MERCHANT FLEET MOD - INITIAL RELEASE INFO
This mod's designed to replace Stock SH3's paltry merchant roster with a huge variety of surface craft, from motor launches to tramp steamers to fleet oilers. It has its roots back in the early days of Silent Hunter 3, when I noticed that the existing merchant ships were sometimes crudely detailed, or were types that would rarely have been encountered during the Battle of the Atlantic.
The mod uses about 60-70 base models and over 3,000 skins to create profuse variety amongst shipping in both convoys and random merchant encounters. Skins from dozens if not hundreds of historical companies are represented. Nations featured in this initial release are as follows:
United Kingdom
United States of America
Denmark
Norway
Sweden
The Netherlands
Belgium
Ireland
Argentina
Brazil
Panama
Canada
Whereas before you encountered a monotonous selection of C-2's and coastal merchants in all nations' rosters, now almost anything is possible. That speck on the horizon could be a brand-new, 10,000 ton tanker or a rusty old tramp making its rounds from coast to coast. It could be a bulk freighter loaded down with minerals, a tiny steam launch, or a fast freighter-transport, carrying troops and war materiel for an Allied invasion.
Neutral ships will be common, and they may or may not be carrying cargo to the enemy. As commander, it will be up to you to decide based on vessel location, paint scheme, deck cargo, and behavior whether or not a target is legitimate. This mod is intended for serious players - sink anything that moves and you may well end your patrol with a huge renown hit.
Installation is quick and easy, using Jonesoft's Generic Mod Enabler.
PRIMARY FEATURES:
1) Dozens of ship models inspired by photographs of typical ships constructed between 1900 and 1945
2) Tremendous paint scheme variations, based on hundreds of historical shipping companies and wartime camoflage patterns
3) Neutral ships, which may or may not be legitimate targets. Hull flags, lettering, and shipping company names printed on the sides of vessels.
4) Different amounts of smoke affect ship visibility. Particle effects for coal-burning steamers and modern motorships.
4) Changes in armament and coloring as the war goes on. Weapons range from light AA guns to Hurricane fighters. By 1942, expect most ships to be camoflaged and armed.
5) Varied damage resistance depending on vessel size and age.
6) Easy installation/uninstallation with the click of a mouse (JSGME required).
7) Compatibility with existing Silent Hunter 3 supermods.
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GET IT HERE:Merchant_Fleet_Mod_3.2 Version 3.2 (improved ships removed to prevent crashes with supermods. Changed eqp file to tanker T14B. Recompressed due to error messages following downloads.)
SKIN PACKS as of 6/09/10 (~ 3,000 skins, with hundreds of variations):
MFM_v3_Skin_Packs-1MFM-v3-Skin-Packs-2 LIGHT VERSION (IMPROVED STABILITY FOR GWX INSTALLS & OLDER MACHINES. NO NEUTRAL SHIPS EXCEPT AMERICAN VESSELS.)MFM-Interim-BetaVersion: 3.1 (improved stability to prevent career & museum crashes, especially with GWX. Added tanker T19A.)[LINK REMOVED]************************************Skin Packs:Miscellaneous screens - just a sample of the variety you can expect.
MERCHANT FLEET MOD SKIN PACKS
Extract to JSGME and install, depending on the time period you wish to simulate. Circa 1941-1942 you will see increasing numbers of camoflaged ships.
MFM_v3_Skin_Packs-1MFM_v3_Skin_Packs-2