Matrix Games Forums

OK, yes I read up on it, but I still have a question or 2, or 3. [:D]

Let's say I want to add more planes than the original planesides.bmp would have allowed. Is that possible? Can I use the rotating art technique to do so? Do I need to edit the aircraft file in Excel to add in the additional plane side numbers (that is higher than would normally be available) after everything else is completed?

Just want to make sure I'm not totally confused here.

There are two different kinds of files involved to "add airplanes" -

1) aircraft filmstrips

2) scenario data files (always aircraft, usually groups, sometimes devices).

Aircraft filmstrips should come in groups of three: sides, tops and alphas
for one side or the other.

You may not add more types than there are "slots" in the aircraft file
available for each side, nor more art than there are bitmaps for in the
filmstrips. There are more slots than there are bitmaps too - but it is
common to share a bitmap for more than one aircraft type.

Editing of scenario files is done in the AE editor.

Editing (cutting and pasting at least, possibly editing existing art or making
new art) is done in some kind of video application program. A good (free)one
is Irfan View.

I can provide a rich set of art from which you may "borrow" images. I also
have calculated the technical numbers for each plane type - to formal definitions
that are consistent with each other - but are not consistent with stock values.
If you are interested in either art or data, you may download the RHS installer
or contact Mifune or myself. We have just about every aircraft of interest in
WWII PTO - including types not actually produced for various reasons. However,
although Mifune made (or modified) much of the art, we also have a good deal
made by Cobra in WITP days, and use a lot from the altwars site (although I have
altered some of that to change national markings from German to Japanese). I have
also technically created three types myself - one using a photograph - two using
non AE art altered to fit our formats. This last is a disclaimer - I did not
wish to sound like we did all the art: I am not even sure we have done a majority
of it. It is a collection including stock, several years of work by Cobra,
several decades of work by those in the common art project, and even art from
sources unrelated to AE per se. We use the best art we can find - and replace
it when/if we find better. But the collection work is done - if you want it.

As a novice in terms of making aircraft filmstrips, I can help explain fundamentals
having just learned them myself. I was assisted by two other artists who understand
the art applications better than I do, and I stood on the shoulders of giants in terms
of using art already made in the main.

Maybe I asked my questions in a way that wasn't entirely clear. To put into context, I have modded the games aircraft art before the ability to have rotating aircraft art was possible. So I know how to add to the 'film strip' for each side.

My real question is can you add more aircraft than the film strip method would allow by utilizing the single aircraft sides described in the the art mod thread? IE add in airplane art like you would ship sides. My problem is that I want to add in more aircraft for the Axis side than I have film strip slots available.

I'm running out of slots for planes, so my real question is there a hard limit on the number of unique plane sides (not counting rotating art per year) that I can add to the game?

ORIGINAL: Shark7

Maybe I asked my questions in a way that wasn't entirely clear. To put into context, I have modded the games aircraft art before the ability to have rotating aircraft art was possible. So I know how to add to the 'film strip' for each side.

My real question is can you add more aircraft than the film strip method would allow by utilizing the single aircraft sides described in the the art mod thread? IE add in airplane art like you would ship sides. My problem is that I want to add in more aircraft for the Axis side than I have film strip slots available.

I'm running out of slots for planes, so my real question is there a hard limit on the number of unique plane sides (not counting rotating art per year) that I can add to the game?

You can easily add more aircraft (called slots in the aircraft file) than there are art bitmaps -
and I think everyone does that to some degree - including stock. However, you may not increase
the number of bitmaps. The trick is to learn how to share bitmaps. DIFFERENT but similar planes
may point at the SAME bitmap! In my view, there also are many cases of "nearly duplicated" art -
I sometimes go with fewer Zeros (or whatever) in different colors - in favor of freeing up bitmaps
for completely different types of aircraft. That is one way to "cheat" and get "more" bitmaps -
share virtually identical types more.

Note that the Allies cannot use the very bottom right bitmap (500) - for whatever reason code does
not allow us to point at it.

Your proposal will not work in general but might in a carefully organized case. Once you change
the art - it will no longer be available in its original form. But if you "know" some plane is
going to "disappear" (and there are a tiny number of such cases) you could "modify" the bitmap
for a later aircraft - and that might be a way to add another bitmap to the set. Mifune has
some concern that rotating art is a potential source of errors that might crash the game -
bitmaps can do that - so after considering it I have decided not to use it. But IF you run
out of bitmaps a very few cases might be possible to arrange if you date separate the selected
types. You would have to coordinate the substitute art to include a side, a top and an alpha all
at the same time if you were changing the art completely.