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

[HerbertMcCheese-Wang]

What state is the mod in for SH4, can I play it and would I enjoy it? Or are there some glaring holes?

[denis_469]

Originally Posted by iambecomelife

An important announcement about the mod:

First off, thanks for the positive sentiments.

Also, to anyone who is concerned about few posts recently, do not take silence the wrong way.

As of May 2014, I decided that the game will be developed for Silent Hunter 3 as well as 4. While implementing new ships into SH4, I discovered that the program suffered from severe instability - after about 30 minutes of play, the new ships caused the game to crash. So far I have not been able to resolve these problems, although I will continue to work on them.

While using SH3, I have been extremely impressed with how its engine has handled various improvements, including new submarine and ship models. Furthermore, new crew models based on SH4 have been tested successfully (with some limits). This has always been a big immersion killer for me - now, you will have SH4 quality crew for your submarines.

As old as SH3 is, when you add improved crew, new particle effects, better environmental mods, and more the game looks quite beautiful. Over all, SH3 has exceeded my expectations. I owe the GWX team, Onelifecrisis, privateer, racerboy/TDW, vanjast, skwas, Der Teddy Bar, flakmonkey, and many other modders a tremendous debt.

Although it may seem like more work, adding the mod to SH3 is a way to spread the risk, in case problems with the base SH4 engine cannot be resolved.

More news later. As long as the admins aren't opposed, there will also be a WOTK SH3 thread soon.

I have you problem (CTD after insert new ships) in 2008 year. Year after release himself mod for SH3. I can say, that it is problem with video memory. I can not resolve this problem from 2008 year ... Apparantly need new engine for SH3 and SH4.

[iambecomelife]

Originally Posted by HerbertMcCheese-Wang

What state is the mod in for SH4, can I play it and would I enjoy it? Or are there some glaring holes?

It's not fit for release yet. Largely because I have a development staff of one, and this employee has a job and studies. Which means less time for this employee to research, for example, what German WWI medal certificates look like. Or damage properties of the British 9.2" gun.

Still, I do what I can when I can.

FYI I may have pinpointed the cause of the crashes I was having...excessively large terrain tiles. Those new European land textures I posted earlier came with a price...serious instability when you approach the shore. I have reduced the size of the textures to 1024 x 1024, and I'm satisfied with the stability as well as the land appearance - it is a good compromise.

[Char]

That's good to hear! I've been keeping an eye on the thread and I'm happy to see you're working on both SH3 and SH4...But I wonder if you have the Time to do both?

Regardless,I will continue to support you in you endevour as best as I can! Which will mostly just be pats on the backs and Thumbs up!

[Admiral Halsey]

Originally Posted by Admiral Halsey

Hey IABL. Will this be a GWX compatible mod when you make it for SH3 or will it be a stock mod?

Could you please answer this?

[iambecomelife]

Originally Posted by Admiral Halsey

Could you please answer this?

Sorry - forgot to answer. I'm thinking of basing it on GWX, as long as none of that mod's creators object strongly. Everyone whose components are used will be credited.

[Admiral Halsey]

Originally Posted by iambecomelife

Sorry - forgot to answer. I'm thinking of basing it on GWX, as long as none of that mod's creators object strongly. Everyone whose components are used will be credited.

I'm pretty sure they won't so long as you give them the proper credit. You should ask them though first as that is the proper thing to do.(Who knows you may even get some of them to help you even.)

[iambecomelife]

Originally Posted by Admiral Halsey

I'm pretty sure they won't so long as you give them the proper credit. You should ask them though first as that is the proper thing to do.(Who knows you may even get some of them to help you even.)

That's what I mean; I will be asking before I release anything.

[merc4ulfate]

I would look forward to playing this mod

[in_vino_vomitus]

Originally Posted by merc4ulfate

I would look forward to playing this mod

Me too....

[Admiral Von Gerlach]

Glad you figured out it was the land tile texture size...and i am very glad you were able to keep them too, making them smaller. they are superb. thanks so much for your continued energy and optimism it will bring this mod home I feel and I am very grateful you have the strength to keep going.

as for basing the mod on some other mod, the main point is to release yours, i would not worry about the other stuff as any of us can enhance the game ourselves who know such mods..and it should never impede your work which is far more interesting to me than the SH3 mod packages of others. thanks.

[Ekaton]

Any news?

[iambecomelife]

Originally Posted by Ekaton

Any news?

Well, take your pick...

UNIFORMS

Things have been very quiet for the past 3 weeks due to potential major life changes (nothing bad...considering continuing my education (again) among other things).

However, before then, I worked on the uniforms yet again as a mini-project. It was very successful:

-More historically accurate patches showing crew specializations (torpedo experts, mine experts, signalmen, and others)

-Previously, only two heads could accommodate the new sailor's cap I created in Wings3d; now, there are about 5-6 heads to choose from.

-Tweaked the uniform brightness to work better with post process filters.

-Introduced leather overcoats and leather pants with different amounts of weathering. Now the crew will look less pristine.

SUBMARINES

-Major changes to the U-51 Class model; it was successfully introduced into the SH3 game engine. It is far from great but much better than in the screenshots posted earlier. Lots of work on the hull form, indentations for torpedo tubes, and some work on rigging. Now you can raise or lower the masts using the periscope key (for now at least - I hope to remap a different key so that both periscopes are usable). A WHOLE LOT of work on the skin, which made a big difference. Historically correct speeds, fuel capacity, and crush depth have been introduced, working off the Type VIIB as a parent unit.

SHIPS

-Miscellaneous work to the merchant ship I showed earlier; however, not much screenshot-worthy stuff. I don't want to spend lots of time right now doing skins for ships and different models - that is simple, and can be done closer to the release date. As always, a huge amount of work still needed on the High Seas Fleet and Grand Fleet ships; military vessels are much more time intensive than civilian ships.

INTERFACE

-Lots of work on the campaign selection screen. There's been an emphasis on German heraldry & establishing a WWI ambience. On the campaign selection screen, each flotilla available is represented by the coat of arms for whichever city it was based in - Kiel, Danzig, Cattaro, & more.

PARTICLE EFFECTS

-Very big breakthrough last month. I have always really disliked SH4's standard effects for smoke, fire, and shell explosions. In addition to the new smoke and fire I already posted, I managed to implement many SH5 effects for SH4. Stock SH4: hit a ship with the deck gun and there's a small flash. Now, see mushroom clouds, fire trails, or sparks with chunks of metal flying through the air. Armor Piercing and High Explosive shells can be assigned different impact effects. Get ready for explosions, shell hits, water splashes, and spray that are MUCH MORE VIVID than SH4 out of the box effects.

[Admiral Halsey]

Originally Posted by iambecomelife

PARTICLE EFFECTS

-Very big breakthrough last month. I have always really disliked SH4's standard effects for smoke, fire, and shell explosions. In addition to the new smoke and fire I already posted, I managed to implement many SH5 effects for SH4. Stock SH4: hit a ship with the deck gun and there's a small flash. Now, see mushroom clouds, fire trails, or sparks with chunks of metal flying through the air. Armor Piercing and High Explosive shells can be assigned different impact effects. Get ready for explosions, shell hits, water splashes, and spray that are MUCH MORE VIVID than SH4 out of the box effects.

Me likey!

[TorpX]

Sounds Good!