[WIP] Recognition Manual Overhaul - FotRSU-NM-NK Edition

[ElCid97]

Good Morning!

Just a small introduction to something I'm working on for the next edition of the Targeting Assistant, though I'll probably release as "stand-alone" in the end due to the complexity I'm seeing so far.

I'm updating the Recognition Manual (as best I can) to include length and aspect ratio information to help in targeting.

I was inspired by a post I read which was written a while back by one of our members where the author said the only way to add length was in the name of the ship. As a result, I've come up with this:



The line says: Zinbu Type Freighter (AK) Length: 400 ft. Asp. Ratio: 4.24

So far it's going well for the "included" ships. I'll explain that later.

I've finished the default SH4 listing so far, and I'm currently working down the list with the FotRSU ships since they are the next in line in the "Names.cfg" file.

I'll keep going down until finished with the Nippon Maru and the Nihon Kaigun towards the bottom.

I've also added a fake "country" to the "Roster" and "Sea" folders as well as the "DefSide.cfg" file to create an entry that will explain the USN hull classifications for those that are not familiar with them (like me when I started this thing).

Nice thing about this way of adding the info is that it pops up on the nav and torpedo/weapons map when you have the ship selected or locked. It's almost like your weapons officer is writing down the info for you on the map.

Sorry for the small size, but I'm trying to keep the file size down below the mins posted in the forum etiquette listing. I can post slightly bigger ones if you would like, but I thought 1024-wide jpeg files would suffice.

No time table for this, but I'm willing to share what I've learned with anyone who wants it.

Regards,

ElCid97

[propbeanie]

CapnScurvy used that technique in his OTC (Optical Targeting Correction) mod... it works fine, until you run into longer names. He also altered the RecMan via the menu_1024_768.ini file to add a "Length" text field above the name. It will take you awhile for your endeavor. We are already including a "Length" designation in FotRSU for the next release, but it is not using this method, and therefore does not show on the NavMap.

[ElCid97]

Thanks for the heads-up on the update!

I'm almost done with the images portion of it since it's basically adding a "country" and associated "ships" -- which are all fake.

I'm using the NL_A1 lifeboat as a base for the "dat" and "sim" values, etc. Then the "PC" category for the "Type" of ship. This gives the least complicated of the "warships" that won't get "stripped" over to the merchant section.

I then use the "_sil.dds" texture to actually write out the information for the Navy's hull classification. You then just flip to the "country" for the classification and you eliminate the whole "Class:" area completely. The name can then be as long as you need so long as you don't go over into the three buttons at the top right. The "class" is represented by the 2-3-4 letter code used by the USN for ship's class ID and is now part of the name itself.

By rewriting the name, you can get more info in there with less space.

The "main" page is the regular sillouette, while the other "page" is the second sillouette that you get when you click on the button at the top right of the page.

The pages will basically be this:

AK: Cargo / Freighter
AKA: Attack Cargo / Freighter
AP: Transport
APA: Attack / Armed Transport
APD: Fast Transport
BB: Battleship (all types)
CB: Large Cruiser
CA: Heavy Cruiser
CL: Light Cruiser
CV: Aircraft Carrier
CVE: Escort Carrier
CVL: Light Carrier
CM: Mine Layer
DD: Destroyer
DE: Destroyer Escort

etc, etc ...

... all listed from the WW2 list I found on wikipedia for the ships in the "Names" file.

I'm thinking of just adding all of them since it's not that bad to get the list into the sim. I just need to add another "ship" when I need another two pages (sillouette image, top and bottom).

If you come accross a letter code that doesn't ring a bell, just go to the "country" page for the classifications and look at either of the four pages (two regular sillouettes and two "bottom portions" of the sillouette) to see what the two or three or four letter code means.

Not the best system, but it works.

Like you said, the "Names" file is another animal. We'll see if I can get it out prior to your update, because something tells me your system is far simpler and BETTER when it comes out!

Regards,

ElCid97

[fitzcarraldo]

This seems a future must have...Many thanks!

Fitzcarraldo

[ElCid97]

Good evening!

Mostly done with the manual as far as the reference part goes. I'm banging my head on how to make the thing bigger, though. I've tried the "scaling" factor by changing the "parent" to "5" so the vertical is used for scaling and changed a few numbers for the size of the "child" as well, but can't get the thing bigger than what you see. All I wanted was a little bit bigger, that's all.

Here's what I have so far:

Main "country" that gives you access to the listing of hull classifications so that you can figure what you're looking at:



Here's the first page when you open it up. You click on the sillouette button where the mouse arrow is to go to the second page in the book. It's the equivalent of the angled profiles for the ships:



The Carriers and Battleships are "Page 1" (or Page "A" in this case) for the series. Here's the second page ("C1" if you will) of the transports and cargo ships as an example of using the "second" page feature in the Recognition Manual by using the sillouette image. In this case it gives you a note saying that some AKA and APA types may actually be Auxiliary Cruisers (which is what I actually changed their names to).



It's readable, but I'd like it a little better if I can make it larger. Nothing like a monk-written, medieval bible, mind you, just a little lower to the helmsman's neck or out almost to the edge of the TDC maybe? Just to give the reader a better "view" of the thing, that's all.

Does anyone have any idea on how I can do that?

Basically done with this "graphic" portion as long as I can figure how to make it a bit bigger so that you're not squinting so much at my native 1920 x 1080 resolution. My guess is that some folks will have the same problem as well.

I've also replaced the flags with those found in the FotRSU texture folder, so I tried to make the blue "Navy" flag in the same style. I'll show you some of those in the next post. I just forgot to take screenshots of the other countries tonight. It's late and I have to actually work tomorrow.

I'm going to continue coding the "names" line so that I can at least get that moving again until I can figure out the graphics enlargement.

Regards,

ElCid97

[fitzcarraldo]

Want this...

Fitzcarraldo

[mazzi]

Originally Posted by ElCid97

Mostly done with the manual as far as the reference part goes. I'm banging my head on how to make the thing bigger, though. I've tried the "scaling" factor by changing the "parent" to "5" so the vertical is used for scaling and changed a few numbers for the size of the "child" as well, but can't get the thing bigger than what you see. All I wanted was a little bit bigger, that's all.
ElCid97

"5" is mainly used only for round dials.
For mass scaling you need "2" - view and replace in the lines "Zone=..." the fifth parameter from the left from "0" to "2" for ALL G25.
Also replace where "Display=0" with "Display=2" for ALL G25. ALL G25 are [G25 I1] to [G25 I52].
Vote example [G25 I33] Name=Close book:
Zone= 740 327 24 24 0 1 0x25060000 1 0 0x25060008 -3 -1.2 0 0;old
Zone= 740 327 24 24 2 1 0x25060000 1 0 0x25060008 -3 -1.2 0 0;NEW
Display=0;old
Display=2;NEW
Search and read in more detail in "KiUB Kriegsmarine Interface for UBm" https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/sho...d.php?t=152590

But the inscriptions and fonts, alas, are NOT scalable.

[ElCid97]

Thanks, Mazzi!

I'll give this a try and report back by the weekend. I've also just looked at the post you mentioned and have saved the text for reference on my end when I get more time this weekend.

Too busy with work today and tomorrow, so I'll definately look at it this weekend!

Slowly, but surely!

Regards,

ElCid97

[ElCid97]

Good Evening!

As promised, here's what I have as of tonight. Unfortunately I'm getting a few CTD's lately, but I think it's because of the display. I'm still playing with the setting in the card-controller software (AMD-type), so it may be a while before (or if) I'm able to stabalize enough to negate the CTD's. Maybe more RAM, but it's a 2013 machine I litterally just got for free from a friend that was going to throw it out since he got a better rig. It's better than the 2009 machine I was working with, so ...

Anyway, here's the pics!

This is the cover that replaces the "Merchant Shipping" tag. It's based on an index card image I found online somewhere. As you can see, the scaling resolution setting of "1" instead of "2" seems to work well for the 1920x1080 resolution I'm running:



I may just change that to "ONI-209 Classifications" since it covers ALL the merchants in the game (thanks, Ubi) and not just the Japanese.

This is the original game's Victory ship. It's now renamed with the proper ONI-209 nomenclature. Well, at least I think so, anyway. Let me know if I mis-counted or mis-identified a mast or kingpost/"Sampson" post in the count:



I'm still in the process of changing ALL the static naming to something that makes sense. Here's an example of the static "Mavis" where I just made it so that it's "Moored" instead of whatever it was before:



I'm going to do the same with the AI boats and PBY's, etc.

There were cases where the ship in question was labeled one thing, but the "Type" in the "cfg" file was something else. Here's an example:



It's labeled as a DE, but the type is a "Frigate" (PF). The "Waka-something-or-other" is another example. So is the "SU1" type minelayer, which is actually a "Clemson" class DD which was converted and had a stack removed. I recoded that one to (DD/DMS) and named it "Clemson Class" but didn't change anything that would cause the missions to get broken since I didn't change anything "left of" the "=" sign.

Here's an example of an (AO) -- in this case, a T3 tanker:



Again, the ONI-209 as best I could make it.

Just so I'm not confusing anyone: I'm doing the ONI-209 stuff based on the IN-GAME ships that are present, NOT THE HISTORICAL. This is important to understand since the historical data may say one thing, but the sim has something different programmed. Nothing against the devs, but it didn't make any sense to me to use FULL historical data if it won't help the user actually ID what's in their sights.

Here's a listing of what I have activated which, I believe, are the only "ship-related" mods to get data from:

FotRSU 1.8
Nippon Maru 1.9
Nihon Kaigun 1.2

That's why I'm considering posting a "beta" at some point to ask for some feedback/help with the M-K-F, etc, since someone may consider something a kingpost while others may say that it's a mast.

Combine that with the fact the historical documents may say a T3 was SUPPOSED to have X,Y,Z order, and you can see where it may get confusing.

That's why I'm going with what's in the sillouette images and not necessarily the ONI.

I am, however, using the ONI as reference and am including some charts which I'm using by adding them to the radio page.

The strategic map with the convoy lanes is gone, but it's going to get placed elsewhere in the boat. I'm checking to see what the best position is within the different strategic maps for the chart tables in the conning towers.

Some boats, like the S-Boats, have a more rectangular and bigger display. Others are smaller, while others are more square than rectangular. It's a toss-up. I'll go through all the 6-7 different maps so that none of them are cut off like I saw in a few boats already with the current release of the targeting assistant (grammaphone mod).

I was going to post a shot of the new radio page here, but the CTD killed that for now. Let me troubleshoot and I'll get back to you!

Regards,

ElCid97


PS: Got the thing somwhat stable. Definately my graphics. May be RAM, who knows. Here's the shot I was missing for the radio page:

[les green01]

looking good if you get the ctd fix i'll download for sure that way i can go back to using the watch for speed

[ElCid97]

Good Evening!

First off, my appologies for the length. I just figured I'd add the changelog I have so far. It covers what I'm up to in the project. I basically just do a little here and a little there when I get a chance to after getting home from work.

So far this is what I have:

CHANGELOG - As of 03-NOV-2023
=============================

1. Changed all the vessel codes to match the ONI codes used by the U.S.N. during World War II.
-- Still have to finish the listing, but it's getting there.
-- Finished the default ship listing and the FotRSU listing.
-- Still need to finish the Nipon Maru and the Nihon Kaigun listing.

2. Changed classification of some vessels to represent historical names.
-- "Fleet Carrier Saratoga Class" changed to (CV) Lexington Class
-- "Fleet Carrier Enterprise Class" changed to (CV) Yorktown Class
-- etc, etc.

3. Added "Length:" and "Asp. Ratio:" fields to the name of the ship. This gives the data to the user so that speed and AOB calculations will be much simpler to compute.
-- The ship's names now appear on the navigation map and targeting map as well, as long as they are identified and selected (All information now appears as being "written" on the maps).
-- Gives a better ability to get the AOB more accurately, which can -- in turn -- help have a better estimate of target course when combined with periscope bearing and own sub's heading.

4. Changed the grammaphone into an updated "Targeting Assistant" with various formulae and data that is useful in computing targeting manually. Also added a "sinus scale" to the grammaphone, courtesey of "Hitman" who came up with the original in his tutorial on how to target ships using 100% realism.
-- Work is taken from the "Targeting Assistant V1" work I've already done and, in essance, will replace that release. The other one can still be used independantly, just not with this release since the files in this package will replace that grammaphone.

5. Added "Hitman"'s "TSAC Scale" to the attack map so that you can find the spread angle for torpedo shots using the length of the ship and the bearing.
-- Also made the TSAC a little bigger for wide-ratio screen resolutions.
-- Requires you to download and activate Hitman's file first, then activate the "ini" file which I'll include with the "Targeting Assistant" in order to change the size/ratio in the "menu_1024_768.ini" file using the Jimimadrid MenuMerger program.

6. Updated the Recognition Manual so there is a section labeled "U.S.N. Hull Classifications".
-- Gives the user the ability to decipher the new hull codes used in the manual.
-- Example: CV=Fleet Carrier, PG=Gunboat, ATF=Fleet Tug Boat, AK=Cargo/Freighter, etc.
-- Basically a new "country" that uses fake "ships" to represent the information in what are the sillouette pages.
-- The "flag" is on an index card and it now reads, "BuC&R/BuShips -- Ship's Data: U.S. Naval Vessels"
-- Data taken from Wikipedia, but is actually the data used by the Bureau of Construction and Repair -- later Bureau of Ships -- to identify ships. Uses codes used/active during WW2.

7. Changed the "MERCHANT SHIPPING" label (flag) to an index card that reads, "ONI-209 CLASSIFICATION FOR MERCHANT SHIPPING".

8. Enlarged the manual itself by changing the scalar ratio in the "Zone" line to "1" instead of "0" as originally written.
-- Original idea given to me by Mazzi at Subsim, though I had to change his suggestion values. Thanks, Mazzi!
-- As with the Hitman overhaul of the TSAC, this is part of the lines included in the "ini" file activated with Jimimadrid's MenuMerger program.

9. Updated all ships to include those from the default listing, FotRSU 1.8, Nihon Kaigun, and Nippon Maru 1.8 (inclusive).
-- NOTE: Still need to finish the listings. Not all sections/ships complete yet. See above.

10. Created a PDF file with all the information in the "U.S.N. Hull Classifications" listing for the manual so that users can print out a hard-copy if they choose.
-- Same information in the Recognition Manual, but in a "printer-friendly" version which is just text and won't "kill" your ink supply (other than black, at least).

11. Changed the radio from the strategic map over to something that contains various data elements to help in identifying ships. Charts there were taken from a PDF version of an original ONI-223-M manual and cobbled together as best I could figure while still maintaining readable fonts and pictures of the originals.
-- I can't remember where I got the ONI-223-M manual from. May have been from the Navy's Historical Command database, but can't remember.
-- There is other data and other manuals I got from the Ibiblio.org website (hyperwar) as well as from the USS Pampanito website (maritime.org). Thanks to all for making all this data available to us.

12. Added a chart to the radio that allows a generic estimation of tonnage of an observed vessel. According to the ONI-223-M manual, this should be good enough for about 80% of all merchant vessels in service at the time.
-- I tested it against some of the ships in-game, and it seems to work fairly well in estimating the tonnage. Most I was off was 1,000 tons or so.
-- I may delete this since it takes up a good chunk of the space and the "tonnage" is already in the manual itself when you get to the ship. I just figure this would be good enough for estimating the tonnage from reading the "name" written on the navigation map if identifying with the weapons officer (yes, FotRSU has a button for that).

13. Changed the "Cooler" ships to reflect what it should have said to begin with -- "Coaler". These were coal-transports known in USN parlance as, "Colliers" instead. Hull Code: AC.
-- Curiosity Note: The two most famous colliers/coalers were the "U.S.S. Jupiter" and the "U.S.S. Cyclops". The "Cyclops" was lost at sea between Trinidad and NYC, and is the first of the famous "Bermuda Triangle" losses. The "Jupiter" was renamed "Langley" and became the first aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy.
-- Some, not all, colliers/coalers were used as "bulk fuel/oil" carriers. What this means is that the holds were filled with palletized 55-gallon drums of diesel or gasoline and transported like regular cargo. Probably not the best idea, but a similar thing was done with whale factory ships.

14. Repositioned the flags in the actual pages of the manual. These are the ones that are at the top-left of the manual when you actually go to a ship's page. The original setting had the flag covering the "ONI 41-42" tag at the top left.
-- The flags are now placed just below the title and centered vertically between the "ONI 41-42" tag and the sillouette of the ship below.

15. Thanks to Daniel Coffey and his work on the sillouette info way back when. It made things MUCH easier to do when making the changes for the manual.

16. Figured out how to add the great plastic cover image used in Dark Waters for the navigational map into the map for the US fleetboats and S-Boats.
-- Need to find who I need to ask permissions from in order to release, however. All credits have to go to whomever put that thing together, otherwise it's just for my own use. Sorry.
-- Mainly wanted it as an optional thing for the S-Boats and early fleet boats (Narwhal, Cachalot, etc.) that have the condensation dropplets all over the place when you're submerged. I just thought it would be a nice touch to the map since it would make sense to have.

17. Managed to create monochrome versions of ALL the flags for the manual cover. It now looks like you have a bunch of index cards with either printed monochrome flags for the countries involved, or it has something typed to signify what is being covered in the sub-pages.
-- This is the same index card used for the written labels I've mentioned already, but with a monochrome flag instead of writing.
-- Uses only naval ensigns and not the national flags as before.
-- In the case of France, the ensign is the one with the different width ratios for the vertical stripes. This means it's accurate when compared to the French national flag which is equal-ratio.

As for some screenshots, this is from earlier in the week.

New page for the fake country I made to accomodate the hull classification system:





This is the new "MERCHANT SHIPPING" page I mentioned above:





And an example of a finished section in final format. Here's the "Conte Verde" ocean liner that was requisitioned by the Japanese at the beginning of the war:





Here are some of the flags. U.S. and Japan in this case:








Unfortunately they lose some quality when shrunk down to fit (128x64 isn't really that big), but they can still be used and don't look too bad.

As you can see by the shots (and the comments above), I've managed to add the plastic cover from Dark Waters to the navigation map. If anyone knows who I would need to PM or contact for permission to release with this as part of the mod, please let me know. Otherwise I won't include it.

The plan is to spend the next few days working on the coding for the "Nipon Maru" ships. I have the entire ONI-208-J from the Pampanito website downloaded. I've made a few images as "test" subjects. If I can figure out how to actually add another "page/group" to the HUD (and the menu "ini" file as well), then I can add a whole new "book" for the sim.

Here are some shots of what I have so far. WIP, no doubt, but still not too bad:














This is an example of how you could have a page for a ship, in this case the "Conte Verde" with the sillouette from the game cropped to "1-pixel=1 foot" and marked with dimensions where I thought would be the easiest things to see through the scope or the TBT:





I don't know if there would be an interest in this, but it would definately be a challenge for a V2.

At the very least, I could work on it AFTER the manual updates and make it into a PDF file that could be uploaded in various chapters. That way, even if I couldn't program another button or "page" for this, I could at least get the work out there if there was any interest.

Hope everyone enjoys their Friday!

Regards,

ElCid97

[fitzcarraldo]

Waiting the release of this...Very nice!

Many thanks for the work. SH4 needs this...

Fitzcarraldo

[Kal_Maximus_U669]

Hey ElCid97 salutation...
You have all my encouragement for this work...it is taking a turn that I already like...Bravo to you soon, friendly Kal Maximus U669

[ElCid97]

Good Morning!

Thanks for all the kind words!

Just in case anyone was wondering, I have the FJB's wonderful mod for the navigational maps installed. I'm using the "two-tone" version, but there are a total of three versions to choose from. That's why the map in the latest screenshots looks different.

I thought these would be a great change to the default since they FLIPPED the colors for the water and the land to what they should be -- dark is shallow and light is deep. It means you won't run into islands very often when plotting your course since they now "stick out" from the surrounding water.

It also looks good with the plastic cover!

Almost done with the "Names.cfg" file. I'll post a beta here for that and a few other things when I'm done.

I'm also going to "strip out" the font mod from BuPers so that you can have the option of having "typewriter" font in the sim (a la SH3) for many of the menus and selections.

I'll do that one as a separate mod for those that would like to use it.

No word on a full release yet. I'm still debating whether to release with or without a printable PDF manual.

Regards,

ElCid97

[fitzcarraldo]

Also I´m using the FJB map, brown variation. It looks more historically accurate for the US Navy WW2.

When you have a beta, I´ll test it. Looks awesome.

Many thanks for all the work.

Fitzcarraldo