[REL]SH4 Stock Mast Height Correction

[CapnScurvy]

Several days ago I submitted a question regarding the Add-On as to whether it addressed the problem of correct mast height (Let's Butt Heads with an Add-On). As I suspected, it does not. I’m usually not one to criticize WITHOUT giving an alternative solution, so here is mine. It took me a couple of days to run my tests on all stock Japanese warships and most merchants, plus a couple of U.S. warships, 61 ship classes in all.

My tests have to include various ship positions (AoB) because the game does not calculate AoB within the Position Keeper to give correct adjusted range. I’m not an expert on the U.S. sub equipment of the day. Why doesn’t the Position Keeper (PK) recalculate a ships range when it’s at different angles to the sub? For instance, at 1500 yards distance (center to center), the carrier Taiyo has a found range of 1482y at 90 degree AoB. At 25 degree AoB it shows a range of 1430y, about 50 yards difference. Besides setting the Gyro angles for the torpedos, why shouldn’t the PK adjust range to the same centered figure the sonar or the computer found range give you? This isn’t my real subject topic for this thread, but I will point out that’s why I have the manual “Ship Centered, Accuracy Fix” modification to refocus a range estimate to the center of a ship, not out at the masts that are rarely centered.

To provide greater accuracy of manual range finding using the masts, an average had to be made from the various angles, and then a math formula was used to correct the mast heights. I have put the results into a downloadable file using Jimimadrid’s JTxE text merge utility. JTxE is a good tool for changing just portions of files that other mods may change; leaving them intact, just changing particular areas. If we all (modders) offered JTxE formatted files, the conflicts of incompatibility would be lessened to the general community. JTxE needs to be installed in the root directory of SH4 (like JSGME). The “SH4 Mast Correction” is JSGME compatible, so place it in the JSGME “MODS” folder, activate as you would any JSGME mod, then close JSGME and open JTxE. You will find the mod here as well. Move it to the “Mod’s Used” panel, then close JTxE and run the game. To uninstall the mod, just remember to remove it from JTxE first, then JSGME. If you wish, you can manually change the text figures (workable with Notepad) in the various ship .cfg files. Just follow the folders and file structure that is given.

The SH4 Mast Correction mod can found here:
http://files.filefront.com/SH4+Mast+.../fileinfo.html


In testing I found corrections had to be made to all but 1 ship class (the SubChaser was good for the average). Others needed minor tweaking, less than ¾ of a meter off. While 26 ship class’s were near or over the “1 meter height plus” difference. A handful needed greater than a 2 meter height change. So you may be wondering what a change in 1 meter of mast height does to manual range finding. Well, it depends on the actual mast height of each ship.

For the taller mast height ships in the range of 45 meters (150 ft)
1 meter difference = about 30 meters in range difference


For ships with heights of a little greater than 30 meters (100 ft)
1 meter difference = about 40 meters in range


Ships with heights of a bit greater than 20 meters (75 ft or so)
1 meter difference = about 50 meters of range difference each.

That difference can add up quickly if the mast height is off by several meters. The worst offender was the Destroyer Mutsuki which had an 8 ½ meter difference in stock mast height after calibrating it to a 1380m (1500y) actual distance.

This calibration process I refer to is simply taking a stationary target ship at a known distance and comparing the range found with the Stadimeter to the actual distance. I worked up a formula to help in making the corrections and I will give it to you for future use. I’m doing so not only for those who would like to check for theirselves how to achieve a greater accuracy in range finding, but for the modder who develops a new ship class and perhaps feels a bit responsible to provide the correct mast height for good range calculations. For those modders that do not pay attention to such things, perhaps you the community need to ask them why they do not.

To use the formula, take the manual Stadimeter found range (take several readings to make sure you have the correct figure) and divide the mast height into it. Take the figure and round it off to the nearest hundreds past the decimal point and set it aside for later. Now subtract the manual found range from the actual predetermined range and take the difference between them and divide the figure you just set aside into it. You should have a figure that looks like 1.53048 or 0.24153 or whatever. This is the amount of mast height that needs to be added or subtracted with the original mast figure to calibrate it for the true range to target. I use the process that if the Stadimeter manual found range is greater than the actual, and then subtract the difference from the original mast height. If the actual found range is greater than the Stadimeter’s, then add the difference to the mast height. The next time you run your test the true range to target should be showing in the PK. At least as much as the game calculations will allow, The game does not recognize math figures greater than a tenth past the decimal when figuring range. It rounds them off to the tenth position. This means if you’re within 10 to fifteen meters of the actual correct range, you’re as good as the game will allow for accuracy.

I did this for a reason, to show that accurate mast calculations can be achieved (although there are short comings outside of my control) to manual targeting. I do this without a workforce of computer specialists or a quality control team that has allowed the problem to exist for a year after the game's release. The ringing out of another 10 dollars from us in order to have the Nazi’s come to the Pacific bundled with a 5th patch (that has few corrections to the overall game) is just about all I can stand from UBIsoft.