AndrewTF

Juju - I have an idea about picture hosting space for mod screenies. E-mail me if you're interested.

Perhaps you could break it down into two 3 or 4MB files, as well as posting the full 7MB one for those of us who are not bandwidth-challenged. This is great news, BTW, as I was just installing your Finnish and Romanian T-26s and thinking, "these are great. I wish he'd do MORE T-26 mods!".

That's right. Apparently construction practice was to lay 25cm of concrete over the rebar, let it set, then repeat as required, creating this sort of look. I'm going to try to weather the concrete texture a bit more and see what I can come up with, as well as tone down the lines.

I slapped on a basic red/green camo pattern, although I haven't been able to test it in-game yet. I'll post results here.

I never made a CMBO bunker. Not before this one, anyhow. The Germans usually poured concrete into the forms at 25cm increments, resulting in a somewhat uneven, layered look to many of their fortifications. The effect here is a bit much, but I managed to improve the look somewhat. This is not a definitive bunker but a sort of amalgam of various styles of MG and AT bunkers that I've seen.

Damaged bunker textures similar to what we have with the buildings would be nice, as would larger and more varied fortifications, including bunkers where one could place an infantry squad or two (useful during those arty barrages). Maybe in CM2? I ran across some photos of camo painted bunkers. Might look good in-game.

I've always been unhappy with the look of the concrete bunkers in CMBB and CMBO, especially with their size and scale compared to vehicles and troops. I figured that they could be representing a structure that was partially below ground (hence the low height) and set out to design something that looked a bit more like a dug-in pillbox. After looking at *a lot* of bunkers--both pix of German Atlantic wall fortifications and old WW2-era US coastal defence installations near my home--I came up with this: This mod reflects typical German construction practice (with the layered look to the concrete) as well as the fairly common use of a piece of 20-30mm armor plate protecting the firing aperture. More views: Not sure if I'm happy with the results or not, although IMHO it looks a lot more like the concrete fortifications that I've been in and around than the stock CM textures. If anyone's interested let me know and I'll post for download. Also interested in constructive criticism. The steel plate looks pretty good, but I think the concrete could use something. Just not sure what. [ July 23, 2003, 07:21 PM: Message edited by: AndrewTF ]

And here's the SU-76M with some numbers and stuff added. I know it's kind of hard to tell, but that's a new Soviet crew uniform to go with it. Yes, that's supposed to be a black cloth helmet rather than the brown leather one represented by the original BMP. The cloth one was apparently more commonly used as it was a lot more comfortable inside a hot stuffy AFV.

Thanks, Mike! A question for all out there in CM land: somewhere on the Web (that narrows it down, eh? ) I saw a picture that showed a SU-76M in Berlin with a horizontal white stripe painted around the superstructure. Anyone got any pix of that they can either post here or send to me for reference. For the life of me I have no idea where I found it. Must have been on my break at work or something. Thanks in advance.

What do you mean "take a break"? You can't stop now! These look great! Can't wait to see more.

I thought Måkjager's was better... and almost identical to mine so why bother. But I guess I'll finish it up after the SU-76M. I can probably post a screenie of the Zimmerit version tonight when I get home from work. I ended up making a Zimmerit pattern for Photoshop's "texturizer" filter that works pretty well. I can make it available for other modders if people like the way it works.

There's dirt on it already! Just not a lot of it, but enough, IMHO. I don't like to put too much on as it obscures some of the textural effects. I'm sure Gautrek will filth it up some at some time, though (he's really good at it).

You get em to last as long as that? I think that the Germans usually save their precious Panzerfausts and take out mine with rubber bands and spitwads (not necessarily used together).

English transliteration is "Za Rodinu!" translates to "For the Motherland!"

I think I might be able to put that on the other side--I'll try it when I get home. Thanks! One of the benefits of the SU-76 model is that elements of the vehicle sides (like that air intake thingie on the left) are non-mirroring, which makes slogans and stuff more doable.

:mad: [ July 14, 2003, 01:43 AM: Message edited by: AndrewTF ]

Almost ready to leave the showroom en route to a virtual battlefield near you! The poor SU-76M--which the AI just loves to buy for QBs--needed a serious makeover. And they blow up real good. It's 100% from scratch and I won't even start describing all the improvements and cool new stuff. The slogan will be an option. Still needs a bit more work but 85% there. Now this thing has been languishing on my HDD for a while now. I started it months ago and kind of abandoned it because it just wasn't going the way I wanted. With the subsequent release of a spate of Jpzr IV mods I'm wondering if I should bother to release it... especially with Måkjager's cool new version on the way. I worked up a version with Zimmerit, too. If enough people think they want it I'll finish it up and post it for download. Feedback appreciated. [ July 16, 2003, 08:31 PM: Message edited by: AndrewTF ]

Nothing to see here... move along... [ July 14, 2003, 01:43 AM: Message edited by: AndrewTF ]

Why yes, as a matter of fact. All will be revealed in due time.

The idea of it started disturbed me after I got to thinking about what it represented. Something just struck me as kind of unsavory. This after I was working on it thinking "this is going to be my coolest mod ever!" It's hard to pinpoint it--I guess it's just too evocative of the pathetic last gasp of an evil regime, and the role that ordinary people played in futilely fighting and dying for an immoral cause. Or something like that. [slaps self] It's just a game, get over it! I guess if it bothered me *that* much I wouldn't be mentioning the mod here. Again, if people are interested, I'll make it available. Someone might want to monkey with the VS "old man" faces as they tend to look a little funny in the HJ outfits.

Somewhere out there I ran across a site that had some interesting Volkssturm posters, but I don't remember where it was. It wasn't hard to find, though. If you're working on a set of Berlin buildings then I just might release the HJ Volkssturm mod I made (with Berlin scenarios in mind) a while back but never released. It looks good but for some reason it makes me feel kind of... I don't know... icky or something. Anyhow, if people want it I'll release it. Can't wait for those buildings. I tried my hand at one (just one) and though parts of it looked ok it was a tough job so I quit while I was ahead.

Just a thought--modders might consider using my CMBO yellow Marder III and Wespe as base textures for mods, as that's what the late versions in CMBB are (but with a cool Gordon Molek-applied camouflage pattern). A little renumbering and they'd be ready to go, plus it would be a relatively simple procedure to convert them to panzer gray versions that will be much sharper and more detailed than the stock CMBB bmps. They're available for download at Combat Mission HQ.

Ooooh. Cool! :cool: Just last week I was looking at your late captured T34 mod and thinking "I wish MikeyD would make an early one, too." Thanks!

Those are both pretty nice. I usually put some dust/dirt on my mods but I just plain forgot to on this one. I think you did a better job, though!

Tried to do similar things for the generic mortar textures. Base plate looks good, but I'm not sure I can do anything significant with the tube. There's always hope, though.