[Onkel Neal]

Onkel Neal has made a Best of SUBSIM nomination.
Category:

Mod+Modder of the Year

Post: This Aces mod is awesome, it brings fresh life into a classic subsim. Several hundred members have endorsed it, I think it is worthy of a Mod of the Year nomination.
Forum: Classic Subsims

Posted by: Andreas86
Nominated Post: New Graphic Mod for AOD! UPDATED 04.02.22

:ahoy:UPDATE 04.02.22



New in version 1.3

-New bridge view for the type VIIC! Both with and without watch crew on duty.
-Updated map view screens for all u-boats. 3 different colors to choose from, plus minor graphic fixes.

I am happy to be able to bring you a completely new bridge view for Aces of the Deep. Using an excellent 3D model of the type VIIC made by talented creator "splatypi" on www.blendswap.com, I used the program Blender to produce the 64 frames needed for a complete 360 view in Aces of the Deep. A lot of time and effort was put into finding the right viewpoint, exporting, palette conversions, graphic editing, fine pixel work, sourcing good sprites for the crew, aligning them correctly in each frame, and much, much more. I have made a version both with and without the watch crew on duty, so you can choose depending on your preference. Some may like to have an unmanned bridge with a free line of sight, but for authenticity I recommend using the bridge with a watch crew! I really hope this will add a lot to the immersion in the game.

The second, smaller feature in this version is updated map screens for all u-boats. My original white map screen has been replaced by an updated version with a different font on the top, shadows for the small items on the table, and you can now choose between 3 different colors for the map view (both for the regular u-boats and the type XXI). The colors are tan, blue-grey and grey. This update was made following a request by John Pancoast for a map that is both more pleasing for the eye, as well as more authentic. The tan colored map should resemble actual Kriegsmarine maps more than my original white. I used the closest shade I could find in the map screen palette. The two other colors are there if you like them. In the future I will also work on making the strategic maps more realistic.

Many thanks to John Pancoast for good advice and ideas, sending me various files, testing, feedback and motivation! Without your help this would not have come out as nice! I really appreciate it.

Download here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TkC...ew?usp=sharing





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:ping: UPDATE 19.01.22

-New control room screen for the Type XXI!
-New map view, torpedo room and damage control screen for the type XXI.

While Dynamix gave the type XXI some deserved attention in their adddon, it did little visually other than change the tower view. All the rest of the screens were the same as for the older subs, except for a new radar screen and an active sonar button on the map view. With this in mind I set out making a completely new control room for the type XXI, based on the real control room of the last XXI in Hamburg. A small liberty had to be taken with the periscope, as in the real sub the scope is placed in a different part of the control room, not near the gauge wall. But overall I am very satisfied with the way it all came out, and thanks to some great photos online I was able to match this up quite well. I hope you will enjoy
spending time in the new control room, the crew is ready! The gauges has also been changed visually

In addition I made a modified map screen for the type XXI, as well as a new torpedo loadout screen and damage control screen. I hope you will appreciate the small historic touches.

The control room .SCR file is independant and can be placed in your SIM folder, but the new type XXI ingame screens will overwrite my older ones so I suggest backing those up. I suggest installing these screens when
you are planning on using the type XXI. In the future I might write a simple .bat file to make it easier to change between the screen packs.

19.01.2022

Download link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TmH3NyVjn0RP_Wi6928kMLetpsDphZJk/view?usp=sharing





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:arrgh!: UPDATE 12.01.22:

I have made new ingame screens for Aces of the Deep! The original archive is updated with the new files, just download the whole thing. It has expanded beyond control room and menu screen, so from now on I just call it "Visual Enhancement Mod".

New screens include the map view, torpedo room, damage control screen, radio room and the log book screen! The default screens left a lot of screen estate unused, I have therefore tried my best to create a more immersive atmosphere in these screens that does justice to the rest of the game. In addition I wanted the screens to reflect the actual interior of german uboats, and I hope you will like the little details! The map screen is totally changed, from the table to the map itself. The cycling blue water texture is gone, in its place is a solid white map, with squares that is in the same scale as indicated in the bottom left corner. The new damage control screen is inspired by the original one, but with a real blueprint diagram of a Type VIIC. It matches completely up with the default damage placements. As for the rest, you can see them all in the picture below.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E5A...ew?usp=sharing




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UPDATE 27.12.21:

The completed control room and menu screens mod is now out! Details are in the readme file included. Merry Christmas! :arrgh!:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WOH...ew?usp=sharing

Here is an overview of the new graphics:



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Original post:


I have made a new control room screen for AOD, based on the real control room of a type VIIC/41 mixed with elements of the original control room from AOD. I have done a lot of work drawing the elements together, color corrections, lighting, pixel by pixel drawing, palette conversions and so on.. I used a photo from inside U-995 in Laboe, Germany, which I visited 7 years ago. I love AOD, but one thing I have never liked was the deserted uboat, and the generic and uncorrect control rooms. So in addition to the improved sub interior, I have added some friendly and loyal crew members. Of course they do not move but I feel it gives some sense of immersion and atmosphere. A certain uboat movie (not Das Boot) provided me with some good sprites.

This is not a joke, or a mockup. As you can see I have it running in DOSBox. It is not entirely finished though, and this is only for the type VII. But the same thing can be done with any of the type II, VII, IX, or XXI rooms. The only small drawback with this is that the mouse positions no longer makes much sense, apart from the gauges. So one should use the F-keys to move around the boat.

In short, I have found a way to extract and modify artwork in the game, and it seems a lot is possible with AOD. :salute:



Compare to the original: