Upgrading the unterseeboot

[9emini]

Ahoy mateys!

After 7 (SEVEN!!!) time compression-less patrols in my trusty IIa (a career I began in December, for obvious reasons) I've earned enough renown to upgrade to a VIIb. Woo-****ing-hoo!!! (That's 71kt of allied wreckage, not to put too fine a point on it ;-) ). I'm not sure if the behaviour of the game after the upgrade is 'normal' though: I'm warned to visit the barracks after upgrading as I don't have enough sailors. Fair enough - to the barracks we go. When I get there I find that I've got two more sailors and two more petty officers already on board - with the latter both being qualified torpedomen. Is this usual?

The second problem I have is that despite only engaging (and subsequently sinking) two craft during my last patrol, and those two craft clearly being listed as allied craft by the game before I docked at Kiel, a save named "The war ended!" is created as soon as I dock. I can leave Kiel in my new VIIb just fine and even save a new game after leaving just fine, but if I go to load such a save the "war ended" save is the last save listed.

Now, it may be relevant to point out that as a result of this latest patrol SH3 tells me the following (on the 'patrol history' screen):

You've been awarded
Iron Cross, First Class
German Cross
You've been promoted Oberleutnant z. S.
Your crew earned Promotions

Prior to docking I was merely "Leutnant z. S."

I hope I haven't been promoted out of my career altogether! I've had a quick look in the careers(_0).cfg files and apparently warended=false, so am quite baffled by this . Appreciate any thoughts the good folk here can offer!

Using GWX3.0.

edit: actually, I lie. Before I dock, Finished=false and WarOver=false. After I dock, both become true. So I can just dock, quit game, edit careers.cfg appropriately, restart game, and all will be well? I hope so! Any idea what leads to this behaviour in the first place?

Originally Posted by 9emini

Ahoy mateys!

After 7 (SEVEN!!!) time compression-less patrols in my trusty IIa (a career I began in December, for obvious reasons) I've earned enough renown to upgrade to a VIIb. Woo-****ing-hoo!!! (That's 71kt of allied wreckage, not to put too fine a point on it ;-) ). I'm not sure if the behaviour of the game after the upgrade is 'normal' though: I'm warned to visit the barracks after upgrading as I don't have enough sailors. Fair enough - to the barracks we go. When I get there I find that I've got two more sailors and two more petty officers already on board - with the latter both being qualified torpedomen. Is this usual?

The second problem I have is that despite only engaging (and subsequently sinking) two craft during my last patrol, and those two craft clearly being listed as allied craft by the game before I docked at Kiel, a save named "The war ended!" is created as soon as I dock. I can leave Kiel in my new VIIb just fine and even save a new game after leaving just fine, but if I go to load such a save the "war ended" save is the last save listed.

Now, it may be relevant to point out that as a result of this latest patrol SH3 tells me the following (on the 'patrol history' screen):

You've been awarded
Iron Cross, First Class
German Cross
You've been promoted Oberleutnant z. S.
Your crew earned Promotions

Prior to docking I was merely "Leutnant z. S."

I hope I haven't been promoted out of my career altogether! I've had a quick look in the careers(_0).cfg files and apparently warended=false, so am quite baffled by this . Appreciate any thoughts the good folk here can offer!

Using GWX3.0.

edit: actually, I lie. Before I dock, Finished=false and WarOver=false. After I dock, both become true. So I can just dock, quit game, edit careers.cfg appropriately, restart game, and all will be well? I hope so! Any idea what leads to this behaviour in the first place?

Get Sh3 Commander!! You can take your in game career and if you get "Retired" you can "Un-retire" yourself.

[Fish In The Water]

Originally Posted by 9emini

edit: actually, I lie. Before I dock, Finished=false and WarOver=false. After I dock, both become true. So I can just dock, quit game, edit careers.cfg appropriately, restart game, and all will be well? I hope so!

That would be my first move. Edit the file and then run a test load to check the results.

[9emini]

OK will try editing the .cfg file. Since posting, I've learned that an Oberleutnant zur See is still pretty lowly, so seems my fear of being promoted out of my career (whatever that means) were unfounded .

Now, what about the 'bonus crew' "feature" I mentioned in the first paragraph?

[Jimbuna]

Each U-boat type cpmes with a default loadout and crew...it is down to you to enlist additional crewmen if you want them.

You really should give SH3 Commander a try and if so don't forget the CFG file for GWX.

Both are available from the link above my sig.

[9emini]

Thanks to the helpful replies above (and a quick .cfg file edit), the war is no longer over and I'm powering toward the UK in my shiny new VIIb . Even worked out how to load ammo into the deck gun thanks to a helpful discussion elsewhere in the Radio Room!

Still a bit confused re the qualifications tho'. Your post got me thinking jimbuna - I started a new career to examine the default VIIb crew, then did the same for the IIa. I hoped I could 'derive' my current PO quals by starting with the default IIa PO config, then adding the quals I've assigned to POs since starting current career, and _then_ adding any PO quals present among the default VIIb POs that I didn't already possess. I failed :-( . E.g., the VIIb starts with two qualified PO machinists, while I still only have one aboard my new VIIb. Maybe the game only adds a maximum of two qualified POs during an upgrade?

I don't mean to harp on about this; just don't want to be gifted qualified crew I'm not actually entitled to :-) .

[timmy41]

good god, 7 uncompressed patrols? youre insane!

[Fish In The Water]

Originally Posted by 9emini

Thanks to the helpful replies above (and a quick .cfg file edit), the war is no longer over and I'm powering toward the UK in my shiny new VIIb .

Congrats and good hunting!

*******

Regarding the crew qualifications, you can always set them manually by editing the 'My Documents\SH3\data\cfg\Careers\[PlayerName]\[SaveName]\crew_config_xx.cfg files'.

The default should look something like this:

[CREW_MEMBER_0]
Name=Arthur Kopp
Index=5
NrComp=0
Type=2
Grad=7
Renown=1001.000000
Patrols=0
Morale=0.800000
Fatigue=0.000000
HealthStatus=0
HitPoints=15.000000
Experience=400
Rank=11
NrQual=1
Qualification0=0
SpecialAbility=-1
MedalsInx0=-1
MedalsCant0=-1
MedalsInx1=-1
MedalsCant1=-1
MedalsInx2=-1
MedalsCant2=-1
MedalsInx3=-1
MedalsInx4=-1
MedalsInx5=-1
MedalsInx6=-1
MedalsInx7=-1
MedalsInx8=-1
HeadIdx=1
HeadTgaIdx=0
BodyIdx=0
BodyTgaIdx=0
HasHelmet=Yes
HelmetIdx=0
HelmetTgaIdx=0
VoiceIdx=1

*******

The two key entries are:

NrQual=1
Qualification0=0

Officers can have up to three qualifications while the game only recognizes one for PO's. Qualifications are as follows:

0 = Watch
1 = Gunner
2 = Flak
3 = Sonar
4 = Helms
5 = Machine
6 = Torpedo
7 = Medic
8 = Repair

Qualification0=5 means the first qualification is Machine.
Qualification1=8 means the second qualification is Repair.

Also, (for two qualifications) be sure to set "NrQual=2", or "NrQual=3" for 3.