benpark Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Like a few other people here, I'm trying to make a believable smock mod for the Germans. I'm also trying to make some variety for the UK forces. Here are WiP shots for two of the WSS and one British/UK efforts. There is a lot of texture stretching that happens on these models (they have a lot of moving parts), so it's still a ways out before upload. For the Germans, I'm keeping it HJ specific- cuff band on the standard tunic and extra graphic for the kit with HJ knife for those that kept them for field use. I also have dirtied up versions, but that is tough to get right with the clean helmets and footgear sometimes not matching. I have added some more fanciful additions, like another helmet with the HJ symbol on one side. I have also done the non-regulation runes helmet. Boots are optional as well. Not strictly historical, but it adds to the ambiance while I play the UK campaign to see little blips of these mods when I come up against the enemy. Lots of variety possible here, since there will be other mods coming and that exist already. The ones pictured also have "plain" trouser versions, and I may try out another scheme for the smocks. I think I have about 8-10 versions in my Z folder as is with what others have done and now mine. The UK is tougher- so far I have only made one "from scratch" mod of a ratty webbing for a helmet. I have done a few uniform variations that change the light/darkness of things like the trousers or tunic, and those help relieve the cookie cutter thing a bit. I want to do a decent "Hessian cover" for the helmets as well, but the color is tough to do properly. Image half way down the page here: http://www.ww2incolor.com/forum/showthread.php?3380-British-Helmets-and-Other-Equipment-in-World-War-II Screens of the in progress efforts: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chainsaw Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 You should reconsider the hessian cover idea. Hessian covers wasn't used much in 1944. I don't know when they started to fall out of use but 1940 BEF ive seen plenty of pics of hessian cover and also a few pics from most Italy. 1944 its helmet net and scrim on the net thats the deal 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benpark Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 Interesting. Anyone have any 1944 UK variety ideas for uniforms beyond dye saturation variety? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadsword56 Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 You should reconsider the hessian cover idea. Hessian covers wasn't used much in 1944. I don't know when they started to fall out of use but 1940 BEF ive seen plenty of pics of hessian cover and also a few pics from most Italy. 1944 its helmet net and scrim on the net thats the deal Beg to differ. In the pics of the battles around Caen we see a lot of very fuzzy British helmets, with everything from leaves and branches on them to a mixture of cammo strips flopping around. Some plain netted covers are OK, but to say that's all we should have is nonsense. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benpark Posted March 10, 2012 Author Share Posted March 10, 2012 That's the great thing about mods- you can use them or not. I'd like things to be in the ballpark as far as historically correct, but close is good too. I'll go ahead and try to get a decent one, and add it as an option when I get these ready to go. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chainsaw Posted March 10, 2012 Share Posted March 10, 2012 Beg to differ. In the pics of the battles around Caen we see a lot of very fuzzy British helmets, with everything from leaves and branches on them to a mixture of cammo strips flopping around. Some plain netted covers are OK, but to say that's all we should have is nonsense. hmm, we are clearly misunderstanding each other. camo on helmets, yes they where plenty. both scrim version and natural version. When benpark says Hessian cover I assume he means a hessian cover, which looks like this: Then there was helmet net, that looks like this: and on that one you could either use natural camo or scrim, which looks like this: So helmet net with scrim or natural cover was normal in Normandy (and later) alongside plain helmet without any net or scrim at all. But the hessian cover was long gone by 44. (with few exemptions, but I still haven't found a pic of a hessian cover helmet in normandy) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Those are looking good so far benpark! Yeah, if you want to have dirty versions of the uniforms you pretty much have to do the gear as well to make it look right. That's what I ended up doing for my US uniform mod. Couldn't stand seeing the dirty uniforms with the bright clean gear! Also, a little quick tip you might want to experiment with. I always thought the stock uniform textures were a little too soft/blurry. I did one sharpen pass and then a selective color pass on the shadows (black) at 10% black. It brought more of the details in the texture out. You have to be careful though, since the sharpening may blow out some of the details. To avoid that, I recommend creating a duplicate layer of the base texture and sharpen the duplicate. If there are any anomalies, erase them out so that base texture will show through in those areas. Here's a little comparison that shows the results of the technique: http://i.imgur.com/ysfZQ.jpg Keep up the good work man! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aragorn2002 Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Please put foliage on the British helmets, guys, it will make them look so much more realistic. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broadsword56 Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 So helmet net with scrim or natural cover was normal in Normandy (and later) alongside plain helmet without any net or scrim at all. But the hessian cover was long gone by 44. (with few exemptions, but I still haven't found a pic of a hessian cover helmet in normandy) Sorry, and thanks so much for the clarification and excellent pics. It's the cammo and scrim version tht we really need. When I said Hessian I meant the strip of colored Hessian cammo. You're right -- the tan Hessian cover would look totally out of place in Normandy. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sequoia Posted March 11, 2012 Share Posted March 11, 2012 Benpark-I may be wrong on this but have you noticed the Waffen SS troop models all use the ankle boots bmps? Your previews look great by the way! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verulam Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Benpark: Absolutely love your work and can't wait for these to be released. I would agree the hessian cover had gone by 1944. Just lots of folliage and hessian cloured strips, plus the odd field dressing as well. These mods will make the base game far more immersive. Any hint when this might be please? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benpark Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 thanks for the advice and nice words. I was away for a few days, so I'll try to wrap these up as soon as I'm able. The Brit helmets will be fairly soon. I am curious as to what BFC are planning for the infantry models for the Germans, however so I may put some more time in on those while we await word on whether these will be part of an upcoming patch. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chek Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Looking great,can't wait. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verulam Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Thanks for the update, much appreciated. I will now haunt this thread until they are out. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benpark Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 I'll probably upload the beta versions of the best of these for people to look over before uploading them at the Repository for quality control. Initial attempt at camo helmet for UK. Also a desaturated, slightly worn helmet at the back, with the stock one in the middle. The seams at the front and back of the camo are not fun to do. I also occasionally get a plain grey interior, even though I have kept the image intact in the .bmp. Lots of oddities to wrestle with yet. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Appreciate the work. However, the front camo version makes the helmet a strange shape - almost like StarWars rebels' helmets. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chainsaw Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 The helmet scrim is looking good benpark! Appreciate the work. However, the front camo version makes the helmet a strange shape - almost like StarWars rebels' helmets. Supposed to be that way, its a Mk III "turtle" helmet. the other 2 are Mk II helmets. :cool: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verulam Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Looks good to me 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benpark Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 As noted above, I can't change the shape of any of the models (they are hard coded)- these are just graphics that sit on the models themselves. I did think exactly the same thing, though when I made a plain attempt at a mod of the same model in a dark color- Star Wars or East German Cold War. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Canadian Cat Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 But Ben the camo helmet is a different shape from the others. That is why people think your mod changes the shape. But I suspect we are seeing a mix of helmet types in the squad. Can you clear up which it is? Please, Ian 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verulam Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 The mark III is the turle shaped helmet with scrim. That is totally correct in look. So Ben don't worry you nailed it. There is a selection of both types in each section. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benpark Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 Supposed to be that way, its a Mk III "turtle" helmet. the other 2 are Mk II helmets. :cool: There are 2 helmets in use by the UK units in the CW module, see the above from earlier in this thread. The game engine mixes these randomly throughout all squads. This is pretty obvious in the game itself, so I suspect that some of you don't have the module yet. Here is a screen shot with the MkIII helmets- stock and modded. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Interesting. Never thought the Mk 3 would be so wide. Maybe the guy's head is just too thin... BTW: While I was sorting through the very large number of camo helmets into a single folder so I could pick and choose, I left it out of my Z folder, and now I have troops that have no helmets at all. Not sure how I managed it (since you'd figure the default is with helmets), but it looks quite interesting actually - esp when combined with the injured head mod. A lot of guys running around with no helmets and a bandage around their heads - like Rambo. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjkerner Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 Interesting. Never thought the Mk 3 would be so wide. Maybe the guy's head is just too thin... BTW: While I was sorting through the very large number of camo helmets into a single folder so I could pick and choose, I left it out of my Z folder, and now I have troops that have no helmets at all. Not sure how I managed it (since you'd figure the default is with helmets), but it looks quite interesting actually - esp when combined with the injured head mod. A lot of guys running around with no helmets and a bandage around their heads - like Rambo. Erwin, you have to figure out what you did. Somehow an mdr or mds file got changed/removed/something? This would be valuable information for modding. It may even lead to Mord cracking the beret code! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mord Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 That's how I got the beret to work to begin with LOL. Had to point the chin strap mdr to a Us helmet then make sure that US helmet was saved at a higher bit rate so the game would blank it out. Erwin probably still has a helmet BMP that is somewhere in his z folder saved at 32bit instead of 24. It may be in a deeper echelon sub folder or something. If every helmet was removed the game should default back to stock textures automatically. Mord. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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