cmmos help

[Vyazma]

G'day. I have just discovered this game and I'm hooked!I have also downloaded CMMOS. Lots of lovely mods that make the game historical, making accurate looking vehicle and with correct camouflage. However I need help please. I just cannot get the damn thing to work for me! Having read the manual and installed and uninstalled the program. I seem to have problems locating my executable file which is in Windows prefetch. But I cannot click onto that file and I am finding that the loaded mods don't seem to load up in the game. Anyone more computer savvy than me offer assistance?

[Philippe]

1) Do a search using both my screen name and CMMOS -- that should turn up several more detailed versions of what I'm about to describe.

2) I didn't understand your post at all. Left me clueless. Don't bother trying to explain it to me, the real point is you are suffering from a conceptual disconnect and that's why you can't get it to work.

3) Start over again from scratch.

a) CMMOS is a very finnicky program, and will only work if it looks for certain things in the places it expects them to be in, and finds them there. If they aren't there, it won't work. It's that simple.

There are exceptions to this, but basically CMMOS expects the game to be in a location that is more or less C:\Program Files\CMBO or C:\Program Files\CMBB. If you did something logical like putting CM into a folder called "My Games" because you felt like letting Bill Gates' minions intimidate you into conformity, you're out of luck.

c) The cmmos program itself needs to be installed in an equally predictable location. What it expects is to be located in C:\Program Files\ GEM Software Productions\CMMOS. And in case you were wondering, yes, CMMOS is not a Battlefront product.

d) There are two versions of CMMOS out there. One was heavily tested by the cmmos quality assurance team, and works. The other was not. The one that definately works is called CMMOS 4.03 and can be found at combatmission.com, MadMatt's semi-unoffical Combat Mission site. The other one can be found at cmmods.com. I can't really comment on 4.05, but I can comment on 4.03.

e) CMMOS has an operating system that uses instruction text files. The text files tell the program what to look for in the CMBO or CMBB bmp folders and make the appropriate switch. This is all explained in pornographic detail in the readme files in the cmmos program.

What you have to realize is that there are three preconditions for the thing to work:

1) You have to have the game installed in the right place, and you have to have the program installed in the right place. And they aren't the same place.

2) The program depends on textfiles called rules that are contained in folders called rulets. Doesn't matter what you dump in the bmp folder, if the rules and ruleset aren't there, you won't ever find the button to push to make things happen.

3) CMBB and CMBO work slightly differently on this, but the basic idea is that a cmmos mod has a weird combination of underscores, letters, and numbers after its bmp number. The program works by reading the rule in the ruleset which tells it what extension to go looking for. In CMBO you dump the modified bmp's directly in the bmp folder, in CMBB you keep them in their zip files in a safe place. Once again, this is all explained in pornographic detail in the readme files.

There are several simple tricks to figuring out if you know what you are doing or not. If you think you've installed CMMOS and you don't see a CMMOS icon on your desktop, you didn't install it. If you installed it and click on the desktop icon and don't see a lot of tabs, you missed the rulesets and rules (or you'r looking for CMBB rules in CMBO or vice-versa). If you get inside the right rule but you don't see any icons, or see icons but they're x'd out, you forgot to install the mod to the right place.

Learn to read the CMMOS log file. It takes a bit of getting used to, but at the end of the day you'll realize its your best friend. It can tell you, among other things, what really happened when you clicked on that button. And it often tells you annoying things like "You clicked on the mod but forgot to apply it [supply favorite self-deprecating insult here]."

I may not be able to comment on this again untill next week, so do that search I mentioned, and read the readme files.

[Vyazma]

Thanks for that Phillipe I'm much obliged. Sorry if the post was clueless, I guess I am a bit clueless when it comes to this new technology. However I take your advice and hope to do better.

"O brave new world that has such people in it"

[Vyazma]

Phillipe, having read and digested your reply and having done a search OK I've started from scratch. Yes I had been intimidated by Bill Gates' minions and had put CMBB in a Games folder. I thought they were doing me a favour!I had also put CMMOS in the same folder! Bad mistake. I have downloaded CMMOS 4.03.

So now we are installed in the right place underC:\Program files\CMMBO. And CMMOS is also installed with Icon in C:|Program files.

So far so good. How am I going? That bad uh!

Now that is far as I'm prepared to go at this moment because I know that when I first run CMMOS it's going to ask me to locate my CMBB executable file. ( Para. 4 in the Users manual)

This is where I suffer from "conceptual disconnect". I like that phrase sums up my situation nicely.

The user manual tells me that this is called Barbarossa to Berlin.exe But where will I find that file? In the CMBB folder? (A search told me it was in Windows Prefetch.. but that's a furphy that leaves me as clueless as you were)

I'd really appreciate your help here.

Yes I've done all the wrong things to date. as you said I have had rulesets and no icons and icons X'd out.

I've had the program loaded but it had no effect upon the game.

The log file is obviously useful. Now I know it exists. I can see the CMMOS program would enable much more to be had from the game. So I wait upon your leisure.

"The Gods are well pleased when they see great men contending with adversity".

[painfbat]

He's probably loading cmmos files to the system where he should use cmmos4 files. There are also some files with cmmos in the name but the bmp's have to be placed manuel into the bmp-folder. But then were talking some old mods, from waay in the beginning that is still available on some site's.

I've had the same problems in the beginning when I thought I knew how it works.

Cheers

[Philippe]

I'm not really going to have time to look at this intelligently until this weekend, but on the offchance that I've identified your conceptual hairball, I'll try tossing a little mineral oil in its general direction.

Don't get hung up by the word executable. All that they're really asking is where on earth did you put that silly program.

Assuming that you've now got it in someplace relatively normal, there are two quick ways to find the secret spot that will work on most computers.

1) Pray to the computer god. It never hurts. Then, when you've run out of virgins to toss down wells, go to your desktop and single click gently on the Barbarossa to Berlin icon. Don't do it so hard as to start the program, but do it just hard enough to highlight the icon. Then move the pointer on your mouse over the icon and leave it there for a bit. After ten or fifteen interminable seconds the path to the program will pop up in a little box. Read it, and try to remember its salient features.

2) Alternatively, go to My Computer, then go to your C drive, then go to Program Files, and then go to CMBB. Look inside. What you see will depend on what size icons or thumbnails you've set your views for (that little button on the right on the top of your info bar). You should see some folders and some files, and a few other things (I keep a lot of junk and failed mods in mine, so I won't even try to describe it). But one of the things that you will see is a little icon of a tank labelled Barbarossa to Berlin, with the word Application in one of the columns beside it. Mine is 7733 Kb in size, and yours should be the same if you're using the same version. It's hard to miss.

CMMOS doesn't really mess with the CMBB executable as far as I can recall. But it most certainly does mess with the contents of the BMP folder. They're both in the same place (more or less) so that's one of the reasons for the question. If you set CMBB up in a normal non-Bill Gates-intimidated path, and you set CMMOS up in a default path as well, you shouldn't have any problems. Just go for it. Worst thing that can happen is that it won't work and you'll have to uninstall it.

And you'll have tossed those virgins down those wells for no result (but don't be surprised if it starts raining all of a sudden).

After you've done all of that, come back and tell us exactly what your CMBB path is, exactly what your CMMOS path is, and pick one mod. Confirm that you've installed the appropriate ruleset: tell me where it is in GEM Software Productions and what you see. Then confirm that you've installed the appropriate mod and rule.

If my fading memory serves what you have to do is to go to the desktop icon for CMMOS, click on it, and you'll be staring at a screen. After the mandatory round of virgin sacrifice, let us know what the names are of the tabs you see across the top. It's always possible, for example, that you're wondering why nothing is showing up when the little tab in the lower right hand corner reads CMBO rather than CMBB.

If you've got the right game and the ruleset tab that you want shows up across the top, click on it. You probably won't see the icon you want: you need to mess around with the configure/install tabs in the lower left-hand corner.

I'm not going to tell you what happens next until I'm sure we're on the same page. And until I get my weekly dose of Mescal worms and Qetzl feathers.

[Vyazma]

OK Greetings .

The story so far. And it's looking lood.

Having prayed to the almighty pentium and sacrificed a Hewlet Packard we through two virgins down the well, just for good measure..such nice girls too!.

Started CMMOS and we had our dialogue box request us to find the CMBO file.. well we cancelled that. Then we were asked to find the CMBB file but first we need to get the Barbarossa to Berlin file in the box bottom RH side. so we cancelled again. Then we changed the letterbox to read 'Barbarossa to Berlin. OK so we were asked to find the exec file. (Not going to get hung up on that one)

OK so C\Program Files\CMBB. Open it up, find the little tank icon. Click.

Error message comes up.. "No rule sets.." Well thats OK as we havn't downloaded any yet. So we close CMMOS and go to where we have saved the rule sets and mod downloads.

Now I know this is all very pedantic but if anyone else out there has problems hopefully they can follow the trail.

Now rulesets loaded.

Click on CMMOS Wow! theres a dialogue box with a rule set tab.

Then Download a mod.

Open CMMOS. Wow there's an icon.

OK so lets look in our GEM Software file which is in C\Program files\Gem Software Products.

Hey look at this we have a folder titled CMBB and inside are some file lists and a mod! and a Rule set. Are we getting somewhere? Small steps leading to giant leaps.

Back to CMMOS. Click on the icon. Dialogue box up. Apply. Wait. In the bottom left hand corner something is moving could it be applying the mod?

So we start the game. Load the graphics and wait.

What's this. A line of nice T34's all in white winter camoflage. Those sweet little virgins!. Let's just see if it was a one off. Back to CMMOS. Configure. New rule set and another mod. Open game, loading graphics. Bang. there's a group of PZIII's all done up in their best whitewashed winter wear.

Phillipe you'r a genius. Now Ive not tried to reverse the process and get the machines back to their summer wear but the icon is there and I have no reason to doubt it shouldn't work.

I do have a Sviarnik rule set loaded and a mod for a dusty truck and the icon is still crossed off? I don't know why that should be. But when you look in the Gem File all the rules sets are visible as are the Zip files for the mods I have loaded. They are inside a file marked CMBB.

Well I must thank you for your help. It was a learning curve but at least I don't feel quite so conceptually diconnected as I was.

Hope others can learn from this exercise as well.

With such a great game I must say I cannot think why Battlefront did not include winter wear for the game. It was after all an integral part of the campaign. Overall they seem to have done a great job. But thanks to all those modders out there who are making it even better.

"Adversity is not without comfort or hope".

Regards.

[junk2drive]

IIRC there is something wrong in Gautrek's truck mod text file. Maybe someone has a fix.

[Philippe]

There was a problem with that one, and possibly one or two others.

I'm pretty sure I fixed it shortly after I tried to install it. Remind me about it late next week and I'll try to do something with it at the weekend. I think all I probably need to do is find it in my holding folder and post it (the corrected version) to cmmods. I don't remember what the problem was, but it was relatively easy to fix.

[Philippe]

I've posted Gautrek's Dirty Russian Truck to cmmods. This one should work in cmmos 4.03.

Let me know if it doesn't.

[Silvio Manuel]

Where can I find instructions or documentation on how to install CMMOS from scratch? In particular, for CMBO (I'm still a big fan of the original), but also for CMBB.

I just got a new computer and I am re-modding from scratch.

This page http://www.combatmission.com/cmmos/cmmos.asp does NOT seem to contain the info they mention when they say "HOW TO GET STARTED: The first thing you will need is the CMMOS file itself. You can get that from the link below. That file contains all you will need to get started right away. BE SURE and read through the included documentation."

I have CMMOS_v4.03.exe and all of my mods at C:\Program Files\GEM Software Productions\CMMOS (a folder I created based on posts above). My game files are at the default C:\Program Files\CMBO

When I click on the .exe it does NOT put a short-cut on my desktop.

Please advise me on how to do this correctly... thanks!!

-SM