Searchlight?

[TheDarkWraith]

You don't have to use the pre-defined entries in the zones.cfg file. You can define your own! I made new ones for FX_Update and you can too. It's very easy to do. Simply add the new name to the top of the zones.cfg file in numerical order (the next number in the list). Then define your zone entry (AP, HPs, crash depth, etc.). Then reference your new zone in the .zon file

[TheDarkWraith]

Now if you want to get really fancy play with the ObjectRemains controller This barely used, if any, controller replaces the original object with a new object when the item is destroyed (HPs are 0). You can find this controller in Goblin under SHCollisions

[gap]

Originally Posted by Rongel

Nice work Gap!

I did a quick test, and I think once I managed to blast it off! I have all sorts of deckgun modifications so it wasn't easy to hit, i was maybe 500 m from the ship and got lucky. So I aimed at the lights, boom, lights went off, but the ship was still alive and kicking. Looks like it works I wonder if you dim the lights with the AA-gun? Would be a lot easier!

I am glad that you enjoyed the patch mate!
So if I am interpreting correctly your post, it wasn't that easy to tear up those reflectors, isn't it? Besides this, have you noticed the changes in beam range, and the new UV neon glow effect?

Originally Posted by TheDarkWraith

You don't have to use the pre-defined entries in the zones.cfg file. You can define your own! I made new ones for FX_Update and you can too. It's very easy to do. Simply add the new name to the top of the zones.cfg file in numerical order (the next number in the list). Then define your zone entry (AP, HPs, crash depth, etc.). Then reference your new zone in the .zon file

Yes I knew it, but thank you for the reminder TDW
In theory we could have as many zones as we want. One for each gun, or even one for each part of each gun and for each compartment of every ship. The hard part though is collecting detailed information on armour, strenght of materials used, etc, and icreasing the number of possible zones for giving them random numbers is a pointless exercise...

Originally Posted by TheDarkWraith

Now if you want to get really fancy play with the ObjectRemains controller This barely used, if any, controller replaces the original object with a new object when the item is destroyed (HPs are 0). You can find this controller in Goblin under SHCollisions

That is a good piece of information!



I will put myself at work, but I would need for some "wrecked gun models" that we are currently missing in game.
I guess that these models don't need to be in GR2 format. Linking a dat object would be okay, isn't it?
Anyway being able to export the "unbroken" meshes from the GR2 file would help a lot... can we expect you GR2 Reader/Editor to be able doing it anytime soon?

[TheDarkWraith]

Originally Posted by gap

I will put myself at work, but I would need for some "wrecked gun models" that we are currently missing in game.
I guess that these models don't need to be in GR2 format. Linking a dat object would be okay, isn't it?
Anyway being able to export the "unbroken" meshes from the GR2 file would help a lot... can we expect you GR2 Reader/Editor to be able doing it anytime soon?

The GR2 Editor/Viewer has been able to take a GR2 file and export all it's materials and meshes for some time now

All the ObjectRemains controller asks for is a name using Goblin (ID if using hex editor) so I don't see any reason why using a DAT object would be a problem. Try it and see I would do these things but I'm so deep in the exe and act files (and having way too much fun!) that I can't stop

[gap]

Originally Posted by TheDarkWraith

The GR2 Editor/Viewer has been able to take a GR2 file and export all it's materials and meshes for some time now

Okay thanks TDW, time for me to get my hands on your little gem

Originally Posted by TheDarkWraith

All the ObjectRemains controller asks for is a name using Goblin (ID if using hex editor) so I don't see any reason why using a DAT object would be a problem. Try it and see I would do these things but I'm so deep in the exe and act files (and having way too much fun!) that I can't stop

So far I've carried out two tests:

in one of them I assigned an ObjectRemains controller to the searchlight, placing it onto guns_radars_01.zon. I made the controller to point to another object within guns_radars_01.GR2.

For the second test I tried to point to an external object, contained in a dat file I had put into the Library folder.

In both cases I used the name of the object (well, the name of its main node) as reference, and in both cases I failed miserably: after ripping off the searchlight nothing showed up in its place

[TheDarkWraith]

Originally Posted by gap

in one of them I assigned an ObjectRemains controller to the searchlight, placing it onto guns_radars_01.zon. I made the controller to point to another object within guns_radars_01.GR2.

That controller shouldn't be placed in a .zon file. Game is picky where controllers can be located. Try placing it in the .sim or create a .val file for it or an .fx file for it.

[gap]

Originally Posted by TheDarkWraith

That controller shouldn't be placed in a .zon file. Game is picky where controllers can be located. Try placing it in the .sim or create a .val file for it or an .fx file for it.

Okay thanks, trying to do it right now!

[GT182]

Just got back... been off launching a Mig-21 and L-39. Our usual Sunday morning "Church of the Holy Jet" routine.

I didn't see the download last night Gap but I do have it now. I'm still out on Patrol so I hope this will be able to be enabled and work properly while I'm still at sea. I'm going to try it anyway, but if it doean't as soon as I RTB and redeploy I'll let you know how it goes. Off to see how it goes.

Thanks for this mod.

[gap]

Originally Posted by GT182

Just got back... been off launching a Mig-21 and L-39. Our usual Sunday morning "Church of the Holy Jet" routine.

I didn't see the download last night Gap but I do have it now. I'm still out on Patrol so I hope this will be able to be enabled and work properly while I'm still at sea. I'm going to try it anyway, but if not asa soon as I RTB and redelpoy I'l let you know how it goes. Thanks for this mod.

I think you can enable it any time, since it doesn't change any file affecting the campaign.
There is asingle mission included in the patch anyway, so you don't need to test it in campaign

[GT182]

I tested it. I nailed the deck it was on with HE rounds but it still didn't go out. It seems to me that if an HE round hit even close by in real life everything with in a certain radius would be destroyed. So you would not necessarily need a direct hit. Can you lower the levels a bit more?

Armor Level=-1 to -3 for WeaponsHeavy
Armor Level=5 to 3 or 2 for WeaponsLight.

This might help simulate hitting close by with the heavy weapons to destroy it. And killing the crew with the light weapons. If that's possible for either weapon. But on the other hand it might possibly make sinking a ship too easy. Not sure if there would be a happy medium.

Also I see in SH5 the searchlights don't move like they did in SH3. They've got you in their light as soon as they come on, where in SH3 they moved around looking for you as it would be in real life. Is there a reason for this in SH5?

[Trevally.]

Originally Posted by GT182

Also I see in SH5 the searchlights don't move like they did in SH3. They've got you in their light as soon as they come on, where in SH3 they moved around looking for you as it would be in real life. Is there a reason for this in SH5?

The lights in SH5 will point to where they are looking.
You can see this best when you dive and two or more search lights cross beams where they think you are.

If the lights are on you - the they are looking at you

[TheDarkWraith]

Originally Posted by GT182

Armor Level=-1 to -3 for WeaponsHeavy
Armor Level=5 to 3 or 2 for WeaponsLight.

You probably don't understand what the negative numbers mean so I'll explain. First, increasing a negative number results in a HIGHER end value. When the game enounters a negative number for AP it takes the parent object's AP and multiplies it by the absolute value of the negative number. If that parent object itself is a negative number then it keeps going up the chain till it finds one that isn't. If it doesn't find one that isn't a negative number, not sure what happens (haven't tried that while watching with debugger) Anyways, so let's say a zone has a -1 for AP. The parent object has an AP of 15 (usual for subs). This means the AP of the zone is ABS(-1)*Parent AP = 1 * 15 = 15. If you make the negative number more negative: ABS(-2) * 15 = 2 * 15 = 30!

I actually exploit this fact with one of the patches. If the zone encounters damage then I subtract some from it's AP value. I.e.: zone has -1 for AP value. Zone takes some damage. I reduce the AP value by, let's say, 0.22 so it's new AP is -0.78

[GT182]

Thanks for the explanation TDW, I think I understand what you're getting at. I'm by far the least understanding of computer programing of just about anyone here on SS. And seeing I'm not a modder with no idea of waht I'd be doing, I don't think I'd give it a try changing any of the values. I'll leave that to GAP, you, or someone else that knows what they're doing.

I can live with whats been done so far.

[gap]

Originally Posted by GT182

It seems to me that if an HE round hit even close by in real life everything with in a certain radius would be destroyed. So you would not necessarily need a direct hit. Can you lower the levels a bit more?

Two considerations:

1. I don't know how the game calculates impact/damage from rounds, but if the method used resembles the one used for torpedoes, every box within a certain radius from the impact should have a probability of getting damaged, though not being directly hit.

2. If you are using Fx Updates, wildfires caused by HE shells should spread on deck, damaging everything around them. I am not sure though if ship equipment is affected by those fires like ship compartments are.

[TheDarkWraith]

Originally Posted by gap

Two considerations:

1. I don't know how the game calculates impact/damage from rounds, but if the method used resembles the one used for torpedoes, every box within a certain radius from the impact should have a probability of getting damaged, though not being directly hit.

2. If you are using Fx Updates, wildfires caused by HE shells should spread on deck, damaging everything around them. I am not sure though if ship equipment is affected by those fires like ship compartments are.

The MinRadius and MaxRadius defined in the AmmoDamageInfo control the 'splash damage'