Mod question.

[akd]

[rubble] is not system defined (i.e. hard-coded to work automatically with any scenario based on conditions, time frame, region, etc.). To use the [rubble] tagged textures, the scenario designer must add the tag to the specific scenario. This is the same system that would be used for any user-tagged mod. The only thing unique about [rubble] is that the tagged textures are included in the base game Data files rather than in the Mods folder, so everyone has this "mod" by default.

[Mad Mike]

[rubble] is not system defined (i.e. hard-coded to work automatically with any scenario based on conditions, time frame, region, etc.). To use the [rubble] tagged textures, the scenario designer must add the tag to the specific scenario. This is the same system that would be used for any user-tagged mod. The only thing unique about [rubble] is that the tagged textures are included in the base game Data files rather than in the Mods folder, so everyone has this "mod" by default.

Thanks for the clarification.

[MikeyD]

Let me try to remember everything. With three title now using tags this gets complicated.

First, tags aren't in CMSF or CM:Afghanistan.

Before CMRT mod tags were hardcoded into the game by Charles only and there was no deviation.

Universal hardcoded vehicle tags are [muddy] and [whitewash]. Muddy automatically appears when the ground is wet, whitewash does you no good if the title's set in mid summer.

Title-specific hardcoded regional tags are [mainland] for CMFI, [dutch] for Market Garden, and [easterneurope] for CMRT.

CMFI also spans the seasons. The default art is summer, then there's a generic [cold] tag for art shared by the non-summer seasons. Plus there's date-specific tags [autumn], [winter] and [spring] tagged terrain art.

CMFI tags are further broken down [mainland] for the jump to Italy, and [olive] for allied vehicles after a certain date because there was a big allied camou scheme changeover mid-winter. So in CMFI a single vehicle might have no tag , might have a [mainland muddy] tag skin, or might have an [olive whitewash] tag skin.

For CMRT [tags] can turn into the wild west, though [muddy] is still universal. If you look in the scenario editor you will see an import button labeled 'mod tags'.

The demonstration imported tag in CMRT is named [rubble]. You can use that tag too for your own art, do pitted roads or ruined building facades to show up whenever a scenario using the [rubble] tag appears. Or do anything else.

[Der Alte Fritz]

I think you have hit the nail on the head Mad Mike.

The first use I thought of was [snow], so you have a set of mods for terrain, horizon, trees, vehicles, etc and when the [snow] tag is used in a scenario, everything goes snowy white.

Likewise for [city] then you would get rubble, telegraph poles instead of trees, different horizons, etc, etc.

Similarly [ukraine] would get you a set of terrain, trees and houses that looked for suitable for Lvov Sandomier than for Bagration which could use the [belorussia] tag.

The other use I forsee is if you like a particular designer and want to use all their vehicle mods. Say [mikeyd] tag would replace all the vehicles with the new mods.

Using mods becomes quite easy because you just need to open up the scenario and add your favourite list of mod tags into it. You could hold this list of tags in a text document and then cut and paste.

But I can also remember from transferring over 1,000 mods to GaJ CMMODS site that designers all used different file naming conventions and what a nightmare that proved to be in cataloguing all of them.

So what is needed is a naming convention that designers adhere to, so that these tags can be used easily without having to rename whole folders worth.

So proposed groups of tags would be:

experience mods: explosions, smoke, tracer, etc

terrain mods: snow, dusty, mud, rain, city, ukraine, poland, belorussia

specific units: 260id (for German infantry units) 260rd (for Soviet units) 3pz, 2tc, 2pzgr, 2mech etc. (cavalry -could get confusing since both Germans and Soviets used cavalry in Pripet Marshes so maybe sovcavalry and gercavalry)

specific vehicles: (I am assuming that people would prefer several different Panther A mods to be used so we could use the same convention as for units ie PantherA[3pz] or a more useful convention might be colour - date - region)

gelb, grau, splinter, ambush, green, bluegreen or gelb-june44-belorussia

and I think to make the mod catalogue easier it would help if designers included the tags in the design name. So "MikeyD's Dusty Ambush Camo Panther D [pantherD[ambush-june44-belorussia][dusty]"

There tend to be quite a lot of vehicles mods and people tend to use a number of different ones so it is bound to be a bit more complex.

Just an idea.

[sburke]

About mod tags. One's been put into the release as a demonstration. It went in at the last moment so may have not got used.

If you import the word rubble into the Mod Tags in the editor. The Hvy Rocks terrain and the rocks doodads will turn into broken brick city rubble. This retains the Hvy Rocks impassability to vehicles. We're eventually headed for Berlin in a module and I expect most Berlin battles would be using [rubble] tagged terrain. Those that don't still have Hvy Rocks to place on the map.

I can see I am going to have to add one for mud tiles. I like the idea of bogging capability while driving through that rubble with no indication to the player.

RockinHarry you looking at this? It is an urban battle wet dream for map making.

[Mad Mike]

Let me try to remember everything. With three title now using tags this gets complicated ....

Thanks MikeyD for posting your recollections, honestly.

But you see, wouldn't it be easier if there was some official reference which contains this information? Instead of relying on individual peoples memory .. I guess this is one of the reasons why script and writing became so popular over the thousands of years of humanity.

So, can this information please be put into the next release of the "Game Engine Manual"?