Background
This solution wont suit everyone, it is a compromise that works for me and I am sharing it with the community so other people can decide for themselves.
The most recent update of the SB series included a lot of new graphics. These significantly improved the appearance of many features and introduced a new way of presenting the fighting units and leaders as plan or "top down" views rather than profile views. There were mixed responses to this. Most people welcomed the graphic improvement to the game's map and terrain, some people disliked the top-down view of the units. A backup of the original graphics was included with the update for each game in the Squad Battles Series, an oversight meant this was not included in just one game, Eagles Strike. I am providing some of those graphics in the Zip file at the end of this post. You probably don't need all of the old graphics and by providing what i think are the essentials makes the file much smaller and the installation straightforward.
What these files will do and what they will not do- They WILL replace the "New" top-down view of all the infantry and leader graphics with the original portrait views of infantry and leaders from Eagles Strike.
- They WILL NOT replace any of the top-down views of any vehicles or artillery etc.
- They WILL NOT replace these graphics in any other SB titles, obviously these are ONLY for Eagles Strike. But later on in this posting I do describe how you can achieve the same effect for the other games in the series.
Since the SB series is mainly an "infantry heavy" game replacing the top-down infantry and leader unit with the original portrait largely restores the appearance of the game that some people prefer. So, you have all the advantages of the updated terrain and feature graphics and you lose some of the less popular top-down graphics.
I have not modified any artwork in these files these are all original stock artwork made by the original artist I am not claiming any credit for creating the artwork I simply making it available to the community.
Why don’t you replace the vehicle graphics as well?
When the update was produced lots of new vehicles and weapons were added to the database. This might have sounded like a good idea at the time, but it had one drawback for which no solution was offered. Anyone who wanted to revert to the old profile view of the vehicles could no longer do that because the new vehicles had not had any profile views created for them. This meant that if you reverted to the old graphics for the vehicles then in some scenarios featuring the new units some counters on the map would appear blank.
I have a load of other games in the SB series, how do I get rid of the top-down mod for them?
The current download and the updates for the SB series on the JTS site all include a new folder in the root directory of the game called "Notes" inside here is a zip file that includes all the original graphics for that game.
Follow these four steps to replace the infantry and leader top-down views with the original portrait views.
- Unzip the zipped archive into the “Notes” folder)
- You will now have a folder called “original graphics” (or something similar the exact name may vary slightly) Inside that folder you will have two folders: "Info" and "Map"
- In the "Info" folder find the file called Units.bmp, copy this file to the "Info" Folder of the main game directory overwriting the existing file.
- Go back to the "original graphics" folder in "Notes" and open the "Map" folder. You need two files from here, 2DUnits50.bmp and 2DUnits100.bmp copy these to the main game’s "Map" folder overwriting the existing files.
Will this work for Warhorses Mods?
No, I am afraid not; he only offers the top-down mod and does not provide any alternative graphics.
The different opinions on the top down mod V the original graphics have been aired ad nauseam on these forums so please don't restart that discussion here. I hope you like this, but if you dont like it, I don't mind you not liking it. I am not trying to convert anyone to my point of view. I am not belittling or being rude about the work of any of the original artists all of them are more skilled at their art than I am. All I am doing is making an offering to the community in the spirit of co-operation and friendship and without prejudice.
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Reducing The Impact Of The Top Down Mods On The Squad Battles Series
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