Can i use Battle for normandy mods for other CM games?

[Ironcross12]

Can i use any of the mods like inf mods or others for the other titles?

[Warts 'n' all]

Some mods will work fine across the various titles. Mod's designers tend to put a comment in the description if a mod is suitable for more than one version of the game, it will quite often be the last line.

[Ironcross12]

Yeah i have found some that work for all mods like the sound Mod HQS2.5 and Aris Weapon Weathering Mod Germans CMRT

 

just wondered what other mods people are using for Red storm and Final Bliz 

[MikeyD]

A few 3-d models have changed slightly but MOST of the 'usual suspect' vehicles should be compatible across titles. My only reservation is if you start sharing mods across titles the titles will resemble each other, which kind'a defeats the whole purpose of having different titles.

[Warts 'n' all]

Very good point from MikeyD. Some mods are "title specific" and will normally be indicated as such on CMMODS/greenasjade. You will even find mods that are Campaign specific. Really the best thing to do is to create folders on your comp for each title. In my case I have folders that I call ... CMBN Mod House, CMRT Mod House etc etc  I download mods into these folders then pick the ones that are most suitable for a particular Battle or Campaign. Also,designers are now creating more "Mod tags" that work perfectly for the scenarios that they are posting for us to play. We all have our own favourites, it is just a question of trial and error to find the ones that suit you best.

[Ironcross12]

Thanks for the advice guys.

So is http://cmmodsiii.greenasjade.net/ the best site to download from and has all the mods?

I noticed the new games like Final Biltz does not have many mods thats why i asked 

[Badger73]

On 8/27/2016 at 5:21 PM, ironcross13 said:

So is http://cmmodsiii.greenasjade.net/ the best site to download from and has all the mods?

I noticed the new games like Final Biltz does not have many mods thats why i asked 

Yes.  The site is hosted by @GreenAsJade.  He is a forum member here.  If you send him a PM (see "message" in your forum top menu bar - send to GreenAsJade), he will likely answer.  Enjoy the mods.  Good luck and good gaming.

Edited August 29, 2016 by Badger73

[BlutUndEhre]

I have a (somewhat) related question; how do I install mods to CMBN?  I know that I'm supposed to find the data folder and create a 'Z' folder in that but I cannot find a data folder for that particular title.  I have had no trouble locating said folder for CMRT or CMFB but it appears to be completely nonexistent for CMBN.  Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Badger73]

Here is the typical Windows PC install file path:

This PC / Data Drive (disk you intalled in - default is "C") / Users / Your user name / Documents / Battlefront / Combat Mission Battle for Normandy / Data . . .

You create a "Z" folder under "Data" and copy all your mods there.

Bolded entries vary PC to PC.  Let us know how it goes.

 

 

[BlutUndEhre]

Thanks a ton Badger, it was a snap once I found the right directory.  For some reason I had two CMBN folders, one in Program Files (x86) with no Data folder and the proper one under the path that you pointed me to.  Also, thanks to Oddball_E8 for the excellent sound mod I'm now enjoying!

[Erwin]

The GAME folder is in Program Files (x86).  The Data folders are under the DOCUMENTS folder as stated above.  Why are they separated like that?  No idea, other than to confuse folks.

[mjkerner]

It had to do with a Windows compatibility issue., IIRC. Some change or another that Microsoft made after CMBN was released, and before the rest of the titles. 

[Erwin]

I thought that one can still place mods etc into the Z folder in the original location and they work.  I am just too beat up fighting with MS to bother putting all my mods back.

[Blazing 88's]

@Erwin, you really should install all your games in a "Games" folder outside of 'Program Files (x86)' location.  Somewhere, someone told me those wise words.  Might be why you are having issues with your game, may be worth a shot. 

Also, installing to a folder on your Desktop is a good way to test run troublesome issues (especially true for older programs /games).  If the Desktop install works, you could always move that folder to a better location ("Games" folder), just re-map the quick start icon (that should work).

Edited August 31, 2016 by Blazing 88's

[A Canadian Cat]

18 hours ago, Erwin said:

The GAME folder is in Program Files (x86).  The Data folders are under the DOCUMENTS folder as stated above.  Why are they separated like that?  No idea, other than to confuse folks.

LOL - yeah that was M$ plan I am sure.  I get why M$ is string to restrict changes to the Program Files directories - they are trying to make it harder for malware to do bad things.  The problem, as we have seen, is that can make things awkward for companies like BFC.

 

18 hours ago, mjkerner said:

It had to do with a Windows compatibility issue., IIRC. Some change or another that Microsoft made after CMBN was released, and before the rest of the titles. 

Yes, exactly. 

 

14 hours ago, Erwin said:

I thought that one can still place mods etc into the Z folder in the original location and they work.  I am just too beat up fighting with MS to bother putting all my mods back.

You can actually. So, for everything after CMBN you end up with the immutable CM program files in the Program Files directory and the user controlled and changeable files in the My Documents directory.  For CMBN you end up with everything installed in a user directory (I honestly forget where it goes by default now but it is not under the Program Files directory).  In this setup you are expected to place user files in the directory structure under the My Documents folder - this includes mods.  However you can still place files in the data folder in the Program Files directory too (but you have to jump through a few M$ hoops to get the files there): the game will look for mods in both locations. 

Aside: This is actually really nice because it means that you can place version specific mods in the Program Files sub directories (such as the version specific animated text mod) and the mods that work with any version of a game in the My Documents sub directories.  That way if you have to have two versions of a CM2x game running for a while you can share the mods that are shareable and have version specific mods for each version too.

 

11 hours ago, Blazing 88's said:

@Erwin, you really should install all your games in a "Games" folder outside of 'Program Files (x86)' location.  Somewhere, someone told me those wise words.  Might be why you are having issues with your game, may be worth a shot. 

Also, installing to a folder on your Desktop is a good way to test run troublesome issues (especially true for older programs /games).  If the Desktop install works, you could always move that folder to a better location ("Games" folder), just re-map the quick start icon (that should work).

That is my solution as well - just to keep myself sane. I actually have a Programs folder because I have a few programs that violate the new M$ rules.  If you create a Games directory or a Programs directory then you can install each of the CM2x games the same way - .exe and immutable files in the Games directory and user modifiable files including mods in the My Documents sub directories.

[Erwin]

I agree... I do the same:  C:/SIMS/BF/CMXX etc.

One issue this creates is that some of the updates/patches/modules I forget which - do not load to the correct folder and have to be moved there manually.  For some reason, BF doesn't always have the BROWSE feature in their install routines.

"Aside: This is actually really nice because it means that you can place version specific mods in the Program Files sub directories (such as the version specific animated text mod) and the mods that work with any version of a game in the My Documents sub directories.  That way if you have to have two versions of a CM2x game running for a while you can share the mods that are shareable and have version specific mods for each version too."

Sounds wonderful - but my brain is already exploding with the mod management challenges.

I have two new systems and have been copying over all the mods for all the CM games from the last (17?) years!!!!   Copying them is one major project, but it will be a nightmare figuring which similar mods are the best and/or which actually work with the latest versions of the games.

Currently my BF games folder is about 90+GB including "current" mods, with another 177GB in my "UNUSED CM MODS" folder - and all will need examining and testing.      

If BF doesn't figure out a simple/automated way to ensure old non-working mods can be identified and deleted eventually mods may have to be abandoned by us long-time players, or the game family system will fall apart under its own weight and complexity.

 

[Blazing 88's]

29 minutes ago, Erwin said:

I agree... I do the same:  C:/SIMS/BF/CMXX etc.

One issue this creates is that some of the updates/patches/modules I forget which - do not load to the correct folder and have to be moved there manually.  For some reason, BF doesn't always have the BROWSE feature in their install routines.

"Aside: This is actually really nice because it means that you can place version specific mods in the Program Files sub directories (such as the version specific animated text mod) and the mods that work with any version of a game in the My Documents sub directories.  That way if you have to have two versions of a CM2x game running for a while you can share the mods that are shareable and have version specific mods for each version too."

Sounds wonderful - but my brain is already exploding with the mod management challenges.

I have two new systems and have been copying over all the mods for all the CM games from the last (17?) years!!!!   Copying them is one major project, but it will be a nightmare figuring which similar mods are the best and/or which actually work with the latest versions of the games.

Currently my BF games folder is about 90+GB including "current" mods, with another 177GB in my "UNUSED CM MODS" folder - and all will need examining and testing.      

If BF doesn't figure out a simple/automated way to ensure old non-working mods can be identified and deleted eventually mods may have to be abandoned by us long-time players, or the game family system will fall apart under its own weight and complexity.

 

 

Sorry, I didn't read your post correctly, thought you were installing to the 'Program Files (x86)' folder...

[A Canadian Cat]

1 hour ago, Erwin said:

One issue this creates is that some of the updates/patches/modules I forget which - do not load to the correct folder and have to be moved there manually.  For some reason, BF doesn't always have the BROWSE feature in their install routines.

At the moment it is just the last patch that came out.  Damned annoying yes, and it has been mentioned internally too.

 

1 hour ago, Erwin said:

If BF doesn't figure out a simple/automated way to ensure old non-working mods can be identified and deleted eventually mods may have to be abandoned by us long-time players, or the game family system will fall apart under its own weight and complexity.

I see no indications that there are any plans to do something like that.  On the other hand I do not see a need for it either.  Currently there is only one thing that, if modded, needs to be redone for each version and that is mods for the strings.  The one mod I am aware of that fits this currently is Vin's animated text mod.  The only other time things were changed that effected older mods was the grand renaming of uniform textures that happened with the 2.0 upgrade.  Other than that mods that worked in one version work in the next version.  Hence I see no significant problems.

Now if you are spending a lot of time trying to get mod X originally designed for CMBN to work with CMRT then I think you are on your own.

Unless I am missing something.  If I am please enlighten me.

[Ironcross12]

I do have my whole steam library installed on my C drive not under Program files as i was told a long time a go it can cause problems.

But seems Battle for normandy has installed fully under docs/myname/battlefront

when Red Storm and Final Biltz has installed in C/programfiles(x86)/battle front. But my mod folders are in docs with the battle for normandy  

I have had no problem with any of the games and have alot of mods installed 

[Erwin]

"The only other time things were changed that effected older mods was the grand renaming of uniform textures that happened with the 2.0 upgrade.  Other than that mods that worked in one version work in the next version."

That's helpful, Ian.  To clarify:  Does that mean we can discard all uniform mods that are older than this date?  What date would that be? 

And does that mean that all other CM2 mods whenever made, should work no matter what latest version of CM2 one is running?  (I don't generally use mods from one game family in another - unless directed to do so by the mod-maker.  eg: Some sound mods and UI mods seem to work across several games families etc.)

[A Canadian Cat]

15 hours ago, Erwin said:

That's helpful, Ian.  To clarify:  Does that mean we can discard all uniform mods that are older than this date?  What date would that be? 

I think that is the right thing to do.  As for dates - let me look...  I did not track when the 2.0 upgrade came out for CMBN (I have a list of all game and module releases with dates) but the first game family with the 2.0 code was CMFI and that was released at the beginning of August 2012.  The v2 upgrade for CMBN was after that but I do not know how long afterwards. You could use that as a starting point and dig through the news page to find the 2.0 upgrade announcement if you want a better date.

 

15 hours ago, Erwin said:

And does that mean that all other CM2 mods whenever made, should work no matter what latest version of CM2 one is running? 

Yes, but they may not work quite as expected because there could be built in tags for one game but not another and that could cause interesting behaviour.  For example I have no idea what a CMBN mod used in CMFB would do in certain snow conditions because there would be no snow version of the CMBN mod files.  It might just use the built in graphics but there could also be a chance of some unexpected mixing and matching.

Regardless nothing will crash or anything.

 

15 hours ago, Erwin said:

(I don't generally use mods from one game family in another - unless directed to do so by the mod-maker.  eg: Some sound mods and UI mods seem to work across several games families etc.)

That would be my recommendation too.  It just makes your life simpler if you keep to using the mods designed to work with a certain game.