kohlenklau

ok, I did my first mdr shenanigan for this [france1940] mod. I am using CMFI by the way. I brought over the shell mdr of the German captured French flametank from CMBN MG module. I used the Churchill I as the host. I am trying for the best apples to apples there! a big heavy slow tank with BOTH a turret and a hull gun. It needs new textures to look French of course. THIS IS MY CURRENT FRENCH ARMOR FAMILY FOR THE MOD. THEY ALL NEED NEW FRENCH ARMY COSTUMES! From left to right, the Renault R35, the Char B1, the Italian AB41 which will stand in "as is" for a Panhard AC, and French half-track (also from CMBN MG module). I will round it out with a small staff car and an old looking truck. (using the Opel Kadett and that old Soviet truck).

MDR SWAPPING 101 I write this from the perspective of a WW2 CM game fan... If I CANNOT get a new influx of game-coded vehicles for the early war periods, I have to look at swapping a vehicle in for a specific mod. I will refer to this as mdr swapping other wise known as "mdr shenanigans". We're all really just staring at a screen of spreadsheets fighting each other, right? Something like that? The armor ratings, the turret turn rate, rate of fire, etc. I have taken the mdr file of one vehicle and renamed it to the mdr filename of another vehicle to get the on screen result I wanted. But the game engine knows what it really is and all the physics stays the same. The player is not happy to see a Romanian R-35 fire off a multi-round burst of main gun fire because underneath it is still a Lynx. So, sometimes these vehicle swaps are best limited to roles of battlefield debris, damaged tanks, etc. maybe set the ammo to severe, maybe use a conscript crew, send them down a mined road as part of an AI plan. AS AN EXAMPLE FROM CMRT ROMANIAN MOD, if CMRT had an actual R-35 on the axis side, then no "mdr shenanigans" would be required. CMFI has one on the axis side. We have apples, oranges and pears. If we can get a fuji apple to take the place of a macintosh apple, then maybe the overall results are not so awful. The R-35 layed over the Lynx wasn't so bad, I thought. I also did a T-34 from CMRT layed over the Panzer IV to be captured T-34 training for the invasion of Malta. Also, I did the Australian R-35 in CMFI Afrika Mod layed over the Stuart. My terms are "shell" vehicle mdr, the one you want to see in the game. It is on the outside like the shell of an egg. "host" vehicle mdr is on the inside, it is what the gamecode and associated physics see. 1. Go get the folder for the shell vehicle (mdr files, bmp files, UI file), bring it to the new Z folder in a subfolder. 2. Then you must find the host mdr's folder and get the host mdr's mdr files, usually 3 or so? 3. Bring them into that same subfolder with the shell's stuff. Select the first host mdr file, then I hit F2 for rename then control c to copy the filename to the clitboard. THEN DELETE THAT FILE. 4. Select the first file of the shell and hit F2 and hit ctrl v and also add in your [france1940] modtag at the end. hit enter 5. Do the same steps 3 and 4 for the other host files until all the original host mdr files are deleted and the shell files are all renamed with modtags. The gamecode sees the hosts name but displays the shell on the screen in modtagged scenarios. The last bit of icing on the cake is to modify the UI in game portrait or silhouette. I like to try and use Juju's nice UI images for the shell vehicle or make your own and rename as host filename with modtag. The bmps do not have to be renamed for vehicle mdr swaps For uniform mds swapping, they do have to be renamed...more on that later. I WILL GIVE DETAILED EXAMPLES OF MDR SHENANIGANS AS THIS PROGRESSES

Hi JM, Yes please. I ask you to please try and do a French Army greatcoat 1940 colors...?

The modtag will be [france1940] In these big mods there must be 2 parts that go in the z folder to see the mod in action. Part 1. modtagged files [france1940] that USUALLY CAN sit in there in the z and 99.9% of the time cause no unintended harm during playing the game but not wanting to see the mod Part 2. the non-modtagged files. These files CANNOT be modtagged. They load as the game loads BEFORE scenario selection. The scenario has the modtag to summon the modtagged files from part 1. So these non-modtagged files MUST be pulled from z and stored safely elsewhere during playing the game but NOT wanting to see the mod. Things like the big splash screen, force selection graphics, music intro, soldier names, string file if it was edited. If you screw up then you just notice funny things in the game but no harm to the pc.

Send ale...or maybe champagne?

The last thing I will say before I actually go off for a while and do some modding is that you must fight the natural urge to dial things up to grandiose aspirations. Keep the focus real tight and try and deliver at least one scenario with some cool stuff. I have a few small scenarios in my mind and what I will need to create. See you later!

OK big mouth, what are you going to mod? I am going to try and finally make France 1940 in CMX2. I see where I know I can enjoy some certain battles. It just takes a ton of time to rename things and get them tested. Some stuff needs created or re-textured of course. I have buddies that I can ask or try by myself. I have a vision of what it will look like! I gotta have the German army in tall boots, the 2 tone uniforms and helmet decals. No MG42's! No panzerfausts! Grey vehicles. Waffen-SS can have smocks and helmet covers. French Army: well, we now have the Adrian helmet. and the kepi. We have French voices/names. We have some French AFV's. We have French buildings. I need French uniforms. British Army: I guess we have a lot to work with. maybe less so for 1940 British AFV's. I predict I can get us an 83% success.

Before I get nasty and lewd in how I view CM IN MY OWN OPINIONS FROM MY MIND, let me just thank Steve and Charles for creating the game and having it be "modable" with RezExplode and RezPack and the z folder and [modtags]. Imagine how crappy we would all feel if we didn't have those things. If I win Powerball lottery, they would also work to give us a lot more editor controls to change things. Oh well. CMBB is, in my usual dirty-minded description, where the wedding bride gave all her holes away on honeymoon night. Steve and Charles then attended a business seminar and learned to never ever do that again. They learned well! Their new business policy was to always leave the customer with a bit more appetite at the end of the meal. Leave them wanting more. CMCW shipped under that policy. No snow yet. Just USA and USSR. Next module is just BAOR and still no snow. Maybe next module you get Bundeswehr? Maybe snow too? Dutch Marine Korps? Penciled in for 2033? So, we can only try as forumites to mod things to look like we want. Luckily that deep down inside the CM titles are all really the same. It reminds me of a restaurant. Give them a few hours and the whole place can go from Mexican food/furniture/menus/decor/waiters/waitresses/music to Chinese. Did you ever double-click the wrong icon? You sometimes don't even notice until you're in the game. Oh crap, this is RT and not FB. the icon, the opening screen, music, UI, it all is modable. Names of soldiers, the voices, the ranks, the portraits, the floating icons can all be changed. It just takes time. ugggh. A freeware Bulk Renamer Utility really helps! Some things cannot be changed under the hood. When you mod these things you try and go as close to an apple and an apple as you can. There are tricks you can pull off to try and fudge things. It is all we can do. I have enjoyed the results. The purists out there are not going to be happy and that is ok. Don't download it. Don't play it. No problem. IF YOU CAN GATHER A FEW BUDDIES THEN THESE MODS ALWAYS SEEM TO GO QUICKER. BUT YOU MIGHT BUMP HEADS OR PISS SOMEBODY OFF. SOMEBODY HAS TO BE THE OBERMODDENFUHRER.

I am on my last legs of CM modding! I have just a wee bit of juice left and will tackle a big mod and leave these posts and comments for anybody that might benefit from them. I think the CMCW guys could really go places in a similar way as I have for the WW2 titles. CMCW Yom Kippur Mod, CMCW Falklands Mod for example. Somebody who is smarter than me will probably see ways to do it better or easier or smarter. Of course! Pipe in and tell me as it is. I am not perfect. I am not making any fancy pdf's or any videos. Just a bunch of text posts and probably some images.

I haven't seen anything exactly like you describe. Folks have made a 4 story structure and then eliminate the walls to floors 1-3 and it looks like an elevated platform type deal BUT it is modular building and I THINK the smallest available is a whopping 8 x 8 meters. A gigantic guard shack!!! @37mm Does Heaven & Earth have anything like that? SE Asia style...

General Burkhalter, I must remind you that no one has ever escaped from Stalag 13! Klink, you're an idiot.

Does this mean the scenario editor slider for changing typical quality down to poor actually has an effect now? I went in and messed with it and I still saw MG42's, mostly MG34's. I saw some panzerfausts. 30 and 30k. 8 in a battalion. It would have been nice that poor was ZERO panzerfausts and ZERO MG42. In my heart, poor would have MG08 WW1 water-cooled HMG for fortress battalions. Was it something easy that Charles did to get it working AND will we see it backported over to the other titles? Thanks sir.

@snarre @PZII Do you have any bunker mods or bunker fixes in your z folders?

No! I grew up in New Jersey man. I sound maybe like a not as good looking Bruce Willis.

Ahhh, that is right. I would have been outed as a Yank agent. Oh, I must now admit a terrible habit. I often narrate to myself in some certain voice as I read someone's writings, obviously folks where I do not know the sound of their actual voice. You are Michael Caine's voice. Is that ok? ~~~ Anyway, I don't know what to say about the bunkers. I have never noticed it. ~~~ AI plans and such. Sure, glad to TRY and help you.

Alright, this will be our PBEM. I need another day to make sure I fixed a few errors from when I tested it. CMFI AFRICA CUTTING OUT A STRONGPOINT ^ 1330, 19 December 1941. 7 miles south of Halfaya Pass, Egypt. During the tedious days of confining the Axis to their ring of frontier fortresses around Halfaya, HQ 4th South African Infantry Brigade authorized a small operation to eliminate an enemy forward position. This strongpoint, manned by mostly Italian troops of the 55th Savona Divisione, was making a nuisance of itself by firing on Allied reconnaissance patrols. B Company, 2nd Royal Durban Light Infantry was assigned to the task of "removing" it. The sky is a haze of dry desert dust kicked up by a light wind from the south. It is hot. ^ You are Lieutenant Nettlestock of B Coy, 2RDLI. You have your rifle platoon. A forward observer is assigned with a limited number of mortar bombs at his disposal. Brigade has promised they will will send light support vehicles from both the 2nd South African AT Regiment and the 6th South African Armoured Car Regiment to support your attack. They should arrive 5 to 10 minutes after your attack starts. ^ Your mission is to assault and clear out the strongpoint. ^ The Italians and some Germans are in trenches surrounded by a belt of anti-tank mines. Reports indicate they have several heavy weapons dug-in and also have artillery support. The axis have mechanized forces only a few miles away which may respond to assist the strongpoint's defence. ^ You are observing that the terrain is mostly flat but some depressions known as "deirs" may offer concealment as you make your approach. You have 20-25 minutes to complete your mission. The axis trench position is the terrain objective worth 150 points. Both sides also get points for the destruction of enemy vehicles.

Dr. Tim, NHS. Takes all insurance, kind bedside manner. "Feet up in the stirrups ma'am and we'll take a look in the bunker!"

THIS IS THE OLD RALLY POINT. I hate to have too many threads so we shall now only post in the Opponents forum.

Another thing I want to throw out there and I cannot for sure say I thought of this first, I am thinking for sure SOMEBODY probably already does this at FGM or Blitz websites... The "Umpire Orchestrated PBEM" for 2 guys to fight an early war PBEM. I would probably be the umpire for these UOP's as I know the mods the best. It could work like this...2 guys agree to fight an early war PBEM and pick sides and they both PM me or as a 3-way PM. We set up a dropbox or whatever or I share email address to find out what they want as to the normal battle parameters and force type and what early war setting they want. THEY could pick a QB map or even an EXISTING scenario and have objectives decided. Fog of War could be using separate PM's or emails. I go in and delete out the purchases and briefings and do my magic to purchase and set things up. NO BRIEFINGS NEEDED. NO AI PLANS NEEDED. Then they get it as a file and go at it. I think that could work. I would then have THAT particular one racked up as a microwave and eat H2H PBEM. The filename could have a system to know what it is. Like with QB's.

If you pop your head into this thread and have an interest in CM Early War, please say hello. My goodybox link is below my signature. It goes to a place where you can download mods and scenarios. A pretty decent sized pile has built up. I (with the help of many talented fellow forumites) have used CM and the inherent "modability" to do the below: CMRT WINTER MOD <obviously now no longer needed because of the CMRT F&R module, but it allowed snow for 5 years I think> CMRT KHOLM MOD CMRT FINN MOD CMRT BARBAROSSA MOD CMRT ROMANIANS MOD CMRT ITALY CSIR MOD CMRT WARSAW UPRISING MOD <not early war but it brings in Polish voice files for possible 1939 scenarios> CMRT HUNGARIANS MOD CMFI KRETA MOD CMFI AFRIKA CMAK2 MOD CMFI BIRHAKEIM FREE FRENCH MOD CMFI PARTISANS MOD CMRT SPANISH BLUE DIVISION MOD (IN PROGRESS) and a new one I am seriously excited to start tackling CMFI FRANCE 1940 MOD (just started in progress)

The Early War Orphans PBEM Club is now open.

I get you Tony. IDEA: Maybe you would enjoy a play of a QB against the AI? Versus me having to write scenarios and AI plans. If yes, maybe you can help me experiment down the line with using Early War Mods in quick battles? You might have to pick the AI's forces so you don't see odd stuff that I never modded -- or never intended to be on the 1941 battlefield. Follow me?

I was gonna say that I think the modern war guys already got that tag! But I do not want to inspire friction between folks who prefer WW2 versus the "modern titles"...

mascot CAN be a person too I guess. Oliver Twist maybe?