[REL] Dark Waters

[KaleunMarco]

i am stumped. this hasn't happened to me in a long, long time, when i was doing things the wrong way.

we shoved off for patrol driving a 7C out of La Pallice on the west coast of France, late in August, expecting changes while we are out.

La Pallice ceases operating 8/31/44 and my flot is to be transferred and assigned to Bergen at that time. Bergen opens for business for 7C's on 7/1/44 and continues to the end of the war.

so, we are patrolling an ISC zone, north of Scapa Flow. time passes, radio announcements of the French ports closures come and go. La Pallice goes away but, while it is a base, Bergen is never designated as our base. and now it is September 5. in the past, these things took a day or so to take effect but never several days. we reloaded at Harstad because it was not far from our area but i do not want to stay on patrol until May, if you get my meaning.

any ideas on what to check?

Generic Mod Enabler - v2.6.0.157
[C:\Ubisoft\Dark Waters\MODS]

100 OM_DarkWaters_V6
110 OM_Harder_Escort_L2
120 OM_Strategic_Map_Symbols
130 OM_UMark
140 OM_Warm_Clothes
150 OM_U-Jagd
160 OM_Med_Env
180 Voice Mod
900 DarkWaters V6_Errors-fix

[propbeanie]

It does not always happen like this, but from what I see? The "Command" runs from 1941-03-01 to 1944-08-30, with Base 1 being Kiel from 1941-03-01 to 1941-10-01, which it then moves to La Pallice 1941-10-02 to 1944-08-30. Now, for me, the game does not document when that "1941-03-01" begins... I have seen mention of "midnight" from reliable sources, but that is kind of a "which one" question? When military counting though, 0000 for midnight, is the first stroke of the new day, so 0000 1941-03-01 is at the first moment of that day, at 0000 hours. Likewise with 1944-08-30... you go from 2359:59 and however many milliseconds you want to count on 1944-08-29, and then right at 0000:00 hours it is 1944-08-30. I beat this point beyond the point of 'dead' at 0000 hours, because at exactly that same time, you have the VIIC:

[Flotilla 5.UserPlayerUnitType 1]
ID= F5VIIC
NameDisplayable= Type VIIC U-boat
AvailabilityInterval= NULL, NULL <--- Basically 1941-03-01, 1944-08-30
IDLinkUserPlayerUnitType= VIIC
UnitTypeCommonality= 5
IDFlotillaLinkTransferTo= 11Flotilla_BERGEN

which just so happens to 'die' at that same exact moment in time of 0000:00 hours on 1944-08-30... my thought is that the Command should be until 1944-08-31, and the same that the Base 2 of La Pallice should be 1941-10-02 to 1944-08-31, but making the sub NULL, 1944-08-30, so that the "IDFlotilla Link TransferTo= line actually gets a chance to kick-in and be utilized. It seems like it should fuction correctly anyway, but we have found the same issue in FotRSU with the newest update, and ran into a boat without a home more than once during testing. Not cool, and very difficult to "fix" in the Save folder, if it is even possible... I tried editing the Save folder data, but I always mess that up. I would look in the CareerTrack, find the lines, and then search for the hits elsewhere. But in the meantime, unless a boat is purposefully set to expire for a game default upgrade path to the next higher boat, I would make certain all boats transfer out prior to the Base and / or Command expire by at least a 24 hour period of time...

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by propbeanie

[Flotilla 5.UserPlayerUnitType 1]
ID= F5VIIC
NameDisplayable= Type VIIC U-boat
AvailabilityInterval= NULL, NULL <--- Basically 1941-03-01, 1944-08-30
IDLinkUserPlayerUnitType= VIIC
UnitTypeCommonality= 5
IDFlotillaLinkTransferTo= 11Flotilla_BERGEN

thank you for reminding me about this feature, PB.
it is one of those subtle things that drive me nuts.
ok, so, under the heading of: nothing dared, nothing gained...i modded Flotillas during the mission (don't do it) and ....it worked.
Approx 3 hours after the reload began, Bergen popped open as our base.
I'll have to go back and try and finish the mission after work tonight.

[propbeanie]

Excellent! Just remember though, that it might not be "Success!" just yet.. With one of my edits, it showed my base change, but when I went to dock, it would not give the prompt to End Patrol, only re-fit. Another time, a CTD was there to greet me. Either result could mean an incomplete or incorrect edit though, of course, and just ask strikeback, or CapnScurvy or Rockin Robbins - I am known for my penchant to create CTDs at the drop of a hat, or comma or semi-colon in this case... lol

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by propbeanie

Excellent! Just remember though, that it might not be "Success!" just yet.. With one of my edits, it showed my base change, but when I went to dock, it would not give the prompt to End Patrol, only re-fit. Another time, a CTD was there to greet me. Either result could mean an incomplete or incorrect edit though, of course, and just ask strikeback, or CapnScurvy or Rockin Robbins - I am known for my penchant to create CTDs at the drop of a hat, or comma or semi-colon in this case... lol

yes. i know exactly what you mean.
i am less afraid of the typo and more afraid of a CTD because i made a change to a game parameter mid-mission....which is why i made this change with tepidity.
i am signing off now to complete the mission.

update: we made it. we played a trick and got away with it. now we can finish this verdampt war sailing from Bergen to Scotland every 6-8 weeks. Norse winters are a bItch, i hear.

[propbeanie]

Really nice... glad it worked! Any edits needed besides the one?

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by propbeanie

Really nice... glad it worked! Any edits needed besides the one?

the only edit was replacing the NULL(s) in Flotilla.
as you suggested in your previous post, SH4 assigns values to NULL that are not necessarily what we might think are appropriate.
entering absolute dates within the bounds of the Base dates seems to be critical, especially for the expiration date of the boat.
what i am really surprised about is that i was able to make a change to a system file, during a mission, and did not get sent to the Land of CTD for doing so.
shocking.
but, i'll take it and say thank you, very much may i have another....which i probably won't get.


[Flotilla 5.UserPlayerUnitType 1]
ID= F5VIIC
NameDisplayable= Type VIIC U-boat
AvailabilityInterval= 1941-10-02, 1944-08-30
IDLinkUserPlayerUnitType= VIIC
UnitTypeCommonality= 5
IDFlotillaLinkTransferTo= 11Flotilla_BERGEN

[propbeanie]

You might also notice that if a CareerStart.upc is set for a period of 15 January to 17 January of a given year, that you will actually sail on the 18th of the month. Along those lines, one thing of the Flotillas file that we have also found, is that if a Command begins on say December 12, 1943, and you set the Sub to NULL, NULL, it is actually "active" as far as mission assignments go, two days prior, on December 10. The NULL on the Base and Boat, as well as Objective mission assignments do work, but can lead to issues. Doing the dates wrong though, can lead to CTDs... This is why you will see some of the subs in FotRSU that start December 7, 1941, have December 1 mission assignments. If they aren't in-place prior to the start date, nothing is assigned, and you most likely CTD. This is also why the New Construction can fail, in that you HAVE to have an active assignment, but the game might give you 14 days, or it might give 24 days "rest" at the home port. To play it safe, the assignments are usually done for a short rest, you then "skip either the 2nd or 3rd assignment in New Construction, and/or any "automatic" transfer fails. We have suspected the "end" of a Command / Base / Boat is similar in the Date, but sometimes all NULLs do function as intended... you just never know. It is advisable though, to have the Command and / or Base end the day AFTER a boat leaves, so that the boat does transfer properly. However, again, we have seen that if a player is on "rest" in-base at the time, it is a crapshoot (roll of the dice) as to what will happen... In theory, you will transfer while you sleep, having gone to bed in Pallice, and awaken then in Bergen... Who brought your boat over?? You still get a Pallice assignment first though... Coming back in: Next Mission assignment, then upgrades / awards, then transfers... maybe

[KaleunMarco]

i am playing DW but i suspect that this is not a DW issue.

who can teach me how to vary the color of a torpedo head, within the DDS file?
i only want to vary the T5 so that i can tell it apart from the T3. Currently, they are nearly identical.

i can open the file with GIMP but there is a waffle-like overlay that shades every piece-part...which is another issue: which piece-part is the warhead (tip of the spear)?

not only is the visual of the file difficult to see because of the waffle overlay, it is also difficult to know which part is which part, if you understand my meaning.

[propbeanie]

You are probably seeing the transparency of the alpha channel. Some modders use that for the camouflage. Look at the same files in TMO for the US torpedoes. I forget what you have to do with GIMP, if it can even edit the alpha channel, but there is a "mode" in photoshop for it... I always get it backwards, while other people think that way...

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by propbeanie

You are probably seeing the transparency of the alpha channel. Some modders use that for the camouflage. Look at the same files in TMO for the US torpedoes. I forget what you have to do with GIMP, if it can even edit the alpha channel, but there is a "mode" in photoshop for it... I always get it backwards, while other people think that way...

i looked at the Mk14.dds.
it was worse.
i DID find the "remove" alpha channel somewhere in GIMP but it was no help.

[propbeanie]

We both should have known:

https://thegimptutorials.com/how-to-add-alpha-channel/

https://parkerphotographic.com/advan...channel-guide/

https://lizsscribbles.com/photoshop/...a-in-gimp.html

These young whippersnapper kids of today! Able to think abstractly and all that... lol - and then there is Jeff-Groves- he ain't no spring chicken, who "thinks" programming while driving, writes it in his head, and then steps through and debugs it while he's driving... I used to be able to steer and brake while driving, but code? I usually ended-up in a puddle of drool (not always my own) on the keyboard at work while coding... alpha channel - who'd a-thunk it? Good luck reading. I cannot verify the accuracy of either one of those 3 hits there... I am drooling already, but it is not the Pavlov's Dog "supper!" effect, it is the "sleep" effect...

[KaleunMarco]

Originally Posted by propbeanie

We both should have known:

https://thegimptutorials.com/how-to-add-alpha-channel/

https://parkerphotographic.com/advan...channel-guide/

https://lizsscribbles.com/photoshop/...a-in-gimp.html

These young whippersnapper kids of today! Able to think abstractly and all that... lol - and then there is Jeff-Groves- he ain't no spring chicken, who "thinks" programming while driving, writes it in his head, and then steps through and debugs it while he's driving... I used to be able to steer and brake while driving, but code? I usually ended-up in a puddle of drool (not always my own) on the keyboard at work while coding... alpha channel - who'd a-thunk it? Good luck reading. I cannot verify the accuracy of either one of those 3 hits there... I am drooling already, but it is not the Pavlov's Dog "supper!" effect, it is the "sleep" effect...

thank you for the tutorials.
i can design and code while sleeping and frequently have, but not in graphics.
i still do not know what i am looking at when i open G7e_TV.dds, which i am assuming is the graphics for the Type 5 acoustical torpedo.
based on the tutorials you sent me i now understand that there are three different, color layers represented, however i do not know which piece of the graphic is the torpedo head, which is what i want change so that i can tell it apart from the T3.

[propbeanie]

Warning Will Robinson - Warning! Potentially horrific file conversion ahead!"

OK, in the Torpedoes.dat



(torpedo selected as an example). Make certain that you have the correct texture, either by copying and searching on its ID, or double-checking it when looking at the names - check that the ID matches. We personally know someone who spent half of a day noodling in files, only to find later that they had edited an incorrect texture... sigh - Anyway, here:



match the IDs. knowing you, this step is probably correctly completed - but just in case. Then, when you open the file in your editor, it won't look this bad, but... (bad conversion for imgur - yikes):



you should still be able to get the idea... The more or less rectangle to the left is the body, those circles at the bottom of the added blue rectangle go inside those half-circles on the tube "wrap", and just above the "circles" is the "cone" with a "circle" at its top to fit the pistol through. As you can see, you now know why I leave textures and other files of that sort to other, more competent people... sigh.

[dex]

Hello sailors ...After a year I m planing to start again with Dw excellent mod,new career..
We talk about turm upgrade issues a lot
IF YOU HAVE THE TURM UPGRADE ISSUE (from SKIDMAN):

« Both the Typ VII and the Typ IX U-Boat will receive conning tower upgrades as the game proceeds. Every time I was awarded a new "Turm", the result was a submarine that could not move forward, or backward. A "Cannot comply" message was displayed instead. The crew screen showed missing and empty slots. This bug has been experienced and described before, and -as lurker put it- it is a nasty one. So from my experience a conning tower upgrade means end of your career. This is not acceptable.

How can you continue? Well, there is a workaround: You have to create a dummy file.
I try this ofcourse, but this applies only when we recieve turm upgrade in base,bunker...My question : when we change other equipment(deck gun,flack gun,sensors...) no need for creating dummy file