@Iambecomelife
Right. The cargo was one more thing to be considered, however I think that one's hard to model. The most direct approach seems to be to simply develop different damage models for different types of ships. So a fully laden ore carrier would sink comparatively fast while a normal mixed cargo freighter would take longer. However, I have no idea what's possible, and what isn't. Introducing different floatsam after the sinking should be no problem, but I have no idea whether it's possible to implement that and tell the game which type of ship has which cargo and should spawn a certain type of floatsam. Maybe Privateer might know more about that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by irish1958
Wolf1701,
Thanks for the detailed info. Very interesting. I also like your commit about the lives lost. Occasionally we must pause and consider the terrible toll of war.
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Thanks for reading it!
Being German I admit I wanted to stress the sinking of the Gustloff, since it's one of those tragedies almost exclusively remembered in Germany even though to date its still the worst maritime tragedy ever (though Titanic got far more coverage). Same with the Lancastria, Steuben, Goya, Armenia, Junyo Maru and the raid on Cap Arcona, Deutschland and Thielbek. All those ships were deliberately attacked and sunk in World War II by either the British, the Germans or the Soviets with a loss of about 40.000 lives. Mainly civilians and/or prisoners. Barely anyone remembers them.
Well, we're playing a game with the experiences, feelings, and horrors of our parents and grandparents. In a way it can be seen as a macabre type of spending ones time. However entertaining this game, historic simulation, whatever you like to call it, may be, it recreates events that really took place. Maybe not completely accurately, but close enough to get a partial understanding of what it must've been like. Far beyond all kinds of UEBER-patriotic John Wayne-type hero movies of the fifties and sixties which made you believe that death maybe is part of war, but basically war really was supposed to be heroes, glory and justice.
So no propaganda here, but entertainment and a little history for those who choose to appreciate it. I still own my Aces Of the Deep Manual from 1993, and on occasion I still read in it. It contains a very good overview of the Battle of the Atlantic seen from the German side, and a lot of information beyond the sheer facts and numbers, that made me think about what I was actually playing there, and I deeply regret that the manuals of the current games and sims are so completely useless in this regard.
So now back to the game. My speech on morality and history is over.