Stiebler "Surrender Mod" patch.

[Stiebler]

I have now a functioning version of my U-boat surrender mod. (Previously discussed in the H.sie sticky, see below for link.)

THE IDEA:
Every time your U-boat is sunk, the whole crew is assumed to be killed, and your career ends. This is bad news for the 'Dead-Is-Dead' players, they have to start their playing careers from the beginning (1939) again. (These players do not permit themselves to restart the game from a previously saved patrol, after being sunk.)

In real life, there were often survivors from sunken U-boats, and, if they were rescued by U-boat, they could start a new career in a new U-boat. This would be good news for 'Dead-Is-Dead' players.

There are many reasons why you might wish to surrender (= abandon) your U-boat. You might be forced to the surface with heavy damage after an attack on a convoy, and be fired on by destroyers; the U-boat might be left unmanoeuvrable by an aircraft attack or by hitting a mine; you might run out of fuel in mid-ocean.

USE:
When the situation is hopeless:
1. You click on the 'Abandon U-boats' radio button (previously the 'Radio Contacts' button), which indicates 'willingness to surrender\abandon boat'. The nice bright-red new button was very kindly created by SquareSteelBar for me. This action cannot be reversed! You can click on the bright-red button when surfaced or submerged.
2. Subsequently, any radio status message that you send (which must be from the surfaced U-boat) will notify BdU that you are abandoning the boat, and will also set scuttling charges to explode after 10 (game-) minutes. You will see a dialog box to tell you that the crew is abandoning ship.
3. As your last act, you must order a crash-dive, to sink the U-boat as fast as possible.
4. When the 10 minutes are up, your hull-integrity is reduced to precisely 2.0, whether you are on the surface or submerged.
5. These 2.0 hull-points ensure that your U-boat will be 'sunk by pressure' even at periscope depth, thus you can sink your U-boat even in shallow waters.
6. The probability of being rescued by Allies or U-boat depends on the hull-integrity that you had at the time you signalled BdU. The higher the hull integrity, the greater the chance that you will be rescued by U-boat. (So Dead-Is-Dead players can legitimately start a new career in a new U-boat.) Otherwise, you will be rescued by the Allies (cannot continue a new career). It means that 'Dead-Is-Dead' players must make some tough decisions about when to surrender if they are suffering damage from depth-charges at deep depth.
7. Important - if Allied ships/aircraft sink you before you have self-sunk your U-boat, you are deemed to have been killed in action. No new career for 'Dead-Is-Dead' players.

I have placed the patch-kit here:

http://www.subsim.com/mods1/nygm/Sti...ender_patch.7z

IMPORTANT: for copyright reasons, this patch-kit will function ONLY with any version of original SH3.exe that has been patched with H.sie's V15G1 patch kit. See here:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=174225
This new thread is a continuation of the discussion of the Surrender mod in the later pages of the above thread.

Full instructions for the "Surrender" option are included with the patch-kit.

This has been a tricky mod to code and test, since inevitably once you have surrendered/abandoned your U-boat, the game is over.

I have tested the mod successfully with NYGM, using type II, type VII and type IX boats, in the North Sea, in mid-Atlantic, in the Bay of Biscay, before and after sinking ships, and sometimes in the presence of convoys or aircraft (when the mod will be most useful). I have tested it again after starting the game all over again after being sunk, and after restarting a game with old saved games, after being sunk.

All seems to be OK. I believe that this patch-kit will work with any of the supermods, but please note that I have not tested the mod specifically with anything other than NYGM. Please regard this mod as a beta version - as I say, it is difficult to test extensively when, by its nature, the game must end every time you use it.

FROM THE READ-ME:
Stiebler Surrender fix for H.sie's V15G1 patch of SH3.exe.

What it contains:

A. A patch for your SH3.exe file.
This patch contains ONLY the following:
Stiebler's Surrender Option.

B. An updated version of Stiebler's 'Options Selector' (version 1.3) which allows all patches to be used selectively - turned off and on at will. You can also use the Options Selector to toggle the 4 GByte RAM usage on and off (suitable for 64-bit computers only).
The Options Selector comprises the following files:
HsieOptionsSelector.exe
HsieContents.txt
HsieOptions.chm (a help file, which you can read by clicking on 'Help' in the Options Selector, or by double-clicking directly on the .chm file.

The Options Selector help file contains full details of the various fixes in this combined patch-kit (that is H.sie's V15G1 and the Surrender patch).
Users of NYGM should toggle OFF the Realistic Repairs option, which can cause CTDs (NYGM has its own, alternative, realistic repairs mod.)

C. A subsidiary mod 'SurrenderMod' which can be installed at once with JSGME. It contains SquareSteelBar's change to the radio icons specially for this mod, and also en_menu.txt and de_menu.txt files for NYGM.
[Further details in full readme.] [Edit: Plus instructions for other super-mods, including GWX.]

Purpose:
An update of H.sie's V15G1 patch, with Surrender patch made by Stiebler.

Requirements:
A version of SH3.exe which is ALREADY PATCHED with H.sie's V15G1 patch.
No alternatives!

Method:
[See full read-me enclosed with patch-kit.]

Feedback welcome!

Stiebler. 27 June 2011.

[SquareSteelBar]

Some little corrections/suggestions for de_menu.txt:

2905=U-Boot aufgeben
4809/10=Klarmachen zum Verlassen des Bootes! -> or alternatively [matter of taste] -> Klar bei Tauchretter!*

Thanks for your efforts,
SquareSteelBar
____________________________________________

*there was one Kaleun [Fritz-Julius Lemp, U28, U30, U110] who jokingly ordered: "Endstation Uhlandstraße - alles aussteigen!" -> "Last stop: Uhland Street.** All change!"

**subway station in Berlin

[Sailor Steve]

This is way too cool!

[Hitman]

IMPORTANT: for copyright reasons, this patch-kit will function ONLY with any version of original SH3.exe that has been patched with H.sie's V15G1 patch kit

So if I understand it right, this wil not work with the unofficial starforce free game?

(Your link points to H.Sie's thread where this is not clarified, as H.Sie's patch does indeed work with that unofficial version)

[SquareSteelBar]

It works with the unofficial sf free sh3.exe, too. -> read posts #1094 and #1117




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[Stiebler]

@SSB, Hitman,

Thanks for the correction to my German language, SSB.

This mod is intended to work only with H.sie's patched V15G1 mod.

The reason is this:
In creating the H.sie V15G1 mod, H.sie's patch code very cleverly modifies certain alternative SH3.exe versions to mimick the official SF-free 2006 release. Then it adds the V15G1 patch.

Therefore, by using this pre-patched version of SH3.exe, I can be sure that the Surrender mod will work properly, without having to worry about the problems caused by the various versions of SH3.exe out there. (H.sie has given me his permission to use his V15G1 patch in this way.)

If the Surrender mod works with the unpatched official SF-free 2006 version of SH3.exe too, then that is an unexpected bonus. I am also surprised, because H.sie has extended the free memory space in the official SH3.exe to provide extra space for our patches, and (so far as I am aware), the Surrender mod uses that added free space!! Maybe I am unknowingly using original free space in SH3.exe (my code uses ca. 0x635170 to 0x6355F2 - which is a big patch).

Stiebler.

[SquareSteelBar]

Originally Posted by Stiebler

...If the Surrender mod works with the unpatched official SF-free 2006 version of SH3.exe too, then that is an unexpected bonus...

No no, you got it wrong.
Your surrender patch does not work with any unpatched sh3.exe but it does with the inofficial NoDVD sh3.exe which was previously patched to h.sie's V15G1 mod [this is what Hitman asked].

Do you understand what I [and Hitman] mean?




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[coronas]

Thanks, master!

[Fish In The Water]

Great work! Thanks very much for the time and effort!

[h.sie]

While it took about 6 months for my hardcode fixes to be mentioned in the german ubi forum for the first time, Stieblers Surrender Fix is already discussed there at the day of release. I have to think about that

[urfisch]

the german ubi forum is no reference. so just dont care...



your work is great. and stieblers also!!!

[Hitman]

While it took about 6 months for my hardcode fixes to be mentioned in the german ubi forum for the first time, Stieblers Surrender Fix is already discussed there at the day of release. I have to think about that

While I'm pretty sure that this patch of yours is on the legal side of things, the less UBI knows about it, the better. (Even if I'm alomost sure that they would not do anything against it, as SH in general and SH3 in particular is as good as dead for them)

[Stiebler]

@SSB:

No no, you got it wrong.
Your surrender patch does not work with any unpatched sh3.exe but it does with the inofficial NoDVD sh3.exe which was previously patched to h.sie's V15G1 mod [this is what Hitman asked].

Do you understand what I [and Hitman] mean?

The version of starting sh3.exe doesn't matter anymore since the outcoming sh3.exe is always identic...

Sorry, my error for not understanding you. That (always using Hsie's V15G1 patch) is how I thought it was supposed to be originally!

@Hitman:
Actually, the work of H.sie (especially) and to a lesser extent of myself, must be giving SH3 a new lease of commercial life, since it is obvious that many previous owners of SH3 are buying new, SF-free, DVD versions of SH3 especially to use H.sie's patches. H.sie's distribution method (patching the user's legitimately owned copy of sh3.exe) ensures that Ubisoft is losing no sales from our work.

This work can hardly be subtracting sales from SH5 either. Indeed, one very interesting feature of the dual existence of SH3 and SH5 is that it has polarised the U-boat simulation fraternity into two camps:
Those who want spectacular graphics, and associated modders, go to SH5.
Those who want excellent game-play/realism, and associated modders, go to SH3.
There are a few well known modders, eg The Dark Wraith, Privateer and some ship-builders such as Rowi, who have a foot in both camps (to the benefit of both), but they are rare.

Stiebler.

[Hitman]

@Hitman:
Actually, the work of H.sie (especially) and to a lesser extent of myself, must be giving SH3 a new lease of commercial life, since it is obvious that many previous owners of SH3 are buying new, SF-free, DVD versions of SH3 especially to use H.sie's patches. H.sie's distribution method (patching the user's legitimately owned copy of sh3.exe) ensures that Ubisoft is losing no sales from our work.

I know, those are he reasons we already agreeded upon, but then again try convincing a lawyer about it ...

[Stiebler]

I know, those are he reasons we already agreeded upon, but then again try convincing a lawyer about it ..

True.

Stiebler.