[TEC] Adding/Importing new units / SH5 Damage/collision models

[TheDarkWraith]

Originally Posted by stoianm

Awsome... so you just show us how to do and we need somebody to import the ships and to put in the campaigns?

It's a little more involved than simply taking a unit from SH3/4 and putting it into SH5. Wait for my next post on importing a unit from SH3 to see how it's done correctly

[urfisch]

great stuff!!!

[TheDarkWraith]

Now we'll import a unit from SH3 into SH5. The unit we will import is NPT_Br. What I'm about to tell you applies ONLY to single hull ships (applies to airplanes as well)!!

Copy the whole NPT_Br folder from Silent Hunter III\data\Sea to your Silent Hunter 5\data\Sea folder.

Open up the Silent Hunter 5\data\Sea\NPT_Br folder. There are some files that are not used by SH5 and thus we need to delete them. Delete the following files:
- NPT_Br_en.txt and
- NPT_Br_ge.txt

Now convert the NPT_PatrolBoat_shp.tga file into a .dds file using a convert program (I use Photoshop CS4).

Now open up the NPT_PatrolBoat_sil.tga file with an image editor. Once again I use Photoshop CS4. Add an alpha channel to the image. Make the alpha channel mirror the image in the non-alpha channels. Save as .dds file using DXT5 format with interpolated alpha. All of this is very important is you wish to have the unit display in the stock ship recognition manual and in my SOAN.

Open up the NPT_Br.cfg file. Edit it to make it look like the below:

[Unit]
ClassName=PTElco
3DModelFileName=data/Sea/NPT_Br/NPT_Br
UnitType=0
MaxSpeed=44
Length=24.7
Width=6.6
Mast=5
Draft=1.2
Displacement=35
RenownAwarded=35
CrewComplement=3
SurvivalRate=70
SurvivalPercentage=40
RecManualCategory=EscortShip
BowShape=Raked

;*********** THE END **************

Now the above highlighted in yellow is very important! The path is the path to the unit and the file is the main (no parent) Type 4/100 node of the unit.

Save the file and close it.

Now open up the NPT_Br.eqp file and make it look like the below:

[Equipment 1]
NodeName=A01
LinkName=20mmSingle_PT
StartDate=19380101
EndDate=19451231

[Equipment 2]
NodeName=A02
LinkName=20mmSingle_PT
StartDate=19380101
EndDate=19451231

[Equipment 3]
NodeName=A03
LinkName=20mmGBSingle
StartDate=19380101
EndDate=19451231

[Equipment 4]
NodeName=L01
LinkName=NULL;REF_small01
StartDate=19380101
EndDate=19451231

I will provide a link to the SH3 gun files at the end of this post. Save the file and close it.

The .zon file is compatible with SH5 so nothing to edit there (you have to ensure that all the zone types have compatible entries in SH5's Zones.cfg file!). The .sns file contains entries that SH5 has for sensors so nothing to edit there either. The .dsd, .sim, and .val files are compatible also so nothing to edit there either. All that is left to do is edit the NPT_Br.dat file to give it a collision model for shells/torpedoes/DCs.

What you have to do is add another Type 4/100 node with the parent as NPT_Br (ID of 0x8D1E68F58AFDFFFF). The 3D model for this Type 4/100 node will be the same as the 3D model of NPT_Br (ID of 0x4A6B640E3041299F). One could make a simplified 3D model of the ship and use that 3D model in place of the actual 3D model like I did here. The X,Y,Z,Pitch,Yaw, and Roll for this Type 4/100 will all be 0x0. There will be NO texture for this Type 4/100 node. This Type 4/100 Node will NOT be visible either! This Type 4/100 node will be named 'DMG_col_NPT_Br'. It HAS to be this name!! This type 4/100 Node will provide the unit with the ability to take damage/collision from shells/torpedoes/DCs.
Now delete every instance of SHD_, DynamicShadow, and reflect_ (and their child nodes!) as they are not supported in SH5. If you try and leave water reflections you will get strange artifacts on the horizon from them.

Now the last thing we have to do in the .dat file for this unit is adjust the textures so that the disable z-buffer write + enable alpha blend is NOT enabled. I use hex editor to make these adjustments. The value for this will be 0x1C850000 vice 0x1D850000. ALL textures have to have this disabled!

Now we have a functional unit that will be rendered in SH5. It will take damage from shells/torpedoes/DCs and from collisions with other units. This is just the basic needed to get a unit into SH5.

What needs to be done next is tweaking the ship wake (actually redoing the shipwake with the new controllers from SH5), adjusting the bow splash and other tweaking.

Now to have the unit be able to be used in SH5 you have to create roster entries for it. I'll include files for this at the end of this post.

Like I said this is the BARE minimum to get a unit into SH5. This just gets a new unit into SH5.

Here is everything needed to get this new unit into the game. It includes a single mission to see it also. Unzip straight to MODS folder. You can use this for reference on importing/making your own single hull units into SH5. This applies to airplanes as well!

http://www.gamefront.com/files/20231..._Br_For_SH5_7z

Once I figure out how to import multi-hull units into SH5 I will make another post. Until then I'm hoping to see some new single hull units and aircraft from you all!!

[iambecomelife]

I have been thinking about a workaround for the inability to create units that break up:

Why not designate the ship's bow as, for instance, a mast or ventilation duct in the S3ditor zones property tree? While modding SH3 I designated pieces of deck cargo as "masts", with no ill effect.

For instance, masts are designated as "type 15"; just create half a ship as the parent object and then import the bow, designating it "type 15" in the editor and maneuvering it into the right place.

This would have the added benefit of making it possible for a ship to lose its bow without being destroyed, as was the case on certain occasions (see, for instance, the attack on "Esso Nashville" in 1942):

http://uboat.net/allies/merchants/ships/1461.html

[TheDarkWraith]

One step closer to importing units with multiple hulls. Recognize this beauty? It's SH3's NKC3


And here it is being torpedoed!


It was destroyed by torpedoes and sunk without CTD or any problems. The only problem was the hull didn't split into two pieces like it should. One step closer.........More work to do

[stoianm]

nice... the ships design imported from sh3.... can be improuved to look a bit closer to sh5 ships graphics?

[TheDarkWraith]

Originally Posted by stoianm

nice... the ships design imported from sh3.... can be improuved to look a bit closer to sh5 ships graphics?

yes they can. Since these ships are using .dat files one can export the 3D models out of them, fix them up, then import them back into the .dat files. Very easy to do

And it looks like we won't be able to have multiple hulled ships splitting in two when they are killed. This isn't really a game killer though. At least we can get multi-hulled units into SH5 now!