Design Notes
I have finally finished my initial (Phase I) Panzer Campaign modifications called "Zovs-Mods" for all 27 titles. The total statistics thus far for Phase I form windows shows: Total size is 298 MBs (size on disk is 304 MBs), total package contains 2,523 files, and 373 folders (note some files are repeated like for example German or Russian-Guards, etc.).
Currently this modification includes over 446 individual file modifications for the series:
- New on map counter colors with a ‘flat’ board war game type of look and feel. Reworked all on map counters (266 files) for all 5 zoom levels (2DSymbolsSm, 2DSymbolsLg, 2DSymbolsMag, 3DCounters50, 3DCounters100, 3Dsymbols50 and 3DSymbols100) for each nation. I basically converted all counters to a board war game counter look and feel. This included recoloring all the nationalities based loosely off either board war game counter colors or in some cases national flag colors or some parts of uniforms (i.e., for the NKVD and VMF - Soviet Naval troops).
- New Victory Point national flags. Reworked all VP flags for all the nations (38 total nations right now in the series) for all 5 zoom levels, the basic idea here was to use or mimic historical flags for each nation (for 'flavor' I added an extra flag for the SS, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, and the USMC although it could be argued that the national flag works best here). Note I also corrected the max zoomed in VP display box, the original file is 2 pixels too small, and I corrected this.
- New unit type symbols. Reworked all three 2D unit symbols for on map units (2DSymbolsSm, 2DSymbolsLg, and 2DSymbolsMag) to use symbols based loosely off board war games (mainly Europa) and for max zoomed in 2D level made them thicker for us old school war game folks. Also, for this mod I put a yellow HQ stripe for all CC, TF/HQs on the 2DSymbolsMag files. Some new symbols include new rocket, mortar, RR entrained, Engineer, Tank Engineer, Recon, Bicycle, Motorcycle, Heavy AA, Light AA, AT, and TD. Also changed Partisans, Irregular forces, and the Supply counter symbols. I also changed the bridge laying symbols so they are subtle but stand out more on both 2D large and 2D mag levels.
- New UI panels and function. Also included is a complete rework of the UI Panels (18 files) to give a steel plate and rivet look for all four positions (top, bottom, left and right), including scroll buttons when the hex contains more units than can be seen in the unit panel.
- New Unit Info Boxes. Created, brand new Unit Info Boxes (45 total for all the unique nations and sub-nations forces in the series), which also includes a mini-national flag, and I created a different way to know when you have selected or deselected units and with this unit info box mod I made the unit info panel darker so that when you right click you can better read the detailed unit information. I thought being able to read the data here was a key factor to game play.
- New movement arrows. I made brand new movement arrows for three of the zoom levels (2D only; 2DSymbolsSm, 2DSymbolsLg, and 2DSymbolsMag, the 3D movement arrows are still red).
- New Turn Phase boxes. Added new Turn Phase box artwork for all titles in the series (9 in total for all 27 titles), here I used mainly the national flag(s) for this area. In some cases, multiple flags (i.e., US and UK).
- New Cover (at start splash screen) for all 27 titles. Lastly, I put my own spin on the at start splash screens. The idea here was to keep the WDS vibe but add my “artistic” touch to them.
Phase II will take a bit longer and in that phase I am going to update all the unit counters in the unit info box to also include use of both the flat board war game counters and the board war game unit symbology, but that will take probably six months or so. I started phase I in December, and it took about two months just for this work. So, I have decided to release Phase I now since its completely playable right now and you can just plug in Phase II when its complete.
You can download and access the files and view the instructions here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ui673b1m210l ... pJ7za?dl=0
See next several posts for some screenshots and other highlights or points of interest of this mod.
Don
