[HEMISENT]

Since there are so many new people here lately and many are not aware of the progression of so many of the great mods that are around I thought I'd update this. It was last updated prior to release of SH3 Commander 2.6. Some players are experiencing glitches, inoperable systems, "bugs" and other things previously not experienced and may be "blaming" SH3 Commander for these problems-most of these "malfunctions" are exactly that...malfunctions.
For those that don't read the read me's SH3 Commander offers an included set of mods which I came up with. One is a "Thermal Layer" mod that simulates the effects of thermal layers and an escort's diminished ability to locate and or maintain contact with a submarine.
The other is a mod called Sabotage/Malfunctions. This mod attempts to simulate the effects to a U Boat of either Sabotage(after June 1944) or Malfunctions to certain sub-systems on the boat-in other words wear and tear, poor or unrepaired battle damage etc.

From the beginning;
June 1944 The allies invaded Normandy. This event emboldened French Resistance and Partisans throughout the area. U Boat bases saw an upswing in sabotage and unexplained maladies affecting the boats. It is common knowledge that shipyards used huge amounts of local labor to perform everything from standard maintainance to complete refits. The boat crews found themselves forced to deal with an increasing number of problems as the war progressed.
Some of these were directly related to sabotage and others were the results of just plain poor and unperformed maintainance.
The ill fated U 505 was known as a bad luck boat as it left and immediately returned due to systems failures on numerous occasions. Some accounts have the crew being accused of cowardice for always returning soon after departure.
Right now I have completed the initial stages of a sabotage mod based on the Random capabilities of SH3 Commander. Testing has been completed on the individual systems but the random folder structure is under development.
Unlike my Thermal Layer mod requiring 10 Random folders which are easily managed this Sabotage mod has a much large number of files affected and I can envision a vastly larger number of Random folders to allow for a believable ratio. That ratio has not been determined yet as the dates play a huge part of all this. As an example, in June 1944 you may experience a 10% chance of discovering a problem whereas in Oct 1944 that ratio may be as high as 50%

1. The system damage to the boat may be noticed immediately upon departure requiring an immediate return.
2. The system damage to the boat may not be discovered until you are well out to sea and it may be minor and can be compensated for allowing the boat to continue patrol.
3. The system damage to the boat may not be discovered until you are well out to sea and may require the immediate return to base using extreme caution.
4. A combination of systems failures is being looked into also.

Jscones has been contacted to see if there is a way for Commander to introduce these variables into the system without requiring the large number of random folders.

Types VIIC + all Type IX's affected

Systems affected:
Diesel & Elect max speed
Indicative of malfunction or sabotage prohibiting eng or E motors from attaining their maxinum speed potential. Possible sabotage to clutching/transmission components allowing engines/motors to achieve desired RPM but shafts themselves are not turning the correct RPM to produce required speed.

Diesel Range
Indicative of either leaking fuel tanks or engine fuel management system using excessive amounts of diesel to achieve desired performance.

E Motors Range
Indicative of worn out used batteries installed in place of fresh units on refit or
sabotage to existing batteries. Batteries are able to charge as normal but do not hold the charge as long as specifications require.

Dive times increased
Simulating faulty or sabotaged valves or manifolds.
Reduced the amount/rate of incoming water required to rid the boat of bouyancy. This increases the standard & crash dive times by 25 - 35%.

Schnorkel Activation
Raising/lowering Schnorkel times dramatically increased. Indicative of damaged, malfunctioning or sabotaged lifting mechanism. Schnorkel will still operate as normal once in upright position.

Attack Periscope
Water Blurred lens does not clear up requires use of observation scope as backup. Indicative of either shock damage or intentional damage to lens seals.

Rudder
Turn radius increased by 25%.Indicative of damage to steering mechanism or rudders mechanisms binding, incapable of turning fully left/right.

Many thanks to Jscones, Rubini, Gouldjg and a host of others for the advice, kind words and encouragement so far. The project requires a huge amount of testing and is still a ways off but so far everything is looking really good.
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Malfunctions
All Type VII, IX &XXI's will be affected.

As the war progressed malfunctions and mechanical breakdowns all played a part in everyday life aboard a U Boat. Older boats long since their prime were kept in service. Complete refits or overhauls were constantly rescheduled or put off for as long as possible. Plain old wear and tear, shoddy maintainance and an increasing lack of spare parts all played a role in the gradual degredation in performance. Some problems were blatantly apparent during initial test dives requiring immediate return for further repairs while others were not noticed until the boat was far out to sea and had to be dealt with accordingly.
Similiar to the Sabotage mod some of the areas affected are:
Max speed.
Range
Dive times
Crash Depths
Periscope & Schnorkel performance
Some of the files from Sabotage will be crossed over directly while others
will be edited or fine tuned to be more of an irritant than a reason to turn
back to port.

Unlike the Sabotage mod which deals with the last months of the war this
"Malfunctions" component will start at the beginning of the war and gradually increase as the years progress. Using the random function in SH3 Commander older model boats such as the VIIB & IXB will be more prone to mechanical problems than the newer versions in the earlier years. By 1943 however wear and tear will begin affecting all U Boats equally. The type XXI's are an entirely different story and will be affected from their earliest entry dates. In truth the XXI's will probably be included in an update as I haven't even gotten around to editing them yet.

Individual file testing is nearly complete(except for the XXI) however the
random structure has yet to be built, this area actually requires the most time as it has to "feel" right and requires a huge amount of running and re-running identical scenarios. I need to get with Jscones regarding whether or not he wants to build Sabotage/Malfunctions into an updated version of Commander or if I should plan to release it using the Random folder structure.

Right now, thanks to Jscones & Commander random Thermal Layers is a
reality. Gouldjg's upcoming random "Chaos" mod (testing now and it really is something) plus random Sabotage/Malfunctions means that SHIII is a whole new ballgame. We now have the ability to come come up with a truly unique scenario with potentially hundreds of thousands of variables
guaranteeing that the player will never experience the same thing twice.
And I think we've only scratched the surface.
Stay tuned.

In addition to these there is also:
Flak Guns jamming after first clip fired
Radar effective range diminished.
XXI boat completed & included in Commander 2.6