[WIP] WB's Ultimate Aircraft Mod

[Wreford-Brown]

The aim of this mod is to ensure that the many, many aircraft which have been created for SH3 are enjoyed by all.

I'm in a very privileged position as a modder, having received permission from most (if not all) SH3 ship and aircraft makers to script their work and release it to the community.

I've currently got 56 non-stock aircraft which I have permission to script. Creating individual _SCR or _RND files for all these aircraft is ungainly and every persons install has a limit to how large these campaign files can become before CTDs are experienced. While working on a different mod I had a sudden thought - why not use the SH3 engine rather than fighting it.

I've started off by reworking the aircraft carriers in the game. I have the correct aircraft, so have adjusted the squadrons on the aircraft carriers to reflect the correct numbers and types of aircraft that were actually carried during WW2.

Grumman Avenger flying near to IJN Hiryu:



Japanese Kate's from IJN Hiryu attacking USS Long Island:



There were a few teething problems - the SH3 engine rolls a dice for each squadron but then the whole squadron is generated. This led to Avengers from Long Island attacking the Hiryu, Kates attacking the Long Island and Zeros attacking the Avengers. Great to watch, but a little bit of overkill! I've solved the problem, but it used to look like this:



Having received permission to use rubini's torpedo aircraft, I've also worked out how to use mixed squadrons so that while you're crash diving to avoid a bomb armed Fairey Swordfish there is another Swordfish dropping a Fido on you. Nasty!

The 11 aircraft carrier types I have are now scripted into the game to their historic locations, so if you're attacked by a carrier borne plane it means that there's an aircraft carrier nearby. Having cracked the aircraft carrier part of the puzzle, there are a number of other enhancements I'd like to make:

Firstly, I'm like to put aircraft onto the battleships and heavy cruisers that used them. If you see a Walrus, for example, it should be a spotting plane for a large enemy warship.

The aircraft then break down into a few types:
Eye candy and experimental. These are aircraft such as the Horten Ho229 or Avro Lancaster which were not used to attack submarines. These will be scripted as _RND files.
Extant air bases. Aircraft such as the Messerschmitt Bf110 or Curtiss P-40 Warhawk can be written into the existing air bases.
New air bases. I'm hoping that it will be possible to create new air bases for neutral nations such as Sweden so that the SH3 engine will put them in game. If this isn't possible, they'll have to be _RND files.

Credit should really go to the talented modders out there who create the aircraft and ships that we see. This mod would not be possible without the help, either directly or indirectly, of Testpilot, rubini, rowi58, Dagon, EON, Severen, VAA, Trainer1942, BoJohannson, Gerome73, molke2005, JoCreation, kovall, Alex, mefistophel2000, Psy06, Aces, privateer, jimbuna, bigboywooly and Kpt. Lehmann.