GoofyStance

Thanks for the compliments and comments, it all helps when I'm muttering over an unexpected and unwanted effect during my leafy camo modding This is my first attempt too, aside of an aborted attempt to create a shell penetration mod, so I'm learning as I go. I based the leaf colors on a picture taken of foliage in my backyard last summer, and surprisingly the colors are very similar to those of the CMAK deciduous trees. Regarding the coloration of dead leaves, I used the same picture, which shows a pile of cottonwood ranches I'd cut down some two weeks previously. The leaves were shriveled, but still retained their coloration (incidentally, they were brighter on the undersides than on the top sides, causing the mottled effect I'm trying to replicate in the screen shot I posted.) I'm currently working on more 3D shading - and also on creating a few branches to partly underlay the foliage. A work in progress ... Edit - By the way, I'm assuming the panzer crews used ropes slung across their AFV's to tie the branches in place. If I'm wrong, I hope a grog will set me straight. [ April 03, 2004, 06:02 PM: Message edited by: GoofyStance ]

Hi folks, I was putzing around with PhotoShop and an idea for a leafy camouflage pattern for the Jagdpanther. I haven't done any historical research, though I've seen pictures of StuG's and Mark IV's piled high with leafy branches. I don't know if anyone else has posted such a scheme, but I'd like your comments on what is still a work in progress. Thanks! [edited to remove image for speedier downloading] [ April 09, 2004, 06:15 PM: Message edited by: GoofyStance ]

Tom, Thanks for the posting. As I mentioned earlier, I wasn't aware that the spine title's alignment was different in some other countries. I love to browse B&N and Borders bookstores, and I can't recall seeing the spine printing on any of their books ever being other than the "usual." The crick in my neck from tilting my head to the right as I browse the stacks reminds me of this. So, I thought I'd point it out, admittedly from a narrow, American-centric point of view... And once again, it does not detract from what is a worthwhile purchase. No apologies needed!

I think I understand Cpl's comments. I've played quite a few QB's where armored infantry was my only choice, and I wanted the company HQ unit to control the heavy weapons units, but I didn't want all the halftracks, trucks, or jeeps that come bundled with the company organization of such outfits. Seems like there should be an option to exclude these expensive bull's-eyes and use the points for more effective units.

Interesting, the things one learns on here! The publisher is listed as being in Washington, D.C.,; however, is the book's main audience in non-English Europe? Given that the U.S. is the world's largest consumer market in many respects, it would seem economically counter-intuitive to print the spine's title in a manner not commonly seen in the U.S. Perhaps BFC, the author, or the publisher can shed light on this issue? Regardless, the book is an entertaining and informative read, and I'm glad I bought it.

I received my copy yesterday, and have already begun to read it. So far, it's interesting! However, I did notice a couple of layout errors during my brief examination of the book: The title on the book's spine is printed the wrong way, reading from bottom to top rather than top to bottom. Jock Campbell's last name was misspelled in the introductory comments for the article about Jock columns. Will there be a patch?

Weren't there occasions during the war where an escort really wasn't necessary? For example, the surrendering of German troops towards the end of the war - I've read accounts where they were all too glad to stop fighting for what was by then a painfully obvious lost cause. I can't think of where I read this just now, but I recall a story where a U.S. armored column in the spring of 1945 came across a group of Germans who threw down their arms and asked where they needed to go. The Americans pointed to the rear and drove off, and the Germans obediently marched in column down the road into captivity.

"Electrical system" Sorry for the semantic error

The Covenanter had Lucas electronics??

I'm sure it's been discussed before, but I was unable to find it through a search: Is it possible to position a sniper (or FO or LMG) in a third-story bell tower in CMAK? Or is that a limitation - possibly to be addressed in the next game engine?

You guys have it all wrong, those are Polish wooden dummy tanks awaiting deployment - they were built entirely out of toothpicks. The tree in front was a sapling when the Poles first started.

That effect appears to be modelled in CMAK - I've gotten down to Level 1 view right next to a tank as it's engaging in an long-range armor duel, and watched as MG rounds came in on a flat arc. The tracers appeared to speed up somewhere halfway between the two antagonists. Pretty neat, I thought.

I read somewhere that tracer rounds may have a slightly different ballistic profile than regular rounds, so they could actually be misleading because the tracer rounds follow a slightly different trajectory than the regular rounds. I think this was especially true in WW1, when fighter planes on balloon-busting missions were loaded with a mix of regular rounds (for dogfights) and incediary rounds (which essentially are the same as tracer rounds - correct me if I'm wrong, folks).

This may not be quite what you want, but I believe there are some high-visibility tracer mods at http://www.cmmods.com I'm not sure though if they'd work in CMAK - perhaps one of the hard-core modders can say.

752nd, thanks for the posting. I hadn't noticed the patches on the Sherman and Tiger, thinking they were just pieces of track or other paraphernalia hung on the sides of the tank. Most interesting!

Cpn, thanks for the advice. Is there a magical number used to stretch the canvas - such as 20% on the X-axis? Or does it just involve a lot of eyeballing and stretching and shrinking until the side view "looks right"? I did notice the mirroring effect when I first applied a shell hole to the frontal BMP of an Elefant and saw it switched to the other side in a QB. Learning as I go ...

There are about 70 species of water lily, distributed mainly through North and South America. Some species, especially the fragrant water lily (Nymphaea odorata), are known to be invasive, often covering an entire pond within a year or two and crowding out practically all other aquatic macrophytes. The fragrant water lily, with its large, flattish leaves and yellowish-white flowers, was a popular ornamental plant in Victorian-era gardens and was often imported to England and the Continent for this purpose. Consequently, it's entirely possible that WW2 Italy saw infestations of its bodies of water with fragrant water lily. (In addition, the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy [containing the towns of Bologna, Parma, and Modena] today considers the fragrant water lily to be a pest of primary importance). So, Tanks probably isn't wrong in adding water lilies to his swamp mod ... Finally I can put my biological training to use

That's the picture, alright - thanks for posting it. Amazing how that shell hole is so precise, with no signs of dimpling or buckling. Looks like it was drilled through the armor; repaint around the hole and I'd think it was a gun port or something deliberately designed into the tank. I tried placing a shell hole on various portions of an Elefant last night, and learned several things (which you modders will already know). The biggest problem I had was trying to work with a side-view BMP of an AFV. They look oddly scrunched front-to-rear in PhotoShop. Do you modders stretch these BMPS's according to a certain ratio? Also, do any of you armor grogs know if a primer coat was used on the Elefant in Italy, Fall of 1944? If so, what color was it - red, gray, or white? This next question may sound odd, but - if an Elefant were to sustain a complete penetration by an anti-tank shell, where on the hull or superstructure of the tank might this occur that gives the tank and the crew the highest chance of survival? I know anti-tank gunners tried to hit the most susceptible portions of a tank, but I'm focusing on tanks that survived a direct, penetrating hit. Finally, what usually happened in the repair areas when an AFV with a completely penetrating hole in its armor was repaired - was a steel plate welded over the hole, or what? Thanks in advance ...

Thanks for the input! This would be my first mod, so I'm learning as I go. I love to play with PhotoShop, and have a fair bit of experience altering and painting photos and drawings, so modding CMAK units would be fun. By the way, any tutorials out there on how to mod in CMAK? Is there a engine-related reason why complete-penetration shell holes cannot be placed on the hull or turret of a tank? I'd make the center of the hole black, especially in areas of the tank where you might not expect to see an interior light bulb shining through. Alternately, can I apply a transparency to the center of a shell hole in a side skirt (like Cpt. Thunder did - thanks for posting your attempts!) so one can see the underlying hull, or is that not allowed by the game engine? Good tip about the effect being reproduced on all vehicles of the same type in a scenario - I hadn't thought of that. Maybe I'll try it with a rare vehicle, like the Hetzer or Elefant ... And I'll need to find sources that can tell me what color primer was used on my chosen vehicle, so I can reproduce the effect of the outer layer of paint flaking off around the hole, exposing the underlying primer. Whew, this is getting rather involved

I tried a search on CM, but didn't find anything about "bullet holes" in armor mods. After examining the pic of the shell hole in the Tiger's sponson, shown on a web site which was mentioned elsewhere on CMAK, I thought it wouldn't be hard to reproduce that shell hole effect on one of the BMP's of an AFV - for example, in the armor of a Pzkw IV. Is there a game-related technical reason why this wouldn't work? I grabbed a screen shot of this tank off this board (not being at the computer where my game is installed) and, using PhotoShop, applied a shell hole in the hump on the rear of the turret (please excuse my ignorance of the proper term), and the result was actually pretty good, not to toot my own horn. Any interest in such a mod if it hasn't already been done - and if it can work in the game's engine?? Any comments on the technical aspect of applying such a mod, or on the reality of shell holes in AFVs, would be much appreciated. Thanks. [ March 11, 2004, 02:58 PM: Message edited by: GoofyStance ]

... I'm reading Guy Sajer's "A Forgotten Soldier" - and yes, I KNOW there's a lot of controversy regarding the authenticity of this book. That aside, I have a question for the grogs who've read the book about a couple of weapons abbreviations used throughout the book - "FM" and "PM." My guess, from the abbreviations' usage in the context of the book, is that FM is either an MG34 or an MG42, and PM is an automatic pistol/rifle, either the MP40 or the StG44. Am I close? If so or if not, what do the abbreviations stand for? Thanks!

I've played a scenario where a Stuart (or Sherman, I can't recall exactly) was hit by an 88 while the former was stopped hard up by a small house. The tank exploded spectacularly, and the structure caught on fire the next turn. No crew members survived, so I know they didn't duck into the house and subsequently get shot at. Weather conditions were hot, dry, and windy, too.

Kyle, this is way off the topic, but I noticed your tag line and HAD to comment. I'd consider Tulsa's airport to be considerably more of a major airport than Wiley Post

Looks like the Orvis Two-Handed 1200 Series Split Bamboo Fly Rod, 3-piece, with cork handles and suction ferrules. Hard to tell from the picture, but that reel may also be an Orvis product, perhaps the Clearwater Series (which would become the "Classic" line in later years). Considering the rod-and-reel outfit is two-handed and was supplied to an airborne outfit, I'd say the line is a mid-weight, perhaps a 7. The leader is probably made out of "Gut Substitute" since by WW2, natural gut (or "undrawn gut"), which was popular early in the century, was scarce, being produced mainly in Fascist Spain. Pretty potent rig for a potent outfit ...