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Oudy

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Posts posted by Oudy

    Article on Tactics on 1C Russian site

    in Theatre of War 2

    Posted

    There is a great article on the use of real-life tactics in TOW2. The author plays the Germans in the Battle of Sbeitla. He demonstrates how the use of historical tactics is accurately represented in the game. Unfortunately the article is in Russian. I hope that Battlefront will translate it and post it on their site because I think the article is valuable to anyone wanting to understand how to improve their game play in TOW2. The original Russian article is at: http://artofwar.games.1c.ru/page.php?id=88.

    I had to use Google Translate to read it but it was worth it.

    Oudy

    0

    Berlin-Reichstag Map

    in Theatre of War Modding Forum

    Posted

    Tartari

    I ran into that problem when I tried to bring a TOW1 static into TOW2. Did you add the new houses to the static.ini file? I was able to see the new static in the map builder but not in the game until I added it to this file. I apologize if I'm stating the obvious.

    Oudy

    0

    Problem with ToW model converter.doc?

    in Theatre of War Modding Forum

    Posted

    After downloading the manual file and opening the ToW model converter.doc, I noticed that a number of the pictures don't seem to show up. Starting on page 12 with "A list of textures (regions) names is stored in" I seem to have a bunch of blank image frames. From pages 12-18 there is nothing but blank image frames. Could there be a problem with that file? Is anyone else having trouble with it or just me?

    Oudy

    0

    Thanks for ModPack

    in Theatre of War

    Posted

    I would like to thank the developers at 1C and Battlefront for the release of the modpack for TOW1. The information contained in the files will help modders understand how to create new models and extend the longevity of the game. This modpack should also help people interested in modding for TOW2.

    Oudy

    0

    Community base and player made maps/battles

    in Theatre of War 2

    Posted

    Zellek

    Work is being done on several user made maps as well as a tutorial for creating maps. The problem is that since the game is in 3d it is much more involved to create maps, but with free SRTM digital elevation data you can recreate any battlefield. I wish more 3d modelers would get interested in adding units to the game. It's a shame because TOW can be modded to an almost unlimited degree but it takes a lot of work and effort. I agree that the game is too good for the attention it receives. I've tried to figure out why but don't have any easy answers. TOW seems to have a larger following in Europe than in the US. But if you want the most realistic company level tactical simulation TOW is it.

    We need people who can create maps, people who can create 3d models and people who can create new battles, but the skill set for each of these is different. And currently there doesn't seem to be many people who are willing or able to add new content. Some people seem to be more interested in complaining about this or that little piece of minutia rather than add to the overall content and thus extending the life of the game.

    Anyway, I hope that some more battles and maps will be forthcoming in the near future.

    Oudy

    0

    Losing interest in TOW2 - need help with SFSExtractor

    in Theatre of War 2

    Posted

    Prattboy

    The SFSExtractor0.3 has been uploaded to the battlefront repository for TOW1. I wrote a modding guide a couple of years ago when we were first figuring out how to mod the game. Much has been discovered since then but it is still a good primer for learning how to mod. It was at CMods but I'll upload it to the TOW1 repository. If you have other questions please ask and I'm sure someone will be able to help you.

    Gordonvembu

    The SFSExtractor is really the only tool we have to decompress the SFS files. However you need the filelist.txt to tell it what files to look for. Once you open the Extractor tell it where the TOW mission editor location is and where the download location will be. Don't extract to your TOW game location. Once you extract the files you won't have to use the Extractor again. From that point you modify the extracted files and put them into the corresponding directory in your Game location. Normally the game uses the files from the SFS files but if you have a modified file in your game directory the program will use the modified one instead.

    Oudy

    0

    Importing Statics from TOW1

    in Theatre of War 2

    Posted

    While creating a new map and working with Tartari on a Map tutorial I tested importing road textures and statics from TOW1. And yes it can be done. However, I wouldn't recommend importing buildings or houses because infantry won't be able to enter them unless you completely update the 3d models. And I'll leave that for others to tackle.

    As a caveat, you need Dr. Jones's brilliant SFSExtractor and the filelist.txt before you can do any modding. And you will also need a copy of TOW1.

    To copy road textures:

    1. Copy the texture and bump texture from TOW1 to Theatre of War 2\maps\_ROADS\africa\ directory. As an example I added the Country Stone Road from TOW1.

    Battlefront\Theatre of War 2\maps\_ROADS\africa\country_stone_road2.tga

Battlefront\Theatre of War 2\maps\_ROADS\africa\bump\country_stone_road2.tga
    2. Add the two files in filesid.ini 
    3993	maps/_roads/africa/country_stone_road2.tga

3994	maps/_roads/africa/bump/country_stone_road2.tga
    The new roads will appear in the map editor and you can use them as normal. To copy statics from TOW1 (I tested on the dog kennel) 1. Copy the kennel_001 directory from TOW1 to TOW2 
    Battlefront\Theatre of War 2\3dobj\environment\africa_evironment\things\kennel_001
    2. Open static.ini in TOW1 and copy the section for that static and change the MeshLive and MeshDead directories to match TOW2 directory structure. I also renamed Kennel_001 to Africa_Kennel_001. 
    [buildings.House$Africa_Kennel_001]

Title	Africa_Kennel_001

MeshLive	3dobj\environment\africa_evironment\things\kennel_001\mono.sim

MeshDead	3dobj\environment\africa_evironment\things\kennel_001\mono_dead.sim

Preset	Thing_Wood_Frail

Preset	House_Wood_Frail
    3. Copy this section into the TOW2 static.ini. You can create a new section or paste it into an existing one. Add the following lines if you want to add a new section; in this case Africa_Things 
    [***]

Title	Africa_Things

    Both the filesid.ini and static.ini are located in the Battlefront\Theatre of War 2\data\settings\ directory.

    It is important to remember that if you make a non desert map (for example a map from Sicily, Italy or Russia) all of the dust effects will still be desert effects and will look a bit odd. You may be able to import the dirt effects from TOW1 but that is for a different topic.

    I have to admit that making the map was enjoyable but placing statics on the completed map is time consuming, tedious, difficult, frustrating and not much fun (in my humble opinion). Anyone who masters this art, or anyone who actually enjoys it is a much better person than myself.

    Oudy

    0

    Weapon Data Modding

    in Theatre of War 2

    Posted

    Redwolf

    This topic was done to death two years ago. All of the penetration data is available in the data/guns/ger/ directories. If you have a problem with the penetration values then feel free to change them, but they seem fairly normalized to me. Sneaksie and others developers have said from the beginning that all the penetration data is from the same degree angle. You don't have to believe them but they have been consistent.

    [Ger\88mm_PzGr_39_APCBC]

Ammo        	Ger\88mm_PzGr_39_APCBC

Speed       	733

aimMinDist  	10

aimMaxDist  	2000

HistMaxDist 	14815

Dispersion  	1000 0.30

LinesH      	0	100	500	1000	1500	2000	2500	3000	10000		

Penetration 	115	113	105	97	89	81	81	59	0

    gordonvembu

    There is a great explanation of the new system of visibility for vehicles over at the 1C website (it's in Russian so you many need to use a translator on it.)

    http://artofwar.games.1c.ru/page.php?id=48

    This is one of the reasons we can't import the old models from TOW1 because they added visibility boxes in the 3d models. It really is quite an ingenious way to handle visibility and provides an historically accurate depiction of who could see where. The crew sees two times worse than regular infantry. Open topped vehicles have better visibility range (as good as infantry). You can test visibility ranges by creating a battle with a single enemy tank and an infantry unit. Creep the infantry toward the tank until it begins to fire. You'll find that you can get pretty close. If tanks are firing at your infantry from long distances it's probably because they've been spotted by another unit, which began firing on them.

    It is very important to make a recon of the area you are about to attack because if your infantry is caught out in the open it will get ripped to shreds by machine gun fire. I'll admit the game still seems very lethal to infantry so you have to be very careful with them.

    Hope that helps

    Oudy

    0

    Patch and saved games

    in Theatre of War 2

    Posted

    Prattboy

    There are five files in the sfs extractor archive. All of the files need to be put in the MissionEditor directory along with the filelist.txt. Also make sure the directory you copy the SFS files to is different from your Theater of War directory. If you do this and still have problems, you'll have to ask Dr. Jones for help, but that should do it for you.

    Oudy

    0

    Scripting question

    in Theatre of War 2

    Posted

    Sneaksie

    Thank you for your quick response. That was what I suspected happened but wanted clarification. You must admit it is just a tad confusing.

    For anyone interested in making their own battles or campaigns, it can be intimidating to try programming with triggers. The good thing is that by looking at the triggers for the existing battles and campaigns you can use a lot of existing code, rather than having to write it all from scratch. The trigger language is very powerful and allows for almost unlimited flexibility.

    Oudy

    0

    Scripting question

    in Theatre of War 2

    Posted

    I've been looking at the scripting for the existing campaigns and I must admit I'm more impressed than ever by the robust nature of the scripting language and at the quality of the scripting done by the programmers. The battles are much more dynamic and unpredictable than in the original battles in TOW1.

    I must confess, though, that I am a bit befuddled with the use of the Halt command. According to the scripting guide, "Commands within the trigger are executed until the keyword Halt is encountered, which will stop the processing of the trigger." Therefore, the way I read it when the command Halt is processed the whole trigger is stopped. Using a Halt command at the end of a trigger makes perfect sense to me but when they come in the middle of the trigger I'm confused.

    As an example, here is a snippet of code from the Faid battle in the USA campaign. It comes from the trigger [_Attack_Tank].

    Label  1

SetWorkArmy ( ARMY , @army )

SET @nGer1 = GetNUnits ( UNIT , @unit , ALL , NOT_EMPTY , OK_ENGINE , AND_TANK , AND_SPG )

if ( @nGer1 = 0 ) then

goto begin

Halt

endif


SetWorkArmy ( ARMY , @army )

SET @nGer1 = GetNUnits ( UNIT , @unit , ALL , OK_ENGINE , AND_TANK , AND_SPG )

if ( @nGer1 = 0 ) then

RunCommand ( UNIT , @unit , OUT_CREW , CREW )

goto begin

Halt

endif


SetWorkArmy ( ARMY , @army )

SET @nGer_Weapon1 = GetNUnits ( UNIT , @unit , ALL , OK_WEAPON , AND_TANK , AND_SPG )

if ( @nGer_Weapon1 = 0 ) then

goto retr

Halt

endif


Delay ( 60000 )

goto 1

    By my understanding the code begins by checking the number of units and if it is equal to 0 it goes to label Begin. If it is not equal to 0 it goes to the next line which is Halt. If this Halt command stops the trigger, how logically can you ever get to the next two parts of the code?

    What role does the Halt command play in this piece of code? I would greatly appreciate clarification.

    Oudy

    0

    Some bugs to report

    in Theatre of War 2

    Posted

    When the map editor saves changes to the MainTex.tga and farmaintex.tga they aren't the same size as the ones from the original map.

    For example:

    Original file sizes form africa_faidpass map

    MainTex.tga 12,291 KB

    farmaintex.tga 3,074 KB

    After using the maintex brush and saving the map the files sizes change to

    MainTex.tga 12,289 KB

    farmaintex.tga 3,073 KB

    Additionally, I could not open the original .tga files in Photoshop (and I tried them all, including opening as .dds) but once they are resaved by the map editor, I can open them normally as .tga files.

    It would be nice to get a verification as to whether this is a bug or whether we are doing something wrong.

    Oudy

    0

    Some bugs to report

    in Theatre of War 2

    Posted

    I can verify what Tatari said. Decided to try the Maintext brush and it made the whole map blue blue blue. Now, don't get me wrong, I like blue...but I don't think you see much of it in the desert unless you are hallucinating, at which point seeing blue is the least of your problems. ;)

    OMG, now even the winking icon is blue...

    Oudy

    0

    Clear map

    in Theatre of War 2

    Posted

    I just created a blank map using SRTM data of the area around Longstop Hill in Tunisia. Still have a few issues to work out with the scaling of elevation lines but it did work. So....I'll keep everyone updated.

    Oudy

    0
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