[CB..]

here are some possibly usefull weather missions file entrys
#Weather "night1"
Weather "sun"
StartTime 6.0,0.0
StartDate 1914,9,2
ChangeGeoPivot 3,52
SetEnvParameters 0,1,1
#SetWaterScales 5,5,1
NightLight $0
AmbientLight 0.4, 0.4, 0.4
DiffuseLight 0.8, 0.8, 0.8
LightDirection 1,1,1


SetEnvParameters 0,1,1
#SetWaterScales 5,5,1
NightLight $0
AmbientLight 0.4, 0.4, 0.4
DiffuseLight 0.8, 0.8, 0.8 LightDirection 1,1,1

these may hold a key to elaborating on the weather shown in each mission...
#Weather "night1"
Weather "sun"
SetEnvParameters 0,1,1
#SetWaterScales 5,5,1
NightLight $0
AmbientLight 0.4, 0.4, 0.4
DiffuseLight 0.8, 0.8, 0.8
LightDirection 1,1,1

certainly worth experimenting with....as although i was intialy excited by the in game weather effects with what i assumed were weather changes during missions..
i am dissapointed to find that there doesn't appear to be genuinely changing weather (thus far) .. changing weather, especaily along the lines of the SH2 moving plot-able weather front method is one of my favourite topics ..
and i have yet to see any sim any where implement changing weather more genuinely than SH2!!!

so will have to look into the SOF weather trying to maximise the effects being able to control the ambient diffuse etc light for each individual missions is a start
(rather than it just using the overal blanket weather type taken directly from the weather.txt and referenced by the weather "night1" or "sun" etc..
i wonder if the game allows for different weather at night than during the day...the TWO referenced weather types might hint at that
or it may be that the # comments out the one or the other..
but you have the
nightlight and
SetEnvParameters 0,1,1
these may be powerful tools to play with as may be the

#SetWaterScales 5,5,1height/length/width of the waves...

these have a dramatic effect on your scope visabilty etc and ease or not of submerged attacks as well as providing different sea-state conditons from a sufaced eye candy point of view..
the nightlight might allow for differing degrees of brightness at night allowing each weather type to be customised to suit...

EDIT---
yikes..that needed re-arranging a little!

coming to the
StateEngineTemplates.txt

anything other than the TRADEROUTES stuff containing within there is AIRBASE SPAWNED..
or rather triggered by the player entering the area...bit dissapointing that...


BUT on the positive side it at least has some very complex and flixible behaviuor available to use..here's an example

# three point escape
#
# #1=SimOb[,ref]
# #2,#3,#4 = Points of movement (l,b)
# #5=Fluchtziel (l,b), #6=Speed
#
18,threepointescape
s:6
c:0,1,PlayerNear:g#2
a:1,CreateSimObject:#1
a:1,GoTo:g#2,0,#6
a:2,GoTo:g#3,0,#6
a:3,GoTo:g#4,0,#6
a:4,GoTo:g#5,0,0
a:4,FireAtWill:
a:5,StopAndFire:
c:1,2,LastDestinationReached:1500
c:2,3,LastDestinationReached:1500
c:3,1,LastDestinationReached:1500
c:1,4,EnemyVisible:5000
c:2,4,EnemyVisible:5000
c:3,4,EnemyVisible:5000
c:4,5,LastDestinationReached:1500
c:5,5,EnemyVisible:5000
c:5,1,TimeExpired:4,720


obviuosly the player near trigger at the top of the list of instructions is well --player near-- DO THIS---

first it selects the ship type..with
create simobject

then it tells the ship to go to lat long coordinates 1 then 2 then 3 which you can edit in the mission file itself....

here's an example of the twopoint escape mission entrys (couldn't find a thre point one used so this will do)
name of template/shiptype /# lat long range trigger area/timer/ LatLong go to location /and at the end speed of ship

TwoPointEscape#Scharnhorst#7.547,54.642,30000000,7 20#0.596,54.628#3.0,52.2#12"

the three point escape has another lat long so the ship would proceed along a course AFAIK..which means you could set ships up to ambush the player by drawing him onto a waiting cruiser or destroyer or simply have that ship race at max speed to the nearest friendly port...you know just interesting stuff to experiment with.....looking at the size of the trigger area for the above example it pretty much covers everywhere....30000000 is a huge area...so this ship spawn isn't a localised event..wonder what exactly the game means by Player near??



hopefully this is a fourpoint (without the escape option) convoy triggered by the player entering the area of the first waypoint range 30000000
methinks there might be a delay on this spawning?? at that range??


#Mission
ApplyStateEngine $0,"fourpoint#Dachia,1#1.349,53.736,300000000#4.00 9,54.672#4.080,56.482#0.874,55.213#18"
ApplyStateEngine $1,"fourpoint#Dachia,2#1.355,53.736,300000000#4.00 9,54.672#4.080,56.482#0.874,55.213#18"
ApplyStateEngine $1,"fourpoint#zerst2#1.360,53.736,300000000#4.009, 54.672#4.080,56.482#0.874,55.213#18"
ApplyStateEngine $1,"fourpoint#zerst2#1.365,53.736,300000000#4.009, 54.672#4.080,56.482#0.874,55.213#18"

and that dynamic contact report entry for the convoy

AddPositionTracker $1,$168,"From Admiralty:\\To all submarines\in range.\Hostile contact reported.\\Position: %s\Movement direction: %d\You are allowed\to seek and destroy\the contact.\Do not contravene your orders!"

all of which is a whole world simpler than the way the mission generator constructs a convoy..which is a relief


if your following what i'm saying here you can see that you can do something very much like and at LEAST as good as the dynamic campaign in SH3 and 4....

one/ you strip out most of the randomly spawned shipping..(editing the ship density txts to achive this)
two/ you edit into all the missions files three or four convoys or similar with the dynamic contact reports
three/ you now have a dynamic campaign engine..

well we all know it isn't DYNAMIC but then neither is SH3/4's..what we mean here is random..or rather REPLAYABLE

you then just leave port head to your patrol zone
the dynamic contact reports will report on shipping...

what you do as the player is then entirely up to you....

bingo..instant "dynamic" campaign engine..

i mean folks can whine and say "it isn't this" or "it isn't that" or "what about this" or "what about that" ad bleedin infinitum

but at the end of it all...it would be a "dynamic" campaign

are you sure you guys are REALLY interested in all this??:hmm: