Lucky_Strike

Okay here is the factory with the big chimney, the original. Nigel you can use this one if you want as a standalone building but it will replace ALL the stock factories, so you might get a big cluster of chimneys. I have added a few features and some extra sauce for fun ...

... cluster of four in various states of destruction. All from the one stock factory model with tricksy modding ...

... the other side ...

... extra detail - why can't I have pixeltruppen spotters at the top of that big chimney? winge, winge, winge ... cos the ladder's broken ...

 ... hello stumpy.
Fully destructible chimney (well kind of) - option+shift click roof will gradually reduce the chimney and attached details - 1st click = holes in the factory roof as normal; 2nd click roof gone, broken bit of ladder gone, more bits of pipes gone, factory top floor gone; 3rd click chimney made stumpy, most of ladder and pipes gone, factory down to ground floor; last click - nadda left - can't do much about this as it uses generic textures, just piles of rubble. However, it's quite good fun to blow it up, and as the building reduces so does the chimney to a lesser or greater extent. If it's destroyed quite early in the destruction cycle then we get a funny animation of the whole chimney falling down reminiscent of a bit of Fred Dibnah explosives action.
Interesting to make this as it was quite revealing of how the buildings work. Only major caveats are:
1. No pixeltruppen can climb or otherwise interact with the chimney - they'll just walk on through it
2. There are slight flickers here and there when moving around it - this is down to game mechanics which seem to dictate that for the model to be viewable from every angle we must be able to see the origin somewhere in frame, individual features like the chimney have their own origin but to make it viewable from every single aspect would mean repeating the model multiple times inside of itself. As it stands I have five versions (layers if you like) within the build to accommodate most viewpoints and states
3. There are still some UV mapping/texture issues - the game either has a limit on curved surfaces (how many facets can make them as there are no truly curved surfaces) or some other structure that I can't fathom. Most of the surfaces are reasonably curved and smooth looking, but sometimes, because of issues with the way UV maps are handled, I was forced to cut/split/divide curved surfaces which introduces angles that I don't yet know how to remove. The choice is either this or have the nasty zigzaggy or stretched textures which in my view look way worse than a few extra angles. In this model it's most noticeable on the last stage around the grey base of the chimney.
If you're ready to texture it Nigel I can send you the files by carrier pigeon. Need to give you some extras for this as it's a little more complex than the regular buildings. In the meantime I'll make the FO's and other two factory/engine houses.
 

1. Opened files in PhotoShop
2. Checked files , no alpha channels
3. Saved files as 24bit .bmp
4. Go drink beer and feel smug 🍺
Both the online services that I linked to can convert direct from tga to bmp. Don't know about dds, PS doesn't open them so I have to use a Mac app called Graphic Converter which will open pretty much any image format and a lot besides. It can save to any format as well, so long as the files are compatible. Yes you can go from tga/dds to png if you prefer. 
The biggest issue, as Harry noted, is do the files use an alpha channel? If so is it a 1- or 8-bit channel? What does the target texture/model require, is it 1- or 8-bit alpha, or no alpha? If it's 1- or 8-bit alpha then you save the file as a 32-bit bmp. If there is no alpha then save the file as a 24-bit bmp.
Understand that the bit depth accommodates the channels, so 24-bit files can contain three 8-bit channels (RGB) OR 3 channels of less than 8-bits, BUT NOT for example 4 or 6 or 8 channels. A 32-bit file will contain at maximum four 8-bit channels usually defined as RGBA where A is for Alpha, the masking channel. The alpha channel can be 1- or 8-bit. A 1-bit alpha channel is a black and white only mask - NO SHADES OF GREY. An 8-bit alpha channel is greyscale with a possible 256 shades of grey in the mask inclusive of black and white. Black is fully masked so nothing shows where black is. White is transparent so everything shows where white is. Any shade of grey is a percentage of black so is a percentage of the colour RGB image being masked.
CM uses two types of masks 1- and 8-bit. This is determined in the game engine. The model will use whatever has been programmed in the engine. There is no way to change this so far as we know (though it may be contained in metadata). When making a mod of a specific model always, ALWAYS, check the textures (bmps) for alpha channels so that you know what has to be done. You can see what type of alpha channel (mask) you have by zooming right in on just the alpha channel. 1-bit alpha channels have just black and white pixels, NO grey pixels, they also have very sharp, jagged edges delimiting the black and white. 8-bit alpha channels have softer edges between black and white with some grey pixels. BOTH require the texture to be saved as 32-bit bmp.
As a rule of thumb foliage on trees, bushes and doodads use 8-bit greyscale alpha channels as masks, also some ground textures use 8-bit alphas. Most other textures are 1-bit. BUT ALWYAS CHECK BEFORE STARTING YOUR MOD.
I have no idea if the online file converters will handle alpha channels properly, you can simply upload any file with an alpha channel to convert it to bmp - see what comes out.
5. Go drink more beer 😬 ...
 

Yes it's just no doable as a whole with textures it requires some lighting changes and changes to the way surfaces react to light. The reflectivity of surfaces can be modded in Blender so that they shine more as they rotate in directional light in the way that a wet surface facing light will appear much brighter than a dry surface. But this would require whole new set of models for anything 3D. We still couldn't affect the way that billboard type objects - grass, leaves, brush, all the green stuff - should change with wet surfaces. A shader, if possible to make, would at best be a blanket approach. They can affect how light hitting surfaces affects colour/brightness/luminance, but they affect everything in the same way, not subtle.
I think best we could hope for is a semi wet look, but it's a huge job.
It's basically a lot of trial and error for us since none really understands the shaders fully. I personally would rather stick with ReShade and perhaps using some LUTs in that for colour changes and other FX to influence things like specularity. At least with ReShade there's no need to mod anything and the results can be seen instantaneously. 

Okay here is the factory with the big chimney, the original. Nigel you can use this one if you want as a standalone building but it will replace ALL the stock factories, so you might get a big cluster of chimneys. I have added a few features and some extra sauce for fun ...

... cluster of four in various states of destruction. All from the one stock factory model with tricksy modding ...

... the other side ...

... extra detail - why can't I have pixeltruppen spotters at the top of that big chimney? winge, winge, winge ... cos the ladder's broken ...

 ... hello stumpy.
Fully destructible chimney (well kind of) - option+shift click roof will gradually reduce the chimney and attached details - 1st click = holes in the factory roof as normal; 2nd click roof gone, broken bit of ladder gone, more bits of pipes gone, factory top floor gone; 3rd click chimney made stumpy, most of ladder and pipes gone, factory down to ground floor; last click - nadda left - can't do much about this as it uses generic textures, just piles of rubble. However, it's quite good fun to blow it up, and as the building reduces so does the chimney to a lesser or greater extent. If it's destroyed quite early in the destruction cycle then we get a funny animation of the whole chimney falling down reminiscent of a bit of Fred Dibnah explosives action.
Interesting to make this as it was quite revealing of how the buildings work. Only major caveats are:
1. No pixeltruppen can climb or otherwise interact with the chimney - they'll just walk on through it
2. There are slight flickers here and there when moving around it - this is down to game mechanics which seem to dictate that for the model to be viewable from every angle we must be able to see the origin somewhere in frame, individual features like the chimney have their own origin but to make it viewable from every single aspect would mean repeating the model multiple times inside of itself. As it stands I have five versions (layers if you like) within the build to accommodate most viewpoints and states
3. There are still some UV mapping/texture issues - the game either has a limit on curved surfaces (how many facets can make them as there are no truly curved surfaces) or some other structure that I can't fathom. Most of the surfaces are reasonably curved and smooth looking, but sometimes, because of issues with the way UV maps are handled, I was forced to cut/split/divide curved surfaces which introduces angles that I don't yet know how to remove. The choice is either this or have the nasty zigzaggy or stretched textures which in my view look way worse than a few extra angles. In this model it's most noticeable on the last stage around the grey base of the chimney.
If you're ready to texture it Nigel I can send you the files by carrier pigeon. Need to give you some extras for this as it's a little more complex than the regular buildings. In the meantime I'll make the FO's and other two factory/engine houses.
 

Yeah it could probably be done with a flavour object next to the building. The way that buildings collapse in game is not very smart, they just gradually disappear with a few rubble piles inside the building, nothing scattered around outside. The last stage is pretty much the same for all buildings - low rubble walls and a rubble floor. It's fun to see the tall chimney go as it does look like a demolition but we're still left with the same small rubble.
I actually have a model that looks quite similar to that Grudinin Mill chimney, so maybe alter after we finished with Berlin there could be new model goodness added to the Stalingrad mod, we'll see, maybe not just a dream ...
Maybe, maybe ...

Yeah it could probably be done with a flavour object next to the building. The way that buildings collapse in game is not very smart, they just gradually disappear with a few rubble piles inside the building, nothing scattered around outside. The last stage is pretty much the same for all buildings - low rubble walls and a rubble floor. It's fun to see the tall chimney go as it does look like a demolition but we're still left with the same small rubble.
I actually have a model that looks quite similar to that Grudinin Mill chimney, so maybe alter after we finished with Berlin there could be new model goodness added to the Stalingrad mod, we'll see, maybe not just a dream ...
Maybe, maybe ...

The Grudinin Mill  still standing in Stalingrad (Volgograd)

No I'll PM you a DropBox link in a bit, just writing some notes now.

This scene is directly after going through the Brandenburg gate, looking right and heading north... I gave it some special treatment and more destroyed tah before and added some Archways which lead to the Gardens of the US Embassy... Oh yeh and some surrendering Germans which aren't in game obviously, made me wonder if the kneeled down surrendering soldier could be modded on to a walking soldier.....lol?

Okay here is the factory with the big chimney, the original. Nigel you can use this one if you want as a standalone building but it will replace ALL the stock factories, so you might get a big cluster of chimneys. I have added a few features and some extra sauce for fun ...

... cluster of four in various states of destruction. All from the one stock factory model with tricksy modding ...

... the other side ...

... extra detail - why can't I have pixeltruppen spotters at the top of that big chimney? winge, winge, winge ... cos the ladder's broken ...

 ... hello stumpy.
Fully destructible chimney (well kind of) - option+shift click roof will gradually reduce the chimney and attached details - 1st click = holes in the factory roof as normal; 2nd click roof gone, broken bit of ladder gone, more bits of pipes gone, factory top floor gone; 3rd click chimney made stumpy, most of ladder and pipes gone, factory down to ground floor; last click - nadda left - can't do much about this as it uses generic textures, just piles of rubble. However, it's quite good fun to blow it up, and as the building reduces so does the chimney to a lesser or greater extent. If it's destroyed quite early in the destruction cycle then we get a funny animation of the whole chimney falling down reminiscent of a bit of Fred Dibnah explosives action.
Interesting to make this as it was quite revealing of how the buildings work. Only major caveats are:
1. No pixeltruppen can climb or otherwise interact with the chimney - they'll just walk on through it
2. There are slight flickers here and there when moving around it - this is down to game mechanics which seem to dictate that for the model to be viewable from every angle we must be able to see the origin somewhere in frame, individual features like the chimney have their own origin but to make it viewable from every single aspect would mean repeating the model multiple times inside of itself. As it stands I have five versions (layers if you like) within the build to accommodate most viewpoints and states
3. There are still some UV mapping/texture issues - the game either has a limit on curved surfaces (how many facets can make them as there are no truly curved surfaces) or some other structure that I can't fathom. Most of the surfaces are reasonably curved and smooth looking, but sometimes, because of issues with the way UV maps are handled, I was forced to cut/split/divide curved surfaces which introduces angles that I don't yet know how to remove. The choice is either this or have the nasty zigzaggy or stretched textures which in my view look way worse than a few extra angles. In this model it's most noticeable on the last stage around the grey base of the chimney.
If you're ready to texture it Nigel I can send you the files by carrier pigeon. Need to give you some extras for this as it's a little more complex than the regular buildings. In the meantime I'll make the FO's and other two factory/engine houses.
 

Obviously needed a rest 💤
Okay I figure out a package for ya to get stuck into.
3D ladder came ready made as a kit - great stuff just needed to put it together and add multiple extensions like virtual Meccano (is that still a thing even?).
Mod tags should work as it's a texture, [dusk_til_dawn] 🧛‍♂️
Set it on a per scenario basis, should do it. Give it a go.
Would be cool, but think the bottom half would have to be changed and we can't do that yet. Never know, Harry might come up with some hex mod for it.
 

Hehe, great stuff - looks like Turner's been in the paintbox again!
Are we getting that sky - do we even have sunset skies or are they just the generic sky with a colour tint?
 

Artwork for the Battle for Berlin Mod.

Firefly snow (reut Aris' mods)
- IC
View:
https://www.mediafire.com/view/tyc9v4inlmurpxj/Sherman_1c.jpg/file
Zip:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/1nw8n2wb3v3duke/Sherman_Ic.zip/file
- VC
View:
https://www.mediafire.com/view/rutclhqx106nmls/Sherman_Firefly_Vc.jpg/file
Zip:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/whxg9gjzf4p3a2x/Sherman_Firefly_snow.zip/file
 

I've tried and is really tough to make it look what it should be.... like you say it's really down to the lighting, you make models look reflective static but once they move into different light situations then they don't work... I made some good mud textures, and the water being that it's always californian blue and unchangeable as far as i know????, like european rivers are that colour...lol more like a dirty brown/green. The makers have never been to Europe I doubt... I wouldn't personally want to tackle this again.... just not work the massive effort involved....

This is where the pic came from ...
Incidentally Bubba, if you want to find anything on the forum, don't rely on the search engine. Google can do a quicker, more accurate search every time just go to Google and type this in the search field:
site:https://community.battlefront.com/ Gebirgsjäger
Replacing Gebirgsjäger with your search term.
Even shows forum pics in the images tab which is how I found what you were looking for.
 

Hehe 😉
We nearly have the factory done, UV maps pretty much conquered, at least for this one. 
With the factory done I can make some FOs then the barn chimney things ...
I think someone tried this once, needs a lot of retexturing. If the game supported sophisticated lighting fx then there would be a lot we could do with that but it's just not possible with the existing shaders. I have been trying various wet look ground textures, but there are issues with lighting that are impossible to overcome, even switching off shaders and shadows don't seem to affect them. Anyway more of that later, back to big chimneys for now.

Yes, that does look better, Harry. Perhaps removing the wooden structure would also be possible? Not meant as a request, just thinking aloud. 

lol You, now get the tea on slag.... lol

Who you calling a fag?
🤣
Too late!

Or "I prefer a bit of old shag rather than a ready made"

The dug in panzers are perfect for covering the long straight streets in Berlin... made by Lucky Strike...Cheers bud

Old Faces for the Volkssturm... Poor old fellows should be putting their feet up beside the fire with a nice glass or 2 of Schnapps in their hands...