First Impressions, And A Question

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by sober

read this carefully

Have done, and my original patrol went according to that list, so I should be fine. Had to use time compression anyway, as I wasn't going to make that trip in real time. Got the green tick. I'm not worried anyway. As I said, currently just checking it out.

If that bow wave is a bit choppy , go into C:\Ubisoft\Silent Hunter 5\data\Shaders etc...

Will do, thanks. Another thing I see: I noticed it in screenshots, but actually playing reconfirmed it - the bow and stern foam is white, but the foam in the water is a different color, sort of a greyish off-white. I'm surprised no one has mentioned it before; to me it's rather obvious.

Originally Posted by TheDarkWraith

What names are you talking about?

When I talked to Dan in Houston three years ago he told me the new game (unspecified at that time) would give names to the ships you sank, something similar to what Commander does for SH3. SH4 is so much more sophisticated in that area that I would have been able to make lists for individual nations had there been an SH4 Commander, or something similar. Privateer was going to do that for me back when GWX4 was still in the works. I was hoping SH5 would do that naturally, so all I would have to do is apply the research I've already done. The result would be ending a patrol with the names of the ships you had sunk, and they would be nation-specific, that is a Greek ship of a certain class would get the name of a real ship of that size. Of course there are so few ship types in SH5 right now, but I keep hoping for a breakthrough.

So, basically, that's the real reason I finally got the game.

[TheDarkWraith]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

When I talked to Dan in Houston three years ago he told me the new game (unspecified at that time) would give names to the ships you sank, something similar to what Commander does for SH3. SH4 is so much more sophisticated in that area that I would have been able to make lists for individual nations had there been an SH4 Commander, or something similar. Privateer was going to do that for me back when GWX4 was still in the works. I was hoping SH5 would do that naturally, so all I would have to do is apply the research I've already done. The result would be ending a patrol with the names of the ships you had sunk, and they would be nation-specific, that is a Greek ship of a certain class would get the name of a real ship of that size. Of course there are so few ship types in SH5 right now, but I keep hoping for a breakthrough.

I guess I don't understand what you mean by ship names. Can you give some examples of these ship names?

[0rpheus]

Do bear in mind that the entirety of that first 'tutorial' mission has about half the features disabled. Not quite sure what you mean when you say you wandered around the pen and then left the campaign for it to say mission failed... I'm guessing you didn't sink all four ships/fire all four torpedoes. You fire the first shot, I think, and then you have to hit more ships/launch all four front torps before the mission will complete. It'll flash a yellow icon (and maybe a text bar) when you do. Then, and only then - head back to Kiel.

Once you return to the pen the first time (get back to Kiel and click the dock icon, then 'end patrol' like you did), you should get another little scripted section where the current captain is transferred and you're given official command of the uboat. Once this is over, the bunker will revert to the standard layout you'll be using for the whole rest of the campaign. Save & reload there.

You can talk to one chap for your torpedo and equip loadout (this won't work until you've saved & reloaded at least once), and another to open the mission select screen. Once the briefing has played, you can click on the map icons (or the list in the top left) to highlight and request a mission - then use the x in the top right to exit the map, talk to him again and select 'start patrol'. You'll get a loading screen (if you don't, you didn't save & reload, naughty ), then you'll be in the boat in the pen, with all the proper features enabled and all set to go. Only then does the game become a proper sim.

[0rpheus]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Have done, and my original patrol went according to that list, so I should be fine. Had to use time compression anyway, as I wasn't going to make that trip in real time. Got the green tick. I'm not worried anyway. As I said, currently just checking it out.


Will do, thanks. Another thing I see: I noticed it in screenshots, but actually playing reconfirmed it - the bow and stern foam is white, but the foam in the water is a different color, sort of a greyish off-white. I'm surprised no one has mentioned it before; to me it's rather obvious.


When I talked to Dan in Houston three years ago he told me the new game (unspecified at that time) would give names to the ships you sank, something similar to what Commander does for SH3. SH4 is so much more sophisticated in that area that I would have been able to make lists for individual nations had there been an SH4 Commander, or something similar. Privateer was going to do that for me back when GWX4 was still in the works. I was hoping SH5 would do that naturally, so all I would have to do is apply the research I've already done. The result would be ending a patrol with the names of the ships you had sunk, and they would be nation-specific, that is a Greek ship of a certain class would get the name of a real ship of that size. Of course there are so few ship types in SH5 right now, but I keep hoping for a breakthrough.

So, basically, that's the real reason I finally got the game.

I think I know what you mean. Sometimes when you sink a ship, you'll intercept its SOS transmission. This will always be a ship name (not type, a name e.g. 'Indomitable') and a lat/long, 'going down at' kind of transmission (and I've not seen a name repeat yet).

TDW's UI mod will alter (reduce) the frequency at which you intercept these transmissions, but they are there.

[TheDarkWraith]

Originally Posted by 0rpheus

TDW's UI mod will alter (reduce) the frequency at which you intercept these transmissions, but they are there.

It's also the one that creates these radio messages

IIRC I have over 100 names (maybe more) in the \data\RadioMessages\WWIIShipNames.txt file that the mod chooses from. Feel free to add to it

[0rpheus]

Originally Posted by TheDarkWraith

It's also the one that creates these radio messages

IIRC I have over 100 names (maybe more) in the \data\RadioMessages\WWIIShipNames.txt file that the mod chooses from. Feel free to add to it

Haha! Shoulda guessed that'd be one of your additions, but at least Steve'll get his names

[kylania]

I think he's looking for something like this. That was supposed to be a feature in SH5, but don't think they ever finalized it.

[TheDarkWraith]

Originally Posted by kylania

I think he's looking for something like this. That was supposed to be a feature in SH5, but don't think they ever finalized it.

Got it. From that I see something that I could add to my mod though. I know the ship's name (as I encode it into the contact) so when weps tells you via the message box that a ship was destroyed I can have the ship name added to it. But that begs the question: how would he know the ship's name? How would the captain know the ship's name to put into his log book? This seems a little unrealistic to me the more I think about it I think that's why I never added the ship's name to the message box.

[Trevally.]

The cerberus mod adds ship names in the roster
here is the NKLEhrenfels :-


[UnitClass]
ClassName=NKLEhrenfels
UnitType=102
AppearanceDate=19360101
DisappearanceDate=19451231
DisplayName=GE Ehrenfels Type Freighter

[Texture 1]
TextureName=
LightmapTextureName=data/Sea/NAMC_Penguin/NAMC_Penguin_AO01.dds
NormalmapTextureName=
StartDate=19391001
EndDate=19451231
Frequency=1

[Texture 2]
TextureName=
LightmapTextureName=data/Sea/NAMC_Penguin/NAMC_Penguin_AO03.dds
NormalmapTextureName=
StartDate=19360101
EndDate=19451231
Frequency=1

[Unit 1]
Name=MS Ehrenfels
DOC=19360101
DOD=19431231

[Unit 2]
Name=MS Reichenfels
DOC=19360101
DOD=19421231

[Unit 3]
Name=MS Kandelfels
DOC=19370101
DOD=19391231

[Unit 4]
Name=MS Kybfels
DOC=19370101
DOD=19411231

[Unit 5]
Name=MS Goldenfels
DOC=19370101
DOD=19391231

etc

[kylania]

Originally Posted by TheDarkWraith

But that begs the question: how would he know the ship's name? How would the captain know the ship's name to put into his log book? This seems a little unrealistic to me the more I think about it I think that's why I never added the ship's name to the message box.

As Steve said, early in the war they'd often stop and interview survivors or they'd intercept radio transmissions. In the latest book I read, Steel Hearts, Iron Boats, they knew the names of all the ships they sunk right away.

[iambecomelife]

Originally Posted by TheDarkWraith

How would the captain know the ship's name to put into his log book? This seems a little unrealistic to me the more I think about it I think that's why I never added the ship's name to the message box.

Each U-Boat would have had a merchant silhouette book for ID'ing ships like the USN one seen here. Sometimes with thousands of vessels. There was an official one for the Kriegsmarine, as well as commercially printed ones like Talbot Booth's Merchant Ships. By examining mast configuration, funnels, and decks it's surprisingly easy to narrow down a single merchant from thousands of classes.

I would love to see ship names for SH5, so if you & Steve can make it happen that would be great.