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CMFDR

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  1. Like
    CMFDR reacted to Butschi in Creating Maps with CMAutoEditor   
    I decided to create a new topic for this because "tool to set elevation in the editor" is no longer really a good description. Finally (from my perspective 😉) I managed to release version 2.0.0 of CMAutoEditor.

    https://github.com/DerButschi/CMAutoEditor
    Woah, Butschi, wait a minute CMAutoWhat? What the hell are you talking about? CMAutoEditor is a tool that takes "external" data, like elevation, and automates clicking in the CM scenario editor. This way it kind of works around "missing features" in the editor. Wouldn't it be nice to import something like a heat map instead of clicking elevations in the editor? Of course I can't change the editor but by letting CMAutoEditor do the clicking it does something similar.

     
    Version 2 is really a major update as it now includes importing data from OpenStreetMap. This way you can basically use CMAutoEditor to create a whole map for you.
    Still, feature creep and being overly ambitious is certain to kill such a small project so I had to triage what makes it into this release and what (maybe, provided there is enough interest on your side and enough time on my side) gets postponed to a later update.

    The cut affecting most of you is that for this release only CMCW is really supported. The reason is that there are differences in what is in the scenario editor for each CM title. That means not only are there buttons at different positions but there are also different buildings, roads, flavour objects etc. which need to be programmed as a "profile". I intend to modify CMAutoEditor in a way that the community can help with that but I am not yet sure how best to do it. So, for now CMCW only. CMBS should work for everything but flavour objects.

    Another thing I had to cut is support for Windows version older than Windows 10. I know, there are quite a few of you around who still field Windows 7. However, python is only supported up to version 3.7 on Windows 7 and a few of the libraries CMAutoEditor depends on require python 3.10. In addition, I don't have a farm of PCs idling at home where I can test different Windows version so I can really only develop for Windows 10. Sorry for that but maybe this doubles as a friendly reminder that nowadays Windows 7 is a security liability and you should upgrade to Windows 10 or 11. 😉
    There is of course a long list of things I'd like to improve eventually and given that this is a rather complex piece of code the chances that it is free of bugs is close to zero. So, feel free to contact me here or on github if you find something!

    Now, with all the caveats out of the way let's move on to the more pleasant stuff. 🙂 What's new in version 2? Well, of course OpenStreetMap data. You can import forests, rivers, roads, streams, railways, farmland, grassland, bushes, buildings and even bus stops, wayside crosses and much more. I improved the tools to import DGM data so that now arbitrary rectangles can be extracted. The information from this can be loaded into the OSM data converter so that you don't have to manually enter bounding boxes. (The geotiff tool is unfortunately among the things that didn't make it for this release so you are left with the previous capabilites). CMAutoEditor itself is now also much faster. Please note, that it may be too fast for what your PC can handle. If you experience "holes", e.g. when setting the elevation, that means the CM Editor is not responsive enough. I will make the parameters that determines the rate of clicking selectable from the GUI in a later update. Last but certainly not least there is a GUI for all the tools, so no more going to that evil shell, typing commands - kudos to @Dawntaker for supporting me with GUI making!

    One more thing. I won't repeat the mistake and not have a manual or tutorial video ready at release: Since my previous tutorial video is now totally deprecated I am doing a new one. This time, instead of just telling you what the different features do, I'll do a step-by-step tutorial in four parts where I will create an actual map. This way I will certainly miss a few features but you should get a better feeling of how to actually use the tools in reality. Part 1 is finished already and it covers "installing" (i.e. downloading the .exe files) CMAutoEditor, installing other necessary tools, selecting a location for the map in map.army, finding and downloading elevation data, downloading OpenStreetMap data and getting historical aerial imagery and working with it. So, basically the boring stuff, some of you might say, but possibly the most important part. 😉
    In the future I'd like to adapt CMAutoEditor to one of the WW2 titles, I think CMFB or CMRT would be best. Obviously present-day OpenStreetMap won't do for that. So, instead I'd like to make another tutorial showing how to use and old map or aerial image to make "OpenStreetMap data" from scratch and feed it into the CM scenario editor. Drawing polygons and tagging them is still - in my view - much more comfortable than clicking in the editor with some semi transparent overlay. So, if you have good material, go ahead and make a suggestion here. 😉
    I hope you enjoy this new version of CMAutoEditor and the tutorial video(s)!
  2. Thanks
    CMFDR reacted to JM Stuff in Bastogne Map?   
    Indeed very interresting map nice video, hope you will find it...
  3. Thanks
    CMFDR reacted to Bufo in Red Thunder coming to Steam on 15 June   
    https://store.steampowered.com/app/2418000/Combat_Mission_Red_Thunder/
  4. Upvote
    CMFDR reacted to Simicro in Battlefront x Steam version   
    I know Steam and BFC versions are functionally the same but when most of your games are on Steam, it is interesting to get/transfer there your CM games. That way, all your games are centralized and you don't have the hassle to manage serial numbers for re-install. Additionally, patch or upgrade installation is automatic.
    I have Steam CMBN and BFC CMFI. When CMFI will be available on Steam, I will redeem a key.
  5. Thanks
    CMFDR reacted to Simicro in Battlefront x Steam version   
    Salut,
    CMFI for Steam (and Slitherine) is planned for next september.
  6. Like
    CMFDR got a reaction from 37mm in CMBN Initial 'All in One'   
    Long time no see.

    Posting just to "bump" this topic, as it should be pinned. This makes one life much easier when coming to CMBN.

    Thanks a ton, 37mm, for that work. You are a hero, man!
     
    Cheers
  7. Like
    CMFDR reacted to Combatintman in Free Whisky Video AAR   
    Great video mate - I rarely get further than 5 minutes into these but yours drew me in with a succinct explanation of the ground, objectives and plan.  You followed up during execute with some great vignettes of the battle which were easy to place within the overall situation and some great cinematography.  All in under half an hour - definitely one of the best video AARs I've seen - have a like.
  8. Like
    CMFDR reacted to Free Whisky in Free Whisky Video AAR   
    Hi all, I uploaded a video AAR of Combat Mission Cold War to Youtube. I thought I'd post it here so you can all tell me what it was you believe led to my demise 😉
     
    https://youtu.be/qxLCkSFYq2c
  9. Like
    CMFDR reacted to Free Whisky in New Video: Domfluff gives us a guided tour through the wonderful world of Cold War Soviet doctrine   
    I asked Domfluff to help me out in creating a video about Soviet military doctrine in the Cold War era, and how those principles can be applied in a Combat Mission scenario/QB. He played a game against me as the Soviet Army, gave me an arse kicking, and then sat down with me and explained why he did what he did. The result is the video down below!
     
  10. Like
    CMFDR reacted to 37mm in CMBN Initial 'All in One'   
    One of my ongoing side projects (aimed, mostly, at the new influx of Steam Players) is to host an 'All in One' for every CM game here.
    This is my initial effort for CMBN & its primary feature is a large collection of weathered vehicle & guns mods (almost entirely by @Aristoteles & @umlaut). It also features terrain mods by @SeinfeldRules, @Falaise & @patboy. UI mods by @Juju, @Marco Bergman& @Mord alongside loading screens by @umlaut. Infantry mods by Vincenzo21, @Damian45, @Vein, Jacquinot, @EZ, @mjkerner,  @Jorge MC, @nik mond& @Aristoteles. Building mods by @Tanks a Lot & @Juju as well as the ME effects package, ME soundscape, subdued @Taranis& HQS voices plus many others.
    It has integrated & default early summer & early autumn (using the [holland] tag) options as well as a couple of zip files which can activate a late autumn & late summer look.
    Additionally it comes with a vast quantity of content (hundreds of scenarios, scores of maps & 20 odd campaigns).
    Here's a taster of some of what you can expect...
     







    Here's the link for the CMBN 'All in One'...
    https://www.mediafire.com/file/bplqhvfkl4da5pq/CMBN_Initial_%27All_in_One%27.7z/file
  11. Like
    CMFDR got a reaction from Raptor341 in Sahrani Liberation Army (SLA)   
    Awesome CptMiller! Then the Dutch army as a basis for the RACS?
     
     
  12. Like
    CMFDR got a reaction from OldSarge in [Music] Setting the mood   
    So, what will you listen to while you'll be racking your brain over your pixeltruppen's life?
    A bit anachronistic given the time frame, but to me it will be Nena's 99 Luftballons.


     
  13. Like
    CMFDR got a reaction from panzerde in [Music] Setting the mood   
    So, what will you listen to while you'll be racking your brain over your pixeltruppen's life?
    A bit anachronistic given the time frame, but to me it will be Nena's 99 Luftballons.


     
  14. Like
    CMFDR got a reaction from 37mm in ...and the Stuarts   
    Now available on CMMODSIII, thanks to @Holman, officially known as the Guardian of the past treasures, to me at least.

    @Fuser you are a god!

    Hey guys, if you do know other Aris' mod that are missing, please add them to >the list< .

    Operation Aris' Ark is slowly, but steadily, passing all its touch type objectives
  15. Upvote
    CMFDR got a reaction from STAGEMAN in Any plans for Vin's animated text to be updated   
    Vin's Animated Text for CMFB, patched to version 2.03.
    AnimatedTextCMFB203Heavy.zip
  16. Like
    CMFDR got a reaction from THH149 in [Music] Setting the mood   
    So, what will you listen to while you'll be racking your brain over your pixeltruppen's life?
    A bit anachronistic given the time frame, but to me it will be Nena's 99 Luftballons.


     
  17. Like
    CMFDR reacted to Aquila-SmartWargames in Looking for Revised Road To Montebourg   
    Many are tweaks and additions. There is an extra mission. 
    From nowadays perspective it can be expected that the revised campaign plays more challenging due to the less experiencied 2/8, more resistant Germans, and less ammo/refit. On the other hand you will have more air support and more variable time at your disposal.
    I would see it as an alternative to stock Montebourg. Bummer when it comes with wrong uniforms.   
  18. Like
    CMFDR reacted to Sgt Joch in Looking for Revised Road To Montebourg   
    The revised campaign was made mostly to address an issue which no longer exists. When CMBN originally came out in 2011, the suppression model was weak. One workaround was to lower the experience level, so PT remade the campaign using mostly "green" US troops instead of "regulars".
    Since then however, BFC substantially reworked and improved the suppression model so the workaround is no longer required. The campaign still works, I played the revised version 2-3 years ago, but the combination of "green" troops and the revised suppression model means your troops are more brittle and required careful handling.
    The version that ships with the game has mostly "regular" U.S. troops and is easier than the revised version.
  19. Thanks
    CMFDR reacted to Falaise in New V2 Road at 22.5°   
    Looking at the magnificent master map: "Les Hauts Vents & Pont Hébert" from Kandu which used "Road at 22.5 °" for its realization, I saw that the mod could be improved.

    So here is version 2


    I invite you to go and see the results on this map where the new mod is up to the breathtaking work it has done.


    use

    Dragged the file into your z file

    It will appear in maps made with 22.5 ° roads

    For the design of a map, the keys 1 2 3 5 8 10 13 and 15 are now available and will allow you to make the roads at 22.5 ° but also a wide variety of turns.

    For maps containing a highway, it can cause problems (to be checked according to the map) in this case it must be removed from the z file




  20. Like
    CMFDR reacted to umlaut in New V2 Road at 22.5°   
    Oh, no - it´s the master race!


    Seriously: wonderful work - as always, Falaise.
  21. Thanks
    CMFDR reacted to 37mm in CMSF2-Afghanistan 'All in One'   
    Okay, the CMSF2-Afghanistan 'All in One' is now ready for release.
    The modpack itself is a further refinement of the 'initial beta' released back in April & is, at its most basic, a merger between CMA & @Zveroboy1's SF2 Afghanistan work.
    Changes mostly involve further tweaks of the CMA terrain to better fit with CMSF2, @Mord's original CMA & CMSF portraits as well as various ISIF tags have been added to the UI, the Soundscape is being upgraded to v1.6 (thanks to @waclaw's HQS 4.0), the uniform mix has been altered, (@Oleksandr's uniforms are now the ones often activated by the [mountains] tag), bridges & highways have been tweaked, @Pete Wenman's rural stone walls have been added & a new lowlands background is being used (sourced with the help of @Erwin).
    The marsh to water & rudimentary dutch ANA mods have been deleted as they're no longer needed & @Zveroboy1's green ANP pick-ups are now activated by tag [anppu].
     
    In terms of content, I've collated all CMSF & CMSF2 Afghanistan scenarios & campaigns I could find (including a few french ones, now translated, thanks to help by @CMFDR).
    The SF2 stuff, by @Zveroboy1 & @puje, has been left almost entirely untouched however the CMSF scenarios & campaigns (including @dragonwynn's 'Heart of Darkness') have all been given a lick of paint... mostly by the simple method of swapping marsh into water tiles.
    I've also converted the eight CMA quick battle maps by @Stagler for use with CMSF2 & the 'All in One'.
    In total, there's two campaigns (19 scenarios between them), 37 single scenarios* & the 8 quick battle maps.
    I was hoping to make some original stuff this year but that'll have to wait for another time.
    Anyhow, here's the download link (I advise adding the modpack to an empty mod folder only)...
    https://www.mediafire.com/file/s7ignwwd9fo8aue/zzzzCMSF2-Afghanistan.7z/file
    ... and here's the eye candy...











    *About a third of these are by @Combatintman
  22. Like
    CMFDR reacted to Bufo in CMCW points and rarity table   
    I have created a spreadsheet to show how much points IFVs and MBTs cost and how rare they are / rarity point cost.
    There are three tabs for loose/standard/strict rarity levels.
    You can access it here:
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1GGWyVuMdVJEuxZzBaMaqOnye-aBdKrc7G_aX6Y_1zDk/edit?usp=sharing
    It looks like this:

  23. Like
    CMFDR reacted to Double Deuce in Scenario --- "Baumholder Army Airfield '85"   
    This is my first completed CMCW scenario and I'm hoping that it will be the 1st scenario in a campaign I am writing up the outline for. It does fall outside of the 79-82 CMCW module timeline (is set in July 1985). More details will be found in the Designer's Notes but in the end, I hope all who played this scenario got some enjoyment out of it. I welcome any feedback people are willing to provide.
    It's designed for "Play as BLUE vs AI only (only the RED force has AI plans - x3). At some point I would like to tweak it for play as either side and H2H but we'll see as I'll need to learn some more stuff I'm sure.
    Full description and download link are at: CC-s01 Baumholder Army Airfield!
     
  24. Like
    CMFDR reacted to Canuck21 in Quick Battle Forces Calculation Spreadsheet   
    The spreadsheet is ready for your inspection/use. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to post here or PM me. As always, it's use is entirely at your discretion and there is no implied warranty of any kind  . The system requirements are that you have Excel and know a couple of basic functions like entering numbers and be able to do a Copy and a Paste Special > Value (there is an explanation on the sheet of how to do the latter). The zip file contains the spreadsheet and a PDF of instructions, although it's pretty easy to use once you've done it a couple of times. If you find you can only select certain boxes, those are the boxes that require your input. Otherwise, all the other cells have been locked and the sheet protected. That is done for ease of use, and to keep grandma, the kids, the wife and/or the dog from making "unwarranted" changes  . I hope it helps and you find it useful. You can get it at the link below but also I'll have a link up on my website either later today or sometime over the weekend. Enjoy  .
    Forces Quality Calculator for QB's and Self-Designed Scenarios
  25. Like
    CMFDR reacted to Canuck21 in Quick Battle Forces Calculation Spreadsheet   
    For those of you who are into doing a fair number of Quick Battle scenarios, I have built an Excel Spreadsheet to calculate force parameter values. What this spreadsheet does is build in some random values by using modifiers calculated from a random number generator, which are applied to the parameters:  Experience, Motivation, Fitness, Leadership and Head Count. What you can do from this is build a force (human selected - both sides) meeting certain criteria according to what you want out of your forces. It will restrict you from building a "king-kong" type force so you'll have to make selections based on the modifiers that were generated. You may have some tough decisions to make about some of the parameters, depending on the latest "dice roll".
    Where this has come from is I like to build quick battles which are tiny (by my definition - Coy size for an attacking force is pretty much my maximum), which means that BF's definition of tiny is too large for me. As such, I select the forces myself (if I just select my size and let the AI do it's thing for the other side, they will vastly outnumber me in most cases). So to give me some structure and randomness with the quality of my forces, I will use this spreadsheet to set my parameters with, at the size of force that I want. If I want a very experienced force (let's say, "Crack"), then I may have to give up something somewhere else, such as Leadership values, head count, etc. Also, at the bottom, there is a force ratio calculator for the various types of battles. So if you want an Attack battle, and you want your forces to be between 2 and 3 to 1 in size (points), then you plug the number of points you chose for your forces, plus the multipliers you want to have as an advantage (2 and 3), and the number of points for the other side will be calculated for you. Once you've filled out your force, you can then go in and fill out your opponent's forces using the guide. 
    The requirements will be you'll have to have MS Excel and the most advanced function you'll have to do in it is know how to copy & paste special - values (it tells you how to do that in the sheet). Other than that there are only a few fields to fill in and the rest is done for you. 
    This sheet is really mainly for people who play QB's against the AI, but if you're doing a PBEM or H2H of any kind and want to generate original battles for that, this will enable you to add some randomness to your forces. I will be testing the sheet over the next day or two, so if anyone is interested, I'd be happy to make it available. If anyone would like to play test it, I'd be most appreciative of any feedback. There are no macros in this so viruses will not be an issue.
    Ok, I hope that makes some semblance of sense. I've been at this since early this morning and my brain is a little 🤯 as I write this, so if you have questions, fire away below. Thanks for your time  .
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