I've seen the light (little NorOps update)

[Safe-Keeper]

Pardon the delay, but I've had real-life, school, issues of varying degree of severity to deal with and new games to play, so NorOps has not been a priority until very recently. Just now, though, I passed my hometown of Bergen on my 'lighthouse editing trip' from Oslo to the Russian border. This is a screenshot from the editor showing the coast in all its lighthouse glory. Most likely I'll be releasing NorOps in segments, NYGM-style (as the whole project will take an eternity to finish), with the Lighthouse Mod being the first to be uploaded.

Remember, I may be working slowly, but remember that all comes to those who wait. It's a long coastline and lots of lighthouses. And a few bouys. And at least one Light Ship.

Oh, and although I'm not good at all at answering them(), thanks a lot to all who have sent me encouraging e-mails about the project. You've been driving this project on and helped me work on it by reminding me that there are lots of people waiting for this to be released.

[Safe-Keeper]

To anyone who's interested, I sat down and mused about what segments I might work on and how they'll be split up. Here's the result.

- - - Atmosphere mods - - -

Lighthouse Mod - In progress

The Lighthouse Mod adds lighthouses, fog bells, and light ships to the Norwegian coast. Although intended as an atmosphere enhancement only, it can also be used by 'grognards' to ease navigation, as charts marking the location of each lighthouse will be included in the mod.

Cities of Norway Mod

Enhances the Silent Hunter III world by adding harbours, air bases, fortifications and traffic to the Norwegian theatre. In addition, towns and villages will be added to the in-game map.

Norwegian Theme Mod

This aesthetic mod changes music, menu backgrounds, opening movie and other visual and audio features. It's intended to make you feel more like a Kaleun stationed at a Norwegian base.

SH3 Commander Content

Another atmosphere mod which will add Norway-related radio messages, news updates and nightclub gossip to the game.

- - - Gameplay Mods - - -

Norwegian Operations

The main segment of the NorOps mod. It'll feature the Altmark incident, invasion of Norway, Shetland Boat, and other major and minor operations in and around Norway. It'll also add several new single-player missions to the game.

- - - Other - - -

Look to Norway Trailer - Released

The Norwegian Operations announcement trailer presenting some of the intended features.

Manual

I hope to be able to write and maintain a manual listing and talking about the mod's features. Should prove an interesting read and help people get into the mod.

[dmlavan]

Safe-Keeper,
Looks very interesting (and like a lot of work!) I've played my last two campaigns out of Bergen, and have enjoyed working around Norway so far. Looking forward to this

[Safe-Keeper]

Thanks!

Yes, it is a lot of work, but I like it that way. NorOps is one of my dearest hobbies, and I don't want it to be over any time soon. The Lighthouse Mod might actually be out in the near future, at the speed it's at, and its release will be a milestone for me, but there'll still be a whole lot of work to be done.

[Safe-Keeper]

Looks very interesting (and like a lot of work!)

Actually not (yes, I know I said otherwise above, but that was in reference to the whole mod:p). To make this particular segment, I use Norwegian Book Language Wikipedia's list of Norwegian light houses to look up lighthouses, a Norwegian map program to find out where they are, the SH3 Mission Editor to find the co-ordinates for that position, and notepad to edit the actual Locations.cfg file.

[Reece]

Looks very interesting (and like a lot of work!)

Thats an understatement!!
Would love to see the end result to this one SK but yes a LOT of work!
Good luck & cheers.