SF2 'All in One' Released

[37mm]

 

One of my ongoing side projects (aimed, mostly, at the new influx of Steam Players) is to host an 'All in One' for every CM game here.

CMSF2 has been a bit of a mess on that front with separate modpacks for Syria, Afghanistan as well as old dropboxes of content from SF1 scattered around the place.

This has now all been brought together under one package... a proper 'All in One'.

Arguably this 'All in Ones' primary feature is a vast mass of content (361 scenarios* & 31 campaigns) which has been organized into four different categories...

 

Syria

The default modpack should be fairly familiar to many consisting of (tweaked) versions of @Kieme(ITA)'s outstanding terrain & buildings mods (I also added a few of @Zveroboy1's Allepo buildings), @MikeyD's horizons, @Pete Wenman's flavour objects, a tweaked version of @Sir Lancelot's realistic Syrians, @Jock Tamson's unconventional & (tweaked) British mods, tweaked versions of @AtlasActual's Canadians & a few bits & pieces from @mjkerner's USMC mods. There are also some .mds fixes by @Kevin2k & @Jace11. Many of the old SF1 vehicle mods by the likes of @Ryujin, @M1A1TC, @Kieme(ITA) & @Marco Bergman will also be quite familiar. @Mord's Marine vehicles have been given [brown] tags & so don't conflict with the US Army vehicles.

UI mods are provided by @xacto, @SteppenWolf, @Vinnart, @Mord & @MikeyD. Whilst music is a mix from @Blimey & (I believe) @Augusto. The ME effects compliation & ME soundscape (with its expanded dynamic range) & voices by waclaw, @George MC &  @Mord complete the package.

What might not be familiar is that I have added "rudimentary weathering" to (I believe) every vehicle in the game & used @JMDECC's .psd layers to add dust to every uniform.

207 user made scenarios & 23 user made campaigns are set in Syria.

There are three zip files inside the Syrian mod folder labelled Afghanistan, MENA & OPFOR. Unzip ONE of these files to activate that particular regions mods...

 

Afghanistan

Users of the (now discontinued) SF2-Afghanistan 'All in one' will be familiar with this mod option. It is in essence a fusion of @Zveroboy1's excellent Afghanistan, Taliban & ANA mods alongside a port of Combat Mission: Afghanistan's terrain & @Bil Hardenberger's Afghanistan trees as well as various doodads from @SeinfeldRules & @Kieme(ITA). The modpack has been tweaked & simplified somewhat from the 2021 version but little has really changed.

There is now a folder for appropriate text changes (renaming "Syria" into "Afghanistan" for example) however this will only work for the current game version (2.06). This folder will have to be deleted for all other game versions prior or to come.

2 user made campaigns & 44 scenarios have been given an "AFG" prefix to highlight that they are set in Afghanistan.

 

"Middle East & North Africa" aka "MENA"

Whilst planning the 'All in One' I was considering updating the old "Road to Bahgdad" mod by @Blimey using primarily the cool DCU uniform mods by @beeron & @Damian45.

However as I sorted through all the user made scenarios, I came to realize that there were many other Middle Eastern scenarios set in places like Libya, various fictional Middle Eastern kingdoms, various training camps & even a blue on blue battle set in an Egyptian shopping mall.  As such the MENA modpack was born... the best way of describing it is "The Middle East but NOT Syria".

Terrain & doodads are a port of the old SF1 terrain & (I think) is quite pleasing to the eye (it also looks much sandier than I remembered). @SteppenWolf's UI & music take centre stage here & more of @Zveroboy1's buildings enter the mix. There's a few different vehicles by @M1A1TC, some more voices by @Mord (as well as a different mix of portraits). @JMDECC's .psd's have been used to create alternative red uniforms alongside his Iranian vehicles (although these have also been rudimentarily weathered &, inspired by @IICptMillerII's sandy vehicles, recoloured somewhat).

There is also a folder for appropriate text changes however this will only work for the current game version (2.06). This folder will have to be deleted for all other game versions prior or to come.

2 user made campiagns & 60 scenarios have been given a "MENA" prefix to highlight that they are not set in Syria.

 

"Generic OPFOR"

The old SF1 content creators (and some of the newer SF2 ones) were an adventurous & experimental bunch and, with only one CM game to work with for many years, unsurprisingly made a considerable amount of content set in alternative theatres. There are scenarios set in Europe, in Chechnya, on Artic Islands, nuclear wastelands, Africa, South America, New Zealand, New England, various fictional countries... I think there's a Chinese invasion of the United States & a zombie attack or two.

To mod all of these places would be impractical to say the least, so I came up with the "Generic OPFOR"... they are everyone & nobody, everywhere & nowhere.

Terrain is a mix of the old Euroscape & Syrope mods by @dpabrams & @birdstrike respectively as well as their US vehicle mods. @Kevin2k provides the Syrian & British vehicle mods whilst @JMDECC provides the various woodland uniforms. I also added some @Oleksandr uniforms to the mix.

Yet more of @Zveroboy1's buildings are added to the mix alongside the modern UI mod by @Kinophile. I have no idea where the music tracks are from.

There is also a folder for appropriate text changes however this will only work for the current game version (2.06). This folder will have to be deleted for all other game versions prior or to come.

4 user made campaigns & 50 scenarios have been given the "OPFOR" prefix to highlight that they are not set in the Middle East.

 

There's also another two additional folders...

Extras & Options

Here you will find various extras which can be activated when needed or desired for example there's a modern version of @RockinHarry's re-animate mods (I used a lot of SF1 animations for the modded stances) designed to keep the pixeltruppens heads down & (possibly) increase their survivability.

There's the old SF1 marsh & mud to water mods which can be used whilst playing SF1 campaigns which are meant to have water on them (the old content creators did not have access to water so often made do with marsh).

There's an untagged night effects pack designed for dawn/dusk scenarios (this will also have the added benefit of removing all those sunglasses... your troops will no longer wear shades at sunset) as well as @Kieme(ITA)'s optional HD highway pack (these look good but don't work with every maps highway set-up).

Modtags

There's not many but here you will find @Zveroboy1's ANP pick-up, a weathered & desert version of @Chelentano's T-34, the old "Road to Bahgdad" cemetary mod & @Pete Wenman's squalor mod. They're activated automatically.

 

DOWNLOAD LINKS & INSTALLATION

 

https://www.mediafire.com/file/hk8tt6jfxv2ro8l/CMSF2_%27All_in_One%27.7z/file

https://app.mediafire.com/izmk6muctniv5

Unzip the file & add the "Z for Syria" folder to your games data folder (the folder with the .brz files in it)... that's it.

For the content, add the campaign .cam files to your games campaign folder & the scenario .btt files to your games scenarios folder... I suggest adding the content to folders which only contain base game scenarios & campaigns.

 

*I have updated a lot of the old SF1 maps which featured marsh being used as pseudo-water with proper SF2 water however there's nothing much I could do about the campaigns (other than provide the old "marsh to water" mods as an optional extra).

[MOS:96B2P]

Good job. Thanks for putting this together. 

[sburke]

outstanding CMSF still stands as my favorite.

[George MC]

Awesome bit of work. Thanks for all this effort

[37mm]

Thanks guys.

 

PS

I mixed up @SteppenWolf with @The Steppenwulf.

 

Edited May 21, 2023 by 37mm

[JM Stuff]

4 hours ago, George MC said:

Awesome bit of work. Thanks for all this effort

 

2 hours ago, 37mm said:

Thanks guys.

 

PS

I mixed up @SteppenWolf with @The Steppenwulf.

 

Just amazing ALL in ONE and ready from everywhere we need !

[dpabrams]

"Generic OPFOR"

I will live forever in mods!

 

Pete

[Zveroboy1]

Nice work. It is cool to see all the  various mods made by the community all put together.

[The Steppenwulf]

@37mm I've messaged you once and it didn't warrant a long-ranting list of counter justifications. How old are you? I'm simply asking you politely to respect my wish not to repackage my UI mod. The music is a different matter as are the full plate shots, use them as you like, but please don't repackage the mod. It's going to cause problems when the mod is updated (with multiple versions in different places) as it will be very soon - that' s because it is a WIP. It's either this or I won't be updating it with any further improvements at all and the community loses out... does not gain by having a 'super mod'. 

Look I'm honoured if players want to install my mod, but please just link them to it. It's not an unreasonable request and I think the community will understand my reasoning.
  

Edited May 30, 2023 by The Steppenwulf

[37mm]

7 hours ago, The Steppenwulf said:

@37mm I've messaged you once and it didn't warrant a long-ranting list of counter justifications.
  

I will certainly consider your request the next time I update the AiO.

PS

As well as the music & the plates, am I alright to use the (tweaked) versions of @Scipio's vehicle silhouettes you used without permission or credit?

[The Steppenwulf]

5 hours ago, 37mm said:

I will certainly consider your request the next time I update the AiO.

PS

As well as the music & the plates, am I alright to use the (tweaked) versions of @Scipio's vehicle silhouettes you used without permission or credit?

Okay I see you are a fella that just wants to debate but I'm not going to bite.

I think you are right, lets forthwith consider this mod to have lapsed and the community can do whatever they want with any of the material. Unfortunately it means it won't be maintained and updated from a single source, it can be butchered as anyone sees fit.

Please note there will no more updates from me to the work shared with the community. I will just be modding henceforth for my own use and pleasure.

But one last thing. What has happened here is the very reason why super mods are NOT a good idea. I've seen it happen before in other gaming communities and they are problematic, not least because developers and designers wishes are trampled over and the work ends up all over the place. We can debate ethics and decorum but there is a very sound pragmatic point at the heart of this. It's unfortunate that you didn't just think a little bit before jumping. Bull in a china shop seems like a very apt metaphor.

 

[37mm]

1 hour ago, The Steppenwulf said:

Bull in a china shop seems like a very apt metaphor.

On this we can agree.

[AtlasActual]

Incredible amount of work, well done!

[RockinHarry]

On 5/21/2023 at 4:31 AM, 37mm said:

Extras & Options

Here you will find various extras which can be activated when needed or desired for example there's a modern version of @RockinHarry's re-animate mods (I used a lot of SF1 animations for the modded stances) designed to keep the pixeltruppens heads down & (possibly) increase their survivability.

Just out of curiosity. Which parts of the "concept" do you use here? Does it have a noticeable impact on game play for those using it? I got fairly little feedback on original "mod" (simple file renaming), thus I ask. Thanks.

[37mm]

10 hours ago, RockinHarry said:

Just out of curiosity. Which parts of the "concept" do you use here? Does it have a noticeable impact on game play for those using it? I got fairly little feedback on original "mod" (simple file renaming), thus I ask. Thanks.

I stuck with the "stand to kneel" animation changes (there's a few exceptions, RPG's can still be fired standing up IIRC) played around with vehicle gunner stances & used the medic stance change.

The medic stance change has a very noticeable gameplay effect but that one change alone confirms a lot of your hypotheses (i.e. the 3d model itself has a kill box of some kind & animation changes can move the kill box).

I've been using the WW2 version since Christmas & the modern version for about a month... I think I notice a difference (roofs seem less hairy, men seem safer if fighting on a ridgeline) but time will tell.

[Vacillator]

@37mm I'm liking the all-in-one concept a lot, but a quick question.

I just grabbed CMFI Pacific Alpha (great title, I'll get my board out ). 

To be honest I haven't tried the Burning Ring of Fire mods yet, but the btt files look like a WIP that didn't quite make it?  No criticism to anyone if so, just wondering...

Edited June 8, 2023 by Vacillator

[37mm]

On 6/8/2023 at 11:04 PM, Vacillator said:

@37mm I haven't tried the Burning Ring of Fire mods yet, but the btt files look like a WIP that didn't quite make it?  No criticism to anyone if so, just wondering...

The CMFI Pacific Alpha is just that... an Alpha.

It's a very rough, WIP, modpack packaged alongside a few concept test scenarios (mostly designed to showcase the mods).

I'm mostly using it to gauge interest in a potentially much larger Pacific War project (so far, to be honest, I'm seeing that it's a thumbs down).

However, the Alpha does feature a full conversion of the (very large) "Makin Atoll " scenario (originally made for CMBN)... that scenario alone is IMO worth the download.

[Vacillator]

5 hours ago, 37mm said:

it's a thumbs down

That's a shame, it's a from me.  Anyway, I'll have a look at Makin Atoll.  Thanks again for all of your hard work.

[BamaMatt]

The night time tracers contained in the Effects NIGHT folder are completely broken. Even if you add  the [night] tag to veins v4 tracers (which work fine at night), it gets jumbled into a weird greenish red monstrosity of a tracer.

[RockinHarry]

On 6/8/2023 at 8:24 AM, 37mm said:

I stuck with the "stand to kneel" animation changes (there's a few exceptions, RPG's can still be fired standing up IIRC) played around with vehicle gunner stances & used the medic stance change.

The medic stance change has a very noticeable gameplay effect but that one change alone confirms a lot of your hypotheses (i.e. the 3d model itself has a kill box of some kind & animation changes can move the kill box).

I've been using the WW2 version since Christmas & the modern version for about a month... I think I notice a difference (roofs seem less hairy, men seem safer if fighting on a ridgeline) but time will tell.

thanks. The trade off is you´ve less shooting and spotting in lowered stances, thus "lowered carnage". That was the initial aim of the concept. Medic makes a difference for sure as this was my starting point for all other stance edits. Otherwise I wouldn´t have had wasted time on those. The modular concept (if beeing used) gives all players choices which the stance settings to use and which not. In my personal set I´ve lowered stance reload anis beeing active all the time. These and medic is good starting point. Every other depend on how much daring or agressive I want the opponents be. Pity that animations is almost all or nothing, as ani files are shared between opponents. So you can´t make one opponent more cautious and the other more daring this way. I.e I´d like having snipers keep a lower profile, but they don´t have seperate animation files unfortunately.

[humback]

Where is the zombie scenario? Although the AI itself is pretty much like a zombie.

[37mm]

On 6/23/2023 at 10:36 PM, BamaMatt said:

The night time tracers contained in the Effects NIGHT folder are completely broken. Even if you add  the [night] tag to veins v4 tracers (which work fine at night), it gets jumbled into a weird greenish red monstrosity of a tracer.

I've been using the tagged version for years & the untagged version for many months* without issue however you're not the only person to mention there's a problem with the night tracers.

I would love a screenshot & then perhaps we can figure out what's going on.

22 hours ago, humback said:

Where is the zombie scenario? Although the AI itself is pretty much like a zombie.

"OPFOR USMC Semper Fright"

 

 

*Additionally, over the years, there have been tens of thousands of downloads of the ME effects package.

Edited June 26, 2023 by 37mm

[BamaMatt]

The following screenshots are from CMBN with a clean z folder except the effects night and veins tracers folder. The 3 pics are of the same tracer as I zoom in. They look exactly the same in Shock Force 2.

 

[BamaMatt]

Ok, maybe those last screenshots were not ideal. These may be a little clearer.

This is CMBN with only night effects plus veins tracers

[37mm]

I'm looking into the night tracer issue.

I also finished a series of videos showcasing the AiO and its various options...

Syria (default) with reanimate...

 

Afghanistan with reanimate...

 

Middle East & North Africa (aka MENA) with reanimate...

 

Generic OPFOR with reanimate, untagged night effects & SF1 Marsh to Water...