Aquila-SmartWargames
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Posts posted by Aquila-SmartWargames
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- German addon skirts were introduced to tackle the Soviet ATR threat in order to interfere with the projectile before making contact with the main hull. It seemed to work good, also good effectiveness was reported against 76mm HE which also was used against vehicles. It was never designed with HEAT protection really in mind as primary.
- With the arrival of the Western Allies and its HEAT based portable launchers it was reported to offer (some) protection "by accident". It seems there was no real consesus even back in the days about how effective it is and it remaints a controversial topic to this very day. A typical problem is also that alot of individuals also approach this topic with this "all or nothing" or "x-yes/x-no" mindset ala "is skirt X protecting from HEAT weapon Y" which is simply not working when talking about many topics of real warfare. Overall evaluating the additional protection value with "low" might be the safest bet.
- Ít was later replaced by Thoma Drahtgeflecht Skirts because production of these were easier and they achieved the same effect against ATRs as it was already stated in this threat. If they were really more succesful in specifically interfere with fuzes remains in the unclear.
- As mentioned there was a widespread use of field armour including logs, sandbags, welded replacement tracks and wheels. There effectiveness might be even evalued lower than skirts at least against HEAT due to the little standoff it usually provided.
- There is also this consideration that some measures might even improved the HEAT penetration i. e. made it words as due to production and technological limitations alot of these weapons were designed with less than optimal standoff ranges which then could be evened out by the addon armour when pre-detonated by it properly.
- all of this is was in use in many post-WW2 conflicts that featured RPG systems, recently by Western Coalition in Afg and Iraq in order to specifically tackle the popular single stage RPG warheads & its various copies, and in Syria everything that is loose is welded onto tanks. Does it mean it must be super-effective? Not really.
However:
- Could a skirt/wire mesh interfere enough with a HEAT charge in order to fault its fuze or to make its superplastic jet less efficient in penetrating the main hull? Sure. Did a wooden log, a sandbag, or welded tracks, or tank wheels safe the day for a crew somewhere somewhen? Sure there are accounts claiming that. Was it worth the complete fuss especially when taking into account the additional burden on industry, the vehicle engines, transmission, fuel consumption? Nobody might every know and there might be no universal answer.
More important:
- even wide-spread measures weren´t done because some super-brain scientist came over and told them but because of the psychological effect. In the end soldiers are also humans and might try everything to ease their mind or to find some protection against a lethal threat no matter the effectiveness. Im am pretty sure there were commanders and also higher leadership that knew about the little "hard" effect some of this measures would bring but still ordered them because they counted on the psychological effect.
CM specifically:
btw I also did some testing on the single-stage RPG warheads vs Cage Addon Armour in CMSF2. It was a small batch size but it seems that the angle is also calculated into the odds of defeating the charge so it might be not just random luck.
Furthermore I think that CM only shows a single hit message, so if you read (Partial)Penetration doesn´t mean the skirt was doing nothing but didn´t provide enough protection to stop the penetration. Vice versa if you read "HIT: Skirt" doesn´t mean that the charge never made contact with the main hull but that it in no way managed to penetrate it. Furthermore this could mean that there might be a chance that a complete penetration ended up being a partial one because of the skirt. It is a theory might be different.
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5 hours ago, RockinHarry said:
Ok, thanks. I´ll read wgbn1968 instructions once more again.
He experienced a LOS block in his test scenario with the terrain cover mod when bringing infantry from the fake ceiling into upper levels, wich is surprising and exciting aswell. He uploaded it a couple of posts ago but I didn´t check it out yet but others are welcome to take a look as well as this would enable alot of new options in case it is indeed the case.
5 hours ago, RockinHarry said:For now I´d be just satisfied if I can get the MDR im- and export plugin to work.
That´s great news as there are not many that got this far. With that you´ve managed to overcome a big part of the challenge of this Blender/CM Tools method. Would be great to see your ideas coming to frutition.
Everybody is encouraged to experiment with all these custom models mods here and do whatever they like with them. In most releases I´ve added theBblender project file for easier editing them and education purposes by loading them directly into Blender. Instructions and possible purposes of methods/custom models are highlighted in the dedicated posts which were published here for almost all releases. This complete thread is basically a manual with discussion bits between the instructions and progress flow. I am not really expecting any volunteers but if someone wants to extract all of the vital data from here and bring it into a new (general mods) thread, you´re definitely welcome.
Video Playlist for CM 3D Model Editing with Showcases, Workflows, and Tutorials (latter with commentary)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlUX4ALH7zTNgpWGBYSFUCnZK-Sf7SCcl
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2 hours ago, Bulletpoint said:
Some vehicles don't have those and are completely blind to the sides and rear. The buttoned M8 Greyhound for example won't spot infantry behind it.
Wasn´t sure if the simulation is going that far as modelling blindspots of specific vehicles. Great to see it´s the case.
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While the facing of a tank and its turret play an important role in CM spotting it doesn´t mean they´re blind on the flanks or rear. Despite the commander, crew member positions were equipped with viewports and periscopes as well and they were trained - along their main job - to observe specific areas around the tank. They didn´t had the quality optics as the gunner/commander but for closer ranges it could be enough. Which is in unity with @Bulletpoint´s observation although I didn´t pay attention how much this is tied to the tank having a TC cupola which would naturally make sense. Nevertheless in this incident it makes of course little sense that the tank spots the infantry first here.
As mentioned CM allows for gun depression below/above historical parameters although a delay will be issued. I can´t recall hearing the reasons behind it but my theories are engine limitation, in order to prevent explotation, limit AI stress (example: AI tank for some reason ends on a ridge and is not able to engage anymore), to make tanks not too exposed to infantry close assaults (run up a inf team in a WEGO turn and they have 60 seconds convience for blowing the heck out of it), a mix of those, or complete different reasons.
About vehicle TacAI:
An interesting thing about vehicles is that sometimes they start to turn without even having any contact marker whatsoever as if they sensed something. To me it seems there is a state of contact awareness present before even a first spotting icon. I don´t even want to know what exactly is going down there under the engine hood as it is one of those thrilling "I feel trouble brewing" moments. This behaviour can be especially observed when enemy is close to the tank or when a ATGM was just launched.
My rough interpretation:
0) everything fine
1) no icon, turning i.e. "sensing": "I think I´ve just seen (heard) something there but I am not sure"
2) question mark icon: "I definitely see (hear) footmobiles or vehicles there!
3) full icon: "infantry or tank identified, ready to engage"
Specifically for CMSF2 and a scenario with high civilian density:
0) "everything fine, only civilians passing by"
1) "I think I just saw a guy with a weapon there, not sure could be also that he just bought a big sausage from the market"
2) "definitely weapons there not only unarmed civilians!"
3) "Identified, three guys there carrying weapons!"
However I´ve never seen infantry doing this "sensing", only vehicles.
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Tagged mods are only activated when the specific tag is used by the scenario/campaign and AFAIK tagged mods are overwriting every non-tagged mod.
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8 hours ago, RockinHarry said:
some questions for @Aquila-SmartWargames or anybody maybe knowing this. I´ve just installed Blender 2.83 and I´m about to download Anaconda 3.x The latter is quite a big download (466 MB ), so is that really necessary or is there any working Python alternatives? IIRC the original Blender plugin and conversion files were meant to work with Blender 2.7x. Do I need an older install (pre 2.8x) or do they work on latest Blender too?
Possible, I am not into Blender/Python specifics, I followed the CM Tools instructions and somehow ended up with this working setup, which is enough for me. Somebody else might know more.
8 hours ago, RockinHarry said:I´d also make different versions with different textures to adapt to varying terrain textures around (grass, dirt, pavement etc.).
It comes with a dedicated texture which can be replaced by whatever is required. Creating several versions would make sense if a designer for some reason would require several covers each with a different texture in a single scenario.
Further when talking about this modding department I advice not to jump into fast absolute and universal conclusions like "it is for x purposes only" because let alone in this thread they simply proved too often wrong and spread false information and confusion in a modding topic which it is already hard to keep track of. It requires some scientific mindset and out of the box thinking for understanding and progressing many of the techniques here and not everything is always evident, especially when alot of the information in this thread is skipped. For example @wgbn1968´s testing in this case might indicate that there is a LOS block for some reason. This is surprising for myself too although I myself didn´t take a look at it. Nevertheless everybody interested in this at least try to skim through the thread and the provided information.
Despite this there might be an alternative. In the meanwhile we´ve learned that building roofs can be modified aswell (Years of the Rat Temple Addon, see post). It might be an idea to mod a terrain cover onto a building roof and place the building into a depression. This is less suited for the ceiling workarounds of multi-story under+overground buildings as shown by @wgbn1968 but if somebody wants to hide a complete building below this might be worth a try.
Video Playlist for CM 3D Model Editing with Showcases, Workflows, and Tutorials (latter with commentary)
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlUX4ALH7zTNgpWGBYSFUCnZK-Sf7SCcl
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Z folder still works across all CM2 games.
Use what is more confortable for you either documents mods folder or the game install data/z folder which might have to be created. There is no difference when it comes to modtags.
Documents folder might have the advantage that several local users can keep different modding setups without requiring manual copy/paste. Never tested it but should work in theory.
I only use z folders as I prefer to keep mods in the install folder and not everyone wants to keep several GB of mods on the system partition.
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The comparison pic should also suit my colored silhouettes pretty good
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On 3/31/2020 at 1:22 PM, 3j2m7 said:
indeed very nice you have only to import it all in CMBN than it will be Ramelle for everybody !
Ramelle is part of the CMBN Saving Private Ryan campaign:
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7 hours ago, LongLeftFlank said:
Wow @Aquila-SmartWargames, I just watched your video end to end! Many thanks for making it, I enjoyed it very much and learned a lot from you.
What really? Haha it was one of my sloppiest CM playthroughs. I started by taking care of every single man with the observer beach party but when the batallion came into play I started to waste the forces and drive tanks around all over the map somewhat in flight mode.This has something to do that I indeed prefer smaller OOBs up to company level and like to focus on single situations. Yes I´m using to many quick command and not enough rest because time limits ill-trained me once to and it really showed here. I also became hungry.
I guess I am prone to apply a modern mindset when it comes to ww2 air support but yes I know from accounts that it often was next to possible to bring support options to effect especially in the PTO. To my knowledge I didn´t alter any of the air support in the editor but accidents happen. Calling in all support options from the beginning would be also my choice when deciding again.
Very unique scenario. Would like to see a <=company-level campaign based on these Pacific assets.
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43 minutes ago, 3j2m7 said:
Sound good are your changes available ?
CMBN LLF Pacific Mod modified by SMW.rar (Experimental)
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/1tviryry89g6py7/AAAJpSvGH6u1iEx4WzwVLSnJa?dl=0
- for current CMBN versions
- there are two version of the Iwo Jima scenario included, the original, and a mod including the following slight changes:
2 hours ago, Aquila-SmartWargames said:1) changed the Pz.II to R35
2) added some ships to the 3rd Reinforcement Wave
Note:
23 hours ago, Aquila-SmartWargames said:unfortunately the Japanese Infantry and US WW2 Marines mod comes in legacy CMBN file standard. The Japanese are a real challenge. They are using Luftwaffe airborne skeletons in British infantry slots and renaming everything in order to make it work can really start to let your head smoke.
I just tried to convert those Japanese and managed a partial half-hearted result but I had to remove the LW skeletons because otherwise they got weird faces and uniforms
2 hours ago, Aquila-SmartWargames said:About the changes made to the uniform mods, it was a rough brute-force attempt to get the Japanese in somewhat working condition. I´ve dropped alot of the skeleton files thus the result is not as sophisticated as the original work.
- some textures might be misaligned
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42 minutes ago, 3j2m7 said:
if you made personal changes please let us know
1) changed the Pz.II to R35
2) added some ships to the 3rd Reinforcement Wave
About the changes made to the uniform mods, it was a rough brute-force attempt to get the Japanese in somewhat working condition. I´ve dropped alot of the skeleton files thus the result is not as sophisticated as the original work.
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19 hours ago, 3j2m7 said:
Enjoy it and give a feedback !
Okay I´ve played the scenario. It comes with a big OOB which was absolutely beyond my personal comfort zone and left me playing rather thoughtless and laid back. Preferring smaller OOBs is personal preference and others might look exactly for something like this, specifically if you always wanted to recreate the Iwo Jima Yellow Beach landings.
Would´ve welcomed a couple of TRPs. I´m not a big fan of time limits and changed it to 4h, again personal preference. Map alongside terrain mod very beautiful, really liked the ambience sound and Japanese voices.
It was challenging to adapt which is good news. Not just a reskin which means that this provides some kind of new gameplay experience as fighting on this map and the situation felt different, like playing a different CM game.
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1 hour ago, 3j2m7 said:
Enjoy it and give a feedback !
Scenario alongside the Pacific terrain and ambience mod is great, unfortunately the Japanese Infantry and US WW2 Marines mod comes in legacy CMBN file standard. The Japanese are a real challenge. They are using Luftwaffe airborne skeletons in British infantry slots and renaming everything in order to make it work can really start to let your head smoke.
I just tried to convert those Japanese and managed a partial half-hearted result but I had to remove the LW skeletons because otherwise they got weird faces and uniforms, there is a chance that I incorrectly changed files.
Perhaps somebody that is good with CMBN naming conventions, dependecies, and conversions like @LongLeftFlank himself, @37mm , @Mord or somebody else knows if this can be converted without extensive rework.
This is really a gem of mod I didn´t know that it existed. It comes with alot of content, Japanese audio, UI mod, and pacific terrain. Taken together with the content that was recently provided by the H&E mod there are alot of options to go WW2 Pacific or whatever similar.
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I got it, this is even more than I expected, even with Japanese sounds
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2 hours ago, 3j2m7 said:
I can send what I have, prepare me a place of dropbox or tell me how and you will recieve it..i am busy to check if all is complete !
Note that is the CMSF 1 Mod non compatible with the new CMSF2 ?
Or the best is contact @LongLeftFlank
JM
Isn´t it CMBN?
I´ve already contacted him.
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12 minutes ago, Erwin said:
I understand your comments re the physiological capabilities of a healthy eye. My point is that perceptually, we/our brains recognize/interpret an object being in the distance due to haze which causes a blurry/shimmery effect - I think that is largely due to air molecules being agitated by heat from the ground (think of looking into the distance in a hot desert - which is the effect I am most familiar with). Freezing cold "arctic" environments do allow for crystal clear images without haze/shimmer/blur.
That is why the two dimensional still CM screenshots simply look better/more realistic when distant objects are blurred/seen thru some haze. In terms of what players prefer, it may simply be a matter of taste when one looks at a still screenshot. But, I get the impression that most folks here like the screenshots that show the distant objects and terrain to be "hazy/blurred" as that looks more "realistic" cos that is how our brains interpret distance.
It would be great to have some haze effect. There is something like this in CM depending on weather conditions and only when very close to ground level. If there would be a way to inject a distance related haze/depth of field post processing into CM in order to make it look similar to those screenshots... it could tremendously boost visual fidelity for those who prefer it that way.
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I also wonder about wether the amount of tank gun damage in CMWW2 is authentic or not. Furthermore putting tanks in hull down might be problematic. There was already some discussion and testing done on this topic lately:
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Can somebody provide me please a copy or a link of the scenario and the required mods:
1. LVT Alligator
2. Japanese Forces
3. Pacific Terrain
Thanks in advance
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14 hours ago, Erwin said:22 hours ago, Erwin said:
My suggestion is to maybe provide the alternative lo res bmp's for distant terrain in case players want a more realistic look to the game.
It is an observation that images look more like RL when distant objects are faded with haze and a bit blurry as that is how the eye/brain perceives the information and provides us with a sense of distance.
A problem with computer graphics is that designers have always aimed to get the sharpest images no matter the distance from the observer - and that breaks the immersion as it's not realistic. It has been a problem in movies as well. These days they put in grain and distortion to make digital images look more realistic.
Thats not really how distance vision and visual acuity is working. I´ve had contact with real military simulators and shortcomings are described on exactly the opposite. Due to limitations of most in-use displays - thus videogames and recordings - may have a limitation of proper farsight and distant stimulus aquisition in a visual busy environment when compared to the capabilities of the human eye. This is the reason why games like Arma provide the player with an artifical zoom in order to try simulate proper eye capabilities.
Its the eye feature called accomodation that is shifting the lens in order to adapt the focal point on the retina/fovea centralis in context to distance. Thats how we manage to accomodate close and distant focus. A healthy eye without lens, bulbus, retina, muscle anomalies is able to accomodate into the infinite. What you´re describing sounds more like what shortsighted individuals may experience who can´t accomodate their focal point to distance properly. Also there is often haze which becomes more noticeable on distance.
Low resolution textures don´t make it more realistic. Grain doesn´t make it more realistic, (radial) blur and field of depth are resembling this but are nowhere realistic as this effect appearance and strength is tied to the videogame POV and not player eyes´ fixation and accomodation.
Nevertheless the screenshots you´r e mentioned look good. It looks like the Tilt Shift effect in Reshade. I would like to use some sort of depth of field effect alongside @37mmScreenshots profile. Problem is that it is tied to screen position and not ingame distance. Not sure if there is a way for Reshade to "read" CM´s ingame distance... would be definitely great.
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Scipio Silhouettes v130b.brz is now in my Dropbox
Try this names:
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23 hours ago, wgbn1968 said:
Units in the basement can see one floor up and can fire. I checked it three times. But for some reason, not all of them. The reason why the platoon commander can't fire and watch is not clear to me
If you upload your test scenario and your modification of the cover mod I can check it with my own eyes.
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1 hour ago, wgbn1968 said:
The mod has one obstacle - the inability to see and fire between floors separated by a shelter. In the video, this moment is clearly visible. I couldn't assign shooting on the floor from the "basement". I don't know how to solve this problem.
With "shelter" you mean the custom model floor of the mod? I can see it in your video but can you re-run the test without the cover mod to make 100% sure that this LOS block is indeed caused by the mod. If it is true that the LOS block is surprisingly caused by the mod it would enable alot of new opportunities which I didn´t know could be possible
For example (AI) enemies hiding in LOS-blocked/concealed basements, holes, tunnels that emerge for ambushes and clearing those underground positions with grenades or flamethrowers
And if this is really the result of the mod (which would be exciting) but not what you wished for you could try to fix it by placing the underground covers in a way that will leave the centers of big buildings "uncovered" so that there is no LOS-block between the floors i. e. place multiple covers "around" the building. A more complex solution would be to cut a center "window" into the cover mod in Blender. I have some written/video tutorials on cutting/sculpting models in this thread.
You mentioned you couldn´t assign target, do you mean the target command that allows units to fire into higher/lower floors?
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19 minutes ago, Erwin said:
Supposedly... but, not as easily as they should be... trees stand up better to AP and HE than tanks. They should make tanks out of that wood!
Yes I had several 1vs1 tank thrillers that were decided rather by the tree standing between them
Lucky Strike's Mods: Hedgerow Hell
in CM Normandy Maps and Mods
Posted · Edited by Aquila-SmartWargames
@Lucky_Strike
I´ve just found this thread and these screenshots are on another level. I would like to test the new looks and your reshade profile, furthermore I´d also like to make a video showcase/preview of it.
The only thing I did with bocage models is to add them onto vehicles as addon 3D camo experimt but they can be modified on their own. Would be interesting to see the results and options.
About LOS it might help your project to know that some of the LOD graphic degradation can be "modded out" by replacing the LOD files.mdr with copies of the original model mdr file although I am not sure if this option is available for all LOD-sensitive assets ingame.