[TEC]Adding Upgrade Packs

[TheBeast]

A little of my MOD'ing history:
I am almost totally new to MOD'ing as you can see by my Join Date of "Jan. 2010". I started MOD'ing in Feb, 2010 without even realising I was creating a MOD. I began by merging changes from various MOD's touching the same files into a single MOD. This enabled me to benifit from Multiple MOD changes all at the same time. I have released a few Merged MOD's and a couple of my own for SH4/SH5 but this was only possible because of some of the excellent tools Developed and Shared by other's in the Silent Hunter MOD'ing community. Keeping this in mind, I am not a MOD expert, I am a retired old fart, MOD novice with to much time on my hands and decent background in computing, dating back to the early 80's.

PURPOSE:
The intent of this post is to emphasize the importance of sharing knowledge, community effort(s) or building upon the work of others and the functional accuracy of the work being done resulting in a stable and enjoyable gaming experience.

NOTE: This discussion is dealing with functional accuracy, not historical accuracy. Please keep comments pertaining to historical accuracy, out of this forum thread Topic and I encourage you to post those comments to a thread pertaining to Historical Accuracy. Availability Dates, Submarine Type Availability Dates, Time of Service Dates, Renown Costs, etc. All may be adjusted in this discussion for testing purposes.
I say, let us fix what is currently broken. Then lets talk about Historical Accuracy.

Source files referred to / used as examples:






During this post, I will be referring to items contained in the following files as examples:

• data\Objects\Sensors\Uboat_Sensors.sim
• data\UPCDataGE\UPCUnitsData\Equipment.upc
• data\UPCDataGE\UPCUnitsData\UpgradePacks.upc
• data\Sumarine\NSS_Uboat7c41\NSS_Uboat7c41.upcge

If you want to follow along, please create your own MOD and copy these files to the appropriate folder structures in your MOD. Never edit the game files in their default location(s).
NOTE: At a minimum, the ethic's touched on here in this post should be aligned too when dealing with, or creating any MOD.

ASSUMPTIONS:
This discussion IS NOT a Tutorial. Since this Topic is posted in the "SH5 MODS Workshop" Forum, I am making this post, assuming you (the reader) know how to use the tools and applications touched on in this discussion.

GENERAL INFO:
The first thing I want to point out is, the Uboot_Sensors.sim, Equipment.upc,UpgradePacks.upc and NSS_Uboat7c41.upcge files all (out of box and post patch v1.2) may contain errors, otherwise know as bugs.
If you plan to release MOD'd forms of these files, or any MOD'd files for that matter. please take the time and ensure (to the best of your abilities) you are building on a solid foundation. Either fix the known existing problem(s) as you start your MOD or start your MOD by building on the work of someone else that has already fixed the known existing problem(s). This will prevent others (who might and should) from building upon your work and compounding the problem(s). Stopping a snowball effect before it starts.

START(BASICS):
I want to start by looking at and tracing the FUMO_61_base_dummy Radar Antenna and use it for a example, as defined in the Uboat_Sensors.SIM to where it can actually be installed as a upgrade on the Type-VIIC/41 Conning Tower.





NOTE: I did ensure items of same types were grouped together and renumbered correctly before going any further. Radars listed with other Radars, Sonar's listed with other Sonar's, etc. Keeping things some what organized.

1. Is it Available in the Uboat_Sensors.sim (Not dealing with Defined Controls yet. Just the Dummy object. Defining Controllers is still a little beyond me at this time.)
2. How it is enumerated in the Equipment.upc
3. How it is made available as a Upgrade Pack in the UpgradePacks.ups
4. How does the game know the Upgrade Pack can be used on my current Type Submarine.

1.) (GoblinEditorApp) Looking in the Editor Scene Tree I find the FUMO_61_base_dummy but it has no controllers assigned to it. How does it work? It has children named FUMO_61_ShipWake and FUMO_61_antenna, The ShipWake does not have controllers assigned to it at this time ((BUG BUG)just realized). We want to put the Antenna on the 7c41 boat Tower so we don't care about the ShipWake at this time but it should be revisited and fixed later.
-=[EDIT 2011-04-01]=-
This is not a bug. The Shipwake controller is in the FX file.

2.) To enumerate the FUMO_61_base_dummy in the Equipment.upc so it is usable in the UpgradePacks.upc and define DamageDescription. We edit the file with any ASCII Text editor. I find the FuMo 61 Antenna list with unique [Equipment Number] and a unique ID the UpgradePacks.upc can use.

[Equipment XX];<-- XX is a number determined by how many other equipment items are listed above it and must be unique
ID=EqpFuMO61;<-- Unique ID name defined
NameDisplayable= FuMO-61 ‘Hohentwiel-U’
FunctionalType= EqFTypeRadarAntennaSJEarly
EquipmentInterval= NULL, NULL
EquipmentSlotType=NULL
ExternalLinkName3D= FUMO_61_base_dummy,data\Objects\Sensors\UBoot_Sensors;<-- This is where we call info from Uboot_Sensors.sim for this Item. This "UBoot" entry is native naming from Ubi, not me. Do not change this.
Hitpoints= 100
DamageDescription1= NULL, 0, 0.2, 0, 1, 1, small malfunction, 0, 0, NULL, 0.3, 0.4, 4;<-- Dont understand this works yet
DamageDescription2= NULL, 0.2, 0.6, 0, 1, 1, Misaligned Axis, 0, 0, NULL, 0.5, 0.4, 10
DamageDescription3= NULL, 0.6, 1, 0, 1, 1, fuse blown, 0, 0, NULL, 1, 0.2, 15

3.) There were no Upgrade Packs in the UpgradePacks.upc that included the FUMO_61_Antenna so I creating the Upgrade Pack in UpgradePacks.upc file. It required me to make a new entry so I copied the existing FUMO30 Upgrade and modified it:

[UpgradePack XX] ;<-- XX is a number determined by how many other Upgrade Packs are listed above it and must be unique
ID= UpackUb7FUMO61Radar;<-- Unique ID name defined. the NSS_Uboat7c41.upcge uses thid
NameDisplayable=UpackIXFUMO30Radar-Name
Info=This is the FuMo-61 Radar Antenna Upgrade;<-- Information displayed (as I entered it here) in port on upgrades list menu
Notes=UpackIXFUMO30Radar-Notes;<-- Notes displayed in port on upgrades list menu as called from some where.(MENU.TXT???)
FunctionalType= UpFTypeSensorRadar
UpgradePackSlotType= UboatType7RadarAdvanced
Type=NULL
ImageIndex=15
;UpgradePackInterval=1941-12-01, 1942-08-01
UnitUpgradePackIntervalOptionCurrent= NULL, NULL, 0
UnitUpgradePackIntervalOptions1=1939-01-01, 1939-02-01, 0;<--Example Availablity Date period with Zero Renown Cost
UnitUpgradePackIntervalOptions2=1939-02-01, NULL, 0;<--Example Availablity Date period continued to unknown end date with Zero Renown Cost
IDLinkUpgradePackElements= EqpFumo30RadarApp, EqpFuMO61, NULL;<--Changed from EqpFuMO30 to EqpFuMO61 as defined in Equipment.upc
TrackingID=603;<--I incremented this number from the UpackUb7FUMO30Radar upgrade pack. I think this number must be unique but not sure.

4.) Looking in the NSS_Uboat7c41.upcge file. The new upgrade pack is not listed because we just finished something Ubi lost track of, Ignored in order to meet Delivery Dates or just forgot completely about it. This upgrade should have been available as the VIIC/41 was still in service at the Wars end. To enable it as a upgrade for this boat type we have to add a entry:

[UserPlayerUnit 1.UpgradePackSlot 2]
ID= UpgRadar
NameDisplayable= UpgSlotRadar-Name
Type=NULL
AcceptedTypes= UboatType7Radar, UboatType7RadarAdvanced
UserCustomizable=Yes
IDLinkUpgradePackSlots= EqSlot43, RadarAntenna, RadarAntennaFront
;IDLinkUpgradePackSlotsIntervalDefault1= 1941-01-01, NULL, UpackUb7FUMO29Radar
IDLinkUpgradePackSlotsIntervalDefault1= 1939-01-01, NULL, UpackUb7FUMO29Radar
IDLinkUpgradePackSlotsIntervalDefault2= 1939-01-01, NULL, UpackUb7FUMO30Radar
IDLinkUpgradePackSlotsIntervalDefault3= 1939-01-01, NULL, UpackUb7FUMO61Radar;<--Entry added for the Antenna Upgrade Pack we just covered.
IDLinkUpgradePackSlotsIntervalDefault4= 1939-01-01, NULL, UpackUb7FUMO65Radar;<--Entry added for another Antenna Upgrade Pack you can create.

RESULT:
I now have the Upgrade Pack(s) listed and available for use from my in port repair Mechanics Upgrades list. I have installed the FuMO65 Radar Antenna with the FuMO30 Radar PPI display and it is obviously displayed on my Conning Tower. The Radar still works, however weak that it is but it works.
This is what I have learned so far. You can follow this example I provided and add the FuMO61/FuMO65 Radar Antenna, Snorkle, etc. as additional Upgrade Packs.

If you have any additional information pertaining to getting these upgrade packs completed and you would like to share, please do so!