SchnelleMeyer

This is a total mess and doesn't work quite right, so more of a POC: https://gist.github.com/spdral/0afee5917714bf01d4e647a3822d1c77
 

A stupid simple version is already completed, and I'm sure youll see it soon. It works great. 

Short Teaser: Actually, I didn't want to do this because there are good tools out there... but over the last year or so there were so many questions, calls for help and even an offer to pay me for making a map that I came to realize that maybe, just maybe not everyone out there is a map nerd or geodesy scholar. So, I have been clobbering something together that should make getting those elevation maps (and possibly OSM, too, at a later stage) into CMAutoEditor as comfortable (and fool proof!) as possible.
More info to come but I will close with asking for help myself: Are there any volunteers out there willing to beta test this tool? If so, please PM me! 🙂
 

@pintere:
Great suggestions ! 👍🏻
I would love to see a BattlePack dealing with Hungary 🙏🏻
 
Battle of Budapest                                      
Part of Operation Konrad                      
Gran Bridgehead                                          
Part of Operation Spring Awakening    
Desperate defensive battles during the retreat in late March and April 45
5 Campaigns 😎
This is definitely one of my favorites 👍🏻
 
 

Hi, 
I am looking for a free source of Soviet maps of Afghanistan. Scale of 1:100.000 or preferably 1:50.000 of course. 
Anyone know of a source? 

Thanks for you views on the matter @Centurian52. I think earlier it stated a release this year, but knowing BFs track record regarding timelines for releases - that will probably not happen. Would be awesome to have some armour teaser screenshots while we impatiently wait though.

A little teaser:

The new CMFI profile for CMAutoEditor is almost done.

Took me a while, had to do it all over again - twice - because stupidity but here it is: Tutorial part 3, importing OpenStreetMap data.
Enjoy!
 

It is very complicated but I can try to explain it better. This is for myself or other beginners.
The mds file is like a computer program. A code to instruct the computer. 
In the mds file there is hexadecimal entries to tell the computer how to draw the 3D soldier model and also how and where to put each of the gear items on the soldier.
We cannot see exactly how the computer sees.
Each mds has the gear section of the code.
It is in a format that tells the computer what gear to get from the folders and where to put it on the 3D soldier.
We can edit this part to maybe change the gear or to change the location.
You must be very careful like a surgeon.
You must have a plan before you make changes. 
BEFORE YOU CHANGE THE MDS, THERE ARE OTHER TOOLS TO TRY.
Examples:
RENAME MDR FILES
Just simply rename a gear item mdr file. You can put a radio where the pistol holster goes. Rename radio as holster. Then put in z. Run the game and see the officer with a radio on his hip. hahaha This is funny and silly but it shows how you can change things BEFORE going into mds.
USE BLENDER TO CHANGE THE MDR
Blender can make the pistol holster mdr also have something extra or new or turned different.  Then put in z. Run the game and see the officer with a holster upside down? hahaha This is funny and silly but it shows how you can change things BEFORE going into mds.
WHEN DO WE EDIT THE MDS FILE?
Often we can put a new uniform on some unit. Example is the British shorts. It is only for allies British Army. Maybe we want it on the Soviet soldiers? In my small experience, it is possible by renaming and put in CMRT z folder. But the Soviets will appear WITHOUT ANY GEAR. So, we go INTO the mds and edit to change these formatted entries to the Soviet gear names. Carefully change the entries. It can work.

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)!

As an update, my latest map build:


I (once more) reworked the buildings algorithm and roads/railways/streams. Mostly playing along nicely, although one has to take care not to have a too dense network, because then the algorithm won't be able to find a valid solution.

Now also with fence-like objects...

... and flavour objects.

So basically by now all the necessary functionality is there and working. Some things can be improved but that is more tweaking of cost functions, etc.
I am going to be working on maps for my first Agger Valley campaign, probably consisting of three missions. But afterwards I will go about making the tool available for everyone, I think. 🙂 (Which will involve tyding up, making a tutorial, etc.)

Years back a fan used his skills to write a python code plug-in for Blender to import and export the CM mdr files. 
@sbobovyc never got around to succeed with mds files.
Can BFC please allow mds file uniform modding by fans? Open a dialog with him to get his mds plug-in functioning...
 
 

I don't know what kind of emails you're getting from people, but I can't really recognise that "typical customer" from this forum at least. Maybe I saw someone like that post once or twice in ten years.
On the contrary, I think the people I see here are generally quite polite and constructive, and with a lot of knowledge about history. Many have a military background and often work in highly technical careers.
What I do see here are a lot of suggestions, polite requests, and bug reports. Sometimes frustration that important issues can take a very long time to get patched. And I also see some very creative and talented people spending countless hours on scenario design and modding to improve any part of the game they are able to improve.
But despite this, I'm also getting the impression that Battlefront in general feels under perpetual siege by completely unreasonable and childish customers who don't know what they actually really want.
It's really puzzling to me why there seems to be this gap between what I read on the forums and the messaging back to the players.
Also, I'm puzzled about the priorities of Battlefront. If I understand correctly, it seems you have now spent around a whole year trying to program some kind of PBEM tournament system. In all the years I've been on this forum, I must have read hundreds of ideas people had about things they'd like to see in the game. But I've never seen anyone ask for an automated tournament system.
As someone who has spent many hundreds of hours on your games, I can say for sure they don't 'suck'. I don't have time to play games that suck. There's just a lot of things that could be improved a lot. And that's why I stopped buying them after buying only two titles. It has very little to do with the price point and it was not to make some kind of big statement. But it was very influenced by not seeing the game move forward in a more fundamental way.
Personally I'd be fine with it if my own little list of pet peeves, suggestions, and ideas are never implemented, if it at least means some of the other good ideas that other people have put forward are. Nobody's asking for the moon on a stick here, just some kind of progress in some area would be nice.

Hi Steve,
Maybe you have noticed some of the folks playing with Blender and messing about with mdr's.
Question 1: We adjusted some tank commander positions in the turrets. It "looked better" and some folks are swearing that their tests seem to show better TC survival rates. Are we smoking crack to think that?
Question 2: Can these mdr bugs such as Cold War sprockets not turning be fixed by a system of "official BFC mods" where the new replacement BFC approved mdr is posted for download versus waiting on a patch?
Question 3: Will CMX3 use the same mdr files or will it use a "next generation 3D model"...?
Thank you.

Don't worry, I'm still working on it and getting much closer. Keeping radio silence because it let's me focus. 😉

Not yet. I don't think they have very much to say though, and given how comical the last 2 updates are in hindsight, I understand why they are hesitant.
 
Hell, we are almost a month from "very soon" on a patch, if that gives you an idea on how fast things move around here.

https://github.com/DerButschi/CMAutoEditor/releases/tag/1.3.1
1.3.1 has been released that adds a user interface to the cmautoeditor, this means that if you double click on it or run it from a command line/shortcut without any additional parameters, a interface will come up giving you the option to select a csv file and set the countdown via a combobox.
To allow those who enjoy using command lines, the program can still be run how @Butschihas described it in his 1.2.1 post. 
Thanks @Butschi for making sure the code wasn't a load of rubbish will millions of bugs and for the suggestions on how the UI should be implemented. Future UI's for the data converters to come!

@Butschi I've created a basic UI for the csv and sent a pull request. Little rough around the edges and doesn't use the data converters yet but it's a decent start to help people. 

@Butschi This is amazing, wish I had found this before deciding to make a 4km by 3km Coldwar map.
On the accessibility side for the users that aren't experienced in the pains of software engineering a simple UI could be added in to replace the command line inputs, something like Tkinter or PyQt look promising for this. Packaging the python project will also help as it can be packaged with the requirements so people don't need to run pip or anaconda to install the necessary packages. 
I assume you probs haven't taken a look at if the thing works on other resolutions yet. This could be pretty easy to fix, just add in some of the popular resolutions people are likely to use, figure out the values needed for them and then add in a option/parameter to select one of them. 
Finally, I've taken a look at your code. Please comment it, I would say I'm pretty good with python even though I use Java and C# mostly in my job and I only understand half of it. 😢 
If you want me to help I'm more then welcome to collaborate adding in more features, could try and tackle the a UI implementation for instance. 

Gentlemen, (Ladies?)
for the next few days I'll be busy with the CM Holiday Tourney, casually playing games with friends, making a map or two (you know, actually using that tool 😉) and, oh, Christmas and family and all that real life stuff!
Thank you all very much for your kind words, your interest and your support over the last few... it's actually months now, isn't it? That was really inspiring! I know, there is still a lot to do until everything runs smooth enough, but we'll get there. 😉
In the meantime, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy new Year! 🥳🎄🎆

Herr Doktor, or his new alternate title, Herr Oben Coden Fuhrer, has held my hand in numerous PMs and my 656m x 464m Buda map is now cranking away on my screen. It has been going hard for about 18 minutes andddd....done for elevation.
Thank you Nico! @Butschi

It's really exiting to see what you have accomplished with your work so far Butschi. A new world of map making seems to be opening up for the community with this progress. The terrain and nature elements in your screenshots looks amazingly realistic. 

Thanks a lot for the update and your work on this. I can't even begin to imagine how difficult this must be to write in code. Even if the user have to make adjustments to houses and linear features like roads, the framework will be there. It wouldn't take too much time to adjust it after running the script.
You might not have to do everything yourself. Like the tutorial - maybe some short instructions in a readme file is enough for a Beta release, and then maybe someone will pick up the glove and make a full video tutorial after a while. 

SoonTM

The map I promised will feature the village https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loope around 1980. (The map is more like 1990, as I didn't have an older image handy). Preview version, the terrain will be a little smoother, some hedge rows will be added, etc.
Should be quite suitable as a Quick Battle Map. There are long engagement ranges but also good cover, plenty of open and covered roads, pathes and tracks, etc. Eventually this is supposed to be the place where the first mission of my Agger Valley Campaign for CMCW will take place if I ever manage to do that.

Recently I didn't have all that much time to spend on this... I'm still mainly working on getting buildings right. Single buildings are one thing but of course you want to have larger buildings that are composed of smaller buildings. There is an example of an industrial/commercial zone below.

You'll have to do the roof and textures yourself but the algorithm does its best to deconstruct larger polygons into smaller rectangles the size of different modular buildings in CM.
Also there are still those pesky linear features... Look at the conflict between road and railway above... 😉
Anyway, I'm thinking about releasing a beta version soon (tm) so that I can gather feedback. (There is no way I can test all the fringe cases myself...). My main concern is having a good tutorial or something...
EDIT: I also looked into the ALOS satellite data for @Artkin . Unfortunately that kind of data is really not very good - It is raw elevation, meaning tree tops, buildings etc. which is not what we want here.