Destroyer Command

Von Rom · Post by **Von Rom** » Tue Aug 26, 2003 9:01 pm

I noticed in reading the subsim forums, that Destroyer Command has under gone quite a facelift.

For those of you who have put the game away or can find it cheaply, it will be an interesting sim to have for surface warfare engagements.

1) Fletcher's Destroyer Command Enhancement Mod:

http://207.44.164.159/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=18654

This mod makes hundreds of changes in DC so that gun accuracy, ship armour values, etc, etc are far more realistic. No more uber AI gun accuracy. AND AI ships will shoot back at you.

With more additions, planes will strafe you; Kamikazes will crash into your ships.

2) Take Command of Other Ships (and not just destroyers), such as the Bismarck, Prince Eugen, the Yamato, etc in Campaigns:

This basically transforms the game into "Battleship Command".

http://www.amberphotography.co.uk/sealords/index.htm

The Bismarck:

The Scharnhorst:

Italian Ships and Planes:

More ships here:

http://www.amberphotography.co.uk/dc_ships.htm

3) Play Naval Campaigns and Scenarios During the time period from 1905 to 1945:

Up-coming Naval campaigns will include the Russo-Japanese War, WWI Battles, WWII (Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean), etc:

http://www.amberphotography.co.uk/sealords/index.htm

Cheers!

NefariousKoel · Post by **NefariousKoel** » Tue Aug 26, 2003 9:10 pm

I never tried the battleship mods and such. Just PM. Of course, it's likely not to happen anytime soon either, since time is a rare commodity for me these days.

I'm struggling just to keep up with the BBSs these days.

Von Rom · Post by **Von Rom** » Tue Aug 26, 2003 9:45 pm

NefariousKoel wrote:I never tried the battleship mods and such. Just PM. Of course, it's likely not to happen anytime soon either, since time is a rare commodity for me these days. I'm struggling just to keep up with the BBSs these days.

I know what you mean. With so mant great wargames coming out, it's hard to find time to do them all justice.

The mods and changes to Destroyer Command means that you can basically take commnd of any ship during any of the naval encounters between 1905-1945.

This means that you can climb into the turrets and fire the main guns; stand on the ships' bridges and scan the horizen with binoculars; man radar stations, torpedo stations, etc, etc. . .

Imagine taking command of the Bismarck in a campaign and trying to sneak past and out-run the British navy, to reach the open Atlantic. . .

Or fight the Battle of Jutland as the British or German commander in charge of the great old battleships. . .

Cheers!

Pippin · Post by **Pippin** » Wed Aug 27, 2003 7:35 am

I may end up taking a look into it. Though I must say, these are some of the worst textured ships I have ever seen.

Von Rom · Post by **Von Rom** » Wed Aug 27, 2003 6:37 pm

Pippin wrote:I may end up taking a look into it. Though I must say, these are some of the worst textured ships I have ever seen.

Are we looking at the same pictures?

AbsntMndedProf · Post by **AbsntMndedProf** » Wed Aug 27, 2003 7:15 pm

As an old 'Jutland' devotee, I have to get this! Could you post screen shots of some WW I BBs? Perhaps H.M.S. Agincourt and/or K.M.S. Schleswig-Holstein? Thanks!

Eric Maietta

Javin · Post by **Javin** » Wed Aug 27, 2003 8:14 pm

Sounds like a great mod. I had always decided against getting the game because of how bad everyone said it was, but now I think I might have to grab it if I see it in the store.

Pippin · Post by **Pippin** » Wed Aug 27, 2003 8:29 pm

Are we looking at the same pictures?

I think so?

I know if I sent these textures to my developer he'd bounce them back and tell me to make something that's realistic.

Von Rom · Post by **Von Rom** » Wed Aug 27, 2003 8:39 pm

AbsntMndedProf wrote:As an old 'Jutland' devotee, I have to get this! Could you post screen shots of some WW I BBs? Perhaps H.M.S. Agincourt and/or K.M.S. Schleswig-Holstein? Thanks!

Eric Maietta

Destroyer Command should be very cheap to get now. The publisher/developer really missed out on this game's potential.

Currently, Jutland and other WWI naval battles are currently available.

The new ship models are mainly being done freely by one guy.

Here are more ships:

Royal Sovereign Class Battleship circa 1916:

Hood Class Battlecruiser circa 1940:

Seydlitz Class Battlecruiser circa 1916:

Pre-Dreadnought Battleship circa 1916:

Von Rom · Post by **Von Rom** » Wed Aug 27, 2003 8:47 pm

Pippin wrote:I think so?

I know if I sent these textures to my developer he'd bounce them back and tell me to make something that's realistic.

All these ships are being freely done by one guy.

Perhaps you could post some pictures of naval surface ships from a 3D game that you consider to be better.

Cheers!

Von Rom · Post by **Von Rom** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 2:22 am

Here are some up-coming projects that are currently being planned for Destroyer Command. And remember, unlike Fighting Steel, you will see lots of land, and you can actually stand on the bridge, man the guns, watch the radar, etc for any ship in the sim, including destroyers, cruisers, battleships, etc. Take command of any ship you like, from any navy, and fight a wide array of realistic naval battles.

This was posted by Horsa at Subsim.com:

The SeaLords website has undergone a bit of reorganisation and is now up and running with details of version 2.0 to come on line this autumn. New developments will be posted up as they happen and the downloads will be released in stages. It’s not just about battleships this time but don’t be surprised if they figure pretty often !!

New link for bookmarking is www.amberphotography.co.uk/sealords

SeaLords 1.0+ was a bit thin on scenarios so this is now top priority for version 2.0 with FOUR CAMPAIGNS already under development …..

1.BLACK WATER WHITE DEATH – Naval action in the Arctic Twilight with the Tirpitz, Scharnhorst, Hipper, Lutzow Uboats and Luftwaffe trying to rupture the Arctic Convoys to Russia.

2. MARE NOSTRUM – Desperate days in the Mediterranean. A powerful Italian navy and a rampant Third Reich threaten a belleagured Britain and her overseas empire. The Balkans, Crete, Malta, Egypt and the whole of the Middle East look set to fall.

3. BISMARCK – The legendary German battleship with a campaign experience of its own. Some classic action but lots of “what ifs”.

4. DREADNOUGHTS – face off in the North Sea 1914-18. The worlds greatest concentration of Dreadnought battleships in their heyday. Steel hulls and grey skies brace themselves for a deadly cat a mouse game.
Current Details on http://www.amberphotography.co.uk/sealo ... paigns.htm

FULL SHIP REPAINTS made possible by Covet’s JRF software mean facelifts for many ships, new flags and insignia, and more convincing look-alikes for those missing ships. Scharhorst never looked meaner !!
Current Details on http://www.amberphotography.co.uk/sealo ... rdmain.htm

REALISM. The whole point of the SeaLords project was to experience ships with realistic naval exchanges. This meant radically rejigging gun accuracy, damage values and enemy AI. Fletcher’s excellent DC Enhancement Pack is now available and will be working in tandem with the custom SeaLords ships so that realism is maintained.

AUDIO PACK geared to surface warfare encounters. German and British voices was left over business from ver 1.0 so this moves back onto the front burner for ver2.0
Samples from ver1.0 on http://www.amberphotography.co.uk/sealo ... /audio.htm

CUSTOM SHIP STATIONS some of the ver1.0 stations are being redesigned and other new ones created to take advantage of one of DC’s strengths, its ability to take us inside the ships. Expect to see that unknown DC quantity – humans - make an appearance in some of them.
Current Details on http://www.amberphotography.co.uk/sealo ... ations.htm

Offers for testers are very welcome.

Von Rom · Post by **Von Rom** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 2:43 am

Here is an interesting aspect to this: You can play the strategic game in UV and WiTP, and then take command of the actual ships and fight the Pacific tactical battles in Destroyer Command

King George V Class Battleship circa 1916

AbsntMndedProf · Post by **AbsntMndedProf** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 4:15 am

Thank-you very much, Von Rom! This is the best thing I've discovered in wargaming since I discovered Matrix! I'm going to have to run out and get 'Destroyer Command' and download the expansion mod. I can't wait to take command of some WW I battlewagons!

I'm very impressed with the depictions of the ships you've posted. Perhaps I'm just not very sophisticated, but they look good to me!:)

Eric Maietta

Pippin · Post by **Pippin** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 6:52 am

All these ships are being freely done by one guy.

Then perhaps that is understandable. Right now any models I do are under lock & key by my supervisor, though I may just lend out a hand later on (for a good cause).

Von Rom · Post by **Von Rom** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 7:44 am

AbsntMndedProf wrote:Thank-you very much, Von Rom! This is the best thing I've discovered in wargaming since I discovered Matrix! I'm going to have to run out and get 'Destroyer Command' and download the expansion mod. I can't wait to take command of some WW I battlewagons!

I'm very impressed with the depictions of the ships you've posted. Perhaps I'm just not very sophisticated, but they look good to me!:)

Eric Maietta

This is just the beginning. A great deal is planned for Destroyer Command. When you actually start playing it, you'll realize what great potential this sim has.

This is what I thought Fighting Steel was going to be. But I missed being able to actually get into the ship like in the Great Naval Battles series.

In this sim you can stand on the bridge, at the helm, man the main gun turret, the AA guns, radio room, the engine room, etc. Plus the map in the game is a map of the entire world. So any type/combination of scenarios and campaigns are possible.

I picked up a brand new, boxed version of Destroyer Command for $5.00 at EB - heh - what a deal. With these mods applied it has turned out to be one of the best sims I have had the pleasure of playing.

There is nothing wrong with this sim that a few dedicated modders couldn't fix. And they went far beyond fixing the game. They have turned it into a new and better game - you can call it what you want: "Battleship Command", "Cruiser Command", etc.

Not only can you engage in surface naval battles, but there are air attacks (dive bombers, torpedo planes, Kamikazes, etc) and submarine warfare. Even stationary shore guns will shoot at you. This game now has it all.

Here are more scenarios/campaigns including one set of historic DC scenarios containing the most important surface-engagements under ABDA command in early 1942 in the Pacific. Including: Battle of Sunda Strait, Battle of Java Sea, Withdrawal of DESRON58 and Withdrawal of Exeter Group:

http://jester107th.tripod.com/FleetHQ/SH2/missions.html

Von Rom · Post by **Von Rom** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 7:50 am

Pippin wrote:Then perhaps that is understandable. Right now any models I do are under lock & key by my supervisor, though I may just lend out a hand later on (for a good cause).

OK.

If you are handy with 3D software, new ship models for Destroyer Command would be very, very welcome.

Or even more realistic ship station screens.

Hope to see your work soon

Cheers!

Von Rom · Post by **Von Rom** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 8:30 am

Here are more screenshots:

Main Gun Battery:

Battleship:

Map view:

Sonar Station:

Torpedo Station:

Many more screenshots can be found here:

http://www.3dgamers.com/screenshots/gam ... ercommand/

Frank W. · Post by **Frank W.** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 3:25 pm

the reviews for destroyer command weren´t this good..

i have silent hunter2, too but rarely play it thought no.1
was better.

how compares d.command to fighting steel ( which i also
play very rarely ) ?

Von Rom · Post by **Von Rom** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 6:52 pm

Frank W. wrote:the reviews for destroyer command weren´t this good..

i have silent hunter2, too but rarely play it thought no.1
was better.

how compares d.command to fighting steel ( which i also
play very rarely ) ?

Out of the box both SH2 and Destroyer Command were average games, and they had a lot of problems with them.

Flash forward a year and a half later, and both games have been transformed. Yes, I also have SH2.

Both SH2 and DC, with mods applied, are now the games they should have been. Dedicated modders have improved these games beyond what even the original developers had in mind.

Go to the subsim forums for more information about the mods and downloads for both games:

http://207.44.164.159/phpBB/index.php

The good news is, both games are very cheap to buy now, and for those who have put away the games, here is an opportunity to see them gain new life.

The differences between DC and Fighting Steel:

1) In DC you can climb into the ship stations; in FS you can't.

2) In DC you can sail close to land, in any part of the world. In FS, there was no land (this may have been added with mods).

3) In DC you can command any ship you want.

4) In DC there are plane attacks, sub attacks, etc. In FS there is not.

5) In DC there is a very large map of the world, so naval battles can be created virtually anywhere. In FS, there is no map (that I know of).

For me personally, one of the major appeals of DC is being able to actually get into the ship I am commanding. I want to aim and shoot the main guns on a battleship. I want to stand on the bridge of the Hood, hear the "boom" of the main guns, see shell splashes, and duke it out with the Bismarck.

In Fighting Steel, I can't do any of that. This is what disappointed me about the game.

It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but modders have vastly improved SH2 and DC. For those who have the games, you can experience them anew. For those who want to try the games, they are very, very inexpensive now. As I mentioned, I picked up a new copy of DC for $5.00. I found SH2 for $10.00.

Cheers!

brent_2 · Post by **brent_2** » Thu Aug 28, 2003 7:27 pm

this is interesting - I had regretted the $ I spent on this game, but maybe ther is hope for it yet....