[WIP] Wolves of the Kaiser:1914-1918 Mod

[iambecomelife]

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Autumn 1914. Europe is in turmoil; idealism and glory are dying with the Continent's youth in the trenches. Your nation is in the grips of its enemies' deadly blockade. Desperate for victory, Imperial Germany's Navy has turned to a barely tested mode of warfare to counter the Grand Fleet's might. Likewise, a public weary of slaughter in the trenches looks to its undersea pioneers for tales of gallantry.

Lead your submarine and crew against the might of Britain's Grand Fleet. Stalk enemy battlecruisers and pre-dreadnoughts as they sail into your crosshairs. Scout out "Neutral" freighters carrying contraband using an all-new Prize Warfare system. Blast holes in enemy craft from a distance with torpedoes or close in for the kill with small arms, shells, flares, and explosive charges. Cringe as explosions send shells, wood, men, and metal hurtling towards your conning tower. As the conflict drags on, war weariness sets in and more nations turn against the Kaiser. Sonar, depth charges, mine barrages, and the infamous Q-Ships make war at sea the same nightmarish struggle found on land and in the air. The last embers of prewar chivalry flicker and die; desperation to survive is paramount. Will you survive the "War to End All Wars?" Or will a cold steel hull be your only tomb?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


CORE FEATURES

-Choose from at least six main WWI U-Boat types, with more to come.

-A complete campaign from 1914-1918. Start at multiple points in the war. Single missions, both generic and historical.

-Authentic WWI weapons ***8211; torpedoes modified to be identical to historical counterparts. Use high calibre deck guns, flares, and explosives charges in attacks on the surface.

-Prize warfare rules for attacks on merchants. Neutral and enemy ships may choose to respond to your presence and reveal their shipping manifests. Examine cargo & itineraries to determine if a ship may be sunk. Renown penalties early in the war for sinking ships without contraband or ships sailing to neutral destinations.

-Both ballasted and loaded variants of the same merchant ships.

-Supply, sabotage, and rescue missions add to the variety of your patrols.

-Warfare spanning the North Sea, Channel, Arctic, and North Atlantic Approaches (Mediterranean & US Theatres in future expansion packs)

-Unique shipping routes & patrol routes for vessels. Grand Fleet battleships will sally out from their bases for target practice. Early in the war, cruisers & gunboats will be used as patrol ships in the Channel & North Sea. Troop convoys, groups of trawlers, and lone merchants will be present, and cargo manifests will correspond to the location a ship has sailed from.

-Historical upgrades & revisions to your U-Boat. Get larger & better craft as your reputation improves.

-Historically Correct uniforms for officers and crew.

-Win medals & awards for your feats of daring. Get unique items from your superior officer or the Kaiser himself. A ***8220;swapping out***8221; system to get around the 8-medal limitation of SH4.

-Improved allied countermeasures overtime. Depth charges, sonar, bomb throwers, increased convoying, aircraft patrols, and, of course, Q-Ships in a variety of sizes and configurations.

-Entente submarines and escorts with working torpedoes.

-Supporting raids by German cruisers, submarines, and commerce raiders.

-Historical tonnage totals by famous captains, including Schweiger, Rose, and Valentiner.

-Neutrals that may or may not be carrying contraband. Choose to risk closing with a enemy merchant to ID it, or attack without warning/inspection and risk a renown hit when you get back to base.

-Models of famous U-Boat victims, including "HMS Pathfinder", "Aboukir", "Cressey", "Hogue", "Drake", etc.

-Hospital Ships, refugee ships, Belgian Relief Commission steamers, and other protected craft.


-Dozens of different merchants, from 12,000 ton tankers to sailing ships to coastal launches. Hundreds of new skins representing major combatants and neutral countries. New, more detailed cargo ship models ***8211; the Merchant Fleet Mod ships will not be used. Appropriate changes to ships over time. Merchants will gain camouflage schemes, dazzle paint, armed guard contingents, extra lookouts, and weaponry.

-Vast minefields in the channel. Mines may be partially marked on your maps depending on intelligence information. Mine barrages with multiple mines linked together. Antisub nets, obstacles, blockships, and hydrophone stations add to the hazard. No more "turkey shoot" harbor raids.

-For the first time, ship names painted on the hull. Neutrality hull flags, lettering, and home ports. Historically accurate funnel colors depending on vessel nationality.

-New port buildings & bases. High-res terrain tiles based on Google Earth photos.

-Historical differences in weaponry. British armour-piercing shells will do less damage than German ones. British torpedoes will have a higher dud rate.

-Signal flags, rockets, and semaphore men on merchants & warships.

-Diverse passengers and crew on board ships. Observe them to help decide if a ship is a legitimate target.

-Better maritime ambience. Lightships, lifeboat stations, new lighthouse models, shoals, and reefs. Marine life, including fish, whales, & sharks. Debris in harbor and flotsam from sunken merchants.

-More lifeboats, rafts, and survivors following sinkings. Groups of survivors & wreckage randomly spawned in midocean.

-Period aircraft, including torpedo planes and zeppelins. Scouting reports from friendly airships.

-New interface screens, menus, and music to reflect a WWI ambience.


POSSIBLE FEATURES


-British campaign for the North Sea & Atlantic region

-Limited surface warfare, including Pacific operations circa 1914


-Austro-Hungarian campaign with appropriate medals, ranks, & uniforms

-German campaign off the US coast & in the Dardanelles


-Major warships from France, the US, & possibly other smaller navies

-Shore bombardment missions, with destructible buildings

-Troop columns, trains, barracks, and other objects ashore

-Internal cargo nodes on merchant ships; cargo & passengers will be visible if a vessel breaks up or if its cargo hold is damaged.

-Unique items for the interior of your craft. For instance, a photo of the Kaiser, the ensign from a sunken merchant ship, etc.

[iambecomelife]

FAQ:

1) What's the release date?

Really. You should know better than to ask something like that.

2) How large is your mod team?

We have about 3-4 core members, with several subsimmers offering assistance.

3) How do you expect to accomplish this?

Note that this is a modding project that encompasses work for another major game; I've had a bit of a head start with the work. Plus I have a large amount of research materials & ship models from the Merchant Fleet Mod and prior work. Additionally, this will be completed in installments; warfare off the European coast will have top priority. Additional nations, etc may or may not be included depending on where we need to concentrate.

4) May I join?

Sure; please contact me and BE HONEST ABOUT HOW MUCH TIME YOU CAN DEVOTE. Also please be prepared to contribute work of reasonable quality/accuracy.

5) What are the system requirements?

Ideally your system should exceed stock SHIV requirements, due to the more detailed vessel models and higher resolution textures. Precise reqs are not available yet.

6) Will [insert my favorite unit] be included?

Not sure. Although we appreciate unique vessels, more common ships from major navies will have top priority. If you want a unit included, PLEASE help us out, whether it involves modeling or research.

7) What does this mean for the Merchant Fleet Mod?

The MFM will serve as a basis for shipping in this mod. Another modder has volunteered to continue to work on it (although I will also still be involved). As stated above, the MFM ships themselves will not be included; they are being replaced by more detailed models. I am attempting to have a smaller number of base models, used in conjunction with the node system to add variety. Early results seem promising.

8) What do you need right now?

MODELING NEEDS

-Assistance with submarines and surface vessels; I can do the merchant shipping and some of the warships.
-Help making playable submarines, especially animated parts, deleting torpedo tubes & torpedo firing buttons in the interface, etc.
-Help making smoke floats, small arms, & flares.

PRIMARY RESEARCH NEEDS

-WWI flotilla organization (very important)
-Ranks on board typical submarines (how many officers? Enlisted men?)
-Photos/maps of Allied & Central Powers ports
-Photos of naval explosive charges
-Historical changes to minefields between 1914-1918
-Positions of lightships & lighthouses
-Closeup shots of light naval weapons (12 pounder, etc.)
-Photos of British airships
-Photos of German naval uniforms & decorations. Research on different decorations amongst regions in Germany.
-Close-up shots of sub conning towers
-More profile drawings of subs, especially with below waterline view

[iambecomelife]

[Chrisi078]

wie viel % ist die mod fertig und wirt es eine Beta geben?

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Wir wissen nicht genau, wie viel fertig ist, hat er gesagt, er kann noch ein Jahr mindestens, und es gibt noch keine Beta.

[iambecomelife]

Well, after a lot of tears & toil I've finally managed to install torpedoes on merchant ships.

No, not because it's historical - rather, this is the first step towards adding new effects when a merchant ship encounters your submarine. I am going to use the torpedo spawn effect to spawn various objects & effects from merchantmen:

-Lifeboats
-Jollyboats with the ship's cargo manifest & officers
-Life Rings
-Smoke Pots
-Life Jackets
-Cargo Crates
-Oil Drums & Barrels
-Panicked crewmen jumping overboard

The great thing is, you can simply create a 3d object, add it to the "Library" folder, and then specify it in the torpedo spawn effect file & have it appear, instead of a torpedo. This means that you can place weapons nodes all over a ship that will spawn as many or as few objects/characters as you want. The launcher even specifies an ammo loadout, so you can control how many items are spawned. Now freighters, troop carriers, & hospital ships can have the appropriate # of lifeboats with the right characters on board.

Just remember to be careful when the merchant's jollyboat spawns - If it's a Q-Ship you'll get a blast of shrapnel instead of a cargo manifest.

[Bubblehead1980]

nice...really looking forward to the day this comes out.

Curious, what type of ASW will be in the game? Can not say I know much about WW I ASW.I know they had depth charges and primitive sonar, did they have ASW aircraft ?

[iambecomelife]

Originally Posted by Bubblehead1980

nice...really looking forward to the day this comes out.

Curious, what type of ASW will be in the game? Can not say I know much about WW I ASW.I know they had depth charges and primitive sonar, did they have ASW aircraft ?

There were quite a few ASW planes and airships. However, they didn't have nearly as many successes as in WWII. Perhaps 2-3 sinkings, plus one British submarine sunk in error by a French seaplane. Mines will be your greatest enemy, followed by escort craft & Q-Ships.

[FIREWALL]

@ IABL My Dr. has informed me I'm not long for this world.

So could you hurry up and finish so I can have a chance to play this before I go to meet my maker ?


Thx Sincerily FIREWALL

[Sledgehammer427]

you know IABL, all of your ideas sound great and all, but it just struck me how easy they all sound.

"torpedo launchers" spawning liferafts
*forehead slap*
explosive jollyboats
*forehead slap*
the list
*slap*
goes on

[gamer025]

A WWI Mod for SH3?!

MUST HAVE! How far along is it?

[iambecomelife]

Originally Posted by gamer025

A WWI Mod for SH3?!

MUST HAVE! How far along is it?

Very basic stages. Much work remains to be done on player and AI units and the campaign layers have not even been started. However, I have a lot of experience with campaign and interface modding - it's just a matter of finding the time to get the work done.

[iambecomelife]

Work on the mod continues. I decided to try my hand at editing the main menu graphics - almost posted asking for help but I figured it all out myself.

The WWII Pacific - themed images have been replaced with appropriate WWI photos and paintings. The background movie is a dramatic clip showing the Lusitania sinking. I will have the interface available for download as a SH4 mod in a day or two so that anyone who's interested can critique it.

[Bubblehead1980]

Glad you are making progress, really looking forward to this mod

[Turbografx]

I can;t wait! This and the Baltic mod are the most interesting in a while!