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Special Upgrade 4 Tech Tips

Bud Backer

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Everything posted by Bud Backer

  1. Bud Backer
    and the Zombie M8, no? Or is it defanged?
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    From my research, I believe you partially correct. There are a number of factors that complicate things, plus the design choices for the scenario. I will tackle the latter first: there should be two, not one heavy armoured cars. More often than not they operated in pairs. However, I didn't want to buy more than one for this CAAR, so they I could have more variety of kit to show readers. As to their use: the smaller armoured cars (largely replaced by the 250-series half tracks later in the war) were 4 wheelers and while having excellent road performance their cross county performance was much more limited. The 8-wheeled arrmoured cars had off road mobility considered comparable to tracked vehicles. This was more an issue on the Eastern front, but nonetheless, was going to be a factor anywhere there are no roads. The 8 wheelers were used for deep reconnaissance, typically 20-40km distance into enemy territory. At least this is what I gleaned from some first hand accounts I could find. I'm still digging.
  6. Bud Backer
    If an 88 shoots it, then there is a German gun crew in BIG trouble for a friendly fire incident. Not only is the 8-rad (8 wheeler) the only AC, it's the thing with the biggest gun in the unit. Well, except for that Pak38 towed behind one Opel, anyway... They generally didn't operate in packs in this environment. So Schäfer's use of this one is not ahistorical. And you don't have to own a WWII game to have thoughts on tactics. Just a brain will do.
  7. Bud Backer
    Spot on; thanks, Michael.
  8. Bud Backer
    Great! And the fact you caught the wheels of the armoured car is great news as well. The images are supposed to be quite sharp, to make any such motion blur stand out. Ah, yes, the "vista" shot - that was its purpose. In a sense it's like photography, this stuff: trying to make a two-dimensional representation of a three-dimensional world be sufficient to impart a great sense of space and emptiness but not have the viewer lose themselves looking for what is supposed to catch their attention.
  9. Bud Backer
    But the comic is in black and white! There is no red!
  10. Bud Backer
    Yeah, I think I misread the comment - I thought he meant the higher contrast already made it look like sunny and hot. I've played with the contrast and while I could boost it more, and make it look like some photos from the period, it will also reduce detail and impact comprehension of what is happening and what is it one is seeing. It's easy enough when one shoots a PzIII racing in the desert relatively close up, but to show a scene comprising dozens of men and vehicles the reader may struggle to make out what is happening. of course, as I do this comic I'll learn and explore stuff that I can apply to the next one where I repeat the black and white presentation. Yeah, because it's a flashback I've reduce the worry-factor for the reader. Damn.
  11. Bud Backer
    That had crossed my mind as well as I looked at the finished panels.
  12. Bud Backer
    Thank you, Hank. I hope to have a chance to prepare the next group tonight. Regarding my colour (or lack thereof) choices: When I think of the battle for Normandy, I visualize things often in colour. There seems to be an abundance of colour photographs from that campaign and that makes it easy. But when I visualize North Africa, I see it almost exclusively in black and white. Colour photos of the North African campaign to me were incredibly rare. So much so that when I saw Eliot Elisophon's colour photographs from when he accompanied Patton on the Tunisian campaign, I felt they had an unreal quality to them. There was something wrong about them. Now I'm not at all knocking his skills, or talent. I'd have had the same problem with anyone taking colour photos from the North African campaign. Just the way my minds eye sees that part of the war. That is why I've eschewed the colour look for our little adventure near Tobruk. It is interesting, because I took exactly the same screenshot and made a good colour enhancement, and a black and white version to compare, before I made a decision. While the human mind prefers colour as we see in that fashion the world around us, the black and white version stood out as somehow less like a shot from a game and more like a photo. I actually let someone else look at the same thing and make the same comparison, and without my saying what my preference was, they said exactly the same thing. Of course, this is my vision, and not everyone will agree and I naturally respect that. I could well be making a terrible mistake in how this is presented. I guess we'll see?
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    Your AARs have my attention. I don't think they want for anything.
  17. Bud Backer
    Yeah, no Rrrrmmmmmbbbllll for reasons mention in my reply to Heinrich above.
  18. Bud Backer
    Glad you like the effects, Heinrich. I must give some credit to @Bil Hardenberger for giving me some ideas. I am trying constantly to learn and evolve, and this comic is a bit of an exercise in simplicity. You may have caught on that there are a great deal fewer onomatopoeia on each panel, as I try to let the scene show what is happening rather than spelling it all out. It's an experiment I hope works out ok. As for Annaliese Warner, it's a delight that you caught the reference to what was happening at this point in the war on the Eastern Front.
  19. Bud Backer
    Thanks a lot, guys, your enthusiasm makes it all worthwhile.
  20. Bud Backer
    I should post a reminder in my opening post for people to click on the images to get them full screen. You'll be positive it isn't your glasses then!
  21. Bud Backer
    What happens next?? You mean this isn't enough? You can't leave these poor people in peace in that inhospitable place???
  22. Bud Backer
    Thank you. I'm going to try to jog some nostalgia from Michael with the way this will look.
  23. Bud Backer
    Did you guys see the wheels and tracks on the Panther in the last panel, and the exhaust smoke?
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