Modders Requests to Make Modding SH5 Easier

Hitman · 09-11-09, 08:43 AM

This thread is not about generic things we want in SH5, but about how the devs could pave the way for easier modding.

I will try to keep a continuous update on the suggestions made here, and the replies from the Devs if there are any!

1.- (Hitman) Break the menu.ini into several files, one for each station covered, like the campaign was broken into different layers in SH4. This easy thing would alone help inmensely editing it.

Maerean_m: Already done!

2.- (Hitman) Do not include hardcoded graphics like the reticules for the scopes/UZO. Make them all external graphics that can be edited at convenience.

Maerean_m: Already done!

3.- (Irish1958): injuries, illnesses and disabilities. In SH3 the medic was introduced, but ineffective. I don't have access to German medical studies re the U-boats, but there is an extensive body of work concerning the American boats. On each patrol there were illnesses, injuries and even deaths from accidents and enemy action, which restricted the effectiveness of the boat.

4.- (Mush Martin): A way to make D/P Guns work on player Subs/ships.

5.- (Mush Martin): air launched torpedo profiles for the AI.

6.- (Mush Martin): ability to man ASW Sloops. frigates, DE's or corvettes.
when doing convoy command mode

7.- (Racerboy): Harbors - harbors are made by creating 'clones' from the items in the 'harbor kit'. Can these be real objects instead of clones? Being clones poses some limitations on what you can do with them. And because the harbor objects inherited from the base harbor object who inherited from 0x0 this caused even more problems when you tried to do some fancy tricks with the harbor objects. Basically looking for a better system of making harbors and the objects in them.

8.- (Racerboy): The lighthouse's rotating 'light' needs to be fixed so that it doesn't shine through it's own lighthouse (SH3 not sure about SH4)

9.- (Racerboy): When an object is created that depends on some player guidance (TDC for example for the torpedo), instead of it always spawning north when it doesn't have the information it needs, let it spawn in the direction the controlling object is facing. For instance: I create a torpedo rack on a ship (which is really a gun with the shell's explosion effect spawning a torpedo or the gun's firing effect spawning a torpedo) and when the torpedo rack locks onto a target and it 'fires' the torpedo will spawn in the direction the weapon is facing instead of north (000). This is what has been holding back AI torps from using real torpedoes when I have tried.

10.- (Racerboy): Let the ship and sub objects be able to be spawned in code. This will help with making lifeboats, fast boats, etc. If I make a ship that is actually a lifeboat I want to be able to spawn it in code. For instance: when a certain object on the ship is destroyed I want to be able to spawn a lifeboat in it's replacement (through a controller).

11.- (Racerboy): Ability to add new dials, buttons, etc. and to be able to map those items to objects so that they can be controllable.

7.- (Racerboy):Ability to turn on/off commands. For instance: you have to order your sub to dive by either pressing the key on your keyboard or pressing the dive button. Make this able to be done in code - give me a controller or something that I can use to make these events happen without user input. This will make MANY things happen that I/others have been wanting to do.

12.- (Racerboy):
Let each crewmember be able to be customizable. If I want one to have a jacket and another not I should be able to do this (easily). Don't tie their jacket to the base 3D model of the crewmember or to it's animations. The jacket should be a seperate object that is able to be 'worn' by the crewmember. Granted this poses some addition animations just for the jacket (or other objects). Let this apply to anything that can be added to a crewmember's person.

13.- (sober): ability to customise the crew faces and modders

14.- (sober): ability to add crew and maybe new animations will greatly add to the games ambiance .

15.- (sober): ability to make our own subs/ships/boats like in the way people make trains for the auran trains simulator games

16.- (Hitman) have as many external plain text configuration archives as possible, to tweak sensitivity of sensors, weather patterns, etc.

17.- (TwinStackPete379) spread the uv maps out on the textures so we can have more flexibility skinning the subs

18.- (haegemon) The capability to use every ocean in an spheric world.

19.- (haegemon) -All objects (vehicles and characters) with as parameters as ships. Sea objects with parameter to fly, float and dive. Surface objects with parameter to ground and fly. Include a parameter to turn lights on/off for all objects which can glow in the night.

20.- (haegemon) The capability to array multiple weapons in one target system, manually controled. To fire with all weapons arrayed over the same target. Also a parameter to simulate the backfire effect on a ship. A must for surface vessels modding as Battleships and cruisers. Also a must for anti-aircraft and gun batteries targetting.

21.- (haegemon) Very important more triggers and events (triggers: based on location of an object, on damage, on the high, ammo load, etc. Events: esplode, damage, move, target, radiomesage, etc)

22.- (haegemon) More freedom to give live to land. Vulnerability for ground objects (if its characteristics are like in ships there's no problem to moddify them).

23.- (haegemon) Finally i would ask for FX boxes. Invisible as object but usable via events and triggers aplied to ambient on the game (smoke, fire, ambiental sound, ambiental glow and flash light). That should be a must to mod land targets, surface warfare.

24.- (haegemon) manually, multiple weapon-objects against the target player picks with the cursor.

25.- (haegemon) AI, objects adquire targets from another object sensors.

26.- (haegemon) Something to edit narrow channels and rivers.

27.- (karamazovnew) Collision Boxes for cameras as we might add objects to the interior.

28.- (karamazovnew) Ability to overlap cameras (I miss the Uzo view in SH2).

29.- (karamazovnew) Full control over the sound volume and effects (at least the ability to make them act as "dials" with an exponential factor linked to speed or whatever).

30.- (karamazovnew) Rotation Parenting between dials, or, better, allow us to make new dials and scripts for them (such as a dial for Course-2xAOB+Range, or whatever).

31.- (karamazovnew) no more hardcoded limitation for which cameras/dials/commands work in certain pages (might be fixed already).

32.- (karamazovnew) a show/hide controller, dragable/fixed controllers for interface objects (again, might be fixed already).

33.- (karamazovnew) Settable mouse sensitivity on all cameras for all axes (in case we mess with zoom levels, the sensitivity is either too high or too low).

34.-(karamazovnew) cameras should have controllers with weights (proportions) and customisable pivots (world, certain object etc.). These weights should be dynamic, compatible with triggers.

35.- (karamazovnew) Allow setting the rotation axis for 3d objects. I'm tired of exporting objects into Gmax to change their pivot.

36.- (karamazovnew) Dials (or more precisely, knobs and needles) should accept "animations" files such as arrays of images.

37.- (karamazovnew) Conditions for item loading (if sub is Type2, load something, if clock between 16:00, 05:00, unload something)

38.- (Anvart) have possibility easy to create new (full-function) Crew slots (additional members of crew) with existing StateMachine Classes and with new StateMachine Classes...

39.- (Anvart) have the universal (none conflicted) controller for movement and rotation of any object ...

40.-(Anvart) have rotation of sensors object (Revolving in SensorData controller) only when sensor is active ...

41.-(Anvart) have possibility to do any 3D-objects visible/invisible depending on the submarine states (surfaced/submerged and others) ... in SH4 we have IsVisible = 0/1 for crew death in StateMachine system ...

42.-(Anvart) improve controllers WaterReflection and VisibleUnderWater (artefacts) ...

43.- (Anvart) To increase UBoat states (surfaced/submerged) and damage states in StateMachine system ...

44.- (skwasjer) true scriptable behaviors, like what they seem to have done for the 2D UI

45.- (kapitan zur see) have a generic 3D invisible trigger_event box and the ability to tie it to any event/animation/sounds/FX we'd like to design. For example to design additional waves splash + additional splash sounds. etc.

46.- (kapitan zur see) Less restrictions in terms of tweaking the 3d engine especially underwater.

47.- (kapitan zur see) ability to integrate "easily" some more shaders. Depth of field effect also.

48.- (kapitan zur see) no more "shared" textured on 3d model. No UV count restriction on 3D model. And no texture size restriction.

Reece · 09-11-09, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Now that we know that SH5 will have a common basis with SH4

Where did you hear that awful news?

karamazovnew · 09-11-09, 09:04 AM

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...6&postcount=10

menu_1024_768.ini file.... you will not be missed.

AVGWarhawk · 09-11-09, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reece

Where did you hear that awful news?

This post is not very productive now it is?

Agree with Hitman....

Quote:

Do not include hardcoded graphics like the reticules for the scopes/UZO. Make them all external graphics that can be edited at convenience.

Captain von Keldunk · 09-11-09, 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reece

Where did you hear that awful news?

Reece I have been there, when I first tried SH4 I also returned to SH3, but like you I was also bitten by SH4 curse. It will not let go.

While playing SH3, I noticed, this or that thing that was better in SH4, so I had to return.

Hopefully SH5 will be a cure for me.

Frederf · 09-11-09, 10:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reece

Where did you hear that awful news?

Yeah, I have heard SH5 is a complete rewrite, nothing carried over from SH3/4.

AVGWarhawk · 09-11-09, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frederf

Yeah, I have heard SH5 is a complete rewrite, nothing carried over from SH3/4.

I was advised that there is a lot of SH4 structure in SH5. This was from the developers.

09-11-09, 11:19 AM

actually, as i understood it, they said it would share a "simular" file structure so modders would be familiar with the modding methods but that the game itself is a completely all new thing with the best 2009 can offer with nothing taken from sh3 or sh4

Seeadler · 09-11-09, 11:35 AM

Quote from the dev corner of the Ubisoft SHIII Website:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cristian Hriscu_Badea - SH3 Game Designer and 3D Artist

In addition, as a welcome bonus, we intend to make the max source file including the tile kit available for the community. You will be able to improve it, expand it and update it (poly count, landmark buildings, new port locations, etc.). Practically, the kit will never fall into obsolescence as long as there will be a Silent Hunter III community.

This time not only have the intention to do such things, do it!

09-11-09, 11:42 AM

karamazovnew · 09-11-09, 12:33 PM

This just keeps getting better and better. How long till we cruise around in the HMS Victory shooting cannons at pirates?

maerean_m · 09-11-09, 01:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hitman

1.- Break the menu.ini into several files, one for each station covered, like the campaign was broken into different layers in SH4. This easy thing would alone help inmensely editing it.

2.- Do not include hardcoded graphics like the reticules for the scopes/UZO. Make them all external graphics that can be edited at convenience.

1. Already did that. It was getting too big and very difficult for many people to work on the menus at the same time.
2. They are not hard-coded and never were. The reticulum is a menu item like any other and the texture is a DDS file.

karamazovnew · 09-11-09, 01:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by maerean_m

2. They are not hard-coded and never were. The reticulum is a menu item like any other and the texture is a DDS file.

Both in SH3 and 4, the linear bearing dial was hardcoded. We could move it and edit it's image file but we could never link any other dial to it. The text (numbers) were separate items easy to mod. But the lines were scaled by hardcode to the Angular Distance and Viewport camera settings and we couldn't move them into/out of view if we messed with the zoom levels. So we had to embed them into tga files which did not change color at night/day. Maybe we could but we did not have any documentation/tutorials and I doubt that you devs knew that Skwas will make his S3D editor

.

Hitman · 09-11-09, 02:06 PM

Quote:

1. Already did that. It was getting too big and very difficult for many people to work on the menus at the same time.

Now how about that for a dedicated and passionate Dev Team? They are even able to read our minds before we ask

Quote:

2. They are not hard-coded and never were. The reticulum is a menu item like any other and the texture is a DDS file.

Hummmm in SH3 I have done about anything I could think of and yet it was impossible for me to find the image where the reticle was held

In SH4 US fleet boats the reticle certainly was in the dds file, but in the german subs I couldn't find it anywhere

irish1958 · 09-11-09, 02:44 PM

As a physician, I am interested in injuries, illnesses and disabilities. In SH3 the medic was introduced, but ineffective. I don't have access to German medical studies re the U-boats, but there is an extensive body of work concerning the American boats. On each patrol there were illnesses, injuries and even deaths from accidents and enemy action, which restricted the effectiveness of the boat.
I am working on a mod for SH3 which incorporates (known) scenarios from the medical literature and gives the medic a real importance and a vital function.
I would like to see this type of realism incorporated in SH5.

09-11-09, 08:43 AM	#1
Hitman Pacific Aces Dev Team Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Spain Posts: 6,109 Downloads: 109 Uploads: 2	Modders Requests to Make Modding SH5 Easier This thread is not about generic things we want in SH5, but about how the devs could pave the way for easier modding. I will try to keep a continuous update on the suggestions made here, and the replies from the Devs if there are any! 1.- (Hitman) Break the menu.ini into several files, one for each station covered, like the campaign was broken into different layers in SH4. This easy thing would alone help inmensely editing it. Maerean_m: Already done! 2.- (Hitman) Do not include hardcoded graphics like the reticules for the scopes/UZO. Make them all external graphics that can be edited at convenience. Maerean_m: Already done! 3.- (Irish1958): injuries, illnesses and disabilities. In SH3 the medic was introduced, but ineffective. I don't have access to German medical studies re the U-boats, but there is an extensive body of work concerning the American boats. On each patrol there were illnesses, injuries and even deaths from accidents and enemy action, which restricted the effectiveness of the boat. 4.- (Mush Martin): A way to make D/P Guns work on player Subs/ships. 5.- (Mush Martin): air launched torpedo profiles for the AI. 6.- (Mush Martin): ability to man ASW Sloops. frigates, DE's or corvettes. when doing convoy command mode 7.- (Racerboy): Harbors - harbors are made by creating 'clones' from the items in the 'harbor kit'. Can these be real objects instead of clones? Being clones poses some limitations on what you can do with them. And because the harbor objects inherited from the base harbor object who inherited from 0x0 this caused even more problems when you tried to do some fancy tricks with the harbor objects. Basically looking for a better system of making harbors and the objects in them. 8.- (Racerboy): The lighthouse's rotating 'light' needs to be fixed so that it doesn't shine through it's own lighthouse (SH3 not sure about SH4) 9.- (Racerboy): When an object is created that depends on some player guidance (TDC for example for the torpedo), instead of it always spawning north when it doesn't have the information it needs, let it spawn in the direction the controlling object is facing. For instance: I create a torpedo rack on a ship (which is really a gun with the shell's explosion effect spawning a torpedo or the gun's firing effect spawning a torpedo) and when the torpedo rack locks onto a target and it 'fires' the torpedo will spawn in the direction the weapon is facing instead of north (000). This is what has been holding back AI torps from using real torpedoes when I have tried. 10.- (Racerboy): Let the ship and sub objects be able to be spawned in code. This will help with making lifeboats, fast boats, etc. If I make a ship that is actually a lifeboat I want to be able to spawn it in code. For instance: when a certain object on the ship is destroyed I want to be able to spawn a lifeboat in it's replacement (through a controller). 11.- (Racerboy): Ability to add new dials, buttons, etc. and to be able to map those items to objects so that they can be controllable. 7.- (Racerboy):Ability to turn on/off commands. For instance: you have to order your sub to dive by either pressing the key on your keyboard or pressing the dive button. Make this able to be done in code - give me a controller or something that I can use to make these events happen without user input. This will make MANY things happen that I/others have been wanting to do. 12.- (Racerboy): Let each crewmember be able to be customizable. If I want one to have a jacket and another not I should be able to do this (easily). Don't tie their jacket to the base 3D model of the crewmember or to it's animations. The jacket should be a seperate object that is able to be 'worn' by the crewmember. Granted this poses some addition animations just for the jacket (or other objects). Let this apply to anything that can be added to a crewmember's person. 13.- (sober): ability to customise the crew faces and modders 14.- (sober): ability to add crew and maybe new animations will greatly add to the games ambiance . 15.- (sober): ability to make our own subs/ships/boats like in the way people make trains for the auran trains simulator games 16.- (Hitman) have as many external plain text configuration archives as possible, to tweak sensitivity of sensors, weather patterns, etc. 17.- (TwinStackPete379) spread the uv maps out on the textures so we can have more flexibility skinning the subs 18.- (haegemon) The capability to use every ocean in an spheric world. 19.- (haegemon) -All objects (vehicles and characters) with as parameters as ships. Sea objects with parameter to fly, float and dive. Surface objects with parameter to ground and fly. Include a parameter to turn lights on/off for all objects which can glow in the night. 20.- (haegemon) The capability to array multiple weapons in one target system, manually controled. To fire with all weapons arrayed over the same target. Also a parameter to simulate the backfire effect on a ship. A must for surface vessels modding as Battleships and cruisers. Also a must for anti-aircraft and gun batteries targetting. 21.- (haegemon) Very important more triggers and events (triggers: based on location of an object, on damage, on the high, ammo load, etc. Events: esplode, damage, move, target, radiomesage, etc) 22.- (haegemon) More freedom to give live to land. Vulnerability for ground objects (if its characteristics are like in ships there's no problem to moddify them). 23.- (haegemon) Finally i would ask for FX boxes. Invisible as object but usable via events and triggers aplied to ambient on the game (smoke, fire, ambiental sound, ambiental glow and flash light). That should be a must to mod land targets, surface warfare. 24.- (haegemon) manually, multiple weapon-objects against the target player picks with the cursor. 25.- (haegemon) AI, objects adquire targets from another object sensors. 26.- (haegemon) Something to edit narrow channels and rivers. 27.- (karamazovnew) Collision Boxes for cameras as we might add objects to the interior. 28.- (karamazovnew) Ability to overlap cameras (I miss the Uzo view in SH2). 29.- (karamazovnew) Full control over the sound volume and effects (at least the ability to make them act as "dials" with an exponential factor linked to speed or whatever). 30.- (karamazovnew) Rotation Parenting between dials, or, better, allow us to make new dials and scripts for them (such as a dial for Course-2xAOB+Range, or whatever). 31.- (karamazovnew) no more hardcoded limitation for which cameras/dials/commands work in certain pages (might be fixed already). 32.- (karamazovnew) a show/hide controller, dragable/fixed controllers for interface objects (again, might be fixed already). 33.- (karamazovnew) Settable mouse sensitivity on all cameras for all axes (in case we mess with zoom levels, the sensitivity is either too high or too low). 34.-(karamazovnew) cameras should have controllers with weights (proportions) and customisable pivots (world, certain object etc.). These weights should be dynamic, compatible with triggers. 35.- (karamazovnew) Allow setting the rotation axis for 3d objects. I'm tired of exporting objects into Gmax to change their pivot. 36.- (karamazovnew) Dials (or more precisely, knobs and needles) should accept "animations" files such as arrays of images. 37.- (karamazovnew) Conditions for item loading (if sub is Type2, load something, if clock between 16:00, 05:00, unload something) 38.- (Anvart) have possibility easy to create new (full-function) Crew slots (additional members of crew) with existing StateMachine Classes and with new StateMachine Classes... 39.- (Anvart) have the universal (none conflicted) controller for movement and rotation of any object ... 40.-(Anvart) have rotation of sensors object (Revolving in SensorData controller) only when sensor is active ... 41.-(Anvart) have possibility to do any 3D-objects visible/invisible depending on the submarine states (surfaced/submerged and others) ... in SH4 we have IsVisible = 0/1 for crew death in StateMachine system ... 42.-(Anvart) improve controllers WaterReflection and VisibleUnderWater (artefacts) ... 43.- (Anvart) To increase UBoat states (surfaced/submerged) and damage states in StateMachine system ... 44.- (skwasjer) true scriptable behaviors, like what they seem to have done for the 2D UI 45.- (kapitan zur see) have a generic 3D invisible trigger_event box and the ability to tie it to any event/animation/sounds/FX we'd like to design. For example to design additional waves splash + additional splash sounds. etc. 46.- (kapitan zur see) Less restrictions in terms of tweaking the 3d engine especially underwater. 47.- (kapitan zur see) ability to integrate "easily" some more shaders. Depth of field effect also. 48.- (kapitan zur see) no more "shared" textured on 3d model. No UV count restriction on 3D model. And no texture size restriction. __________________ One day I will return to sea ... Last edited by Hitman; 09-25-09 at 02:47 PM.

09-11-09, 02:44 PM	#15
irish1958 Ocean Warrior Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Carmel, Indiana Posts: 3,250 Downloads: 320 Uploads: 11	As a physician, I am interested in injuries, illnesses and disabilities. In SH3 the medic was introduced, but ineffective. I don't have access to German medical studies re the U-boats, but there is an extensive body of work concerning the American boats. On each patrol there were illnesses, injuries and even deaths from accidents and enemy action, which restricted the effectiveness of the boat. I am working on a mod for SH3 which incorporates (known) scenarios from the medical literature and gives the medic a real importance and a vital function. I would like to see this type of realism incorporated in SH5. __________________ Irish1958

09-11-09, 09:04 AM	#3
karamazovnew The Old Man Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bucharest, Romania Posts: 1,403 Downloads: 151 Uploads: 0	http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/show...6&postcount=10 menu_1024_768.ini file.... you will not be missed.

09-11-09, 11:19 AM	#8
Webster Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	actually, as i understood it, they said it would share a "simular" file structure so modders would be familiar with the modding methods but that the game itself is a completely all new thing with the best 2009 can offer with nothing taken from sh3 or sh4

09-11-09, 11:42 AM	#10
Webster Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:

09-11-09, 12:33 PM	#11
karamazovnew The Old Man Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Bucharest, Romania Posts: 1,403 Downloads: 151 Uploads: 0	This just keeps getting better and better. How long till we cruise around in the HMS Victory shooting cannons at pirates?