BuPers Mod Interest?

[ElCid97]

Well,

Managed to mess things up somehow. Somehow I messed up the autopromotion from 1-3 (the default), but not the others.

I'm not sure what I did since it was working fine up until tonight. The maddening thing is that I didn't do anything to the Rank.upc file since yesterday.

This is what I have:

[Rank 1]
ID=NR3rdClass
Level=1
TreeType= USNavy
NameDisplayable=Apprentice Seaman
Image=1
3DClothingIDLink= ClothingE1
XPRequirement= 0
LevelUp= Free
MaxQualifications= 1
MaxSpecialAbilities= 1
AvailableQualifications= NULL
AvailableSpecialAbilities= NULL
GetSpecialAbilityChance= 0
EfficiencyMod= 0.7
DescriptionWhenPlayerHasTheRank=NULL
DescriptionWhenPlayerDoesntHaveTheRank=NULL

[Rank 2]
ID=NR2ndClass
Level=2
TreeType= USNavy
NameDisplayable=Seaman 2nd Class
Image=1
3DClothingIDLink= ClothingE2
XPRequirement= 20
LevelUp= Free
MaxQualifications= 1
MaxSpecialAbilities= 1
AvailableQualifications= NULL
AvailableSpecialAbilities= NULL
GetSpecialAbilityChance= 0
EfficiencyMod= 0.85
DescriptionWhenPlayerHasTheRank=NULL
DescriptionWhenPlayerDoesntHaveTheRank=NULL

[Rank 3]
ID=NR1stClass
Level=3
TreeType= USNavy
NameDisplayable=Seaman 1st Class
Image=1
3DClothingIDLink= ClothingE3
XPRequirement= 40
LevelUp= Free
MaxQualifications= 1
MaxSpecialAbilities= 1
AvailableQualifications= NULL
AvailableSpecialAbilities= NULL
GetSpecialAbilityChance= 0
EfficiencyMod= 1.0
DescriptionWhenPlayerHasTheRank=NULL
DescriptionWhenPlayerDoesntHaveTheRank=NULL

As you can see, all I did was change the names and the values to make testing easier. Rather than showing 0/20 for AS in the Experience area, it's showing 0/0 instead now. It was 0/20 last night.

When I deactivate my mod now, the default value for the NR slot is back at 0/500 for the Experience.

I modified the NR17 in the CrewMembers.upc file to NR2ndClass to see if there was an issue, and it shows the 0/40 it's supposed to show per the entries.

Could it be something with the NSS_Tambor.upc file? I can't remember doing anything with it other than adding the PM3C, but - again - everything worked last night.

Any ideas would be appreciated.

I'll post some pics when I get the chance.

ElCid97

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by ElCid97

Any ideas would be appreciated.

I'll post some pics when I get the chance.

ElCid97

well, cid, without possession of the related files, it is tough for me(us) to troubleshoot.

here's something to keep in mind as you re-recheck your work:

rank-id's(ID=NR3rdClass) are used by crewmembers.upc.
crewmember id's(ID= NR17) and carry along the Rank id as Rank= NR3rdClass. the crewmember id's are used by Submarine.UPC.
submarine.upc use their own id's IDLinkCrewMember= NR17 to link back to crewmember.upc.

all of those have to be in sync for the thing to work.

as i said above, without the actual files, this is the best i can do for you.

send me a PM with a files link if you want me to look them over.

good luck.

[ElCid97]

Small update tonight. Mainly because it's late and I need to get to bed.

Fixed the rank/promotion issue. Not sure what it was, but a fresh file from the FotRSU original fixed it. I just had to enter the changes I'd already done.

As of tonight:

1. Fixed auto-promotion issues. Crew now promotes to S1C, PO1, and LT. User manually promotes crew to PO3, CPO, and CWO.

2. Rewrote medal citation text for the player's awards so that it's more generic and therefore usable for all the medals, yet still retaining an air of authenticity within the limits of the sim's hard-coded rules.

- Still have to figure out how to change the justification of the text. It still has everything justified to the right side. If anyone knows how to make things "center-justify" that would be great. I think it may be with the "menu" file that jimimadrid's been reworking since the fonts and text are placed using that file, but not sure.

3. Changed the pop-up text of the qualifications so that they are now appropriate to the boat.

a. Says "Rate" instead of "Specialization" in the various menus where the qualification is displayed in text.
b. Posibilities when promoting crew are now Torpedoman Rate, Gunner's Rate, Firecontrolman / Signalman Rate, Motor Machinest Rate, Sonarman / Radarman Rate, and Quartermaster / Boatswain Rate.
c. These pop up when you hover over the qualifications in the info box, the picture box (if rated), and the promotion box when you're asked to promote and then "qualify" the crewman (as text).
d. I know the Motor Machinest rate didn't exist until early 1942, but for now I'm going to do the main mod for use in most of the War. Once done, I'll just do a small update that you can use pre-'42 (Dec'41 and S-Boats) which changes it to just plain Machinest instead.
e. Example: instead of "Specialization: Engines" it now says "Rate: Motor Machinest Rate"

4. Changed the message that pops up just before you get to the boat to commence a patrol from "No Mission Too Difficult ..." to the full 1st Infantry Division motto of, "No Mission Too Difficult; No Sacrifice Too Great; Duty First!" I recognized it right off the bat since it's the unit I was attached to when I served in Iraq in 2004.

I'll post more - to include some screenies - when I get the chance.

ElCid97

[ElCid97]

Managed to get a pic of the changes to the background I've been doing. With JimiMadrid's permission, I'm using his background as the basis for the changes.

This is a "key" to help ID the changes I've made. Everything from medals, to rank, to rates and even some of the special abilities. I'm not too sure about the radar one yet since it seems to be somewhat "gamey" to me, but we'll see.

Wherever possible I've used actual WW2 rates or images. The "Diamond-T" is based on the "Trainer" rating given to petty officers, so I figured it would fit for this particular case.

In the case of the others, I've just given a "golden sheen" to the ratings for the enlisted folks since the source file had a nasty looking "weave" pattern for the warrant stuff. As a result, the "Gunner" is actually the GM rating and not the exploding cannon ball emblem. Same with the props and anchors.

Here's a list of what I've done the graphics for (or still need to do):

Original UbiSoft Name = New Naming Convention
--------------------- ---------------------
Ability-Master-Engineer = Damage Control Officer ==STILL NEED TO DO==
Ability-Sharpshooter = Gunnery Officer ==DONE==
Ability-Torpedo-Specialist = Torpedo Officer ==STILL NEED TO DO==
Ability-Medic = Pharmacist's Mate ==DONE==
Ability-Engines-Expert = Diving Officer ==DONE==
Ability-Propulsion-Specialist = Chief Engineer (this is the default one that comes with the boat) ==DONE==
Ability-Theoretician = Training Officer ==DONE==

The WIA is the wounded icon. It's meant to represent a hospital ship, hence the green stripe and white background with the red cross emblem. That was the general paint scheme used during the war for US hospital ships. Don't think the portholes came out too well, though. The railing on the upper side didn't come out well in this particular image because I'm using a brownish tint for a background. The actual image doesn't have any background (it's transparent like the original one).

The KIA is the icon you get over the picture when the crewmember is killed. It's meant to represent the flag as draped over the crewmen before they are sent over the side when burried at sea. It places the stars over the person's left shoulder. As a combat veteran myself, I thought this would be a better option than some skull and crossbones thing.

The ranks are from the internet. There was an image I found that had the ranks in a smaller size with good detail, so I didn't lose much when I shrunk them even more for the mod. You have to squint to see the difference in the WO and the CWO, but then again, it's the same with the LtJG and the LT as well. In-game it's a bit more apparent.

The CPO eagle is actually silver, as it was during the war, so that's why it looks a little different.

All ranks have the Boatswain mark since that's the most "generic" of the ratings. In reality the rating would be on the rank, not on some other area of the sim like we have it here. At least we have it now.

I'm still trying to figure out how to get a screenshot done when in port. I hit the PrntScrn key on the keyboard, but that doesn't work. I'd like to post some pics of the stuff in-game, but apparently only the screenshots you do when on patrol actually work.

Any suggestions?

ElCid97

[ElCid97]

First off, my hats off to those that have been posting pictures and even videos for God knows how long. It's taken me the better part of the weekend just to figure out how to take a screenshot!

I managed to clean up two of the ones I took that best showed what I've been doing. I still need to "mod" something in the "save" folder to actually have a deceased and wounded crewmember to see if those things work. Just not sure if you keep the KIA and WIA in port, or if that's just a patrol thing.

The quality isn't that great since I didn't want to make the posted pictures too big, but you can still make out the differences in the crew page and hopefully read the text for the citation.

I'm still trying to figure out how to format the thing, but something tells me it may be a lost cause for now.

The background is used by permission from Jimimadrid and is based on the background for the large faces. It this is the one for 1600 x 900, so as long as the ratio is the same (1920 x 1080) on other setups, it SHOULDN'T be an issue. After all, the image is 2048 x 512, which is big when you think about it.

Here's the crew page with the new ranks, quals, and special ability icons where applicable:





Here's the medal page for the player with the new citation wording:





I know, Commander Censored used his real name. I never thought I'd post any of this online. The thing shows the name, I promise.

Don't know if I'll have time to do anything during the week, but we'll see.

Regards,

ElCid97

[fitzcarraldo]

Looks great. Looking forward to this.

Many thanks!

Fitzcarraldo

[ElCid97]

Small update prior to posting a Mediafire link for beta. And when I mean beta, I mean BBBEETTTAAA (all I can promise is that it won't harm the computer).

So far I've been able to get most things worked out thanks to the help of MANY on this forum. THANK YOU!

The beta will just be what I've finished that I know won't really go farther. It will be the messages for the radio; the "menu.txt" that changes the rates and names for them as well as the medal citation wording; and finally the CrewManagement background based on Jimimadrid's work, with permission.

I'm still working on Ranks, Quals, the NSS_Tambor file, and the Special Abilities. These are the text files (upc's). The Tambor is the first of a few (understatement with sarcasm intended when I say "few").

I just have a few questions based on some observations regarding the Special Abilities, especially since I would like to use them as a way to help you decide who gets transferred/promoted off the ship.

Method #1
----------

I've managed to increase the max number of abilities for the player to 6 in order to match the number I was able to "save" by editing the names and percentages. These include the Cheif Engineer (default one given with the gas can thing), Torpedo Officer (the maintenance one that helps with duds), Gunnery Officer (the supposed sharpshooter thing), Diving Officer (the one that gets you under quicker), Training Officer (the one that helps with renown and crew morale), and Damage Control Officer (fixes destroyed items and flooding). My reasoning is that you're going to go to war with these people on board as part of the crew anyway, so why not have them from the get-go?

My question is now this: since you (the player) now has the ability, if a crew member gets the ability down the road does that multiply it's effect? So if you normally have a +2 of a "widget," for example, does it mean you now have a +4 if a single crew member gets that particular ability?

If so, then my whole approach to these things will have to change, especially since I'm using them to basically let you know who needs to get off the boat. Think of it as a "semi-auto" promote off/transfer off cue that lets you know it's time to part ways with John Doe.

That's why I'm not including the rank.upc changes, etc., just yet in the beta when it comes out. I'm just not sure this approach is going to work well.

Method #2
----------

Another approach which I've been kicking around: Would it be better to place the Special Abilities the same way as the way I did the Pharmacit's Mate (not releasing just yet, but it DOES work) so that you have them as individual crew members from the get-go?

In other words, the NSS file and the CrewMember files would have them as part of the crews like the default gas can thing now. This would mean no special abilities whatsoever for the player, though, just to keep things "fair" since I'm not sure about the whole "ability increase" thing yet.

If I did it this second way, I'm thinking I would have to play with the "chance" of getting the ability. Right now it's at 10% (0.1). I'm thinking it would probably be better to have it go up a little to maybe 0.25 or 0.3?

I was even thinking of doing a "50/50" chance. That way there's a good chance either way you would get another crew member with the same ability, so you would then know the "older" one on your crew would be the one that would have to transfer out, having been replaced by the new one.

I figured this would probably be a better way to do things, but it also means I'd have to try it out the Tambor first and then see about the other boats. Remember, once the rank file is done you'll be manually promoting only a few ranks since "BuPers" would automatically be promoting the rest while you're on patrol -- hence the "cue" that they'll be off the ship when you get back.

The only "off" thing would be if you ended up with a special ability in a crew member you just promoted in-base. Then you would just keep the new one and dismiss the other one right then and there.

If you think it's better the second way, would someone be willing to help with the coding of the other boats after I finish the Tambor? I'm almost done with the CrewMember file, so that wouldn't be an issue. I'd just post it with the Tambor file so you would have a "template" then be able to "have at it" until they were done.

Link will be up sometime tomorrow with, again, just the image and the two other files. At least it'll be something, right?

Regards,

ElCid97