Custom 3D Models and Mods Compilation

[JM Stuff]

12 minutes ago, Aquila-SmartWargames said:

Great idea by @wgbn1968 uzilizing the underground cover mod to simulate basements:

 

Very interresting, I was asking one day to have this possibility to fight in the cellar, or bunker, and I see this is possible, this promess lot of news possibilities for the futur, I like also the way to explain the situation on the begining only with arrows, (because I dont understand anything in russian, ) I think BF could introduce this kind of arrows in the preparation phase in the game, great video love it, thank you to post it @Aquila-SmartWargames

[Falaise]

it's great, it allows you to imagine a sewer or metro network under the big cities. If BF integrates it into the red thunder there could be an underground network under Berlin !!!!

[MOS:96B2P]

3 hours ago, Aquila-SmartWargames said:

Great idea by @wgbn1968 uzilizing the underground cover mod to simulate basements:   

+1.  Interesting idea.  Thanks for sharing. 

[JM Stuff]

3 hours ago, Falaise said:

it's great, it allows you to imagine a sewer or metro network under the big cities. If BF integrates it into the red thunder there could be an underground network under Berlin !!!!

Yep Metro I was not thinking about.

I think BF will realise something like... fighting in the Berlin Bunker, with the creme de la creme of fanatic fighters, and this is why this take time, cos this is also the last chapter of the ww2 ...!

Edited May 12, 2020 by 3j2m7

[sburke]

I don't think You'll ever see BF do this, it would have to be a community generated scenario.  Mods are never part of BF official scenarios.  Interesting ideas though nevertheless.

[JM Stuff]

3 hours ago, sburke said:

I don't think You'll ever see BF do this, it would have to be a community generated scenario.  Mods are never part of BF official scenarios.  Interesting ideas though nevertheless.

ok if BF dont do something about,  but we have the prove,  that with a Mod like you said, that can be working, and this is already something new and very good welcome, and I m sure to see more in the same direction, we have enough modders to thinking about, the like a Pacific theater with H an E environnement and  mountains, or back to Afghanistan also, in the mountains ...
 

[Sgt.Squarehead]

On 5/12/2020 at 11:08 AM, Aquila-SmartWargames said:

Great idea by @wgbn1968 uzilizing the underground cover mod to simulate basements:

 

That's very interesting.....I've been experimenting for a while with a ruined city map, trying to create something similar using ditch-locking.

 

[wgbn1968]

From the very beginning (2009), I was" hurt " by the unnatural height of the building's floor set in the game. As it turned out, the height of the floor (from the floor of the first floor to the floor of the second floor) is approximately 2.6 meters. Which may be the norm for a hut, but not for urban homes, let alone European homes. When you see "Marder" A5, "looking" with its gun on the second floor of an 8-storey building, you feel a little strange. If you increase the height of the floor to at least 3 meters, it would look more real. It would also be easier to use the Aquila-SmartWargames mod (fit into the terrain). As for using the BF of this mod, I agree that they won't do it. The mod has one obstacle - the inability to see and fire between floors separated by a shelter. In the video, this moment is clearly visible. I couldn't assign shooting on the floor from the "basement". I don't know how to solve this problem.

[Aquila-SmartWargames]

1 hour ago, wgbn1968 said:

The mod has one obstacle - the inability to see and fire between floors separated by a shelter. In the video, this moment is clearly visible. I couldn't assign shooting on the floor from the "basement". I don't know how to solve this problem.

With "shelter" you mean the custom model floor of the mod? I can see it in your video but can you re-run the test without the cover mod to make 100% sure that this LOS block is indeed caused by the mod. If it is true that the LOS block is surprisingly caused by the mod it would enable alot of new opportunities which I didn´t know could be possible

For example (AI) enemies hiding in LOS-blocked/concealed basements, holes, tunnels that emerge for ambushes and clearing those underground positions with grenades or flamethrowers

 

 

 

And if this is really the result of the mod (which would be exciting) but not what you wished for you could try to fix it by placing the underground covers in a way that will leave the centers of big buildings "uncovered" so that there is no LOS-block between the floors i. e. place multiple covers "around" the building. A more complex solution would be to cut a center "window" into the cover mod in Blender. I have some written/video tutorials on cutting/sculpting models in this thread.

You mentioned you couldn´t assign target, do you mean the target command that allows units to fire into higher/lower floors?

Edited May 17, 2020 by Aquila-SmartWargames

[Sgt.Squarehead]

I'm really intrugued by the potential of this mod.....Gonna ping @MOS:96B2P too, 'cos I suspect it'll be of interest to him too.

I've been wanting to build a properly ruined city for a while.....The new options this mod might offer (if the issues described above can be resolved) make that idea even more appealing.

[MOS:96B2P]

4 minutes ago, Sgt.Squarehead said:

I'm really intrugued by the potential of this mod.....Gonna ping @MOS:96B2P too, 'cos I suspect it'll be of interest to him too.

I've been wanting to build a properly ruined city for a while.....The new options this mod might offer (if the issues described above can be resolved) make that idea even more appealing.

This is interesting.  Maybe a tunnel rat scenario for rural areas and sewer systems for urban areas.  

[wgbn1968]

Units in the basement can see one floor up and can fire. I checked it three times. But for some reason, not all of them. The reason why the platoon commander can't fire and watch is not clear to me

Edited May 18, 2020 by wgbn1968

[mjkerner]

Sorry if I missed it, but how did you make the ground cover layer over the "basement"?

[wgbn1968]

It was made not by me, but by Aquila-SmartWargames. His posts have links to his mods. I only changed it a little

[Sgt.Squarehead]

5 hours ago, MOS:96B2P said:

Maybe a tunnel rat scenario for rural areas

'Elite, +2, Fanatic, Pistoleers'  FTW! 

Go on.....You know you want to! 

Edited May 18, 2020 by Sgt.Squarehead

[Aquila-SmartWargames]

23 hours ago, wgbn1968 said:

Units in the basement can see one floor up and can fire. I checked it three times. But for some reason, not all of them. The reason why the platoon commander can't fire and watch is not clear to me

If you upload your test scenario and your modification of the cover mod I can check it with my own eyes.

[wgbn1968]

Scenario

https://yadi.sk/d/klCfA7bDzCP2DA

 

My converted shelter

https://yadi.sk/d/46LhtTVCBHuFKg

[ggg]

any plan to model sherman and m26 to Cmred thunder in this can simulate Korean War scenarios

[Frenchy56]

I managed to fix the problem with the wheels in my AT gun rescale mod. Check it out here (use the download links at the bottom of the thread)

 

[RockinHarry]

On 5/18/2020 at 8:03 PM, wgbn1968 said:

Units in the basement can see one floor up and can fire. I checked it three times. But for some reason, not all of them. The reason why the platoon commander can't fire and watch is not clear to me

 

On 5/19/2020 at 8:09 PM, wgbn1968 said:

Scenario

https://yadi.sk/d/klCfA7bDzCP2DA

 

My converted shelter

https://yadi.sk/d/46LhtTVCBHuFKg

can´t download due to yandex account requirement. But I dowloaded the orignal files and I´m about to test these tonight. My guess would be on the single ground level door providing LOS/LOF fire opportunity though. Too bad one can enter such (faked) basement levels just by means of a door and path connected to ground level outside. Interesting you can exit such a building other than ground level via balconies. At least if balconies are level with the outside terrain mesh (ditch lock -3m). But balconies provide a multitude of problems like unwanted exposure while beeing in that building.

[RockinHarry]

some questions for @Aquila-SmartWargames or anybody maybe knowing this. I´ve just installed Blender 2.83 and I´m about to download Anaconda 3.x The latter is quite a big download (466 MB ), so is that really necessary or is there any working Python alternatives? IIRC the original Blender plugin and conversion files were meant to work with Blender 2.7x. Do I need an older install (pre 2.8x) or do they work on latest Blender too?

Bits of played around with the "underground cover" object in CMBN (renamed the file to use a different than CMSF2 flavor object). I like the idea generally, though it´s for some cosmetical purposes only. The shading of that flavor object also prevents blending with any the surrounding terrain in satisfying ways. I´ve yet to find out if I can improve on that.  I´d also make different versions with different textures to adapt to varying terrain textures around (grass, dirt, pavement etc.). For covering sunken buildings the height offset needs to be at -3m for standard terrain (category #1, grass dirt, etc). For category #2 it rather needs to be -2,5m for the terrain leveling effects of i.e mud, gravel, pavement etc. These yield a slight raise of the terrain mesh of about half a meter (when in ditch locked AS). I usually prefer category #2 as it nicely smoothes out some the roughness around sunken buildings. So far...

If I get the MDR im-/exporter working, I´d likely have a look at fortifications and bridges which might provide some interesting info from attributes. And maybe some serious modding opportunity (beside misusing these as flavor objects).

[Aquila-SmartWargames]

8 hours ago, RockinHarry said:

some questions for @Aquila-SmartWargames or anybody maybe knowing this. I´ve just installed Blender 2.83 and I´m about to download Anaconda 3.x The latter is quite a big download (466 MB ), so is that really necessary or is there any working Python alternatives? IIRC the original Blender plugin and conversion files were meant to work with Blender 2.7x. Do I need an older install (pre 2.8x) or do they work on latest Blender too?

Possible, I am not into Blender/Python specifics, I followed the CM Tools instructions and somehow ended up with this working setup, which is enough for me. Somebody else might know more.

8 hours ago, RockinHarry said:

 I´d also make different versions with different textures to adapt to varying terrain textures around (grass, dirt, pavement etc.).

It comes with a dedicated texture which can be replaced by whatever is required. Creating several versions would make sense if a designer for some reason would require several covers each with a different texture in a single scenario.

Further when talking about this modding department I advice not to jump into fast absolute and universal conclusions like "it is for x purposes only" because let alone in this thread they simply proved too often wrong and spread false information and confusion in a modding topic which it is already hard to keep track of. It requires some scientific mindset and out of the box thinking for understanding and progressing many of the techniques here and not everything is always evident, especially when alot of the information in this thread is skipped. For example @wgbn1968´s testing in this case might indicate that there is a LOS block for some reason. This is surprising for myself too although I myself didn´t take a look at it. Nevertheless everybody interested in this at least try to skim through the thread and the provided information.

Despite this there might be an alternative. In the meanwhile we´ve learned that building roofs can be modified aswell (Years of the Rat Temple Addon, see post). It might be an idea to mod a terrain cover onto a building roof and place the building into a depression. This is less suited for the ceiling workarounds of multi-story under+overground buildings as shown by @wgbn1968 but if somebody wants to hide a complete building below this might be worth a try.

 

Video Playlist for CM 3D Model Editing with Showcases, Workflows, and Tutorials (latter with commentary)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlUX4ALH7zTNgpWGBYSFUCnZK-Sf7SCcl

Edited June 16, 2020 by Aquila-SmartWargames

[RockinHarry]

11 hours ago, Aquila-SmartWargames said:

Possible, I am not into Blender/Python specifics, I followed the CM Tools instructions and somehow ended up with this working setup, which is enough for me. Somebody else might know more.

It comes with a dedicated texture which can be replaced by whatever is required. Creating several versions would make sense if a designer for some reason would require several covers each with a different texture in a single scenario.

Further when talking about this modding department I advice not to jump into fast absolute and universal conclusions like "it is for x purposes only" because let alone in this thread they simply proved too often wrong and spread false information and confusion in a modding topic which it is already hard to keep track of. It requires some scientific mindset and out of the box thinking for understanding and progressing many of the techniques here and not everything is always evident, especially when alot of the information in this thread is skipped. For example @wgbn1968´s testing in this case might indicate that there is a LOS block for some reason. This is surprising for myself too although I myself didn´t take a look at it. Nevertheless everybody interested in this at least try to skim through the thread and the provided information.

Despite this there might be an alternative. In the meanwhile we´ve learned that building roofs can be modified aswell (Years of the Rat Temple Addon, see post). It might be an idea to mod a terrain cover onto a building roof and place the building into a depression. This is less suited for the ceiling workarounds of multi-story under+overground buildings as shown by @wgbn1968 but if somebody wants to hide a complete building below this might be worth a try.

 

Video Playlist for CM 3D Model Editing with Showcases, Workflows, and Tutorials (latter with commentary)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlUX4ALH7zTNgpWGBYSFUCnZK-Sf7SCcl

Ok, thanks. I´ll read wgbn1968 instructions once more again. For now I´d be just satisfied if I can get the MDR im- and export plugin to work. Didn´t work in Blender 2.76 back in 2019 unfortunately.

[Aquila-SmartWargames]

5 hours ago, RockinHarry said:

Ok, thanks. I´ll read wgbn1968 instructions once more again.

He experienced a LOS block in his test scenario with the terrain cover mod when bringing infantry from the fake ceiling into upper levels, wich is surprising and exciting aswell. He uploaded it a couple of posts ago but I didn´t check it out yet but others are welcome to take a look as well as this would enable alot of new options in case it is indeed the case.

5 hours ago, RockinHarry said:

For now I´d be just satisfied if I can get the MDR im- and export plugin to work.

That´s great news as there are not many that got this far. With that you´ve managed to overcome a big part of the challenge of this Blender/CM Tools method. Would be great to see your ideas coming to frutition.

Everybody is encouraged to experiment with all these custom models mods here and do whatever they like with them. In most releases I´ve added theBblender project file for easier editing them and education purposes by loading them directly into Blender. Instructions and possible purposes of methods/custom models are highlighted in the dedicated posts which were published here for almost all releases. This complete thread is basically a manual with discussion bits between the instructions and progress flow. I am not really expecting any volunteers  but if someone wants to extract all of the vital data from here and bring it into a new (general mods) thread, you´re definitely welcome.

Video Playlist for CM 3D Model Editing with Showcases, Workflows, and Tutorials (latter with commentary)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlUX4ALH7zTNgpWGBYSFUCnZK-Sf7SCcl

Edited June 17, 2020 by Aquila-SmartWargames

[RockinHarry]

6 hours ago, Aquila-SmartWargames said:

He experienced a LOS block in his test scenario with the terrain cover mod when bringing infantry from the fake ceiling into upper levels, wich is surprising and exciting aswell. He uploaded it a couple of posts ago but I didn´t check it out yet but others are welcome to take a look as well as this would enable alot of new options in case it is indeed the case.

That´s great news as there are not many that got this far. With that you´ve managed to overcome a big part of the challenge of this Blender/CM Tools method. Would be great to see your ideas coming to frutition.

Everybody is encouraged to experiment with all these custom models mods here and do whatever they like with them. In most releases I´ve added theBblender project file for easier editing them and education purposes by loading them directly into Blender. Instructions and possible purposes of methods/custom models are highlighted in the dedicated posts which were published here for almost all releases. This complete thread is basically a manual with discussion bits between the instructions and progress flow. I am not really expecting any volunteers  but if someone wants to extract all of the vital data from here and bring it into a new (general mods) thread, you´re definitely welcome.

Video Playlist for CM 3D Model Editing with Showcases, Workflows, and Tutorials (latter with commentary)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlUX4ALH7zTNgpWGBYSFUCnZK-Sf7SCcl

Haven´t tested that cover object again. I´ve tried it for buildings sunken down just one level deep (-3m) with upper stories remaining above ground (2 and 3 story buildings). This to hide the rugged terrain mesh around the sunken building. Whether that object yields any LOS or LOF blocking attributes I don´t know (yet).

In fact I confused that Anaconda thing beeing a requirement for Blender Im- and Export, which is not the case. Blender V2.79b was all I needed to deal with just MDR files which was my main goal. At least for the time beeing.

I´m now in learning mode and cosidering my noob Blender skills it´ll likely take a couple of weeks before I can add something useful to this or a more dedicated thread. At least I got the rather simple foxhole object edited (bits of size and shape changes) and then reimported into the game successfully. Now I´ve to check consequences ingame.

What do we know on "bounding boxes" and such btw? Blender console pops out various data telling it likely beeing associated with bounding box data (and others), but off course not editable. Guess bounding boxes are needed for quite a number of things.