[Sailor Steve]

Sorry I didn't get here sooner. I would have told you that Commander is completely external, and though it overrides in-game commands, it doesn't really work like a mod and is pretty much safe. I would have recommended waiting until the current patrol was finished anyway, just because I'm a worry-wart.

Originally Posted by Paul Riley

1: skip into movies - I have checked this,as I thought it disables the standard SHIII loading screen/s,but it doesnt,maybe it refers to other mods?

No, it just cuts out the intro movie - the one that plays before the game loads - the one you always click on after the first five times watching it, just to make it go away.

2:Rollback - check.This seems the safest way to initiate Commander with SHIII,just in case I forget to do it manually.

JScones used to pull his hair out every time someone had a problem with Commander: "Did you roll back before installing the mod?" I use the 'Auto-Rollback' function just because it's so much easier, and I don't really do a lot of modding, so I don't ever need to not 'Roll Back'.

3: Fonts - default

I was using a nice period typewriter font for awhile, but when I saw that the Log Editor actually affects the in-game report I went back to the original. Hand-written for the log, typed for the SH3 report.

4: start patrols at sea - I really like this one,and will surely speed up my time on patrol,as there was nothing more annoying than sailing past the same bloody scenery everytime.What we really want,is to get out there!.

I don't. With GWX and the Holtenau and Brunsbuttel locks mods installed, I like to spend my time cruising out of the harbor and watching all the ships come and go. Of course I did it for real once upon a time, and still miss it.

5: simulate career length - I am in 2 minds about this one.I dont really want my current campaign terminated due to random events,so I left this one.Obviously,this is there to provide extra realism for those that need it.Maybe I will enable it on a future career.

I played a lot of SH1 back in the day, and I've always like the idea that sooner or later I would be promoted to command the training school or some such. Of course you can always 'Un-Retire', or, with the newest version, continue the same boat with a new kaleun.

6: simulate crew transfers - similar to the above,i'm not sure if to have it or not.This is if you want extra realism I suppose,and for those that dont mind micro-managing every detail.

With the earlier versions you would find that someone had transferred out, or...(don't want to spoil any surprises here), and you needed to replace him. With this newest version (the one you have) he is replaced automatically. Also cool is the new feature that randomizes the crew. Your starting crew has a chance of having some experienced hands already in place.

7: historical uboat avail - I checked this,as I dont mind having real uboat dates,this wont adversely affect my playing style at all.

8: randomize days at base - I left this,I would rather pick my own days spent on 'leave' ,which is probably what happened anyway?.Not too sure.

9: set days on base - This I like,and I have set my current leave as 7 days.A week between patrols seems a realistic number?.And does this also allow us to get back out there more regularly?,with upto 4 patrols a month if thats what you wanted?,or do you still have a certain amount of days that the game sets as default?,like for repairs and stuff.

I use the Randomizer, because I like the variety. Even a captain is at the mercy of his superiors and the harbormaster. Sometimes something will need replacing and they don't have the part etc. I've spent 40 days in base, and one time after an empty patrol and my type II coming home with all its eels, they had me turned around and back at sea in just five days. I like that part. The stock setting is 28 days because, on average, that was the amount of time spent in base refitting and refurbishing.

10: real ship names - I like that,makes your attacks feel more,personal?,and like you really DID sink something,and not just another 'C3'.Nice touch that.

My absolute favorite part; so much so that I've had some complaints about it from the beginning which I've been working on for ages to fix. Coming soon.

11: randomize GP - I like to pick and choose for a certain moment,like Wagner's ROTV as I am smashing through the waves trying to catch up with my prey!

Unfortunately you still won't be able to "pick and choose", since all it does is...randomize them. Still, it's better than having to listen to the same ones over and over as the stock system always starts at the top.

12: Hull text - I have this on.Again this is a realism thing,and was this designed to make engagements more riskier?,as you really never know exactly what state the hull is in.If so,then I can see the point with this tweak .Maybe another time.

I have it turned on. Sure, there was nothing like that in real life, but in the game you don't get reports from the Chief, recommending that you do this or don't do that, so I see it as a guideline on how to behave.

13: fatigue - off.I dont like messing around with sailors that are moaning about being tired all the time.Again,for those who like to micro-manage everything.

SH4's fatigue is completely revised, with rotating watch bills and all. As I recently reported elsewhere, I use 'GWX 8-hour' fatigue. No, it's not realistic to have to babysit the crew 24/7, but I always have this nagging feeling that I'm cheating somehow if I don't use it. Silly me.

14: water clarity - This is the most interesting one I find.There are a lot of differing opinions on this,so I will go with what most of you lot think.As seas around the world differ in clarity,so then maybe this tweak can be applied for different areas as you pass through them?.I have a round number of 10 at the moment.I tried 3 and its really murky,is that realistic?.Actually,the more I think about it I get the feeling that not many uboat commanders actually used the scopes to navigate underwater,after all the Hydrophones do a better job.Observing underwater though can help as DCs are dropping,or when trying to visually track a ship while keeping close contact with him.
Please,let me know what you think about this aspect of the program,and a good setting.

Mine is set for 3, though I was using 2 for awhile and am thinking of going back. I've seen water that was clear for hundreds of feet, and I've seen extremely clear underwater photos, but I'm mostly used to not being able to see more than a few yards underwater, and I like the opening seen of Das Boot where the sub comes swimming out of the murk. Sure, you lose the standard 'movie' view in which you can see the destroyer's keel and the sub and the depth charges, but it feel more real to me.

15: Wave height - I like this one,and I have chose the 'seasonal' option,as I reckon this is most accurate.Where would you use the higher waves?

I was a user and fan of the original 'Big Waves' mod. The theory is that the game only goes to 15 m/s winds, or about 30 knots, which is a moderately choppy sea. Since it couldn't be made to go higher, the creator just doubled the wave size, so you could pretend it was full-blown gale, and the result was pretty cool. This also let me set the deck-and-flak gun use higher (which GWX already does), and just not man the deck gun when I could see waves washing over it.

I kept my Commander setting to '2x' for a long time, as during the summer months it wasn't a problem anyway, but these days I use 'Seasonal'. This changes the wave heights: 2x in the winter, 1.25x in the spring and fall and 1x in the summer.

16: I have left the deck gun settings,I think they are ok at the moment,again,for extremists hehe.

10 seconds for the 8.8cm and 12 seconds for the 10.5cm for me.

17: Malfunctions - interesting this one,and I chose to enable it.As soon as I fired my last save up I noticed the speed dial was going up and down and not appearing stable.I had pre set the speed to 12kts earlier,and it seems now I am barely making about 9kts.Is this then related to the transmission element of the tweak.It does serve to make you think more about choices etc.

What is the weather like? Are you using GWX? It slows the boat down in bad weather? Did you just surface? The batteries use one of the engines to recharge.

I use Malfunctions, but not Sabotage. Why? I don't know. I like the idea of things going wrong, but not too often. Silly me.

18: randomize tonnage - unsure about this one.Someone will need to further explain to me how this one works.I suppose all ships DID differ in cargo/weight,so does that explain it?.

Yes, the Gross Registered Tonnage did vary from ship to ship, even within the same class. With merchants this was because the owner was the one who did the registering, and his calculations depended on whether he had any guns, how many crew he carried, and things like that. I've found in my research that the same ship shows up in several sources, many times with each source showing a different GRT. Barring having the actual GRT of each ship, randomization is the way to go. The game already randomizes by a few tons either way; Commander does it a little more.

These days I wish there was a function that allowed specific tonnage to be applied to each ship - I have the GRTs of most every ship that sailed in a convoy now.

19: crush depth - I turned this on.I always DID like trying to find out my max crush depth in a new uboat,a tense moment.So,this could also allow for deeper depths?,and even worse depths due to poor welding methods etc?

Again there used to be a 'Randomized Crush Depth' mod, which I no longer use because Commander does it for me. I like the idea of not knowing exactly how deep is safe; it heightens the pucker factor.

20: TC settings - I havent messed with these,TC is ok for me as default settings.

I used to have mine set for 4096x, just because I could. These days I keep the max set for 256, and never go beyond 128 anyway, as it screws up the chance of encounters. I also have the 'When Near Land' and 'Crew Animations' set for that. 'CA' lets you run at those TCs while on the bridge. It looks funny, but it helps a lot.

21: Personnel files - Again,no immediate reason to alter these.

I even let it choose my kaleun's name these days. It's a wonderful addition; especially the 42,000-name database.

Summary

From what I gather initially about Commander,is that it was mainly designed to make the career building aspect of the game more in depth,like the log editing etc?.A huge section has gone into this part of the game,and it is this part I am having to understand more.I DID however choose a new pic for myself,which was good.
A few tips and advice on how to edit this section would be appreciated.
Finally,I really am sorry about the length of this post,I just wanted to share my latest findings.
Cheers to those that made Commander,and now I need to find out how to get all the other mods!

The log editor? Read this thread http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...+patrol+editor and start typing. Any specific questions I'll be glad to answer, but it's actually fairly straight-forward. If I can do it...

'Those that made Commander' are one man: Jaesen Jones, known here as JScones. He did it, and he deserves all the praise we can give him. Am I a fan or what?

[edit]:rotfl: Your edit came too late: I got it all on tape! And you're post wasn't all that long.