(Ugly) Combined Unit Icon Mod Additions

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(Ugly) Combined Unit Icon Mod Additions

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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> Gary Grigsby's War in the East Series >> Scenario Design and Modding >> (Ugly) Combined Unit Icon Mod Additions

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(Ugly) Combined Unit Icon Mod Additions - 12/19/2016 11:09:40 PM

RoflCopter4

Posts: 36
Joined: 4/19/2016
Status: offline

This mod:

http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2879848

is very nice. It changes the art so that all of the various units that pop up at the bottom of the screen when you mouse over units are shown with their names, type (for aircraft), and shaded to identify to which country they belong. This mod is basically essential. However, it hasn't been updated in ages and in the meantime many new units have been added. These will use the old, nondescript nameless icons. I didn't like this, so I took it upon myself to make my own.

This proved to be monumentally more difficult than I had predicted. There were a LOT more of these additions than I expected, coloring them proved very tricky, and I tried dozens of fonts to find one that looked ok when that small. I largely failed to solve either of those things, although in the end I believe I have at least created some icon for each and every unit in the game. The shading is sometimes ugly (bloated or too light), and the font is inconsistent and not always pretty (although always legible at least), but it is functional enough. I made it for myself, but I figured that it's possible someone out there may find it useful, so I decided to upload it and see.

I recommend installing with JSGME, if you know how, otherwise just copy into your game folder. You will need to install the original mod if you have not done so already since I assume it would be very much not ok for me to include their work in my own upload. This file just contains all of the units not already given an icon by the original mod.

EDIT: I've only just realized that I failed to notice just how many ground elements are set to use the icon of another ground element rather than the one which bears its name in the art folder. This makes sense when you're working with unnamed icons, but it is very annoying when you're trying to name them because it means that you can have a stack of Pz IVj tanks that are labelled Pz IVh because they are set to share the icon. Even worse in this particular case is that the Pz IVg '1943' also shares that icon, and that tank has a totally different gun! As a point I forgot to mention, I added the caliber of the guns of all Pz III and IV tanks as a reminder to the icon, which in this case causes a bit of a nightmere. I initially just changed the name to Panzer IVh/j (L/48) since whatever, they're similar, but upon seeing that the Pz IVg '1943 is also lumped with it I finally decided to create a hideous icon that also lists that tank. If you find this one too ugly I have included the one that just mentions the h/j models, and you'll just have to remember that the stack could also be the g '1943'.

In any case I re-uploaded the files with these few changes. I really ought to have double checked before uploading in the first place, but too late now.

EDIT2: Re-uploaded again. Sorry.

EDIT3: And again: http://www.mediafire.com/file/cexi60v3w1z62m3/Units_Things_4.zip

< Message edited by RoflCopter4 -- 2/7/2017 7:19:51 AM >

Post #: 1

RE: (Ugly) Combined Unit Icon Mod Additions - 12/21/2016 7:25:23 AM

Kursk1943

Posts: 445
Joined: 3/15/2014
From: Bavaria in Southern Germany
Status: offline

Thanks for your efforts, I like it!

< Message edited by Peter Zimmermann -- 12/21/2016 1:00:04 PM >

(in reply to RoflCopter4)

Post #: 2

RE: (Ugly) Combined Unit Icon Mod Additions - 12/23/2016 8:34:05 AM

RoflCopter4

Posts: 36
Joined: 4/19/2016
Status: offline

quote:

ORIGINAL: Peter Zimmermann

Thanks for your efforts, I like it!

Glad you like it!

I actually made a couple more changes and once again re-uploaded the files. I am sorry I did not double and triple check before making this post. I really should have. It seems I missed (or else there is a new) Soviet rocket launcher thingy, and I noticed several more problems with elements sharing icons and thereby both rendering the unique icons I created useless and causing the icons shown in game to be wrong. I had to make a few compromises. The annoying sharing of icons between the rather different Pz IVj, Pz IVh, and Pz IVg '1943' was the most difficult, and I finally have an ok looking icon. You'll just have to remember that the g '1943' does not have the same gun as the other two, since I decided I just couldn't fit text naming both guns. All T-34/76 models now just show up as "T-34" since they share an icon. All short barreled Pz IVs are the same. All Panthers are the same. All IS-2 and IS-3 series tanks are the same. Rather odd choices, but nothing I can do.

EDIT: One last note, it seems that this grouping of icons happened recently. In older games (older patches) more of the ground elements actually use their own icons. To accommodate new games I'm going to just leave it as it is, but if you have games from older patches you'll see more icons. I wonder why this change was made?

< Message edited by RoflCopter4 -- 12/23/2016 7:44:04 PM >

(in reply to Kursk1943)

Post #: 3

RE: (Ugly) Combined Unit Icon Mod Additions - 2/5/2017 5:06:44 AM

RoflCopter4

Posts: 36
Joined: 4/19/2016
Status: offline

I've re-uploaded the file yet again after changing an awful lot of the icons to better match the way the devs have them configured. Lots of units have combined icons now, even more than I first thought. For example, all Pz IV's armed with the short 75mm gun have the same icon, and all T-34/76 models (except for the M1940) have the same icon. I think they look a lot better this way. I also fixed up some of the font problems. I still haven't finished the aircraft properly, they're still a bit ugly, but all the ground units look pretty good now. I'll put the download link in this post and in the OP should anyone else want to use it.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/cexi60v3w1z62m3/Units_Things_4.zip

< Message edited by RoflCopter4 -- 2/7/2017 10:42:12 AM >

(in reply to RoflCopter4)

Post #: 4

RE: (Ugly) Combined Unit Icon Mod Additions - 5/21/2017 12:25:54 AM

Khanti

Posts: 317
Joined: 8/28/2007
From: Poland
Status: offline

Thank you for your efforts. Are those sets completed now?

Air Support colored file will be helpful.

There are still some old (2009) files without names of units in Dat\Art\Units\ folder, although I don't know if there are in use now.

< Message edited by Hanti -- 5/21/2017 5:00:55 PM >

(in reply to RoflCopter4)

Post #: 5

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All Forums >> [New Releases from Matrix Games] >> Gary Grigsby's War in the East Series >> Scenario Design and Modding >> (Ugly) Combined Unit Icon Mod Additions

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