Battleship Command

[bracer]

Oh no!

Hmm, what happens if you try alt-tab until BattleshipCommand is active?

No errormessage?

Is it using the correct graphics card (thinking about last time with the shader error)?

[bracer]

Never mind the above questions, I get the same error on my other pc.

I will try to solve it asap! Prooobably I deleted some needed file while I cleaned up the release package.

[agathosdaimon]

great thansk for looking into this - i am using the right graphics card now too for it

[bracer]

You had no issues with the free roam demo?

[agathosdaimon]

the free roam demo worked for me

[bracer]

I believe I found the issue!!
Either replace the file called SinkUxbridge.txt in the missionsfolder with this one: https://www.dropbox.com/s/qru2cortye...ridge.txt?dl=0


Or simply open the file with a texteditor and replace all , with .
Yes, replace all commas with dots! There is only four of them.


Crossing my fingers!

[agathosdaimon]

will do and will let you know cheers!

[agathosdaimon]

okay all works - tested it and sank the cruiser after 267 shots and 2% accuracy - i really need some way to know the approximate range fo the cruiser as i still couldnt really guess by cannon splash allow - if behind or in front i could not tell by how much


also the cruiser model had some graphical glitching on its hull as it was sinking - i possibly where fire was occurring on the ship



also i hope you would implement some way for one to steer the ship while still in the gun director seat, as having to leave and slightly move the ship and then come back and try and reset everything again is not good

also keys for firing the guns - as its impossible to hold the target at a spot and move the cursor over to the fire button at the same time


also with the other location options in teh ship, my POV got stuck in the roof of a room - thats where i started and remained, and the other was in the map room - i say that the keys for these positions are not for fixed positions but simply 3 different POVs and so it just goes back to where i last was with each POV.

[bracer]

Originally Posted by agathosdaimon

okay all works - tested it and sank the cruiser after 267 shots and 2% accuracy - i really need some way to know the approximate range fo the cruiser as i still couldnt really guess by cannon splash allow - if behind or in front i could not tell by how much

Well done! 2% is fairly realistic accuracy! Depending on which distance you were shooting at of course. 😊

Getting the correct distance to target is actually the main challenge, the rest of the info for the fire computer is based on that info.

At great distances it can be hard to see where the splash is in relation to the ship, so you need to work the stereoscopic rangefinder. Your other tool is the radar, although the one implemented at the moment has very low detail scales. So also not good for precise ranges. Not sure if the german ships ever spotted splashes on radar like the americans, but I plan to implement it for the later year models of the radar. Then it gets easy 😊

I usually initiate the battle with rangeing salvoes after taking radar/rangefinder distance, with the separate turrets since individual guns is not available yet. So I shoot 500m past the guessed distance with A turret, on estimated distance with B turret and 500 short of distance with C turret. You then need some luck that the salvo spread is not too wide and you see the splashes infront/behind target.

Originally Posted by agathosdaimon

also the cruiser model had some graphical glitching on its hull as it was sinking - i possibly where fire was occurring on the ship

Yes, I have also noted this.

Originally Posted by agathosdaimon

also i hope you would implement some way for one to steer the ship while still in the gun director seat, as having to leave and slightly move the ship and then come back and try and reset everything again is not good

I did implement the arrow keys according to your suggestion, but you do not get any visual feedback atm. Try it out! Up/down to change speed order, hold left/right to turn rudder. Missing a center rudder button.

Originally Posted by agathosdaimon

also keys for firing the guns - as its impossible to hold the target at a spot and move the cursor over to the fire button at the same time

Agreed, will fix!

Originally Posted by agathosdaimon

also with the other location options in teh ship, my POV got stuck in the roof of a room - thats where i started and remained, and the other was in the map room - i say that the keys for these positions are not for fixed positions but simply 3 different POVs and so it just goes back to where i last was with each POV.

Yes, I had some issues here, but did not prioritize it yet since there is nothing of importance in the hallways yet.



I hope you enjoyed the battle!

[bracer]

I have alot of plans for the fire director station.

-Option for rangeing fire for each turret, so each gun in the turret fire with 400 or 800 meter differences to try and straddle the target.

-Individual guns firing.

-Fire when ready mode, or automatic fireing.

-A radar display in the station, with the possibility to connect it to the fire computer.

-A logbook for distances fired and target hits.
-The functionality of the fire computer.

-Auto update range and bearing based on firecomputer data, kind of like target lock, but requires you to have correct target data.

-AI will calculate target speed and heading for you, based on your target distance and bearing reports.

[agathosdaimon]

hey Bracer that all sounds great - i must confess when i played the game, i didnt use the radar, as i was in the game and didnt jump out to try and find the keys regarding how to operate it.


all your implementations are good - a central rudder option is vital as at the very least without any visual feedback one wont know if they are still turning or not and so just putting the ship on the straight and narrow again will at least alleviate some of the disadvantage of moving from the gun view.
- perhaps just the '0' key on hte number pad of something will do for a central rudder key - or the "/" key
maybe space or mouse left button to fire the guns in the gun view and by default its will fire all available guns and for single fire - c foe Cesar, B for Bruno and i forget he name of the 3rd turret

will there be also later an AI that will do the firing if say you are not wanting to do it yourself - ie, like Auto option in Great Naval Battles



regarding damage also - do you have that fully modelled yet? does something like "plunging fire" exist - such a hit could devastate the cruiser entirely from the range the battle starts from

it will be good to have a few more similar engagements created ahead of the campaign you plan on - battles against BBs and Cruisers and groups of destroyers closing in ready to release torpedoes - trying to steer the ship to avoid torps coming in at different angles and sides could be a challenge
then also random battle generator and the historical ones such a Northcape 1943 and a variant of it where Gneisenau is also coming to the rescue

[bracer]

Hey agathosdaimon!

You can definitly score critical hits, but it's pure luck. It's not defined as plunging fire or side armor hits at the moment.

Either the round:
-bounces off the armor with little damage,
-hits and damages superstructure/guns
-penetrates and causes leaking and minor damage,
-penetrates, explodes at a vital spot and causes major damage.

What the AI will be able to do depends on what else there will be for you to do. If for example the engine management or crew management will become complex, then it might be needed with AI gunners.

Do you have some ideas for the gameplay?

I will work on the AI for the destroyers, airplanes and battleships and have some missions prepared with engagements. Some friendly AI is also on the way.

[bracer]

I have made a small update to the exe with some new keyboard commands and fixes!

Put the exe in your Battleship Command folder and use it to run the game.

Fixes:
-First person camera improvements.
-Now the aim of the fire director stays in position when pressing right mouse button to aim.
-Improved the info message lines by adding more lines, making the text smaller and changing the color.

News:
-Keyboard commands to fire guns in the fire director station, press Q to fire Anton, W to fire Bruno, E to fire Ceasar.
-Press arrow keys left/right to order the rudder to port/starboard. Available orders are 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 degrees to either side.
-Your order will be confirmed in the info messages and these are visible also at the fire director station.
-Press numpad 0 to order rudder amidships.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/m55idim7d8...mo1_1.exe?dl=0


Cheers!

[agathosdaimon]

hi! great, those are all great additions and improvements, incremental but all in the right direction.
as for gameplay, i guess getting the that fire director panel functioning would be a priority as well as a map view if possible and an external chase view and option to view the enemy target from an external view


is there a button for general all guns fire salvo too? in the gun view, space bar would be good for that


secondary gun fire - getting that working and then torpedoes and then AA - getting all the stations working and then being able to switch between them via the Function keys would be good - i am taking cues from the standard Microprose sim approach here like M1 Tank Platoon, Destroyer Command and Task Force 1942 - actually Task Force 1942 would be a good old game to model much of the expected gameplay on. - A Task Force 1942 but set in the North Atlantic theatre would be the kind of game description to aim for

[agathosdaimon]

hi Bracer - i havent been able yet to run the 1.1 update yet - i am a bit confused by the file in fact as my antivirus keeps taking it and sending it off for analysis



is the 1.1 exe an installer for the full game or just the application to run the game that i put in the folder?