Matrix Games Forums

1a. Is there ANY way to enlarge the 2D display sizes of EF/WF/RS so they look similar to CS Middle East's 2D Zoom?

1b. Is it possible by using IrfanView or Paint to manually enlarge ALL of the 2D bitmaps terrain by a uniform amount so that everything in '2D Normal' view will appear larger by that amount, AND properly positioned? It seems unlikely but I thought I'd ask if anyone here knew or tried it.

BTW Using Win Magnifier is simply no good, because the 37 by 31 pixel hexagons look even worse when magnified.

We need hex and terrain graphics redrawn to include a 2D Zoom size of 70+ by 70+ pix across per hex. This would improve the look immensely!

My next question appeared after I made some experimental 2D terrain mods myself:
2. Is there any way to to re-arrange the order or priority in which 2D terrain features are displayed in the same hex/side?
This is needed because for some bizarre reason roads and bridges in CS are always displayed UNDER buildings, trees and other terrain. This not only looks strange, but bridges are especially difficult to see when located between urban hex areas. Roads and bridges should be displayed over/on top of any other terrain. By carefully drawing the various features this can be partially avoided, but it's time consuming

And...thank you J.Petho and Co.!
Having a map editor is an absolute requirement for tactical computer wargame, and makes the game that much more interesting, which helps sustains interest even if a game is decades old. (I cannot understand why JTS/HPS/WDS have refused to release one for Panzer Campaigns)

1a. Is there ANY way to enlarge the 2D display sizes of EF/WF/RS so they look similar to CS Middle East's 2D Zoom?

Alas, no, but we will be working on new versions of all the games in the future, East Front III, West Front II, Pacific Front. These will include all the current updates to the game based on the latest standard at the time.

1b. Is it possible by using IrfanView or Paint to manually enlarge ALL of the 2D bitmaps terrain by a uniform amount so that everything in '2D Normal' view will appear larger by that amount, AND properly positioned? It seems unlikely but I thought I'd ask if anyone here knew or tried it.

You can make the units appear larger, yes, although you cannot make the map tiles larger. They are fixed with the JTCS engine.

My next question appeared after I made some experimental 2D terrain mods myself:
2. Is there any way to to re-arrange the order or priority in which 2D terrain features are displayed in the same hex/side?
This is needed because for some bizarre reason roads and bridges in CS are always displayed UNDER buildings, trees and other terrain. This not only looks strange, but bridges are especially difficult to see when located between urban hex areas. Roads and bridges should be displayed over/on top of any other terrain. By carefully drawing the various features this can be partially avoided, but it's time consuming

I don't believe that is possible, as it is hardcoded

The Map Hints feature help a lot to identify which hexsides are being displayed, as in CSVN. That feature will be available in the future games.

And...thank you J.Petho and Co.!

You're most welcome, of course!

Having a map editor is an absolute requirement for tactical computer wargame, and makes the game that much more interesting, which helps sustains interest even if a game is decades old. (I cannot understand why JTS/HPS/WDS have refused to release one for Panzer Campaigns)

I completely agree and the main reason I was drawn to East Front back in the day, it had a map editor that was larger than Steel Panther.

Jason!
Thank you for the reply, but I will happily wait til the new versions of EF/WF etc appear. I didn't even know about the new versions until last week! I gotta spend more time on the internet, I guess, otherwise I'll never find out anything important!