[WIP] Wolves of the Kaiser:1914-1918 Mod

[Bubblehead1980]

Originally Posted by iambecomelife

MINOR UPDATE:

Never think this mod is dead; it's pretty much my main hobby. My career can be demanding but WOTK eats up almost every spare moment.

Very important milestones have been reached!

1) Established the U-31 as an almost 100% functional unit in its near final form. It now has 4 torpedo tubes, masts raise and lower, crew on deck, texture errors corrected, historical, speed/range, correct displacement, and more. I am improving the use of AO maps on player subs - in previous screenshots the submarines may have been flat-looking; the final verisons will have a working AO layer.

2) I've educated myself about the .upc and .upcge files. Basically, the files that control who appears where in the submarine, and what equipment is on board. The interiors will have many more sailors than the standard SH4 subs.

3) Nearly 100% of the dates ingame have been changed! Lots of things had to be done, like weapon availability, torpedo pistol characteristics, upgrades, campaign starts, etc. Initially, the plan was to have the game run from 1941 - 1945, with dates only changed in the interface ... However, apparently it will be possible to really have the correct years, 1914 - 1918. I just ran a mission during WWI (1915) with no problems! This is a big positive.

4) Reduced the crew slots on the U-31 submarine to only 30-40 men. You will need to manage your crew carefully; this is a lot less men than fleetboats. And the UB-I will have even fewer men (about 15).

5) Began changing the WW2 torpedoes to common WWI torpedoes, like the G/6 and G/6D. Gave correct torpedo layout (a lot less than fleet boats). U-31 for example will carry 6 torpedoes. Maximum 10 torpedoes for the improved late war version. All based on historical data about ammo capacity.

6) 3d modeling of the generic Light Merchant and Medium Merchant models. Added several different funnel sizes and dozens of bridge shapes that the game will cycle through, to create more variety.

7) Deciding which medals to include in the new Medals Room. The existing awards system is being overhauled; you will award yourself medals + trophies and see them on your submarine. Here's one possible order:

-UBoat Badge (1918 Only)
-Iron Cross 2nd Class
-Iron Cross 1st Class
-Hanseatic Cross
-Military Merit Order
-Royal House Order of Hohenzollern
-Pour Le Merite (Blue Max)
-Pour Le Merite with Oak Leaf

8) WWI-era 88mm gun is finishing up - modeling is about 70% complete. No more fleet boat guns for WWI subs. Work on the 50mm and 150mm is in its early stages.

9) Added lots of dramatic radio messages about what's going on around the world. This is far from done but it's coming along well - I just wrote up a great news series on the killing of Archduke Franz-Ferdinand, the diplomatic crisis, and the war declaration. And an action-packed account of the Battle of Tannenberg. Next comes the Battle of the Marne, the Christmas Truce of 1914, Gallipoli, Verdun, the Somme, Neville's Offensive, etc etc etc!!

Thank you for the movie, Bubblehead. Niume, unforuntately that bug has not been resolved yet.

You are welcome, figured would enjoy it. Will there be operations off US East coast in the mod? Thanks for the update.

[iambecomelife]

Originally Posted by Bubblehead1980

You are welcome, figured would enjoy it. Will there be operations off US East coast in the mod? Thanks for the update.

Yes; there will be East Coast traffic. However, everything outside of Europe and the Med will be basic .... coastal towns and cities in North America will not be modeled to the same detail as the North Sea/European Atlantic coast. Destructible buildings, bridges, etc from Maine to Florida is just too much work; no way am I creating a realistic New York City circa 1918... I'll probably just leave in the stock SH4 non-destructible buildings.

But you will have ships carrying ore and fuel, among other things, spawned from the Caribbean & the Gulf of Mexico, plus coastwise traffic moving past Cape Hatteras & other areas where U-Boats historically sank ships in WWI. These spawn points will be designed mainly for Cruiser Submarine careers with the U-139 Class. Possibly some missions will involve boats like the U-51 Class (as mentioned in that video), which were smaller but could reach the US Coast during the war.

[Torpex77]

I hope when this MOD is released that you'll have a link so that donations are possible. I remember when SH1 came out and then the add-on disc's were released, about 25% the cost of the initial sim, but well worth it.

Frank

[Bubblehead1980]

Originally Posted by iambecomelife

Yes; there will be East Coast traffic. However, everything outside of Europe and the Med will be basic .... coastal towns and cities in North America will not be modeled to the same detail as the North Sea/European Atlantic coast. Destructible buildings, bridges, etc from Maine to Florida is just too much work; no way am I creating a realistic New York City circa 1918... I'll probably just leave in the stock SH4 non-destructible buildings.

But you will have ships carrying ore and fuel, among other things, spawned from the Caribbean & the Gulf of Mexico, plus coastwise traffic moving past Cape Hatteras & other areas where U-Boats historically sank ships in WWI. These spawn points will be designed mainly for Cruiser Submarine careers with the U-139 Class. Possibly some missions will involve boats like the U-51 Class (as mentioned in that video), which were smaller but could reach the US Coast during the war.

Excellent. Yes, would not expect to added destructible buildings etc all over US east coast, too much work and not needed as to my knowledge really were not attacking land targets in US same way did in europe yes? I just meant traffic to interdict traffic etc.

I just finished adding light houses all around US east and west coast lol and such a pain. If map edit mod in the ME would not cause a CTD every time try to add a new unit would be okay. I end up having to mark the coordinates on map and then adding via notepad, quite tedious! lol However, managed to build half way decent representations of some bases and cities play will use during new construction and transit to pacific, as well as relocating bases such as Cavite that were in the wrong location, in addition to adding light houses and labels on key places across the theater and globe.

[shoiga]

Hi

Could you release any playable WW1 U-Boat mod that include in this mod ?

I know that this mod project is too huge to finish yet, but I would like to at least use the U-Boat.

Thx

[Kapitain Oliver Leinkraunt]

Hello, Gentlemen;
any news from the front ?

[adrianstu98]

Hi and cheers, any update on how it's going?😃

[iambecomelife]

To be honest I have some (sort of) good and bad news.

My job is offering weekend overtime, and I have been working full workdays Saturday and Sunday. I am earning a decent sum (which is good), and will help me buy sources for the mod..but this also means that I have much less time to mod. Work has been going on, but unfortunately at a slower pace.

My supervisors don't know when their bosses will stop offering the overtime, but once that happens the modding pace will pick up again.

The good news is I have a very large amount of vacation time unused, and this will be devoted to WOTK! In terms of work, here is what has been done since my last post:

-Major improvements to U-51 hull

-U-51 Class conning tower successfully tested ingame

-Replaced the 3d object of crew on deck with real crewmember slots. Now you will see your real crew man the rail! Not the "fake" characters using the snorkel. This frees up the snorkel animation for something else.

-More additions to the WWI radio messages with war news.

-Much more work on the top aces tonnage scores. All tonnage scores for top Uboot aces from 1914-1915 are done, and a lot of work is now finished for 1916 - 1918.

-"Light Merchant" model is nearly complete. This model is much better than the ships from the Merchant Fleet Mod, and is a prototype for all of the advanced merchant ships to be included. Major features include:

-Component Nodes for Bridge Superstructure, Masts, Funnel, etc. There will be dozens - possibly hundreds of different combos for each hull to represent building styles and different companies.

-Smoke Floats...new defensive weapon to block your view

-Shell hole damage - hundreds of shell holes possible, unlike standard SH4 that can only display about 5-6 holes per model

-Steam and oil leaks from engine room damage

-Structural failure - damage a ship enough and huge pieces of hull blow away

-Multiple keel failure - will produce a variant that can explode and break into 3-4 big pieces

-Crew on deck - various ranks including captains, officers, sailors, etc.

-Sailors run on deck, put on life vests, enter lifeboats if ship is badly damaged

-Crew jumping overboard

-Visible cargo - Iron Ore, Coal, Minerals, Lumber, or Boxes become visible if hatch cover blows off. Fast sinking rate for iron ore ships or other heavy cargo...ships carrying lumber, on the other hand, will be very hard to sink.

-National flags that may be inaccurate. Enemy ships may use fake neutral flags or fly no flag. Also, German ships may even use enemy or neutral flags as a disguise, especially when they are running the blockade off England. You will need to approach and ask what cargo is being carried.

-Of course, Q-Ship versions that will sink you if you're not careful.

[Bubblehead1980]

Originally Posted by iambecomelife

To be honest I have some (sort of) good and bad news.

My job is offering weekend overtime, and I have been working full workdays Saturday and Sunday. I am earning a decent sum (which is good), and will help me buy sources for the mod..but this also means that I have much less time to mod. Work has been going on, but unfortunately at a slower pace.

My supervisors don't know when their bosses will stop offering the overtime, but once that happens the modding pace will pick up again.

The good news is I have a very large amount of vacation time unused, and this will be devoted to WOTK! In terms of work, here is what has been done since my last post:

-Major improvements to U-51 hull

-U-51 Class conning tower successfully tested ingame

-Replaced the 3d object of crew on deck with real crewmember slots. Now you will see your real crew man the rail! Not the "fake" characters using the snorkel. This frees up the snorkel animation for something else.

-More additions to the WWI radio messages with war news.

-Much more work on the top aces tonnage scores. All tonnage scores for top Uboot aces from 1914-1915 are done, and a lot of work is now finished for 1916 - 1918.

-"Light Merchant" model is nearly complete. This model is much better than the ships from the Merchant Fleet Mod, and is a prototype for all of the advanced merchant ships to be included. Major features include:

-Component Nodes for Bridge Superstructure, Masts, Funnel, etc. There will be dozens - possibly hundreds of different combos for each hull to represent building styles and different companies.

-Smoke Floats...new defensive weapon to block your view

-Shell hole damage - hundreds of shell holes possible, unlike standard SH4 that can only display about 5-6 holes per model

-Steam and oil leaks from engine room damage

-Structural failure - damage a ship enough and huge pieces of hull blow away

-Multiple keel failure - will produce a variant that can explode and break into 3-4 big pieces

-Crew on deck - various ranks including captains, officers, sailors, etc.

-Sailors run on deck, put on life vests, enter lifeboats if ship is badly damaged

-Crew jumping overboard

-Visible cargo - Iron Ore, Coal, Minerals, Lumber, or Boxes become visible if hatch cover blows off. Fast sinking rate for iron ore ships or other heavy cargo...ships carrying lumber, on the other hand, will be very hard to sink.

-National flags that may be inaccurate. Enemy ships may use fake neutral flags or fly no flag. Also, German ships may even use enemy or neutral flags as a disguise, especially when they are running the blockade off England. You will need to approach and ask what cargo is being carried.

-Of course, Q-Ship versions that will sink you if you're not careful.

Thanks for the update.

[iambecomelife]

Miscellaneous recent images from testing: New ship model, new 88mm gun WIP, damage effects, and superstructure variations for ships.

[iambecomelife]

[ReallyDedPoet]

Looks great!

[adrianstu98]

Looks amazing!

[iambecomelife]

Originally Posted by shoiga

Hi

Could you release any playable WW1 U-Boat mod that include in this mod ?

I know that this mod project is too huge to finish yet, but I would like to at least use the U-Boat.

Thx

I may release some items to people willing to help with aspects of the mod.


Thanks for the compliments; be advised - items like the human figures & particle effects are always being optimized.

Last night I did a "stress test" with many human figures on the merchant ship and was very happy with the results - great frame rates. Apparently we can have a large number of detailed sailors on each ship. This can be further optimized using the minimum render dimension controllers (thus, no sailors at distances where you could barely see them anyway - great way to improve frame rates even more).

This leads me to another topic....working lifeboats. This sub-project is going well - Davit model has been created and skinned (based on plans of the Wellin Davits used on RMS Titanic). Next? Animate lifeboat launch sequences that can go well or go haywire, depending on the skill of a ship's crew. Some animations will show successful launches - others will end badly for the sailors.

Some unfortunate news about the water....it has been impossible to resolve the "jello water" / deformed wave bug from Silent Hunter 4. For those who don't know, the wave patterns get ruined at time compression over about 32x.

The only way to solve the bug is to keep the wind speed/wave state constant.

My solution will be to have two versions of water... 2-3 foot waves that do not change, and standard, changing water+weather for players who play at low time compression (or don't mind the distorted water).

Forgot to mention - additional upcoming projects include final details for the UB-I and U-139 subs... the dwarf and the giant.

Work still humming along on the WWI news messages (I write them in the break room at work - that way I can make progress on the mod even when my desktop is not accessible.)

Good news about the tonnage entries for the U-Boat aces - Years 1914 to 1916 are 100% complete, and 1917 is about 90% complete. Hard to believe that a few weeks ago I was struggling to finish 1914.

[Bubblehead1980]

Originally Posted by iambecomelife

I may release some items to people willing to help with aspects of the mod.


Thanks for the compliments; be advised - items like the human figures & particle effects are always being optimized.

Last night I did a "stress test" with many human figures on the merchant ship and was very happy with the results - great frame rates. Apparently we can have a large number of detailed sailors on each ship. This can be further optimized using the minimum render dimension controllers (thus, no sailors at distances where you could barely see them anyway - great way to improve frame rates even more).

This leads me to another topic....working lifeboats. This sub-project is going well - Davit model has been created and skinned (based on plans of the Wellin Davits used on RMS Titanic). Next? Animate lifeboat launch sequences that can go well or go haywire, depending on the skill of a ship's crew. Some animations will show successful launches - others will end badly for the sailors.

Some unfortunate news about the water....it has been impossible to resolve the "jello water" / deformed wave bug from Silent Hunter 4. For those who don't know, the wave patterns get ruined at time compression over about 32x.

The only way to solve the bug is to keep the wind speed/wave state constant.

My solution will be to have two versions of water... 2-3 foot waves that do not change, and standard, changing water+weather for players who play at low time compression (or don't mind the distorted water).

Forgot to mention - additional upcoming projects include final details for the UB-I and U-139 subs... the dwarf and the giant.

Work still humming along on the WWI news messages (I write them in the break room at work - that way I can make progress on the mod even when my desktop is not accessible.)

Good news about the tonnage entries for the U-Boat aces - Years 1914 to 1916 are 100% complete, and 1917 is about 90% complete. Hard to believe that a few weeks ago I was struggling to finish 1914.

Very nice. Messages are a key for immersion but such a pain lol. One of my least favorite parts of modding.