Just when you thought the CT was crowded...
 

It's gonna get alot more crowded :rotfl:

Basically, non of the positions in SH4 directly correspond to crew positions on a fleet boat during WW2.

( 6th picture down from the top:
http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08315.htm

And then around 1:34 time mark in this Run silent run deep clip on youtube (yeah yeah, as if a Clark gable movie is a credible source)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIOvxoYs9OE
)


So we have to shoehorn what we have to make a "best fit". I started that earlier, but got an idea on how to improve it, and decide to follow up on the idea.



Heres the result of a prototype ive been working on,
Battle stations:
http://www.ducimus.net/sh4/preview/int_test_04.jpg
What is new here is would be the firing key operator behind the helmsman,(dont get excited, he just stands there) and a 2nd sonar man.

yes thats right, two sonar man. During an attack, a fleetboat would have two
sonarman at stations. One would be constantly scanning around for situational awarness, the other would be tracking the immediate target. Unfortunatly, theres a problem......

Due to the animations, the 2nd sonar man blocks access to the active sonar controls in 3d view.
http://www.ducimus.net/sh4/preview/int_test_05.jpg
Looks like hes sticking his hand somewhere where the sun doesnt shine if you ask me :roll: I could move him to the left, but then he'll be clipping through the little wall next to the CT hatch. So im leaning on just removing him. Not sure yet.


Also, in a forehead slapping moment, i figured out how to add more crewman. (Major DUH! on my part)
http://www.ducimus.net/sh4/preview/int_test_06.jpg


Now before i was "borrowing" crewman from other compartments. The game doesn't care. The "scope of the variable" for crew and node assigments seems to be that node and crew are accessible to the entire submarine object, regardless of what dat the node physcially resides in. That said you have to place a node to get it to appear where you want.

One fundamental problem is THERES NOT ENOUGH CHARACTER NODES!!!!!!!

So, the obvious solution would be to clone character nodes or make new ones following the syntax the game uses. Unfortunatly its not as easy as that. If you create new nodes that do not already exist, the game doesnt acknowledge them. Clone, or try to make new nodes however you want, all you want, doesnt matter, to the game they don't seem to exist.

WITH ONE EXCEPTION!!!!

Repair team nodes. There are 3 of them .RT1_dummy, RT2_dummy, RT3_dummy. On a hunch, i created an RT4_dummy, and the game accepted it. I then created an RT5_dummy, and the game accepted it. I then created an RT9_dummy, and again, the game accepted it.

So i have this theory:

I think what's going on is that character lists are hardcoded somewhere in an array, and the game is matching the nodes in the dat files, to this array.


The exception seems to be repair team nodes. The array for the repair team is either very long (as theortically 1 through 9 will work), OR this particular array is basically a linked list, in which the size of the array will grow or shrink as needed and you could add as much as you want.

More then likely though, its just a fixed array with a large subset. Its probably 1 through 9. Seeing how it stops at 3 by default, i dont think we'll need that many anyway.

The beauty of this is just because it was intended for the repair team, doesnt mean you have to use it as such!

Now mind you, i created RT4, RT5, and RT9 nodes. I didn't test for anything between RT5 and RT9, im just theorizing that they should all work. So im thinking i have 4 other nodes in which to play with.

At any rate, no ETA on this. Im JUST starting this, and nothing is finalized, although i think the gato prototype is *close* to being done. At that point ill make the UPC file changes to all boats that use the gato interior, and the start working on all the otheri nteriors and do the same.

She cannaht handle anymore sir

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...eks-scotty.jpg

Seriously though, freaking sweet!

Wow... all I can say is ... well.. WOW....

Ducimus - thats not just amazing - I actually think you explained it in a way that I might be able to muddle thru before its all over because I had one of those light bulbs above my head flicker - though that could have just been a power issue locally... not sure yet. Either way - great work!

Cool :yep:


RDP

It looks like the hand is far enough away from the panel you can change the clip distance on the sonar camera to remove the hand in this view.

it's like that old fad of packing VW beetles with people, except this bettle is armed and weighs over 100 tonnes....

and while your at it could we have a helmsman on the ol' p-class boats when they are surfaced??
( in the upper bridge area of the conning tower below the watch station)

Pretty coooooooool!:rock:

Duc,

Ya got enough for a poker game!!! :rotfl: :rotfl:

Ducimus this is cool.

Please leave the 2. sonarman - Personaly i'd rather have him there making his part of the crowded impression then caring about his hand (he can shove it where he wants)

I'm looking very much forward too this mod.

Is it possible to permanently move a hard-coded node? The helmsman needs to be stationed in the CT, which is the location of the primary helm. The one in the con is an auxiliary helm.

Well like i said, hes totally blocking access to the active sonar controls. The only work around, would be to move all the 3d objects, and shift them to the right. This includes the the sonar set, all the dials it contains (each are individual objects), everything. Looks to be a royal PITA. side note: ive tried adjusting the clipping on the camera view. doesnt help. I suppose i could shift the acutal node to the left some more, but then he'll be clipping through the wall.

Personnaly, i prefer Function over form. If i have to make a decision between being able to access functional controls over visual eyecandy, well...... *sigh*




They guy eyeballing you in one of the above pics, IS the helmsman. hes been in the CT for quite some time now. :D

Sorry, Ducimus. I forgot about that. I haven't used TM since 1.4.

I knew there was a reason why i slept on this.

I changed the animation graph on the 2nd sonar man.

Heres a prototype to play with: (I want to emphasize this is a prototype, a concept build )

http://files.filefront.com/z+Test+GA.../fileinfo.html

One thing i have noticed. If you go to battle stations, crash dive, and advance TC, the extra characters disappear. Im not exactly sure what tirggers this, but on the whole it seems to work.

Ive included all the other associated files with the interiors so it will run correcty. I tested this on stock version of the game, and it seemed to work OK.

I think have seen the characters disappear in stock game, too, when TC is advanced. I think even ships will disappear after a certain TC setting.

Do they come back when you exit time compression?

Also, if this mod is installed, do you need to start a new career for the extra characters to show? Or will they show up after an install while in port?