aikidorat

I've included a very large readme file with MCM3, with plenty of pix, that shows how to use the mod manager to mod CM. It should help for your first mod or two; after that, MCM3 offers a lot of power to abuse CM with. The other mod manager may be easier for some mods, so check it out as well. A lot of use here use both... but remember to QUIT CM before you mod it, or the results may get ugly in a hurry. Enjoy! dave

new iBook, 256M ram, soon to be more (OSX really likes ram); OS9.1 for CM, OSX for everything else had a 233 G3(beige), gave it to my dad when I upgraded. great notebook computer, incredible screen. only lament is 8M video ram, but it will still run CM:BB so that's ok. lotsa mods, as you would expect, and, of course, I use MCM3 to mod the files. dave

have you tried MCM3, the other mod manager? I'm curious to see if you get the same error.. and what are the bmp file names that are giving it problems? have you used MacMod to install other mods? If so, I assume it worked ok? thanks dave

Ben, very clear, and something I didnt like with MCM3.. never thought that I would mod each folder by itself. the new one will prompt you to enter in a folder name, then move out (swap) the textures that correspond to the bmps that are being converted. That way, it is backed up, but not in the traditional sense. And it should just move the bmps that are being changed. mind you, I havent coded it up yet, but this is my initial plan. thanks! any others? d ave

I can probably go one better, and have the mini-manager, and full up manager, convert a number of subfolders at the same time (I think). This way one could have a folder called "Normandy - Summer" mods, and sub folders within it "Landscape," Uniforms, etc, then make a separate one for "Germany - spring 45," say, with a whole different skin for CM, if you will. Instead of having to do each vehicle separately, you could load up the folder and batch the entire time period. Hmm, this could be good. Not so good for hard drive space, but could be good. More work for me, too. (as for the PC users.. if they want to provide the bucks for the real basic compiler for windows, I'd supply the code...) I also plan on having the program remember where your CM folder is, allow the user to name the folder(s) the extracted bmps are placed in, etc. This is starting to get more involved.... Oh, overall, any dislikes about the interface in MCM3? Right now, I plan on having the full up version look similar to it, and function in a similar manner. Now's the time to start getting inputs in for annoying things that you want out of it. (opening up a can of worms there, arent I?) Now, if I can only convince BTS to provide me with an advance copy so I can have this done at the time of release.. dave

Another question regarding the future mod manager: would you like a smaller, separate, drag and drop app that would swap out textures from one folder, and save the current textures to s swap folder? for example: there are a bazillion sherman mods. Say you have Sherman X installed, but need Sherman A for a game you are playing. Would it be desired to have a separate mod manager that would accept the dropped sherman folder (Sherman A), transfer the existing sherman bmps (sherman X) from the CM folder to a swap folder, then place the new sherman bmps (Sherman A) in the CM folder? instead of making a backup, the program could swap the files, making it easier to swap out vehicles, terrain, etc. Seeing how there arent resource files to deal with, this would be easy to do, and probably the preferred method. This would be a stripped down app, no preview or anything, just drag, drop and go. I would also provide a larger app more along the lines of MCM3, that would also accept drag and drop, but would preview the files and you would have to click buttons to swap the textures. let me know what you think; I think it'll be pretty easy to do both. dave

Well, there is interest in one after all.. I'll make sure to get one out when CM2 comes out. As I said before, if you have an idea to improve MCM3, let me know. As for the dojo, I practice (when I have the time, which is limited this year) at Arizona Aikido Ki Society I'm in the process of updating the web site, but it gives location and some background info. dave

All mac users: Charles informed me that CM2 will not be using resource files for the graphics (not sure on sounds yet). The bmps will be used by the game, no mods necessary (well, we'll see about pinkees). A folder (or two or more) will be used to hold the bmps, and simply drag and drop new ones in the folder and CM will use them! good news, as there wont be any resource file size limits to contend with! woo hoo! now, the question: are you still interested in a mac mod manager? With the change to a bmp folder, I can code up a simple one to allow previewing, backups, etc, much like MCM3 currently does. 'Cept there wont be any mapping of textures, nor a command to strip out picts, etc. let me know if you'd still like a mod manager, similar to MCM3, for CM2. If so, and you have some changes in mind, let me know what features you would like to see and I'll see what I can do to accomodate you. best, dave

Regarding CM2 and mac file structure: Charles informed me that CM2 for mac will use bmps, same as on the PC side. I reckon there will be a folder, drag and drop the bmps in the folder and CM will use em. Not sure about sounds, though I suspect it will be similar. So, no more resource file size limits! And no need for a mod manager or ResEdit to do the mods... dave

How large are your mod files? If they reach the limit (around 15 megs, I think), new mods wont be installed. and as the others say, sometimes the mod files can get corrupted. It shouldnt, but... did you try the back up resource file? I programmed MCM3 to make a backup for cases like this. Simply take the backup part of the name off (after removing the corrupt file) and fire up CM. With luck it will be fixed. if this continues, feel free to email me. I havent heard of it before, so I dont think it's a bug... also, check the log file that MCM3 creates. It should have an entry for the folder containing the stuart mod, say, and tell you which resource file it modified, which ID number it deleted, and which number it pasted in (they should match of course). best d ave [ 06-18-2001: Message edited by: aikidorat ]

Check out the readme for MCM3 (Mac CM Mod Manager) at CMHQ. MCM3 supports mac sounds, so you have to use SoundApp or somethign similar to convert the WAVs to mac sound format first, but they do work. let me know what you think of MCM3, looking at ways to improve it for CM2 Oh, you may need the file typer programs from CMHQ as well (check out mac mod manager if they arent listed separately), as some mac users had trouble recognizing the bmps.. there's also a patch for MDMP-1 at CMHQ, but you can use MCM3 to convert the PC files instead. best of luck, email me if you have questions dave

Hey everyone, took me a while to get to the forum, been a crazy year so far. In regards to the resource file size, I havent seen any written evidence that the file size is limited, but our practical experience says otherwise. I'll keep looking into it, but I think we have reached a limitation of the resource file size. as for using MCM3, or manually placing winter graphics in other resource files, it does not appear that CM will find winter textures in any graphic resource file besides G13. Charles and I had discussed putting a hook in for a G14 file, to allow even more winter textures to be installed, but my tests indicate this hook is not in the current version of CM. At the time (mid last year), we didnt think it was really needed, and I didnt want to bother Charles with something that appeared to not be needed. Sorry bout that. (as for non-winter graphics: I think they can be placed in any of the resource files except G13, so you theoretically could use G11 and G12 for additional textures, but MCM3 will not support this - you'll have to do it manually. Not sure though, has someone tried this?) Anyway, I'm not sure what I'll do with MCM3 now. I could revise it to allow easier swapping of resources, so you could store alternate G13's elsewhere and switch to it to play certain games, or we can just live with the limitations with the resource file size. Thoughts? I'll send Charles and Steve an email, to make certain that we have more options for CM2. I'm sure they've thought of it, but just in case... and, I need to get some ideas for the mod manager for CM2.. Just thought I'd provide an update. best, d ave

some of the trees have masks (the pinkees, we call them) that are not the correct color. This causes CM to show the pink pixels that arent the correct value, instead of masking them out. search this forum, as there are a number of posts that discuss how to fix them. dave

CM looks through the Graphics files in order, from 1-13, from what I can tell, so you can place the winter graphics wherever you want to. while creating MCM3, I underestimated the sheer number of mods that would come about, as well as the size limitation of the resource file, hence the decision to place all the winter mods in G13. At the time G13 was nearly empty of graphics, and I thought that would be a good place to have the winter mods reside. in hindsight, two files would be better, one for allied and one for axis vehicles. I hope to modify MCM3 in May/June to do this, but for now you can place them anywhere you want to. Just remember, if my testing is correct, that CM starts in G1 and works to G13, loading the first correct number it finds. If you have two versions, the first one CM finds will be loaded. good luck! dave

after trashing my prefs file and starting CM, I've noticed the following: 1. no more lock ups! 2. sounds appear to be cleaner 3. graphics appear to be a bit better. 2 and 3 are subjective, but I swear I noticed a difference. Doesnt make sense to me, or does it.. CM looks at hardware, memory, etc, to determine settings, and since I got CM I've added memory, changed stuff, etc, so perhaps it does make sense. anyway, if you are having troubles with lockups, try trashing the prefs file and starting CM. Definately helps the stability. thanks! dave

Ok, quick update on the conversion: Looks like Real Basic will import most, if not all of the code from VB, with, of course some differences. I received a copy of the code and tested a few sections. Looks doable though. I'll start getting smart on the command changes from VB to RB, and will poke around with the conversion when I can. It still looks like it will be late May for the mac version, but I'll do what I can to pull that in. Gotta keep the paying job tbough... if anyone else is working this, let me know. Otherwise I'l provide an update once in a while, let you know how it is going. Rather interesting importing this, and with luck it wont take too much work. I havent gotten it to run under RB, too many differences in commands, but it appears it isnt too bad. just thought I'd let you all know. and the standard disclaimer: I could run into a show stopper at any time, so dont get too worked up just yet. best, dave

as mentioned before, trashing the prefs file and starting CM seems to help the issue. I'll be trying it out this week to see if it helps my 233 G3 (beige). best, dave

I've been away for a while, and wont have the time until late May, but if no one else can do the tool before then I'll look into it. If RB can really import most of the code it shouldnt take too long to port it over. I just dont have the time before then to do it. if someone else does most of the work, I can help with the RB aspect of things. I used it to create MCM3 a while back. feel free to email me if you have questions regarding RB.. best, dave

Also, I've noticed on my beige G3 (233MHz, 128 Meg ram, ATI rage Pro card, OS 9.1) that I can get CM to crash regularly if I have Netscape open, such as when downloading PBEM files. Locks it up every time. But, if I quite netscape then go into CM, I'm ok. Didnt have this issue with the previous patch and OS 9.0.4, not sure if it's 9.1 or the current version of CM. other than that, very stable and bug free. as for Virtual memory, I have it set at 129M, the minimum it allows. Limits the access to the disk for Vmem. Could be a memory issue... have you installed any mods to the game, or running it as shipped? good luck, you can get it to run without crashes.. dave ------------------ History is made at night

I got CM to run under OSX classic, after I started it up with the select extensions option. However, CM only ran in software emulation mode at 640x480, no vid accel, and crashed hard (locked up the emulator) after fooling around in it for about 1 minute or so. may be a work around, but no time to really mess with it right now. guess I'll just have to reboot to my old 9.1 to play CM. other than that, OSX seems to work pretty well. A few glitches, nothing major on my system (233 G3, 128 meg ram, so I'm pushing the low end) good luck, hopefully one of us or BTS will figure out a way to run it under OSX soon. dave ------------------ History is made at night

Also, the trees are 2D sprites, low res, and tend to generate each time the map is opened, changing the 'location'. That way they can appear to jump around. And the low res can result in blocky graphics when viewed up close. also, the amount of Vram you have can affect the display quality. when rotating in a view, it can appear that trees disappear when closely spaced. Say you have two trees almost on top of each other (tree 1 and tree 2): as you rotate, tree 1 is closer to your viewpoint, and is in front of tree two. as you rotate around (orbit) a point, tree 2 may suddenly be closer to your view point, and the graphics engine pops tree 2 in front of tree 1, possibly hiding tree 1. and, FYI: the graphics trees are simply representations, not locations of actual trees. Tree areas (woods, scattered, etc) are indicated by the shaded ground tiles, not the trees, so the graphical location of the trees doesnt matter. In fact, I usually play with the trees turned off so I can spot units more rapidly. hope this helps - the game is well worth the price of admission. dave ------------------ History is made at night

I've noticed that CM locks my 233 G3 up every time that I have Netscape open - if I dont quit out of Netscape, CM locks in the middle of the movie, or plotting a turn. If I quit N before starting CM, I'm fine. Go figure. as an aside, this behavior only started with OS 9.1 AND the latest version of CM. I did not have this occur prior to this. and, as luck would have it, I belive I updated both at the same time/day, so I dont know the root cause, and havent had the desire to debug it. hopefully you'll find a solution, annoying as it may be. best, dave ------------------ History is made at night

for macs, there are currently two mod managers, MCM3 and CM Mac Mod. They are located at CMHQ, in the third party mods section. AFAIK, there are no plans to convert this new mod manager to the mac. If a mac user plans on doing this, please contact me so we can coordinate the mapping of the textures. I'll be changing the mapping of the winter textures in the next couple of months, to overcome the file size limit we're starting to brush against. best, dave ------------------ History is made at night

it looks like the size of the mods are off, causing them to be stretched over the skin.. if you are using MCM3, or even a graphics program, check to see that the dimensions of the texture are scaled properly, either 1:1 or 2:1 most likely (pixel width and height) I ran across this with a few mods early on, where the size was off and it created some funky textures. most odd. Let us know if you figure it out.. best dave ------------------ History is made at night [This message has been edited by aikidorat (edited 02-27-2001).]

Mac, G3 Mac 14 PC 14 233 G3 (beige! gasp!), ati rage pro video card, factory sound, lotsa ram, OS 9.1 dave [This message has been edited by aikidorat (edited 02-27-2001).]