Big WiE NATOs_v2.2 counter mod

[PHalen]

Version 2.2:
- Added MT vessels for USA.
- German mechanized units with Infantry Weapons level 2 are now black (Waffen SS).
- Russian mechanized units with Infantry Weapons level 2 are now darker (Guards).

Version 2.1:
- Corrected misaligned Italian air units.
- Added CVEs for Anti-Submarine Warfare levels 3-5.
- Added subs for Allied Minors.

Version 2.0:
Adjusted at zoomed in view based on relevant feedback from Uxbridge that the big counters were hiding map info & scenery.
The counters in version 2.0 are just slightly bigger than vanilla & feel better. Thanks Uxbridge!
The only difference between the WaW and WiE versions is that US Special Forces are Rangers for WiE and USMC for WaW.

These are an offspring - although completely remade from scratch - from a NATO counters concept originally prepared by SIPRES for Crispy’s Fall Weiss II mod.
So special thanks to SIPRES for the trigger and some generous advice!
They are basically an attempt to create clear, classic boardgame style NATO counters. At least for ground units.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/syq6e6kkfbwxa ... 2.zip?dl=0

Features:
• Bigger counters that are type-shaped per ground, HQ, air & naval units. (From SIPRES’s great concept.)
• Pretty straight forward NATO symbols for ground units. Except major nation Special Forces that are "special".
• Individual air & naval unit silhouettes per nation & tech level.
• Baby blue Luftwaffe units (Air, AA & FSJ).
• Tech level 4 & 5 armored & AT units are black (Waffen SS) for Germany & darker (Guards) for Russia.
• Tech level 2 mechanized units are black (Waffen SS) for Germany & darker (Guards) for Russia.
• Plus some other stuff.
• Adjusted unit activation sprites. (An IronX & SIPRES combo).
• Adjusted tile highlights sprites. (Inspired by IronX).

Recommended together with, and as seen on the sample pics:
• “Bleached Map” mod (obviously[:'(]) by yours truly. tm.asp?m=4574859
• "Historical Flag” mod by Philippeatbay. tm.asp?m=4608353

Installation instructions:
tm.asp?m=4608689

A Sample from the opening of campaign "1940 Attack in the West":

[PHalen]

Sample 2:

[PHalen]

Sample 3:

[PHalen]

Last sample 4:

[rocketman71]

Love this mod, but I can't get it to show the USSR units. They remain the stock version. Any solution?
Thanks for making this [:)]

[OxfordGuy3]

ORIGINAL: rocketman71

Love this mod, but I can't get it to show the USSR units. They remain the stock version. Any solution?
Thanks for making this [:)]

This seems to be a problem with all counter mods I've tried, It's very frustrating - there are some possible suggestions listed in the comments about another Mod, though have not tried them with this mod.

[PHalen]

Que? That's strange! The USSR units are under the ”campaigns” folders that are included in the .zip file.
With the mod selected under “settings”, they load fine for me regardless of which campaign I choose.

An old & hard way would be to replace the vanilla USSR (Major_04) .png files for each campaign (while saving backups of the vanilla files!).
For example under “..\Campaigns\_1939 Storm over Europe\Bitmaps\Major_04\...” etc.
Since the very handy mod selector feature was introduced under “Settings” however, you should no longer have to do that.

Glad you like the counter mod that I didn’t think anybody use.
I’ve made some adjustments in an updated version 2.1.

[Batavian]

Very nice. Thank you.

[rocketman71]

ORIGINAL: PHalen

Que? That's strange! The USSR units are under the ”campaigns” folders that are included in the .zip file.
With the mod selected under “settings”, they load fine for me regardless of which campaign I choose.

An old & hard way would be to replace the vanilla USSR (Major_04) .png files for each campaign (while saving backups of the vanilla files!).
For example under “..\Campaigns\_1939 Storm over Europe\Bitmaps\Major_04\...” etc.
Since the very handy mod selector feature was introduced under “Settings” however, you should no longer have to do that.

Glad you like the counter mod that I didn’t think anybody use.
I’ve made some adjustments in an updated version 2.1.

I got it to work. I wasn't aware that there were Bitmap folders in the campaign folder too.
Looking forward to seeing the new version. Have you posted about it in the Steam forum?

[PHalen]

Het rocketman71,
Glad you got it to work.
But I now regret mentioning how to load modded files the old & hard way because it’s such a tedious and risky way.
And completely unnecessary now that the brilliant mod selector feature has been implemented in WiE and WaW.
The mod selector feature enables you to maintain a perfectly clean & safe installation of all vanilla files AND load any mod you choose simply by ticking a box.
You can even turn mods on/off in an ongoing game under “Options\Settings\Mods\...”.
So by following the instructions provided in this thread https://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=4608689 about where to save modded files, you can both have the cake and eat it!
Note that mods will load in the listed order as shown in the mod selector screen.

The latest version 1.2 of the “Not so Big WiE NATOs” mod is available via the updated Dropbox link in my post #1 above.
I’m not planning any further adjustments for zoomed in counters (unless to correct possible issues that I’m not aware of yet).
At some point, I may however tweak the zoomed out counters a bit.
The only difference between the WiE and WaW versions of this mod is that US Special Forces are Rangers in WiE and Marines in WaW.

I don’t use Steam (at least not for SC games).
So I was unaware of a Steam forum for WiE and I don’t plan to post there.

[PHalen]

Updated to version 2.2 in post #1 above.

[rocketman71]

Thanks for doing this
One thing that struck me when using your mod is that the German special forces have a dark unit icon which in a way can cause you to think that it has used all its action points. Perhaps this will be the case for the changes in the new version as well?

[PHalen]

Hey Rocketman71,
Nope. But I see what you mean.
I initially considered black shields on feldgrau counters for Waffen SS units as seen on the left counter in this post.
But I eventually decided to go with black counters for Waffen SS units.

The following German units are Waffen SS black in this mod:
- Special Forces at all Infantry Weapons levels 0-2.
- Light tanks, tanks & heavy tanks at Advanced Tanks levels 4 & 5.
- Anti-tank units at Anti-Tank Weapons levels 4 & 5.
- Mechanized units at Infantry Weapons level 2.