WineCape Posted April 28, 2001 Share Posted April 28, 2001 This found on Deanco's website. Old news for some, but still a fine achievement. Quotes verbatim below... <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT! PLEASE READ! Hi folks, Some of you might have been wondering about the recent lack of updates to this site. Some of you might be thinking that I have lost interest in Combat Mission. Well, nothing could be further from the truth. And, in conjunction with the Forward Observer's Sidewalk Sale, I have a very special announcement I'd like to make. The reason I have not had time to update the site is that I have been hard at work, designing the in-game interface for Combat Mission 2. A few weeks ago, out of the blue, I recieved an email from Steve Grammont, asking me if I would do the design work for the main interface. Well folks, when I read that, I got up and went out of the room and stood in the hallway for about a minute. I said to myself, 'Dude, that email is not there. It never happened. You're seeing things.' and so on. I finally got the courage to go back into the room and took another look. Sure enough, the email was still there. I read it carefully this time. It finally sank in. I'd really like to tell you what happened after that, but I lack the words. Let's just say that boy, I was one happy puppy. This feeling was one of the best feelings I've ever had in my life. I was gonna be working on the sequel to what I considered to be a groundbreaking, innovative, and enormously fun game. I was working on a game I admired, and would be working with the people who made that game. What a tremendous rush, folks. You can't imagine. My only (minor) regret is that my then-girlfriend and now-wife was not there at the time I got the mail, so I couldn't share that super happy moment with her. But you can't have everything. Now I want to get one thing straight with y'all, so listen up. I know absolutely nothing about CM2. My build uses the CM1 engine so it's like playing CM with another interface, that's all. All I am doing is drawing the interface. So, I don't know if those exploding dogs y'all keep raving about are in the game. I don't know if the engine is gonna model the Russian tendancy to do X and Y, or if the Uberstompingwhatchamacalit is gonna have the correct ROF. I repeat, I know absolutely nothing about CM2, so please folks, spare me the emails. You (and I) will just have to wait for Steve and Charles to release screenshots, give details, etc. However, I think there is one thing that I AM allowed to talk about, and I'm gonna do just that. I just want to tell y'all what a rare privelege, honor, and learning experience it has been to work with Steve and Charles. I can assure you that both these guys are professionals, right down to their fingertips. I can tell you that they've never, not once, been anything else but kind, supportive, and encouraging. I can tell you that they're ready to go the extra mile on the little details. I can tell you that they leave no stone unturned in their quest for perfection. I can tell you that nothing is left to chance, or glossed over. I can tell you that the phrase, 'AAhhh, that's good enough' is not in their vocabulary. And I can tell you that if Steve and Charles pound on the other parts of CM2 as hard as we've pounded on the game interface, then, fans, you have nothing to fear. CM2 is gonna be one kickass game. Thanks for listening, DeanCo--<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Make your interface a smash hit on CM2, Deanco! Cheers and all our best wishes, Sincerely Charl Theron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WineCape Posted April 28, 2001 Author Share Posted April 28, 2001 Of course, before I forget, Denco's website to be found @ http://mapage.cybercable.fr/deanco/ for those that wants to give his CM interfaces a try. As if not most people here are already using it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Franko Posted April 28, 2001 Share Posted April 28, 2001 Congrats Deanco! I have often hoped of getting a similar email to design scenarios for CM2. Good to hear something like that happens to someone! Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanco Posted April 28, 2001 Share Posted April 28, 2001 WineCape, you're too cool. I figured most people caught the news during Ted's Sidewalk Sale, but I'm happy to see you thought it was important enough to post here. I really don't want to make a big deal about it though. When it comes right down to it, I'm just a fan of the game, like y'all. That's the way I prefer to see it. Franko: Yeah, it can happen. I have no knowledge of Steve and Charles' plans, but I wish you the best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gremlin Posted April 28, 2001 Share Posted April 28, 2001 DeanCo, that's awesome! If anyone deserves the opportunity, it's you. DeanCo and I have talked about game design a lot, and he definitely has a true appreciation for both CM and games in general, not to mention artistic talent. Expect the usual excellent work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CJMello Posted April 28, 2001 Share Posted April 28, 2001 I also enjoy Deanco's work and look foward to seeing it in CM2. :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka_tom_w Posted April 28, 2001 Share Posted April 28, 2001 Mega Congrats!! VERY COOL Deanco's gunmetal interface is the ONLY one I use for CMBO. I REALLY really hope that Steve and Charles will encourage Deanco to work on the interface to the map and scenario editor. Deaco KNOWS good interface design and I would say he is a VERY talented desinger. I LOVE CMBO and am addicted to it but interface the design on the map editor in CMBO is barely one step above a command line interface and could use a MAJOR overhaul. Good Luck Denco Best Wishes, As a Designer stay true to your self and your design and make both functional and aesthetically pleasing! I know we are in good hands in the case for sure! Steve and Charles GREAT Choice for and interface designer, Deanco's Gunmetal interface has just the right amount of little curves and 3D dimensionality that make just the right balance of eye candy and funtionality. He knows colour theory very and and is IMHO a great Designer! GO BTS!!! -tom w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frenchy Posted April 28, 2001 Share Posted April 28, 2001 Well deserved, Deanco! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfamily33 Posted April 28, 2001 Share Posted April 28, 2001 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR> A) The reason I have not had time to update the site is that I have been hard at work, designing the in-game interface for Combat Mission 2. My only (minor) regret is that my then-girlfriend and now-wife was not there at the time I got the mail, so I couldn't share that super happy moment with her. C) So, I don't know if those exploding dogs y'all keep raving about are in the game. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Re. A) Congrats! Good news. Re. Just as well, she shouldn't know your working on it because she will probably curtail the time you put into it. You're now married man, smarten up or you're doomed. Before you know it, you'll have more honeydo's on your hands than you know. Re. C) If you're asked to include a new "fetch" command in your orders clipboard than you'll know there will be four legged, tail wagging, exploding tank destroyers. :eek: Congrats again. Look forward to seeing your future interface. [ 04-28-2001: Message edited by: bfamily33 ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tom Posted April 28, 2001 Share Posted April 28, 2001 Whow ,Great news ! DeanCo you deserved it. BTW: Is anone playing CMBO WITHOUT that marvellous gunmetal interface ? It adds so much to the visual impression of CM. Regards Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanco Posted April 28, 2001 Share Posted April 28, 2001 Yo dudes, Thanks very much for the kind words. Like Gremlin said, I've been a big fan of all sorts of games, since I was a little kid. Now I'm old, but I still just like games, in general. And out of all the games I've ever played, my whole life, CM ranks... at least in the top 5. In fact it's probably Number 1, but I don't want Steve and Charles to get swelled heads about it, so let's say the top 5. So this is like Sid Meier calling me up and saying, 'Hey dude! Wanna do the interface for Civilization?'. Or Chris Taylor, "Say deanco, we could really use a hand working on these graphics for Total Annihilation". Y'all get the picture? I'm kinda motivated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloodyBucket Posted April 28, 2001 Share Posted April 28, 2001 Outstanding! Of course, I am happy for deanco, but I am also happy for me. I selfishly want the best interface available, and now I know I will get it. Congrats, it is a well deserved honor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splinty Posted April 28, 2001 Share Posted April 28, 2001 Fantastic news Deanco! I too am a huge fan of your work and always use your Gunmetal interface! Congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foobar Posted April 29, 2001 Share Posted April 29, 2001 deanco, I am so glad to hear it. Keep up the great work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DEF BUNGIS Posted April 29, 2001 Share Posted April 29, 2001 A good selection from BTS. Deanco's "gun metal" and "clipboard" MOD is spectacular work. Looking forward to seeing your stuff in CM 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phillies Phan Posted April 29, 2001 Share Posted April 29, 2001 I'd like to add my hurrah to my companions. Deanco, your work is excellent and I'm happy to know you will be working with CM2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunnergoz Posted April 29, 2001 Share Posted April 29, 2001 You got one of those emails too? Just kidding! Good for you and have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted April 29, 2001 Share Posted April 29, 2001 I missed this during the sidewalk sale (working, sigh) and just about missed it again. Congrats, indeed - nice to see one of the "little people" get noticed. Keep it middle of the road! Best of luck; looking forward to seeing your work in CM 2- and your name in the manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Compassion Posted April 29, 2001 Share Posted April 29, 2001 That's great news. With the team that's being addembled, we will have a great lookin game right out of the box... and then the modders will have to jump that much higher to top the default install... and then they do my hard drive will be waiting to be filled! Life can be good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanco Posted April 29, 2001 Share Posted April 29, 2001 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Michael Dorosh: Keep it middle of the road! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Hi Michael, I was waiting for this "keep it middle of the road" issue to come up. I know that a few of you might have concerns that the interface might end up looking too 'spacey' 'far out', etc. Most of you know that I am a gamer first and a wargamer second, and perhaps wonder if the interface design will be 'appropriate'. Rest assured that every bmp I do has to get past Steve and Charles. They have the final say in the matter, of course. If they say no, NO is the answer. Well... it's true, sometimes I do argue about it a little. Actually... usually I argue about it quite a lot. Anyway... rest assured folks, after a lot of bitter and acrimonious arguing, when Steve and Charles say no, the answer is NO. Secondly, I DO realize that CM players are a pretty diverse crowd. So I am designing an interface for grogs, gamey bastards, modsluts, newbies, women, the twitch click crowd, eye candy freaks, college professors, sleazebags...and even people who have never heard of Combat Mission in the first place. With such a diverse group it will be impossible to design something that will please everyone equally. All I can say is, you are all there, in the back of my mind, when I am looking at artwork. Finally, let's not kid ourselves. The real action is on the 3D screen. The interface just has a job to do. Get information across to the player. How well the interface does this job can be 'quantified' in some cases. 2 quick examples : the larger the text size, the easier to read. The more contrast between the letters and the background, the easier the letters are to see as well. So as far as the interface passing information goes, certain 'configurations' can be PROVEN to be superior to others. No argument possible. X is better than Y. Even I don't argue about this! This is really the basics of information passing, and getting this stuff right will insure that the interface will be appreciated by the widest number of end users possible. After that it will be a matter of personal taste, and there's certainly enough of that here to go around!! Anyway, I hope this addresses some concerns a few of you might have. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aka_tom_w Posted April 29, 2001 Share Posted April 29, 2001 Please Please please take a look at that Map editor. At the VERY least it coulg have expanding or drop down menu's for all the different types of "roads in the woods" for instance. Hell any 3 yr college grad in interface design can make drop down buttons and expanding menus in Flash. How about in the Map editor a rollover with a drop down menu for ALL tnhe roads. The suggestion is ONE button for roads in the woods, then roll over that and you get a drop down of the all the variations of roads in the woods. Same with ALL other road and rail tiles. I hope they will let you re-work and redesign the map editor and the over all way it works. I feel badly going on and on about this but it is very obvious the Map editor was a quick and dirty interface designed by a programer. Good Luck Deanco! -tom w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWB Posted April 29, 2001 Share Posted April 29, 2001 How about context menus in the map editor? WWB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PawBroon Posted April 29, 2001 Share Posted April 29, 2001 Well I had said that so often it won't be news for DeanCo... But then again a little soothing is always good now and then. DeanCo's GunMetal & Clipboard are the best over all MODs there is for CM. The reason being you ALWAYS have to look at the interface and it has to be both informative, good looking and unobstrusive. It's so good I am not seeing it at all now. I've been talking with DeanCo over ICQ while he was field testing his Clipboard and I know it's the best compliment he wanted his MODs to achieve. Congrats on being on that talented team and remember you're in for a kickin' you StarCraft like push button! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vanir Ausf B Posted April 29, 2001 Share Posted April 29, 2001 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Michael Dorosh: Keep it middle of the road!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Being that Deanco's popular Gunmetal mod was inspired by the Fallout games, I've been hoping the CM2 interface would have a StarCraft inspired theme. A Protoss motif would be divine, with units screaming "For Adun!" when given orders. [ 04-29-2001: Message edited by: Vanir Ausf B ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Dorosh Posted April 29, 2001 Share Posted April 29, 2001 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Vanir Ausf B: Being that Deanco's popular Gunmetal mod was inspired by the Fallout games, I've been hoping the CM2 interface would have a StarCraft inspired theme. A Protoss motif would be divine, with units screaming "For Adun!" when given orders. [ 04-29-2001: Message edited by: Vanir Ausf B ]<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I'm hoping for Army Splinter pattern myself - perhaps Oakleaf B when playing the SS? Points well taken, too, Deanco - you certainly don't need to prove yourself to us. Unfortunately you are correct in that it is not something people think about, in relation to the action in the 3D window. If it's done wrong, you're an SOB, but if it's done right, no one will ordinarily notice - but since its one of us unwashed masses doing the work, I think your ticket to fame has been firmly punched - at least in this circle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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