New and Used Ships and Subs for SH4 1.4 Users

[ETR3(SS)]

Well I certainly didn't anticipate or hope for this kind of solution, so let me say a few words on my thoughts and feelings.

I was a stalwart 1.4 user for quite a while refusing to pay for a 1.5 patch to the game (that was a hornets nest back when it came out). Like you, I saw the lack of mods being made for the 1.4 users and decided to give modding a try. That's when I started with the Ohio and Skipjack that Tomagabriel had made.

I never got into SH3 modding, so modding SH4 was a learning experience. I taught myself and asked a few questions. Given the nature of my mods it was pushing the limits on what we could do to make it as close to reality as possible while sticking in the WWII setting. Then add on top of that things that worked in SH3 no longer worked in 4.

Eventually I broke down and got 1.5, and I can't say I regret it. I'm not a fanboy of the uboats at all, so that aspect didn't interest me in the slightest. It was the bug fixes that came with it that made life easier. I broke away from modding 1.4 even though I still had an install for that version. But in that time I had taken over the Los Angeles and focused my efforts on understanding the game mechanics and improving this one mod.

Oh and the hate. It wasn't much but a comment here and there about "Why don't you go play Sub Command or Dangerous Waters?!" "That's not realistic at all!" The realism nazis came out of the woodwork to tell me how to mod and play a game I spent my money on.

So there is the brief rundown on my modding upbringing. Now let me go into detail about finding this thread and my feelings on it, from the perspective of an affected individual.

I read your whole post and looked over the entire list before addressing my work. Let me point out where you ruffled some feathers. You openly did not claim that this was all your work. But you did claim that you converted them for 1.4, thus claiming it as your work. Now this is where I started looking at screenshots and downloading what were my mods. An artist will recognize their work and it didn't take long to figure out what I was looking at.

My reaction. I have no problem with people modding my work for their own use on their computer, I'm guilty of the same thing myself. What really got me was that you took what was my work, modified it from it's original release state, and redistributed it as work you had done when in fact I had already done all the work. Now you might have picked it up somewhere else and some of these changes were already made, thus not fully your fault, but you are the one that got caught with you hands in the cookie jar.

Modding can be a cutthroat business, not just here but anywhere. Hence about 95% of my work never sees the light of day. And I mod quite a few games. But anyways I had to say something. There's no need to be a dick to get your point across but you do need to be firm in the matter. And honestly the only people who should be up in arms about this are the affected modders! And then it is up to them how best to handle the situation. Getting permission can be a long process but a needed one to avoid just a situation we have here. For example I started working on the 688i before receiving permission, but I did try all the means at my disposal to contact the original modder. Eventually he came back and granted me permission but this was after I had already released the mod.

You've learned a hard lesson about the modding world in not the prettiest way possible. I for one want you to continue your work with this lesson in hand, if for no other reason than the torch needs to be passed to a new generation of modders. I've lost my drive for modding SH4 and no longer will, at least for public release.

Anyways at the end of the day all I wanted was my work taken down. Sorry it created a firestorm. And I don't have any ill feelings toward you on the matter. I've reached the end of my attention span that ADD gives me and I think I addressed everything as best as possible. Keep modding, if only just for yourself.