Milk Cows - any way to collapse patrols back into one?

[Rubini]

panthercules,

Sorry for the absence. I'm working hard for the first GW release....
But I think that the saved .sav games are really hardcoded and nobody have cracked it yet.
In the saved txt files it's only possible to mess with patrol dates and logs.

So, for now I suggest that you could find the correct way to mess with the saved txt files, what will be good any way.

Rubini.

[Vonotto]

How about if you know you are going to hit a milkcow you start sh3cmdr, change days in base to 1 then start sim.
After you dock to resupply and head back to sea, save then exit and restart with sh3cmdr when it opens change days in port back to normal.

This should work right ??

Yes, it will work. The only problem will be the patrol-based retirement system. You will use up one of your limited patrols.

When JScones changes it to a time-based system (which he has indicated will happen in the final release) it won't cause a problem at all.

[baxter]

Vonotto wrote:

How about if you know you are going to hit a milkcow you start sh3cmdr, change days in base to 1 then start sim.
After you dock to resupply and head back to sea, save then exit and restart with sh3cmdr when it opens change days in port back to normal.

This should work right ??

Are you saying this will result in the days before and the days after the milk cow resupply being recorded as part of the same patrol? Or are just saying it eliminates the "days in base" problem...

[Vonotto]

Originally Posted by baxter

Vonotto wrote:

Are you saying this will result in the days before and the days after the milk cow resupply being recorded as part of the same patrol? Or are just saying it eliminates the "days in base" problem...

I beleive it is counted as a second patrol, but you have only spent 1 day in base instead of 28 or whatever. Testing now to make sure.

[panthercules]

I'm getting a little confused by some of the last few posts - just to be clear, I'm not worried about the "number of days in port between patrols" issue - that is easy to get down to 1 day via SH3 Commander.

The problem I am hoping to overcome is that docking at a milk cow is treated by the game as the end of your current patrol and the start of another one (e.g., I'm on my 11th patrol before I dock, and I'm on my 12th patrol after I dock and head out again). This in essence splits what should be a single patrol into two separate, numbered patrols in all your log books, personnel files and other records. I would like to avoid that effect, presumably by finding some other way to simply adjust my torpedo load and fuel back to 100% without actually docking with the milk cow and triggering these other undesired effects.

I was hoping that there would be some text/.cfg type file that stores your u-boat's current fuel percentage and torpedo loadout data at the point where you save each game, in a way that could be easily edited outside of the game. This would let you save the game and exit while near (but not docked at) the milk cow, edit the relevant saved game file to change fuel and torps back to 100%, then reload that saved game, at which point (if it worked) you would still be in the middle of the same patrol but with 100% fuel and torps again. Unless I've missed something however, this fuel/torp status info must be in the ____.sav file and I don't know how (or even if it's possible) to peek into or edit that .sav file. I was hoping some of the real mod whizzes around here would know a way to do this.

[Vonotto]

Yes I see what you are saying, it DOES consider it a second patrol after you leave the milkcow. I do not know how to get around this as yet.

In SH2 we came up with a mod that would let you pull up next to the supply ship and your fuel and torps would slowly be restocked as you sat there without exiting or docking.

[baxter]

Vonotto wrote:

In SH2 we came up with a mod that would let you pull up next to the supply ship and your fuel and torps would slowly be restocked as you sat there without exiting or docking.

That's exactly the type of thing we need in SH3.

Would it not be possible to make a 'trainer' that is a third party program with ingame options that come up on the screen that allow you to press a letter on the keyboard to restock your supply? Some kind of program that 'refreshes' original memory values with the press of a key or a combination of keys (ie. SHIFT+r or SHIFT+f)

Then the player would just have to contain him/herself not to use the key combination until they have reached the milkcow or resupply ship. I know a lot of FPS that have trainers with such options. The key would be to allow values to deminish until empty without keeping them constant or rising (ie, DOOM 3 trainer, press 't' for unlimited ammo.) In game the ammo stays at '99' rounds in the clip but never deminishes. We would need a trainer that allowed our values to fall and stay empty until the key or key combination was pressed. Of course this would cause all ammo, torpedos, and fuel to reload into the U-boat without losing any time but at least you could remain hunting on the current mission without being on a 'Null' one. Not sure how it would effect patrol logs since they record how many torps you have left. Once you used the trainer you would again have a full load out. :hmm: Just wish UBI had added this feature into the game along with wolfpacks as they had stated on the official website prior to the game being released.

[panthercules]

well, an in-game ability like this would be really cool, but I'd settle for having to do it manually outside the game, if someone could just figure out where the relevant data is stored and how to edit it.

with all the stuff that is stored in simple text files in this game, it'd be a real shame if this seemingly relatively simple stuff like ammo and fuel state was hidden away in some inaccessable file

[Rubini]

Mates,
Some comments...

The actual solution for milk cow is not a simple way to get full fuel and torpedos. We also want a immersion feeling on this. This is because you have Utankers, Spanish ships in placid places, dolphins, historical charts, radio calls, etc...
The number of patrols is not an issue for all Kaleuns here. For others the problem is the days in base. So the actual solution is the best one until now.

I think that the SH3Cmdr could be the best approach and solution. We can save the game with a name, Milk_cow.sav for example. Them SH3Cmdr can identify it and adjust the text files and not compute this "patrol". This could be the more simple way. And like I already said the infos about torpedos and fuel is hardcoded on .sav files...until now. :hmm:

Rubini.

[panthercules]

Originally Posted by Rubini

Mates,
Some comments...

The actual solution for milk cow is not a simple way to get full fuel and torpedos. We also want a immersion feeling on this.

I agree, and I would plan to use all the elements of the milk cow solutions already available, except for actually docking at them - I like seeing them show up on the map, and having to go get to one (including the approach into the harbor, creeping in at night so I could get to the german merchant ship that was anchored there without attracting undue attention, etc.).

However, there wasn't really anything immersive about the actual docking process, since I really didn't want to be handing out medals and stuff (which it let me do) and I would at least like to have had some control over my torpedo loadout (which it would not let me do, so I wound up with electrics in external storage and in the wrong tubes, etc.). So, I'd be just as happy saving the game and tweaking the files outside the game. However, if you think there would be a way for SH3 Commander to knit the patrol back together into the correct, single patrol based on the saved game name or whatever, that'd certainly be fine with me.

I may take a wild stab at doing something foolish like pasting a copy of my previous (patrol 11) file(s) on top of/in place of the most recent post-milk cow (patrol 12) file(s) and see if maybe I can trick it into thinking I'm still on patrol 11 - it sounds like a recipe for a real crash-disaster, so I'll have to do a little judicious backing up and try this tomorrow when I'm not too sleepy

[baxter]

Rubini wrote:

The actual solution for milk cow is not a simple way to get full fuel and torpedos. We also want a immersion feeling on this. This is because you have Utankers, Spanish ships in placid places, dolphins, historical charts, radio calls, etc...

I agree completely, and I think what has been done so far to address this is excellent. I would just like, in addition to these features, to be able to keep the before and after resupplying as the same patrol. Not being able to do that ends up being an immersion killer for me.

I think that the SH3Cmdr could be the best approach and solution. We can save the game with a name, Milk_cow.sav for example. Them SH3Cmdr can identify it and adjust the text files and not compute this "patrol". This could be the more simple way. And like I already said the infos about torpedos and fuel is hardcoded on .sav files...until now.

I hope there's some way that can be worked out.

[panthercules]

Well, I hope the SH3 Commander alternative proves workable - my attempt to copy my old (pre-milk cow docking) patrols' files over top of my latest save game (after docking at milk cow) files proved to be a failure. The first try resulted in the game just not listing any saved games after the one just before docking, and my second try just crashed the game.

Unfortunately, there is some tricky interplay between some of the files in the main career folder (like careers.cfg, careers_0.cfg, patrols.cfg and patrols_0.cfg) and the files in the latest saved patrol folder that I haven't been able to figure out yet.

Guess I'll just reload my pre-docking saved game and go on with my patrol - I ran into some calm weather on my way to the milk cow and I was able to get my torps out of external storage finally, so I have a few more shots left in case I run into anything on the way back to my home port. Hopefully, somebody can crack this nut before I need a milk cow on my next patrol

[panthercules]

Well, I'm glad I decided to hold off on the milk cow for now, and I'm glad I had some torps left. When I loaded back in with my pre-cow saved game and headed back home, I got a report of an enemy warship heading my way. Although I had to race at flank speed to try to intercept, I managed to get within sighting distance, and saw a lone destroyer about 8km away.

Since the spotting report had mentioned just a single warship and I could only see the one destroyer, I had already left the bridge to plot my course away and was turning around to move off when all of a sudden I heard my watch crew call out several more ship sightings. After about the third one I realized they probably weren't just repeating themselves and went up to take a look for myself. Lo and behold, there were my first BATTLESHIPS ever - TWO Nelson class battleships with what looked like maybe a light cruiser and 3 destroyers for escorts all emerging from the mists. :P

Unfortunately, it was daylight and visibility was down to about 8km, and they were going at 21 knots, so I had to submerge earlier than I would have liked and could only get within about 4,500m before I had to either fire or forget it. Since all my torps had come out of external storage, I had only steam ones left, so I figured I didn't have much chance to hit given the range and the likelihood that they would spot the wakes. However, I couldn't pass up the chance so I let a spread of 3 torps fly at about 4,500m. Of course, they all missed, but it was still an awesome sight watching them sail on out of view.

I still had a torp left in my stern tubes, and managed to stumble onto another convoy on the way home. I hit a C2 and, for the first time in about 8 convoy attacks with NYGM .39, actually found her later straggling behind the convoy when I got free of the escorts. She was dead in the water and settling by the stern, but did not appear to be on the verge of sinking even three hours after my initial attack. I was out of torps but put my last 30-35 shells from my deck gun into her waterline, and then started peppering her with my heavy flak gun just for grins. After about 45 minutes, there were a couple of explosions aboard and she went down.

I was sailing home to Lorient, feeling pretty good about my latest patrol's total of 38,000+ tons and expecting that it would finally vault me over Kretschmer into first place on the Aces list, when I got the following radio message from Kretschmer's u-boat:

| Zwei Zerstörer-Wasserbomben-53000Brt-Gefangen-Heil Hitler||Kretschmer

Sure enough, when I got back to port I discovered that Kretschmer was still holding on to 1st place, and by a wider margin than before. That disappointment wasn't enough to spoil our celebration, however, as I handed out several medals and promotions to my gallant crew and then let them head off to the best cabarets and brothels that Lorient has to offer.

Thanks to the devs and particularly to all the modders out there, this game just continues to amaze me

Now, though, someone needs to get this milk cow single patrol issue resolved before I need a re-supply on my next patrol