AndrewTF

This enough dirt for ya? Shown with optional graffiti. I found a nifty way to make mud in Photoshop while working on the Hetzer, and just went nuts with the Jeep. Quite an improvement on the last version previewed, I'd say. Here's some more: I think Fairbairn-Sykes Trench Knife (hereafter known as F-STK) asked for the last one. They'll be ready as soon as I clean up the pinkies and draw some better suspension. I think I'll release the Hetzer and this at the same time. [edited for stupidity] [ 11-24-2001: Message edited by: AndrewTF ]</p>

Geez you guys! In a judgement worthy of Solomon himself I have decided that I will indeed do BOTH camo and solid-color roadwheels. Now, should the roadwheels each be a different camo color (red, green, yellow) or have a camo pattern on them? Something tells me I shouldn't have asked

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Panzer Leader: Great wheels, and great coloration, I especially love the "rotbrun". Good job on the subtle weathering too. I wish I could paint my models that well! You know what would be cools -- a thin "airbrushed" white line randomly painted through it. There are some cool chots on Achtung Panzer (I think) with that scheme.<hr></blockquote> Yeah, I saw it too. I think I might make a version like that, as it will only involve minor retouching. I will also think about painting the roadwheels different colors, or at least offering that option.

...well, almost As promised, here are the newest screenshots. A few pink spots to get rid of, and a few details to add. Hope to have the release version ready Saturday. I will be releasing it in the ambush camo scheme only, for now. If anyone wants to take a crack at winterizing it or painting another camo scheme then let me know and we can arrange something...

I agree that there is a perverse fun in the copyright law discussion... Another down side of this mod-rights paranoia: I don't want genuinely useful people like Darknight to be scared away from actually improving upon a mod release! He's done something that I never would have done, and has put in an amazing amount of work and research in creating his commonwealth unit patches for my uniform mod. I would really hate it if, as a result of this bickering, people with good ideas like Darknight are discouraged from attempting things like this.

Ack! Double Post! [ 11-21-2001: Message edited by: AndrewTF ]</p>

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Shatter: Cool, I look forward to using your mod. With all the mod copyright crap going on, I thought maybe all mods were on hold. I just wish people would realize that mods are for peoples enjoyment and to enhance CM. If the mod guys don't want their mods changed or redone they should never give them to others at all. ] A while back I was doing mods for DFDR with Aussie Jeff, and I redid Tigers Whirbelwind/Ostelwind to a DFDR style as well as his halftracks and a bunch of other mods from various modders, and handed them over to Aussie Jeff and he touched them up even more. I did not even care if he had my permission. I only did the mods to make DFDR that much more enjoyable for all the other people, not boast about them being my mods. I could careless if my name was even mentioned(although it was kinda cool to see my name mentioned on the forum by Aussie Jeff as mods by Shatter). Other than that if my name was not even mentioned it wouldn't have been a big deal. All the modders I spoke with just asked to mention their names in the readme file and that would suffice. I think that is the way it should be. So bottom line is if you don't want them to be in the publics hands don't hand them over. This all really seems childish (to me at least). Anyway can't wait for your mod. [ 11-21-2001: Message edited by: Shatter ]<hr></blockquote> ...and yes, some people are sure getting pissy and childish over something that's just, in the long run, supposed to be for fun! [ 11-21-2001: Message edited by: AndrewTF ]</p>

The mod should be available this weekend, followed shortly by the Jeep.

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Philippe: We should not be taking this discussion down this path. This community works because it is a voluntary association based on goodwill, good manners, and a certain degree of civility (apart from the Peng thread). If we have to resort to legal arguments when we should be working things out among ourselves in a civilized fashion, then we are in danger of losing something very important indeed. Philippe<hr></blockquote> Amen!

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by aka_tom_w: But what about the notion of the public domain? if you issue a mod and post it on the internet for free distribution, and you do not write somthing like "©2001 Mod Artist Supreme" on it , is that art work not instantly devoid of any copywrite protection and in fact in the public domain so anyone can do ANYTHING they want with it, including passing off an edited version of the artwork as their own? I ask this in all seriousness?? -tom w<hr></blockquote> I think Slappdragon addresses the issue of copyright quite well in his post. Copyright is copyright and every work of intellectual property is copyrighted from the moment of creation. The owner of said copyright can either choose to make an issue of it or not. A work of art is considered to be in the public domain once copyright runs out. I believe that unless the work is expressly declared to be in the public domain by its copyright holder then it should be assumed that it is protected by a copyright. It seems to me that mods are freely distributed for use within the CMBO application. Once again, there's no money changing hands, so knock yourself out and pass it around all you want. Just because a mod is distributed for free with permission to freely distribute it, does not give anyone the right to alter it and offer a new version for public consumption without the original artist's/author's consent. Despite my discussion of legal issues here I think I have to agree with Phillipe in that it's the wrong thing to be dwelling on. [ 11-21-2001: Message edited by: AndrewTF ]</p>

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Manx: I agree with you entirely!<hr></blockquote> Thanks Manx! I forgot to add to my rant that I believe we can also count on conscientious CM-site Webmasters to help the CM community police mod infringements, if need be. If the offending mod is not available for download, then any problems are effectively ended. I think mod artists depend on people like Manx to respond to complaints of plagiarism and unauthorized use in a fair and prompt manner.

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by aka_tom_w: Unless the © copyright sign appears on the art work WHEN it Is posted it is considered in the public domain. I have not seen very many mods with that magical little © copywrite symbol on them. and this means you need to use your real name or the name of company you have incorporated like this ©2001 Big Time Software once this is written on the art work then the owner or author (the author could have sold the artwork and the copywrite of the artwork to the owner) of the work has copywrite protection, and will have the option to protect his copywrite at his own expense through litigation if necesary. In Canada copywrite infringement is not a crimminal act , meaning it is up to the owner of the copywrite to protect and enforce non-licenced use of the work or copywrite infringement of the work. without the name of the copywrite holder and the year of the copywrite NO copywrite protection can be "assumed" or legally granted. .... and NO, I am not a lawyer but I work very closely with graphic designers and I know how this stuff works, at least in Canada anyway. -tom w <hr></blockquote> I'm not a lawyer either (thank god ) but as I work with art, artists, and intellectual property issues on a daily basis, I'm pretty sure that US copyright law applies to any work of art created regardless of the © symbol. As soon as a work is created by an artist, the copyright belongs to him for his lifetime plus, I think 50 years (I could be wrong here). The © symbol helps, as does registration, but neither are legally necessary to prove copyright. If you made it it's yours. End of story.

Geez guys, this mod "disagreement" is getting out of hand I tried to make a point, somewhat incoherently I think, in another thread. Now that my brain is back firing on all cylinders again I'm going to address this issue again. As a mod artist myself, I make mods and distribute them for a few different reasons: 1. It's fun 2. It's a way to learn new Photoshop tricks and techniques that I can apply in my "real life". 3. I want a specific mod that may not be available, so I make it myself. 4. I want to make a contribution to the CM community. 5. What's the point of keeping them all to myself when they can make other people happy. The way I see it, the CM community and the people involved in it are 2 of the things that make it The Best Game Ever™. New mods, scenarios, maps, historical information and opinions--these are the things that make CM better and better and keep us all coming back for more. Like it are not, the mods become part of the community, once released. We're not doing this for money, after all, so what's the issue? I haven't seen anyone blatantly plagiarising a mod and then trying to pass it off as their own work. Can anyone cite an instance of this? Every mod of my mods does give me credit, to my knowledge. Yeah, of course I want to control who alters my mods and how. I'm an egomaniac control-freak at heart. It's my work, after all. But I've put it out there for public consumption, and I'm realistic enough to realize that once it's out there I can't have absolute control over it. If I have a problem with someone doing something, I'll deal directly with that individual. Barring that I will register my displeasure here on the forum, and count on the community to do the right thing by not downloading the mod. I will not punish the community as a whole by running home with my mods and keeping them to myself. See points 4 and 5 above. I trust the people here enough to know that in the end I'm going to get the credit I deserve. BTW, the German company offering the CD with mods stolen from the web was doing so FOR PROFIT. I think most people were outraged because this company was trying to make profit by using and not acknowledging the hard work of people here in the CM community. It's a totally different issue, as far as I'm concerned.

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Shatter: Andrew, you got any time frame on when your new Hetzer will be done. The one Tom just released is nice, but from the picks you posted your looks a little better. Thanks for any info in advance Shatter<hr></blockquote> Oh, it's coming along just fine! Expect updated screen shots on the forum tonight! :cool:

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Panzerman: You hit it right on the head. That is the entire issues is over something one person, (I am not naming names) did. Now here is a good question for you Scipio, why should the rest of us suffer because of one or two people made a copy? Now I don't usually say this, but what you have done is...let me be frank, is dumb. If Maximus or any other people did this then take it up with them. Don't put the blame on all of us. [ 11-19-2001: Message edited by: Panzerman ]<hr></blockquote> Aren't mods made for the enjoyment of the CM community in the first place? There's no reason to get so bent out of shape. Quite a few people have monkeyed with my uniform mods, most have asked permission or at least sent me an example of the work, and most give me appropriate credit (i.e. "here's my variation on Andrew's uniform mod..."). I've also noticed some unauthorized use of my mods, such as another modder "borrowing" the equipment off my German uniforms without asking or even telling me (care to guess who? ). Stuff like that happens, and it does annoy me, but never to the point of actually making me really upset. If it really bugged me then I'd have no problem asking said individual(s) to knock it off, and I'm willing to bet it wouldn't happen again. I guess I'm trying to say: yeah, mod artists have a right to be annoyed over unauthorized use, but lighten up. As far as I can tell plagiarism not a rampant problem in the CM community, and after all we are all kinda one big happy dysfunctional family Besides, doesn't something like CMMOS, for example further the well-being of the community (except for us neglected Mac users) and the functionality of the game? Why wouldn't a modder want to help out. That said, disclaimers are a good thing, and I think I'll be using one of Gordon's from now on...

To make things more confusing, I thought I'd add that I've created new trouser BMP files for my German uniform mod, including new camo trousers to match my previously released tan/water and splinter camo smocks. I've been doing a lot of mix-and-matching of my uniform mods and using the camo trousers with the fieldgray tunics and it looks pretty cool. So, will CMMOS allow users to swap different parts of a uniform mod like trousers and helmet covers, or will it only allow use of one complete mod at a time? Of course I only ask this out of idle curiosity as I'm a stinkin' Mac user and can't use CMMOS (yet).

At first I used to add a "do whatever you want" message in the readme's to my mods, but after looking at some of the goofball things people did with them, including "repaints" and and things like appropriating the equipment from my German uniform mods, I've changed my mind. I also think it's common courtesy to at least notify the original mod artist if you intend to use or alter a mod and then distribute it to the public. I now include a message that asks that they not be redistributed in altered form without my permission. For the record, if someone at least lets me know that they're doing with my mods I don't make a stink, even if I don't like what they're doing.

Feldgrau's Churchills are superb! I'm trying to avoid making mods for vehicles that are already the way l like them, such as the Churchill, Fernando's half-tracks and Pz IVs, and Marco's/Gordon's US tanks. The Tiger I is a candidate for modding, though. There are a lot of pretty good ones out there, but I'm still looking for the one that's up to the level of, say, Fernando's new Panthers. I'm still using the MDMP1 hi-res mod, which looks pretty good.

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Michael Dorosh: I've handled original assault gun tunics - they are my favorite uniform - but I haven't seen any in slate grey, they were always the greener shade of field grey. Not to say the slate grey wool was never used, but the green is so much nicer. I will have to track down your panzer uniforms; I've been looking for a decent mod for these.<hr></blockquote> Hmm. I can try to green it up a bit. I sampled the cloth texture off of a phot o of an original Waffen-SS uniform culled from the Web, so the color may be off for one of several reasons. The set of Panzer uniforms has bsic black for W-SS and Heer, U-Boot leathers, 44-dot camo, and the "horrifyingly bad" gray for W-SS/Heer. The camo and gray look pretty strange out of the tank, but overall pretty good with just the commander's torso sticking out of the hatch.

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Michael Dorosh: I find it ironic that the uniform of your tank commander is horrifyingly bad, Andrew. When do panzer uniforms get the Fox treatment? The vehicle is stunning, as always.<hr></blockquote> Geez, Michael, I did the Panzer uniforms months ago--avaiable at the usual spots. The "horrifyingly bad" one in the picture is the Heer fieldgray assault gun crew uniform that comes with the set. Now you've hurt my feelings, *sniff*. Thanks a lot.

Aaaargh! Double post! BTW, groovy sig, Gyrene! [ 11-14-2001: Message edited by: AndrewTF ]</p>

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Gyrene: Egads, a Hi-res Hetzer...Why would we want that? Looks nice, looking forward to the final version. Have fun with the Pink Pixel Hunt™! Gyrene<hr></blockquote> I think I finally figured out a way to make the PPH™ easier. Since Photoshop wants to antialias everything and blends the pink into the other colors, I've found that working on the BMPs themselves with the non-atialiasing pencil tool works pretty well to fill in pink areas with solid blocks of color.

I guess I should be working on finishing the Jeep. BTW, it now has a bridging disc for the commonwealth version, as well as an optional Brit. Airborne Pegasus badge. No screenies just yet. Now, where was I. Oh, the armor mod. I got sidetracked and have been working on this: But I'm sure the last thing anyone wants is a new hi-res Hetzer mod There are a couple nice ones out there that I've been using, but they are either lo-re or just kind of stand out too much among all the other mods I currently use. So (again) I made my own. It's not done yet, hence the pink spots, absence of dirt/wear, and lack of excruciating detail.

I'll clear up a few points about this mod: 1. It's not done yet. Yes, I know that there are details missing and some pinkies to be eliminated. 2. Yeah, it's mega-clean, as it's just rolled out of the factory. I will dirty it up once all the details, etc. are applied. Dirt and grime fans need not worry. I will also include the original crisp-n-clean version in the final release. 3. No, you can't have brown seats. As far as I can tell most Jeep seats were not brown, but an olive-gray color, like they are here. If you want to make ahistorical brown seats after the mod is released than go ahead. 4. Thanks to all for the bits of info. I will leave all versions of the Jeep olive drab (see Gordon's post). Various markings and other stuff (like a British Airborne Pegasus emblem) will be included. More screenshots will be posted tonight after I get home. I forgot to show some of the coolest details!

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Fairbairn-Sykes Trench Knife: Crisp and clean. Excellent work. I know it's a long shot...but...is there any chance at getting the British Airborne "Pegasus" insignia on this beauty? It's the only vehicle that CMBO allows my Devils to drive... I know, B&W pic... but look closely... Airborne Jeeps.<hr></blockquote> I think a Pegasus emblem is not out of line...