SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post - Japanese Merchant Ship Recognition Manual (ONI-208-J) Link

ElCid97 · 05-07-25, 08:57 PM

So I've been helping BH with his update for the merchants and I came up with a way to redo the manual (I hope) so that it's using what THEY actually used.

Thanks to the USS Pampanito and their HTML pages (full credit to them, as always) I was able to put together some trial images of what I'm hoping to do with the revamp.

One thing is to actually use the manual that was used (or at least found) by submariners back then. This was known, for merchants, as ONI-208.

A version specific for the Japanese was done shortly after the start of the War, and this is the main one we're going to be using in V1.

Once Japan is pretty much done, I'm hoping to add the rest of the nations in the sim according to their position/place/page in the manual.

So, onto the pictures!

Here is the main cover page you will see when you "click" over to what is now the current merchant page. Instead of something that says "Merchants" or something along those lines, you're going to come across this:

https://www.mediafire.com/view/vtixm...50506.jpg/file

As you can see, it's the same proportions as the original manual: 10" x 6" (or in this case, 1000 pixels x 600 pixels with some overlap to get the tabs in at 1024 pixels total).

Since the original manual had everyone in one place and things were NOT arranged anywhere near what they were in ONI-208-J, I decided to add the "index card" that has been "typed" to make it clear it's been included here.

This is preliminary, so layout and things may change -- especially since I haven't even began to LOOK at the menu_1024_768.ini file yet. As long as things are kept in the correct order, I should be able to pull this off along the lines of the manual in Dark Waters.

Changing the pages (left and right) will actually just be a mouse click area at either the bottom left or bottom right of the image. No arrows or buttons, just the mouse arrow "growing" or changing it's color so you know you are over the area.

The tabs at the right (somewhat blocked by the cover itself so it looks like a book) are for the mouse click areas and are the standard "Close," "Back," and "Additional Data" areas. The "Additional Data" is what is currently the "45-degree click" area that gets you the image for the different AOB's, so not functional on the cover page (if I remember correctly).

Next we have the page you will get for testing when coming up on a non-Japanese ship:

https://www.mediafire.com/view/verjz...50506.jpg/file

You'll see why the page is what it is (for now) when I post a shot of what the ACTUAL manual pages look like -- and how you would have to get info on ships. Believe me this is much more organized (if blank).

The tabs at the right are the same as before, as are the click areas at the bottom left and right for changing pages. The "Additional Data" tab will work on this page, even if there is no info to show.

The "clip" on the left side is just a place holder for now. I'm planning on actually doing the left side with a folded over page so it looks like you are actually holding the manual.

The paper itself is a default texture for paper of some sort I found in the "TNormal" folder I thought "looked the part" when I found it. I just resized and repurposed.

Next is an example of a Japanese ship according to ONI-308-J:

https://www.mediafire.com/view/9cp76l2xeysdv5v/03_oni208_6mfm_kiturin_250506.jpg/file

The first thing you will notice which is different is that the same image is going to be used for multiple ships. When you change left or right as you click through, the ship's "annotation" in red will change from one ship to the next so you know what ship of the class you currently have selected.

ONI-208-J actually had no "profiles" for the different AOB's. Instead, they actually tried to find pictures of the actual ships and put those into the manual. As you can see from the page itself, these were civilian passenger liners. Their names were painted on the sides and they had a dark hull with dark funnels and what appears to be two stripes at the top.

When you look more closely, you can see that it's actually not two stripes, but rather the house "mark" for a Japanese shipping company. More on this later.

Other data you get is the classification for reporting (6-M-F-M: Type "6" with a layout of "Mast-Funnel-Mast") located, on this page anyway, at the top right. It will either be top right or left, depending on the page. Even on the left, and odd on the right.

Length, Tonnage, Speed, Draft, and even some remarks which were known at the time of publishing are included in the data block.

You also have a b/w profile of the port-side of the ship. This is because ONI-41-42 (the warship one) had starboard views. That's another way you would be able to quickly tell if you were looking at a merchant book or a warship book -- warships "faced" right while merchants "faced" left.

You have an "inked" circle in red ink over the "Kiturin Maru" name, so you know this is the page for that specific ship.

Here is the sister ship's page:

https://www.mediafire.com/view/4gpbr...50506.jpg/file

As you can see, we're using the same image. The only change is that you now have the "Nekka Maru" name circled instead. If you were to "Verify" this ship, the data for the "Nekka Maru" would go to the TDC/PK/Is-Was/Tracking Party.

Oh, that is a tab that is missing right now and I need to add. That's why there's a little more "tape" at the bottom of the tabs at the right. It's going to say "Verify" and either have a selection like the ship's name or not. No circle=no selection, same as the check-mark you now have in the RecMan.

As I said, they didn't have any type of AOB image in these things. I didn't want to lose the function, however, since we can use that part of the sillouette image for the ship to give more data.

So ...

https://www.mediafire.com/view/67g4d...50506.jpg/file

This image is an extract from a book by "Talbot-Booth" from 1936 which has pretty much all the major, world-wide companies from Lloyd's Register in it. It's not as vast as a "Brown's House Flags and Funnels" from 1929 I found, but still good enough for this page.

So when you click on the "Additional Data" tab, you now get this instead of an AOB picture. Since we are now operating starting at June 1, 1941 (if you want to), then it would make sense to have something that can help you ID all the wonderful new targets ... err ... "SHIPS" that are going to be available with BH's new data (and HARD WORK, I might add).

Based on the pictures from the regular "ship" page, we know that the funnel has two white stripes with a little "thingie" pointing up. From this page we can deduce it most likely belongs to the "Osaka Shosen K.K." shipping company, who at this time is the second largest shipping company in Japan.

Known as "OSK" in the West, this is probably why the dev's decided on having so many "two-stripe" ships in the sim -- and why there are NO funnels that can take any type of markings. All of them are mapped SO BADLY that OSK will just have to remain at two stripes on most ships. I did manage to find one that I managed to get the "O" onto, but it's REALLY small and barely noticable.

You can also see that the other companies mostly represented in-sim are the "Nippon Yusen K.K." shipping company (largest in Japan pre-war) and also the "Mitsui Bussan K. Ltd." shipping company (Actually, "K.K." since that's what the second "K" means, so technically "Mitsui Bussan Kisen Kaisha" or "K.K.").

The fourth largest was "Toyo Kisen Kaisha" (mislabeled as "Toyo Kisen K.K." in book) which was a "buff" or "yellow" funnel, hence the large number of these solid-color funnels in-sim as well.

I "penned-in" the "Kitta-Nihon Kisen Kaisha" and "Tatsuuma Kisen Kaisha" companies as well since they were in the ONI-208-J manual and may be included in the upcoming update.

Even if their ships aren't, it's nice to have in case we have more merchant expansion in-sim. I would ultimately like to do for SH4 what the dev's for SH3 did with the MFM which is somewhat incorporated into the OneAlex Edition of the GWX mod for that particular sim.

Which brings me to another question: Since I don't use social media, what would be the best way to get in touch with the folks for OneAlex so that I can get permission to use their ships as either "stand-ins" or just complete 3D replacements for current Japanese merchants?

Here's an example of a quick paint I did for a ship from the OneAlex edition I have installed:

https://www.mediafire.com/view/w7org...ot_01.PNG/file

https://www.mediafire.com/view/wj17s...ot_02.PNG/file

It's a retextured "Rickmers" and it's painted to represent the "Gyoko Maru" of the "Yama****a Line" shipping company (why is the company censored, by the way?????).

As you can see, it has the name AND the proper funnel marks for identification. I believe either the "Rickmers" or the "Sunrise" are the two closest ones, but there are a few out there in the mod that could stand in for several types of civilian merchants prior to their conversion to military transports or cargo ships painted in gray.

Another one that stands out as a possible small merchant for the Japanese is the "Aslaug" which I can't seem to find anywhere in my SH3 OneAlex install.

Tankers are another area I would like to expand on as well with textures. The default are definately geared towards military since it's easier to do camo paints than anything you can use to identify a ship.

The "Paula" ship, for example, is a small "coaster" oiler operated by Shell Oil (buff or yellow funnel with black top) which was captured by the Japanese. When I tried to do the paint, I found there are parts of the deck mapped to that same area.

Huh??

Same for the "Nippon Maru" class of "Kawasaki-Type" tankers. the funnel is pretty much a lost cause, as are other areas I tried to improve on. When I painted the funnel all red as a test (no "K" on it or red top), several parts came up red on the ship. The best I could do was the all black funnel with a VERY small red portion on top, but no "K" letter which they were known for having.

Forget about writing the names on the hulls.

The actual "Nippon Maru" itself was a Yama****a K.K. ship (again censored???).

Here is a quick one representing the "Mitsubishi Shoji Kaisha"'s "San Diego Maru" using the "T01" model tanker:

https://www.mediafire.com/view/17bbj...1_SH4.PNG/file

https://www.mediafire.com/view/xwgel...2_SH4.PNG/file

Anyway, that's it for now.

Sorry for the long post, but I've been doing several things at once and I've also been juggling work, home, family ... you guys know the drill -- especially with family which ALWAYS comes first.

When I actually have something to post, I just post.

More updates as there's info to put out.

Saludos!

ElCid97

05-07-25, 08:57 PM	#6
ElCid97 Electrician's Mate Join Date: Nov 2019 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 133 Downloads: 121 Uploads: 5	So I've been helping BH with his update for the merchants and I came up with a way to redo the manual (I hope) so that it's using what THEY actually used. Thanks to the USS Pampanito and their HTML pages (full credit to them, as always) I was able to put together some trial images of what I'm hoping to do with the revamp. One thing is to actually use the manual that was used (or at least found) by submariners back then. This was known, for merchants, as ONI-208. A version specific for the Japanese was done shortly after the start of the War, and this is the main one we're going to be using in V1. Once Japan is pretty much done, I'm hoping to add the rest of the nations in the sim according to their position/place/page in the manual. So, onto the pictures! Here is the main cover page you will see when you "click" over to what is now the current merchant page. Instead of something that says "Merchants" or something along those lines, you're going to come across this: https://www.mediafire.com/view/vtixm...50506.jpg/file As you can see, it's the same proportions as the original manual: 10" x 6" (or in this case, 1000 pixels x 600 pixels with some overlap to get the tabs in at 1024 pixels total). Since the original manual had everyone in one place and things were NOT arranged anywhere near what they were in ONI-208-J, I decided to add the "index card" that has been "typed" to make it clear it's been included here. This is preliminary, so layout and things may change -- especially since I haven't even began to LOOK at the menu_1024_768.ini file yet. As long as things are kept in the correct order, I should be able to pull this off along the lines of the manual in Dark Waters. Changing the pages (left and right) will actually just be a mouse click area at either the bottom left or bottom right of the image. No arrows or buttons, just the mouse arrow "growing" or changing it's color so you know you are over the area. The tabs at the right (somewhat blocked by the cover itself so it looks like a book) are for the mouse click areas and are the standard "Close," "Back," and "Additional Data" areas. The "Additional Data" is what is currently the "45-degree click" area that gets you the image for the different AOB's, so not functional on the cover page (if I remember correctly). Next we have the page you will get for testing when coming up on a non-Japanese ship: https://www.mediafire.com/view/verjz...50506.jpg/file You'll see why the page is what it is (for now) when I post a shot of what the ACTUAL manual pages look like -- and how you would have to get info on ships. Believe me this is much more organized (if blank). The tabs at the right are the same as before, as are the click areas at the bottom left and right for changing pages. The "Additional Data" tab will work on this page, even if there is no info to show. The "clip" on the left side is just a place holder for now. I'm planning on actually doing the left side with a folded over page so it looks like you are actually holding the manual. The paper itself is a default texture for paper of some sort I found in the "TNormal" folder I thought "looked the part" when I found it. I just resized and repurposed. Next is an example of a Japanese ship according to ONI-308-J: https://www.mediafire.com/view/9cp76l2xeysdv5v/03_oni208_6mfm_kiturin_250506.jpg/file The first thing you will notice which is different is that the same image is going to be used for multiple ships. When you change left or right as you click through, the ship's "annotation" in red will change from one ship to the next so you know what ship of the class you currently have selected. ONI-208-J actually had no "profiles" for the different AOB's. Instead, they actually tried to find pictures of the actual ships and put those into the manual. As you can see from the page itself, these were civilian passenger liners. Their names were painted on the sides and they had a dark hull with dark funnels and what appears to be two stripes at the top. When you look more closely, you can see that it's actually not two stripes, but rather the house "mark" for a Japanese shipping company. More on this later. Other data you get is the classification for reporting (6-M-F-M: Type "6" with a layout of "Mast-Funnel-Mast") located, on this page anyway, at the top right. It will either be top right or left, depending on the page. Even on the left, and odd on the right. Length, Tonnage, Speed, Draft, and even some remarks which were known at the time of publishing are included in the data block. You also have a b/w profile of the port-side of the ship. This is because ONI-41-42 (the warship one) had starboard views. That's another way you would be able to quickly tell if you were looking at a merchant book or a warship book -- warships "faced" right while merchants "faced" left. You have an "inked" circle in red ink over the "Kiturin Maru" name, so you know this is the page for that specific ship. Here is the sister ship's page: https://www.mediafire.com/view/4gpbr...50506.jpg/file As you can see, we're using the same image. The only change is that you now have the "Nekka Maru" name circled instead. If you were to "Verify" this ship, the data for the "Nekka Maru" would go to the TDC/PK/Is-Was/Tracking Party. Oh, that is a tab that is missing right now and I need to add. That's why there's a little more "tape" at the bottom of the tabs at the right. It's going to say "Verify" and either have a selection like the ship's name or not. No circle=no selection, same as the check-mark you now have in the RecMan. As I said, they didn't have any type of AOB image in these things. I didn't want to lose the function, however, since we can use that part of the sillouette image for the ship to give more data. So ... https://www.mediafire.com/view/67g4d...50506.jpg/file This image is an extract from a book by "Talbot-Booth" from 1936 which has pretty much all the major, world-wide companies from Lloyd's Register in it. It's not as vast as a "Brown's House Flags and Funnels" from 1929 I found, but still good enough for this page. So when you click on the "Additional Data" tab, you now get this instead of an AOB picture. Since we are now operating starting at June 1, 1941 (if you want to), then it would make sense to have something that can help you ID all the wonderful new targets ... err ... "SHIPS" that are going to be available with BH's new data (and HARD WORK, I might add). Based on the pictures from the regular "ship" page, we know that the funnel has two white stripes with a little "thingie" pointing up. From this page we can deduce it most likely belongs to the "Osaka Shosen K.K." shipping company, who at this time is the second largest shipping company in Japan. Known as "OSK" in the West, this is probably why the dev's decided on having so many "two-stripe" ships in the sim -- and why there are NO funnels that can take any type of markings. All of them are mapped SO BADLY that OSK will just have to remain at two stripes on most ships. I did manage to find one that I managed to get the "O" onto, but it's REALLY small and barely noticable. You can also see that the other companies mostly represented in-sim are the "Nippon Yusen K.K." shipping company (largest in Japan pre-war) and also the "Mitsui Bussan K. Ltd." shipping company (Actually, "K.K." since that's what the second "K" means, so technically "Mitsui Bussan Kisen Kaisha" or "K.K."). The fourth largest was "Toyo Kisen Kaisha" (mislabeled as "Toyo Kisen K.K." in book) which was a "buff" or "yellow" funnel, hence the large number of these solid-color funnels in-sim as well. I "penned-in" the "Kitta-Nihon Kisen Kaisha" and "Tatsuuma Kisen Kaisha" companies as well since they were in the ONI-208-J manual and may be included in the upcoming update. Even if their ships aren't, it's nice to have in case we have more merchant expansion in-sim. I would ultimately like to do for SH4 what the dev's for SH3 did with the MFM which is somewhat incorporated into the OneAlex Edition of the GWX mod for that particular sim. Which brings me to another question: Since I don't use social media, what would be the best way to get in touch with the folks for OneAlex so that I can get permission to use their ships as either "stand-ins" or just complete 3D replacements for current Japanese merchants? Here's an example of a quick paint I did for a ship from the OneAlex edition I have installed: https://www.mediafire.com/view/w7org...ot_01.PNG/file https://www.mediafire.com/view/wj17s...ot_02.PNG/file It's a retextured "Rickmers" and it's painted to represent the "Gyoko Maru" of the "Yama**a Line" shipping company (why is the company censored, by the way?????). As you can see, it has the name AND the proper funnel marks for identification. I believe either the "Rickmers" or the "Sunrise" are the two closest ones, but there are a few out there in the mod that could stand in for several types of civilian merchants prior to their conversion to military transports or cargo ships painted in gray. Another one that stands out as a possible small merchant for the Japanese is the "Aslaug" which I can't seem to find anywhere in my SH3 OneAlex install. Tankers are another area I would like to expand on as well with textures. The default are definately geared towards military since it's easier to do camo paints than anything you can use to identify a ship. The "Paula" ship, for example, is a small "coaster" oiler operated by Shell Oil (buff or yellow funnel with black top) which was captured by the Japanese. When I tried to do the paint, I found there are parts of the deck mapped to that same area. Huh?? Same for the "Nippon Maru" class of "Kawasaki-Type" tankers. the funnel is pretty much a lost cause, as are other areas I tried to improve on. When I painted the funnel all red as a test (no "K" on it or red top), several parts came up red on the ship. The best I could do was the all black funnel with a VERY small red portion on top, but no "K" letter which they were known for having. Forget about writing the names on the hulls. The actual "Nippon Maru" itself was a Yama**a K.K. ship (again censored???). Here is a quick one representing the "Mitsubishi Shoji Kaisha"'s "San Diego Maru" using the "T01" model tanker: https://www.mediafire.com/view/17bbj...1_SH4.PNG/file https://www.mediafire.com/view/xwgel...2_SH4.PNG/file Anyway, that's it for now. Sorry for the long post, but I've been doing several things at once and I've also been juggling work, home, family ... you guys know the drill -- especially with family which ALWAYS comes first. When I actually have something to post, I just post. More updates as there's info to put out. Saludos! ElCid97