[REL] FOTRS Ultimate Project

[Kieldk]

And the World feels so Much more Alive because of the new operations system!

Keep doing what your doing!
And thank u for bringing back the contact Colors👍👌

[cdrsubron7]

Originally Posted by Kieldk

Great my install is activated correctly!

Well
Im in a Salmon class sub
And i dont Got radar in headquarters Or in game,
But the empty slot are there to install Them with, but no Radar in the shop menu🤷‍♂️☺️

What is your start date of your submarine?

[propbeanie]

Originally Posted by Kieldk

Great my install is activated correctly!

Well
Im in a Salmon class sub
And i dont Got radar in headquarters Or in game,
But the empty slot are there to install Them with, but no Radar in the shop menu🤷‍♂️☺️

... and as I mentioned to someone yesterday, the SD is not shown as a component of the submarine, while when you get SJ, you'll have the regular display screen, and the PPI screen... one of the short-comings of the game itself. The SD is turned-off by default, so that the player can depart ports and come back in to berth without having the thing "detect" a plane every few minutes. Use the <T> key, and / or <Alt><T> key combo as appropriate, to turn the radars off and on. The SD does NOT have an indicator light whether it is on or off, but you will see a message in the text box about it. Consult the "SH4_Q-Ref_Card_*.jpg" files for the front and back of the shortcuts card that originally came with the game, but edited for FotRSU (thank you very much CapnScurvy!)

[Immelmann]

Originally Posted by Kieldk

Great my install is activated correctly!

Well
Im in a Salmon class sub
And i dont Got radar in headquarters Or in game,
But the empty slot are there to install Them with, but no Radar in the shop menu🤷‍♂️☺️

This may or may not be of any consequence. But given the coincidence that I am seeing here, after reading what you have to say about the Salmon, I think that I should speak up. So here goes.

After the newest release, I posted here after a quick FOTRSU v0.90 game session. In that posting I mentioned that I'd done a complete SH4 reinstall. But I did not mention the events that led me to do the reinstall. Here is what happened that I failed to mention earlier. Normally I wouldn't have done a complete reinstall of SH4. And I have not done a complete reinstall since installing SH4 on my newer computer over a year ago. On this new machine I have been running three separate installs while using MultiSH4. 1st copy is a clean source of game files that I don't play at all. Copies 2 and 3 are the installs that I actually run the game from. Last night, When I needed to change to the newest version of FOTRSU, I deleted the contents of copy two's saved games folder in my documents folder. Next I deleted the contents of the copy two game folder itself. I then did a select all, copy in my first copy SH4 folder and pasted those copied files into folder number two. I have read elsewhere on these forums (maybe this thread?) that this is an acceptable practice and amounts to the same as a reinstall. A shortcut method I guess. Next comes the coincidence. And the reason I post here about this. The pasting of the copied files started as usual. But then windows gave me a warning, for the very first time I might add, that the Salmon.dat file was unreadable. At least I think it was Salmon.dat. It was Salmon something. Since things seemed to have gone sideways on me. I then went and read Rockin Robbins edited and updated post at the top of page one of this forum. He does say to (re-install) the program. I've read here before that we should read the updated post #1 when a new version of FOTRSU is released. After reading post #1, I decided to completely uninstall SH4. I then re-downloaded the game from Amazon and installed it, applied LAA to SH4.exe, and added FOTRSU using JSGME as per instructions. Just a single installation at this time. Funny thing is that the new Amazon download auto detected my native screen resolution and I did not have to set it manually in the game settings as I always had to before. That was a first for me. Is there an app data folder somewhere that I missed? Or has Amazon tweaked their installer?

Anyway I've just barely started a new career on December 8th, 1941. Tambor out of Pearl. The boat was delivered with air search radar, but has no surface search radar. Nor was surface radar available for purchase before starting the patrol. In fact the only thing available to purchase (that I did not already have on the boat), with my 500 renown, was a one new crew member for 250. All remaining available personnel, that cost renown to add, cost more than my 500 renown starting number. And yes, I had to switch on the air search radar.

I really thought that I should mention the coincidence about the copy Salmon file read error. It's probably unrelated. But I thought it best not to make that determination myself. Rather that I should post about it here.

[Kieldk]

An Update with the Salmon

I noticed after my second patrol that the Air Radar was in fact installed on my boat🤷‍♂️
And Works fine

( so my bad for NOT seing that)





Now!

I noticed the AI suddenly feels dumb?
They almost never detects me anymore?
Before they found me easy on the last version?

Has the AI ben reworked?

[Michael Wood]

1. Orders said to report all contacts. Reported Convoy. Was told other assets would be used and to "return to base". In last build, same thing happened and so I followed orders and returned to base. Was told on forum that his ruined my career. So, this time I ignored orders and continued my mission. It would be nice, if possible, to change "Return to base" to "Continue with mission" or something or nothing at all.

2. Noticed in my 1941 Salmon class boat, that the maximum number of commissioned officers is five. Okay. I started with five commissioned officers. But, I also had five Chiefs, and they also count as commissioned officers. So, to replace one, I have to boot six officers and chiefs from the boat. Same situation applies to all boats. Recommend changing value in .UPC file from 5 to 11 or other appropriate value. But, not my decision.

3. Sonar working properly.

4. Escorts are aggressive, but reasonable.

5. Destroyers still firing torpedoes at submarine. Never served on a submarine. M.O.S. in U.S.M.C. was 0251, interrogator. Saw historical example of destroyer firing torpedo at submarine, on forum, but am not sure that this was typical. Seems odd.

6. My December 8th, 1941 Salmon class boat came with SD radar installed, when I took over the boat.

[Rockin Robbins]

Originally Posted by Immelmann

Thanks for putting the ship outlines back on the contact map! It makes a busy skipper's life a little bit less complicated.

Thank the good CapnScurvy for that, thanks to his observation that difficulty isn't realism and TMO, which FOTR was built upon is a difficulty mod making the Pacific War play like you were a U-boat in the Atlantic. In the Pacific, against the Japanese, life just wasn't that rough. Yes, some boats got really worked over, but the average ASW capability of the Japanese was something less than competent. Many "convoys" were entirely unescorted.

Because absolute realism isn't on the menu, and because we want to be a mod that beginners in SH4 can enjoy, we restored the stock plotting system. We wanted a more authentic environment, rather than a bloodthirsty difficult game. I think FOTRSU is a much better mod for the change in direction. Now, without using a line of RFB code, we're a lot like Real Fleet Boat.

[propbeanie]

Originally Posted by Michael Wood

1. Orders said to report all contacts. Reported Convoy. Was told other assets would be used and to "return to base". In last build, same thing happened and so I followed orders and returned to base. Was told on forum that his ruined my career. So, this time I ignored orders and continued my mission. It would be nice, if possible, to change "Return to base" to "Continue with mission" or something or nothing at all.

If you have an active objective, primary or secondary, it should be telling you to continue, no matter what, not return to base. That would only be sent if you have completed objectives given ~and~ you're low on fuel and / or torpedoes... I'll look into it (DynamicMiss.cfg), but double-check your install (again). If you used the JSGME Snapshot, deactivate the mod and check it. Move your Save folder data, and run the game again with a "clean" save folder, and try a Contact Report again, if you have the time. Not a big deal if you don't...

Originally Posted by Michael Wood

2. Noticed in my 1941 Salmon class boat, that the maximum number of commissioned officers is five. Okay. I started with five commissioned officers. But, I also had five Chiefs, and they also count as commissioned officers. So, to replace one, I have to boot six officers and chiefs from the boat. Same situation applies to all boats. Recommend changing value in .UPC file from 5 to 11 or other appropriate value. But, not my decision.

I thought we had that changed like that... I'll go back through some of the old files. Maybe CapnScurvy will come along and comment...

Thanks for the other comments / notes.

I have found two examples of torpedoes being shot at US subs from IJN DD. One sub was on the surface, the other was submerged, with the periscope up, traveling at a slow speed.
#8279 Gudgeon Surfaced
#8284 Growler Submerged
Both Gar boats, and I'd be surprised if those are the only ones. The mod has reduced the range a DD will shoot at you, and the time has been extended before they do. Get in close to a ship of any sort with AA type guns, put your scope up, and observe how long it now takes them to turn at your scope and start shooting. It will take a bit longer than that for a torpedo to launch. Just don't leave the periscope up. The Event Viewer no longer "costs" reality percentage points to use, and will oftentimes show a launch against you (or other targets). You just have to move it out of your way upon its first opening.

Originally Posted by propbeanie

We'll have to wait on someone else more authoritative than myself to reply, but I am guessing that it is actually a load-out difference on an Asashio base, but I do not know for certain.

Yes, it's an Asashio cloned with a different .eqp file.

My question was more in the direction that if the IJN had had such AA beast there would have been no need to waste a lot of resources in the Akizukis. Not even the AA cruisers the IJN had to quickly convert had such AA potential (Isuzu for example had 3x2 127mm).

That ship is a complete invention (an impossible one), so I'm not sure why it's there. I understand that it's not possible to have all the correct models and sometimes a ship plays the role of a similar one, but there's nothing in the history of the Imperial Navy that had seven 127mm twin AA mounts on a destroyer hull.

Can I safely remove it from the roster so such monstrosity will not appear in a campaign? I checked a few campaign files and seems like DDs are usually set as generic, but I can't be 100% sure.

Another option would be editing that .eqp file and leave Menaki as a more normal destroyer.

[propbeanie]

I forgot about looking into that further, and that several of the guns are blocked by other ship equipment anyway... As you found, most of the DD in the campaign are called with GENERIC. Some are specific, but as far as I know, there are no direct calls to the "Menaki". You could delete the Sea folder of that name, delete the Roster / Japan / Sea entry for it, and comment-out its line in the Roster folder, Names.cfg file, by putting a semi-colon at the beginning of the line, so that it looks like:

;DDMenaki=Destroyer Menaki Class

or delete that line altogether. That will keep the Mission Editor from displaying an error such as "DDMenaki asset not found", or some such. Probably the correct thing for us to do on the team is to configure the ship correctly. Going by it's introduction timeline, it looks like it was about the time we had the Hatsuharu pointed out as incorrect, and changed the Tachibana loadout around some, but I am not certain of that. Maybe s7rikeback will remember, or CapnScurvy might drop by. There is a logical explanation for this somewhere...

I decided to go the other route and edit the .eqp file to a more plausible armament, but then I found out 37mm guns and 2pdr quads, so as a fast solution I just overwrote it with the Asashio .eqp file.

[Immelmann]

Originally Posted by Kieldk

An Update with the Salmon

I noticed after my second patrol that the Air Radar was in fact installed on my boat🤷‍♂️
And Works fine

( so my bad for NOT seing that)

No coincidence then.

Originally Posted by propbeanie

If you have an active objective, primary or secondary, it should be telling you to continue, no matter what, not return to base.

Can confirm that I have experienced the same as Michael Wood in at least the last couple versions of FOTRSU. Wanting as much renown as possible, I try to radio in contacts whenever possible and seemingly survivable. In the return radio message right after my radio contact report, I have been told to return to base even though I still have incomplete objectives. I have learned to continue with the patrol, if there are any incomplete objectives, and not return to base until they are complete.

[propbeanie]

OK, I don't know why you guys are "falling through" to that particular ContactReport 50 assignment. You should only end up there if you do not have any torpedoes or ammunition left. You also have to have 10% of your fuel remaining. Whether you contact a Convoy or a TaskForce, you will get the same "50" mission, but in the next version, it will now say "X DEFINITELY A LUCRATIVE TARGET X OTHER FORCES FOR ATTACKING ARE VECTORED THAT WAY X BREAK CONTACT IMMEDIATELY AND CONTINUE WITH ASSIGNED OPERATIONS OR RETURN TO BASE IF NECESSARY FOR FUEL SUPPLIES OR REPAIR X" In the meantime, I will attempt to dig through the logic of where the game gets the "MinimumAmmoPercentage=XX" (with X being digits) for evaluation...

[Kieldk]

Probbeanie

That is what it says when u make contact Report

So u dont have to include it in the next version🤪

[propbeanie]

Thanks for that Kieldk, but the current "ContactReport 50.tsr" actually has "X DEFINITELY A LUCRATIVE TARGET X OTHER FORCES FOR ATTACKING ARE VECTORED THAT WAY X BREAK CONTACT IMMEDIATELY AND RETURN TO BASE X", and doesn't have the "CONTINUE WITH ASSIGNED OPERATIONS OR RETURN TO BASE IF NECESSARY FOR FUEL SUPPLIES OR REPAIR" part, just "RETURN TO BASE". Most players are savvy enough to ignore the lunacy of returning to base without completing their primary assigned objective - a probable "removal from service" offense - but we are shooting for "immersion", and don't want to spoil it by having strange wording. Although, my dad, a WWII navy man who served in the Pacific, can attest to receiving his fair share of strange orders, just being a Petty Officer, 2c... He even got "written-up" his first day back in uniform for active service for the Korean Conflict, for not having the proper number of hash marks on his sleeve during an inspection by the CO...