[REL] Solution Solver 1.3

[Hitman]

i geuss i could have it look for graphics in the same folder as the .exe. If it finds none.. it could fall back on the ones embedded in it instead.

Excellent that would allow the users to create "skins" with their preferred templates

Would this work with SH3? i have been trying to learn how to manually aim my torpedoes but its very hit and miss atm

Wellcome Russ

yes this will work with ANY submarine simulation, as it will simply run as separated application on your desktop. If you are missing much that's probably more because you don't estimate correctly the AOB/speed of the target. Shoot with as less Gyro Angle as possible (This tool by gutted is fabulous for that, as it gives you the 0 GA bearing), and get close. I mean REALLY close, under 1000 metres/yards

[Hitman]

I forgot: What's the poin in being able to move the external (Bearing) wheel? The tool would work the same if it was fixed, wouldn't it?

[russ555]

Originally Posted by Hitman

Wellcome Russ

yes this will work with ANY submarine simulation, as it will simply run as separated application on your desktop. If you are missing much that's probably more because you don't estimate correctly the AOB/speed of the target. Shoot with as less Gyro Angle as possible (This tool by gutted is fabulous for that, as it gives you the 0 GA bearing), and get close. I mean REALLY close, under 1000 metres/yards

Thanks.

Yeh i think the problem is with my AoB and sometimes speed as well. I was using a method i got from a documentry i found onthese forums that said something like "the angle between the periscope and the targets heading is the AoB" so using the ingame map tools i was able to work it out.

The speed however is very hit and miss. i use the ingame feature to work this out (the one on the datapad in Sh3) however the speeds I get tend to be very random anywhere between 0 even when the target is clearly moving to 87 even though its a rusty old cargo ship

[gutted]

Originally Posted by russ555

The speed however is very hit and miss. i use the ingame feature to work this out (the one on the datapad in Sh3) however the speeds I get tend to be very random anywhere between 0 even when the target is clearly moving to 87 even though its a rusty old cargo ship

You may be a victim of documentation in this regard.

In SH3, to use the stopwatch you had to provide an initial bearing/range reading along with the AoB at that bearing... then click the stopwatch. After some time, you'd stop it and it would give you a Speed. It calculated it by how many degrees the target moved since it was started.. which is why the AOB needs to be set.

This is how it was "Supposed" to work in SHIV as well when it first came out.. and is what is described in the manual.

But in a certain patch they changed it, because it wasn't working right.

The way it works now is the stopwatch will give you an estimated course/speed of the target between two stadimeter readings. The same info you'd get if you had plotted it on the map yourself.

So you simply take a range/bearing reading.. Wait some time.. then take another range/bearing reading and hit the stopwatch to get a heading/speed returned from these two points. You can take a thrid reading and have it estimated from the current and the previous one.. and so on. Always works with the last two readings.

How accurate it is depends on how accurate you are with the stadimeter, and how long you wait between readings.

[gutted]

ARGH, just read your post again.. and it seems you are indeed using SH3, not SH4.

In this case the stopwatch could be wrong due to a bad AOB given at the start of the stopwatch process. The margin for error in the AOB setting is extremely small to get a correct speed reading. And because of this.. im glad its not that way in SHIV.

[gutted]

Originally Posted by Hitman

Excellent that would allow the users to create "skins" with their preferred templates

Only requirment is that the dials need to be circular in nature. .ie no odd shapes hanging out the sides, or overlapping of the dials themselves. The program does not know anything about the dial istelf other than its radius (dervied from the width of the graphic itself)

What this means is that if it has odd shapes hanging out the sides, the area you'll be able to grab it from will be the entire width of the graphic .ie clicking in blank space will be valid.

Initially, the program DID use pixel perfect tests.. but using .NET/GDI+ it was considerably slower. I actally made a version with the Is-Was wheels.. with the ship nose and tail hanging out the sides of the bottom wheell... and it had the transparent Persicope dial ontop.. but it was considerably slower in response. So i scrapped it and went with a radius based appraoch.

Scaling and rotating high-res images in realtime is not what GDI+ is good at. Using C++/DirectX would cancel this performance problem out however.

[Rockin Robbins]

Hey gutted, great job! Now somewhere around here (I find I ended up never using it) I have a software whiz wheel of some type that I intalled as an active desktop so that I could just mash windows-d and there was my whiz wheel operating as my desktop. I figured the solution, clicked the SH4 icon and was back in the game.

Is that a possibility with your models?

[gutted]

i dunno bout that.

but version 1.2 will be coming shortly with some nice additions/improvements.

1. Solve button removed. Solution now updates in real-time.
2. Ability to use custom dial artwork.
3. Integrated Speed Solver/Chrono (awesome feature).

you'll really like #3.


Last night i intertecepted a ship and never once used any TDC or map tools to get course or speed. Purely visual attack.

[gutted]

screenshot of the Chrono/Speed solver coming in version 1.2:

[gutted]

Just attacked a 6kt convoy from 90 degrees. I watched them on radar, and figured out their course by matching their orientation on the AoB wheel.

I ranged them on radar a few times, and estimated them at 9kts, but they turned to head for a chokepoint prior to my run in for the attack. and must have changed speed.. because i used the speed solver on the nearest ship when i got close and confirmed the speed at 6kts just prior to firing.

Before doing so though, I played with the AoB wheel alittle.. and saw that i could turn up to 10 degrees and my solution would shrink by only about 1 degree.

slipped into fast torpedo range.. then fired 2 at the front ship. Turned left 5 degrees and moved my scope a half degree in.. fired at another ship. Then turned left 5 degrees and moved my scope in half a degree, and fired at another. All in rapid succession.

5 explosions, 1 dud. 2 dead ships, 1 cripple. which i finished off later.


I'm loving it so far. Been wanting to do this for a long time now.

If anyone has any suggestions for features im all ears.. and have some time on my hands right now. stupid recession.

was thinking about adding a tab to the main interface to house another page of utilities. maybe a speed/distance/time calculator (for both metric & imperial) or whatever.

There is one special feature im thinking of adding, but i'll have to do some thinking on it before i dive into it.

[I'm goin' down]

I am try to find a good tutorial with screen shots to help me through the wheel. I am going slow trying to figure it out, but so far only partial progress. I assume I will be worshiping you soon.