Marco Bergman

Low res packs now with Old Dog too. (Full Brit/Can/Pole pack with batches, and Brit only pack). Contact him if you need them before a site puts them up. And yes Maximus, I checked for pinkies.

High-res Firefly/Sherman IIa sent to Old Dog for release just now. Low-res will go tomorrow. High-res US/FF HVSS & 76mm turret should be only a few days away. M5 & M8 GMC my next project. Then Sherman II. (My ultimate goal is to do high-res versions of every Allied vehicle. Shouldn't take more than a year...)

Thank you everybody for your kind words. I am picking that Saturday (your time) would be about right. Depends on work. And of course CMHQ is where they will go.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Any chance you could do a low-res as well for us folks with clunkers?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Gaffertape, It is my policy to supply a low-res version at the same time as I release the high-res set. (And I promise to check for Pink-Spot syndrome this time. ) Now, a question: How many people use US and British tanks together? I ask this because the Sherman II uses the same textures as the US M4A1. I am undecided as to whether it is worth making a multiple set with Brit/Can/Pole/US/FF textures and a batch-swapper-thingy, or just go for a generic one-texture-fits-all approach. The batch thing will only work if both forces are not present.

That seems to have fixed it.

These are with Old Dog for testing. Sherman IIa turret still to go. Now to see if the picture thing works for me: [This message has been edited by Marco Bergman (edited 10-31-2000).]

I personally don't see a need for improved graphics. Speaking as a high-res modder, I would like to point out that the high resolution textures take about 4-5 times as long to draw as the standard ones, so you are adding an awful lot of development time for a two person programming team. As various other mod makers have shown, you can get very nice results just by putting more detail and sharpness into the standard resolution textures. So I vote just for tidier textures, not bigger, as long as the engine continues to allow modders to add high-res for those who wish it.

I use a PII 400, 8Mb TNT, 128Mb RAM, with high-res mods & the velvet grass Low res set, full tree & smoke settings BUT ambient sounds off and horizon at minimum. Works OK. Your extra video memory should make up for the CPU difference. But a High-res grass set will really bog you down.

Jeff Could you please post those Rhino pictures you were mentioning? I don't have many pictures of US ones, only British, and would be interested to see them.

Just tried a few bits here with ODD results. I'll email you directly, Bob. [This message has been edited by Marco Bergman (edited 10-25-2000).]

My High-res AND Low-res British/Canadian/Polish Sherman IIIs are now released. Same batch file type stuff as the US/FF pack to swap textures. Any impatient types can contact my tester Old Dog at: bnptoole@bellsouth.net Just ask nicely, and remember to specify which resolution, and he'll email them to you. (Fireflys now well underway.)

Since I'm picking that not everyone has a megamachine, I've resized my high-res M4 textures back to low-res. Surprisingly enough, they don't look a lot different; just a little bit less sharp. People who want it NOW rather than wait for CMHQ can ask Old Dog (nicely) at: bnptoole@bellsouth.net (Thanks, Bob). I would like an indication as to wether doing both low & high res versions is a good thing. When the textures are drawn HR, resizing is just the work of minutes so it is no big deal for me. Also, does anyone have a link to a site with Polish Sherman markings so that I can finish the UK Sherman set? Sure, I could search the net, but I spend my time drawing instead.

Yeah, I know. A least you have the option of using the normal track texture instead. I'm trying to make it less obvious it by redrawing the halftrack wheel. Initial results are partially successful. The catch with this of course is that it will force me to do high-res halftracks next... grrr. The halftrack SHOULD have used the tyre texture on both wheel and track; it doesn't - so we'll just have to work around it. ( Have you noticed the way the wheel has funny colour patches due to the transparent bits on the track texture? )

Well, I finally finished the damn thing. Old Dog has finished testing it and we are all go. He will be posting it to CMHQ for me, but tells me that if there are any really impatient people out there, to email him at bnptoole@bellsouth.net and he will send you a copy. Please note that the mod comes with 2 little batch files to painlessly swap between versions. PLEASE read the rtf before launching in!! It's a big read, but necessary. The mod was based on Tiger's Weathered Sherman pack out of necessity, since unless I redrew the whole lot in one hit, I had to maintain texture compatibility across all the Shermans. So make sure that you have this installed first. (Hmmm, it's the old invisible email address trick) [This message has been edited by Marco Bergman (edited 10-17-2000).] [This message has been edited by Marco Bergman (edited 10-17-2000).]

M4A3 high-res Free French version now with Old Dog for testing. (Poor guy will be drowning in large emails. What have you let yourself in for, Bob?) With the large star-in-a-ring and that funny blue/white/red diamond thingy all over them, these are rather colourful looking tanks.

In case you are all wondering what Oddball is burbling about, he recieved his cavalry M8. ( I knocked it up quickly this morning to try to shut him up ). As far as I'm concerned, it belongs to him so if anyone wants it ask him for the file, not me. A slow (but free) ISP means I don't send too much out if I can help it. As for the Sherman, my official tester Old Dog and 2 people who asked nicely have gotten it. Everyone else will have to wait for the CMHQ release. ( Which judging by the time its taking to post my winter Saurer 6x4, will be sometime in March )

My high-res M4A3 is currently being tested by Old Dog, and will be released as soon as it passes. Tomorrow I shall tweak it into a Free French scheme. We could do with someone programming-minded to write a small utility to let you swap different versions of vehicle textures into and out of the game, especially if we are going to see alternate schemes like the Free French. The shared texture thing is a real pain. For example, who would have picked that the Sherman mantlet is also used for the side of the front mudguard? Hope CM2 avoids this.

My high-res M4A3 is currently being tested by Old Dog, and will be released as soon as it passes. Tomorrow I shall tweak it into a Free French scheme. We could do with someone programming-minded to write a small utility to let you swap different versions of vehicle textures into and out of the game, especially if we are going to see alternate schemes like the Free French. The shared texture thing is a real pain. For example, who would have picked that the Sherman mantlet is also used for the side of the front mudguard? Hope CM2 avoids this.

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by 109 Gustav: Okay, why is the camo pattern of that new Daimler armored car on CMHQ called Mickey Mouse? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Mickey Mouse ear, actually. Quote: Early in 1944 the camouflage patterns were changed to the system which has now become known as "Mickey Mouse ear". This consisted of large areas of matt black, looking rather like cumulus cloud and formed by painting a number of interjoined circles of varying diameters. Again, the black paint was aplied to all top surfaces, with extensions down onto the vehicle sides, and along the bottom edges of the vehicle. Some vehicles also had individual areas on their sides, formed from three or four interlinked circles." D-Day to Berlin (Armour Camouflage and Markings of the United States, British and German Armies June 1944 to May 1945) By Terence Wise Page 46 ISBN 0-85368-482-0 [This message has been edited by Marco Bergman (edited 10-14-2000).]

The RGB setting for the background colour is R:255 G:0 B:255. In PSP4 I use the colour-replacer tool with the colour tolerance set to 70 ( about 25% ) which should pick up all the changed pixels.

You are correct, LuckyShot. Turns out that the foxhole graphic is shared by very large shell holes, so a sand-bagged hole is out.

Could someone who has actual experience please tell me how foxholes and weapon pits are constructed? Are they really just a hole in the ground, or are they usually lined with sandbags or boards or something? The reason for this is that I was playing around with the foxhole texture (1209), with the aim of making it look more 3D, and also more obvious. The game doesn't show them untill you CAN see them, so I'd prefer them to stand out a bit more. I quickly made a version with a nice ring of sandbags which looks OK, but is it even approximatly true to life? I would add the picture to this post, but I can't figure out how to add a picture that isn't on a web-site to this message... ( and yes, I did read the FAQ. )