Idea for uniform modder to pursue...

[kohlenklau]

I offered this out by PM to a uniform modder but no reply after a while. Maybe he is busy or on vacation.

Hello,

I have an idea that I hope someone can try and accomplish.

NOT THE SUIT ON THE LEFT WITH THE TASSLES BUT THE ONE ON THE RIGHT!!!

This mod would rename soviet tanker coveralls mds files as the m43 mds files and then you would take the soviet tanker coveralls bmps and do your magic to make them try to pass as amoeba camo coveralls. rename as m43 bmp files with tag [razvedchiki]

Of course this mod when in use would only allow scenario with small team(s) of razvedchiki performing behind the lines work.

Or razvedchiki with tank support since crew has original black coveralls available. normal m43 uniforms could not be displayed because we borrowed their files.

Maybe even do the all cap and no helmet mod?

Maybe even do the all MP40 mod for Soviet troops?

Understand?

Anyone! Please let me know if you can try it!

I along with mjkerner did a similar renaming with great coats for US airborne.

No actual recoloring but file renaming was successful to get the US paratroopers their greatcoats for the CMBN GL BULGE 44 mod.

Thanks!

kohlenklau

[kohlenklau]

Among other RL issues I think that uniform modder I PM'd is busy changing diapers with a new child.

So, I messed with this a bit tonight...

It would have been a cool mod for at least a little scenario. Oh well...

Also not sure how to eliminate the chin strap...

[kohlenklau]

Alright, nobody is coming in to rescue me so I think I will try to do the amoeba myself but for the purpose of a [sapper] uniform mod and not [razvedchiki] scouts mod so maybe no worry to solve the soft cap issue and hole in the head. Stick with helmets for sappers.

But I probably will run a small test battle with helmets on black coverall sappers to see how things go. If the helmets always get shot off or whatever and the black hole is there...what then?

Edit: OK, test battle seems to show that when helmet is shot off, you see normal image, no black hole.

whoooo, hold it, just noticed something. Black hole is there still but only on the left ear! WTF?

Maybe it is some kind of alpha channel issue? Help!!! Mod Gods. help me oh mighty Isis! Remember that TV show from the 70's? She was freakin' hot!!! And I was like 9. Getting sidetracked.

[kohlenklau]

Just conducted a small experiment.

I think it worked.

I put the tag [sapper] but after the file name of the skeleton file.

Which I wasn't sure would work.

Like this:

smod_soviet_m43-soldier [sapper].mds

along with lod 1 through 5.

With my little test scenario, no tag and they all had on normal M43 with normal proper 3D wrapping! Yes!

With the tag, the program used the tagged mds skeleton files and thus grabbed the tagged bmp renames and we had tanker coveralls. YES!!!

So, my tanker coveralls renamed as M43 skeletons can stay and hide in the mod folder and only show themselves when tagged in a scenario. I thought it was an all or nothing mod copy and paste and must remove from folder when not wanted like the old days.

Am I just a dumb bunny and everybody else knew this?

bmp files are tagged a lot by modders but has anybody done this for mds files?

For my next experiment, I will bring British tanker coveralls over to CMRT and see if they work as renames for M43. Aiming to get rid of that black hole in the left ear!

oh well, gotta go to work, try it later today or this weekend.

This weekend I will be aiming to make me a set of amoeba coveralls!

[benpark]

I just emailed you something to get you started on the texture.

[kohlenklau]

Thanks Ben!!

[kohlenklau]

brit coveralls did not get rid of hole in right ear. Actually made it even worse. Ear Muffs for winter weather? Maybe I try American coveralls?

Edit: I opened up CMFI and took a look at the US Army tankers. It doesn't look like it would work well.

Edit #2: I will stay with soviet tanker coveralls. Even with left ear black hole it looks better than the other options, to me.

[kohlenklau]

Image-Adjustments-Replace Color. Then fiddle with Hue and Saturation to "find" the proper green?

[kohlenklau]

You know what? I am looking at amoeba images and I see a one-piece garment and I also see a 2-piece garment. I see the pants outsides the boots but also photos of pants tucked into the boots.

I am ultimately wanting to have onscreen some of my Soviet soldiers as sappers in the amoeba modded uniform alongside regular troops in the plain M43.

With tagging the renamed skeletons I thought I was on to something. But the tagging right now does not look like it will get me what I hoped for: sappers in amoeba tanker coveralls with pants outsides boots alongside regular M43 soldiers with pants tucked in or wrapped up. The M43 non-sapper uniforms are wrapping around the tanker skeletons.

With the axis forces and even the US, I had more skeletons to work with to rename and move around.

[Broadsword56]

This is sick, I know, but...

Solve the hole in the head problem by just coloring it red/pink/gray. You only see it when the helment gets shot off, so it would just look like a nasty head wound instead of a black hole.

(This is from the player who still feels queasy that I first saw hit decals and thought, "Hmm, those probably could work on soldiers, too.")

[kohlenklau]

BS56,

I believe it is locked in the coding of the Soviet tanker coverall skeleton file.

Unfortunately, there is nothing to color in.

[kohlenklau]

Some notes I brought from my brief foray into vehicle modding in CMFI GL mods forum....

Recapping from my earlier posts:

How exactly do you make the mask.bmp from a regular bmp?

I googled a while and then just started farting around.

The best I can get is images-adjustments-brightness/contrast and just pegging both settings all the way to the right.

Rambler then gave some advice:

"You actually don't need to create a whole new file for your mask. Open up the wheels bmp and hit CTRL+J. This will duplicate the background onto a new layer. On this new layer, convert it to grayscale, or desaturate it with SHIFT+CTRL+U, and hit CTRL+L to mess with the levels to get the desired effect you want. At this point, create your layer mask and proceed as before."

Someone else told me a tip:

paraphrasing...when you have the new layer above your background, ctrl-c copy your new layer mask image to your clipboard, go active in that new layer, hit the layer mask button, then alt-left click on the new box (on the right) for the layer mask and ctrl-v paste the layer mask file into that box.

[kohlenklau]

Hopefully a kind soul will come along as they have so many times before and point a lost wanderer toward the proper route.

OK, Do I keep the wrinkles as a layer mask and then paint over in my new color but opaquely?

Some of those youtube tutorials make this stuff look so easy!

[agusto]

If it is supposed to look like on the picture on the left, Yes. Just make sure the layer you are painting on is above the wrinkles.

[kohlenklau]

Here is my 3rd effort. It is an opaque layer of the sampled color from the paintguide.

But I am losing quite almost all the wrinkles shades and tones. I tried dodge and burn tools but they seemed to turn the color ugly darker not the way I want.

[agusto]

What version of Photoshop do you use? Try to play with

Image -> Adjustments -> Colour Balance

and/or

Image -> Adjustments -> Levels

and/or

Image -> Adjustments -> Curves.

You should be able to accentuate the wrinkles with those tools. Check out this video as well:

http://lifehacker.com/5753621/basics-of-photoshop-color-correction-photo-retouching-and-enhancing

[kohlenklau]

I have cs3 downloaded for free. thanks for your help. I will check out that link....

I am starting to prepare the brown amoebas in an upper layer!

Then I will mess around with changing the collar shape and eliminating or moving pockets....etc.

[kohlenklau]

[Kieme(ITA)]

Very good looking camo there!

It is coming along extremely well!

[kohlenklau]

Today after work I will be trying to add in the wrinkles.

Need to watch some tutorials.

[kohlenklau]

I watched a a few tutorials for creating fabric wrinkles.

1 said to create a new layer, draw lines with the base color green for example, maybe 3 pixels wide, then layer style for drop shadow and bevel & emboss and then motion blur, angle 0 radius of 50px. Some of the wrinkles looked okay but some looked too skinny.

It had to do with orientation on my image vs the angle value I guess. Maybe I need many layers. horizontal wrinkles, vertical and other.

1 said to use dodge and burn in parallel bands.

In game, it looks like I am too subtle and not getting dark enough. I will keep trying.

What do the masters use? Or somnething totally different.

[kohlenklau]

[Erwin]

Maybe you need a lot more wrinkles, shadows - dirt and weathering. From the photos I have seen their uniforms were often bulky and "unflattering", so you have that correct.

[kohlenklau]

[Kieme(ITA)]

It is coming along very well!

You know, I recently made some experiments with the uniforms in CMSF, but I learned a trick that you might also find useful...

I don't know what program are you using for this, but one thing you could add is a sort of that might make the uniform look like real cloth, you just need to find a texture with a "cloth" effect, such as this:

http://www.cgtextures.com/texview.php?id=3129&PHPSESSID=uu7l2186gcb24e1m1abr8f7l30

Scale it to the level needed, in case just making a huge image with many of these attached to each other in order to look as tiny as the scale is needed.

Then, you might use a layer, add the fabric texture and use one of the layer instruments in order to make it appear "over" your uniform but without changing the colors. So you'll have something that looks like rugged.