The Grey Wolves Supermod

[scrapser]

Originally Posted by Soviet_Sharpshooter

WHat you on about!!

go to C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\SilentHunterIII\data\Cfg\Sensors

it can be opened with any txt file *like notepad* and if you go in there, theres some visual range stuff with numbers.. id try upping them up abit

Visual range factor=0.5

Radar range factor=1


i reckon adding a 900 instead of a 1 and .05 should do the trick


of course save the original sensor file somewhere just incase...

I looked at that file but got the impression those settins modify a base setting in the sensor.dat file which requires a hex editor. I also read a discussion in another thread here about changing settings in the .dat file to increase visual range. It's a huge thread so perhaps it's talking about the AI capabilities. I guess the only way to find out is try your suggestion. I'll back up the original and tweak the numbers to see what happens.

Last night, I tried another trick but it didn't work. I pointed my boat directly at the location of the convoy, then used the free camera to try and fly over to see what the convoy is doing. But at 75 km distance, I don't know if the convoy has actually spawned visually or not. I'm thinking it may not spawn the objects until you get within contact range but that's just a guess.

I'll let you know.

scrapser

[scrapser]

Well, I tried increasing the visual range in the sensors.cfg file but didn't notice any changes. I let the patrol run in time compression and got the third sighting shown below. This is approximately 12 hours later. As you can see, the convoy is now roughly 100 km south of my position. This is the pattern I first described above. The convoy takes a nearly due south course off the heading it's originally spotted traveling. Then it veers slightly south (shown in screen shot in earlier post) and travels far south of me before beginning another northerly track as it appears here.

Again, using flank speed I tried to intercept it at various points in front of it (I even tried heading east far ahead of it to see where the next report would place it but never get anything). I'm really starting to think there's a bug here.

Note to DEVS: Could it be that convoy reports are being sent but the convoy isn't really there at all?


Thanks

[/IMG]

[scrapser]

Tried another experiment. This time I moved very close to the area where all convoys eventually move to as they enter the opening between the large islands of the British Isles. I sat there submerged and waited for convoy reports. Each time a 7 knot convoy was reported, I easily intercepted it. But each time a 9 knot convoy was reported...nothing. This has to be a bug.

Another problem I've mentioned I'd like to repeat here is how my keyboard frequently locks up for 10 to 30 seconds. Never happened with any other mods or the stock game. It's very frustrating, especially when you set up an attack position, then want to move the convoy closer to you timewise and can't return to normal time and watch helplessly as the convoy steams right past your position.

These things need to be fixed; otherwise, all the good stuff just becomes a source of anger and anxiety. GW is a great mod but it needs more work.

Thanks to all.

scrapser

[bigboywooly]

Odd as I have intercepted lots of convoys at 9kts and above
Any one else notice this ???

Do you have any other mods installed Scrapser

[scrapser]

No other mods installed...just GW 1.1a.

Thanks

[scrapser]

Finally! I decided to try an intercept further out to sea. In this shot, I'm due west of AM17 and AM19 in the AL block (can't remember which number but is just west of those two grids). My first radio report showed the convoy heading due south, northeast of my position and about 75 km distant. I went to flank and time compressed. When the compression started to stutter, I knew I was close and returned to normal time. It's night and the winds are 15 with clear skies.

I came within visual range and marked the track of all the ships I could see. As it came to within 4000 meters, the convoy started wheeling to port. I took the screenshot once it was clear they were on their new course. This is roughly a 130 degree course change off their last heading. Is this supposed to happen?

If this is how the convoys move across the Atlantic, it's going to be hell trying to intercept them on those patrols that send you to the U.S east coast. Did they really make such course changes in the actual war? Seems like it would have taken forever to cross the ocean.

I still think there's a bug once they get closer to Great Britain.

Thanks!
scrapser


[/IMG]

[CWorth]

Yes the convoys did make course changes just for the reason of evading Uboats.
This is modeled in GW as well,as you have seen.
So what was probably happening you were setting up an intercept and the convoys were changing course so when you got to where they were supposed to be they had switched course and were no longer there.

[scrapser]

Yes...I believe that now. I never expected them to backtrack. If I had kept on going in some of my attempts, I likely would have found the convoy. I thought the course changing would vary but never be more than 45 degrees off the current heading. That must have been some piece of work managing these course changes during the real deal.

I just finished the patrol. The convoy I finally found lost a Black Swan and 6 large tankers. Now it's January 7th, 1942 and I'm off to my assigned grid just outside Gibraltar.

I keep forgetting to tell everyone about a patrol I was on back in early 1940. I was making my way carefully through the English Channel on the surface at night when I got ambushed by a PT Boat. But just as the PT was getting into range, it got blown out of the water by two Stukas. I watched from the periscope as I was diving. The PT was firing on me but suddenly the crew swung their guns upwards trying to defend themselves. The bombs literally blew the boat into the air causing it to flip over. Amazing to see.

scrapser

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Scrapser,

It is possible that you were tracking separate entities as well. Not every convoy... and certainly most single ships do not appear on the map as radio contacts.

Further possibility if you were near England... is the spawning point of an outbound convoy.

Though it is also technically possible that the random waypoint radii for a particular convoy are a bit more radical than is typical...

I find the idea of convoys (and even single ships) exhibiting behavior that makes for difficult tracking by U-boats quite appealing!

If every convoy cam straight to the player... he'd get bored reeeeaaallly fast.

Regarding zig-zagging once they spot you... that is stock SH3 behavior I believe... and is the norm.

BE MORE AGGRESSIVE!!!

[scrapser]

Originally Posted by Kpt. Lehmann

Scrapser,

It is possible that you were tracking separate entities as well. Not every convoy... and certainly most single ships do not appear on the map as radio contacts.

Further possibility if you were near England... is the spawning point of an outbound convoy.

Though it is also technically possible that the random waypoint radii for a particular convoy are a bit more radical than is typical...

I find the idea of convoys (and even single ships) exhibiting behavior that makes for difficult tracking by U-boats quite appealing!

If every convoy cam straight to the player... he'd get bored reeeeaaallly fast.

Regarding zig-zagging once they spot you... that is stock SH3 behavior I believe... and is the norm.

BE MORE AGGRESSIVE!!!

Thanks Kpt. Lehmann...I fully understand the zig-zagging once you attack or are detected. I've always thought the simple oscillation off course that a convoy begins once you attack was lacking, especially if you surface in full view. In GW, it appears the ships now take more proactives measures and break away if you are close enough. I think in some cases the closer ships should even try to ram you.

The other possibilities you suggested are why I moved further west, away from the British Isles. I replayed that saved patrol at least 3 dozen times. I never once had two icons for the 9 knot convoy on screen at the same time. But perhaps this is part of the programming where once a refreshed position report appears, the previous icon is removed, regardless of whether it belongs to a different convoy or not.

I'm still a little leary of the huge course changes though...did they really make such changes crossing the Atlantic? It seems like it would have doubled or tripled how long the voyage would take. Maybe they only did it in areas of suspected u-boat activity. In any case, knowing this is now possible reduces my confidence in the radio reports to almost nothing. What I'm inclined to do now is move away from the convoy in hopes of getting a second report later on that helps narrow down their possible direction. Heading straight for the general area of the first report is a waste of fuel unless you're really close and that's even proving to be dicey.

But I'm a die-hard for this mod, which is why I get so frustrated. I hope you understand that.

Thanks again!
scrapser

[Lzs von swe]

Hi all.

First off a big thank you for your hard work on this mod

I have a question though, regarding the file in the title above.
I started a career in Jan 1 -45, just to see if I could make the last months with a green crew and no upgrades, well I did but I never got any message that the war was over or that Bergen was no longer available etc. The game kept running until 30´th May 23:59 and then it ctd on me! The last message I got was off a tf off the cost off Norway. I checked the file against the original and copied the last bit, from 19440729, to the one in TGW1.1a. I hope this will work when I reload the last save in that career, or do you think I should start it from the in base before mission point? I have run a career all the way in the vanilla game so I know what should happen, regarding radio messages that is. Any thoughts on this?

edit.
It worked, loaded the last save, April 13 just north off the Rockals, and all messages were there. Trondheim, Narvik, La Rochelle lost to the enemy and then the order to give up the fight.

[SubCommander7142]

Excellent Mod, really makes the game that much more enjoyable. There are a couple of issues though, some of which I've been playing with.

Deck Gun reload and fire rates are longer, granted, I hardly use the deck gun, but, its damn near impossible to complete the navel artillery exam or take on a destroyer head on (I'm nuts that way). I fixed this by taking the stock SH3 sim files for the submarine deck gun and moved them over, easy, but the problem is it still takes forever and a week for a ship to go down, some actually don't, they just bobble and patience isn't really one of my virtues, so, any suggestions on correcting this so that it acts more to stock. (I've actually time compressed the bloody thing and let an entire week go by, only having two ships sink).

Another issue, on the Convoy Attack Exam (I know, I'm doing a lot of academy missions) the armed trawler is freaking invincible, really..., nothing on earth can destroy it. Crack shot it with an eel, nothing, shot it with impact, nothing, mind you I've tried my entire complement of torpedos, duds be damned. Deck gunned it, point blank enough that the back blow hurt me, and still, not a scratch, not even a little black mark. If god had a trawler, it would have been this one..., Any suggestions or fixes I don't know about, I'm just afraid that their are more out their at sea.

Generally, what I wanted out of this mod was the new ships, the realistic live ports, and the nice sweet graphical tweaks. Everything is golden save for these two issues I've mentioned. I'll continue to experiment a little on my end, but if someone has some suggestions, I'd be happy to try them out.

[danlisa]

@ SubCommander7142

It has been demonstrated that the training missions are very hard (if not impossible) to complete with GW enabled. The best suggestion is too do these missions before enabling GW.

As for the ships taking a long time to sink this is due to the new damage model, ships will sink from flooding rather than just reducing their hit points. The is a way to reduce these, however, it requires the editing of the .zon files for each ship.

My advise would be to wait another 30days(ish) for GWX to be released as this has totally reworked the damage models.

[SubCommander7142]

Well, in the course of realism, I think its grand that the ships sink because of the physical ramifications of damages sustained, I don't believe that they would change that in GWX (of which I'm looking forward to). But I understand, maybe its something that I'll get used to, slowly to appreciate. I'll stop bashing my head in on the hull now that I know its impossible to complete the navel academy tutorials


Cheers

[Safe-Keeper]

When attacking with the deck gun, you now have to hit your target below the water-line to make it sink from flooding. Spreading your shots out to flood multiple compartments is a good idea, too (this also applies to torpedo attacks). Shooting at the command deck or cargo is just not going to do it anymore.