Matrix Games Forums

Historical Flags and Symbols mod version 1.4 and 1.4ns


The purpose of this mod is to represent all flags and symbols that were used by the different units in the game as accurately as possible within the constraints of the game engine. I am interested in vexillology, heraldry, and semiotics, not politics. You should never be allowed to forget who is doing what to whom, because when you bowdlerize evil you make it more acceptable. And then the bad guys win.


This mod is a graphics-only mod. It makes a few changes to the graphic presentation, nothing more. It will have zero impact on any pbem games, and won't cause problems if one player uses it but another doesn't. It is very similar to my mod for DC:Case Blue, but not identical. Several of the flags from that mod have been repainted (e.g. the Romanian and Soviet flags).


This mod is designed to be used with other graphics mods. These don't exist yet, but no modder can resist making grass mods, so sooner or later...


Here is a list of what this mod changes, by country:


Germany:

The mod uses the traditional cannon ball unit symbol for siege artillery. It will only appear if you've patched your game to version 1.03m or higher.

The mod uses a German roundel derived from the roundel on the Parteiflag.

The large, medium, and small headquarters flags are the Reichskriegflag, the German warflag. This is the flag that would have flown in front of any army or navy headquarters, as well as in front of administrative offices in any occupied territory.

The crossed anchors icon for the Wehrmacht navy is the emblem that was worn on the shoulder boards of the Kriegsmarine.

The Luftwaffe eagle icon has been repainted.

I have replaced the SS icon with the white SS runes on a black background.



Romania:

The Romanian flag is now King Michael's warflag.

The national icon for Romania is now the Romanian cross (reportedly modeled on the German balkenkreuz).



Finland:

The mod uses the Finnish warflag from WW II. The Finnish warflag is unusual in that it uses a medieval swallowtail design with the national coat of arms mounted on the intersection of the two arms of the cross.

The national icon for Finland is the blue and white roundel; the national coat of arms (gold lion rampant on a red shield) is included as an _alt texture.

The alternative would have been to use the airforce symbol. The Finnish airforce began using that symbol when the country was becoming independant during the aftermath of the Russian Revolution. A Swedish nobleman whose ancestor had gone crusading in the Baltic donated a personal airplane to Finland, the first airplane in what was to become the Finnish Air Force. To show their recognition Finland adopted part of the nobleman's coat of arms as their aircraft symbol. In the Middle Ages, if you had gone crusading in the Holy Land, you often added a Jerusalem Cross to your coat of arms. But if you hadn't gone all the way to the Middle East and had only crusaded with the Teutonic knights in Prussia or the Baltic, you removed half of the crossbars from the Jerusalem cross before you mounted it on your coat of arms. So that is why the Finnish Airforce was using a symbol that we now think of as a swastika long before the German Nazi Party came into existence. The Finnish Air Force swastika isn't really a swastika, it just looks like one. I didn't want to use the Finnish Air Force symbol as the national ID symbol because I always prefer to use national coats of arms instead, and on top of that I find it very confusing to see a swastika on Finnish units, even though I know where it really comes from.




Italy:

The national icon for Italy is now the coat of arms of the house of Savoy (white cross on a red shield with a blue border).


Hungary:


The icon for Hungary is now the national coat of arms with the crown of St. Stephen.



Soviet Union:


The Soviet Roundel now sports a hammer and sickle.


The Soviet flag has been repainted.


The icon for Soviet regulars is derived from the Red Army badges that were made out of enameled metal, and is a red star with a gold edge and a gold hammer and sickle mounted in the middle of the star.


The icon for troops from Siberia is identical to the icon for Soviet regulars, except that the red and gold star is shown against a green background. Siberia has lots of taiga and tundra, and both are green when not covered in snow.


The icon for Soviet conscripts is identical to the icon for Soviet regulars, but without the gold trim around the edge of the red star (a very small hammer and sickle on a red star).


The icon for Partisans is a simple red star cut out of fabric (no hammer and sickle).


The icon for Soviet Naval Infantry (the Black Death) is based on the fouled anchor that appears on Russian marine badges.



Non-swastika version:

The swastika-free version of the mod needs to be downloaded separately. The link can be found below just after the link to the regular version.


WHERE TO GET THE MOD


The mod can be downloaded from this link:


The combined version (Historical Flags and Symbols and Other Peoples Mod):

regular:

https://app.box.com/s/xn1ajv27y80dj75nsakv21l48v3vks9j

no swastikas:

https://app.box.com/s/avi0xnx2bc5x6vtzhtxp4bvyvu4f0snh


Historical Flags and Symbols (does not include Other Peoples Mod):

https://app.box.com/s/4x7dvkpfjtns0pmsnzeybui19mpopkvb

or this one:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ns5ndhgjvqyq0 ... 4.zip?dl=0


I frequently run out of bandwidth towards the end of the month. If that happens you should try downloading from the second link, or wait until the middle of the next month. There is also a copy of the mod hosted on Vic's site here:


http://www.vrdesigns.net/scenario.php?nr=228



A swastika-free version of the mod:

https://app.box.com/s/4ucl6wvrw7v2bzs4sv0w9hj62fkmkgag

and here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xpl3twdob6gcj ... s.zip?dl=0

or here:

http://www.vrdesigns.net/scenario.php?nr=241




Here's a link to a thread about a mod that improves the look of many of the game's graphic utilities (Other Peoples' Mods):


tm.asp?m=4013331



The Steam version of this mod (bundled together with the Other Peoples' Mods):


Historical flags:


https://app.box.com/s/xhdl52st12m7hrzxsthwgx4rqvfqwa6m

or

https://www.dropbox.com/s/f5c029w4lnm4l ... 9.zip?dl=0

or

http://www.vrdesigns.net/scenario.php?nr=242



Without swastikas:


https://app.box.com/s/3r5425g250f6359kr3ocp6ublegbvn3d

or

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0x3h4l64eegfh ... 9.zip?dl=0

or

http://www.vrdesigns.net/scenario.php?nr=243








If you are interested in the flag mods that I've made for the other games in the series, here are the relevant links:


Decisive Campaigns: Case Blue:

tm.asp?m=3755829&mpage=1&key=�


Decisive Campaigns: Blitzkrieg Warsaw to Paris

tm.asp?m=3768892

Historical Flags and Symbols mod version 1.0 screenshots:

Very impressive Philippe! Thank you!

great work as always, thanks for the share[&o]

Its become a bit of a tradition for me. And this game it arrives very timely!

Big Hurrah for Philippe!

ORIGINAL: Philippe at bay

Historical Flags and Symbols mod version 1.0

[SNIP]


Finland:

The mod uses the Finnish warflag from WW II. The Finnish warflag is unusual in that it uses a medieval swallowtail design with the national coat of arms mounted on the intersection of the two arms of the cross.

The national icon for Finland is the national coat of arms (gold lion rampant on a red shield).

The alternative would have been to use the airforce symbol. The Finnish airforce began using that symbol when the country was becoming independant during the aftermath of the Russian Revolution. A Swedish nobleman whose ancestor had gone crusading in the Baltic donated a personal airplane to Finland, the first airplane in what was to become the Finnish Air Force. To show their recognition Finland adopted part of the nobleman's coat of arms as their aircraft symbol. In the Middle Ages, if you had gone crusading in the Holy Land, you often added a Jerusalem Cross to your coat of arms. But if you hadn't gone all the way to the Middle East and had only crusaded with the Teutonic knights in Prussia or the Baltic, you removed half of the crossbars from the Jerusalem cross before you mounted it on your coat of arms. So that is why the Finnish Airforce was using a symbol that we now think of as a swastika long before the German Nazi Party came into existence. The Finnish Air Force swastika isn't really a swastika, it just looks like one. I didn't want to use the Finnish Air Force symbol as the national ID symbol because I always prefer to use national coats of arms instead, and on top of that I find it very confusing to see a swastika on Finnish units, even though I know where it really comes from.

Hello Philippe, thank you for your attention to detail, it is mods like these with attention to histroic detail that really make the games shine!

As a Finn I can only conclude what you wrote is spot on. The Finnish Warflag continues to be the same as what you depicted here, as does the national coat of arms.

As for the light blue Finnish Air Force swastika of 1918-1945, it is as you wrote. However it was practically never used outside Air force, albeit it appeared shortly in some tanks as a national symbol before the armored vehicles were standardized to use what is known as the Liberty Cross, a black short-armed swastika designed in 1919. Liberty Cross continues to be used to this day in some areas, for instance in President's flag.

So as for the various swastika-like symbols, they've been used in the folklore for ages, and had nothing to do with Nazi symbols. For obvious reasons, they are shunned today, and for a good reason too.

Then, should you look for another symbol besides the warflag, I'd probably recommend the use of the white-blue-white roundel that has been used in Finnish Army hats and caps from early on, although by conscripts and reservists only as the professional officers wear a red-golden lion roundel instead. However, it is the white-blue-white roundel that is in use in modern Airforce and AFV fleet as well, so it is instantly recognizable and would serve well as a generic symbol, dating back to time periods covered here.

But as far as the flags go, again what you used here is spot on. Thank you! [:)]

Now that is what i call a quickly released mod. Game hasn't even been out 24 hours.

Looks very nice, many thanks!

ORIGINAL: Crossroads

ORIGINAL: Philippe at bay

Historical Flags and Symbols mod version 1.0

[SNIP]


Finland:

The mod uses the Finnish warflag from WW II. The Finnish warflag is unusual in that it uses a medieval swallowtail design with the national coat of arms mounted on the intersection of the two arms of the cross.

The national icon for Finland is the national coat of arms (gold lion rampant on a red shield).

The alternative would have been to use the airforce symbol. The Finnish airforce began using that symbol when the country was becoming independant during the aftermath of the Russian Revolution. A Swedish nobleman whose ancestor had gone crusading in the Baltic donated a personal airplane to Finland, the first airplane in what was to become the Finnish Air Force. To show their recognition Finland adopted part of the nobleman's coat of arms as their aircraft symbol. In the Middle Ages, if you had gone crusading in the Holy Land, you often added a Jerusalem Cross to your coat of arms. But if you hadn't gone all the way to the Middle East and had only crusaded with the Teutonic knights in Prussia or the Baltic, you removed half of the crossbars from the Jerusalem cross before you mounted it on your coat of arms. So that is why the Finnish Airforce was using a symbol that we now think of as a swastika long before the German Nazi Party came into existence. The Finnish Air Force swastika isn't really a swastika, it just looks like one. I didn't want to use the Finnish Air Force symbol as the national ID symbol because I always prefer to use national coats of arms instead, and on top of that I find it very confusing to see a swastika on Finnish units, even though I know where it really comes from.

Hello Philippe, thank you for your attention to detail, it is mods like these with attention to histroic detail that really make the games shine!

As a Finn I can only conclude what you wrote is spot on. The Finnish Warflag continues to be the same as what you depicted here, as does the national coat of arms.

As for the light blue Finnish Air Force swastika of 1918-1945, it is as you wrote. However it was practically never used outside Air force, albeit it appeared shortly in some tanks as a national symbol before the armored vehicles were standardized to use what is known as the Liberty Cross, a black short-armed swastika designed in 1919. Liberty Cross continues to be used to this day in some areas, for instance in President's flag.

So as for the various swastika-like symbols, they've been used in the folklore for ages, and had nothing to do with Nazi symbols. For obvious reasons, they are shunned today, and for a good reason too.

Then, should you look for another symbol besides the warflag, I'd probably recommend the use of the white-blue-white roundel that has been used in Finnish Army hats and caps from early on, although by conscripts and reservists only as the professional officers wear a red-golden lion roundel instead. However, it is the white-blue-white roundel that is in use in modern Airforce and AFV fleet as well, so it is instantly recognizable and would serve well as a generic symbol, dating back to time periods covered here.

But as far as the flags go, again what you used here is spot on. Thank you! [:)]

Most welcome.

I had considered using the circular blue roundel for the national symbol, and even made one at one point, but couldn't find any documentation that it was used during the '40's. Which strikes me as odd, because I would have thought it would date back to the Russian Civil War period. I suspect not being able to find documentation has more to do with a lacuna in my sources than anything else. I guess I should spend some more time squinting at photographs from the Winter and Continuation Wars and try to decipher what they had on their forage caps.

Thanks Philippe, great mod.

ORIGINAL: Philippe at bay
Most welcome.

I had considered using the circular blue roundel for the national symbol, and even made one at one point, but couldn't find any documentation that it was used during the '40's. Which strikes me as odd, because I would have thought it would date back to the Russian Civil War period. I suspect not being able to find documentation has more to do with a lacuna in my sources than anything else. I guess I should spend some more time squinting at photographs from the Winter and Continuation Wars and try to decipher what they had on their forage caps.

Hello Philippe, (edit) found this article in English regarding the history of Finnish military uniforms:



http://www.mosinnagant.net/finland/Finn ... evised.asp

Nice photographs and very interesting link. I can't remember if I visited that website when I researched the question two years ago (for another game, obviously). If I were making a mod today for the Winter War I would probably use the cockade. But for the Continuation War I think I'll stick with the lion, on the analogy of the crown of St. Stephen (Hungary) and the coat of arms of the house of Savoy (Italy).

Thanks.this is exactly what I was asking for in the mod request thread.

Thank you very much! Great work - as usual

Thank you very much! Great work - as usual

Thank you very much! Great work - as usual

ORIGINAL: Philippe at bay

Nice photographs and very interesting link. I can't remember if I visited that website when I researched the question two years ago (for another game, obviously). If I were making a mod today for the Winter War I would probably use the cockade. But for the Continuation War I think I'll stick with the lion, on the analogy of the crown of St. Stephen (Hungary) and the coat of arms of the house of Savoy (Italy).

Sure, why not. Plenty of options! Thanks again for this mod

Fantastic !

Thanks for the work on this!

Very nice mod. Thanks for all your effort making it.

HELP! I installed your mod and made a copy of the game and now my Shortcut to start the game is gone! I cant find an Application file in the game folder either to start the game or make a new desktop shortcut with. What the heck is going on? The game doesnt even show up on the start menu. What the hell have I done? Can I delete everything and go back and re download the game? never seen any thing like this.