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

[Muckenberg]

Hello. So I have to say that you are doing a perfect job. Although I prefer SH5.5 TWos, but I am looking forward to your supermegamod.

:K aleun_Thumbs_Up:

[Kapitain Oliver Leinkraunt]

I can't do nothing but applause to your superb work

Sorry again to bother you always for these small details, but there are few historical errors in your Type 51 model

In your model, the stern is identical to Type 31

Originally Posted by iambecomelife

They were however very different. Type 51's stern was like this:




They had even a small hump just below the deck gun platform.
An other intresting feature was the position of the net cutter (unique upon german subs), which was in a backward position.



as you can see here, by drawings, the anchor position should be different (not too sure in reality, seeing the photos).
And last: this class lacked on bow, of protective railings, as you can see in the pics of U-53 in Newport (Type 31 was the last class to adopt them)


The stern ones were different too, because after Type 43, the German Navy adopted some kind of "standard type" which was this:

U-44

I took this intresting image of U-46 too, because it shows a nice camo scheme, infact I wanted to ask you if you'll add camoflage paint schemes too for our u-boats


Hope it could be helpful for you and sorry for taking so much space for these images and for some of them, which are not in good quality

[SwissSubCommander]

Do you think it will be possible to make the exhaust-particles white for the U-9 class?

[iambecomelife]

Originally Posted by Kapitain Oliver Leinkraunt

I can't do nothing but applause to your superb work

Sorry again to bother you always for these small details, but there are few historical errors in your Type 51 model

Good eye, there are several corrections needed; the stern will certainly be revised before release along with the other details.... luckily the German painter Klaus Bergen produced many excellent paintings of this class, which I can use as sources. He was one of the most accurate WWI naval painters....unlike other painters who exaggerated ships' and submarines' appearance, his illustrations have accurate proportions and professional-grade detail.

To Swiss Sub Commander - yes! There will be billowing white exhaust fumes for kerosene boats like U-9. There will also be a smokestack that raises and lowers. More modern, diesel boats will have darker exhaust that is less visible...more "wispy" and hard to see at long range.

In the way of updates, lots of work on U-87. U-81, cruisers and destructible buildings. Modeling of the Arethusa class is almost done; pretty happy with the model. Wisebaden class cruisers have been started using wings3d modeling software. A few more similar classes and light cruiser modeling will be done.

Partial list of light cruiser classes is:

-Ceres Class
-Chatham Class
-Birmingham Class
-Weymouth Class (60% Complete)
-Arethusa Class (90% Complete)
-Caroline Class
-Calliope Class
-Bristol Class (55% Complete)
-Active Class
-Patrol Class (20% Complete)

-Kolberg Class
-Karlsruhe Class
-Pillau Class
-Wiesbaden Class (10% complete)
-Brummer Class
-Graudenz Class

Note that I already have many parts already textured and several classes can be created with minor changes to funnels, masts, & so on ..... this list really is not over ambitious or hard to do. New screenshots coming soon.

[iambecomelife]

Updated comprehensive list of player/non-player units coming soon! Everything's going well. Were it not for my overtime (working 7 days a week) this would be nearly ready for beta. However, the extra money (which I put into research and equipment) is worth it.

Considering a purchase of a new, state-of-the-art PC; if bought, it will be my main test rig and I will probably ship my current computer across country - that way I can work on the game when I am on vacation with my family.

As far as I know, this modification will have more World War I ship classes than any WWI simulator aside from SES's Jutland, which is by now quite old.*


Screenshots were delayed because I worked overtime Saturday and Sunday. If you guys like I can bundle the old game screenshots as a preview, along as a few never before seen shots, and make the images available as a .RAR or .ZIP on a filesharing host. Let me know!


*A few newer games like "Steam and Iron" have more ship classes but no realtime 3d aspect.

[DeepSixNiner]

I can't imagine there is anybody in the subsim community that isn't eagerly awaiting this incredible mod. Can't wait to see more sneak peaks!

Thanks for all the hard work, don't know how you do it on that work schedule my friend.
Keep up the great work!

[ElCid97]

I have no skills whatsoever in this, and I'm a casual simmer when it comes to this genre.


Still, I'd like to contribute what I can.


For what it's worth, I found this website and thought I'd share since this looks like it'll be my preferred subsim when it comes out.


https://www.virtualdockyard.co.uk/index.html


There are some really good drawings you folks could use to make some German ships and British subs.


Regards,


El Cid

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Originally Posted by iambecomelife

Updated comprehensive list of player/non-player units coming soon! Everything's going well. Were it not for my overtime (working 7 days a week) this would be nearly ready for beta. However, the extra money (which I put into research and equipment) is worth it.

Considering a purchase of a new, state-of-the-art PC; if bought, it will be my main test rig and I will probably ship my current computer across country - that way I can work on the game when I am on vacation with my family.

As far as I know, this modification will have more World War I ship classes than any WWI simulator aside from SES's Jutland, which is by now quite old.*

Screenshots were delayed because I worked overtime Saturday and Sunday. If you guys like I can bundle the old game screenshots as a preview, along as a few never before seen shots, and make the images available as a .RAR or .ZIP on a filesharing host. Let me know!

*A few newer games like "Steam and Iron" have more ship classes but no realtime 3d aspect.

For what it is worth, putting my thoughts here:

This is exciting stuff.

I'm certainly historically uninformed as it relates to WWI submarine warfare, but I do know that there is no WWI submarine simulator out there that does what Iambecomelife is building.

When this project is released. It will be a LANDMARK day not just for Subsim, but for the entire submarine simulation genre.

No pressure, Iambecomelife.

Keep up the good work!

[igor7111]

Originally Posted by Kpt. Lehmann

For what it is worth, putting my thoughts here:

This is exciting stuff.

I'm certainly historically uninformed as it relates to WWI submarine warfare, but I do know that there is no WWI submarine simulator out there that does what Iambecomelife is building.

When this project is released. It will be a LANDMARK day not just for Subsim, but for the entire submarine simulation genre.

No pressure, Iambecomelife.

Keep up the good work!

I agree that this is gonna rock the sub sim world. The amount of work put into this project is unbelievable. Can't wait for the supermod.

[Kapitain Oliver Leinkraunt]

Any news out there?

[ElCid97]

All,

I came across this while trying to wrap my head around what has been referred to as, "Dick O'Kan's" method of firing torpedoes. As it turns out, this was the method that was used during the First World War.

Here's the link:

http://tvre.org/en/torpedo-attacks-during-wwi

There is other information in there, to include some info on torpedoes as well as tactics used by U-Boat commanders during the "Great War."

I now the torpedo data has been spoken about before - about a year or two ago - but thought I'd share the link since I would think there is no "stadimeter" in the "traditional" SH4 sense being planned for WOTK.

Because of this, it would probably be a good idea to try and get some understanding on how we're going to employ these wonderful works of art once they get off the virtual slipways.

I've been using the "lead angle" method for FOTRSU with success (so far) by calculating range using periscope marks (as long as it's not rocking too bad) and lead angle using formulae. By cross-checking on the map with the ruler or compass I've been coming fairly close. Almost to a few hundred yards.

I can offer those formulae here for the project it you think it can help, though I've gotten many them from scouring MANY different places here on SOH.

Likewise, if there's someone out there with programming skills that can incorporate them into the game somehow it would probably be something that can be used to enhance the immersion.


Just let me know if you think they're worthwhile and I'll post them.

Regards,

El Cid '97

[Aktungbby]

ElCid97!

[ElCid97]

I've attached an image with what I was thinking. I've managed to get this into SH4 by "splicing" it onto the gramaphone image. Unfortunately I can't use the original image data anymore since this table is on top covering the numbers for the times. Not perfect, but it at least let's me know something can be done.

I obtained the numbers by using the following formula which I got somewhere on the SOH forums. Credits to the original poster(s):

Lead Angle = arctan (target spd in kts / torpedo spd in kts)

The "arctan" is the "arc tangent" which is sometimes written as tan-1 (the "-1" in small number to the top-right). I'm explaining it since I'm not a mathematecian and it took me a while to figure out.

German scopes had their vertical marks in "mils" from what I understand. The horizontal marks were in degrees.

I believe the formula for the range was mast height in meters divided by the number of mils observed in order to get the range in meters.

I'm not sure if you guys were going to go with a more accurate German scope, or just a "rehash" of the default "4-lines-to-the-scope" we have with the default SH4.

I'm not sure what they have for the U-Boat side of the house in SH4.

If using the default SH4 scope (US), the numbers are 1* per line at low power and 0.25* per line at high power - with the large lines being 4* and 1* respectively.

With that in mind, the following could be used to get range a-la-WWI using default scopes. Mind you, this is using feet since the SH4 manual has them in feet for US boats:

Low Power
----------------

Range = (Mast Height (ft) / tan of Angle observed) / 3

Example: Ship has 30 ft mast. You count 1 mark on scope at low power. That's one degree. So,

30 / tan 1 = 1,718.69 ... feet away. Divide further by 3 and you get 572.89 ... yards. Still too far for some WWI torpedos, but at least you get the idea.

High Power
----------------

30 / tan 0.25 = 6,875.44 ... feet. Divide by 3 and you get 2,291.81 ... yards away. Definately out of range for the first year or two of WWI.

Please bear in mind the image I've posted here is for US "S-Boats" and "Fleet Boats" right now, but the numbers can be used for DW or OM as well since the angles were derived from the speeds in knots.

Again, not sure how the scopes on the German side are in-game or if any of this was even looked at yet, but thought I'd help in what little way I could.

Can't wait until more screenshots come out!

[kongovsfuso142]

Any updates on this mod?


Kongo.

[iambecomelife]

Originally Posted by kongovsfuso142

Any updates on this mod?


Kongo.

Would like to sincerely apologize for no recent screenshots! But be reassured, NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS .... a HUGE HUGE amount of work is going on behind the scenes - the evidence will be out there soon. Many hours are spent as soon as I come home from work.

Recent work also ties into some work for the next SH3 GWX mod, but that's all I can say for now.

I am experimenting with certain features that Playway's UBoat has and SH1 thru SH4 never implemented. But that's all I feel comfortable saying now. Not trying to be coy, but I don't want to let people down if my plan doesn't work.

My methodology at present is this:

1) Brainstorm while working on player subs+AI ships most of the time
2) Experiment with "Reach Goals" for several hours - using S3ditor
3) After verifying it can be done, set aside "Reach Goals" to continue work on the core sim

Thus, the vast majority of work since my last post has been done on core features: player units and AI ships. But maybe 20% of work has been on long-term revamps that will really add to the "wow" factor of the game! They have been verified as feasible but will be introduced as time allows - this prevents feature creep and getting bogged down. Wolves of the Kaiser is, at its heart, about submarines hunting ships!

To use an example, although destructible trains would be nice, I have no intention of getting bogged down creating Silent Hunter - Thomas the Tank Engine Edition. I know how deadly feature creep/digressions can be to these projects; I have no intention of letting it happen. Again, I plan to have people hunting and killing ships with this mod as soon as possible!

Much more news coming soon.