Philippe Posted August 25, 2014 Share Posted August 25, 2014 I wasn't planning on making a career of posting mods here, so the title and description of the mod in the repository is not exactly what I would like. To find the mod, go to the second page of mods for Strategic Command WWI The Great War and look for something called Graphics. The real title of the mod is the title of this thread, and got buried away in the text of the mod description. This is a very simple graphics-only mod. All it does is change every instance of the more palatable fantasy German symbols used in the SOE Campaign for an historically accurate one, and adjusts the shade of red on the 3-D German HQ flags to be closer to the red on the flag used for national capitals. Many years ago I made a mod for one of the earlier iterations of Strategic Command that used the Reichskriegflag. This time around I opted for the Partei flag, even though I prefer to use both (Reichkrieg for the headquarters and Partei for everything else). If I had gone the two-flag route for the Germans, I would have had to mod the Finnish flag, which is currently a non-swallowtail variant on their war flag (rather than the more familiar national flag). The mod comes with a textfile of installation instructions that I strongly suggest you read before installing. The mod itself comes in two parts: the textfile just mentioned and a set of folders that mimic the folder structure of the game. Unzip the download into a safe place (do not unzip it into the game folder), take a look at it, pretend to read the installation instructions, back up your originals, and the follow the instructions. You don't really need to back up your originals, but it will save you having to reinstall the game if something goes wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philippe Posted September 4, 2014 Author Share Posted September 4, 2014 I'm currently attempting to upload version 1.1 of my German symbols mod (and not too successfully, which is probably why the file hasn't appeared yet). If I ever manage to get the thing posted, version 1.1 has the following changes from the previous version: A tiny (and probably invisible) correction to the positioning of one of the German flags (the double flag-pole is now gone). The Greek flag now uses the more familiar striped coastal flag rather than the inland flag. The Finnish flag is now the national flag rather than the war flag. (I really wanted to use the war flag in its proper context, because it is one of my favorite flags and has a medieval swallow-tail. The problem is that the war flag would have been flying over the capital even when the country is at peace. And I've been known to change my mind). Some of the Hungarian national flags no longer sport the coat of arms. The problem is actually somewhat similar to the Finnish one, but it was easier to keep the hobgoblin of little minds at bay. I'm also inordinately fond of the crown of St. Stephen. These changes are coming about because I'm working on a mod for WW I, and there's spillover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philippe Posted September 5, 2014 Author Share Posted September 5, 2014 I've managed to upload version 1.2 to the Repository. The latest set of changes include corrections to the flags of Yugoslavia, Romania, Egypt, and Transjordan. The Commonwealth is now using two very different flags. When you see it on the big map it is flying the green Egyptian flag (what Egypt was using in WW II but not WW I). If you look at the convoy and war maps the Commonwealth is flying a plain Blue Ensign. Transjordan uses a flag that is very similar to the Arab Revolt flag. You would expect Palestine to use a variant on the Blue Ensign, and it did for things like the police force, but the Mandate itself was using the Union flag. Romania's non-military non-royal standard flag was a plain tricolor, as was Yugoslavia's. The mod itself is nested inside a bunch of folders, the first one is named Battlefront. To install the mod unzip it into a safe (and separate) place, back up your originals, and copy and paste the mod to wherever you keep your Battlefront folder. In other words it's a manual install but I've made it very easy for my fellow luddites. Please give me a shout if you see anything that needs attention. It's really easy to overlook things, and unlike the Pope I'm not infallible when it comes to research. The thing about flags is that you can be absolutely certain that you know what the proper flag should be for a certain country at a particular moment in history, because you've only read the relevant entry at FOTW a score of times. And then when you go back and read it again, it either says something else because it has changed over the years, or your memory is simply playing tricks on you. And sometimes you just interpret it differently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philippe Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 The latest update to the Symbols mod converts the Bulgarian flag into a plain tricolor. Back up your originals and read the mod notes. The mod mimics the folder structure of the game, so once you've taken a look at it, copy and paste the mod's Battlefront folder (and its contents, of course) to wherever you keep your Battlefront folder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philippe Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 What I hope will be the last version of the German Symbols mod has been submitted to the Repository and is currently under review. I'm hoping that you will be able to download it in a day or two. I few years ago I made a Reichskrieg flag mod for Strategic Command I, but after searching two computers and an external hard drive I have come to the conclusion that if I still have it, it's buried away so deeply that I'll never put my hands on it. So I've made a new set of Reichskrieg flags for the HQ figure sprites, which is just as well because my graphics technique is better than it was six years ago. The latest version of the mod (1.4), when it emerges from the review process, has two sets of flags that can be installed: one that includes the Reichskrieg flag, and one that that uses the same HQ flags as versions 1.0 - 1.3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philippe Posted September 12, 2014 Author Share Posted September 12, 2014 The renamed German Symbols version 1.4 is now available at the repository. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philippe Posted September 28, 2014 Author Share Posted September 28, 2014 Never say never. The latest version of my Storm over Europe Historical Flags mod has been sent for review to the Repository and will be available shortly. This version corrects some production errors and adjusts the shade of red in the 3D Reichskriegflags and the 2D Polish flags. If you have an earlier version of the mod I strongly recommend that you replace it with this one when it becomes available. Next time I revisit this mod it will be with an eye to extending it to Assault on Democracy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philippe Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 Version 1.7 of the Storm over Europe flag mod can now be downloaded from the Repository. Apart from making a few touch-ups and fixing missed items, the main change is that it now includes a WW II variant on the 2-D unit mod that shows up in the Marsden Hartley mods. While not as colorful as the 3-D sprites, it's designed to be very easy to read. Ships and planes don't look anything like ground units, and you can usually tell what level a unit is without squinting to read the little numbers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts