There will be no more FTT

[Ducimus]

I've freaking had with the bugs. I quit.













Seriously....










No really!










Ok, like that was gonna fool anybody



The modpack isn't going away, its just being redefined in its aim, and renamed.

"Flavored to taste" was something that i came up with when i was tweaking SH3:GWX, to taste. The full title originally was, "GWX Flavored to taste". The name to me denotes a tweaking or seasoning of a finished product. (kind of like adding A1 steak sauce ) Not that of a standalone modpack. FTT in SH4, orginally was meant as just a quick fix to get the game playable whilist we (I, ) wait for patches. Not to mention as sort of "dude, heres a fix for that, stop whining!".

But over time its grown, and after the work ive done to it the last couple days its sligthly bigger, and its not getting any smaller. Right now, uncompressed, its sitting at about 43 MB. So i think its at a point now where i need to acknowledge that, its not just a quick fix, but, much to my chagrin, one of the two leading modpacks for Sh4. How it endedup that way is beyond me, but, it happened.

So what exactly is FTT turning into?
Thats arguably the hardest thing for me to put into words.
I have always felt, that a career game in Sh3 and SH4, should play out like a good book. Sim though it may be, its also a game, and games are meant to entertain. This is why ive always felt it should be an epic journey that that is ended by surviving the war, or an untimely demise. But it should feel like a good story as you play it. This leads me to a related subject,

The Edward Beach influence:
Edward Beach's books, (Particuarlly, "Submarine!" and "Trigger"), i think are what really got me interested in subs. Beach had a way of telling things about the US sub service, in the most intimate detail, but in a dramatic way that really got your interest. If it wasnt for Beach, id have never gotten into subsims at all. Looking back, the influence his books have had on me has been profound, and it has effected everything ive done in reguards to Sh3, and SH4. Some people here may remember my FTT for GWX splash screen, where i cited a little two word sentence, "In far off lands, there are no friends on hand to answer a call of distress". It's from the same source as my signiture.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Tri...e_Trigger_Maru

(and yes the the USS trigger did see Fujiyama and stop to admire the view)

To me, that little poem, is the embodyment of what WW2 submarines was all about, and its stuck with me for some odd reason. So, i think im just going to give in, and acknowledge this influce, by renaming this mod to "The trigger Maru". (id use seawolves, but ahh.. well, screw you X1 software)

So all that said, whats the focus?
1.) Within reason, To make the game more challenging (not atlantic challenging, but not far from it either)

2.) To make the game more astheticly pleasing to play, by removing annoyances (within reason without straying too far from being "realistic" or historically correct)

3.) To be as realistic as possible, and yet present that strive for realism, with a dramatic flare to hopefully create something a bit more engaging. Detailed and dramatic. D&D!



Realism:
Im going to leave, exacting realism (and its many defintions) to Berry's RFB. There is absolutely no sense for this mod pack to exist if i was striving for ultra historicaly correct, every rivet in its place "realism". If i was, i may as well pack my bags and ask to join Berry's mod team (assuming he has one). Realism to me is word that ive always felt was subjective considering few of us acutally served on a WW2 diesalboat.

That said, im not going off the deepend into arcade-land either. This mod will infact, probably be HARDER then RFB in some aspects. (AI for instance). But i will always strive to make things that have hard facts behind them, as realistic as possible, so long as it isnt something that exists only to blatantly annoy.



So your calling it The Trigger Maru now?

yeah, TTM for short. (had to have that 3 letter acrynym you know? ) Or you could remove "the" from it and call it TM. Sound lame? WIthout knowing the influce behind it, yah i suppose it sounds really lame. But, hey its my mod, and i cant think of anything better then to acknowledge what got me into subs in the first place. Ned beach's books and a poem.



Commitment level:
Im leaving my commitment level on this open ended. I can't do it all, so there will be 3rd party mods ill be using (sources cited of course), or i may ask for requests, but i don't think im going to form any sort of team. If anyone wants to help, its purely on a voluntary basis, no commitment or expectations will be made of anyone. And i reserve the right to get burnout at anypoint in time


First version:

Ill probably post it sometime tommrrow. then take a break, and yes, im dreading patch 1.3. This mods getting big.



Immediate future plans:

- try and wait for patch 1.3 before adding too much more
- improve harbor defenses
- German monsun boats
- implent NYGM visual sensor node dat file (this will be a ton of work, and im waiting tell after patch 1.3 to see if it will be neccessary, if it is, and this works, i'll have the AI nice n toasty, and airplanes a divebombing, and there will be much joy )


Long termgoal:
- further reworking of campaign MIS files.
- torpedo dud rate
- anything else that seems like a good idea.

[FooFighters]

wow.. you scared me

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

I like the name " The Trigger Maru"

p.s. I also taken some days of from painting hi-res subs..
This game bugs me bigtime.. I am working on the salmon after finishing Gato and Balao.
The Gato and Balao worked great (except the mirror image thing), but the Salmon uses the same texture on several part of the boat. So it makes it very hard to paint.. stupid layout textures

I am now on patrol.. and see how great this game really is (with FTT afcourse ).
For now I love it every minute..

Keep up the great work !
Foo

[CaptainCox]

WOW, my ticker almost went there. Actually to sit out until 1.3 is not a bad strategy with a mega mod like this...a lot of script to correct!

[kakemann]

Ducimus, you care about us to much to quit and leave us behind! :rotfl:
You got me, though!

[joea]

DUDE

[Hitman]

How it endedup that way is beyond me, but, it happened.

Ha....tell that to me....not long ago I was a happy bachelor and now I have two sons destructing my home .

Seriously,

I'm happy that you will continue your work in SH4

[ReallyDedPoet]

Good news Ducimus, didn't believe the bugs comment for a second.

RDP

[Bilge_Rat]

sounds good!

[DURUK]

great news ducimus.. though whish i'd be capable to help by any means.. felt like a real conusmer here
wuhaa.. i'm a seaman now..

[ReallyDedPoet]

Something else, like your ideas on harbor defence, take it you saw the thread here on this topic

RDP

[MaxT.dk]

QUITTER! :rotfl:

[castorp345]

Capt'n Beach was indeed a great warrior poet.

[LZ_Baker]

Thanks for all your hard work mate. Like I've said previous, I'd be more than willing to give you a hand with anything. I've never really gotten deep into SH3/4 modding but I'll learn or I'd be willing to test things out for you as well.

[FooFighters]

Originally Posted by MaxT.dk

QUITTER! :rotfl:

:p :p :p :p

[AVGWarhawk]

I had to take two nitroglycerin pills to stop my heart from palpatating.