SH4+FOTRSU - map icons

[XenonSurf]

I have looked in the various docs and sub-mods that come with FORTSU, but didn't find it:

Is there a way to make all NavMap icons grey so you cannot tell immediately if it's a friend or foe? I just want to keep all symbols as they are - but just grey.

What I want is probably not just limited to the map icons: The mod is far too easy when it comes to identify targets, the recognition manual is pretty useless then, unless you want to look for the target's draft in order to setup a magnetic contact torpedo hit below the keel of the target. I notice that as soon as a target is in sight then BAM - your watch crew immediately can tell if friend or foe (blue or red icon on the NavMap, even at dark night with a target as far as 3 nautical miles!), plus the ship class and name is immediately revealed when looking through periscope or UZO.
That's really too easy to my taste, and not very realistic I'm not a hardcore sub gamer to use manual TDC (although I certainly could), but at least I'd like some challenge when it comes to find or classify targets.
Is there a sub-mod to change that?


Thanks,
XS

[propbeanie]

We do have a TMO-style "Targeting" mod sitting in the wings almost ready to go, and another that I cannot remember what all is in it, but it will be a bit before we get to those... but what you are after is the little box just staying grey, no matter how close you get to it, and maybe having to hit the "ID Target" button to have it pop-up in the target name box? Get rid of the "direction" tail? When you get zoomed-in to the last two or three levels, and you see the little ship icon, get rid of those?

[XenonSurf]

Hi Propbearnie,
no, the tail of the icons is fortunately gone already in the current FOTRSU version. It would be great - at least for me - if I could change all icons being grey. I have found at the end of the TMO manual a clue of doing so, but I'm afraid of just transfering the relevant files into FOTRSU.


The TMO manual says this:


---------------
4.) How do i cheat bigtime, and get back "tails" and sensor information on the navigation map?
Disable TMO, and delete the following two files:
\Data\Menu\gui\ContLine.dds
\Data\Menu\gui\DashLine.dds
---------------


This means I could maybe go in the TMO mod and use its modded files above, but at the risk of messing-up FOTRSU. Or can I do just that?


Thanks,

[propbeanie]

There are also the Units folder, but I do not have my notes available here. Maybe someone else will pipe in.

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by XenonSurf

Hi Propbearnie,

---------------
4.) How do i cheat bigtime, and get back "tails" and sensor information on the navigation map?
Disable TMO, and delete the following two files:
\Data\Menu\gui\ContLine.dds
\Data\Menu\gui\DashLine.dds
---------------

Thanks,

if you want tails, copy the stock files you have listed above to a personal mod and apply it after FOTRSU.
it works because i have the same mod set.

good luck.

[XenonSurf]

Originally Posted by KaleunMarco

if you want tails, copy the stock files you have listed above to a personal mod and apply it after FOTRSU.
it works because i have the same mod set.

good luck.

Do these files only add / remove tails, or also change color to grey if I use these files from other mods? I will do some experiments to see if I get what I want.


Thanks,
XS

Originally Posted by XenonSurf

4.) How do i cheat bigtime, and get back "tails" and sensor information on the navigation map?
Disable TMO, and delete the following two files:
\Data\Menu\gui\ContLine.dds
\Data\Menu\gui\DashLine.dds

ContlLine.dds removes the tails from friend and foe.

DashLine.dds removes those awful circles indicating sonar, radar, etc. around enemy warships.

You don't need to delete the file; just change the file name such as:
XXContlLine.dds

I like DashLine left in and ContLine deleted to restore tails.

[XenonSurf]

Originally Posted by von Zelda

ContlLine.dds removes the tails from friend and foe.

DashLine.dds removes those awful circles indicating sonar, radar, etc. around enemy warships.

You don't need to delete the file; just change the file name such as:
XXContlLine.dds

I like DashLine left in and ContLine deleted to restore tails.

Thanks, von Zelda, I'll do some replacements now and will see what comes out for me.



Greetings,
XS

[XenonSurf]

Here are my results for the NavMap icons after my experiments:

a)
The 2 files
\Data\Menu\gui\ContLine.dds
\Data\Menu\gui\DashLine.dds

will change Tail or no Tail on ship icons; depending on the dds used in stock or in the mod. In TMO, ships come with no tails.

b)
Red icon color / Blue icon color or Grey color for all:
This one is more complicated, because icons come in 2 groups: those zoomed-out and those which are zoomed-in and appearing as small ship bars. Both must have their color changed to grey to be not identified immediately as friend or foe.

Zoomed-out units:
The entire Units folder in Data\Menu\gui\ contains all ship, air and land unit icons for zoomed-out view on the map. In TMO these files will produce grey units on the map. Air units must not be changed because messing-up the OTF mod which gives air contacts on the map according to the SD radar.

Zoomed-in units:
For all zoomed-in icons on the map all units in the Data\Sea folder must be changed to have an added xxxxxx_shp.dds file where xxxxxx is the unit name as appearing in the Sea folder. The TMO mod uses black points so you cannot identify immediately friend or foe when zooming in. One of the TMO files can simply be used as template for other units to make them not identifyable.
However: There must still be a file which references all the xxxxxx_shp.dds files for new units, I don't have located this one yet. Without making the right reference, the zoomed-out units will display like in stock and not as points.


That's it basically, if a mod to grey out all ships in FOTRSU is made, then the above must be done, also creating the huge number of new unit icon images in the Sea folders.



XS

[Bilge_Rat]

There is a stock icon mod to return TMO icons back to stock:

https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/dow...o=file&id=1820

By looking through it, you can see what TMO did and what changes to make for your mod.

[XenonSurf]

Originally Posted by Bilge_Rat

There is a stock icon mod to return TMO icons back to stock:

https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/dow...o=file&id=1820

By looking through it, you can see what TMO did and what changes to make for your mod.

Thanks Bilge Rat, this will be very helpful
I have already made a mod for TMOwtw 2.5 (a more 'easy' TMO mod by the same authors) to grey out all units successfully. Not worth releasing however.

Originally Posted by Bilge_Rat

There is a stock icon mod to return TMO icons back to stock:
https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/dow...o=file&id=1820
By looking through it, you can see what TMO did and what changes to make for your mod.

Thank you, just what I needed to get rid of those tiny dots on the maps. I deleted the dashline.dds and the umark file by changing their file name.

I hope there's no conflict with extra ships included in Ship Pack 2 mod for TMO/RSRD that I use. We'll see in the near future.


Update: It appears that ships in Ship Pack 2 work fine but maintain their tiny dots on the map, not the original ship markers that the original ships now have.