[Front Runner]

I don't know if this has been discussed or addressed before. I now have several different installations of SH4 for specific mods such as TMO, GFO, RFB, FOTRSU, etc and I love my RADIO. I had been simply copying the RADIO folder to each and every SH4 installation which takes time and takes quite a bit of disk space when my RADIO has so many stations with many years of music.
I got to thinking, could I consolidate the RADIO Folder outside the SH4 installation(s) and simply edit the radio.ini file to point to that folder.
Yep, it partially works for music only, and only requires one instance of the RADIO folder with as many radio station installations as you choose. Then, all you need to do is edit the radio.ini file and copy it to each installation's Radio folder. The individual event folders do not translate to a single install. [EDIT: January 2, 2021 - I have since gone to using a single RADIO Folder install for each mod, while the music seems to play OK, the events do not. I haven't yet been able to figure out a proper edit to get the different SH4 variants to recognize the Events Folders.

Fred has done a remarkable job of compiling these many radio stations as have others. Sometimes, when I am busy doing other things, I play the game (usually TMO/RSRD/OTC) on 1x with the radio on, with an external view of my sub cutting through the waves. It plays in the background kind of like a fully animated screen saver with music.
While it is not practical to play the entire campaign at 1x, when I am tending to other household chores and I'm enroute to a patrol area, I set it at 1x and enjoy the ride. It also reinforces a sense of how long and boring those journeys were. Days of boredom interrupted by moments of sheer terror.

My career was in radio broadcasting until I retired in 2002, taking up my new career as professional sailor and A.S.A. Sailing Instructor. I've always loved the Old Time Radio series and music, much of it which is easily available on-line at sites such as archive.org (among others.)

For my own use, I sometimes extract bits and pieces of different radio shows and edit them into wartime commercials and PSAs and add these to the music folders to play randomly. I've discovered some real gems just by listening to the different radio series of the time and noting which commercials, annoucements and PSAs would work in the SH4 gameplay.

With the release of FOTRSU public beta 6.1, I can sense a greater interest arising from some of the old players who may have stepped away from the game for awhile.

Radio isn't for everyone, but for those of us who love this great addition to our gameplay, well, WOW.....

Again, thanks to Fred and the many others whom have contributed to this part of the gameplay.