Lucky_Strike

Oh it's gonna happen now I know about it ...
And yes, icons, little squares, more forum weirdness.

@Falaise I tried this in the past and it didn't work for me, so I just had another go and YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! GENIUS!!!
What I discovered, in a quick and colourful experiment, is that the numbering is somewhat odd, but we can indeed have a (probably unlimited) number of extra bocage textures which I don't think will impact on framerate, maybe it'll have an impact on load times. The numbering goes like this:
boccage.bmp; boccage2.bmp; boccage 2.bmp; boccage 3.bmp; boccage 4.bmp; boccage 5.bmp; boccage 6.bmp; ... 
I stopped at seven textures but as you can see it's possible that we can have loads of different textures - which means I can do a few more to add quite a bit of variety - possibly some thinner, some deadwood, heavy branches ... dammit more work, nevermind, it'll make this hedgerow nerd happier.
In the meantime here's a screenshot of some quick multiple bocage textures numbered as above ...

 
And someone was so impressed he's using them as is:

@Vacilllator not sure where Mr Wittmann could hide his Tiger here ...
 

This is also true of terrain elements. There are masses of excellent quality 3D stock art objects to be had for relatively very little money.

Being a bit of a Francophile your joke was perfect, thank you.

Oh it's gonna happen now I know about it ...
And yes, icons, little squares, more forum weirdness.

@Falaise I tried this in the past and it didn't work for me, so I just had another go and YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! GENIUS!!!
What I discovered, in a quick and colourful experiment, is that the numbering is somewhat odd, but we can indeed have a (probably unlimited) number of extra bocage textures which I don't think will impact on framerate, maybe it'll have an impact on load times. The numbering goes like this:
boccage.bmp; boccage2.bmp; boccage 2.bmp; boccage 3.bmp; boccage 4.bmp; boccage 5.bmp; boccage 6.bmp; ... 
I stopped at seven textures but as you can see it's possible that we can have loads of different textures - which means I can do a few more to add quite a bit of variety - possibly some thinner, some deadwood, heavy branches ... dammit more work, nevermind, it'll make this hedgerow nerd happier.
In the meantime here's a screenshot of some quick multiple bocage textures numbered as above ...

 
And someone was so impressed he's using them as is:

@Vacilllator not sure where Mr Wittmann could hide his Tiger here ...
 

Hmm. All I've managed so far is to tweak the bocage textures to include some alternative plants - hawthorn, weeds, brambles etc - but the way the graphics are used is a quite perplexing. Unlike most of the foliage textures used in-game, bocage is hard edged, so renders with a very blocky look. I don’t know if this can be affected in any way by altering the underlying models. Also it uses what appear to be straight poles for branches, again not sure if this can be changed. The earthen banks are created from the underlying ground textures, if plain grass is used under the bocage it looks pretty poor, some other ground textures look a bit better but this is down to the map maker to improve.
Unfortunately some decisions were made early on in the game development to have the bocage look like evergreen hedges, probably down to what was easy for the existing graphics capabilities of PCs to handle. This applies similarly to brush, bushes and trees. And, whilst these latter textures can be improved on, the bocage remains stubbornly resistant to change. My hope is that I can eventually make some changes to the underlying models to improve the look, but honestly, don’t hold your cumulative breaths.

@Falaise I tried this in the past and it didn't work for me, so I just had another go and YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! GENIUS!!!
What I discovered, in a quick and colourful experiment, is that the numbering is somewhat odd, but we can indeed have a (probably unlimited) number of extra bocage textures which I don't think will impact on framerate, maybe it'll have an impact on load times. The numbering goes like this:
boccage.bmp; boccage2.bmp; boccage 2.bmp; boccage 3.bmp; boccage 4.bmp; boccage 5.bmp; boccage 6.bmp; ... 
I stopped at seven textures but as you can see it's possible that we can have loads of different textures - which means I can do a few more to add quite a bit of variety - possibly some thinner, some deadwood, heavy branches ... dammit more work, nevermind, it'll make this hedgerow nerd happier.
In the meantime here's a screenshot of some quick multiple bocage textures numbered as above ...

 
And someone was so impressed he's using them as is:

@Vacilllator not sure where Mr Wittmann could hide his Tiger here ...
 

Thanks. I long used Rambler's excellent mods and then EZ's, which I think were versions of Rambler's, or at least inspired by them.
Bocage/hedgerows are so variable it's probably impossible to model all the different types. Some like it thick, some like it thin ... What I'd really like is a model that introduces some kind of variation in density. We have two different heights plus the garden hedge, but what would also be good is some different densities along the length of the bocage, auto-generated by the game engine or applied by the map maker. Maybe if we get a CMx3 BN this could be introduced - with associated spotting issues of course.
I may do a quick thinner version of my bocage and trees for those that don't like squinting at their screens to find their own pixeltrüppen let alone the enemy.
Did you see the YT video posted by @scarletto here:
Quite interesting in a hedge nerd kinda way.
P.S. you are suffering an addiction to mod p0rn

I must remember to switch off my web cam ...

Hmm. All I've managed so far is to tweak the bocage textures to include some alternative plants - hawthorn, weeds, brambles etc - but the way the graphics are used is a quite perplexing. Unlike most of the foliage textures used in-game, bocage is hard edged, so renders with a very blocky look. I don’t know if this can be affected in any way by altering the underlying models. Also it uses what appear to be straight poles for branches, again not sure if this can be changed. The earthen banks are created from the underlying ground textures, if plain grass is used under the bocage it looks pretty poor, some other ground textures look a bit better but this is down to the map maker to improve.
Unfortunately some decisions were made early on in the game development to have the bocage look like evergreen hedges, probably down to what was easy for the existing graphics capabilities of PCs to handle. This applies similarly to brush, bushes and trees. And, whilst these latter textures can be improved on, the bocage remains stubbornly resistant to change. My hope is that I can eventually make some changes to the underlying models to improve the look, but honestly, don’t hold your cumulative breaths.

As I have played combat mission over a few years now, one thing that I have constantly seen is how disorganized the process of bug tracking/fixing appears to be. People post multiple topics for each game, other bugs simply get lost in existing topics, and unless a beta tester or one of the devs happens to see the post chances are it won't be recognized, whether it be campaign issues, Tac AI issues, or model issues. As such, I feel both Battlefront and the community would greatly benefit from a bug tracking site that allows users to post issues with descriptions and evidence, which can be viewed by all such that people can identify what has already been reported and acknowledged by the team. This would also allow others to contribute additional evidence/discussion to any specific bugs reported.
 
For example, take sites like these from the game Arma : 
https://feedback.bistudio.com/project/view/1/
And from some mod teams:
https://dev.cup-arma3.org/
http://feedback.rhsmods.org/view_all_bug_page.php
Thoughts?

This is useful info, thanks @Lethaface. Makes sense, guessing the German army turned most of the livestock into something they could eat, or at least deprived the advancing Allies and local populations of the possibility of a steak or sausage. Root crops and brassicas should be easier to do, Brussel sprouts anyone? I think maize is probably a bit more modern, it tends to be used as animal feed and for oil production, and is a late summer/early autumn crop. I’ll need to investigate it a bit more. Rapeseed is usually grown as an early summer crop, at least in the UK, so might well be out of the timeframe for BN/CW/MG or FB in the Low Countries or Germany.
 

+1 👍
Are you using ReShade?
How playable is the game with this level of stylisation? I’d love to see a video of some of this in actual gameplay.

So unless they’re added later in a patch, there’ll be no vines in FB = no champagne nor riesling ... sorry folks 

Hahaha. I think both are appropriate. Have had an enforced break for a couple of weeks, but am getting back on the case now. Boy do I hate crops, they are by far the hardest textures to make look somewhat convincing, but I am nearly there, so will be able to post an update in a few weeks ... hopefully!
 

Farmers don’t always respect footpaths, I guess it’s hard with modern machinery to stop for a narrow strip that might be at a weird angle. I remember raiding maize fields as a young whippersnapper, not realising the difference between sweet corn and maize grown for animal feed - don’t recommend it!
I consulted with @Falaise when I was deciding what crops to sow. He kindly advised me that the main crops for Normandy back in the day were pretty much what BF had depicted - wheat, oats and flax (for linen etc). I think maize, like oilseed rape, is a more modern addition and sunflowers appear further south. I think there’s a sunflower mod somewhere for RT. Sunflowers may be appropriate, though not sure if these are widely grown in Ukraine or Poland, certainly rye should be depicted I would think. Getting the game to reproduce height is not possible without perhaps some tinkering under the hood. The doodads seem to be limited by the dimensions of the originals. I can increase the resolution but not the height SFAIK.
I may, in the future, introduce some extra crops for the south and/or west of France, sunflowers, artichokes, but at the moment my plans are to finish the BN mod and then add a few extras for Market Garden - by the time of those ops the harvest would generally have been done, so some stubble fields would be appropriate perhaps, and maybe some early winter crops like sprouts or potatoes, I need to do some research and take advice from a native of the lowlands ...
There are gaping omissions in the vegetation for France, Belgium, Holland and western Germany - no vines for the Alsace, Rhine valley, Champagne for example. Unfortunately there’s a limit to what I can add. I don’t know if FB features vines, don’t have it to consult.
And then there’s CMFI of course - massive job which might well be beyond me, those vines jar with me, we’ll see ...

Thanks @Vacilllator appreciated!
Just to show that me poor old eyes haven't quite given up (despite finally being allowed to visit the optician and getting some new jam jars 👓 ), here are a couple of screen shots with a few new bits - crop 1 short doodad & brush doodads - all in the rain... Also playing around with a new ReShade preset for rainy days in the bocage. A bit stuck at the moment trying to come up with some convincing flax for crop 5 & 6 doodads, but hopefully I will soon be able to release the full mod set for consumption.

A gloomy, wet day in the Norman countryside

Who drew the short straw ... scouts out in the damp

@LongLeftFlank LMAO 😂 An all time favourite - I’d been trying to think of an appropriate response but they all relied on Frankie Howerd-esk advice to keep your bush trim, ooh err missus! Maybe I should change the name of the mod to How Not to be Seen ...
First release will be later tonight or tomorrow🤞

Farmers don’t always respect footpaths, I guess it’s hard with modern machinery to stop for a narrow strip that might be at a weird angle. I remember raiding maize fields as a young whippersnapper, not realising the difference between sweet corn and maize grown for animal feed - don’t recommend it!
I consulted with @Falaise when I was deciding what crops to sow. He kindly advised me that the main crops for Normandy back in the day were pretty much what BF had depicted - wheat, oats and flax (for linen etc). I think maize, like oilseed rape, is a more modern addition and sunflowers appear further south. I think there’s a sunflower mod somewhere for RT. Sunflowers may be appropriate, though not sure if these are widely grown in Ukraine or Poland, certainly rye should be depicted I would think. Getting the game to reproduce height is not possible without perhaps some tinkering under the hood. The doodads seem to be limited by the dimensions of the originals. I can increase the resolution but not the height SFAIK.
I may, in the future, introduce some extra crops for the south and/or west of France, sunflowers, artichokes, but at the moment my plans are to finish the BN mod and then add a few extras for Market Garden - by the time of those ops the harvest would generally have been done, so some stubble fields would be appropriate perhaps, and maybe some early winter crops like sprouts or potatoes, I need to do some research and take advice from a native of the lowlands ...
There are gaping omissions in the vegetation for France, Belgium, Holland and western Germany - no vines for the Alsace, Rhine valley, Champagne for example. Unfortunately there’s a limit to what I can add. I don’t know if FB features vines, don’t have it to consult.
And then there’s CMFI of course - massive job which might well be beyond me, those vines jar with me, we’ll see ...

On its way to you now - enjoy!

I have a copy of a version of it, not sure how complete it is or what version it is. Long time since I touched West Front, one of my discarded play things on the way to CM.
I actually have a whole bunch of scenarios, campaigns, mods and data for WF and EF which I can bundle up if you want to browse through some ancient history, not sure what most of it actually is as it's so long since I looked at it, let alone played either. Anyway you're welcome to any of it that you might find useful.

I have a copy of a version of it, not sure how complete it is or what version it is. Long time since I touched West Front, one of my discarded play things on the way to CM.
I actually have a whole bunch of scenarios, campaigns, mods and data for WF and EF which I can bundle up if you want to browse through some ancient history, not sure what most of it actually is as it's so long since I looked at it, let alone played either. Anyway you're welcome to any of it that you might find useful.

@gallycadetWell you've caused some amount of aggravation no doubt due to clearly having an axe to grind and getting it out there by having a review of pretty questionable information that you've put forward as objective fact, like:
"The engine isn't designed for modern combat, it was built for WW2" (engine was literally designed for modern combat, Shock Force was the initial release)
"LoS is dice rolls" (it isn't)
"It isn't equipped for MOUT combat because I have to micromanage and can't just cartwheel my men forwards to victory" (actually laughed to be frank with you)
"It's not fun to not be able to take losses" (It's a simulator, realism is the focus over fun. Not necessarily a poor reason to not recommend but should be stipulated because some people find realism fun)
"Play CMO/Armoured Brigade" (Neither of those are CM)
 
I will grant you the distressing lack of engineering vehicles (although engineers can make minefields safely passable)
 

Farmers don’t always respect footpaths, I guess it’s hard with modern machinery to stop for a narrow strip that might be at a weird angle. I remember raiding maize fields as a young whippersnapper, not realising the difference between sweet corn and maize grown for animal feed - don’t recommend it!
I consulted with @Falaise when I was deciding what crops to sow. He kindly advised me that the main crops for Normandy back in the day were pretty much what BF had depicted - wheat, oats and flax (for linen etc). I think maize, like oilseed rape, is a more modern addition and sunflowers appear further south. I think there’s a sunflower mod somewhere for RT. Sunflowers may be appropriate, though not sure if these are widely grown in Ukraine or Poland, certainly rye should be depicted I would think. Getting the game to reproduce height is not possible without perhaps some tinkering under the hood. The doodads seem to be limited by the dimensions of the originals. I can increase the resolution but not the height SFAIK.
I may, in the future, introduce some extra crops for the south and/or west of France, sunflowers, artichokes, but at the moment my plans are to finish the BN mod and then add a few extras for Market Garden - by the time of those ops the harvest would generally have been done, so some stubble fields would be appropriate perhaps, and maybe some early winter crops like sprouts or potatoes, I need to do some research and take advice from a native of the lowlands ...
There are gaping omissions in the vegetation for France, Belgium, Holland and western Germany - no vines for the Alsace, Rhine valley, Champagne for example. Unfortunately there’s a limit to what I can add. I don’t know if FB features vines, don’t have it to consult.
And then there’s CMFI of course - massive job which might well be beyond me, those vines jar with me, we’ll see ...