How to mod ZON files?

[trebby]

A. On using the Goblin clarification question:

Gap said:

Should you want to used Goblin Editor instead, you should:
set it up, if it is the first time you use it:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...39&postcount=1
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...&postcount=366
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...44&postcount=1

• open an U-boat GR2 file (it can take a few seconds for it to do it);
• merge its zon file in the project (menu file => merge);

Ahh, this last line confuses me.
"Merging" meaning something like
"melting together" , so I feel like activating both the CFG and the ZON file, getting\creating an integrated view of both files?

So far, I activated them separately (by clicking on CFG or ZON file), because the goblin allows one file to be selected, before creating a window to apply any changes.

So:
Does "merging" mean selecting in goblin, via flile-merge, first CFG, modifiying it, and then via file-merge, separately ZON and modifiying it successively?




B. Motivation on Messing with depth values:

1. After WW2, as an Experiment, the allies investigated by means of surrendered uboat the results of deep depth\crushing. They "dived" (unmanned) a uboat(s), attached with sensors, and looked what happened.
They found out that the crushing Point of the boat was an sudden and violent Implosion, sounding like an Explosion to the Monitoring vessels....
Exactly as reported during the war as "underwater explosions" or "exploding torpedoes", after some time a succesful attack was launched. (At the site of the loss of Priens U47 amongst others...) These men met their maker in a terrible, but fast way.

2. Several instances the boats severely overdived, as described in Clay Blairs 2 Volumes: (Original text Bilge rat)

"On march 11, 1943, U-432, a veteran VIIc on its 8th war patrol but w. a green skipper sank a merchantman. Incredibly, instead of taking evasive action, the boat stayed at periscope depth and the officers broke out champagne to celebrate...

...When the corvette Aconit carried out a standard sweep, it was also surprised to find U-432 still at PD.

Aconit dropped 10 DCs which caused extensive damage to U-432 and drove it down to 1,000 feet (307 meters). This depth "...so terrified all hands.." that the skip decided to surface at which point it was quickly sunk by the escorts. There were 20 survivors."

What I would like to do, and I think is already partly implemented with some mods, is:

a. Slowly increasing damage as Fittings ect give way first, leading to flooding (containable for some time) but no serious Equipment/hull damage. Allowing for survival IF b. is not reached...

b. Parallel and Independent, at best randomized (By SH5exe?) crush depth value. Reaching this will cause sudden death (Implosion).

I think the present depths are too conservative on that....
and realize that for changing it I have to do it myself so...


Any suggestions?

Trebb.

[trebby]

Hang on Gap...

After Messing some more, I think the answer to my A/merging question is:

"Yes dummy, now the ZON and SIM files are listed in a common Frame, on op of each other and ready to be edited"

Thanks, trebb .


Hopefully, the ZON and SIM files are the only variables to be considered

[gap]

Originally Posted by trebby

"Merging" meaning something like
"melting together" , so I feel like activating both the CFG and the ZON file, getting\creating an integrated view of both files?

...

Does "merging" mean selecting in goblin, via flile-merge, first CFG, modifiying it, and then via file-merge, separately ZON and modifiying it successively?

In the context of Goblin editing, "merging" means opening a dat or GR2 file (which can contain 3d or dummy models, as well as particle FX), and loading on top any other dat/GR2 or binary file (sim, dsd, val, zon, etc.) pointing to the first file loaded, or that the first file loaded is pointing to.

The first file must be loaded through the menu file => load, whereas any other file is "merged" through file => merge. Id/parent Id references among the files loaded in memory are sorted by Goblin Editor automatically, and displayed in the Project Tree. By double clicking on any controller visible in the Project Tree, you recall the Property Editor, used for tweaking controllers' property settings. Should you see there any field whose content is tagged as 'UNKNOWN', it means that the relative property is set to an Id that couldn't be found among the files loaded/merged in memory.

Refer to The Complete Idiots Guide to Goblin Editor for a visual example of the features I have descibed above.

Originally Posted by trebby

So far, I activated them separately (by clicking on CFG or ZON file), because the goblin allows one file to be selected, before creating a window to apply any changes.

You can't merge cfg, ini, upc, etc. files, because they are unformatted text files (use notepad for opening them). Only GR2 files and files with a binary encoding can be handled by Goblin.

Originally Posted by trebby

What I would like to do, and I think is already partly implemented with some mods, is:

a. Slowly increasing damage as Fittings ect give way first, leading to flooding (containable for some time) but no serious Equipment/hull damage. Allowing for survival IF b. is not reached...

b. Parallel and Independent, at best randomized (By SH5exe?) crush depth value. Reaching this will cause sudden death (Implosion).

I think the present depths are too conservative on that....
and realize that for changing it I have to do it myself so...

Good plan

Originally Posted by trebby

Any suggestions?

Trebb.

yes, a few of them:

1. going by what TDW has recently stated on the topic, crash depths stored in each sub's cfg files override the analogue zon file settings.

2. you can make single systems to take damage/fail at certain depths, independently from u-boat hull's main crush depth. This is done through the 'Crash Depth' property of each system's damage zone (Zones.cfg). In stock game, not every zone has a 'Crash Depth' line, but you can add it manually and it will be correctly applied in game (with some randomness added), as tested a while back by vdr1981.

3. most of the features you are suggesting are already (at least partly) implemented in Reworked Submarine Damage, or they would meddle with it anyway. Before you go on, I suggest you getting in touch with vdr1981, and agreeing with him upon any change his mod might require to meet your ideas. In my opinion, expanding RSD with the features you are suggesting, would be preferable to having two interdependent mods, one of which would become obsolete every time the other is updated. If you have followed the chronic debate about mod compatibility in SH5, you know what I mean

[trebby]

OK Gap,

I will contact Vecko and see if (based on historical data) he can be interested on finetuning the max depth/damage values.
The Beauty of his mod is the relative accessibility/simplicity, indeed nobody Needs another mod if ist just a variant.(if I ever manage it)

I changed all CFG SIM ZON files as also TDW mentioned, but did not manage to be able to "cruize" at 204plus meter without taking serious damage.

I set all to 500m (exaggerated even if some multiplicator is considered, but ist to notice a difference) and still got:

1. Hydrophone damage, then inop at about 100m.(?)
2. 204m: press hull damage and flooding and Torpedo Computer damage.
3. Hull integrety loss from 360m, till 100 pct.
4. Death Screen at 460m. (shortly after hull integrety at 100 pct)

Maybe I have to Change the depth in which the different Systems fail as well, via 'Crash Depth' property.
I will take a Long and good look at your Explanation above Gap, and yes I did check all your links before, just a bit thick in the skull

Trebb.