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Please post here for questions and discussion about modding for Strategic Command.
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Templer_12
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RE: example

Post by Templer_12 »

I do not necessarily need the Swastika, but the fonts on the message please me very well. I would like to have them.
Capitaine
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RE: example

Post by Capitaine »

Thank you for this flag mod. I absolutely hate the use of fantasy German flags in historical wargames. When national flags are used to depict nations at war, it is the height of foolishness to use a phony emblem for Germany as some paean to political correctness. The coverup won't change the subject matter of the conflict being modelled, it just fosters ignorance.
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Magpius
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a few more

Post by Magpius »

engineers & cavalry

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maitrebongo
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RE: a few more

Post by maitrebongo »

Good job Agent S,
Keep on going like that ;)
"Impossible is not French" Napoleon Bonaparte
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HimAgain
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RE: a few more

Post by HimAgain »

Really excellent work Agent S!

With all respect to the developers, I find that I'm having all sorts of problems getting into playing the game at all because of the current unit appearances. The 3D icons are just lost on the map for me and the current Nato icons are uninspiring.

I think that the silhouettes as you are doing is the way to go and look forward to seeing the finished product.
The Pop-up messages are also very good. Their more authentic appearance will only improve the experience.

I'm working on a parallel Hybrid icon project modelled after the old Clash of Steel game.
I'm planning to keep the Nato symbols for infantry except for the HQs, Paras and Special Forces. All other units will be silhouettes, unit badges or Portraits.

What tools are you using to edit the icons? I'm trying out Gimp because the stock Windows 7 Paint won't work properly with the PNG files.
Are you using Vector sourced images or bitmaps and resizing them?

I don't normally do any computer graphic work except for the SC series and you strike me as a Pro.
[&o]

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Angus
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Magpius
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RE: a few more

Post by Magpius »

I use gimp.
Not a pro user.
(My work software is more building design focused).
I scale down my bitmaps, so it's more about cleaning pixels and contrast and brightness changes, and organising layers with some opacity changes.
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Magpius
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RE: a few more

Post by Magpius »

I look forward to seeing your mod. The more the better. Time of fury had a great range of unit and map mods, from a variety of people. Also waiting to heat what Welk is working on.
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Magpius
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RE: a few more

Post by Magpius »

I also agree with the vanilla appearance, but as I get older the eyes blur when staring at a monitor. A high contrast counter option is critical for me. As I said earlier, I think Devs should release layered graphics files with the game to support modders.
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Magpius
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RE: a few more

Post by Magpius »

Start a thread, post some pics and will be pleased to offer advice, help and suggestions.
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HimAgain
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RE: a few more

Post by HimAgain »

Hi Agent S,

For me, next to the AI, the visual aspect and appearance of the game is most important. It should compliment the playablilty and allow for a quick assessment of the situation on any given front with just a glance at the map. My use of high contrast units will be limited to the more expensive/powerful units. (Armored Units, HQs, Planes etc.)

So far my biggest challenge is learning how to use Gimp and to setup some sort of template.
I only got the game on Friday so I'm still trying to get a handle on where everything is stored.

There will be unit silhouette progression as you improve the Tech levels of the Tanks and Planes.
I was also able to replace the 3D icons in SC2 with 2D icons in order to introduce greater variations depending on the theater, or weather. Leveraging the Desert and Winter Cammo variations you could show the LRDG or SAS unit badges for the British Special Forces as an example or Rommel's portrait in the Desert, Manstein in Winter or Guderian in Summer in Europe. I'm all for introducing more accurate unit representations to give the game more relevance, just like your Flags and message/choice Mods above.

I'm hoping to find some similar flexibility with the SC3 icons. I see several slots for the HQ units icons and I'm hoping they can be utilized. At first glance, the unit icons appear to be hard-coded in the Editor and not something you can specify.
May be the Developers can weigh in on this?

Thanks for confirming that Gimp is a good choice to edit with and I'll post some samples when I put something together.
It will be a lot of work. Winter is coming for us in the North, so I expect to find some time soon.

Cheers,

Angus
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sPzAbt653
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RE: a few more

Post by sPzAbt653 »

appearance of the game is most important. It should compliment the playablilty and allow for a quick assessment of the situation on any given front with just a glance at the map.
Well put and totally agree !
my biggest challenge is learning how to use Gimp
Gimp is a great program [and free!], but I found Paint.Net easier to use.
handle on where everything is stored.
SC3 uses the standard new confusing convention of storing files in two completely separate and non-intuitive areas. Modded stuff should be in the 'Documents/My Games' folder, while the main game files are in the main C drive folders [>:]
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BillRunacre
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RE: a few more

Post by BillRunacre »

Hi Angus

All the unit sprites can be found within the game's Bitmaps folder within the main installation.

Copy these to another location so that the originals are kept safe, and then place them within your own campaign's Bitmaps folder (you'll have to create this as a subfolder for your campaign) so that you'll be able to see them when you play/edit the campaign.

Also, you'll need to create a localization.txt file in the same place as the campaign's campaign.ini file, and within the latter set #CUSTOM_BITMAPS= 1

I hope this helps to get you started. [:)]
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HimAgain
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RE: a few more

Post by HimAgain »

Hi sPzAbt653,

Thanks for the tips. I'm now looking at PaintNet It looks easier and may be better suited for me.

Hi Bill,

I'll check out that folder structure after saving a test campaign.
Any idea if the Editor will allow me to specify a unit's icon? More specifically, can I edit the icons for each General's unit? I could not find it.

For now, I need to stop hi-jacking Agent S's Post and start my own.
His work is excellent and needs to be acknowledged.
It's a lot of hard work.

Cheers all.

Angus.
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BillRunacre
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RE: a few more

Post by BillRunacre »

Hi Angus

Although units can be seen in the editor, they are reflections of the relevant files for that campaigns.

Editing which graphic a unit uses is done by changing things within the actual graphics files, and then they'll display according to your changes in the game/editor.

Good luck with your modding too! [:)]
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Magpius
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Sub

Post by Magpius »

the first naval unit comes off the production line.

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Skeleton
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RE: Sub

Post by Skeleton »

My Lord are these gorgeous counters! The wait is pure agony!
*Formerly known as Marcus the Leper, time has taken a toll and now I am simply a skeleton...*
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Magpius
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RE: Sub

Post by Magpius »

I'll make sure you're the first in the queue.
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Magpius
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naval gazing

Post by Magpius »

slowly getting there.

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might have to add some weight to my dreadnought!
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Magpius
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RE: naval gazing

Post by Magpius »

and can someone please tell me what this is?


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dhucul2011
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RE: naval gazing

Post by dhucul2011 »

Mulberry harbour. Available in a future patch or expansion.
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