, .57, .8, .94
RFB .4, .57, .8, .94
TMaru .25, .4, .6, .9
ALL NOW .125, .33, .45, .90

==================================
Batteries
==================================
Data\Submarine\NSS_*\NSS_*.sim
All versions use CCIP settings
for submerged range @ speed

==================================
New range@speed for T Maru version
Data\Submarine\NSS_*\NSS_*.sim
==================================
S Class = 5,600 @ 5.75
Porpoise = 11,640 @ 8.75 kts
Salmon = 12,000 @ 9.6 kts
Sargo = 11,250 @ 9.6 kts
Tambor = 11.750 @ 9.25 kts
Gar = 12,046 @ 9.6 kts
Gato = 12,140 @ 9.6 kts
Balo = 11,800 @ 9.25 kts

==================================
New range@speed for RFB version
Data\Submarine\NSS_*\NSS_*.sim
==================================
S Class = 8,000 @ 6.4
Porpoise = 15,000 @ 8.5 kts
Salmon = 15,000 @ 9.4 kts
Sargo = 15,000 @ 9.6 kts
Tambor = 15,000 @ 9.25 kts
Gar = 15,000 @ 9.25 kts
Gato = 15,000 @ 9.4 kts
Balo = 15,000 @ 9.25 kts

==================================
New range@speed for Standalone version
Data\Submarine\NSS_*\NSS_*.sim
==================================
S Class = 5,600 @ 6.4
Porpoise = 12,000 @ 8.5 kts
Salmon = 12,000 @ 9.4 kts
Sargo = 15,000 @ 9.6 kts
Tambor = 15,000 @ 9.25 kts
Gar = 15,000 @ 9.25 kts
Gato = 11,800 @ 9.4 kts
Balo = 11,800 @ 9.25 kts

===================================
Enjoy !

Yes! Another realism mod for me!

Looks great.:up: The one thing that has really bothered me in-game is that no matter how aggressive the sea state is, the boat's speed doesn't have much affect meaning she doesn't seem to lose speed that much at all if any :hmm:

Nice, just saw this:yep:

RDP

Thanks!

Brilliant stuff and kudos on the research!

this is listed in the 1.3 compatible mods thread yet as I understnad it alters the sim files which were altered in the 1.3 patch were they not? Can i download this mod and just JSGME it into SH4 1.3? thanks.

I may be asking for trouble, but can I use this with 1.2?

(I'm hooked on RFB and Beery hasn't updated it to the new patch, yet :cry: )

:arrgh!:

Yes, there's a special map for RFB in there

Well, I like that you are working the game closer to real values. My only complaint is that the settings of 1/3, 2/3, standard, full, and flank should be adhered to. 1/3 means that it is 1/3 standard speed. 2/3 (or slow) is 2/3 standard speed. Standard is self explanitory. Full is faster than standard. And flank is max ship speed. The only problem is determining the settings for standard, full, and flank to match them historically. The 1st 2 settings would be an easy setup from there.

After some research (I can list where I got the doc if you like. and even where to find the info in the dock that matches this info) I find that the telegraph settings should be set to the following. (source is from a NROTC course document. That is Navy ROTC).
The problem I have with this source is that it is talking about the telegraph setup for a nuclear powered carrier. Therefore I went into some of the patrol logs (USS Batfish) and compared the numbers a bit. After reading through patrols 1 and 2 without any relevant data, I came across him stating that he was going ahead full (16 kts). Knowing that the Balao class sub has a max speed of 20.25 kts I was able to extrapolate some data to compare with any further info given in the logs. The following is that extrapolation.
After I crunched the data above I noticed that it was close to other referances to kts from a telegraph order (at least for the USS Batfish ss-310). If someone knows someplace other than
where I can read war patrols I will gladly do the research an number crunching to find a good overall multiplier for these telegraph settings.

Cheers,
~F~

This makes sense to me.
Thanks for looking into it.
I'll tweak my settings to the standard you gave above and go for it.

Well. I am still researching to find the actual flanking %. It does seem to be around 125% of Full though. As for the ranges. I am also looking into those a bit. Sorry if I seem to be picky. I just figured that while I might not be able to do these mods (yet) I can at least help with the legwork and crunching.

Hope I can be of help.
~F~

Any response to this?

I'm not sure when I added this, but I believe I looked at the list of files modified by the last patch and it didn't alter the ones that this mod changed, so I assumed it was compatible with v1.3. However, I could definately be wrong. If someone could test it out and let me know if it is in fact compatible or not, I would appreciate it. Thanks :)

After some testing, and reading CCIP's RBL mod thread (which is part of this mod), I'm going to say... no.

As it stands, the included electric propulsion values have no effect in game and worse, cause CTD in the museum. Restoring all electric propulsion values to default eliminates the CTDs. Also, qc_height values have been changed since then, whatever that is. I don't think it was changed intentionaly by this mod.

I've not tested the surface propulsion performance though.