Slitherine

Thank you, for this nice fighters

Just a little progress update: finished 3d modelling for the remaining Soviet air units. Now I only have to render all into PzC unit gfx. Will still take a bit though, real life has to take priority these days. But people will enjoy AK mostly anyway soon ...

I would love to use these graphics but am having trouble installing them.

I downloaded them all, extracted them, and put them in a folder for installation. I tried using GME to do so. When I do, get a warning "camo skins" has already modified the file thumbs.db, continuing..." etc. If I continue, they do not work. My ground unit camo mods still show.

If I uninstall the camo mods fully, try installing only these, they APPEAR to install, but then I never see them. I have real sounds, historic insignia, and some folders of camo mods I can manipulate with GME to install/remove readily. But some problem here I can't figure out. What can I explain about what I did to find the error?

thumbs.db is irrelevant for the game, it's a windows system file containing thumbnails shown when browsing a folder. you can safely overwrite it, the system will generate another proper one.

Kamerer, it's like Radoye said about the thumbs file.

In general, these unit grahics have to be implemented in the equipment file before they're game-ready. So right now these are just the gfx, no full mod that can be activated simply via GME after being copied over.

A nice guide how to implement unit graphics has been made by nikivdd: viewtopic.php?t=31163
(it is not complicated, but can be a bit tedious when doing lots of units in a row)

I am fully aware that this is not the most comfortable way for users who just want to use these gfx right away, so I think I'll present a fully changed equipment file along with the pics so that this would constitute a GME-ready mod at least for the aircraft pack. This has to wait until I finished the rest of the vanilla aircraft though.

Also, when people decide to use units from several sources/modders, they will probably have to edit the equipment file on their own at some point anyway.

Hmm, I looked at that link and it was about adding a new unit. He only changed the .png file because he didn't want the german one to come up? Or are the names on these files not the same as the corresponding PC unit .png file names?

I guess I don't understand because it seems to me changing the image file it access would have the effect. I guess it's over my head! perhaps I'll have to await a GME- ready solution; that's OK.

I put all of the camo skins .png files into a directory for each camo type (ambush, etc). GME read them and installed them; I did the exact same with these but it doesn't. I just couldn't figure out the difference.

Kamerer wrote:Hmm, I looked at that link and it was about adding a new unit. He only changed the .png file because he didn't want the german one to come up? Or are the names on these files not the same as the corresponding PC unit .png file names?

bebro is not using the original games. So if you want them to replace vanilla units, you just have to rename them accordingly to its original name. Then it will work.

Kamerer wrote:Or are the names on these files not the same as the corresponding PC unit .png file names?

I guess I don't understand because it seems to me changing the image file it access would have the effect. I guess it's over my head! perhaps I'll have to await a GME- ready solution; that's OK.

As VPaulus said, I use other names. If you're wondering why - it is not to complicate things, but I do provide more different gfx than the original game.

In PzC you see quite a number of aircraft in different versions sharing the same gfx. For most of the German planes there are individual files showing the same pic for different versions (like 109E, F, G etc). For others it's one and the same image file specified several times in the equipment file (that goes for many allied planes esp.).

Since I offer some more unique gfx for many of those versions simply copying these files over wouldn't work fully even if I'd use the original filenames, because the game has no equivalent files for a number of those.

In this OLD thread you will find a step by step process on what you have to do to add a unit, name it accordingly and make it unique with the Equipment Editor. It's a little different from Nikivdd's method, but it works and tells you what individual steps you have to take for the icon and unit to become visible in the playing of the game.

viewtopic.php?f=147&t=29745&start=20

Or you can read below....................

The things to do:
1. Going to the Graphics folder and the unit section where you put the new icons, rename the icon you want to your chosen name.
2. Be sure to include the "_" between ALL spaces between any words or numbers that do not join together
3. When you go to the Equipment Editor, load the same Units folder you changed the name of the unit within
4. Select the unit you want to duplicate (say Panther G) from the game's standard units, then click on ADD UNIT.
5. Scroll to the bottom of the unit list and you will see a new Panther G unit of the same type with a NEW NUMBER
6. Click on that unit with the NEW NUMBER and make sure it comes up in the window naming the unit with the NEW NUMBER
7. Go to the Unit Image box and click on the image of the default Panther G in the box, you should be routed back to the Graphics folder you are using, but if it sends you to just the game file, go to the Graphics folder and go
to the Units section with your newly named unit in it
8. Scroll through the Unit graphics until the ICON you renamed shows up in the Unit Image box of the Equipment Editor
9. On the left side bottom near the "Add Unit" button, you will see "Commit Unit", click on this button and you will have created your new unit.
10. Check the Traits boxes to make sure you can purchase the unique unit and NOT HAVE IT GIVEN AS A BONUS UNIT, if you make a change, click on "Commit Unit" again. Do this each time you make a change in the
Equipment Editor.
11. When you are done, click on the "Save" button at the bottom of the Equipment Editor box. Be sure that you are saving to the correct EQUIPMENT LIST file of the game in the DATA FOLDER. You are not going to save this
change in the Graphics Unit folder! Make sure of the place you are saving the change. It will prompt you to make sure you want to replace the Equipment File, and you do so say YES. This command also links the new
unique Icon you made to your new unit in the Equipment list. If you did everything right, when you use the unit in a game it will not show up invalid. If it does, you left something out of the process so recheck your steps.

12. If you want to change the default units in a scenario or campaign there is another procedure for this and it does not go through the Equipment Editor, you have to change the game defaults. The answer for that is in
the thread entitled "Common Questions"

IF you rename the icons themselves in the png pictures of the graphics folder of your game, be sure to put "_" between any space: IE: Panther_Gross_Deutschland. The unit will come up "invalid" when you go to the map to play otherwise (and for other reasons if you are not thorough in making changes in the Equipment Editor). Best to do this when you can focus and concentrate to not lose your train of thought while doing it until it is completed and checked.

Flak, perhaps you can make a seperate thread, explaining how to add units with the equipment editor, if possible with some screenies. I think a lot of guys would be happy for that

Coming back to the Soviet planes. I made some tests with camo. From the pic below, I think the combi with plain black looks too strong, so I will tone it down to a darkish grey/green a bit.

It looks good to me... as always.

They look very nice and threatening .

bebro wrote:Coming back to the Soviet planes. I made some tests with camo. From the pic below, I think the combi with plain black looks too strong, so I will tone it down to a darkish grey/green a bit.

Second from the top looks perfect for an early Il-2.

Nice Il-2m3 cammo there at the bottom. Great job!

Thx everyone

I hope to have the Soviet set finally ready until weekend....

bebro wrote:Thx everyone

I hope to have the Soviet set finally ready until weekend....

Wonderful news. Thanks Bebro

That is awesome...just on time
They are great addition

Any possibility on doing this?



I've been trying to get into 3D modeling but for a newb it's very complicated compared to doing 2D UI oriented art.

I hope you aren't too disappointed, but I gave myself the rule in this thread early on to focus on units that had actually been in combat service. So I avoid prototypes, paper projects etc. Also I'm committed to aircraft replacements and additions for now ...

Soviet vanilla air set complete

Mediafire:
http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?o7nlitctxeitto1

Examples:


Notes:

- has 19 unit gfx to replace all Soviet aircraft (TPs not counted), plus some additions for modders
- Yak 1 and 7 are made in their early cockpit config ("razorback" style), but there is a later series Yak1B included having the more modern bubble canopy...this one might also serve as Yak-7B if people want to go that far...
- incl. unique gfx for Yak-3, 9D, 9U, early IL-2 (one-seater) and the Il-2M3 two-seater
- if anybody wonders: I-15 biplane is modeled on the I-15bis version (different upper wing compared to the early I-15)

I didn't test any of these in-game yet, but they should work. If there are probs, please post, and I'll fix them

This means all vanilla warplanes should have their replacements now, unless I forgot something. Still to do are transport planes, and AK air...