Community projects?

[SkyBaron]

Just an idea, have you guys thought about contacting the uboat.net site's webmaster, explain the project and ask if he could provide the database used to generate the site's page? (with proper credit to the site of course)

http://www.uboat.net/about/contact.htm

He probably has a file(maybe sql or even excel) with all the date/coordinates for all patrols. I have no idea if he would be interested in providing this file but you guys could give it shot! Who knows?

[gap]

Originally Posted by SkyBaron

Just an idea, have you guys thought about contacting the uboat.net site's webmaster, explain the project and ask if he could provide the database used to generate the site's page? (with proper credit to the site of course)

http://www.uboat.net/about/contact.htm

He probably has a file(maybe sql or even excel) with all the date/coordinates for all patrols. I have no idea if he would be interested in providing this file but you guys could give it shot! Who knows?

Good idea.

I never thought about getting in touch with uboat.net's webmaster, but as you are saying, this project would greatly benefit if they agree to share with us their raw data.

Keysersoze, Targor, Sartoris, Dogfish, etc, what do you guys think? Any of you wanting to volunteer and write an e-mail as suggested by SkyBaron? I think it would be better if a native English speaker did it, or at least someone writing in a better English than my one

[keysersoze]

Originally Posted by SkyBaron

Just an idea, have you guys thought about contacting the uboat.net site's webmaster, explain the project and ask if he could provide the database used to generate the site's page? (with proper credit to the site of course)

http://www.uboat.net/about/contact.htm

He probably has a file(maybe sql or even excel) with all the date/coordinates for all patrols. I have no idea if he would be interested in providing this file but you guys could give it shot! Who knows?

Very good idea SkyBaron. Now that I think about it, I believe the creators of SH3 Commander were able to get a spreadsheet containing the names of every known historical crewmember of every U-boat from a similar website, so it's wouldn't be entirely unprecedented.

Originally Posted by gap

Good idea.

I never thought about getting in touch with uboat.net's webmaster, but as you are saying, this project would greatly benefit if they agree to share with us their raw data.

Keysersoze, Targor, Sartoris, Dogfish, etc, what do you guys think? Any of you wanting to volunteer and write an e-mail as suggested by SkyBaron? I think it would be better if a native English speaker did it, or at least someone writing in a better English than my one

I'd be happy to write the e-mail. And, by the way, your English is excellent. Certainly much better than my Italian, which is non-existent

[SkyBaron]

Originally Posted by gap

? I think it would be better if a native English speaker did it, or at least someone writing in a better English than my one

Actually the site's owner is from Iceland

[gap]

Originally Posted by SkyBaron

Actually the site's owner is from Iceland

It seems like you are well informed. Are you native to Iceland by any chance?

[SkyBaron]

Originally Posted by gap

It seems like you are well informed. Are you native to Iceland by any chance?

No, I just read the owner's address in the about page!

[gap]

Originally Posted by SkyBaron

No, I just read the owner's address in the about page!

For a moment I hoped that YOU were the webmaster, incognito on subsim

[Targor Avelany]

Sorry for a bit of silence, guys. Was on a bit of a vacation for an extended-long weekend. Now I'm back! Once I catch on reading the forum, I'll catch up on whatever is asked of me

[gap]

Originally Posted by Targor Avelany

Sorry for a bit of silence, guys. Was on a bit of a vacation for an extended-long weekend. Now I'm back! Once I catch on reading the forum, I'll catch up on whatever is asked of me

No worries Targor, I hope you enjoyed your vacation

I have the new version of the log generator pretty much ready; in partial defence of my delay I will say that as most of you have been quite silent lately I didn't rush on it and I focused on other stuff.

I can release it anytime, if you are ready to use it

[keysersoze]

Originally Posted by Targor Avelany

Sorry for a bit of silence, guys. Was on a bit of a vacation for an extended-long weekend. Now I'm back! Once I catch on reading the forum, I'll catch up on whatever is asked of me

No problem at all...real life has to come first. I hope you had a pleasant and relaxing vacation.

Originally Posted by gap

No worries Targor, I hope you enjoyed your vacation

I have the new version of the log generator pretty much ready; in partial defence of my delay I will say that as most of you have been quite silent lately I didn't rush on it and I focused on other stuff.

I can release it anytime, if you are ready to use it

Good to hear of your progress on the log generator

There's no need to rush anything; you are involved in many projects, and it is not always possible to work on all of them. I have also taken advantage of the past several days to get some much-needed work done on my thesis (it is now very, very close to being finished ) and have also tried to take advantage of the gorgeous weather we have been having recently.

Feel free to release the generator any time you are ready.

As SkyBaron suggested, I have also contacted Mr. Helgason, the webmaster at uboat.net to see if he has a single spreadsheet for U-boat coordinates that he would be willing to share with us. He might not feel comfortable releasing such information, but it never hurts to ask. I will post here as soon as I receive a response.

[keysersoze]

Hi guys,

I received a response this morning from Mr. Helgason regarding the use of uboat.net's coordinates data. While he was very interested in and supportive of our project, the uboat.net team is unfortunately unable to provide the spreadsheet. (He mentioned they also had to turn down a similar request from the Wolves of the Atlantic modders).

He suggested using the BdU KTB available at uboatarchive.net to obtain the data more quickly and easily. I've read through portions of Dönitz' KTB in the past, and he does indeed provide daily positions for his U-boat force (most of the time). However, these positions are in the Kriegsmarine grid format, so it would be necessary to convert them to lat/long, perhaps using a site like this. Further, uboat.net's format, in which U-boat careers are already broken up into patrols, seems more accessible than reading through the many pages of the BdU KTB. What do you guys think?

[gap]

Originally Posted by keysersoze

Good to hear of your progress on the log generator

There's no need to rush anything; you are involved in many projects, and it is not always possible to work on all of them.

...

Feel free to release the generator any time you are ready.

It would be good if, while I am working on other stuff, people started getting accustomed with the new features of the log generator. I hope to release the new version before the next week; I onli need to give it the last touch ups

Originally Posted by keysersoze

I have also taken advantage of the past several days to get some much-needed work done on my thesis (it is now very, very close to being finished ) and have also tried to take advantage of the gorgeous weather we have been having recently.

Originally Posted by keysersoze

I received a response this morning from Mr. Helgason regarding the use of uboat.net's coordinates data.

...

He suggested using the BdU KTB available at uboatarchive.net to obtain the data more quickly and easily.

...

What do you guys think?

Imo uboat.net as main data source; KTB logs available on uboatarchive.net a secondary source, in case of dubious data or missing from uboat.net

[keysersoze]

Originally Posted by gap

It would be good if, while I am working on other stuff, people started getting accustomed with the new features of the log generator. I hope to release the new version before the next week; I onli need to give it the last touch ups

Which features do you mean? I think everyone is up to speed with what has been released so far.

Originally Posted by gap

Imo uboat.net as main data source; KTB logs available on uboatarchive.net a secondary source, in case of dubious data or missing from uboat.net

Agreed

[gap]

version 2 of the U-boat logs generator ready:

http://www.mediafire.com/view/?7725fcao9988kc1

list of new features:

• coordinates divided by a comma (e.g. 53.31N, 08.12E), as used by uboat.net, are now accepted.
  
  
• new "magic number" format. It now encompasses the following information:
  
  doctrine / report / veterancy level / days elapsed / total patrol days / fuel left / distance to the next refitting point / ships attacked / torpedoes loaded
  
  
• added several base port presets. You should select them as patrol start/ending locations instead of setting a coordinate. List of ports currently featured:
  
  Bergen
  Bordeaux
  Brest
  Brunsbüttel
  Cadiz
  Danzig
  Eckernförde
  Fedosia
  Flensburg
  Gotenhafen
  Hammerfest
  Hela
  Helgoland
  Horten
  Jakarta
  Kiel
  Kirkenes
  Kobe
  Königsberg
  Konstanza
  Kristiansand
  La Pallice
  La Spezia
  Las Palmas
  Libau
  Lorient
  Mandal
  Memel
  Messina
  Narvik
  Neustadt
  Penang
  Pillau
  Pola
  Salamis
  Sewastopol
  Singapur
  Skjomenfjord
  St. Nazaire
  Stettin
  Surabaya
  Swinemünde
  Toulon
  Travemünde
  Trondheim
  Vigo
  Warnemünde
  Wilhelmshaven
  
  
  If you meet any port not included in this list, you should report it, specifying the coordinates that you have used for it, and I will add it to the next version of the generator.
  
  
• Added two new "current activity" selectable items:
  
  heading to refitting area
  refitting aborted
  
  You should use the heading to refitting area tag from when the boat start heading for the refitting rendez-vous to when she gets refitted. Select refitting aborted if for any reason the refitting had been cancelled. A "succesfull refitting" report will be generated at the end of a string of consecutive heading to refitting area tags, unless the next tag is refitting aborted, shadowing single unit, shadowing convoy, attacking contact, avoiding enemy warships, avoiding enemy planes, facing warship attack, facing air attack, facing combined attack, U-boat destroyed, in which case it is intended that the refitting was cancelled or postponed. The refitting aborted tag will generate a refitting aborted report, whereas the other tags won't generate any special report, but the ones previously connected with them.
  
  When a succesfull refitting report is generated, the fuel left counter will be updated (according to the distance to base/next refitting rendez-vous) as well as the torpedo loaded counter (up to a max of 4 torpedoes depending on the number of ships attacked since the patrol start/last successful refitting).
  
  
• Added a Show refittings at sea on map option, to display on map the locations of the recently added tags.
  
  
• A tonnage sunk data entry cell now replaces the previous crew ranking input. You should enter there the tonnage sunk by the
  U-boat commander, from the beginning of his career (even though in another boat) to the current patrol (current patrol included). Captured ships or ships sunk by mine shouldn't be counted. Warship tonnage and damaged ships should count as "normal" tonnage.
  See the discussion between me and keysersoze a few posts back, for further detail on this topic.

You can copy/paste your old logs in the new log generator, and make then the required adjustements, without need to re-enter all the data again (just make sure that only input cells -the white ones- are copied/pasted, or the generator won't accept the new data)

That's all, I think

[keysersoze]

Originally Posted by gap

version 2 of the U-boat logs generator ready:

http://www.mediafire.com/view/?7725fcao9988kc1

list of new features:

.....

That's all, I think

Awesome gap. Thank you for your hard work

I'll go through all of the currently-uploaded logs and convert them to the new format. I will also finish off the rest of U-34's patrols. After that, I think we can finally kick this project off properly.