New to modding? - give PC Modmanager a try

[Apache]

I mainly post this for anyone new to modding who, like me, is perhaps a little reluctant to get started. I have not had the game that long and reluctantly stopped playing recently to do some modding. I was a little dubious about this but was aware of the immense difference these mods can make.

My main problem is that I wanted to put a few (thirty plus actually) mods in at once. I use a PC and was a bit concerned about the modmanager programme. I even needed to post a few queries, for peace of mind.

I decided to take the plunge and after I'd installed the manager and its 'f' patch I downloaded all the mods I wanted for the first run. I got the info on this 'cocktail' from here, CM HQ, CM Outpost, Desert Fox and Combat-missions.net. I was tempted to use the drag and drop method of copying the files across once downloaded (and unzipped) but with 30 mods to do this would be a chore. I was mainly interested in sound fx and terrain at first, vehicles I can do any time. Anyway, I hit 'full install' from the mod manager and after about 2-3 minutes they were all in and I launced my brand new version of CMBO, and what a sight/sound it was!!!! (I did bang in a few vehicles too).

So, if you are a newbie to modding, give the modmanager a spin. The main thing I like about it is that it lets you install a load of mods in one go and, if you want to tinker with your mods, you can just untick the ones you want to leave out and hit install again, even if only to go back to the original game files. As time progresses I can see me have a hell of a lot more mods, making the drag/drop option even more of pain (well, for me anyway, why do it yourself when a programme can do it - that's what they're for).

One minor point, for those talented enough to design these mods, it may be a help, particularly when discussing some of the 'cocktails' of terrain that many people use, to indicate what order people should install them, even if only to say 'it doesn't matter what order you put them in'. Those new to modding may not be aware that they may not get the same results if they put them in the wrong way round.

[This message has been edited by Apache (edited 03-19-2001).]

[JohnR]

Thanks for the tip. I'm a new player too, I just installed the mad matt mods. Like you I was a little concerned I was going to screw my game up, but they all worked fine. Where can I down load the mod manager?

[Clubfoot]

Try this link:

http://www.combatmission.com/mods/pcmodman.asp

Clubfoot.

[Maximus]

Also I like to add that these mods will NOT screw up your game. As they are all just BMPs or WAVs. That's what makes CM's open modifiablity so great. It doesn't require some sort of mod installer to decompress a Fastfile or something. If you can drag and copy files from one folder to another then you can modify your game.

But just to clarify something. You say "modding" as in "applying the mods to the game". Actually in this case, "modding" actually refers to actually doing the texture work.

[Apache]

Maximus - You are quite right, no-one NEEDS a Modmanager and that is not the point I was making. I am now up to 45 mods and excluding the download time it took about 4 mins to install the lot. If anyone wants to unzip and then drag and drop 42 zip files - fine - personally I'd rather have a programme do it, I've better things to do with my time.

[WineCape]

Could we make the CM ModManager a STANDARD for all modmakers to comply with?

I have it now for 3 months and only one or two people (thank you Marco Bergman!) do mods that is compatible with the CM ModManager. It really is a GOOD tool, as you can see beforehand the included jpeg files (in a quck view pane) of a mod before installing that particular mod.

Keep this post bumped every now and then so it BECOMES a standard I suppose.

[KiloIndiaAlpha]

Try my Mod Manager (when its finished!). Not only does it 'manage your mods' you can also configure it to use your bitmap editor and wav file editor allowing you to customize bitmaps and wav files. You can even add kill rings to a tank gun during a game.

Screen shots are at

http://www.geocities.com/mikekh123/mod_manager.html

[WineCape]

Originally posted by KiloIndiaAlpha:

Try my Mod Manager (when its finished!). Not only does it 'manage your mods' you can also configure it to use your bitmap editor and wav file editor allowing you to customize bitmaps and wav files. You can even add kill rings to a tank gun during a game.Screen shots are at

[url=http://www.geocities.com/mikekh123/mod_manager.html]http://www.geocities.com/mikekh123/mod_manager.html[/url

When can we expect release date sir?

[KiloIndiaAlpha]

Originally posted by WineCape:

When can we expect release date sir?

As soon as possible... It's being done in my spare time.

[Doug Williams]

Maximus - You are quite right, no-one NEEDS a Modmanager and that is not the point I was making. I am now up to 45 mods and excluding the download time it took about 4 mins to install the lot. If anyone wants to unzip and then drag and drop 42 zip files - fine - personally I'd rather have a programme do it, I've better things to do with my time.

Friend, I have a great many more than 45 mods installed and I don't use mod manager. You don't have to drag and drop each separate BMP file. Simply unzip into a TEMP folder, left click Edit, then Select All, then Copy. Find the CMBO BMP folder, right click and select Paste. Done. It takes longer to say it than to do it.

Of course, you might want to read the ReadMe file that sometimes comes with the zip file to see if the author provided different options (turret numbers, etc.) that you might want to select before copying to the CMBO BMP folder. Some authors, like Mr. Bergman, like to use batch files to select different nationalities before starting the game. Personally, I don't use these, but many do.

Edit: Oops, let me be more clear. I do use Mr. Bergman's wonderful mods, just not the batch files. This essentially means all my Shermans have either US or British markings. Not a problem for me, as I play American side most of the time.

[This message has been edited by Doug Williams (edited 03-21-2001).]