Changing unit art

[Lowlander]

l would like to swap the art for some Russian HQ's, but rather than do them one at a time, is there a way to group the units together ( although all the commanders/art files have different names ) and change the art in one go !!!.:conf:

[Kuriltai]

I don't think there is an easy way to do this.
I use MS paint and the "Save as".Stalingrad was really fun.(Not!)The problem is you have to know exactly which guys are which before hand.I usually check to see how many I can do before the graphic changes to something else.
I also use Photo Elements2 which at least shows the graphic you have selected.

Kuriltai

[Glenn Saunders]

I am afraid the answer here is "It depends"

That is the Unit art is controled by the component name. Lets use Kursk as an example.

The HQ of the 180th Rifle Division is a component named "Shmelev" in the OOB. And so in the game, the image named "Shmelev.bmp" in the folder

> C:\Program Files\HPS Simulations\Kursk '43\Russian\Units

...is what is shown for that unit.

So if this is the sorta thing you are trying to change than you have to make one BMP file named for each image you want to change.

Glenn

[Lowlander]

Thanks for the imput, as l just want to change the HQ units l'll start at the top and work down.
l stumbled across some extra unused art in a mod for Kursk, by Stuart Atkinson ?, which l downloaded some time ago from Glenn's site, which is no longer available or l can't find it.
Has HQ variants for Army, Corps, Division and Regiments for all forces plus Italians which l've never seen before.
These don't overwrite the exsisting game art so they remained hidden within the game !!!.

[JonS1]

Lowlander,
there are a couple of components that must work together to display images.

1) the scenario file (*.scn) calls for units from the OoB based on ID numbers.
2) The Order of Battle file (*.oob) which - among other things - uniquely identifies each unit, and identifies the paticular portrait graphic which will be displayed for each unit when selected in-game.
3) The portraits (*.bmp) are the images displayed.

For your purposes, the important ones are 2) and 3). The reason the Atkinson images you refer to aren't being used is because the OoB file being used is not calling for them.

In this case. You can
EITHER
go to the OoB file, and change the name of the graphic called for by a particular unit to the one you want to use
OR
go to the bmp files and rename the files to the ones being called for in the OoB file.

Be carefuil though - it's fairly easy to completely bollix this, and end up with completely the wrong image being displayed, or no image at all. On the other hand, fiddling with the OOB, SCN, and BMP files can be immensely satisfying. What I suggest you do, though, is have a second sandbox installation of the game, and do all your modding and testing there. That way if (when) you bollix it, you can just delete, reinstall, and start again (or better yet use some form of incremental backup), and the version you are using for games and PBEMs remains fully functional.

Regards
Jon

[Hadge]

Hi

Using MS paint, I bring up the HQ .bmp that I want use as the finished product as a picture to be edited (as if I were going to change something on the image), then click "save as", then pick and click on an existing image name from the "units" file list window, rather than having to type them all in individually.

If you leave the edited image open, you can do this as many times as you like with the same new original master image.

This is the fastest way that I have found to redo the myriad of individually named Russian HQs that would all have a generic .bmp image.

I would agree with JonS1 - it is sometimes a good idea to keep a spare copy of the original "units" file in case things go "pear shaped"

Cheers

Chris

[JonS1]

l stumbled across some extra unused art in a mod for Kursk, by Stuart Atkinson ?, which l downloaded some time ago from Glenn's site, which is no longer available or l can't find it.
Has HQ variants for Army, Corps, Division and Regiments ...

Take a look at Juanra's work for Kursk, available on Glenn's site. The way he handles HQs is very nice.

[Lowlander]

Yes l'm using a mix of art packs including Juanra one which has good artillery art, can now spot 45mm and 76mm ATG's from 76mm artillery, both also have horse or trucks on the image as well.

Might have a lotta time on my hands shortly as l'm in for EVR ( early voluntary retirement ) so l'll give the paint job a whirl then.

These games run so smooooooth, even the MEGA campaigns, compared to some other wargames like War in the Pacific etc, which seem to chugchug along with the fans racing.

[FLG]

These games run so smooooooth, even the MEGA campaigns, compared to some other wargames like War in the Pacific etc, which seem to chugchug along with the fans racing.

WitP is a fun game but it is a appalling programmed bug ridden nightmare compared to any of the HPS games. Poor data structures and shoddy io routines lead to repeated database corruptions, badly tested updates introduce as may new bugs as they solve and don't get me started on the turn replays. I lost a game of almost 3 years real time to an update introduced bug. :mad:

On the positive side, I have been playing HPS games for about 3 years now and apart from a couple minor issues have had no problems what so ever. :cool2: Add on to that the incredibly detailed maps and OOB's, coupled with a great game engine, makes PzC my preferred game by a long way.

[Jim]

Ditto, FLG. Whether in terms of historical accuracy and detail, or in stability of programming, it is hard to find anything out there as good. Don't even mention anything better. I've tried (as many of you have) a lotta different games having some hope. Always end up with PzC. HOI2 was fun, but man....the lack of a human opponent via PBEM, and some of the stupid things that happen (like Liberia conquering an unoccupied Tokoyo), just ruin the game. It got so close, too!

The only thing that could be an improvement, IMHO, is simo-move. It's just that the Igo-Ugo thing seems so unrealistic and archaic after doing games like Combat Mission. Oh well....can't have everything.