deanco

A workaround for the paper map: Take a screenshot from the level 7 or 8 position. The idea is to get the map filling up as much of the screen as possible. Zoom might help too. If you want as blank a map as possible, turn off bases and put your men on realistic size. Now open a picture editor like Paint Shop Pro and cut just the map out of your screenshot. Now turn that into a grayscale image. You may have to adjust the contrast, drain some of the grays, etc etc to get it to look right. Now change the size of the image to fit on an 8 1/2 by 11 inch piece of paper and print it. It won't be perfect but it's a workaround. Hope this helps! DeanCo--

wow...very good discussion, you guys. Meeks is rational, ScoutPL mystical. Both present eloquent, convincing arguments. I feel like I'm reading a book by Kundera. Can everything, absolutely everything in the world, be explained by facts? Meeks says yes, ScoutPL no. This is an enigma that's going to be around a very long time (if Meeks is right) or forever (if ScoutPL is right). Me, I go along with Dostoyevski. If we get to the point that Meeks is talking about, I think man will "go crazy for the occaision" just to prove the math wrong, out of spite. I guess that puts me in the ScoutPL camp. DeanCo-- [This message has been edited by deanco (edited 10-13-2000).]

Thanks BottleRocket. I like it when somebody thinks my interface helps them play the game better. This was 1 of the 2 main goals I had. The other was to 'dress up' the interface a bit. I don't know how this post got in front of the other one, but the Battle Screen upgrade mentioned above is finished and ready for download. Just click on the link to my site at the top of this page. Later all! DeanCo--

I figure a few more hours on page 1 could be useful for those who haven't seen this yet... DeanCo--

I'm far from an expert, but here's my thinking. What's the ideal situation to be it? I think it's this : His army can't see my army, but I can see his, because I've hidden my guys and have snuck and crawled to good observation points. Once I've seen his disposition I sneak my forces into an ideal position and attack en masse. That's the theory, of course it never works out that way. But I use sneak and crawl to these ends, yes. Also run and move. DeanCo--

In order of toughness it's probe, attack, and assault. Assault is an attack against fortified, dug in, prepared positions, whereas with Probe, the enemy has just set up rudimentary defensive positions. If you do a Quick Battle you get progressively more "bonus" points than your opponent as the toughness goes up to reflect the difficulty of attacking. I think that's right. Hope this helps, DeanCo--

Hi folks, For those of you using my 'Grog' style interface, I've redone the Battle Info screen to match the Unit Info screen. Now, no matter what screen you are looking at in the game, the interface presents a unified look. There is a screen and the dl link at my site: http://combatmission.ifrance.com/ It's a 20k dl so it should just take you a minute or so. Swing on by and check it out! Enjoy! DeanCo--

Hi gang, Well, thanks a lot for your kind words. The funny thing is, in real life I'm a lazy bastard. I never do anything. So don't get the wrong idea, I'm not really a go get 'em kinda guy, I just like messing around with the interface, and I'm learning Photoshop at the same time. It's actually fun so I don't really have the impression of slaving away, the time just seems to go by. The fun part is seeing your work show up in the game. When it starts looking good it's very satisfying, and the fact that other people can get some use out of it is the icing on the cake. Ive noticed that some other folks are starting to tweak the interface too. I think that's great as I certainly don't have a monopoly on good ideas for improving the interface. I have another small patch coming out later today for the Grog style interface that will redo the Battle screen in the same style as the Unit screen. Now the whole game interface will have a unified feel to it. I got a turn coming in on ICQ, gotta go... DeanCo--

russellmz, In the words of Microsoft, that's a feature, not a bug. Actually, I woulda had to do a massive reformat to the chunks of pages to make them look good in 640x480 in the main text area, so I decided to leave them that way. Yeah, it was easier. DeanCo--

For those of you using my 'Grog' style interface, I have posted a small patch which addresses some visibility problems some people reported concerning certain icons. The details are on my website : http://combatmission.ifrance.com/ I've also redone the site and broken it up over several pages, so it's more surfer friendly. Sidebar, the whole works. Swing on by and check it out! DeanCo--

I'd like to add my scenario, "The Battle for Prime Time" as a contender for the most idiotic and gamey scenario ever made. Mexican rebels attempt to take over the local TV station to broadcast a "freedom message" on CNN. Probably the best thing about it is the briefing, but it's also funny to see all those conscript and green troops trying to take out halftracks and light tanks. Weird victory conditions too. It's on Madmatt's site if you want to take a look. DeanCo--

In that case it's not redundant, don't you think? Anyway, it was a killer idea then, and it's still a killer idea. How 'bout it BTS? DeanCo--

Man, I leave for Normandy for the weekend and already page 3! Well, since I don't have any references to hamsters I guess it's normal. Here's a bump for those of you who may have missed it first time around. DeanCo--

Hi Robert, You said, But the stars should fit on top of the new background you made in the Grog mod. --------------- Yep, they will, just fine. But for these small corrections it's better to just do it yourself, I don't have the time to release a version for every single person. Mail me and I will send you my original Photoshop copies, you can do as you please with them. OR you could try mixing and matching files from different versions. (This is something I haven't tried yet but I would be interested in knowing if anyone finds a good looking "hybrid" using this method.) HawkerT, Well, now you know how I feel when someone tells me, "I use your mod and like it". I'm proud and happy to contribute something to this great community. If you get more pleasure from the game because of me then I'm just happy as heck, I really am. The new version is ready to go, HawkerT. Download away! DeanCo-- [This message has been edited by deanco (edited 10-06-2000).]

HawkerT, I hate you. (not really) I hate you because I spent a good 45 minutes racking my brain for the perfect term to use to replace 'rested'. Here's a partial list of what I came up with. Tiring Exerting (you would not believe how stupid that looked in the game) Action Acting Little Tired (too long) Exertion (that one bit the dust fast) and a few others.... ....and here you come, out of the blue, with the PERFECT word to describe this state! Arrrgh!!! Seriously, HawkerT, brilliant idea. Try redownloading the mod in a few hours, it will be changed to 'winded'. And you'll have credit for this idea in the readme (once I put one in). Thanks for sharing that idea, I never would have thought of 'winded'. Hi Robert Oleson, If you want the healthbars, use the healthbar mod. Same goes for the stars. I made different styles so everyone can use what they like best. Most of those icons are 9 pixels high, and there's not enough room for a bar AND the text. With only 9 pixels to use it's a real challenge to find a typeface that is readable and looks war-like at the same time, much less put a bar in. Glad you like the mods though, enjoy! DeanCo-- [This message has been edited by deanco (edited 10-06-2000).]

OK, Darwin, just because it's you, I've updated my site with lots of screenshots and commentary on the new interface. Swing on by http://combatmission.ifrance.com/ and take a look! DeanCo--

I'm running late, just enough time to tell you there is a new 'grog' style interface up on my website: http://combatmission.ifrance.com/ No time to put screens up or anything until Monday, but I thought y'all would appreciate having this for the weekend! It's done in a green and brown style and there are several innovations, as usual. I think it's my best work yet, but I always think that. Check it out yourselves and let me know what you think! 101k in size. My mail is still KO so comments go to deanco@ifrance.com for the time being. Enjoy!!!! DeanCo--

Gimme your email address, Oddball_E8, and I'll send you a copy, since you don't seem to be able to find the link. (sigh) BTW, I am working on another game interface, for the grogs this time. Everything in nice big letters so there's no confusion. Should be out later on tonight. And I'll make a nice big button on my site to click on so you can find it easily, Oddball_E8. (sigh) Stay tuned!! DeanCo--

Boing....

I DID make the link rather discreet but it IS there. Depends how bad you want it I guess... Thanks, Oddball_E8, now I can start a flame war: OH YEAH??? Well, I personally think it looks cool as s**t to see those healthbars bouncing up and down during the turn! It adds a cool visual aspect to what is already the greatest game of the century! So there! And, like...yeah! Hah...guess I told you... DeanCo--

Well, it's a good thing the motley group of fans who made Counterstrike didn't read your post! They mighta been a mite discouraged Honestly, David.... DeanCo--

C'mon!! Ain't any of you grogs gonna tell me it's waaaay too gamey? DeanCo--

I've made another total conversion for the CM interface. This one changes just the Unit and Battle screens in the game. All I can say is, you're either gonna love it or hate it, but one thing's for sure, it won't leave you indifferent! I'm having probs with my ISP so I made another site for the time being. Go to: http://combatmission.ifrance.com/ There you'll find screens and info if you think it's for you or not. I think it's my best work yet, but...I don't wanna say more, head on over and check it out yourself! Have fun with it! DeanCo--

Hi everyone, Once again, thanks for your kind words. Cybeq, I'm glad you like the old version better. That's why I made 2, one with "disco colors" , and one more subdued. The original version is still available for download at my site and CMHQ. Iconoclast, it's really good you brought up those issues because my first try I was so starved for color in the interface (I'm a Video Gamer if you haven't guessed already) that I just turned everything up to 10. It really made me go back and look at the situation more calmly. I prefer it the new way myself, the subdued colors go better with the 3D screen and make the whole thing look more like....a whole thing! Actually...I lied. I'm working on some new icons right now for confirmed players that will streamline the interface even more. I'll keep you posted. DeanCo--

Thanks all. I'm going back to playing Combat mission for a while now, to enjoy my handiwork! I have to admit, I think it looks a lot cooler this way myself, but I'm gonna be playtesting it to see if I can make it better. I'm still not completely happy with the morale icons... As far as the scenario screen goes, boy I tried a lotta different colors. The only one that really worked good was when I changed it by mistake to the original washed out green! Blue woulda worked good but you can still see those red Combat Mission letters in the background and it clashed bigtime. Anyway I wanted to stay away from blue. Red and black was the theme. Anyway, just squint for a week, I'll get back to it in a bit. Future projects include the map editor, and the nav and VCR buttons. And those pesky morale icons...I have an idea about that I want to try out myself first. If what I did adds to your enjoyment of this great game, than I'm pleased as heck. DeanCo--