Gordon

TwoSheds, I'm in agreement (as stated previously) with Marco. My personal opinion is that just a couple of additional features would allow the batch files to be retired completely. Now, these probably need to be refined, but let's get the discussion rolling. 1. The ability to organize mods into "groups". 2. The ability to install an individual mod group. Ok, conceptually this is similar to what bfamily33 says he does in the other CM Mod Manager thread. Basically allow the user to create a hierarchy (either within CMMM or by Windows Explorer). These might consist of (among others) "Terrain", "Buildings", "Vehicles", "Canadian Vehicles", "British Vehicles", "Polish Vehicles", "British Camo Vehicles", "US Army", "US Army Camo Vehicles". I think y'all see where I'm going with this. :cool: It has to be somewhat free-form to allow users and mod authors sufficient flexibility. Ok, so here's the pay-off. Each time Marco releases a new vehicle mod (for instance) I'll place it in the appropriate "group", select from all the "Extra" or optional textures he's provided and then install the mod as part of the "group". To change to a Canadian ORBAT, I simply re-install the Canadian "group" of mods. Now, as long as this post is, I don't consider it a fully fleshed out idea, but I'd be more than happy to be part of a "round table" to discuss this or other ways to improve CMMM to the point where batch files are no longer needed (I helped create them and they're still a pain in the ass to work on) Gordon

Hello all, Well, maybe I'll wish I hadn't stumbled onto this discussion, as I see Maximus has been his normal diplomatic self. Ok, here's the scoop, from my humble perspective. I like both the batch file system and CM Mod Manager. I think that both take a fair amount of effort to "get set up" properly, but that once set up both are very useful and have their strengths and weaknesses. Let me just say that I've worked closely with Marco on refining the BFS (Batch File System) and also provided a lot of feedback to TwoSheds during development of CMMM (CM Mod Manager). So, what are some of these strengths and weaknesses? CMMM - very easy to "browse" mods and prioritize them (e.g. install this set of buildings, but after that I prefer this other heavy building, so install just it). Swapping between 2 sets of similar mods. I use it basic mod installation, and for swapping between my Black/Olive Drab and Field Drab/Olive Drab camo vehicles as my mood changes (in conjunction with the batch file system). BFS - Easier to make changes involving more than one mod. For instance, changing all my vehicles to represent Canadian forces is a single click on a short-cut, rather than several installation actions within CMMM. Given the likely-hood that (at least for the near future), mod "families" such as Polish vehicles will be spread over multiple "mods", this is, IMO, a bigger plus than it seems at first glance. However, all that said, I use both and enjoy both. This whole discussion came about because I originally planned on only providing CMMM versions of my DFDR mods. My reasons for this are that I figured that most players would probably be using CMMM for a "new" installation like DFDR, and the more simplified nature of the mod environment for DFDR. Also, a non-CMMM user playing DFDR has the option of simply un-zipping the CMMM mods by hand, which is a little easier than unzipping a BFS mod and renaming all the files. So, to sum up after an overly long post, my intention is to not offer BFS versions of my various DFDR mods (to date: Desert Rats Sherman Mk II, Sherman Mk III and Stuart V, Desert Rats Stuart Kangaroo North African M4A1 and M5A1 (coming soon) Desert Rats and North African M7 Priest (coming later). That is, unless I hear of a groundswell of support for BFS in DFDR. Also, bear in mind, that working on too many variations of a given mod takes time away from working on new mods. Gordon

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Capt Canuck: Oh thank you very much, I was able to install all of the mods with the batch files correctly, and now all of the shermans (All nationalities)have their batch files etc...and have the latest(as far as I know) mods on! Thank you very muct for all your help, Gordon and Old Dog,... Thank you so much! Just to rehash, now say if you(Gordon) were to publish another Sherman mod does that mean that all I'll have to do when I get it is put the bmp files in the BMP folder, no copying batch files and what not, Yay if thats right,...Alllllrighttttt!! If that's not the case! Again, thank you everyone! David <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> David, Yes and No It depends on what you mean by "another Sherman mod". If, for example, I published the Black/Olive Drab camo M4s and you install it and then the Field Drab/Olive Drab camo M4s is released. In this case, you can only have one version installed at a time, so you can use CM Mod Manager to "install" either the B/OD or FD/OD version and then run the batch file to activate the M4 camo option (you don't need to overwrite the batch files). If, I come out with a new mod featuring the little known "flower-children" tanks of Oddball's unit from Kelly's Heroes, that would probably require an updated set of batch files. The important thing to remember with the batch file system is that once it's up and running, there's very little required to "upgrade" it to a newer version. Simply overwrite the old "usandff.bat" and "cmnwlth.bat" files and add any new shortcuts (if any). Gordon

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Capt Canuck: Capt here again... Alright, thank you very much Old Dog and Maximus , I have all of those mods running smoothly now! But now I've came to another bump in the road.. ..I want to install Gordon Moleks beautiful British Shermans, and after reading the word document that came with it, I find that I need to install Marco Bergmans older British Shermans,...So that means I will half to install those mods with their batch files, then his all new hr Shermans and his Stuart mod along with his Roo mod? Right or Wrong? :confused: That will be allright but might take a long time,...and after that I want to install Gordon Moleks British Sherman Mods, do I need to know anything earth-shattering important when doing that, or is it as simple as taking a walk? Many Thanks,...I couldn't of made it without you guys last night,...I had the shakes! Dave<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Dave, In general, you always want to have the latest and greatest version of the batch files and shortcuts, but you can install the BMPs from mods in just about any order. So, for instance if you download one of the Camo Stuart mods, you'll have the latest and greatest version of the batch files and shortcuts, and then can install the BMPs (only) from the "older" mods and you won't have to worry about not having it set up correctly. Is that clear as mud? :cool: Gordon

Michael, Yup, should have looked first. Any info's appreciated. Gordon

Anybody have any information on the markings of the 11th Royal Horse Artillery of the 1st Armoured Division at the time of 2nd El Alemein? (hint: go look in the "More coming (Mod) attractions" thread) Gordon

And here's the British desert version of the Priest. Anybody have any information on the markings of the 11th Royal Horse Artillery of the 1st Armoured Division at the time of 2nd El Alemein? Gordon

Don't really know of any mod-making guides (Old Dog has his "Mods for Dummies" guide, but that deals with mod usage. I think most mod makers are self taught, and therefore programs and techniques used vary wildly. For instance, I work almost exlusively in "layers" (which you can think of as separate, stacked-up sheets of transparancies, where you can modify one layer without messing up the others. I know that other mod artists work directly on a single image (which scares the hell out of me as I'm always afraid of making a single mistake that ruins a whole image). Just about any graphics program (PC or Mac) can be used, I personally use Paint Shop Pro 5.12, but others use Corel Draw and various versions of PhotoShop, etc., so it's really up to personal preference. btw, here's some stuff I'll be sending out for DFDR today. Gordon

It's to help to reduce the recoil of the gun. Some of the propellant gases are vented backwards to help offset the recoil forces. Actually more dust is usually kicked up with a muzzle brake than without it and can be detrimental to watching the round's flight (so as to adjust your targeting) and can reduce the tanks effective rate of fire. Gordon

LGMB: I've been practicing making snow men (snow tanks?), and while the results don't pass muster yet, they are improving and it is my intention to offer snow-covered, whitewashed, and snow-covered whitewashed versions of all these (eventually). Lawyer: I'm at work so I don't have all my sources, but here's some of the information. There was a scattering of camouflage use by the US throughout the war, it just wasn't as prevalent as the German use. The reasons were that the US was usually on the attack (and camouflage is much less useful when you're moving), and, due to equipment loses, camouflage was not often applied to replacement vehicles. 2nd Armoured Division had all their tanks painted in a Field Drab/Olive Drab scheme while they were in Normandy waiting to be committed to action. The 781st Tank Bn. of the US 100th Infantry Div used the Black/Olive Drab scheme. So, while FD/OD was more common, B/OD was also used. I also included it so that when using a mixed British and US force, the Sherman II/M4A1 would blend in with the British better. The only example of the Super Pershing that made it to Europe in time for combat was also painted in a B/OD scheme (and had just about the weirdest looking applique armor applied that you've ever seen). I'm waiting for Marco to get around to doing the Pershing so that I can paint that baby up. Gordon

Maximus, If I told you where I got that grass, I'd have to kill you. Actually, that's are new hybrid grass being developed by the US Department of Agriculture to be used in the US Army's training reservations to simulate Italian terrain. It's a variant of Old Dog's subdued velvet grass that I'm working on for the Kiwi's in Sicily/Italy mod with Marco. I can send the Camo Stuarts off to Madmatt for posting as soon as I get final check-off from the tester (possibly tomorrow). The winter Stuarts need a lot more work (I need to keep experimenting to figure out how to duplicate Marco's snow effect). The Priest mods are still alpha quality and haven't gone out for testing yet, so that will be a while yet. I forgot to mention that I'll also be sending a desert Stuart Roo to the DFDR site soon and am going to do a desert version of the Priest as well. Gordon

Here's another sneak peek at mod projects I'm working on. First, the variants of Marco Bergman's Stuart Series sporting US camouflage patterns. As with my US camouflaged M4s, both Black/Olive Drab and Field Drab/Olive Drab versions will be available. Also, the winter variants of Marco's Stuarts will include: snowy, whitewashed (with and without stars) and snow-covered whitewashed (with and without identification stars). Only whitewashed without stars is shown here. My first hi res mod (more below) is the M7 Priest. Here it's shown in it's whitewashed configuration (with identification stars showing). Again, as with the M4s and Stuarts, the full range of options will be provided - snowy, whitewashed, etc. And finally, here's more on my M7 Priest mod. This is my first real hi res attempt, and I've borrowed from a couple of well-known mod authors in order to keep from completely wrecking my wrists (carpal tunnel syndrome). I've "borrowed" the M2A1 Howitzer's gun barrel from Mike Duplessis' excellent allied field guns mod, and I've "borrowed" the suspension and various "extras": tarps, knapsack, shovel, etc., I'm sure everyone will be able to recognize which parts from Marco's various M4/Sherman mods. As you can see, the full gamut of regular, low visibility, Black/Olive Drab and Field Drab/Olive Drab camouflaged options will be provided. Hopefully this will tide folks over until Marco is able to schedule his hi res Priest (a Free French version will have to await Marco's version as I don't have enough information on Free French units and markings for the Priest). Whew! That was long winded. Comments, suggestions and (constructive, of course) criticism is always welcome. Gordon

Full, total and complete credit for the aerial recognition panels belongs with Marco and Marco alone. I unfortunately "jumped the gun" with inclusion of the aerial recognition panel option in these mods. Marco will release these as an update to his M4 and Winter M4 packs. I'd like to take this opportunity to publicly apologize to Marco for stealing his thunder, it was a dumb and thoughtless over sight on my part. Gordon [This message has been edited by Gordon (edited 03-29-2001).] [This message has been edited by Gordon (edited 03-29-2001).]

Actually, everyone's forgotten the number 1 reason why so many different variations of M4s/Shermans were included in the game. TO DRIVE MARCO STARK RAVING MAD! We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread. Gordon [This message has been edited by Gordon (edited 03-27-2001).]

WARNING! It's just come to my attention that the Desert Rats camouflaged Shermans and Stuart mod is still packaged with the development/test batch files that may not work properly depending on which Marco Bergman and/or Gordon Molek mods you currently have installed. Please do not download and use this mod until I've had a chance to work this out with MikeT and Clubfoot. Sorry for the confusion, I hope you all will be patient. Gordon

Btw, The not so clear (in this picture) cyrillic lettering on the hull sides is supposed to say "Death to fascists" in Russian. Gordon

Goanna, Thanks, but no joy, the Battlefront CD doesn't seem to cover the FM 5-20 series. Gunnergoz, Any chance you'd be willing to loan one? Postage-paid and insured both ways? We could even work out some sort of collateral. Thanks, Gordon [This message has been edited by Gordon (edited 03-23-2001).]

The Soviets adopted the white stripes in April of '45 primarily for aerial recognition (so all those American and British flyboys wouldn't shoot up Soviet tanks). However, the Germans soon figured out what the purpose was and started painting the white stripes on their AFVs, so in May '45 the Soviets changed to triangles. The western allies maintained their use of aerial recognition panels through-out. Hint, if you loved the aerial recognition panels in Marco's "Cavalry" option to his "Stuart" mod, you've got more to look forward to. Gordon

For textures like buildings that don't have transparent portions, creating a lo-res set from a hi-res set is actually pretty easy with most graphics programs. Textures with tranparent portions get tricky because you have to clean up the edges of the transparent regions to avoid "pink-itis". Gordon

From inside BTS' massive underground bunker deep under the streets of Hoboken NJ, our spies have provided the following top secret images of the on-going CM2 development. Gordon [This message has been edited by Gordon (edited 03-23-2001).] [This message has been edited by Gordon (edited 03-23-2001).]

Thanks. Well, right now I'm trying to get out from under the Whitewashed M4 and US camouflaged variants of Marco's latest M4 mod. After that I've been doodling on a number of different experiments, none of which currently includes a Tiger, but I've got an idea or two. Gordon

Any of you walking, talking reference libraries out there have (or know how to get a hold of) a copy of the following US Army field manuals? FM 5-20B Camouflage of Vehicles (April 1944) and FM 5-20D Camouflage of Field Artillery (February 1944) Book or CD ROM doesn't matter. The best I've been able to locate is source of B&W photocopies. Thanks, Gordon

Looks pretty good. Nice looking tanks too. Gordon

Oh yeah. I've gotten my share of these e-mails. Not only is Marco a Master Mod Maker, but he's also a great teacher. Mickey Mouse Ears is definitely the way to go camo-wise for this puppy. btw, ignore all that stuff about 11th Armoured Division, this should really be sporting Guards Armoured Division markings. Gordon "Grasshopper" Molek [This message has been edited by Gordon (edited 03-19-2001).]

Dave, Didn't your mother teach you any manners? It's not polite to post a nice picture like that and not share it with your classmates. Very nice job. Gordon [This message has been edited by Gordon (edited 03-19-2001).]