Silent Hunter 4 and the Pacific Thunder Campaign

[subsowespac]

The current Pacific Thunder Campaign (PTC VII) runs through August 2008.  At about this time during each past campaign we have paused to consider whether or not there will be a next Pacific Thunder Campaign; in this case PTC VIII.  This year we also need to decide how to incorporate Silent Hunter Wolves of the Pacific into another campaign.  We have built a community around Silent Hunter Commander's Edition; our Rules of Engagement are based on it and the great mods developed by our community throughout the years.  Now, with a new and greatly updated version of our favorite Pacific War submarine simulation, we need to discuss how to make the game and our ROE compatible.  Clearly, many of the administrative procedures used for SHCE will not work with SH 4.  But I am confident we can come up with "workarounds."  I wish to thank Art Anker and the other moderators for their involvement in this discussion board.  Let the discussion begin!

Ed Howard

[aanker]

I am definitely in favor of a combined SHCE - SH4 PTC VIII and hope that between the two there is enough interest.  (some members don't have SH4 or may prefer to patrol in a PTC VIII with SHCE)
 
For starters as an example of a PTC patrol setup using SH4, a while ago Rick Turk sent the following procedure that I saved for future reference:
 

Open mission editor and create a new mission
 
Add the appropriate type player submarine to the mission and assign the correct crew experience level in the properties dialog along with the assigned dates (to be sure that boat has all the right configuration of sensors and weapons).
 
Move player sub to appropriate US  sub base.   It is necessary to start near or at the base so that fuel consumption is realistic
 
Create a map zone within the assigned patrol area.
 
Create and objective of the type: "patrol area" for the zone created above. Leave the default 60 min time.
 
Enter at mission title and briefing
 
Save mission to the single mission folder (not War Patrol)  In the single mission  you can change the boats name
 
Edit .mis file using Notepad or other editor to change the sub name
 
Start game and enter game play settings in accordance with rules of engagement (ROE) (e.g., automatic or manual TDC)
 
Start the single mission
 
Mark the assigned patrol area/sector on chart view using ruler.
 
Conduct transit to area (whether targets encounter in transit are to be attacked would have to be addressed in ROE)
 
When objective is met (60 minutes game time after arriving at the map zone) Select continue to play from the screen that pops up.
 
Continue to patrol and return to base when torpedoes are expended, fuel is low or damage requires repairs.

(I hope you don't mind me posting this Rick but it looked so promising I couldn't resist)
 
Art
 

[Dealey Harder]

Hello to my PTC SHCE shipmates, and the SH4 crews as well. After three-plus years in PTC (and playing SH since 1996), I have just gotten SH4 Wolves and am in the steady tedious process of setting it up. After looking in here periodically for almost a year and learning what this community has been discovering and creating, I've registered.

In response to Art and Ed, I too would like to see our PTC survive into an 8th Campaign and am especially keen about how SH4 could be assimilated into our methods and RoE etc. So chalk me up as a "yes" and I would like to be assigned a boat with a Taylor ice cream machine please.

regards,
Dealey

[subsowespac]

Welcome aboard Dealey.  It's great to have you with us.  I am also in the process of setting up SH4 again.  I had to take about 6 months off to complete my move to South Carolina.  With that completed I have recently re-installed the game and applied the v1.4 patch.  With Art's kind help I am also installing some pretty kool mods and making some "shortcut" tweaks here and there.  I started a new career last night so I can get familiar with the sim's controls again.

I like the idea of using both SHCE and SH 4.  Some people may even want to conduct patrols using each.  I also think Rick Turk's write up as posted by Art has a lot of potential for using SH 4.  I'd sure like to get some input from Jeff Johnson on this point.

I think that Ubisoft was due to release the u-boats addon this week.  Has anyone heard anything?

Ed Howard

 

[aanker]

I think that Ubisoft was due to release the u-boats addon this week.  Has anyone heard anything?
 
Ed Howard
 

For now it appears to be D2D in the US.
 
I am also interested in the possibility of a modded version of Atlantic patrols too - including special missions; photo recons etc.  Recently I found out that Ducimus did some 'sink' type missions with 1.4 but remarked them out of TM to avoid confusion... but they are there.  (can you tell that I want to sink a U-Boat ... lol )  I have a good feeling about the future of SH4 1.5+ ... !!
 
Art
 
Edit:
The game engine has improved with faster loading times and other goodies, I have read that all future patches will be based on 1.5.  I also bought it to support the Dev's.

[subsowespac]

Hmmm.  $9.95 for the full download at D2D.  Think I'll get it tonight, also mainly to support the Devs.

Ed H

[harrysubdriver]

When you set-up a patrol like rick states do you get all the  torpedo, radar, deck gun and AA gun options for that time of the war or do you still have to "buy" them?

[aanker]

When you set-up a patrol like rick states do you get all the  torpedo, radar, deck gun and AA gun options for that time of the war or do you still have to "buy" them?
 

You still have to buy them however editing renown; especially if you are following Mush Martin's tutorial on text modding (that also covers numerous other useful things) isn't hard.
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=128825
 
I hope that he (and others) continue to add to this Topic.  Very nice !!
 
Art
 

[cdrsubron7]

Sounds like plans are evolving, here. I'll have to keep a close eye on the periscope.   




Jeff

[aanker]

Sounds like plans are evolving, here. I'll have to keep a close eye on the periscope.   
 
Jeff

Hi Jeff - Don't know where else to ask:
 
Did you install 1.5 yet?  I have and like the improvements.
 
The main thing I was curious about was, is there a file somewhere in the campaign layers that can reduce or increase the probability of getting a photo recon mission?  I know someone who wants less and someone else who wants more.  lol
 
Maybe comment out ( some lines in a file?
 
Art
 

[ehrogard]

Gentlemen, would be great to see a SH4 PTC in august/september! Count me as enlisted 

At the time I'm not using the U-boat addon/1.5 because i read in many forums it isn't worth buying.
So I still play with patch 1.4 with the latest Real Fleet Boat mod installed which greatly removes all the bugs in 1.4 and adds some extra historical realism.

[aanker]

Welcome aboard Eric!
 
I'll paste in an excerpt from the Readme.txt below.  Although I have little interest in the U-Boat Missions there are improvements for the US Pacific boats including faster loading times, visual distance has improved, maybe a few new ships, and one of the Dev's mentioned that all future patches will be based on 1.5 ... translation (I hope) there will be future patches !
 
Art
 

   
From the:
Silent Hunter 4 - Wolves of the Pacific Uboat Missions ( aka 1.5 ) Readme.txt
   
-------------------------------------------
The most notable changes are:
     
1. German campaigns are now accesible through the main menu button "U-boat campaign". To play a career with the US Silent Service, use the new "American Career" button. The included campaign focuses on German operations in the Indian Ocean and nearby areas.
2. When commanding a German u-boat it is possible to enable the Kriegsmarine Grid Quadrant Overlay over the Navigation map.
3. The Submarine upgrade system and screen has been improved
4. Improved crew management system
5. New player and crew abilities available via crew management system
6. New Type IX D2 Long range U-boot
7. New Type XVIII Walther U-boat with unique propulsion system
8. Player has been given limited control over allied units (naval and air), depending on his current rank.
9. Game loading time has been greatly reduced though dynamic loading.
10. Maximum render distance increased to 20 km
11. Water rendering improvements
12. New warships
   -Graf Spee Pocket Battleship
   -Black Swan Class Sloop
   -River Class Frigate - with a correct 3d model this time
   -J Class Destroyer
   -V&W Destroyer
   -Flower Class Corvette
   -Fiji class light cruiser
13.New Merchant Ships
   -Hog Island type A Freighter
   -Charlotte Schliemann supply ship
   -California Express Passenger Freighter
   -War Melody
   -Paula medium tanker
14.New Aircraft
        -Ar-196
   -Sunderland Patrol Plane
   -Beaufighter fighter bomber
15.Added more Generic unit types improving campaign editing and unit appearance control. Iowa and Yamato are now "Super Battleship" class and won't spawn as "Generic Battleship".
       

 
 

[nuc]

See my post in the mods thread re: mods for PTC

http://www.subsowespac.org/forum/index.php/topic,372.0.html

[Sam]

There were a number of improvements in 1.5 that are "under the hood" and allow a lot more adjusting of crew and game settings for modders.

The extended visibility is a really nice improvement.

We've used a lot of the stuff they opened to make changes for Real Fleet Boat (RFB). Ducimus has come up with a bunch more changes for Trigger Maru Overhauled (TMO). Lurker has made addional changes to the Run Silen Run Deep Campaign (RSRDC)

People with older and slower machines have reported an increase in frame rates

It's well worth the $10

If you are thinking about using SH4, it would be a good idea to use either TMO+RSRD or RFB+RSRD. The biggest reason for using one of these mods is they incorporate many if not all the bug fixes into one mod and the traffic is extremely historical with RSRD

If you'd prefer a mod w/ just bug fixes we can put our heads together with Ducimus Lurker and a couple others to come up with something for the campaign

[aanker]

Agreed.  Welcome aboard!  Here is a little background that may be of interest for this topic:
 
________________________________________________________________________
 
The PTC began in 1999 - 2000 using Silent Hunter 1 - SHCE.  Currently we are finishing our 7th campaign.
 
Some may not be familiar with the Pacific Thunder Campaign.  To walk you through how we 'play' begins with a member being assigned to a Squadron and a historically accurate Boat by BuPers (Bureau of Personnel).
 
Each calendar month we conduct a War Patrol that covers 3 War months.  For example, May 2008 covers September, October & November 1944.
 
We determine from CLAY BLAIR's SILENT VICTORY where the boat was stationed, Pearl, Midway, Freemantle etc and then assign it to a PacFlt or SoWesPac patrol zone.
 
Each three month (War time) cycle ComSubPac issues historically accurate Mission Orders to the Squadron Commanders who in turn deploy their Commanders to the Patrol Zones specified by ComSubPac in the orders.  Each individual Commander then has to conduct his war patrol in accordance with our Rules of Engagement and Standard Operating Procedures.  These RoE/SOP's can be viewed at the subsowespac.org main website.
 
We maintain an accurate list of what Warships the IJN had at sea during WW II and each Squadron can sink Warships according to what is available.  For example once the Nagato BB and its sister BB Mutsu have been sunk they may not be sunk again.  If they are sighted again after they have been ‘restricted’ the commander ignores them.  The commander simply patrols and conducts attacks against whatever targets he encounters.
 
A commander will 'return to port' upon expenditure of all torpedoes or having suffered too much damage to continue then writes a Patrol Report detailing the results of the patrol.
 
Results are evaluated as follows:  Those that use manual TDC receive 100% credit for their sinkings, those that use auto TDC have their tonnage multiplied by 0.7 ... we refer to this 'result' as JANAC tonnage.
 
We then award medals and decorations according to how much tonnage was sunk, photo recon or lifeguard mission completed. Also taken into account is how much effort a commander puts into writing his patrol report, their contribution to the campaign overall etc etc.
 
Due to XP and now Vista incompatibility issues with DOS games like SH1 / SHCE combined with the fact that Silent Hunter is old our active membership has fallen although we do have approx 250 +/- casual members subscribed to the Yahoo forum.
 
________________________________________________________________________
 
Personally, I like the concept of RSRD.  It cuts down on the overabundant shipping traffic … but is the shipping dynamic or is it scripted?  Will the same exact BB Group or Convoy always spawn on Feb 23, 1943 (for example) or is there some randomness to the campaign layers?  I would like to see randomness however I am only speaking for myself here.  I've been so busy lately I haven't been able to spend as much time with SH4 like I was in the past.
 
Here is a link to the 15 SHCE Patrol Zones:
http://www.subsowespac.org/patrol_charts.shtml
 
Hondo (one of the PTC’s 'founding fathers) has the original 9 SH1 Patrol Zones here:
http://www.valoratsea.com/cmbtcht.htm
 
Silent Hunter 1 was pretty accurate with the shipping lanes in the game compared to RL according to those who have compared the two.
________________________________________________________________________
 
Recently I've also been distracted by Truk Lagoon and the possibility of repairing it using the terrain editor!  I don't have Photoshop but I do have the Gimp.  Hoping to find a working RAW plug-in for it once I figure out if the one I found will work.
 
It is so nice to have the whole Pacific (& Atlantic) to sail in SH4 rather than 15 limited PZ’s.  I've even installed the Panama Canal.  Just need to figure out how to make it into a Naval Base where I can refuel... and add Bases in CT, New Orleans for the Manitowoc boats new construction, and across the Atlantic in Scotland for the few recon missions conducted in the Med... just because I want too!  lol
 
I hope my description of the PTC (above my digression) was helpful ;-)  Things can be changed of course.  Always open for suggestions etc.  We will be conducting a poll soon to determine if there is enough interest for another campaign using SH4 (combined with SHCE for those who may not have SH4).
 
Happy Hunting!
 
Art