CoolColJ Posted February 12, 2000 Share Posted February 12, 2000 As someone who is moding the tetxures... I find the flatness fo the wheatfield rather disturbing and annoying Have you ever thought of making the wheatfield a 3D retangular box with textures stuck on the top and sides? Tanks and standing infantry can protrude over the wheatfield, whilst kneeling and prone units can have the area they are sitting on, cut-away. I think its a good idea for improved representation of a wheatfield, and what it does to LOS ------------------ CCJ aka BLITZ_Force My Hompage ----> http://www.geocities.com/coolcolj Double your immersion with my Tweaked Textures and Saving Private Ryan sound set mods for CM!! Check out my music while your there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanzfeld Posted February 12, 2000 Share Posted February 12, 2000 I have to agree. This sounds like a GREAT idea. It would capture the benefits of the wheatfield perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gen. Sosaboski Posted February 12, 2000 Share Posted February 12, 2000 I have Sid Meier's Gettysburg and the wheatfields are great for hiding units and then unleashing a horrendous rifle volley against the foe once they come up ------------------ Sosabowski, 1st Pol. Abn. Yes, I know my name is spelled wrong as a member! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ol' Blood & Guts Posted February 12, 2000 Share Posted February 12, 2000 Well true, but they probably didn't do this for the same reason they didn't graphically represent "undergrowth" in scattered trees and woods. Any why not heavy woods? (Ahem, Gotcha! ) I did a search on Trees and LOS. Actually heavy woods don't have near the amount of undergrowth as the previous. So maybe the release version already has limited LOS modeled into a wheatfield, but not graphically. See what I mean? kind of like the unit scaling feature (Shift-C). The ballistics engine doesn't "care" what size the units are, type of thing. But I could be wrong, it's only my opinion But I agree, the wheatfield could be improved graphically along with its LOS rules. ------------------ "I want you to remember that...no bastard ever won a war...by dying for his country...He won it...by making the other poor dumb bastard...die for his country."--George S. Patton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Tom Posted February 12, 2000 Share Posted February 12, 2000 One problem I can see using this, is, that you yourself will lose your units. How can you see a hidden unit at the bottom of one of these squares? Some sort of marker will be needed to find your own troops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hunt52 Posted February 12, 2000 Share Posted February 12, 2000 I suppose you could make an incollapsible short building that didn't provide much fire cover that did provide LOS cover and call it wheat. It would be transparent to you just like buildings, but the enemy would have to hack their way in to see things. - Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark IV Posted February 13, 2000 Share Posted February 13, 2000 A highly flammable, incollapsible short building. Also wheatfields lend concealment, but not cover. Once the lads "pop up" they'll find they're not in Age of Rifles, but CM. And they're the grass, and the MG42 is the lawnmower, to coin a phrase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolColJ Posted February 13, 2000 Author Share Posted February 13, 2000 Major Tom - Like I said, any kneeling or prone units would have the area that they are sitting on cutaway. so you still can't see them I can visulaise it - and it looks cool, especially when tanks go through it, with their upper half protruding from it Actually if units fought from a prone stance, the wheatfield is still quiet good, since they really can't see you , and you are a hard target to hit with the wheat obscuring LOS. The thing is, does CM model units fighting from a prone stance within its fire engine? ------------------ CCJ aka BLITZ_Force My Hompage ----> http://www.geocities.com/coolcolj Double your immersion with my Tweaked Textures and Saving Private Ryan sound set mods for CM!! Check out my music while your there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Big Time Software Posted February 13, 2000 Share Posted February 13, 2000 Sorry, but no way Once a unit goes prone (hide, crawl, pinned) you would lose sight of it. That is a HUGE game problem, even if the wheatfields would look nicer. Cut away the area where the figures are? OK... picture a platoon in a single wheat field, crawling. That is 10 figures, or if you like 4 (one per unit). To dynamical build and rebuild the surface area of the wheat field to show the guys, so people don't kill us for horrible game problems , is not possible for us to do along with everything else. It would turn a 2 polygon (or so) wheatfield into something like 9 or so for ONE figure/unit. With each additional figure/unit in there it gets wickedly complicated, meaning dynamically disconnecting and reconnecting points, seamlessly, in realtime. Then toss in different elevations for the field's tile, units moving in opposing directions, etc. and you have a MAJOR programming nightmare. Yup, Charles and I have discussed the flatness of fields about a dozen times before, and we always come back to "not possible". We rulled out the "hole" concept a long, long time ago In short, they will remain flat for CM1 and CM2, perhaps even CM3 and on. Steve [This message has been edited by Big Time Software (edited 02-13-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thomm Posted February 13, 2000 Share Posted February 13, 2000 You could add a (moving) dark spot on top of the wheatfield "roof" similar to shellholes on the ground ... You could also make the "roof" transparent as it is done with building walls already ... [This message has been edited by Thomm (edited 02-13-2000).] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolColJ Posted February 13, 2000 Author Share Posted February 13, 2000 Yeah that's it make it transparent when there units in there! CCj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Big Time Software Posted February 13, 2000 Share Posted February 13, 2000 Sorry, but if we used transparancies as the solution to everything we all would have to go out and get top of the line systems The same arguments for 3D Wheat Fields applies to Brush terrain as well, so again... transparancies can't be the solution to everything in this year of 2000 Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolColJ Posted February 14, 2000 Author Share Posted February 14, 2000 Steve - I respect BTS's desicions I guess we'll just use our imagination Assuming wheatfield are modelled in-game though Problem is - CM doesn't leave much to the imagination...its all there in front of you CCJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge Posted February 14, 2000 Share Posted February 14, 2000 if wheatfields are early spring then there is no height to them but if they are only indications (maybe affect movement?) why not do without? or as a substitute, a plowed field! just ruddy ruts and soft muddy earth with 'NO' LOS blockage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoolColJ Posted February 15, 2000 Author Share Posted February 15, 2000 Interesting mod idea But seeing as how the AI uses it for cover, I can only assum its meant to be chest high Hmm I might try a plowed field graphic.... ccj Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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