Silent Hunter II v1.1 Patch

Silent Hunter II v1.1 Patch

This is the v1.1 update to the popular simulation in the critically acclaimed Silent Hunter series, Silent Hunter II. Recreate the desperate battles in the Atlantic between Hitler's infamous U-boat force and British and American convoys - lifeblood of the Allied war effort.

MULTIPLAYER SUPPORT

The primary purpose of this patch is to introduce multiplayer support to Silent Hunter II. This includes the following features:

Added support for multiplayer with other SH2 users.

Added support for multiplayer with DC users.

Added support for the ubi.com matchmaking service.

Clients that lose connection will now automatically attempt to reconnect to the server. Note that if the server has to recreate the unit for a reconnected client, it may pause the game momentarily.

FIXES

Fixed problem with interface file corruption on some Windows 2000 and XP systems.

Fixed intermittent crash in damage control station on Windows 2000 and XP systems

Fixed problem involving the "spawning" of surface ships in scenarios. This fixes a crash in the "Fortress Europe" mission.

Moved storage of interface textures from system memory to video memory. This fixes an occasional game slowdown or crash on certain combinations of Windows 95/98/ME systems and Nvidia video cards.

Fixed a crash that occurred when many simultaneous sound effects were played on certain Win98/ME systems with Soundblaster Live! or Audigy soundcards.

Fixed intermittent crash caused when aircraft targeted while the AI is manning the deck gun. Additionally, the deck gun will now no longer fire at aircraft when "Man the deck gun" is selected.

Fixed a bug in the Vehicle Viewer that caused a crash on exit on some systems.

ENHANCEMENTS AND CHANGES

AI ships will now undertake strenuous efforts to avoid running aground.

AI ships will attempt to avoid collisions with each other. If they collide, they will work to extricate themselves.

AI ships are better about returning to their normal waypoints after engaging in a fight.

Sonar contacts are now more difficult for enemy ships to re-acquire after they lose initial contact.

Enemy depth charge attacks are now somewhat less accurate.

Enemy aircraft will now initiate attacks against submarines spotted at periscope depth.

AI task forces and convoys will now detach the closest (instead of the next group in order) ASW subgroup to chase subs.

If a pursuing ASW subgroup is destroyed, another ASW subgroup will be detached.

The water's surface is now displayed with both animated "chop" and an additional subsurface layer.

The depth gauge's gradations have been recalibrated and the artwork refined.

The Red/Green halves of TDC dials denoting port and starboard were reversed (they are now correct).

Spelling of "Tiefenmesser" corrected on sliding navigation panel.

"Spawned" surface ships now emit smoke from their stacks.

German 1936 type destroyers now emit smoke from their stacks.

Auxiliary cruisers now use a more appropriate 3D model.

"Man AA guns" sound effect is now more appropriate.

Sped up diving times for subs (30%-60%)

Reduced threshold speed below which compressed air is consumed for normal depth changes (~2kts vs ~4kts)

If a pursuing ASW subgroup is destroyed, another ASW subgroup will be detached.

Air-dropped depth charges explode at 25ft vs 50ft depth (be careful).

Updated crush depth and AA gun descriptions info for U-boats in the Vehicle viewer to reflect what is modeled in the game and to be consistent with Destroyer Command.

Numerous (generally minor) changes to data files and 3D models to make SH2 and DC have matching data.

SCENARIO-SPECIFIC CHANGES

"Matchlight" mission now contains enough enemy merchant shipping to make its secondary objective completable.

"Auxiliary Cruiser" mission has had significant changes made to unit dispositions, and had its briefing updated.

"Western Approaches" no longer has a British task force running aground on a small island.

"Fortress Europe" now features extensive enemy air cover.

In "Drumbeat," "Blitzkrieg," and "Fortress Europe," tonnage credit for sunk merchants will no longer disappear after several days of playing.

DOCUMENTATION

A 'documentation' directory will be created in the Silent Hunter II install directory. This directory will contain the following documents:

SH2Multiplayer.pdf Documentation for the multiplayer

SH2Manual.pdf An electronic version of the game manual

Shortcuts to these documents will be added to the Silent Hunter II Start Menu group

ERRATA

When attempting to host a multiplayer game under Windows 2000 or XP (operating systems which are unsupported by both Silent Hunter II and its third-party networking engine), the game may occasionally drop to desktop (or SH2 Screen Blanker) as soon as the "Start Server" button is clicked.

Workaround: Try again, the server will generally start successfully on the next attempt.

When hosting a game under Windows 2000 or XP, the host may disconnect from the server (disconnect from itself) as a result of a network error.

Workaround: Try hosting under Win98 or WinME.