Mod Tags

[Darknight (DC)]

Okay, so this is frustrating as hell.

I have several mods I'm testing (each will eventually have their own individual Mod Tag).

So, say I have 7 variants of the Canadian uniform and I test them in the engine.

smod_british_m37_uniform, smod_british_m37_uniform 2, smod_british_m37_uniform 3, etc...

1, 5, 6 & 7, vehicle and both officers don't show up.

So, I add [canadian] to the end of each file...

5, 6 & 7 don't show up.

I see that I have to have the hard-coded Mod Tag "[canadian]" for the canadian units (which is annoying) but why are 5-7 not showing up?

 

Also, can there be 2 separate mod conditions for a file?  I mean there is the hard-coded [canadian] mod tag but I want to have a unit-specific tag as well.

What is the nomenclature for this?  Would it be, for example: smod_british_m37_uniform [canadian, cdn_2id_esr]?

And, if not, then how do I circumvent the hard-coded mod tag?

DC

[Darknight (DC)]

Also, can you apply a Mod Tag to a folder  in the Z directory and just put the files I want within the tagged folder without individual mod tags?

[MOS:96B2P]

39 minutes ago, Darknight (DC) said:

Also, can you apply a Mod Tag to a folder  in the Z directory and just put the files I want within the tagged folder without individual mod tags?

No.  Each individual file must have the Tag.

Below is a link to a topic that might be of use. 

 

[Darknight (DC)]

Thanks...I forgot about that thread (I've even posted in it ).

There was a post from MikeyD, "I notice your non-working mod tags contain word spaces. Whenever you see a multi-word tag on art its a string of separate one word tags, like [snow germany city]. I expect [shotupbuilding] would work as a tag when [shot up building] doesn't." which I think answers my question about multiple tags...

IIUC, then I would expect the Tag from my example above to be [canadian cdn_2id_esr], right?  (with the space instead of a comma).

Also, the post from Benpark is helpful, if still a little confusing for me:

- Remove the mod tags from EVERYTHING after the stock textures (building "8"). That means, 9, 10 have no [ramadi]. They are named exactly as is, but delete the Mod Tag, as these are outside the scope of the standard stock set. Mod Tags are for swapping in something that already exists. For all else, just add the numbers, and keep going.

-Add windows with the "u" suffix (copy "window 8u", rename as 9, 10)- they are missing. These are in the stock graphics, so you need them.

You now will see the 9,10 buildings in the stock game if they aren't already set by the map-maker. If that bugs you, copy over two of your full favorite stock modular texture sets. Then add the [ramadi] mod tag to your buildings 9, 10. That way these only show for this scenario.

I left the initial uniform textures with the [canadian] tag, so these replaced the stock ones in my test, which makes sense now.

Whether I have the [canadian] tag on textures 2 thru 4, doesn't seem to matter; it works both ways apparently.

But I still cannot get textures 5-7 to appear for some reason.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Gonna ping @37mm.....He's kinda good with mods. 

[benpark]

I think you may need a:

smod_british_m37_uniform 1

They insist on being consecutive. My quote above was related to that- there can't be any "gaps" between the  numbering, or the chain breaks. The existing textures will only fill in after the last mod file, not between non-consecutive mod numbers.

So, if you wanted 3 modded files to show up as follows:

smod_british_m37_uniform

smod_british_m37_uniform 1

smod_british_m37_uniform 2

smod_british_m37_uniform 3

The first 4 seen above would show up (if free of syntax errors, are BMP files, etc). After that, any stock or existing mods would start showing after smod_british_m37_uniform 3. You also could not pull out file (for instance) smod_british_m37_uniform 2 and expect the modded file smod_british_m37_uniform 3 to show up.

That may be it, may not! The fun of DiY.

 

[MikeyD]

Charles told me some time ago if you have a thing.bmp and a thing 1.bmp the original unnumbered art will get over-written and never show up (or maybe its the other way around). So I'd usually name stuff Thing, Thing 2, Thing 3, etc. Or I'll duplicate the default Thing and rename it Thing 1 just to make sure its seen in the game.

Depending on your graphics settings the game may automatically start to drop some of the alt 2, 3, 4 graphics to ease processor burden. On a low setting you may not be seeing half of the soldier face variants or half of the title's uniform variants, for example. The bigger the scenario the fewer alts may get imported.

[Darknight (DC)]

Amazing...thanks guys.  After reading the above, I took a look at the game options and they were still set on default.

So, I changed the 3D Texture Quality to 'Best' and uniform versions 5 & 6 showed up.

Nothing I did could make version 7 appear, so I guess 6 is the limit?

I'm pretty sure I can work with that.

More testing tomorrow.

[37mm]

1 hour ago, Darknight (DC) said:

Amazing...thanks guys.  After reading the above, I took a look at the game options and they were still set on default.

So, I changed the 3D Texture Quality to 'Best' and uniform versions 5 & 6 showed up.

Nothing I did could make version 7 appear, so I guess 6 is the limit?

I'm pretty sure I can work with that.

More testing tomorrow.

I'm pretty sure it's 3d model quality "best" which loads up all the textures/models/sounds available.

 

Try "Best", "Best" to see if version 7 loads up... if not it might be a simple spelling error or something.

 

As far as I'm aware there is no real upper limit to the number of available textures/sounds (for instance, the Stalingrad mod has scores of available building textures).

 

 

[mjkerner]

I’m pretty certain there technically is no limit to the number of variants for mods. I have some uniform and helmet mods with 20+ variants, all of which seem to appear without problem. What I always wondered about, though, is why there are very few uniforms in the entire CMx2 universe (I have everything BFC put out) that are numbered “1”. Any mod I make I use BFCs default numbering system, so I use a “1” when there is one.  From memory there are only 2 or 3 uniforms/gear like that. Anyway, just wondering why that it is.

[Darknight (DC)]

Okay, I set all graphics setting to max and I seem to have all the variants showing up now.

But there is a new issue that maybe I just have the syntax wrong for...  Nope, syntax was correct, I just had to flush the game memory by completely exiting and re-starting.

In the example of the Canadian uniforms, the base texture has the Tag [canadian] applied by default; therefore whenever you use Canadian troops, the uniform texture called is:

smod_british_m37-uniform [canadian]

It's the same for the Polish troops.

 

So, say I want to model the RHLI Regt and I have all of the relevant uniform textures tagged with [cdn_2id_rhli], which I can then add to the related scenario in the editor.

I have multiple uniforms (the regular, both officers, vehicle) set to go, with 8 variants of the regular uniform.

First I tried just with just my Tag because I wanted to see what would happen...and it applied uniform 2-8 but none of the 'first' textures were replaced, all of which have the hard-coded [canadian] Tag.

Then I crafted the Tag as follows [canadian cdn_2id_rhli], and at first it didn't seem to work (but that was when I figured out I had to exit and re-start).

I tried again and it worked!  And the order of the tag doesn't seem to matter either (I could put my tag name in front of 'canadian').

Thanks for the insights guys.

[Mord]

So basically what you are saying is that your wife no longer has to remove all firearms, knives, razors, rope, staples, tic tacs, kite string, and the toaster/bath tub from the house?

 

Mord.

[Darknight (DC)]

No, I think she may keep them around in case the cabin fever (or the work pressure) gets to her and she need to take it out on me.

Though to be fair, if it gets to that, then I probably deserved it. 

[Mord]

Well, at least when they find you shot/stabbed/sliced/hung/stapled/stuffed with tic tacs/toes tied/sizzling in an electric bath they won't label it a suicide. Good news if you're Catholic! If Buddhist, Muslim, Zoroastrian, Hindu, Shinto, Taoist, Sikh,  Pagan, Wiccan, Atheist, Agnostic, Rastafarian, Satanist, Jedi, Klingon, or Furry...meh...is what it is.

 

Mord.

[Sgt.Squarehead]

Lockdown taking it's toll, @Mord? 

 

[Mord]

This month isn't any different than the last decade for me. I am an introvert/homebody/loner. I've got enough interest to keep me occupied for another 200 years. More an observation on DC's modding duress and an insane undertaking. 

 

Mord.

[Darknight (DC)]

Speaking of insane...

I have been playing around with the uniform mods and figuring out which textures apply where within formations, to which end I have created 'battles' that just load up certain formations so I can check them for inconsistencies.

So...I was applying uniform mods to the CW airborne formations and noticed that the Canadian para mortar platoon does not have a denison smock texture...so, I began to create something to make them consistent with the rest of their regiment, and at the same time figured I'd do the same for the British...so, I spend all afternoon getting it right and then, when I check, it turns out that the other airborne formations don't have this issue...it seems it's an oversight on the texture call and only occurs with the Canadian paras....argh...wasted time.