Hard at work: Big update

Made a big development push while Germany was getting kicked out of the World Cup...😬

Here's the full list, split between what demo players should notice and what is campaign/full-version playtester-only.

Demo-visible

Improvements

• New BINOCULARS/TBT station in encounter mode.

• Binoculars work surfaced/decks-awash, have a steadier 7x visual bearing view, no stadimeter, and an identification-book tab.

Steam post image- New AOB Recognition Trainer on the main menu, placed above Learning Hub.

• The trainer has manual practice, quiz mode, per-ship high scores, distance controls, the real periscope renderer, and the identification book.

• Variable-ship quiz mode hides the setup ship behind a big question mark; your open identification-book page becomes your ship-type guess.

Steam post image- Periscope/binocular/TBT minimaps now have a Send to TDC button for sending the current relative bearing to the TDC.

• NOTE: this means selecting a visual contact via minimap no longer will set the TDC bearing - you need to set it via this button if you want to manually change it.

• Periscope water got a visual upgrade: gradient water, horizon glint, and animated horizontal shimmer lines.

• Clear weather shimmer is stronger, bad weather shimmer is darker, and clear-night shimmer is silver.

• Ship silhouettes got a bit more detail: bridge faces get thin black double-lines, and hatch pieces get small black window/box markings.

• Double-clicking a circle now lets you manually enter a radius as well as estimate the time to reach the radius based on a given speed.

• Periscope and hydrophone minimaps now have faint compass rings with 30-degree ticks and compact bearing labels.

• Periscope/binocular/TBT contact readouts say Relative Bearing, not just “Bearing.”

Bug Fixes

• Convoys without escorts now correctly start zigzagging after a torpedo hit when the log says they should.

• Periscope and hydrophone manual turning now stops immediately when you release the key/button instead of drifting for seconds.

• Submerged electric speed is no longer incorrectly reduced by surface sea state.

• The relative-bearing dial’s inner compass ring is calibrated, so ownship course aligns correctly.

• Map compass-circle centers now snap like line endpoints, including initial placement and drag/move behavior.

• Map annotation performance was improved.

• Night-view colors corrected for radio/event log styling.

Full campaign version (playtester-only)

Improvements

• On/after November 7, 1942, campaign progression adds the TBT refit event; after refit, BINOCULARS becomes TBT - more stable and able to send a bearing to the TDC.

• Patrol smoke sightings can trigger a distinct over-horizon visual encounter/tactical tip path.

• Radio logs now group messages with date dividers instead of repeating full dates on every row.

Bug Fixes

• Patrol hydrophone contacts now appear immediately when doing a manual sweep while paused.

• Radio reporting no longer double-awards contact intel for the “remaining ships” after you already reported the original group and then reported sinkings.

• Campaign Orders no longer has a duplicate Load Campaign button, since loading already happens before that screen.