Plane art file swaps?

[m10bob]

Currently, I am happily using that wonderful aircraft art swapping program which "upgrades" the planes paint schemes as the war progresses.

I strongly recommend that program for anybody who loves esoteric historical correctness for the planes of this war.

QUESTION:..I have included in my personal game several aircraft which are NOT in the game itself, art-wise.Getting the stats for those planes was easy, but I do not have the art.

Other art mods DO have the correct sides for the planes.
If I were able to throw those other art side "sheets" into my main art folder,how would I name those sides, and would they be used by the game without messing up the swapping feature of the main art swap file I am using?

[Dili]

What is that program?

[Reg]

First of all download and read the attachment to the first post in this thread: Art Mods as it contains all the information you need.

If you have the artwork from another mod it will save a lot of effort (on your part, I hope you will give credit to the actual artist [;)]). You mention "side art sheets". If you are talking about A_PlaneSide.bmp (or J_PlaneSide.bmp), I wouldn't bother with them. [:(] They are the defaults and if you edit them you have to make sure you don't stomp over previous changes others have made.

A far more elegant solution (as described in the "Single aircraft images" section of the Art Modifications document above) is to apply your updated artwork as a single aircraft image which overwrites a single cell/slot of the default artwork grid. To uninstall simply delete the additional artwork which will unmask the default artwork and make it visible again. (No editing...[:)])

In a nutshell, take your updated 150 x 60 pixel side art image (which you may have to extract from you mod "grid" artwork) and save it as "A_PlaneSidexxxx.bmp" or ("J_PlaneSidexxxx.bmp") where xxxx is the 4 digit aircraft slot number (from the editor). Allied aircraft are stored in “art\AlliedPlanes” and Japanese aircraft in “art\JapPlanes” folders. Your custom artwork will now be displayed in game for the aircraft with slot number xxxx.

A similar method is used for the top art and alpha mask - See the Art Modifications document above.

I won't go into too much detail here but you can also make your custom artwork 'rotate' by game date if you format your artwork as per the Art Modifications document above.

It's actually very simple to do so don't be afraid to give it a go!! (see uninstall above).
Best of luck,

[Reg]

ORIGINAL: Dili

What is that program?

Rotating aircraft (ship and base) artwork based on game date has been a standard feature of WITP-AE since Patch #4. You just need your artwork files formatted properly to take advantage of the feature. Rotating artwork files are not included in the standard install but are included in various mods and can be downloaded from Halsey's site: https://sites.google.com/site/aewitplandairartwork/

This same feature can also be used to introduce artwork for a new aircraft type as m10bob wants to do in the post above by displaying a completely different aircraft picture (for the whole war) rather than just the same aircraft in a different paint scheme.

[el cid again]

Mifune, who was long the air artist for RHS in AE days, recommends against using the date swapping program for reasons of stability. A single bad image will crash the game, but not be easy to identify (unless you check it by running a game on a case by case basis). Since I had to take over plane art, I learned how to make art which does not crash the game. So diligent work will avoid the problem.
I probably have the largest selection of "art" for planes - in terms of models. Some of it is based on photographs rather than proper Matrix style drawings. And tops sometimes use the "nearest
art" standard where it does not exist. It is a mixed bag - including all the art from the Matrix common art project - much stock art - some art provided by others - and some improvised art I did
where nothing else existed. I am not an artist, but I can now modify art (to change insignia or minor features). Both RHS Level I and II have all the art if you want it.

[Reg]

I have been creating this artwork for years and have never had an issue. The only requirement is they must be valid bitmap files of the correct size.

Halsey's collection of rotating aircraft art has been downloaded and installed by hundreds of users over several years and is rock solid with no-one reporting any issues.

Rotating art really does add an extra layer of chrome to the game and I would not be put off using it.

[m10bob]

Reg, thank you for that fast response..Clear as mud for a knuckle dragger like me, but I will give it a go.

(I have been great with sound files, LOL)

[btd64]

Good stuff. I am planning to produce a mod, But I am, after all these years, still learning some modding items thru trial and error....GP

[Dili]

Thanks everyone.

[Reg]

ORIGINAL: m10bob

Reg, thank you for that fast response..Clear as mud for a knuckle dragger like me, but I will give it a go.

(I have been great with sound files, LOL)

You're welcome. [:)]

It really isn't hard. All you have to do is ensure your new artwork has the correct name and is in the correct folder. Very similar to modding sound files.

Don't be afraid to give it a go..... [;)]

[Halsey]

ORIGINAL: Reg


I have been creating this artwork for years and have never had an issue. The only requirement is they must be valid bitmap files of the correct size.

Halsey's collection of rotating aircraft art has been downloaded and installed by hundreds of users over several years and is rock solid with no-one reporting any issues.

Rotating art really does add an extra layer of chrome to the game and I would not be put off using it.

Thousands of user downloads.[;)]
Though some could be "bootleggers".[:D]

That's what they're there for, mod and enjoy!