Random Crew v1.1 - Add-in for SH3 Commander - NonBeta RELEASED

[ctown]

http://rapidshare.de/files/24465858/RC_v1.1.7z.html

I realize that this Mod may become obsolete the moment SH3 Commander 2.6 is released, as it seems at first glance to accomplish only what is promised as one of many new features of 2.6: complete starting crew randomization.

However, my current understanding is that 2.6 will modify existing Crew Configurations, randomizing a number of attributes without changing the underlying crew structure; Random Crew, however, builds new crews completely from scratch using a series of novel algorithms, which - and I say this with the utmost respect for Jaesen Jones and the ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC work he's done with SH3 Commander - I believe will give the player greater control over the randomization process, allow a more varied range of crew configurations, and enable a more realistic obliteration of certainty.

And if not, it will at the very least hold us all over until 2.6 finally arrives...

Abstract
The purpose of this program is to allow the Silent Hunter III player to begin a new Career (or play a Single Mission) with a randomly generated starting crew. The program randomizes the number of starting crew of each class (Officers, NCOs, and Sailors), then randomizes each man’s attributes, including Experience, Number of Patrols Previously Completed, Medals Previously Earned, Qualifications, Voice and Appearance. The program consists of 2 files: a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, and a Microsoft Word document. It is designed as an Add-In to Jaesen Jones’ SH3 Commander program, though can be used as a stand-alone.
Introduction
Silent Hunter III was fantastic concept that fell apart on execution. Fortunately, many issues present in the stock game have been addressed and corrected by a dedicated Mod Community; one that has not, however, is the ridiculous fact that all starting crew configurations are essentially identical. Thus a new captain always has the same sailors with the same qualifications, thereby standardizing his tactics and crew management strategy. Further, he’d find his crew neatly staggered in "bins" of experience, and would be forced to distribute promotions in "waves" as each bin passed some arbitrary milestone.
No more. In the spirit of the fantastic "NYGM" Mods by their respective authors ("One of the stupidest things in game design is the lack of uncertainty given to the player" – NYGM Tonnage War v2.0 User Manual), the Random Crew project seeks to eliminate the certainty of the starting crew configuration, providing each new Captain an entirely unique crew, whose experience, makeup, and ability is now completely unpredictable.
Random Crew is based loosely on the idea that U-Boats were never sent out with completely green crews, as is modelled by SH3. It seeks to give the player as much control as possible over the randomization parameters, which include both period-specific parameters and UBoat-specific parameters.
Features
• Nearly fully automated, allowing random crew generation for all U-Boats in under 1 minute.
• Crew randomization controlled by a multitude of user-defined parameters.
• Creates entirely unique starting crews, which vary in both number and in experience level.
• Individual crewman experience calculated from an exponential probability distribution function. "Training" experience also included, should the player wish to include a random amount of experience arising perhaps from seaborne training.
• No more "promotion waves"
• Rate of exponential change heavily influenced by level of experience selected.
• All randomizable crew features randomized, including Experience level, Number of Patrols Previously Completed, Qualifications, Voice, Appearance, Medals, NCO Qualification Rate and Name (Thank you to Jaesen Jones, whose First Name and Last Name lists I shamelessly lifted from SH3 Commander).
• Designed as an SH3 Commander Add-In.
• Fully compatible with all major Mods, including Grey Wolves v1.1 and NYGM Tonnage War v2.0.

***EDIT*** There's a slight typo in the manual: on page 5 it says "IC2 << IC1 << GC << KC"...This should read "IC2 >> IC1 >> GC >> KC"...Sorry.

***EDIT 2*** Apparently there are issues with rapidshare. I've changed the link to filefactory and tested myself, now working fine. Cheers.

***EDIT 3*** Back on Rapidshare.

[Fabrice]

Thanks ctown, sounds very interesting, downloading now
The green starting crew has always bothered me...

[Grey Legion]

Sounds interesting,Ill try it out soon

[U-Bones]

Download still not working for me - well after the stated fix. 404 file not found.

[ctown]

Reloaded to Rapidshare:
http://rapidshare.de/files/24465858/RC_v1.1.7z.html

Please let me know if there are any problems.

[U-Bones]

Originally Posted by ctown

Reloaded to Rapidshare:
http://rapidshare.de/files/24465858/RC_v1.1.7z.html

Please let me know if there are any problems.

danke

[ctown]

U-Bones
I saw your post on documentation, thought I'd make an announcement:
Be sure to FULLY read an follow the Installation/Setup instructions included with this. Setup is certainly annoying, but once it's up and running, it's super easy to use. [This is because it makes extensive use of Macros, which simplify use, but complicate installation.]
I'd appreciate any feedback.

[snakech]

everthing is working well, big THX for this fine work

[VonHelsching]

Excellent!