MODS: CMAK vs. CMBB (vs. CMBO)

[Silvio Manuel]

To what extent are Mods interchangeable between the three CM games?

I seem to recall that any .bmps used in CMBO are also used in CMBB and so you can copy them over.

How does that work with CMAK?

[Philippe]

My barbed wire mod works in all three games without renumbering. There are a couple of other things like that that probably include TRP points, Exit markers, Flags, hidden unit markers, and (possibly) minefield markers. CMBO tends to be much lower resolution than the other two, though oddly enough sometimes lower resolution looks better.

Just because you can do something, however, doesn't mean you'd want to. CMBB and CMAK use slightly different color palettes from each other, and are very different even from the advanced fully modded versions of CMBO.

Many (but not all) German vehicles can be interchanged between CMBB and CMAK. You can figure out which ones work and which ones don't by reading the notes on the mod. And a lot of terrain can be used in CMAK and CMBB, though there are a few places where that can get you into trouble. You have to read the notes and make sure you understand what is being substituted for what.

Things that work in CMBB (like minefield and hidden unit markers) that also work in CMAK tend to look very good, because the color schemes are similar. Things that are native to CMBO often look a little out of place in the later games.

And once again, just make sure you read the notes on the mod so you know what you're doing.

I really wish more of CMBO was portable, because I'd look into porting all those English vehicles that never got modded in CMAK. As it is they will have to be modded from scratch.

[Cabe Booth]

the issue i found with cmbo mods with any other cm game is the resolution is lower, the file is smaller so you end up with some funky units sometimes

using cmbo mods will work in some cases, Hard to tell straight off because many of those mods were written before the release of CMBB & CMAK so you don't get any warnings in the documentation.

The best way to check is to look at the BMP number of the file and go into you CMAK or CMBB bmp folder and compare the images and file size. Sometimes they don't match at all.

I uploaded a pretty good resource for locating BMP numbers and modding. It is a collection of other people's work from around the community. It is under my name at cmmods

Goto cmmods.com

click CMAK or CMBB mods

click by designer

click Cabe

click all

click mod set

there will be a file link for a bmp database.

It is really useful if you need a list to mod your games with. I used them as a checklist to mod every unit in the game. I would check off each unit when I got a new mod, then I would also check off getting a snow/winter mod. I would open the databases an turn the color of the bmp base number text to green if I modded the unit and if there were 2 sets of numbers for each unit such as German grau and gelb units I would change the bmp number on the chart green for each one then if I got a snow mod I would turn the name of the unit green to indicate the unit was fully modded

I know that might sound confusing, but it isn't important you understand how I kept records, just develop a system of your own to keep track or print them out to check off.

[KG_Jag]

Cabe--from the email that I just sent to you:

"Answer to your request: 'if you know how to open these [“cmg”] files email me at cabe_XXXXX@XXXXX.net and I will update this info on CMMMODS.'

Cabe—you place them in your CMAK Scenarios folder. They will appear when you start a new game. Chose each of them and open it like you would a new game. The units will appear on a flat map.

[Cabe Booth]

rgr

[Cabe Booth]

Thanks,

I updated the file. I reorganized all the info into folders and added a readme file with better explanations and your clarification on those files.

thanks again