UPDATE:
I have place the tools for this in the SH4 Gameplay Mods on this site.
look for the
SH4 Nav Package
Over in the real navigation thread in SH4 Mods, we have put together a working method of using celestial navigation in SH4. This is more of a hybrid than a mod, as it only uses
Thendashes no sub on map mod, and takes the sub position in a saved game and transfers it to a freeware planetarium program.
There is a
tutorial here if you want to try celnav out.
I have put together the
Almanacs and tools needed for plotting in a 7zip here.
Below is the readme giving a description of what is involved in getting this working.
This is not a game mod. It works by taking the sub position from a saved game and inserting it blindly into a Planetarium program, where you take your star sights. Don1Reed has extensively tested this and found it to be very accurate. For me, it was a quest to use celestial navigation as it should be used.
Thendash has a small mod to remove the sub marker from the map in SH4 that greatly enhances this package. I have included it in the package with his permission. You can also find the "No Sub On Map" mod here:
http://files.filefront.com/No+sub+on.../fileinfo.html
***** Update *****
The program sh4tostellarium.exe uses command line arguments to put the sub position into stellarium, you don't need to install Python for this. see the sh4tostellarium readme. I have added it to the full package and also uploaded just the program here.
Make sure you get the right program for the version of Stellarium that you are using.
SH4 to Stellarium program.
******************
This package requires the installation of the freeware Planetarium Stellarium and Python open source programming language. . Stellarium is a worthwhile program in itself, and python is a powerful yet fairly easy to use scriptbased programming language. There are numerous tutorials and prebuilt python modules available on the net. I used the pyephem module to create the Almanac pages in Excel.
If you are not familiar with Celestial Navigation, there is a tutorial using a simplified method and the USNO Online Almanac. You can try this with Stellarium if you just want to try celnav.
To Implement this:
1. Install Stellarium:
www.stellarium.org
2. Install Python, this version has the windows extensions:
Activestate Python
3. After installing start Stellarium so it creates a config.ini file. There should be a link to this in the Stellarium startup directory, if not you can find it under C:\Documents and Settings\***Your login name***\Stellarium.
Open this file and find the [localization] section. Change time_zone to =utc
Save and Close.
4 Put the SH4toStellarium.py script where you can find it. I created a shortcut to it on my desktop, along with a shortcut that runs Stellarium. You have to change a couple of lines in the script to reflect the directories you want. They are marked in the script.
Now run the game. go to the game screen before saving the game. I always save the game to a "Checknav" savegame so the directory stays the same. Note the time you save the game.
You have to convert the game time, which is the time at your base, to GMT.
(GMT is Pearl time + 10 hrs)
After saving the game, run the script, it will ask for the GMT date and time.
Now run Stellarium. it should start at the sub date, time and location. The tutorial has the info in taking "sights" and you are on your way to navigating independently.
The Files in this Archive:
Green TSD.pdf - Time-Speed-Distance sliderule.
Nomograph.pdf - Printable nomograph.
SH4toStellarium.py - Python script (text script).
Time Charts.pdf - Printable GMT conversion charts, use the one you like best.
ups.pdf Universal 8.5 X 11 Plotsheet courtesy of reedsalmanac.com
Short Tutorial on SH4 Celestial Navigation.pdf - The tutorial.
1942 thru 1945 Nautical almanacs - Sun and Star information for reducing sights. see Henning Umland's site
www.celnav.de for instructions on using Ageton's tables (compact.zip on his freeware page) plus lots of other info on celestial navigation.
HO-249 Star Sight Wksht for using the HO-249 tables (link in the Tutorial links pages).
sh4tostellarium.exe - program to create startup.sts for stellarium
sh4tostellarium readme.txt - instructions for sh4tostellarium.exe.
Fair skys and smooth sailing,
6SJ7GT / Mike
Edit 12/14/2009 to update links