Community projects?

[Sartoris]

Originally Posted by LemonA

[/INDENT]Where is the "gap`s generator" exactly? Link shows me preview low level gif-pictures of excel pages etc. but not a downloadable program.
What do you mean with "Access our google drive folder"? Do we have to create a google-account to get this data?

I think you have to click the "Open in drive" option in the top right corner, and then go from there. It's a little fiddly but gets the job done.

[LemonA]

That is what i get when i click the link...


I have no google account because i dont give away my (mobile) phone number + date of birth for this google crap.

[Targor Avelany]

Originally Posted by LemonA

[/INDENT]Where is the "gap`s generator" exactly? Link shows me preview low level gif-pictures of excel pages etc. but not a downloadable program.
What do you mean with "Access our google drive folder"? Do we have to create a google-account to get this data?

If you look at the bottom of your browser when you click on that "low level gif-pictures..." as you call them, you will see an option to download.

[keysersoze]

Originally Posted by LemonA

That is what i get when i click the link...


I have no google account because i dont give away my (mobile) phone number + date of birth for this google crap.

You shouldn't need a google account to download the files. Click on the U-boat positions project folder and then on the file called "U-boat Coordinates v1." There should be an option to download it in the lower righthand corner.

The only thing you would need a google account for would be to upload completed patrol data at the very end of the process. I'm trying to figure out a work-around for this because I don't want to require people to create an account if they don't have one/don't want one.

[keysersoze]

Originally Posted by Sartoris

Thanks, I think I've fixed it now. I've also uploaded the document.

Thanks Sartoris

Just going into class now but I'll have a look in a few hours.

[Targor Avelany]

Originally Posted by keysersoze

You shouldn't need a google account to download the files. Click on the U-boat positions project folder and then on the file called "U-boat Coordinates v1." There should be an option to download it in the lower righthand corner.

The only thing you would need a google account for would be to upload completed patrol data at the very end of the process. I'm trying to figure out a work-around for this because I don't want to require people to create an account if they don't have one/don't want one.

I believe you can add him to editors of the file with a different e-mail account or send him a link that will allow him to edit a file.

Not sure 100% though, as my work blocks actual gmail e-mail...

[keysersoze]

Originally Posted by Targor Avelany

I believe you can add him to editors of the file with a different e-mail account or send him a link that will allow him to edit a file.

Not sure 100% though, as my work blocks actual gmail e-mail...

I think I've set the privacy level so that anyone with the link can edit it. They will simply show up as "anonymous." If it's not working, or if we want more security, I can invite people individually.

[keysersoze]

@Sartoris - I did a spot-check of the patrol you uploaded yesterday. Looks good to me

@LemonA - Have you been able to successfully download the generator? Do you have any interest in helping out with the project?

@V13dweller - I believe you indicated you would be interested in helping. Are you still able/willing?

[Targor Avelany]

I'll start working on U-36 patrols.

[keysersoze]

Originally Posted by Targor Avelany

I'll start working on U-36 patrols.

You might want to hold off for a few more days. I just received a PM from gap, who is traveling abroad. He said that he has already started working on a new version of the generator and will resume work on Sunday or Monday when he returns home. I've been hesitant to start a new thread and introduce the project for real until we have all the kinks worked out, but hopefully we can do this soon.

In the meantime, gap asked that we compile a list of all our suggestions for improving the generator. Post whatever you can think of and I will add them to the bottom of this post so that gap can easily reference them. I believe the first was suggested by Sartoris some time ago.




Suggestions for generator v2

• Allow generator to accept the comma between lat/long

[gap]

Originally Posted by keysersoze

Suggestions for generator v2

• Allow generator to accept the comma between lat/long

This is already implemented

[keysersoze]

Originally Posted by gap

This is already implemented

I'm having a hard time thinking of additional improvements. The generator is already quite polished. If you are going to add "refitting at sea," perhaps there could also be a "sailing to rendezvous" mission to denote when a boat was too low on fuel to participate in wolfpack operations. It might also be useful for when a damaged boat met another U-boat to transfer parts at sea.

[gap]

Originally Posted by keysersoze

I'm having a hard time thinking of additional improvements. The generator is already quite polished. If you are going to add "refitting at sea," perhaps there could also be a "sailing to rendezvous" mission to denote when a boat was too low on fuel to participate in wolfpack operations. It might also be useful for when a damaged boat met another U-boat to transfer parts at sea.

Okay, I will work on the "refitting at sea"/"sailing to rendezvous" tags right away.
I have some doubts on their implementation though:

• What should I do with the attacked ships counter, after each attack? Should I leave it unchanged or rather reset it to 0, meaning that the U-boat has been fully refitted of fresh torpedoes?
  
  
• Currently, the one numbers indirectly related to fuel available onboard, are the two figures 'days spent at sea so far' and 'total patrol lenght in days', which are automatically calculated by the generator and added to the logs. I could easily replace them with two other figures: 'km travelled so far' and 'maximum range in km'. The first one could be reset to 0 (or decreased by a calculated amount) after each refit; the latter would be a fixed number, and it would depend on the U-boat type selected in general patrol information. I could also retain both the 'days spent at sea' and 'km travelled so far' information. In any case we would be forced to redo the patrols logged so far...

What do you think?

[keysersoze]

Originally Posted by gap

• What should I do with the attacked ships counter, after each attack? Should I leave it unchanged or rather reset it to 0, meaning that the U-boat has been fully refitted of fresh torpedoes?
  

• Resetting the attack counter to 0 would probably be too generous. Type XIV boats usually only supplied four torpedoes during a refitting, and then only in ideal conditions. The Type VIIF could have supplied more torpedoes, but these were actually rarely used in resupply operations since sitting on the surface for hours at a time was practically suicide by 1943.
  
  How about decreasing the attack counter by about 25%?
  
  

  Originally Posted by gap

  Currently, the one numbers indirectly related to fuel available onboard, are the two figures 'days spent at sea so far' and 'total patrol lenght in days', which are automatically calculated by the generator and added to the logs. I could easily replace them with two other figures: 'km travelled so far' and 'maximum range in km'. The first one could be reset to 0 (or decreased by a calculated amount) after each refit; the latter would be a fixed number, and it would depend on the U-boat type selected in general patrol information. I could also retain both the 'days spent at sea' and 'km travelled so far' information. In any case we would be forced to redo the patrols logged so far...

Originally Posted by gap

What do you think?

Yes, I think "km traveled so far" would be the best measure of fuel levels. However, we should increase the range of each U-boat type to simulate the use of diesel/electric motors simultaneously on the surface, a technique which could substantially increase cruising range. I would suggest reducing "km traveled so far" by about 50% after a resupply. I don't believe U-boats generally received a full fuel supply while refitting at sea. It was usually only enough to make it back to France. Interned tankers like the one at Vigo would probably have supplied much for fuel, but I think 50% might be a useful compromise.

What do you think?

[gap]

Originally Posted by keysersoze

Resetting the attack counter to 0 would probably be too generous. Type XIV boats usually only supplied four torpedoes during a refitting, and then only in ideal conditions. The Type VIIF could have supplied more torpedoes, but these were actually rarely used in resupply operations since sitting on the surface for hours at a time was practically suicide by 1943.

How about decreasing the attack counter by about 25%?

currently, logs generated by my spreadsheet contain two numbers which are related to torpedoes available onboard at any given date; they are: 'ships attacked so far' and 'torpedo loadout at the beginning of the patrol'. Based on the information you have provided, I think that we should increase the latter by a fixed amount (4 [?]) each time the given boat was refitted. Do you agree?

Originally Posted by keysersoze

Yes, I think "km traveled so far" would be the best measure of fuel levels. However, we should increase the range of each U-boat type to simulate the use of diesel/electric motors simultaneously on the surface, a technique which could substantially increase cruising range. I would suggest reducing "km traveled so far" by about 50% after a resupply. I don't believe U-boats generally received a full fuel supply while refitting at sea. It was usually only enough to make it back to France. Interned tankers like the one at Vigo would probably have supplied much for fuel, but I think 50% might be a useful compromise.

Okay, it seems reasonable to me.
For maximum range I will use the information on surface range provided by uboat.net for each U-boat type, and I will increase it by 50% after each refit; 'distance travelled so far' will be calculated automatically based on input coordinates. We will need to redo the previously generated logs though.

As we are at it, I remember you once suggested to use commander's personal successes and awards, besides their rank, for calculating boat's veterancy level. If you provide further detail on your idea, I could try implementing it, but I suggest to use only the information which we can obtain directly from our sources, without complicating too much the whole data input process