Unit Depictions on Screen

[Mziln]

ORIGINAL: ravinhood

I would so rather you change Japan color to the YELLOW (Rishing SUN <~~~ yellow) and China to a Light color or red or something. It just don't seem right Japan being RED....China should be RED as in RED CHINA that we know today. Just my 2 cents.

The color of the "Rising Sun" on the Japaneese flag is red not yellow.

What about Nationalist China? The majority of the units are Nationalist at start while "Red" or Communist China atarts with very few. Nationalist Chinas flag is Red, Blue, and White[:D]

[Shannon V. OKeets]

The high resolution bitmaps for the air and naval units are now in production. Rob Armstrong and I (with help from Patrice) have identified which versions of which counter sheets to use and a process by which they are taken from ADG data files and transformed into coutner you will see in the game.

Here are two screen shots from counter sheet 7, Planes in Flames, which has been completed.

I have to do some fine tuning on image placement (vertical) within the counter frame, and this screen shot was my first pass. I will use it to adjust how I cut the images and place them.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Actually, I had to split the screen shot I am working with into 2 parts because of limitations on file uploads. Here is the bottom half.

This includes all the Italian and Chinese units from counter sheet 7. Hmmm, now that's not right either. I have yet to add the lend lease planes.

Most of the adjustments needed here are to move the images vertically within the frame. I might have to hyphenate 2 or 3 names too.

Notice that the camouflage (finally got the spelling right) now matches the WIF FE counters.

[mlees]

Will the final "lend lease" units (like the Chinese P-40 unit) have the stripe of the lending power? (In this example, the American Green stripe.) I think you stated some time ago that they would...

It just occured to me that, with a PC version of the game, I can't pick up my favorite air units, and "fly" them around the dinner table (with the appropriate "sound effects" and spittle, of course!). [:(]

[Froonp]

Notice that the camouflage (finally got the spelling right) now matches the WIF FE counters.

Sure I notice !!!!
Those are now looking very very good, much better than the first zebra like camouflage patterns I saw on the P-40 & F2A.
It's great !!!!

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Here is the first in a series of 5 screen shots. These are for the USA air units from counter sheet 7 (Planes in Flames).
There might be a few other old ones mixed in (I haven't checked for that rigorously.
These all look like finished product to me.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Only one to fix here - the Hellcat image (F6F-5) needs to be raised 4 pixels or so. I especially like the Twin Mustang in the lower right corner.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Almost half of these will need some adjustment.

Typically, a whole row of units is lower (or higher) than the other rows. Since I process these by rows, it is easy to move them all up (or down) at once. To process the entire counter sheet (200 units) takes me about 15 minutes.

Rob says it takes him about 2 hours to extract all the images and convert them to bitmaps.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

More that need adjustment. Sigh. But the great thing about computers is that I do this once and it is done forever.[:D]

That is based on the premise that everything about this procedure is correct: ADG counter sheet version, image extraction, background color for the major power, names are correct, placement of all the numbers and names is correct, ...

Once again I am under the illusion that all these component parts of the process are working correctly. To say that programmers are optimists understates the case quite a bit. Instead, I would say that "programmers are rabidly optimistic to the point of being delusional" - that's a little closer to the mark.

[Shannon V. OKeets]

Last in the series. Here are those missing halves (for those who were worry about such things).

I will remove the range from the A-Bomb and make major changes to the Skymaster range and large transport indicator.

The abbreviations look okay here, though I probably need to abbreviate Commando.

The USA sure has a lot of planes. Only a little over 100 are shown in these screen shots. There are at least that many remaining for the USA alone.

I think Germany had some planes in WW II too (?).

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: mlees

Will the final "lend lease" units (like the Chinese P-40 unit) have the stripe of the lending power? (In this example, the American Green stripe.) I think you stated some time ago that they would...

It just occured to me that, with a PC version of the game, I can't pick up my favorite air units, and "fly" them around the dinner table (with the appropriate "sound effects" and spittle, of course!). [:(]

Yipes, stripes![X(]

I have been wondering what to do about that recently.[&:] Previously we had a system worked out but I can't implement it now.

What has changed is that the graphics artist is using anti-aliasing to make the images of the planes and ships clearer to the human eye. This means that I cannot change the color behind the bitmap image. Indeed, Rob is using RGB values for the country background colors that I provided to him so that all the unit types (air, naval and land) will have the same color background for each country.

What I can do is run a stripe across the bottom of the unit - provided I am careful to not place it so high that it runs into the bitmap image.

Now there are 3 things we want to communicate here:

1 - Lend lease: only applicable to air units

2 - Captured units: only applicable to naval units. An example is a French sub captured by Italy when Vichy is declared.

3 - Units on loan: for example, Italian units lent to Germany for operations in Russia, or German units lent to Italy for operations in North Africa.

I am thinking of using a big stripe for #2. That will indicate that the unit has been captured and is now controlled by the major power indicated by the color of the stripe. The original unit's color will remain unchanged for the top 3/4 of the unit.

For lend lease, I am thinking of a narrow stripe that is elevated (not on the bottom of the counter) and runs through the numbers et al on the bottom of the unit.

Units on loan are problemmatical. My current best idea is to use a narrow stripe that runs across the bottom of the counter.

What makes me uncertain about all of this is getting the contrast high enough so the numebrs and letters are legible. For example, the Belgian naval unit has a black background (for Belgium) with red text. If the stripe is dark blue for the Commonwealth, will the numbers be legible? [For this example it doesn't really matter since the illegible numbers are both zeroes.]

[Froonp]

Here is the first in a series of 5 screen shots. These are for the USA air units from counter sheet 7 (Planes in Flames).
There might be a few other old ones mixed in (I haven't checked for that rigorously.

Yes, there is a zebra P-40C here.
Not good this one [:-].

[lomyrin]

Will you limit the lendleasable planes to the same types as in WiFFE? In CWiF there was no such limit but I think that limit should be observed.

Lars

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: lomyrin

Will you limit the lendleasable planes to the same types as in WiFFE? In CWiF there was no such limit but I think that limit should be observed.

Lars

Yes. MWIF will have the same rules as WIF FE for lend leased air units.

Besides the obvious reason for that, the WIF FE units for lend leased planes change the numbers occasionally. I guess that reflects that the foreign nations had slightly different versions of the planes, or the pilots weren't as good, or the ground crews, or ...

In any event, I want to duplicate WIF FE combat factors for lend leased air units.

What I intend to do is have a fairly simple form that shows all the lend leaseable air units with the different counters that represent each air unit in a line. Only one of the counters will be 'active' at a time. So, if the USA lend leases an air unit to the Chinese, then the associated USA air unit will not be available in the USA force pool (i.e., 'inactive'). The controlling player simply clicks on which nationality counter is active for the air unit. No muss, no fuss.

There are sticky points if the original owner wants the unit back, but I'll follow the WIF FE rules for designing the interface on how to implement that (a future bridge to cross).

Is the coloring/striping scheme ok?

[Shannon V. OKeets]

ORIGINAL: Froonp

Here is the first in a series of 5 screen shots. These are for the USA air units from counter sheet 7 (Planes in Flames).
There might be a few other old ones mixed in (I haven't checked for that rigorously.

Yes, there is a zebra P-40C here.
Not good this one [:-].

It's from counter sheet 1, row 8. When Rob send me the bitmaps for counter sheet 1, it will be relpaced.

[Mziln]

ORIGINAL: mlees
It just occured to me that, with a PC version of the game, I can't pick up my favorite air units, and "fly" them around the dinner table (with the appropriate "sound effects" and spittle, of course!). [:(]

But you could pick up the unit with the cursor and move it arround the screen and make the noises [:D]

I have a friend who makes the noises for every piece and evey move.

"Here comes a tank CLANK,CLANK, CLANK! ".

[mlees]

But you could pick up the unit with the cursor and move it arround the screen and make the noises

Somehow, it just doesnt seem the same. *Sigh*

Well, what I can do is to buy a small toy Tiger tank or B-25, and play with that when the impulse strikes...

[Neilster]

They look fantastic. Geez the Italians made some stylish planes. A bit underpowered though, and with pop-gun armament. Mind you, when they put the powerful Jerry engines and decent guns in them in 1943ish they were formidable.

I assume there is some reason for the duplication of some of the units such as the Macchi C.200 Saetta. I also noticed there appears to be 2 P-47Ns and 2 P-38Ls.

Cheers, Neilster

[Froonp]

I assume there is some reason for the duplication of some of the units such as the Macchi C.200 Saetta. I also noticed there appears to be 2 P-47Ns and 2 P-38Ls.

MC.200 Saetta : There is one from 1940 from PiF Countersheet 7 row 6 column 15 and the one from 1939 from PiF Countersheet 7 row 5 column 15. There is a third MC.200 Saetta on WiF FE Countersheet 4.
P-47N : There is one from 1944 from PiF Countersheet 7 row 6 column 5 and the one from 1945 from PiF Countersheet 7 row 5 column 6.
P-38L : There is one from 1944 from PiF Countersheet 7 row 3 column 7 and the one from 1945 from PiF Countersheet 7 row 4 column 7. There is a third P-38L on WiF FE Countersheet 1.

[Neilster]

ORIGINAL: Mziln

ORIGINAL: mlees
It just occured to me that, with a PC version of the game, I can't pick up my favorite air units, and "fly" them around the dinner table (with the appropriate "sound effects" and spittle, of course!). [:(]

But you could pick up the unit with the cursor and move it arround the screen and make the noises [:D]

I have a friend who makes the noises for every piece and evey move.

"Here comes a tank CLANK,CLANK, CLANK! ".

My Dad used to get me out of bed by shouting "Stuka attack!" and then making that "horns of Jericho" diving Stuka wailing sound and "strafing" my stomach with his fingers. Either that or kicking the bedroom door open and screaming "Juden raus!, Juden raus!". He was a slightly strange dude. I tried to explain it to some German friends but they seemed a bit puzzled. Guess how I got them up when they stayed at my place? Ho ho ho. [:'(]

Actually, Dad was friendly to the point of making people suspicious. He was keen on picking up hitch-hikers because he liked to help people. One day he drove to a friend's house in a nearby town because the friend had chickens and wanted to kill a few for the table but couldn't bring himself to do it. After much hilarity (well not for the chickens I suppose) Dad used his axe to behead the birds and on the drive home he picked up a bloke who was hitch-hiking. After a couple of minutes of Dad engaging him in friendly conversation, the guy just clammed up and then said, "Ah...actually I think I'll get out just here. Yep...here". They were in the middle of nowhere and Dad said, "Are you sure? You said you wanted to go into town." "Nah..nah...here's...here's fine thanks mate" he said, staring straight ahead. It was only when Dad got home that he realised he'd left the blood-stained axe on a old towel on the back seat.

Unfortunately Dad died suddenly when I was 18 but he left some funny stories. I use a lot of his "material" and they still get a laugh. No doubt he stole those jokes anyway.

Cheers, Neilster