PTC VIII Announcement & Enlistment

[aanker]

 
--- In PacificThunder@yahoogroups.com, ComSubPac wrote:
 
Gentlemen, with the current Pacific Thunder Campaign VII winding down and due to end 31 August I would like to reassure all of you that the planning stages are underway for a PTC VIII using the new SH4 "Silent Hunter Wolves of the Pacific".
 
For those who wish to continue using SHCE, don't worry there will be a SHCE SubRon too.  Using SH4 in our campaign will be a learning experience for all of us just as SHCE was for our first Pacific Thunder Campaign in 2000.
 
Those interested should contact BuPers to sign up including the platform of their choice; SH4, SHCE, or both!
http://bureau-of-personnel.battlebelow.com/
 
Discussion about the upcoming Campaign can be carried out here in the Yahoo PacificThunder group http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/PacificThunder/ and in Admiral Ed Howard's forum:
http://www.subsowespac.org/forum/index.php/topic,362.0.html
 
"Uncle Charlie"
 
Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood
Commander Submarine Force, Pacific Fleet
 
 
" Bless those who serve beneath the deep,
Through lonely hours their vigil keep.
May peace their mission ever be,
Protect each one we ask of thee.
Bless those at home who wait and pray,
For their return by night and day."
 
--- End forwarded message ---
 
 
The PTC VIII Early Sign Up page is uploaded to the BuPers website.
 
http://bureau-of-personnel.battlebelow.com/
 
Just email me with the requested info at the bottom of the page and I will add you to the list.
 
Thanks, Art
 
 
Anker, A. A.
Vice Admiral
PacFlt BuPers

[Ducimus]

I don't know which campaign PTC will use, but i thought id mention that it is my intention to move the Trigger Maru mod here to subsowespac.org.  Im still working on some minior updates, but after that i intend to pass those updates to Lurker (author of the RSRD campaign), and then later intergrate RSRD into a 2nd offering of TM. In sum ill have two versions of TMO 1.5C, one with RSRD, and one without, so users can choose which one they  prefer on their own.

At this point, i should also mention the RFB mod which is now 1.5 compatible, and because it is a mod that intends to achieve 100% historical accuracy, where as with TM I will take creative license from time to time if i think it makes better gameplay.

Expect a publish mod from me on the mod forum here in 2 or 4 weeks time.

[aanker]

Outstanding news Ducimus!  As far as which 'campaign' - IMO members should have the freedom to select from the whole spectrum (within reason) and most definitely TM is at the top of the list of preferred mods.
 
Art

[nuc]

Ed and Art:

Something to think about:  Do you want to put a "recuiting" anouncement on Subsim and/or the Ubi Boards or proceed with a smaller group of mostly PTC vets and those that find us until, as Art says, we get our sea legs?  I think I favor the latter but it would be nice to have a significant participation.   What are you seeing in response to the announcement?

   

[subsowespac]

Rick,

I think it always pays to advertise, especially with a "gold standard" site like subsim.  Traffic here has picked up quite a bit over the past month, and we have had a fair number of inquiries about joining.  I think we probably need to get our plans finalized a bit more before we start spreading the word.  In particluar, I'd like to be sure that at least you, Art, Jeff, and I are in agreement about how we should operate the campaign and what the delegation of duties will be.  Do you agree with my comments in the following post?:

http://www.subsowespac.org/forum/index.php/topic,362.msg1852.html#msg1852

Ed Howard

[Rockin Robbins]

Gold standard huh? We're all from http://forum.kickinbak.com! Come on over and pay us a visit.

[nuc]

Rick,

I think it always pays to advertise, especially with a "gold standard" site like subsim.  Traffic here has picked up quite a bit over the past month, and we have had a fair number of inquiries about joining.  I think we probably need to get our plans finalized a bit more before we start spreading the word.  In particluar, I'd like to be sure that at least you, Art, Jeff, and I are in agreement about how we should operate the campaign and what the delegation of duties will be.  Do you agree with my comments in the following post?:

http://www.subsowespac.org/forum/index.php/topic,362.msg1852.html#msg1852

Ed Howard

Yes,  I am in agreement.  I like the idea of playing in the career mode better than the single mission approach I suggested a while back.  It would be nice though to have some control over patrol zones and maybe some of the moders who have been checking in can provide some ideas.

[subsowespac]

Thanks for responding Rick.  I totally agree that we need to find a way to develop a patrol zone selector like the one we use with SHCE.  Unfortunately, I suspect that much of what needs to be done to has to be hard coded, so I hope the Devs are following these posts.

Ed Howard

[subsowespac]

RR - I do think of SubSim as a gold standard site.  I have a lot of respect for what Neal has accomplished through the years.  Having said that, it is important that I also say I have a lot of respect for what the guys over at kickinbak are doing too.  This site (i.e., subsowespac.org) has been on the air since 2000, and I've always tried to maintain cordial relationships with owners of other submarine related sites.   

Ed Howard

[Ducimus]

the current Pacific Thunder Campaign VII winding down and due to end 31 August I would like to reassure all of you that the planning stages are underway for a PTC VIII using the new SH4 "Silent Hunter Wolves of the Pacific".

I dont know if ive said so, but im kinda excited about that.    A submarine sim by itself is kinda dull compared to a full on campaign renactment.  i was about to ask what my time table was, but it looks like 31Aug08 is a decent date to pick.

Now, i dunno about others, but ive been waiting for a good (newer) pacific sub sim since Sh1 released by SSI for DOS.  So it seems to be, that this campaign here, is what i should be setting my modding sights on.  IN other words, i want to try and support this campaign the best i can, and the best way for me to do that, is to make sure i can get all the bugs and quirks ironed out of TM before the campaign launchs.  Things like "my radar disappears when i got my CT upgrade" concern me.  So, it looks like i havea  few months to track the minor stuff down. When the campaign luanchs, i want to make sure folks arent running into this sort of thing when it matters most (ie, virtual online campaign).  All the more reason i think ill move the "offical" TM thread here instead.  By and large, i think this is where the most intrest in the PTO will eventually be given a virtual  campaign for people to sink their teeth into.  My running assumption, is this site is the pacific version of http://www.wolvesatwar.org/  . Since the PTO is where my heart is, i want to support this endeavor, and i think by moving TM here, and linking to it in my forum signigures on subsim and the offical ubi forums, i might be able to "put out the word" and hopefully drum up more interest in the campaign here.  Not everyone knows this site exists, and many assume its dead.

[aanker]

Thanks, appreciate the remarks Ducimus!
 
For 'amusement' here's an oldie for the PTC using SH1 - SHCE I posted a few years ago to drum up new members:
"Silent Hunter I Pacific Thunder Campaign"
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=87475
 
I'm excited about finally having a new Pacific Theatre SH to use in the PTC.  Between now and the end of summer a lot could happen too.  Who knows, there may even be a 1.6 patch ...  ;-)
 
Art

[subsowespac]

Thank you for your interest and participation Ducimus.  It will be a real challenge for us to incorporate Silent Hunter 4 into the Pacific Thunder Campaign.  For the past seven campaigns we have used Silent Hunter CE.  Thanks to some great utilities made specifically for SHCE and the PTC by Jason "Hawk" Busby, we have been able to select specific patrol zones in the 15-cycle campaign.  Using Silent Hunter 4 presents more of a challenge because we have less control over patrol start dates and patrol zones.  So please bear with us as we try to get this next campaign organized.  As of today, we anticipate a October 1, 2008 start date.

Ed Howard

[Ducimus]

Using Silent Hunter 4 presents more of a challenge because we have less control over patrol start dates and patrol zones.

It is possible to dictate campaign/career game start dates,  hard script what patrol assigments are available at any given month or set time period, and how much time you spend in port after returning from patrol. 

You can for instance set it so the only patrol you get in jan42, is to patrol the Marshall islands, and recieve no other assigment except that patrol. And in Feb42, have the only patrol assigment as to patrol Honshu, and recieve no other assgiment except that one.


edit: The only variable you dont have control over is how long the player spend on patrol.  you could always dictate that i suppose, (stay on station for 14 days then RTB)

EDIT:
BTW, this is vitaly important: Which version of Sh4 does PTC intend to use? 1.4?  or 1.5? 
(Remember 1.5 requires purchasing the uboat add on.)   

[subsowespac]

Ducimus,

Here are our proposed cycle dates for PTC VIII:

Prposed PTC 8 Cycle Dates

As you can see, we conduct one patrol each month, and it covers 3 months of historical time.  We need the ability to start patrols in the first month of each cycle.  Players are required to end their patrols before the end of the 3-month cycle.  For example, in cycle 1, a player would start their patrol sometime after December 7, 1941, and return to base before the end of February 1942.  The next cycle (cycle 2) would begin in March 1942 and end in May 1942.  So, depending on the patrol start date, they have less than 90 days of historical time (game time) to complete their patrol each cycle.  They have to RTB before the beginning of the next cycle.

We also generally assign players to different commands, e.g., Pearl Harbor, Asiatic Fleet (Manila), Brisbane.  What we would like to be able to do is to be able to assign specific patrol areas for each command, each cycle. As you know, each command had its unique patrol areas.

I think we all got a bit spoiled by how easy it was to set up our monthly patrols in this manner using Hawk's utilities for SHCE.  We do not have the same flexibility with SH 4.  Any advice you can offer in helping us to solve this dilemma will be gratefully appreciated.  We will help you in any way we can.

Best regards,

Ed Howard

 

[Ducimus]

With 90 days to complete a patrol, i can certainly see the delimna.  A player may RTB anywhere from as early as 25  days to 60 days, to 80 days. With no way to ascertain when they RTB, and a fixed time when the next patrol is to start,  theres no way to dictate the time period from when they RTB to next patrol start.

Hmm this is a nice little delimna.

BTW, not sure if you caught my edit, what version of SH4 will the PTC be using? 1.4 or 1.5?