* Released * Racerboy's VIIb speed controlled dual exhaust with ADM v2.0

[TheDarkWraith]

well I'll give you an update on the adding of seperate materials for each sub's exhaust port. I think a screenshot will say a thousand words:



I extracted the smoke_volum02.tga from the \data\Materials\materials.dat using brute force hacking (hex editor!), edited it in photoshop to give it a red color, wrote new code in the NSS_Uboat7b.dat file so that it can use this new material ID (I called it 7b_Exhaust_L.tga) and then copied the needed hex code into the NSS_Uboat7b.dat file for the new material. Basically I just made a new material for SH3! Fired up SH3 and it worked! I didn't want to add the new material to the materials.dat file (where it probably should be) for two reasons:
1) I didn't want to have to keep sending out new revisions of the materials.dat file with each new release of a sub that's been completed and
2) it makes more sense to include it into the file with sub.
This will allow me to customize each sub to have it's own set of smoke textures for EACH exhaust port. Think about this.......seperate smoke textures for each sub and for each exhaust port on each sub. Do you see the possibilities this opens up??
Now I have to see if the 'hard coded' tga I just made and put into the NSS_Uboat7b.dat file can be overridden by placing another 7b_Exhaust_L.tga in the directory or in the \data\Textures\Tnormal\tex folder or somewhere.....

EDIT:

the hard coded tga is overridable by placing the new texture you want to use in the \data\Textures\TNormal\tex folder. WOOHOOO!!!

[Johann Vilthomsen]

Dear racerboy, Thank you very much for your Mod, its amazing!!!!!!
Thank you again!!!!

[Typ IX-C/40]

Damn! What a nice work! Thanks!

[GoldenRivet]

good job to all who participated in the development of this mod.

nice work. i think it looks great

[Capt.Crackerjack]

Great work, Racerboy, the dual exhaust effects (color, quantity, density, direction) are perfect!

However, during installation by JSGME, a conflict was noted with the .val file from the Longer Wake Mod, and during field tests it was apparent that your exhaust mod had cancelled out the longer wake mod (for the sub only). Can you make these .val files combined and compatible so that we do not have to choose between smoking exhausts OR realistic long wakes?

Thanks in advance!

[Ubåtskapten]

Originally Posted by Racerboy

I have a quick and dirty way to increase wake times. Open up my NSS_Uboat7b.val file in your favorite hex editor and go to this:

00000e3bh: 12 00 00 00 54 6F 74 61 6C 57 61 6B 65 54 69 6D ; ....TotalWakeTim
00000e4bh: 65 00 00 00 F0 41 ; e...ðA

The yellow highlight is what we're interested in. Currently it's set to 0x41F000 which is a Float32 value. If I remember correctly (I'm on the road and thus without my tools!) that's 30 decimal. Making this value larger will increase the 'time' the wake hangs around. You do not want to make this larger than 60 decimal! you'll see a noticeable increase with 45 decimal. Convert the decimal to float32 and then insert into the code above (Intel memory layout!!)

Now you also have to change this:

00000e51h: 11 00 00 00 4D 61 78 57 61 6B 65 51 75 61 64 73 ; ....MaxWakeQuads
00000e61h: 00 14 00 00 00 ; .....

We're interested in the yellow highlight only. Currently the value is 0x00000014 which is not a float32 value and thus is strictly hex and thus equals 20 decimal. You need to make this 40 decimal (0x28). So the change to this would look like:

00000e51h: 11 00 00 00 4D 61 78 57 61 6B 65 51 75 61 64 73 ; ....MaxWakeQuads
00000e61h: 00 28 00 00 00 ; .....

Do not change this value to other than what I have told you! Use either the stock value of 0x14 or if you're going to increase the wake time change it to 0x28.
This is for my mod's NSS_Uboat7b.val file only (will have different addresses in the stock files or GWX files).

Racerboy

Thank you for taking the time too look in to this.
But I must admit that I am not very good at hexadecimals or used to converting between different number bases for that matter.:hmm:

[Rubini]

Originally Posted by Capt.Crackerjack

Great work, Racerboy, the dual exhaust effects (color, quantity, density, direction) are perfect!

However, during installation by JSGME, a conflict was noted with the .val file from the Longer Wake Mod, and during field tests it was apparent that your exhaust mod had cancelled out the longer wake mod (for the sub only). Can you make these .val files combined and compatible so that we do not have to choose between smoking exhausts OR realistic long wakes?

Thanks in advance!

Yes, the mod is really great and will stay with my game forever...but in my opinion the smoke needs to be yet a bit more clear/less dense mainly at high speed, where it is more noticiable. I suggest a linear reduction for all speed.
Just my 2 cents!

[Capt.Crackerjack]

Originally Posted by Ubåtskapten

[

......I must admit that I am not very good at hexadecimals or used to converting between different number bases for that matter.:hmm:[/quote]

That is exactly my point; I am also not able/ready to open hex files or convert hexadecimals.

My request is for Racerboy to provide a combined/modified .val file to provide longer wakes and dual exhausts for each sub type.

[Mush Martin]

I have found it totally harmless to ignore the conflict.
as long as you sequence both mods in and out of
jsgme together with exhaust mod last in and
first out. Jsgme will restore everything back to
original if you dont mess up the sequence.

M

[edit] use of this advice is the responsibility of the user
I recommend verifying it prior. but its been harmless to
me.
M

[Capt.Crackerjack]

Originally Posted by Mush Martin

I have found it totally harmless to ignore the conflict.
as long as you sequence both mods in and out of
jsgme together with exhaust mod last in and
first out. Jsgme will restore everything back to
original if you dont mess up the sequence.

M

[edit] use of this advice is the responsibility of the user
I recommend verifying it prior. but its been harmless to
me.
M

Thanks Mush Martin, but you missed the point; the two mods are mutually exclusive- at present you cannot have both functioning together. We need to have both working together- longer wakes AND dual exhaust smoke simultaneously.

Still waiting for Racerboy to reply to my request for a combined/modified .val file to achieve the longer wake and dual exhausts together.

[TheDarkWraith]

Originally Posted by Capt.Crackerjack

......I must admit that I am not very good at hexadecimals or used to converting between different number bases for that matter.:hmm:

That is exactly my point; I am also not able/ready to open hex files or convert hexadecimals.

My request is for Racerboy to provide a combined/modified .val file to provide longer wakes and dual exhausts for each sub type.[/quote]

I could put out another version that includes longer wakes but I have to have the modders code and his permission to do so. If you all can get this for me then I will do it.
I plan to release a minor revision here soon that has the smoke tgas packed into the .dat file for each sub (3 tgas make up the smoke for each port for each sub so 6 total in each sub's .dat file). This way I'm not overriding your smoke TGAs you currently use! And these 6 for each sub are completely overrideable by inserting whatever you want for them in \data\Textures\Tnormal\Tex. I'll also be releasing versions based on SHIII files patched to 1.4b. If you all can get me the code and permission soon I can put out the longer wake revision also based on GWX and SHIII files patched to 1.4b.

[Einsman]

Originally Posted by Rubini

Yes, the mod is really great and will stay with my game forever...but in my opinion the smoke needs to be yet a bit more clear/less dense mainly at high speed, where it is more noticiable. I suggest a linear reduction for all speed.
Just my 2 cents!

As Rubini says... a bit more clear/less dense it would be perfect in my opinion.

[TheDarkWraith]

by using 3 TGAs for the smoke (they are actually the stock game's TGAs) and the fact that two of them are the 'black' smoke from the stock game and the last is the 'blue smoke' from the stock game this will tone down the density and color of the smoke for the VIIB slightly.
You'll be able to override the TGAs I packed into the NSS_Uboat7b.dat so you can make the smoke look anyway you want.
Rubini has offered to write the tweak file for this so that you can adjust many variables for the smoke. I have to get the information to Rubini first though so he can make it.
I have the end user in mind here. I design items so that the end user can adjust them to suit their taste. What I think looks good may look horrible to someone else so that's why I do it this way.
About how much longer did this longer wake mod make the wake? Being that he used the .val file tells me he probably did it the way I mentioned in my 'quick and dirty longer wake'.

[Rubini]

Originally Posted by Racerboy

by using 3 TGAs for the smoke (they are actually the stock game's TGAs) and the fact that two of them are the 'black' smoke from the stock game and the last is the 'blue smoke' from the stock game this will tone down the density and color of the smoke for the VIIB slightly.
You'll be able to override the TGAs I packed into the NSS_Uboat7b.dat so you can make the smoke look anyway you want.
Rubini has offered to write the tweak file for this so that you can adjust many variables for the smoke. I have to get the information to Rubini first though so he can make it.
I have the end user in mind here. I design items so that the end user can adjust them to suit their taste. What I think looks good may look horrible to someone else so that's why I do it this way.
About how much longer did this longer wake mod make the wake? Being that he used the .val file tells me he probably did it the way I mentioned in my 'quick and dirty longer wake'.

Thanks Racerboy. Allowing to the player the possibility to adjust small details to their taste is the best for any mod. Have options is always the best thing!
I for example, don't like the long wakes mod (They are too much long for my taste as they are in original NVdrifters mod). But also having a option to adjust it could be good.

[Mush Martin]

Originally Posted by Capt.Crackerjack

Thanks Mush Martin, but you missed the point; the two mods are mutually exclusive- at present you cannot have both functioning together. We need to have both working together- longer wakes AND dual exhaust smoke simultaneously.

Still waiting for Racerboy to reply to my request for a combined/modified .val file to achieve the longer wake and dual exhausts together.

Man twice in twenty four hours I have to get more sleep.
M