Jump to content

Rake

Members
  • Posts

    346
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by Rake

  1. This is part 1 of my mod that replaces all 16 of the independent houses in the game, with brand new ones.Download both parts to the same folder and extract.

    More...

    Haven't played with these in a game just yet (and probably won't play CMBN again before the patch and upgrade), but these are excellent. I just took a stroll through PT's Ecoqueneuville and the new houses make a ton of difference. There are still a lot of modular buildings and the original barns, but les maisons, elles sont vraiment magnifiques.

    I only found one of the buildings which lack the flooring lost with the base removal, but even it looked the part of an outbuilding with a dirt floor and the occasional weed popping up... even had ivy growing through cracks in the wall boards. :D

    Great job, TaL; I've followed your thread throughout the progress, have long awaited the completion of the mod and am very impressed with the results. Many thanks for your long, tedious labor.

    Mike

  2. I could not turn my brain off after watching Game 6...

    Buzz

    Well, tonight there will be other issues that may prevent my brain from turning off, but baseball won't be one... fun to win, especially living in the DC area and detesting the Nationals, but not very exciting.

    Happy Flight! Happy Flight! :D

    And, now, back to our sponsor... Thanks again, Aris! I have every vehicle mod plus the grass mod, what am I missing? Also, thanks to Tanks a Lot, I have new homes for CMBN (now, just a short prayer for a release of the patch and upgrade so I can play CMBN again)

  3. I'm surprised GaJ hasn't popped in to clarify by now, but anyway, lower right corner of the home page is where you log in/register. I'm already permanently logged in, so it doesn't show "Register", just "Log In" but anyway, look for it in the lower right corner.

    P.S. I have to scroll down even in full screen mode.

    Many, many thanks, Mark! ;)

  4. Hey guys - I need help finding a suitable ME map for a large armor only QB. Not finding anything good in-game. Any suggestions would be much appreciated! thanks!

    Have you seen this one? Looks exceptional from the pictures:

    http://www.battlefront.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=314&func=fileinfo&id=2294

    edit: is there any chance at all that random generated QB maps will come back? or should I just stop dreaming about it and accept the reality of this new system of having to choose a map?

    From what I've read, it appears that random maps are a CMx1 thing of the past

  5. Either the current workaround for LOS should be removed (ie placing waypoints and checking LOS from them), or there should be a single key press quick check as suggested in the OP.

    The former appeals to me - thus necessitating using scouts in their proper role - however at the moment it seems to me that most scenarios do not allow anough time for these sorts of actions. However, I would happily play the game like this.

    I would be all for this and also would happily play the game this way.. Particularly when combined with something like this...

    ... I can see the utility of a PRE-GAME check LOS tool. Select a spot, toggle the "show me everything I can see" switch, and get a highlight of viewable (or, alternatively, UN-viewable) action spots/terrain.

    Not having the benefit of topographical mapping and pre-battle scouting reports (other than what the designer gives us - and I'm often disinclined to believe much of what I read in the briefings), a Pre-Game LOS check would give a player basically the info that a CO would have on the ground, i.e., an idea of where he might need to send troops to see what he thinks might need to seen.

    I'm not going to lie and say that I never use the LOS tool/target command from any point that I don't have troops... but I do use it rarely, mostly to place a waypoint on a spotted enemy unit to see if I've got a snowball's chance of sprinting across open or minimally covered terrain. It is such a PITA to use from multiple, plotted waypoints as to be unusable to me. Besides not knowing exactly where the LOS interruption is, you don't know if you can see the ground or the units actually in the AS. It's basically useless except from a point currently occupied by troops... and that's the reason I use scouts to see what I need to see.

  6. 2011 World Series Victory: Down from Two Strikes, Twice in Game 6 was one of those amazing sports moments for me. I could not sleep for hours after watching maybe the greatest post-season MLB game.

    Buzz

    This!!! As a lifelong Cardinal fan, this was the game of a lifetime... I was so jacked up, I just made a pot of coffee, watched SportsCenter all nite and went to work quite early in the morning... after Game 6, I knew the redbirds would take Game 7 and I'd be late for work on Friday.

    But, the sports events are OVER! Where's that cute little Italian tank with the white beanie? It begs to have its head slapped off :D

    Thanks, Fuser, for all you do with these mods; CM would not be the same for me without them. I really wish I had a better understanding of what's happening to these mods... I have decent Photoshop skills, but they relate more to photo editing and masking than towards painting... modding these tanks seems like it requires more of the latter skills.

  7. I can live with the existing LOS tool while playing, but I would just love to have some kind of tool -- shademap or not -- to use while scenario building. Right now it's a total PITA to set up defensive positions and establish fields of fire.

    But when you're a scenario designer setting up a fortified position, or a player deploying forces in a setup zone, it would be very useful, even if it's too calc intensive to be usable during play.

    This I think is a reasonable request... for scenario design

    Yes, it would be a HUGE time saver.

    This is the only advantage that I can think of for implementing this... it's another quest for instant gratification, one thing I feel the world has enough of already. Once again, just my opinion... like everyone, I have one and some even tell me I am one :eek: It goes with my profession :D

    It would also be cheating when playing vs the AI.

    Now, I'm not quite ready to go this far... yes against the AI, it might be. Then again, it's possible the AI has access to this info, but I imagine only Charles knows for sure. But, without triggers. there's really no way for the AI to use the information.

    Playing H2H, it can't be cheating if everyone has access to the same tools.

    As players we are trying to see a 3-D space through a 2-D screen. As has been said, in RL the soldiers would be able to find a good location with LOS as they can use their judgement to move over a few feet. We cannot do that.

    No, you're correct, Gerry, we cannot. That's the reason for sending troops in to find out whether LOS is actually available from a given action square. If LOS is good for everyone in the square, we get a light blue line; if only some can see we get a grey line. Thing is, we don't know which one can see and which cannot. But. I've seen troops move around in an AS so that what was once a grey line has later turned light blue as other troops maneuvered to get LOS... sometimes it happens, sometimes not.

    I just get down to level one and use the arrow keys to s..l..o..w..l..y move around and look at what may or may not be possible to see. But again, until I put boots on the ground, I'll never know for sure... and I don't believe that we, with our god's eye view of the overall situation, have a need for a definitive answer before we actually put those troops on the spot.

    I am probably not spending enough time on defense actually. IIRC the guy that did those videos at Armchair General spent 1.5 hours setting up a defense. For me that is more work than fun. I do try to do a good setup but I cannot spend that long.

    Don't know how to answer this... I've spent the better parts of several hours long CM sessions deciding on setups before hitting "Go". I remember the first defensive mission I played (just against the AI) taking 6-8 hours for my setup. I spent four or so hours on my attack setup in the second KG Engel scenario. Unfortunately, I saved in between and lost it all due to the red button crash. When I played ASL, I'd have my oppo come by and do his setup and I'd call a few days later when I was done with mine. I'm just anal like this, I reckon... see my comments re: some even tell me I am one, above.

    It does need to be remembered that Battlefront didn't intrinsically include an LOS tool.

    And I cannot be convinced that one is necessary. If I absolutely need to know what can be seen from a given action square, I simply have to select a squad, Hit "F8" and click "Scout Team". This is exactly what a squad, platoon or company leader would do in the field... except that we have access to the knowledge instantaneously without the need to send a runner back to report.

    The tactics are the easy part since they won't matter if you do not have a handle on the game system and how it handles LOS and spotting, and how units are likely to react in certain situations.

    But part of tactics is moving troops into places just to recon what can be seen or not from any particular vantage point.

    I reckon this boils down to old men who are control freaks wanting to know everything about everything before they even plot a move.

    Oh and I'll fess up. I'm 49 but I've never felt the need for this. Like others have stated if positioning is so crucial I get down in the weeds and check it out. Reckon this is donw to total control freakery vs ah what the **** let's see what happ... :)

    AMEN!, George.. At 58, I don't understand the need for this either. I spend a LOT of time with my setup, but once I hit "Go" the rest of the game is "ah what the **** let's see what happ..."

    Too much cut and pasting and time awasting... I just think there are many other things I'd like to see happen with CM than spending time fixing something I don't feel is broken.

  8. Wee bit yet.

    Crap! :D

    Hell, I've been keeping myself away from the Revised Mountebourgh campaign until I get the patch. Been a bit too long that, yep.

    I've been sitting on the start of the second mission of KG Engel since the release of 1.10 while awaiting a fix of the red button/wire crash. But, with the release of CMFI and the v2 improvements, I'm not likely to play CMBN again until the upgrade gets released.

  9. Just my $0.02, but I tend to feel that the LOS display is fine just the way it is... once BFC fixes the display to initiate from the waypoint. The way it is now, you rarely have any idea what may be blocking LOS between the waypoint and the target because the lt. blue/dk. blue/red line doesn't give a decent indication of the blockage from the waypoint

    Now, I'm going to contradict myself a bit by agreeing with the point that you never know exactly what can be seen from a point until you visit that point. If LOS from a specific point is that critical, send somebody there to check it out. If they can't see it while prone and hiding, have 'em stand up and look around.

    I've stopped depending upon the LOS tool for critical views. If I need to be certain a FOO can see a spot for an arty call, I'll send someone else there first to make sure the spot is good.

  10. Happens with mortars and ATG crews as well. Be glad it was "just" an MG crew.

    I saw it happen once in CMBN with a team split off from a rifle squad. The team had been resting next to a hedgerow for several minutes. When I gave them their next order to move to the north, I wondered why they began moving south... I found out why when I saw the team leader wandering god knows where two fields away.

    In my current game, at least the mg team is basically out of the fight for the moment... they're just watching a flank where not much is happening. I only noticed them when spotting rounds started landing a little too close.

  11. This mostly seems to happen when, for some reason, a team member cannot find a place to settle in the AS where they're supposed to set up. That grey patch just above the team is probably "impassable" (too steep?) and is interfering with the Gunner setting up.

    Womble, I believe your theory has merit. When I watched the replay, the gunner moved in, set up the mg on the rock face and immediately began crawling away.

    I also had a save file from before the action for this turn was calculated. This time, the gunner set up on the grassy area below the knoll ;) and remained with the gun.

    Toss the file my way...

    Thanks,

    Ken

    Email sent

  12. I'm playing the second scenario in the American campaign. I had a mg team sitting off on a flank that I hadn't done anything with in a while, but when a spotting round fell nearby, I knew it was time that they moved. When I selected the unit, I realized that the icon was several action squares from where the majority of the crew was located... I suspect the gunner left to answer nature's call, but with the lack of bushes in CMFI and mortar rounds falling nearby, he must have decided to crawl under the map.

    Here are the pics and I have save files available:

    MissingGunner_1.jpg

    MissingGunner_3.jpg

    MissingGunner_2.jpg

    After taking the screen caps, I found him about 100 meters away... and the mg had magically teleported to the gunner; he was carrying it with him as he ran to rejoin the team.

    Who wants the file? :D

  13. Having a dense boundary fading towards 100% transparency, or simply the option to toggle just the outline of the Arc in a clear high contrast line would be better.

    This was another thought that I'd had when I was trying to find the CA file in the game files... similar to the way BilH's hex-shaped base mod has a dense edge and a more translucent interior.

    There ya go. +1.l

    Yes, this is an excellent idea!

    This! The cover arcs are visually the most appalling things in CM!

    Absolutely! And, if you happen to "stack" covered arcs, by giving a new CA at a different waypoint, it becomes nearly opaque. If it can't be modded, this should be fixed. I really like Womble's idea!

  14. I have been playing CMFI almost everyday since August 1st and it is by far Battlefront's most polished release.I love the upgrade and cant wait to apply it to CMBN.

    Amen to this! Even though I have a far greater interest in in France, MG and the Bulge than I do Italy, Sicily, Crete and North Africa, I won't think of playing CMBN again until the game is upgraded.

    Better situational awarness or the " better self preservation" tweak.

    I've lost men to what I consider behavior that would not occur under fire.Careless behavior by soldiers like they dont care about dying should'nt happen.I dont think soldiers would randomly go upto the kneel position or stand position in close enemy range in the middle of combat.Its asking to be killed.I know I can give the hide order, but the instance in which you forget to give it , my men seem to forget the enemy is dangerous and shooting at them.Soldier instinct should be to always hug the ground wether or not you give the hide order.

    Amen again... I watched my units with a "Hide" order and a covered arc stand up to fire at enemy infantry within the arc even though they spotted the bad guys while prone. If they can see enemy truppen lying down, there is no need to stand up and expose themselves to many more troops. But they did and they died. And, in the open terrain of CMFI, this is more of a problem than it was in CMBN where there were a few more trees to hide behind... not to mention the bocage.

    Frustrating, yes... but it's still the best game out there!

  15. I posted this question in the Mods forum, but it hasn't been viewed very often over there (94 hits in 4 days)...

    I was looking in the .brz files for the covered arc displays, but could not find them anywhere. I'd like to change the transparency of the normal (yellow) CA to make it less obtrusive.

    Since I can't find the file in the exploded .brz files, I'm guessing that CA's are hard coded. Can anyone confirm or deny?

  16. And is there a quick tool in photoshop to isolate the tank/unit from the rest of the layer before you delete it or do you have to cut out the tank manually?

    The reason I ask, is in the hope of jazzing up my own AAR's one day :)

    Photoshop has several quick selection tools... what Bil did with the tank in his in the previous screenshot took less than a minute to select the tank, drag it into the main pic and delete the picture from which the tank was selected.

    The lasso tool is quick for a freeform selection and there's also a magnetic lasso tool for selecting edges, but circles, ovals, squares, rectangles, etc. are even faster (two clicks and a drag and drop to fine tune the position). Then, of course, there are many other tools for more intricate selections...like edges, color ranges, etc., and a whole lot of add-ons for even more delicate selections.

    But, I digress... Bil, please, continue with the capture of the villa so the drive on Gela can continue.

  17. Rake, PM the author next time if you are having trouble like this.

    Bil

    Bil, Sorry, a PM never entered my mind. Anyhow, once it occurred to me that I had the CMBN mod, it was a simple matter to go into Photoshop and adjust the colors and rework the alpha channel.... Dohh!

    I apologize if my response on the site seemed sarcastic (well, I did "roll my eyes")... it was not directed at you or anyone else in particular. It had more to do with my realization that I was quite capable of adapting the mod to CMFI myself. In the time I wasted on multiple posts about the missing file, I could have changed it.

    I appreciate all the work you (and others) do for CM with testing, modding, scenarios, AAR's, etc.

    Thanks for your reply,

    Mike

  18. Anyone that might have picked up this mod... Please PM me about emailing the file. Neither the link to this file, nor the other one that Bil posted work. This link shows "File not found" and the other gives a Fatal Error message.

    This base mod is far and away better (to my taste) than the in-game base and I've been trying daily to download it for nearly a week. Doesn't look like anyone is reading this board. :(

    Thanks in advance to anyone that can help.

×
×
  • Create New...