Medals

[Sub Sailor]

How was the awarding of medals in 1.7 and 1.9 decided Trigger Maru? In reading Clairs' book Silent Victory, Slade Cutter, and the book about Admiral Fluckey "The Galloping Ghost", actually any of the top Commanders of Subs in WWII recieved madal for a lot less that TM allows. I am sure High Medals, CMH, Navy Cross, Silver Star and Bronze Star were awarded for far less than TM does.
Can that be Changed?
I have sunk over 40K in a patrol and received the Navy Commendation.


Ron Banks MMCM(SS), USN(Ret)

[CapnScurvy]

Hi Ron, to try and answer your question regarding how TM 1.9 calculates awards it's partly a hard coded stock process and a modded workaround to offset what we can't fix.

The stock process has a preset basis for figuring awards. After a lot of trial and error (actual sinking targets then crash driving to kill oneself to determine the awards received, restarting the same mission or career, then increasing the total tonnage sunk to find a new higher award threshold) it was determined that several factors come into play when calculating the award given. The pure total tonnage sunk plays a part, however the "Quality" of ship makes a difference also. In other words, one warship can be worth more than (say) 3 freighters even if the three freighters give a total tonnage greater than the warship. There is also a tier effect within the warship group, so a BB will be calculated higher than a DD. The number of patrols seems to make a difference as well. The higher experienced a Captain, the larger this preset basis for calculating awards will be. As I said earlier, the figures that come into play are mostly hard coded within the game. There isn't much we can do about how this game sometimes adds 2+2=5.

What we can do is manipulate how the game thinks it's presenting awards for the overall system to better simulate an accurate award received. For instance when you look under the hood of the stock game award system it's first tier award should be the Patrol Star (Bronze Star Medal). HOWEVER, the game files actually has the Medal of Valor (Congressional Medal of Honor) in the Patrol Star placement order, WITH the Victory Cross (Navy Cross) actually being awarded in the Captains Award Box. What the hell is that!!! Again, this is for the first tier award!! It's been well known the medals have been a screwed pooch from day one and with 5 patches (including the U-Boat Missions Addon) it's never been corrected. What we have done is figure the correct order the awards should be presented, then put into place awards that are fitting for the tier basis who's calculation we can't do anything about.

I choose to use the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal as the First tier award simply because everyone serving within the theatre received one. I took some license using it since it really didn't get awarded until after the war. The same with the Second tier award the Navy Commendation Award. It wasn't commissioned until 1943 (and only as a ribbon at the time). A description is as follows: "The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States award/decoration which is presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. For valorous actions in direct contact with an enemy force, but of a lesser degree than required for the award of the Bronze Star Medal".

The Bronze Star Medal, Silver Star, and Navy Cross were moved up in order simply because the idea of receiving a Congressional Medal of Honor for nothing more than sinking tonnage seemed (to me) to degrade the actual real world award. The CMOH removal along with the Distinguished Service Medal speak for their selves. "The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is bestowed upon members of the Navy or Marine Corps who distinguish themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the United States goverment in a duty of great responsibility.The term “great responsibility” implies senior military responsibility, and the decoration is normally only bestowed to senior Navy Flag and Marine Corps General Officers. The decoration is rarely awarded to enlisted personnel, and then only to those who hold extremely senior enlisted positions such as the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy". This award would have never been given to a lowly sub Captain, yet alone a torpedo room Machinest.

So the long story short, the specific medals are as reasonably presented as they can be within the corrected order. It's just we can't change the parameters the game sets for when an award threshold is reached through its prefixed basis of calculation.

[Jten]

Does that include the NUMBER of medals awarded to the crew at end of patrol?

I understand the inclusion of a Service Award (APCM) among the other Decorations and your use of it is not unhistorical since while the actual medal was not designed and issued till post war, the ribbon colors were created and ribbons for the APCM was issued during the war. (Most of the awards issued in WW2 for the US were in ribbon form. War metal shortages and all that.)

What I have been wanting to do is increase the number of the APCM given so everyone could have one by 2-3 patrols. 30 days in theater is all that was required and Hawaii was 'in theater' for the award. Most sailors would have qualified for it before leaving on patrol and would have received additional devices on it for each campaign.

I have considered testing a manually edited starting crew that had one on each crew member. In that case, additional awards would only be needed for 'new' crewmen and the current game issue quantities might suffice to have one on everyone by war's end.

Everybody has their own pet peeves and having an APCM on everybody is mine. That and Sampans.

BTW: Great medals mods. I was happy with stock SH4 except for the medals and it was the lure of your mod that made me go to 1.5 now I'm RFB+RSRD and your medals mod is still the 'cherry' on top of the 'whip cream'.

[CapnScurvy]

Originally Posted by Jten

Does that include the NUMBER of medals awarded to the crew at end of patrol?

Yes Jten it does. The crew medals are even more of a mystery than the Captain's. Again, their criteria is hard coded. Outside of calculating tonnage sunk and successful completion of tasks I haven't got a clue of what, how, or why an award is issued for a crewman. I have seen if some compartment catastrophe takes place you may see a dead crewman, or Purple Hearts are available for the crew when you reach port. The only parameter we can tinker with is the "who" (the actual award) part of the game not the what, how, or why.

Originally Posted by Jten

What I have been wanting to do is increase the number of the APCM given so everyone could have one by 2-3 patrols. 30 days in theater is all that was required and Hawaii was 'in theater' for the award. Most sailors would have qualified for it before leaving on patrol and would have received additional devices on it for each campaign.

At one time I had the Submarine Dolphins as the first tier award. But, without being able to change the criteria from "tonnage sunk and completion of tasks", the idea of a time in service award (or in the Dolphins case, a completion of knowledge tests) just couldn't be implimented correctly.

There are six levels of awards (tiers) even though I don't consider the Purple Heart a tier. The PH is correctly issued using the criteria of death or injury, although the stock award was the Submarine Service Medal (Distinguished Service Medal) and not the Wounded Medal!! The point is these six levels have a hard coded criteria which we don't have access to.

[Jten]

Thanks, I'll have to put my thinking cap on.

[CapnScurvy]

Jten, this is just a passing thought (like a fart) but, what about the "special abilities" part in the game? I've not spent time thinking about this aspect of the game. Maybe there's a way to manipulate their files to add a "service award" to the game?! I wouldn't know where to find the right files; perhaps the Captain's and Crewmen's .UPC files for starters. Perhaps those files aren’t as restricted to mod as the medal criteria. You would have to perhaps change some things in the [G61 Ixxx] menu_1024_768.ini file (I think this is the section for dealing with the crew regarding special abilities). I know that's where you mod the crews medals for display in the Crew Management screen.

It’s just a thought.