Is it possible to add a custom pilot/captain to a campaign?

[Ambassador]

ORIGINAL: VonWulfen

ORIGINAL: Ambassador

ORIGINAL: VonWulfen



I will not be tempted to create a HQ bound commander or pilot haha.
I will probably assignee myself to a DD in a Hunter TF. Or, a sub commander. I like the idea of a lone wolf, almost like an age of sail frigate on a cruise I suppose
Yes, I think a sub commander would suit me perfectly, my own version of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey in a sub, thought I doubt I shall be taking many prizes

A pilot may be killed by an unlucky accident, or in combat due to a bad luck streak. It’s much safer to be a leader. However, ship captains may get killed if their ship sinks.

A good spot to go would be to command the Boise. You can get much of the feel of POB’s series with a light cruiser, in the early campaign at least, and ambush Japanese convoys.

Alternatively, you might include several versions of yourself, at different ranks. Say, your first « you » is a LCDR or CDR, and commands an old DD in the Philippines, or even just a LT in charge of a PT boat (and squadron). And you include ulterior versions of « you » with a higher rank, moving up the ladders and commanding more imposing ships along the war (and giving you another chance in case of a sinking « kills » your alter-ego). Just make sure not to assign more than one of your versions at the same time.

ÉDIT: and now, I wonder if I shouldn’t head to the music room of the Governor’s House, for another circumnavigation... it’s been a long time.

Many thanks for this multiple me idea, I will most definitely think on it.
By the by, I will be calling on the port admiral, and paying my respects to Mrs Heart

A most excellent notion, sir. But please beat the measure on time, and not half a beat ahead, otherwise it might irritate some people.[:)]

[Platoonist]

ORIGINAL: VonWulfen


Out of curiosity, when new models arrive, is it possible to transfer a sub commander to the new sub type?

Yes, you can put yourself into the reserve officer pool anytime when your patrol ends and wait for one of the newer Gato or Balao sub class types to arrive. Then, bump out the current commander of one of those and replace it with your man. The political point (PP) cost for that is relatively cheap. However, bear in mind that the Gato/Balao class aren't super-subs by any means. Just evolutionary improvements on the Tambor/Gar models that you mostly begin the war with.

[VonWulfen]

ORIGINAL: Platoonist

ORIGINAL: VonWulfen


I know we will have new models trickling down the upgrade pipeline but of the starting sub classes, which one would be considered a prime candidate?

My personal preference would be the Narwhal/Nautilus/Argonaut type. They are unique as there are only the three like them. Plus, those six inch cruiser type guns are a hoot if you should roll a surface action against a merchant ship. USN subs of all types can be frustrating at the start of a 1941 campaign. Lousy Mark 14 torpedoes on most of them, expect for the S-class which have a good working torpedo but are hobbled by short range and less torpedoes stowed aboard.

I just noticed, both Narwhal and Nautilus have the MK14 torpedoes, whereas the Argonaut has the MK10.
There is also an Argonaut on a patrol just south of Midway Island on turn 0 of the 8th Dec full campaign.
I did notice that this particular sub has a different commander to the actual captain of the sub.
The captain is currently CDR Jones H. but listed as commander is a LCDR Pierce.
Quickly looking at the nearest subs they have the same name as commander and captain which makes sense.
Why does this particular sub have a different commander to the captain?
If I edit this to be my starting sub I can get straight into the action by retaliating against the Japanese fleet which I believe are still to the north of Pearl.

[Kull]

My uncle dropped mines East of Wakkanai and then took Tuna on patrol into the sea of Japan - in 1942, bad torpedoes and all. Ran into some nasty ASW NW of Niigata and ate 2 depth charge hits and more rattles than you'd get from a West Texas sidewinder and still made it out alive, albeit with 75 float and periodic "flooding". Nursed that boat back to Attu anyway. When command suggested that he could transfer out rather than risk the run back to Seattle, they got the ice cold Uncle Art stare. He took those boys home.

Yeah, role playing makes it more real.

[BBfanboy]

ORIGINAL: VonWulfen

ORIGINAL: Platoonist

ORIGINAL: VonWulfen


I know we will have new models trickling down the upgrade pipeline but of the starting sub classes, which one would be considered a prime candidate?

My personal preference would be the Narwhal/Nautilus/Argonaut type. They are unique as there are only the three like them. Plus, those six inch cruiser type guns are a hoot if you should roll a surface action against a merchant ship. USN subs of all types can be frustrating at the start of a 1941 campaign. Lousy Mark 14 torpedoes on most of them, expect for the S-class which have a good working torpedo but are hobbled by short range and less torpedoes stowed aboard.

I just noticed, both Narwhal and Nautilus have the MK14 torpedoes, whereas the Argonaut has the MK10.
There is also an Argonaut on a patrol just south of Midway Island on turn 0 of the 8th Dec full campaign.
I did notice that this particular sub has a different commander to the actual captain of the sub.
The captain is currently CDR Jones H. but listed as commander is a LCDR Pierce.
Quickly looking at the nearest subs they have the same name as commander and captain which makes sense.
Why does this particular sub have a different commander to the captain?
If I edit this to be my starting sub I can get straight into the action by retaliating against the Japanese fleet which I believe are still to the north of Pearl.

I think one of the developers said that they made an effort to match sub and skipper for any that had some degree of fame during the war, but didn't bother much with that for subs that did not have heroic deeds to tell.

[Dan1977]

You will notice that the developers used role playing characters also Many unique names can be found in the Editor, including several Grigsby's. I have modded a scenario to add pilots & leaders, both fictional & historical. I have also corrected spelling of my Grandfather's name. He is in two different leaders slots in the game. I have corrected the spelling of any other historical leader or pilot that I discovered errors in. I have modded actual historical Allied Aces by adding their first names in place of their initials. That way I can keep track of them better.

[VonWulfen]

I would like to come back to a previous question regarding sub commander & captain if I may.
Now having had more time to look at the subs in more detail I notice when you click on the icon of a sub on the map it initially brings up the TF card.
Below the TF main details you then have the units within the TF, which is just a single unit for subs, being essentially lone wolves.
Now take the Argonaut just South of Midway as an example.
On the main card the commander is CDR: LCDR Pierce.
If you then click on the sub within this TF it says: Captain CDR Jones.
Now if the TF comprised more than a single unit as I understand it the commander would be the flag unit and have multiple captains below him.
But with a sub, the only unit within its own TF why does it have a different commander and captain?

[Ambassador]

ORIGINAL: VonWulfen

I would like to come back to a previous question regarding sub commander & captain if I may.
Now having had more time to look at the subs in more detail I notice when you click on the icon of a sub on the map it initially brings up the TF card.
Below the TF main details you then have the units within the TF, which is just a single unit for subs, being essentially lone wolves.
Now take the Argonaut just South of Midway as an example.
On the main card the commander is CDR: LCDR Pierce.
If you then click on the sub within this TF it says: Captain CDR Jones.
Now if the TF comprised more than a single unit as I understand it the commander would be the flag unit and have multiple captains below him.
But with a sub, the only unit within its own TF why does it have a different commander and captain?

Unless someone digs a Dev’s post, I doubt anyone would have the answer...

You’ll discover this game still has a certain number of features (not bugs, mind you[;)]). For example, as was discussed recently in two other threads, both Sprague admirals are included in the database as Ship-type leaders, but their rank (RADM in both cases) precludes them from being assigned to any ship (except Clifton, who starts as a PT-boat commander, but will be stuck in the limbo if you remove him). A couple of other USN admirals are in the same case.

Remember WitP-AE is a game, not everything works like IRL. Ship commander and TF commander are different variables, with different effects attached to the leader’s stats.

[VonWulfen]

ORIGINAL: Ambassador

ORIGINAL: VonWulfen

I would like to come back to a previous question regarding sub commander & captain if I may.
Now having had more time to look at the subs in more detail I notice when you click on the icon of a sub on the map it initially brings up the TF card.
Below the TF main details you then have the units within the TF, which is just a single unit for subs, being essentially lone wolves.
Now take the Argonaut just South of Midway as an example.
On the main card the commander is CDR: LCDR Pierce.
If you then click on the sub within this TF it says: Captain CDR Jones.
Now if the TF comprised more than a single unit as I understand it the commander would be the flag unit and have multiple captains below him.
But with a sub, the only unit within its own TF why does it have a different commander and captain?

Unless someone digs a Dev’s post, I doubt anyone would have the answer...

You’ll discover this game still has a certain number of features (not bugs, mind you[;)]). For example, as was discussed recently in two other threads, both Sprague admirals are included in the database as Ship-type leaders, but their rank (RADM in both cases) precludes them from being assigned to any ship (except Clifton, who starts as a PT-boat commander, but will be stuck in the limbo if you remove him). A couple of other USN admirals are in the same case.

Remember WitP-AE is a game, not everything works like IRL. Ship commander and TF commander are different variables, with different effects attached to the leader’s stats.

Many thanks once again, sir.

[VonWulfen]

I have now added myself myself to the database for the 8th Dec start.
I am starting off in Pearl Harbour in an unassigned Nautilus.
I then saved as 8th Dec test.
I can confirm that I am now in the game.
I just wanted to check if I have saved the edited game correctly before I spend anymore time adding orders per the spreadsheet.
When I load my scenario there is no mission briefing or images on the scenario intro screen, its just blank. But ingame everything appears to be working normally.
Is this normal for an edited scenario?
The process I followed was.
Open editor, load Dec 8th scenario, edited a captain of the sub I wanted to command, saved as Dec 8th full test.
cheers

[RangerJoe]

Why not check the Scenario Design and Modding thread for these things?[&:]

https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tt.asp?forumid=715

[Ambassador]

Yes, it’s normal. When you edit a scenario with the Editor, it doesn’t copy the files which include the history and description. You may manually do a copy/paste/rename if you want them.

[Platoonist]

Yeah, the mission briefing will be blank by default in your edited scenario. No biggie.

Good luck and happy hunting in the Nautilus.

[VonWulfen]

Great news. Many thanks all for the help

[Dan1977]

VonWulfen,
There are 7 Text files (.txt) for each scenario. You will find them in the Scenario folder of your PC's saved folders for the game. You can copy them from the original scenario, and modify easily as necessary. I have attached (I hope) one of those files I use for my modification of scenario #6. I have saved this mod as my Scenario #40.

[Ambassador]

By the way, if the scenario you modify has more than one AI File, it will only copy the first one when you save your mods to another slot. You have to copy/paste/rename the other AI files yourself, if you want to have different strategies for the AI.

[Sardaukar]

I am in War Plan Orange, I think I was set as Captain of BC Lion. [:D]

I was beta-testing it and we could have ourselves put into game.

[VonWulfen]

ORIGINAL: Dan1977

VonWulfen,
There are 7 Text files (.txt) for each scenario. You will find them in the Scenario folder of your PC's saved folders for the game. You can copy them from the original scenario, and modify easily as necessary. I have attached (I hope) one of those files I use for my modification of scenario #6. I have saved this mod as my Scenario #40.

Many thanks,sir.