Thinking about... [regarding in-game object viewer]

[Asheshouse]

I ticked "I would provide info on planes" but what I really meant is I would provide info on ships --- no option for that

In my modded installation I have enabled the in-game viewer for any new ships, some with text, many just with a view of the model.

It would be nice to have the text in a popup window and be able to keep the model view on screen. At present you can only have one or the other.

Basic text with standard spec for each model, all in an agreed format would be easy and fairly quick to do. The game uses Uni-Code text for the text windows with a small number of text formatting options.

Expanded text for selected models could include service history.
There maybe issues of copyright if this text is cut and pasted from reference books without re-drafting.

Similar things could be done for Tanks and Vehicles & Artillery categories.
The latter should maybe be split into separate categories.

Just a basic spec and period of use, to an agreed format initially, with more detailed info to be added only to specific models dependant on enthusiasm.

Ashe

[EJGr.Ost_Caspar]

There have been a few good ideas around the viewer, which can be taken into account later, but for now, I think the task to complete the viewer the way, as it is now and has always been, is already large enough. Pls understand - if this should really going to happen, I just don't want to get into problems with other stuff.

@Asheshouse: I guess, you are talking about mod ship (I bet most are your own)? Also here I would rather only take care for the content of the stock game. But the modding scene maybe can benefit from such a project too.
Do you know, if there are stock ships missing in the viewer? If so, they can't be many.

I have also contact made with a russian guy, who started filling the missing planes, but in russian language so far. We are currently discussing, who to go on, also to prevent double work. I guess, it can slowly go to start soon.

I think, I will not going too hasty with this topic either.

[Asheshouse]

List of ships in v4.11 with class name and menu name
x indicates that they appear in the viewer.

[Ships]


x    G5                               Soviet Torpedo Boat G-5
     MO4                              Soviet Hunter MO-4
x    BBK_1942                         Soviet Armored Boat BBK-1 /1942
x    BBK1124_1943                     Soviet Armored Boat BBK-1 /1943
x    Destroyer_USSR_Type7             Soviet Destroyer Type 7
     Destroyer_USSR_Type7_44          Soviet Destroyer Type 7 /1944
x    Tral                             Soviet Tral Class Minesweeper
x    MAS501                           Italian Torpedo Boat MAS 501
x    S80                              German Torpedo Boat S-80
x    MFP                              German Marine Fahr Prahm Type I
x    MFP2                             German Marine Fahr Prahm Type II
x    Murgesku                         Romanian Mine-Layer "Admiral Murgesku"
     MBoat                            German Minesweeper Type 1935

x    Niobe                            German AAA Cruiser "Niobe" 
     NiobeWithBeacon                  German AAA Cruiser "Niobe" (w/ beacon)
     Illmarinen                       Finnish Coastal Defense Ship "Illmarinen"
x    Vainamoinen                      Finnish Coastal Defense Ship "Vainamoinen"
x    Aurora                           Soviet Protected Cruiser "Aurora"
x    Marat                            Soviet Battleship "Marat"
x    Kirov                            Soviet Light Cruiser "Kirov"
     Tirpitz                          German Battleship "Tirpitz"
x    Tashkent                         Soviet Flotilla-Leader "Tashkent"
x    Tramp                            Dry Cargo Ship
     Tanker                           Liquid Cargo Ship

x    Submarine                        German Submarine Type IIB surfaced
     SubmarineP                       German Submarine Type IIB submerged
     SubTypeVIIC_Srf                  German Submarine Type VIIC surfaced
     SubTypeVIIC_SrfWithBeacon        German Submarine Type VIIC surfaced w/ beacon
     SubTypeVIIC_Sub                  German Submarine Type VIIC submerged
x    Shuka                            Soviet Submarine 'Tshuka' surfaced
     ShukaP                           Soviet Submarine 'Tshuka' submerged
    
x    USSLexingtonCV2                  USS Lexington CV2
x    USSSaratogaCV3                   USS Saratoga CV3
     USSCVGeneric                     USS Carrier Generic
     USSBBGeneric                     USS Battleship Generic
x    USSIndianapolisCA35              USS Indianapolis CA35
     USSGreenlingSS213_Srf            USS Greenling SS213 surfaced
     USSGreenlingSS213_Sub            USS Greenling SS213 submerged
x    USSGatoSS212_Srf                 USS Gato SS212 surfaced
     USSGatoSS212_Sub                 USS Gato SS212 submerged
x    USSWardDD139                     USS Ward DD139
x    USSDentDD116                     USS Dent DD116
x    USSFletcherDD445                 USS Fletcher DD445
x    USSOBannonDD450                  USS O'Bannon DD450
x    USSKiddDD661                     USS Kidd DD661
     USSCasablancaCVE55               USS Casablanca CVE55
     USSKitkunBayCVE71                USS Kitkun Bay CVE71
     USSShamrockBayCVE84              USS Shamrock Bay CVE84
x    USSEssexCV9                      USS Essex CV9
x    USSIntrepidCV11                  USS Intrepid CV11
     LVT_2WAT                         US LVT-2 Landing Craft
     DUKW_WAT                         US DUKW Amphibious Vehicle
     LCVP                             US LCVP Landing Craft

x    HMSIllustriousCV                 HMS Illustrious CV
x    HMSPoWBB                         HMS Prince of Wales BB
x    HMSKingGeorgeVBB                 HMS King George V BB
x    HMSDukeOfYorkBB                  HMS Duke of York BB
    
x    IJNAkagiCV                       IJN Akagi CV
     IJNShokakuCV                     IJN Shokaku CV
     IJNZuikakuCV                     IJN Zuikaku CV
     IJNCVGeneric                     IJN Carrier Generic
     IJNBBGeneric                     IJN Battleship Generic
x    IJNAkizukiDD42                   IJN Akizuki DD
x    IJNAmatsukazeDD41                IJN Amatsukaze DD /1941
x    IJNArashiDD41                    IJN Arashi DD /1941
x    IJNKageroDD41                    IJN Kagero DD /1941
x    IJNNowakiDD41                    IJN Nowaki DD /1941
x    IJNYukikazeDD41                  IJN Yukikaze DD /1941
x    IJNAmatsukazeDD43                IJN Amatsukaze DD /1943
     IJNAmatsukazeDD43WithBeacon      IJN Amatsukaze DD /1943 w/ beacon
x    IJNNowakiDD43                    IJN Nowaki DD /1943
x    IJNYukikazeDD43                  IJN Yukikaze DD /1943
x    IJNAmatsukazeDD45                IJN Amatsukaze DD /1945
x    IJNYukikazeDD45                  IJN Yukikaze DD /1945
     IJNFishJunk                      IJN Fishing Boat
     IJNFishJunkA                     IJN Fishing Boat armed
     DaihatsuLC                       JP Daihatsu Landing Craft

Some not worth including like Generic ships and submerged subs, but others should be included IMO.

The Soviet, German, Finnish, Rumanian, Italian types could be better grouped by countries with ships sorted in the order major vessels first. I will create a modified ship.ini with these changes. Approx 18 ships to add.

[SaQSoN]

Originally Posted by Asheshouse

Some not worth including like Generic ships and submerged subs, but others should be included IMO.

Sister ships also may be represented as single entry, with all in-game sister-ships simply listed in the text.

[sniperton]

Originally Posted by majorfailure

Nice to have would be some info how to use planes ingame - current viewer is lacking that. And an armament section would be highly useful. There are some weapons out there that could use a "how to" guide - the info is in the manual, or in some vid, but it would be nice to have all that in one place.

+++ Historic info is important, but ingame info is much more so, for me at least. Engine management, ammo type and count, and the like I have in mind. A bit like in an aircraft manual: "supercharcher set to stage 2 at xxx meters", etc. I'd like to have the info in HardBall's Viewer and Il_2_Functions_4.07.xls merged together, extended, upgraded and incorporated. But I think it would require a different type of object viewer, for sure.
Anyway, most of the data I'm interested in are already programmed into the game -- the only problem is that I can't access them in a convenient way.
As to the willingness to contribute, translations into Hungarian (from English or German) would be pretty useless, ehh?