NATO vs German tactical symbols

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Steiner
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Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2022 1:07 pm

Re: NATO vs German tactical symbols

Post by Steiner »

Greetings Geyerfalck

I am gobbed smacked by your modding efforts for France '40 and FIW!
Very impressed.
What software program do you use?
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Geyerfalck
Posts: 91
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Location: Paris

Re: NATO vs German tactical symbols

Post by Geyerfalck »

Steiner wrote: Fri Jul 15, 2022 1:16 pm Greetings Geyerfalck

I am gobbed smacked by your modding efforts for France '40 and FIW!
Very impressed.
What software program do you use?
Hi Steiner ! Thank you.
I'm using :
- Photoshop (artwork)
- Meld (diff & merge tool for files and directories)
- Audacity (sounds).
“In war, the moral is to the material as three to one.”
N. Bonaparte
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skc
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Re: NATO vs German tactical symbols

Post by skc »

Nice trade off between Symbolism and Detail.
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Steiner
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Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2022 1:07 pm

Re: NATO vs German tactical symbols

Post by Steiner »

Greetings Geyerfalck
I was wondering if you have continued to work on your France '40 mod and if you would like to share some more images of its progression?
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PaulSan
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Location: Delaware, Ohio

Re: NATO vs German tactical symbols

Post by PaulSan »

Geyerfalck, these counters are superb! Thank you for your efforts in this endeavor.
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Geyerfalck
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Re: NATO vs German tactical symbols

Post by Geyerfalck »

“In war, the moral is to the material as three to one.”
N. Bonaparte
Carlos
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Re: NATO vs German tactical symbols

Post by Carlos »

Fantastic... are you doing the unit art yourself? Loving the backgrounds...
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Steiner
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Re: NATO vs German tactical symbols

Post by Steiner »

Thanks for the images Geyerfalck!
Absolutely stunning, your mod is a truly a magnus opus...
I have done some unit box modding but I have not effected the quality of historical immersion you have created!

So...once complete and Mike Prucha and WDS team have released France '40 4.01 will this mod be accessible by your admiring public?

Bravo! good sir
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Geyerfalck
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Re: NATO vs German tactical symbols

Post by Geyerfalck »

Fantastic... are you doing the unit art yourself? Loving the backgrounds...
Unit art is a composition of various input data like original pics (colorized), model kit pics + background pics. This is heavily photoshopped since you need to have multi-layer art tools to render unit art. Tactical emblems used for unit art are early war patterns for F'40 (pls see Niehorster online data reference). Late war situations are easier to deal with since the tactical patterns are much simplified on German side !
Individual leaders are more complex to render than a simple walk in the park, because you first need to find a good pic, then colorize, then resize/optimize, etc. When there's no decent pic available, I rely on generic leader art, like a commander/general using binoculars, so there's no blank part and you cannot recognize the officer.
For unit crests/emblems, I tried to use the historical ones when available, or those referring to cities or regions whenever relevant (like Liege or Namur fortified regions' emblems for the corresponding Belgian units). When a unit is at Corps, Army Corps, Panzergruppe, Army or Army Group level, I added the corresponding symbology on the unit. Then it is easier to spot these high level organic units.

Otherwise, I activated Landesschützen units on map (already available in Prucha's OoB, thanks so much to designers btw !), those in charge of army rear area security (one Korück per German army). This is due to the need of chasing enemy stragglers + destroyed HQ's respawning (in the woods for example).
I did not alter aircraft numbers but always using fog of war option, I did split Luftwaffe Aufklärung units (Staffel/Squadron) so you can get more air recon missions, although with smaller mission elements (Kette = 3 x aircraft and Rotte = 2 x aircraft). This is for air recon units only, otherwise it makes no sense to apply this trick to bomber formations.

All in all, this kind of mod substantially adds - or will add - leader stickers due to inclusion of Regimental HQ's soon : typically I'll need to create one bmp file per regiment's commander instead of a single generic one, so the corresponding art work can be used.

A significant difference with PzC when compared with PzB, is that in PzB, you can basically create and use a dedicated unit art + unique tactical emblem for each and every unit in the game : definitely a great feature not possible in PzC due to limitation of generic NATO style patterns in a single bmp file.
Hopefully PzB will keep this outstanding possibility for modders (crossing fingers here !).

I have done some unit box modding but I have not effected the quality of historical immersion you have created!
Unfortunately, I spend much more time for modding than just playing and there's always a lot of time spent for research (5 to 10 times more than for designing unit art), without mentioning testing and debugging later on !
In this mod, there's not only unit art, but also alt sound effects + backgrounds. For the F'40 alt background sound, I chose one giving you the impression to be located in a meadow at an HQ 10-15 km away from the front (summer countryside ambience with occasional insect buzzing, occasional aircraft fly-by's + very attenuated arty shelling). Then you nearly can feel there reading your OPORD in your shelter before briefing your troopers... (Yeah, this is also the former French infantry NCO speaking here, reminds me my 20's ! :lol: )
I don't know your mods but I am always very respectful for those who get their hands dirty on something to give a try, hopefully worth the time spent in the end. Sometimes the result is not so rewarding unfortunately, and I also experienced this before with multiple tries before giving up some art options.
So...once complete and Mike Prucha and WDS team have released France '40 4.01 will this mod be accessible by your admiring public?
Well sir, of course this is a goal for me to achieve !
But please keep in mind that the next WDS F'40 release will significantly alter OoB and scenarios : this means that I'll have to retrofit and cross-check everything in the WIP mod for ensuring it is fully aligned with 4.01 in the end.
It's not a good bang for the buck if the result cannot be shared, but before delivering the final mod release, I'll certainly have to ask for a couple kind souls to give a hand, and beta test it. So once I feel ready to provide something nice enough to give a try, you can even be part of it if you wish so !
“In war, the moral is to the material as three to one.”
N. Bonaparte
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Steiner
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Joined: Fri Jul 15, 2022 1:07 pm

Re: NATO vs German tactical symbols

Post by Steiner »

Thanks for the insight into the scope of your mod, and your ongoing struggles with modding Panzer Campaigns simulations.

I would be happy to assist you as a beta tester and hunt done the nests of bugs still concealed.

a vous ordres mon Sergent!
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