[REL] Stop the rain! A definitive solution for bad weather!

[Stiebler]

Hallo again Rubini, it's great to see you making mods again! I have also sent you PM.

For the benefit of other users:

I'm very concerned to hear that you are still getting protracted long 'rainy-storms' in GWX, despite installing the mod.

Let me say right away that this event should not happen. In lengthy trials, with the Real Weather Fix, most 'rainy-storms' (defined as thick fog, heavy precipitations, wind 15 m/s) should last for no more than two days. Because of the random nature of the creation of these storms, one can never be definite, let us just say that there is a better than 90% probability that rainy-storms will not exceed two full days (48 hours), and about a 95% probability that rainy-storms will not exceed 72 hours. I'm speaking from memory, this is not a formal statistical analysis. Also, I'm assuming that users have not modified the campaign files away from the default SH3 weather parameters re-installed by Real Weather Fix.

However...
We cannot deny that just occasionally, despite these long odds, we have seen occasional protracted rainy-storms that seem never to end.

I believe that these never-ending rainy-storms are due to corruption of computer RAM while the game is playing. There can be many causes of this, but a very common cause (for me) is to be in a sea area where two convoys spawn in quick succession.

This corruption of RAM can have many effects. One effect, certainly, appears to be to generate everlasting rainy storms. Another side effect can be a simple crash-to-desktop (CTD), whose effect is obvious. Another subtle effect is to damage the save/reload mechanism (probably the data that are saved and reloaded, not the code itself). Thus, when you save the game, then reload it, you get a CTD. And sometimes, even if you don't save the game, you travel safely all the way back to base - and then the game CTD's as it tries to make an auto-save as you approach harbour.

What I have found to be an effective method to un-jam never-ending bad weather is to save and reload the game. Nothing more. For a further 3 days or so, you get the weather you saved. Then everything reverts to the normal weather behaviour that we expect from the Real Weather Fix mod.

But - and this a big, big BUT! - sometimes when you try to reload your saved game as above, you get the CTD instead. So this is a very risky solution.

Rubini is a very talented modder. He has helped me on several occasions. I have no doubt that his weather solution works exactly as described. But I consider the practice of saving and reloading the game to apply the mod to be very risky. There is a high chance you will get a CTD instead! Remember - you should not be getting continuous storms with the Real Weather Fix correctly installed, unless something has been corrupted in your game. And who knows where that corruption may show itself next?

You have made a great mod, Rubini, old friend, and a very clever mod, but it is too dangerous for me. However, clearly it will be very useful for those who are tired of continuous bad weather and are prepared to risk the chance of a CTD in order to end the storms. Also, the way the weather algorithm in SH3 is set up means that those who deploy the mod without getting a CTD will benefit for many days to come (on average) from good weather. I personally would prefer to take the lesser risk of returning at once to base, especially if I had already a good shipping score and the base is near.

Stiebler.

@SubtypeZero:

Stiebler and I did not find any specific fog settings in scene.dat

I think you've forgotten that fog, but not clouds, can be adjusted in scene.dat. Excellent idea about the dice throwing before using Rubini's mod, though.