Must have mods?

Norm Koger's The Operational Art of War III is the next game in the award-winning Operational Art of War game series. TOAW3 is updated and enhanced version of the TOAW: Century of Warfare game series. TOAW3 is a turn based game covering operational warfare from 1850-2015. Game scale is from 2.5km to 50km and half day to full week turns. TOAW3 scenarios have been designed by over 70 designers and included over 130 scenarios. TOAW3 comes complete with a full game editor.

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RealDarko
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Must have mods?

Post by RealDarko »

I'm new in TOAW III and will like to know If there are some mods that are a must for the game. The graphics specially I think they can be improved. Can someone help?
Thanks!
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larryfulkerson
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RE: Must have mods?

Post by larryfulkerson »

I'm using a graphics mod that I consider the best yet.  Of course that's my opinion and subject to interpretation ( the eye of the beholder etc. ) but you can download the alt-graphics folder I'm using from here:

http://www.filedropper.com/altgraphics

Just unzip it and replace your AltGraphics folder with mine.  You might want to move your AltGraphics to a safe spot instead of replacing it....just a thought.
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ralphtricky
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RE: Must have mods?

Post by ralphtricky »

To try to help, I need to try to explain some 'technical' things.

First, a Pixel is one of the tiny dots that make up you screen. If you're at 1024x768 resolution that means that there are 1024x768 pixels on the screen.

There are now two types of graphics used by TOAW.
Type 1 is the old style graphics, these are BMP, they aren't compressed, and TOAW interprets many of the BMPs so that certain pixels with a specific color (I think it's white) are not displayed.

Type 2 is the new style (PNG) graphics. These are compressed so they are smaller. PNGs actually store the transparency (Alpha) of each pixel with the pixel. If you look at the PNG clouds, you will notice that you can see through them. The text should also be a little clearer since instead of just on or off, you can have partially on. When you hear about Anti-Aliasing, it uses this type of thing so that diagonal lines don't look like a stairstep.

PNG files have the priority, if you have a PNG and a BMP file in the same directory, I will use the PNG version.

If you like the old tiles, I'd reccomend that you move all the PNG grahics to a safe place, then you can go into the options and turn on PNG support. Once you've done that, it's pretty easy to identify the files that you want to move back and move them back.

My favorite PNG is clouds. The old clouds were opaque, they were useless since they hid whatever is under them. My favorite set uses modified clouds. I went into paint.net and managed to make them even more transparent and it is very easy to see through them, so I can toggle them on, set up the air units, then turn them back off.

I think that the PNG support may be the biggest part of the facelift, it opens up a lot of potential that people haven't really started playing with yet. A good artist (not me) could make very realistic rivers, and I suspect that the map markers could have fantastic things done to them. The posibilities are pretty open.


Ralph Trickey
TOAW IV Programmer
Blog: http://operationalwarfare.com
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My comments are my own, and do not represent the views of any other person or entity. Nothing that I say should be construed in any way as a promise of anything.
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berto
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RE: Must have mods?

Post by berto »

ORIGINAL: larryfulkerson

I'm using a graphics mod that I consider the best yet.
This is great, Larry.

After using the classic default graphics for years, I am tired finally of their sameness. It's not a question of aesthetics. In the Singapore 42 scenario, for instance, it is simply too hard to distinguish the difference between jungle vs. hills-jungle vs. jungle-muddy vs. forest vs. hills-forest vs. marsh vs. every other possible combination, so on and so forth, etc., etc. (EDIT: The "sameness" effect now appears to be much worse with the classic graphics as implemented in 3.4.)

Given your graphics compilation, it is much easier to discern these differences at a glance (without constantly having to refer to the Information Panel, and absent those sometimes useful but generally annoying 3.4 tooltips).

I have a few dislikes, but I can easily change them. (I also don't like the new 3.4 default graphics set--too bland, pastel, and washed out for my tastes.)

So, a tip of the hat to you, Larry. You've made my TOAW play much more enjoyable.
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larryfulkerson
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RE: Must have mods?

Post by larryfulkerson »

ORIGINAL: berto
So, a tip of the hat to you, Larry. You've made my TOAW play much more enjoyable.
You're welcome. "I like to share stuff man". [ Cheech and Chong first movie ].
Interviewer: "What is your greatest weakness?"
Elderly Gentleman: "My honesty."
Interviewer: "Well I hardly think that could be a weakness."
Elderly Gentleman: "I don't give a fuck what you think."
RealDarko
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RE: Must have mods?

Post by RealDarko »

Thanks a lot Larry! Installed and sing with great fun!
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emcgman
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RE: Must have mods?

Post by emcgman »

Wow! Now I have 2 sets of awesome alt graphics. Thanks!
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