Community Simple Text Modding Tutorial For New Modders

[Mush Martin]

Subsim Community Tutorial
Simple Text Based Modding for Silent Hunter IV

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR SENIOR MODDERS:

This tut although started by me is meant in the end
to be a running active tutorial thread for the community.
any senior modder with something to contribute friend or
otherwise is invited to post freely here relevant to the
subject. it is hoped that others will share what they know
here too. the first few posts of this thread are mine but
the tutorial is community property and meant to be by
anyone for anyone relevant to the titled subject.
information not shared is lost.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR NEW MODDERS:

You will need note pad or word pad or another
text editor to use this tutorial.

always include a readme in any mod you intend to release
there are two basic types of readme a release readme
and a breadcrumbs or changelog readme.

what should be in a release readme ?

A legal disclaimer proclaiming mod is Freeware/shareware the conditions
of its free distribution and a declaration of no commercial
gain or utilization of or from the mod.

Credit to the Game devs

(eg.) SilentHunterIV Wolves of the Pacific
(C)2007 UBISOFT ENTERTAINMENT.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Credit to the authors of files utilized where previous mods are integrated

(eg.) Thanks to and credit to Ducimus who allowed me to utilize portions
of his circus midget crew mod and answered all the questions that
were in the manual that I didnt read.

Credit to the toolmakers
(eg) timetraveller for minitweaker or whoever made your tweak file that
you used.

Thanks to those who helped teachers co modders and testers often as well
those who sometimes need credit for just plain support and encouragement.
like editors and so on.

it should also contain
Features or changes since last release
known issues and any known solutions
compatability statement (what version to use with)
special instructions where needed.


a breadcrumbs or changelog readme is a wordpad or notepad document
you insert into your mod while in development everytime you change
a line in a file you should log it in the breadcrumbs being able
to go back and read where you went wrong will save you countless
hours of frustration.

when making changes to a mod always make few small changes
between tests if you do the sky the subs engines new guns
and a custom crew and then test which one caused the ctd.

if you only test your crew changes which one caused the ctd.

Note: readmes go in beside the data file not in it.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Tutorial Credits:

SILENT HUNTER 4 - WOLVES OF THE PACIFIC
(C)2007 UBISOFT ENTERTAINMENT.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

This Tutorial wouldnt have happened without the direct encouragement
of the following People.

Reallydedpoet
Thank you for your continuing support of this project.

as well as.........
Capzap70
AVGWarhawk
Clay P
Travis Reed
Xypher
aanker
dmlavan
msb80sc
sirten death
gunner
captainhaplo
nuc
doolittle81
nautilis42
FVD
Yamato9

And Thanks also to SubSim and Neal Stevens for providing us with
a place to hang out and do this stuff. As well as his
own portion of encouragement for this tutorial.
and to JScones for permissions regarding JSGME.

and finally all my teachers from the shIII threads who said I could.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Introduction:

This Tutorial begins as a Simple man
showing simple ways to make simple changes
in SHIV.

Warning: anyone who wishes to follow along and read this
tutorial as a learning device for modding thier silent
hunter IV install should realize before they start that
such activity can ruin your install if done wrong.
any disasters to anyones install are not the fault of the
author. by reading any portion of this tutorial or utilizing any
of the techniques described you The Reader/utilizer
express your acceptance of sole responsibility for the state
of your own install of your game.

You are warned about that and advised prior to doing anything
else of making backup copies of any file you mod and for that matter
everyfile you mod so as to have uncorrupted copy if everything
goes wrong. segment one will contain also the assembly instructions
for a mod folder system for use in my preferred method of mod
activation.

JSGME from Jonesoft
http://www.users.on.net/~jscones/software/

a JSGME mod is better than modding your own install
because if you mess it up you can undo it at the touch of a button.
when you activate a mod in JSGME it takes the mods files and
overwrites the games files with them That is it does so immediately
after it has made backups of the game files. When you deactivate
the mod in jsgme the installer then overwrites the files it
modded with the backups it made before the mod files were inserted.
what used to happen is you would put in mods say five of them
but if for example you only deactivated the first one by itself and left
the other four active the backups would be out of sequence and when
you deinstalled it all you would find your game install would
still retain some features of mod number two.
In the latest version of JSGME sequencing issues have a built in safeguard
in that you now can no longer uninstall your mod out of sequence.
you can download the latest version here.

http://www.users.on.net/~jscones/software/products/jsgme_setup.exe


even so.......
screw it up, So what!, your here learning what you need to know
to fix it anyway.

one final note to readers.

as you follow along you will see comments by me beside file segments
or highlighted arrows. when you look through your own game files
they will not be there, you will however see Comments from the devs.
that are commented out.

;commented out means that if a line has a semi colon at the begining
;like these three lines then the game ignores that line as its a comment
;not an instruction

it is a good modding technique to just comment out the original
line and put your modded line of code in underneath then its
just delete and uncomment to revert if you need to.this technique
also makes it much easier to spot your own changes than if you
just delete the original line.

For those that want to read ahead as it were. the devs comments
in game are where I learned all this. Nobody taught me, I just applied
what I kneew about gamefile structure and interaction and figured
it out by trial and error.

a perfectly sound method. though wrought with errors misses and blind alleys
but if you want to not wait around for the next tutorial segment then thats
how.

Enjoy MM

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

[Mush Martin]

Changing Startup features by Mush Martin


Ok finally were off and running.

Lets make a gato class available at pearl harbour at the beginning
of the war and lets change our entry date so we spawn on dec 7 1941
and add a bit of spending money.

To begin Open the following//

C:\Program Files\Ubisoft\Silent Hunter 4 Wolves of the Pacific\Data

lets make back up copies of Submarine, UPC and Roster files.
that you see inside the Data file.

For this tutorial I'm going to use vanilla 1.4 files
but it matters only a little I will talk more about this
near the end of this segment.

lets take the first step now and set up a mod folder to work in

create a new folder
Name it "Mymod" or whatever you please.

open the Mymod folder and create another new folder inside
Name this folder Data.

open the Data folder you just made and copy and paste
the three files mentioned above into it.
that is Submarine, UPC and Roster files.
now before we are done open the roster file
and delete the following as we wont need it
and its removal will keep the size of the mod
down and consequently its load time.

in the Roster file delete everything
but the american file. we're not done yet
next open the american file and delete
everything but submarine.

first step done
you have assembled your mod folder and it didnt hurt a bit.


now lets open the mymod folder and put in a readme using
notepad this isnt a release readme this is a breadcrumbs
readme its not mandatory but its a good idea.



Next were going to sort of explore file structures and how
they work a bit. But rather than learning by wrote
We are going to learn about them by doing.
So were first going to give ourselves a raise.

Open the mymod data folder and open the UPC file within it.
There you will see this

four folders and two files
the folders should be

UPCCampaignData
UPCCrewData
UPCLocalization
UPCUnitsData

and the two files

Gameplay settings
UserPlayersettings

lets open up the UPCCampaignData folder

Here you will see seven files open the one
called career start.


Ok, so at the top here we see this

[CareerStart 1]
ID= Beginning
NameDisplayable= 1941
StartTimeInterval=1941-12-08, 1942-02-01
BackgroundPic= 1941.tga
CareerStartBriefingText= The war has just started, and we're being beaten.
RenownOptions= 1000, 2000, 5000

[CareerStart 1.Flotilla 1]
ID= C1Flotilla1
NameDisplayable= Pearl Harbor
IDLinkFlotilla= PearlHarborCommand
IDLinkUserPlayerUnits= F1Porpoise, 4, F1Tambor, 5, F1Gar, 4
FlotillaBriefingText=
FlotillaCommonality= 1

[CareerStart 1.Flotilla 2]
ID= C1Flotilla2
NameDisplayable= Manila
IDLinkFlotilla= FremantleCommand
IDLinkUserPlayerUnits= F2Sboat, 6, F2Porpoise, 7, F2Salmon, 6, F2Sargo, 11
FlotillaBriefingText=
FlotillaCommonality= 2

The first entry above designates when your career starts and how much
money you have the second two entries are defining what flotillas
you can choose from for that start date.

So have a look closely at the first entry

NameDisplayable= 1941
(changeable)

StartTimeInterval=1941-12-08, 1942-02-01
(changeable)

BackgroundPic= 1941.tga
(changeable)

CareerStartBriefingText= The war has just started, and we're being beaten.
(changeable)

RenownOptions= 1000, 2000, 5000
(changeable)

So for starters lets change the above entry
to something more able to suppport the war economy.

lets make our choices 2500, 5000, 7500, 10000


when your done this is what it should look like
[CareerStart 1]
ID= Beginning
NameDisplayable= 1941
StartTimeInterval=1941-12-08, 1942-02-01
BackgroundPic= 1941.tga
CareerStartBriefingText= The war has just started, and we're being beaten.
RenownOptions= 2500, 5000, 7500, 10000

(note we did not add a fourth slot above there always was an unused slot)

For this step now lets also change the entry date for our career
to december fifth I use the fifth because theres variables in the
time consumed during career screen which I suspect are relevant to
to crew and equipment changes.

so in the above entry change
StartTimeInterval=1941-12-08, 1942-02-01
to
StartTimeInterval=1941-12-05, 1942-02-01

the finished product shouod now look like this.

[CareerStart 1]
ID= Beginning
NameDisplayable= 1941
StartTimeInterval=1941-12-05, 1942-02-01
BackgroundPic= 1941.tga
CareerStartBriefingText= The war has just started, and we're being beaten.
RenownOptions= 2500, 5000, 7500, 10000

[Edit] (missed procedure)
As Pointed out by Gunner below this procedure was missed take the step
here.
Mymod_alfa_1.0\Data\UPCData\UPCCampaignData
and open the Flotillas UPC file
there you will see this.

[Flotilla 1.UserPlayerUnitType 4]
ID= F1Gato
NameDisplayable= Gato class
AvailabilityInterval= NULL, NULL <---------(here change the start date to Null or 19411101)
IDLinkUserPlayerUnitType= Gato
UnitTypeCommonality= 10
IDFlotillaLinkTransferTo= NULL

Thanks Gunner




SAVE & NOTE ALL CHANGE IN BREADCRUMBS.

(either type out a description of changes or to save time
copy the unmodded segment and the modded segment for comparison
with a short note)

those of you who havent modded congratulations you just have
taken your first step.

now because ive done the money thing and the date thing
enough times in this specific case we arent going to test
it we will just move on to the next step.

staying on the career start file lets move onto entry two.

[CareerStart 1.Flotilla 1]
ID= C1Flotilla1
NameDisplayable= Pearl Harbor
IDLinkFlotilla= PearlHarborCommand
IDLinkUserPlayerUnits= F1Porpoise, 4, F1Tambor, 5, F1Gar, 4
FlotillaBriefingText=
FlotillaCommonality= 1

To start with it says

ID= C1Flotilla1
(this is the ID the game uses Career1Flotilla1)

NameDisplayable= Pearl Harbor
(changeable)

IDLinkFlotilla= PearlHarborCommand
(this is not changeable except using properly designated link names)


IDLinkUserPlayerUnits= F1Porpoise, 4, F1Tambor, 5, F1Gar, 4

(here we see what subs are available at flotilla one.
the little F1 at the start of each subname denotes the flotilla
the sub belongs too.
the subnames you can figure out but the little number
after each subname is how many boats are in the flotilla
of that type.)

as for

FlotillaBriefingText=
(this isnt used in game atm)
FlotillaCommonality= 1
(the game uses this when a random sub is selected
to generate probability of a given model being the one
somehow)

Now lets go back to this line.
IDLinkUserPlayerUnits= F1Porpoise, 4, F1Tambor, 5, F1Gar, 4

in order to change a sub you can simply substitute
for an existing boat like this

change say ....F1Porpoise, 4 and turn it into
F1Gato, 6

the above method replaces the porpoise boats
with gato boats and adds another two boats
to the flotilla.

the other possiblity here is just adding another
instead of substituting.

so instead of changing one we leave the existing ones
and add
F1Gato, 4 onto the end of the existing list.

The finished product should look like this.

[CareerStart 1.Flotilla 1]
ID= C1Flotilla1
NameDisplayable= Pearl Harbor
IDLinkFlotilla= PearlHarborCommand
IDLinkUserPlayerUnits= F1Porpoise, 4, F1Tambor, 5, F1Gar, 4, F1Gato, 4
FlotillaBriefingText=
FlotillaCommonality= 1

Note: if the number of subs exceeds the number of
slots on screen in the game then you will be able
to scroll down the list ingame to find the additional
subs.

for "Mymod" lets do that now
just add gato boats to the list for pearl harbour
as described above and make sure your format
of commas and spacings are all correct.

SAVE & NOTE CHANGE IN BREADCRUMBS.

Before we are done though we should make some Gato hulls
available on the starting date
so quickly open the file

C:\Documents and Settings\Game\Desktop\Mymod\Data\Roster\American\S ubmarine

and open the file SSGato cfg.
see the first entry

[UnitClass]
ClassName=SSGato
UnitType=200
AppearanceDate=19411101
DisappearanceDate=19721015
DisplayName=US Gato

the appearance date precedes gamestart so we dont need to change this
at the moment. but down below.

[Unit 1]
Name=USS Drum
DOC=19411101
DOD=19460216

[Unit 2]
Name=USS Flying Fish
DOC=19411101
DOD=19540528

[Unit 3]
Name=USS Silversides
DOC=19411101
DOD=19460417

[Unit 4]
Name=USS Gato
DOC=19411101
DOD=19600401

I have changed the dates on the first four gato hulls so that there are
four names available at the time that our mod has put in the four subs that
we put into the pearl harbour flotilla at the beginning of the war.

thats what I mean about understanding file structure its not what the line
of code means thats usually indicated its how the file connects to other files
that makes the difference and thats the key to being able to text mod.
its also what im here to try and teach you. not how to put on a gun
how to hook it up.


back to work.

if your number of boats exceed the spots on screen
in game in the career screen then you will be able to scroll
down on the career screen list to see the additonal boats.

So now lets copy mymodalfa1.0 to the mods folder
theb activate the mod in JSGME
next start up your game its time to test.
Go through the career screen
you should be able now to choose a Gato class boat
and ten thousand smackers and when you spawn in game
the date should be Dec 6 or 7 depending on a few variables.

Note: dont bother to arm or equip your boat
and dont stop to choose a crew just go straight through
and start game at this point your only trying to confirm
the boat will spawn properly and confirm the date.
if you stop to choose a crew everytime you test
you will be months instead of days doing it.

IMPORTANT: Never make changes to an activated mod always
deactivate prior to making changes.

assuming for a minute that you have never made a mod before
congratulations you have just made your first and activated
it.

Change Mod number now to Mymod_alfa_1.0

(when we get to the next segment it is this
version we will use to start up with and build
on so keep a fresh copy somewhere, as long
as you have put all the stuff into your breadcrumbs
and have saved Mymod_alfa_1.0 then you can delete
the original Mymod that we made. to save on
clutter and confusion.)



Now a few words about this technique.
it is done on and for use with SHIV patched 1.4
this mod as is wont likely work with RFB TM or SSM

this is how you can make changes compatable with your
favourite major mod.

the technique will work just fine but
if you are going to use the technique on a game where
you are going to be using TM or RFB or SSM or for that
matter any major mod. then you should make copy and
use the appropriate mod files from that mod not your
game so as to not lose other changes from the original
author that you didnt want to lose and didnt alter yourself.

So in the example above instead of copying
the files from the game into your mymod folder.
You would copy them from your major mod,
into your mymod folder.
After which you would then alter them

The important thing to remember here is
that your mod should go into the game
After the major mod the files were copied
from.

If you are releasing a mod for public
consumption you must always give credit to the
original author of the files you based your
changes on and advise you mods users to activate
it over top of not underneath the major mod of choice.
that is what I meant by special instructions in the
bit about readme's at the beginning.

The next segment from me will be on upgrade packs
Ive gone through and followed these instructions
and it should work for you fine but if I did something
wrong in the instructions.
Then post it below as opposed to if something
went wrong with your mod. Because I can guarantee
something will go wrong with your mod even with perfect
instructions.At least in the beginning until you learn
to use breadcrumbs and close unecessary screens and stuff.

Good Luck and thanks for stopping by.

Mush

[Mush Martin]

Mymod Segment Two

Contributors MM, RDP, Gunner.

Upgrade Packs.

So now that weve been able to give ourselves
as much money as we like now lets undermine
the economy a bit and make everything free
and available from the start of the war.
Lets start as usual by opening

Desktop\mymod_alfa_1.0\data\upc\UPCUnitsData
now open the file UpgradePacks UPC
Lets look at the first section:

; Upgrade pack Functional Types
;
; FunctionalType= UpFTypeSensorRadar
; FunctionalType= UpFTypeSensorUnderwater
; FunctionalType= UpFTypeSensorBathyTermograph
; FunctionalType= UpFTypeSensorPeriscope
; FunctionalType= UpFTypeWeaponFlak
; FunctionalType= UpFTypeWeaponCannon
; FunctionalType= UpFTypeWeaponTorpedoTube
; FunctionalType= UpFTypeDecoy
; FunctionalType= UpFTypeCoating
; FunctionalType= UpFTypeIceCream
; FunctionalType= UpFTypePropulsionEngines
; FunctionalType= UpFTypePropulsionBatteries
; FunctionalType= UpFTypePropulsionPropellors
; FunctionalType= UpFTypeControlsDirection
; FunctionalType= UpFTypeControlsDiving
; FunctionalType= UpFTypeBulkhead
; FunctionalType= UpFTypeComputerTDC
; FunctionalType= UpFTypeComputerGunfireControl
; FunctionalType= NULL


This section which you can see is commented
out by the devs, is a list of functional types recognized
by the game.

It's pretty straightforward.
UpFTypeSensorRadar means upgrade packs containing radars.

UpFTypeSensorUnderwater means upgrade packs that contain
sonars and so on.

Now to avoid confusion, lets understand that the game
does not utilize all of the types available to it as
purchasable upgrades in the game.

So lets get to it. Because Mymod_alfa_1.0 uses a Gato class,
lets make some equipment available for it.

First off something meant for Gato, a radar to start with will do
and some guns. Lets start here:

[UpgradePack 3]
ID= UpackGatoSVRadar
NameDisplayable= SV Radar
FunctionalType= UpFTypeSensorRadar
UpgradePackSlotType= AdvAirRadars
Type=NULL
;UpgradePackInterval=1945-08
-01, NULL
UnitUpgradePackIntervalOptionCurrent= NULL, NULL, 0
UnitUpgradePackIntervalOptions1=1945-06-01, NULL, 1500
IDLinkUpgradePackElements= SDRadarApp, SVRadarAntenna


So by way of explanation........

ID= UpackGatoSVRadar
(the name used by the game itself)

FunctionalType= UpFTypeSensorRadar
(as listed in that top list we looked at)
(I suspect this governs model behaviours ingame)

UpgradePackSlotType= AdvAirRadars
(this is the actual upgrade pack type as you and I
would shop for it ingame. Your sub must have an
upgrade type listed as compatable in its submarine
files in order to accept any type of upgrade.
So if AA gun upgrades arent listed in the submarine
file, then you won't be able to mount 20MM twins even
if they are available)

Type=NULL
(function unknown)

;UpgradePackInterval=1945-08-01, NULL
(this line is commented out and I believe is
just simply a visual reference on the correct
historical date of equipment availability).

UnitUpgradePackIntervalOptionCurrent= NULL, NULL, 0
UnitUpgradePackIntervalOptions1=1945-06-01, NULL, 1500
(These two lines govern availability in game,
again the format is startdate before comma, endate
after comma price is the last entry in this example
the price is zero on the first one and 1500 on the second.
Also where there are two availablity dates, I suspect but
have not tested that it is for conning tower. One availability
conning tower two availability and so on).

Why two I'm not sure, but If I invented penicilin in game
in January 1942, I could make it available for say 1000 prestige pts.
If later in say June 1943, I invented mass production techniques
for it then I could time in a drop in price to simulate wider
availability.

Finally
IDLinkUpgradePackElements= SDRadarApp, SVRadarAntenna

(This link elements business seems to be a pre set up
chain of links to various models in game relevant to
a particular upgrade pack in the example above.
The links used are SDRadar Apparatus,
the type and look of the radarscreen and its switches
inside the conning tower and then followed by
SVRadar antenna which is the 3d model that is used
in game with this type as seen outside the sub
. .......I Think!).

So lets change the date and price using the usual method.

[UpgradePack 3]
ID= UpackGatoSVRadar
NameDisplayable= SV Radar
FunctionalType= UpFTypeSensorRadar
UpgradePackSlotType= AdvAirRadars
Type=NULL
;UpgradePackInterval=1945-08
-01, NULL
UnitUpgradePackIntervalOptionCurrent= NULL, NULL, 0
UnitUpgradePackIntervalOptions1=NULL, NULL, 0 <----------------------------------change this
IDLinkUpgradePackElements= SDRadarApp, SVRadarAntenna


Moving forward for a quick moment, lets just look at
how a sub defines what upgrade packs it can use.

Back out of the file to this point
Desktop\Mymod_alfa_1.0\Data\UPCData\UPCUnitsData

then open the file
UnitParts1Gato

This file governs stuff the sub uses and when.

[UnitPart 1]
ID= GatoConningEarlyWar
Type= GatoConningTower
NameDisplayable= Start of war Conning Tower
UnitPartInterval=NULL, 1942-12-01
ExternalLinkName3D= data/objects/Conning_Gato_01
HullTextureNameOverride=data/Submarine/NSS_Gato/NSS_Gato_T01.tga
HullLightmapTextureNameOverride=data/Submarine/NSS_Gato/NSS_Gato_O01.tga
HullNormalmapTextureNameOverride= NULL
MenuSilhouetteTextureNameOverride= Gato_Class_01.tga

The above section and one or two more like it further down the
page, govern what tower is available on what date with what
skin and what it will show in the game menu when your shopping
for subs. As well, what types of equipment it will accept
ie. equipment for Gato types.


The next section down that appears below
;------------------------------------------------------------
; COMPARTMENTS STRUCTURE
;------------------------------------------------------------

deals with the rooms as such that come along with each tower
and governs tower repair damage and fatigue models as well as
how many crew are used in the tower.


The next section that appears after

;------------------------------------------------------------
; CREWMEMBER SLOTS
;
;
;Type= Officer ;for Officers slots, which should be located in the Command Room and give bonus to the entire unit
;Type= Leader ;for Leaders slots, which give bonus to the compartment
;Type= Crewman ;for crewmember slots, which work and get poor pay
;
;------------------------------------------------------------

obviously determines how many crew members should appear
in the conning tower, where they go, and what they do.
The commented out list above defines available rank types for use.


The section that appears after
;************************************************* ***********
;
; COMPARTMENT EQUIPMENT & WEAPS
;
;************************************************* ***********

pretty much speaks for itself. By now you will be starting to
be able to look at the entries and understand a little what
they are so here I won't describe the functions just look them
over and see what you can understand at this point without help
from me.


Below that we see
;------------------------------------------------------------
; FLAK GUNS
;------------------------------------------------------------
the section following this governs what type of gun mount is
on the tower. It also establishes the link to the ammunition
available on board the sub.


And finally the section we have been looking for

;************************************************* ***********
;
; UpgradePackSlot
;
;************************************************* ***********

now this we must examine more closely.

[UnitPart 1.UpgradePackSlot 1]
ID= UpgAAGun
NameDisplayable= Anti-Aircraft Gun
Type=NULL
AcceptedTypes=USLightAA
UserCustomizable=Yes
IDLinkUpgradePackSlots= CTBackAA
IDLinkUpgradePackSlotsIntervalDefault1= NULL, NULL, Upack20mmSingle


[UnitPart 1.UpgradePackSlot 1]
The name and number of the slot
in unit part it determines which of the
three conning towers we are talking about.
In this case the first one

ID= UpgAAGun
the games reference "upgrade Anti aircraft gun"


Type=NULL
(use currently unknown)


AcceptedTypes=USLightAA
This slot determines what type of
upgrade packs you can put on the
particular mount. In this case the
back aa platform as determined by
the line CtBackAA.

Now you learn something new everyday, me too.
Gunner in making his contributions to this tut segment
educated me to the fact that there are generic types.
ie. USDecgun will accept all dg types
and USFlak will accept all flak types.


UserCustomizable=Yes
(can you change this in game? yes/no)
I'm not sure, but I think what will turn out
is this. If a position say the deckgun which
isn't a part of the conning tower, is checked
as user customizable, then as long as you
have made an upgrade pack option for it
you will be able to change it out. Where
as if you put in no to user customizable,
even if you had an upgrade pack you
couldn't put it on.


IDLinkUpgradePackSlots= CTBackAA
Tells the game this is for aft on the conning tower


IDLinkUpgradePackSlotsIntervalDefault1= NULL, NULL, Upack20mmSingle
(this determines how long and when available )



Ok so thats determined, now lets make some changes.
Back out and go again to the Upgrade packs upc
and open it.

To begin lets scroll down and locate this section.

[UpgradePack 12]
ID= Upack3in50calDG
NameDisplayable= 3" 50 cal Deck Gun
FunctionalType= UpFTypeWeaponCannon
UpgradePackSlotType= USDeckGun
Type=NULL
UnitUpgradePackIntervalOptionCurrent= NULL, NULL, 0
UnitUpgradePackIntervalOptions1= NULL, NULL, 200
IDLinkUpgradePackElements= 3in50calUS

[UpgradePack 13]
ID= Upack4in50calDG
NameDisplayable= 4" 50 cal Deck Gun
FunctionalType= UpFTypeWeaponCannon
UpgradePackSlotType= USDeckGun
Type=NULL
UnitUpgradePackIntervalOptionCurrent= NULL, NULL, 0
UnitUpgradePackIntervalOptions1= NULL, NULL, 400
IDLinkUpgradePackElements= 4in50calUS

[UpgradePack 14]
ID= Upack5in25calDG
NameDisplayable= 5" 25 cal Deck Gun
FunctionalType= UpFTypeWeaponCannon
UpgradePackSlotType= USDeckGunHvy
Type=NULL
UnitUpgradePackIntervalOptionCurrent= NULL, NULL, 0
UnitUpgradePackIntervalOptions1= 1944-03-28, 1944-09-01, 800
UnitUpgradePackIntervalOptions2= 1944-09-02, NULL, 300
IDLinkUpgradePackElements= 5in25calUS

First off lets change all the availability dates
and prices to = NULL, NULL, 0

Now all three guns are available from the start of
the war, and in any year you would care to make
for the game like 1968 for example.

Next lets change where a pack can be accepted.

In most cases boats that will take the 5"
won't usually take the 3".
In order to make it available, just copy and
paste the new type that you want and paste it
over.

[UpgradePack 12]
ID= Upack3in50calDG
NameDisplayable= 3" 50 cal Deck Gun
FunctionalType= UpFTypeWeaponCannon
UpgradePackSlotType= USDeckGunHvy <---------------Here
Type=NULL
UnitUpgradePackIntervalOptionCurrent= NULL, NULL, 0
UnitUpgradePackIntervalOptions1= NULL, NULL, 0
IDLinkUpgradePackElements= 3in50calUS

Next lets put this somewhere it doesnt belong, say the
forward AA mount on the conning tower.
So open
Mymod_alfa_1.0\Data\UPCData\UnitParts1Gato

and locate these sections

[UnitPart 1.UpgradePackSlot 1]
ID= UpgAAGun
NameDisplayable= Anti-Aircraft Gun
Type=NULL
AcceptedTypes=USLightAA
UserCustomizable=Yes
IDLinkUpgradePackSlots= CTBackAA
IDLinkUpgradePackSlotsIntervalDefault1= NULL, NULL, Upack20mmSingle

[UnitPart 2.UpgradePackSlot 1]
ID= UpgAAGun
NameDisplayable= Anti-Aircraft Gun
Type=NULL
AcceptedTypes=USLightAA
UserCustomizable=Yes
IDLinkUpgradePackSlots= CTBackAA
IDLinkUpgradePackSlotsIntervalDefault1= NULL, NULL, Upack20mmSingle

and

[UnitPart 4.UpgradePackSlot 1]
ID= UpgAAGun
NameDisplayable= Aft Anti-Aircraft Gun
Type=NULL
AcceptedTypes=USLightAA, USHeavyAA
UserCustomizable=Yes
IDLinkUpgradePackSlots= CTBackAA
IDLinkUpgradePackSlotsIntervalDefault1= NULL, NULL, Upack40mmSingle

[UnitPart 4.UpgradePackSlot 2]
ID= UpgBowAAGun
NameDisplayable= Fore Anti-Aircraft Gun
Type=NULL
AcceptedTypes=USLightAA, USHeavyAA
UserCustomizable=Yes
IDLinkUpgradePackSlots= CTForeAA
IDLinkUpgradePackSlotsIntervalDefault1= NULL, NULL, Upack40mmSingle

so where it says
AcceptedTypes=USLightAA
lets add on to the end of it by adding USDeckGun


[UnitPart 1.UpgradePackSlot 1]
ID= UpgAAGun
NameDisplayable= Anti-Aircraft Gun
Type=NULL
AcceptedTypes=USLightAA, USDeckGun <------------------------like this
UserCustomizable=Yes
IDLinkUpgradePackSlots= CTBackAA
IDLinkUpgradePackSlotsIntervalDefault1= NULL, NULL, Upack20mmSingle

Now when your going through the Gato conning tower file
remember there are four conning towers available to Gato
during the war so you will need to scroll down and do the
other towers too if you want to have it for the duration.

If you do that for all of the above slots, then when you
go through the upgrade screen you should be able to put
a deckgun on the conning tower mount as an upgrade.
So if your following along then its now time to change
the mod number to Mymod_alfa_1.2
Watch for the next segment coming soon.
MM (et al)

[Mush Martin]

Reserved Post

[Mush Martin]

Reserved Post

[Gunner]

Nice start to Tutoral Mush Have a question thoiugh. Do you need to change this line as well in Flotilla UPC file ?

[Flotilla 1.UserPlayerUnitType 4]
ID= F1Gato
NameDisplayable= Gato class
AvailabilityInterval= 1942-04-12, NULL {DATE CHANGE TO CAREER START DATE ?}
IDLinkUserPlayerUnitType= Gato
UnitTypeCommonality= 10 ; to be used when a random choice is assigned
IDFlotillaLinkTransferTo= NULL ; when the flotilla is disbanded, the subs of this type are transferred to this one.

[Mush Martin]

Originally Posted by Gunner

Nice start to Tutoral Mush Have a question thoiugh. Do you need to change this line as well in Flotilla UPC file ?

[Flotilla 1.UserPlayerUnitType 4]
ID= F1Gato
NameDisplayable= Gato class
AvailabilityInterval= 1942-04-12, NULL {DATE CHANGE TO CAREER START DATE ?}
IDLinkUserPlayerUnitType= Gato
UnitTypeCommonality= 10 ; to be used when a random choice is assigned
IDFlotillaLinkTransferTo= NULL ; when the flotilla is disbanded, the subs of this type are transferred to this one.

Yes I think thats right I did test though and think it came out fine
anyway but maybe I didnt put it in here I will have to look in the
one I did compared with the one I did from the intructions

if its wrong in the tut I will edit it in.

and thanks
M

[edit] yeah ya got me, to my credit though I did at least include the file.

[Gunner]

Hi Mush

Was planning on starting a new carreer with late war S-42 Class stationed at Manila, also with twin 40mm and 5.25 " Gun. Thanks for tutoral as it helped me get the conning tower I wanted for new career added properly. Figured out how to add 5.25" gun to Bow, Took several hours to figure it out playing around UPC upgrade pack..

[Mush Martin]

Trial and Error is the best way to learn because not only do you learn
how to do it you learn how to not do it too.

thats how I learned....:hmm::hmm: :rotfl:

Nice avatar rough night last night
speaking of call girls youve got a
pm Gunner I need your help with
something in my career game.
M

[ReallyDedPoet]

Bump


RDP

[Nuc]

Mush:thanks, you're doing this at just the level of detail I need!

[Mush Martin]

Thats the beauty of not knowing what Im doing I guess
I cant believe I forgot to subscribe to the thread if you
were waiting long I will fix that.

thanks though for the encouragement
ps wont be too long for the next segment
Im going to try and put out a few that are
just simple short steps procedures.

MM

[Mush Martin]

Bump .............. segment two has been pasted into the second
post if anyone is interested.

Also if you spot any errors or omissions please post them

thanks to RDP and Gunner.

MM

[ReallyDedPoet]

Very nice work on this M , thanks for asking me to help.


RDP

[Mush Martin]

Thanks for helping

Oh look at us!. A mutual admiration society, here we are making me sick even.

(Proprerly punctuated no less.)

M