Strategic War Mod

[Sledgehammer427]

bump
any news?

[General Tso]

Sorry for the lack of response, real life got in the way. I was planning on doing a lot of testing (playing the game with the mod) and I just didn't have the time. As an alternative I just recently started creating some code that builds SH4 campaign files. I'm going to use these files to test the mod. Not quite a perfect solution but it should at least get things working close to where they should be. The different difficulty levels within the mod can then be used to further tweak things for individual players. I'm not going to make any promises but I'll try to release something in the near future - 1 or 2 weeks. I apologize for the delay

[Sledgehammer427]

no apologies man, real life ALWAYS comes first.

[jakla1027]

yes real life comes first, everthing else last, hope everthing is going good mate.

[SkyBaron]

wow that sounds like a cool mod!! What programming language are you using for this?

As an alternative I just recently started creating some code that builds SH4 campaign files.

Do you mean dynamically build new campaign files based on the last saved patrol(ex. more air patrol in the area where you sunk ships, etc)? That would be something!

[General Tso]

I'm using the Python programming language.

The code that creates campaign files is currently very simple and has nothing to do with actual game play. It's just used to create random saved game files based on the values of a dozen or so variables located in one of the Python files. When the mod is running and debugging is turned on the save game campaign data is loaded from the mod folder instead of the game folder. Pressing the F10 key creates a new random saved campaign based on the Python variables. By using this I can quickly test the mod under different conditions - A short 3 month campaign, or a campaign that lasts the entire war. A campaign that has a large number of ships sunk or a campaign that has a small number of ships sunk - things like that.

The concept of dynamically updating the player's campaign would be really cool in my opinion. Unfortunately this mod is currently not close to that level. This mod deals with the player's saved game files. To change the campaign itself would require changing the game campaign files via Python. This could be done but would require a lot of work. I probably couldn't do it by my self - I would need some help from people who are familiar with editing the campaign files. I could take care of the Python part but I would need help in determining how the campaign files need to be changed.

[General Tso]

After looking at my previous post I realized that it may be somewhat confusing for somebody not familiar with SH4 game files.

Among the many files and folders associated with SH4 there is a "Campaign" folder. This contains the data for the game's campaign and to the best of my knowledge the data in this folder never changes. Unless you install a mod that changes the campaign - then the data is only changed as the mod is installed. This is the data that would have to be changed between missions to create a dynamic campaign. My mod currently has nothing to do with this folder.

Another folder is the "SavedGames" folder. This folder contains the data that is saved when you save a game. My mod uses the data in this folder (it ignores non campaign saves). When I mentioned that I was creating new campaign files I may have been somewhat misleading. I'm actually creating new campaign saved game files like the ones in this folder.

[raymond6751]

Keep on plugging away at it. You have a great idea!

I'll be ready to test this as soon as it is ready.

[SkyBaron]

Originally Posted by General Tso

After looking at my previous post I realized that it may be somewhat confusing for somebody not familiar with SH4 game files.

Among the many files and folders associated with SH4 there is a "Campaign" folder. This contains the data for the game's campaign and to the best of my knowledge the data in this folder never changes. Unless you install a mod that changes the campaign - then the data is only changed as the mod is installed. This is the data that would have to be changed between missions to create a dynamic campaign. My mod currently has nothing to do with this folder.

Another folder is the "SavedGames" folder. This folder contains the data that is saved when you save a game. My mod uses the data in this folder (it ignores non campaign saves). When I mentioned that I was creating new campaign files I may have been somewhat misleading. I'm actually creating new campaign saved game files like the ones in this folder.

oh ok. I thought you meant the Campaign folder. No worries. The idea for this mod is already awesome as it is!

[jakla1027]

Any update this week?

[difool2]

Originally Posted by vanjast

I had a DGen campaign all worked out on paper but never had the time... but I'll part with some thoughts..

- Japan needs the raw materials from it's conquered countries to survive. Convoys (and ship numbers) are important for it's survival. Every fully laden ship returning home adds to the points pool.

Points are allocated to:-
1) Ship building
2) Aircraft building
3) Army supplies - troopships reinforcing territories

Convoys travel back and forth...

YOU are COMSUBPACs strategist, and you manage your subs.
You might allocate points to your pool, by the points value of the ships sunk(more challenging), or just have an infinite, steady influx of points from the mainland (as it was).

As the strategist, you allocate your sub fleets patrols watching them move on the BIG map. So there you are drinking your beer when on the map, one of your subs starts flashing - CONTACT...???

When you click on the flashing sub... DGEN writes single mission/patrol files relevant to this action.. off you go to the single mission 'activity' and the action starts.

Subwolves basically would do this-and is still a WIP (if not vaporware-hate to say that but it seems to be the current state of said project). These kinds of projects sound like fun-until you start realizing exactly how much work is actually going to be involved.

[General Tso]

Any update this week?

I finally have some extended time to put towards the mod so that I plan to release the first version in the near future (days not weeks).

Subwolves basically would do this-and is still a WIP (if not vaporware-hate to say that but it seems to be the current state of said project). These kinds of projects sound like fun-until you start realizing exactly how much work is actually going to be involved.

I know exactly what you mean. I got a bit overwhelmed while trying to match the values in the mod with the real game. I finally realized that there is no way of knowing how many tons different players sink per month without uploading the mod and giving people a chance to try it. I'm going to get at close as I can and make the mod a little more flexible then release the first version.

[jakla1027]

Thanks for the update, sounds GREAT cant wait

[General Tso]

After a slight delay I'm back at working on this mod. I won't have anything for this weekend but I'm hoping to have something by next weekend.

[fitzcarraldo]

Originally Posted by General Tso

After a slight delay I'm back at working on this mod. I won't have anything for this weekend but I'm hoping to have something by next weekend.

Great news! Many thanks!

Fitzcarraldo