COUNTER MOD 1.0

[Haplo_Patryn]

Nice. Very nice. Great work, i like it! [:)]

[Magpius]

unit tweaks to follow.
-improved level graphic (akin to swatters')
-fixed number cropping issue of big numbers.
will upload next 24 hours. any other requests?...
hope all this work is worth the effort.
- when is patch due out gents?

[Anraz]

Patch will be ready within 3 or 4 weeks.

[Bleck]

ORIGINAL: Agent S
hope all this work is worth the effort.

Soon I will describe changes you need to do if you want your mod to work with patch

[Uxbridge]

You're really giving us both soul and body with this game, guys. And it's really incredible how modable it is. I was playing around a bit with Agent S's map variant. He likes it rather clean and also strives towards a likeness with the old SPI maps, a field where he has succeeded very well.

I myself prefer a little more colour (I probably started gaming a little later when the boardgame maps were more colourfull) and I sometimes think that hexes with only colour in them can be difficult to tell apart. I therefore added some crude hill and mountain illustrations and also added weather effects.

The map below is very much the same situation as in Agent S's version above, but there's the above mentioned extra terrain features and mud in the form of a vague "dotting" of the hexes concerned.

[Uxbridge]

Here's another shot, this time showing USSR in full winter mode. Plain hexes are now white and the forests has snow making their branches heavier. [:)]

[Uxbridge]

This last screenie shows Balkan in the spring, where there's a plethoria of different terrain types and weather effects. Note the different colouring of the woods for fair, mud and snow.

Thanks, Agent S, for giving me a good blueprint, and thanks Wasteland, for giving us more ways of modding. [:)]

[Magpius]

great stuff Uxbridge.
Nostalgia can be a dangerous thing. I went to the garage and dug up all my old boardgames, AH's D-day, afrika korps, tactics II (squares not hexes), etc... and the graphics were...well crap.
So I think I'm trying to come up with a hybrid.
find attached the improved unit graphics.
I went with arial narrow instead of yellow times roman. Let me know what you think.
-A
as for further work. I'll wait for the patch.

[JFalk68]

what is the red/white checker board on top of some of the units?

Thanks
John

[Anraz]

Seeing this screens I also feel nostalgia...but not going to search for my board games as this would ruin this feeling   Great work

[Uxbridge]

ORIGINAL: JFalk68

what is the red/white checker board on top of some of the units?

Thanks
John

It's corps units. I don't like the "X" symbols. You can't see a lot of units at a casual glance, but have to examine them piece by piece. This is much quicker without giving the counter a too heavy burden graphically.

[Uxbridge]

Thanks. Yes, you're right about nostalgia. All those games, films and models somehow appears more bright and beautiful in ones memory than in dull reality!

[doomtrader]

That's one of the greatest things in gamedev.

[Uxbridge]

ORIGINAL: Agent S

great stuff Uxbridge.
Nostalgia can be a dangerous thing. I went to the garage and dug up all my old boardgames, AH's D-day, afrika korps, tactics II (squares not hexes), etc... and the graphics were...well crap.
So I think I'm trying to come up with a hybrid.
find attached the improved unit graphics.
I went with arial narrow instead of yellow times roman. Let me know what you think.
-A
as for further work. I'll wait for the patch.

I tried them, and I myself proposed return of the traffic lights earlier, but now I'm not so sure. The flickering ruined the paper feel of the counters and made them "metallic" again. Strange. It might be much better, however, if the flickering could stop.

I still prefer bright letters on the units, but comparing your apperances with mine, I suddenly figured out how to do white instead of yellow text. That was better, since the yellow sometimes interfered with the colour choice of the units. Mixing yellow text with red background, for example, I think looks awful.

Yes, you're right about the patch.

Wish they would release another hotfix for rounding down of numbers and stop of flickering traffic lights right away. Don't think anybody wants those flickering lights anyway; could just as well be steady. In fact, speaking as a layman of course, I'm to some degree suspicious that the flickering could have something to do with the slowness of the game. It's a continously ongoing process, isn't it? [&:]

[Uxbridge]

ORIGINAL: doomtrader

That's one of the greatest things in gamedev.

Well, I might just give up writing and start making games instead. Much funnier! [:D]

[Bleck]

ORIGINAL: Uxbridge
Wish they would release another hotfix for rounding down of numbers and stop of flickering traffic lights right away. Don't think anybody wants those flickering lights anyway; could just as well be steady.

Such hotfix is not possible right now, there are now many other changes in exe file and they need to be polished.
As for flickering indicators - there will be possibility to disable it (you can use it or not - matter of graphic in info.png). More info soon so you guys can prepare your mods for patch.

ORIGINAL: Uxbridge
I'm to some degree suspicious that the flickering could have something to do with the slowness of the game. It's a continously ongoing process, isn't it?

Flickering is insignificant in this case

[Uxbridge]

Looking forward to the patch. I'll try and do as Agent S for now; nothing! [:)]

[doomtrader]

Maybe you should think about redesiging air counters in the meantime?

[Magpius]

hard to stop!
I think I enjoy modding as much as playing.
the blinking lights have gone from my set, as I'm quite happy with the 'cardboard' cut outs.
havent had this much 'fun' since SC1.
might start work on the sound files while waiting for the patch. [:D]

[Magpius]

Uxbridge,
half the fun is the perpetual search for capturing that elusive perfect feel of authentic cartographic style and clear no nonsense graphic counter clarity.
...and this game has potential in spades.