KG_Jag
12-03-2006, 04:27 PM
I posted the core of this on another forum and think that it is worth posting here in an enhanced form:
Let's start with what can be called a basic introduction to CM mods. The first and most important thing to know is that mods in any of the three CM games only change the way something looks or sounds. They have no effect on how that thing performs in the game. For example, you can mod a Tiger tank to look like a fire truck, but it will still perform in game like a Tiger. Madmatt's original mod guide, prepared when there was only the original low-res version of CMBO available that could be played on a P II, is here:
http://www.combatmission.com/mods/MMG.asp
It is still worth a look by CM mod newbies. Starting with CMBB, no out-of-the-box in game BMPs were considered to be low res. CMBO SE has improved graphics over CMBO as originally released and patched to ver. 1.12 (the final patch).
First with regard to the types of mods that are available, there are mod packages that give the game (CMAK, CMBB or CMBO) an entirely different look, generally for the purpose of using it in a theater for which that particular game was not designed. For example when CMBO was the only game in town, mod packages were made by third party users to convert it to look like the war in the Pacific and in North Africa. Currently there is a guy working on modding CMBO to look like the Normandy beaches. A series of mods have been made to make CMBB look like the Spanish Civil War. CMAK has received the second most mods of this type and they are probably of most interest within this type. The ETO package, makes CMAK look like an advanced CMBO, minus a few key units such as King Tigers. You can check out the ETO downloads by David Inglett here:
http://www.tspindler.de/cmak_mod/
A more limited mod set for CMAK is the Normandy mod set. The direct links to it are gone, but I understand that you can get it at CMMODS. CM West is the newest of the CMAK mod packages. It recreates the early war in Europe and can generally be installed over ETO without overwriting very much except for things like the splash screen and some unit portraits, such as those for the French. I believe that CM West is also available at CMMODS.
Before we go to the next type of mods, it is important to know that mod managers have been created by third parties (and in one case included in the CM 2 Special Edition release in North America). A mod manager is a program that lets you swap mods in your game without the necessity of the player manually rewriting and restoring the BMP and or Wav files that are replaced or added when each mod is installed. The original mod manager program is CMMOS. This mod manger required a special retooling of a normal mod to make it CMMOS compatible. It is not a bad choice for CMBO and/or CMBB, but is very limited for CMAK. All of the initial mods done for CMAK by the great moder GordonMolek [and at least semi-connected to Battlefront] were not CMMOS compliant:
http://www.combatmission.com/mods/newmods.html
While there may be more, I can remember only gridded and other terrain mods, uniform mods, and an M-10, German HT & Kubelwagon CMMOS mods being available for CMAK. CMMOS has the advantage of being the better of the two programs with regard to seeing the mod and options for that mod before you decide to use it. Read about it here:
http://www.combatmission.com/mods/cmmos.asp
The second mod manager (for PC users) is McMMM. It is available from CMMODS and in my view is the best choice. It allows you you use virtually any mod "as is".
Let's move to the second type of mods, which is winter mods. Other than terrain, none of the standard versions of the games come out-of-the-box (or by download) with any winter versions of AFVs, infantry or guns. Especially if you are playing on the eastern front, these mods need to be your first stop. They are also a good place to start because when you first install one, you will not overwrite anything in your game file. This is because the winter and summer versions of the same unit do not share the same set of BMP files. [That said, be aware that certain groups of regular and winter units share BMP files. For example all axis countries in CMBB might use the same truck BMPs, or versions/types of AFVs may share certain BMPs--so if you change one, you can inadvertently change them all.] DEY (aka daffy) is one of the good winter modders not only because of his own skills, but also because he often starts with a superior version of of the unit he is modding and then winterizes it. Kingfisher also did some good work. I especially like his winter STUGs.
The third set of mods are the regular out-of-the-box in game playable units. There are many fine modders. But limiting my recommendations to just two, get vehicles made by MikeyD and infantry mods made by AndrewTF. Going beyond them, Mr. Noobie did some excellent Russian AFV mods when CMBB was new. Saturnin did not make many mods, nevertheless the tank mods that he did are quite impressive.
The fourth set of mods are to terrain. These include, but are certainly not limited to the much discussed grid mods. Even without eyes as old as mine are, rocky terrain is very difficult to spot without a mod. I strongly suggest that you mod this first. Much of this type of mod comes down to personal preference.
The fifth type of mods are those relating to the interface. I prefer historically accuracy to political correctness, so I have installed mods that perform that change for the Germans. I have also changed the US portraits in CMAK to show the 48 star flag behind them instead of the current 50 star flag. You can also change your in game interface and your splash screen, just to name a couple more within this type.
The sixth type is sound mods. Unlike the visual mods, which change or add to the files in your BMP folder, these mods change the files in you Wav folder. Some of these are very good, but in other cases I prefer the out-of-the box sound. In all three versions of CM I have installed my own personal mix of original sounds and those provided by modders, including some by our own KG_Leopard (formerly known as Scipio). He also did the first winter mods for CMBB.
At one time there were a number of sites that offered or displayed mods. CMMODS has done it's job quite well over the years and most of these sites have bit the dust. But here are few that you can check out:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/gautrek/home.html
http://www.zimorodok.org/
http://www.ww2steel.com/CM/Combatmission.html
http://www.wargamer.com/Hosted/TCMHQ/International.html
http://home.iprimus.com.au/mudansha/
It is important to note that computer crashes at CMMODS have resulted in the permanent loss (at least to the CM public) of some mods. Many of these mods were restored by AstroCat. As a result, mods made by others are listed under his name at CMMODS.
That should be enough to digest for now. Please feel free to post any and all questions or comments on this subject. I and the rest of the guys, all of whom are more computer savvy than am I, will attempt to be of help.
Let's start with what can be called a basic introduction to CM mods. The first and most important thing to know is that mods in any of the three CM games only change the way something looks or sounds. They have no effect on how that thing performs in the game. For example, you can mod a Tiger tank to look like a fire truck, but it will still perform in game like a Tiger. Madmatt's original mod guide, prepared when there was only the original low-res version of CMBO available that could be played on a P II, is here:
http://www.combatmission.com/mods/MMG.asp
It is still worth a look by CM mod newbies. Starting with CMBB, no out-of-the-box in game BMPs were considered to be low res. CMBO SE has improved graphics over CMBO as originally released and patched to ver. 1.12 (the final patch).
First with regard to the types of mods that are available, there are mod packages that give the game (CMAK, CMBB or CMBO) an entirely different look, generally for the purpose of using it in a theater for which that particular game was not designed. For example when CMBO was the only game in town, mod packages were made by third party users to convert it to look like the war in the Pacific and in North Africa. Currently there is a guy working on modding CMBO to look like the Normandy beaches. A series of mods have been made to make CMBB look like the Spanish Civil War. CMAK has received the second most mods of this type and they are probably of most interest within this type. The ETO package, makes CMAK look like an advanced CMBO, minus a few key units such as King Tigers. You can check out the ETO downloads by David Inglett here:
http://www.tspindler.de/cmak_mod/
A more limited mod set for CMAK is the Normandy mod set. The direct links to it are gone, but I understand that you can get it at CMMODS. CM West is the newest of the CMAK mod packages. It recreates the early war in Europe and can generally be installed over ETO without overwriting very much except for things like the splash screen and some unit portraits, such as those for the French. I believe that CM West is also available at CMMODS.
Before we go to the next type of mods, it is important to know that mod managers have been created by third parties (and in one case included in the CM 2 Special Edition release in North America). A mod manager is a program that lets you swap mods in your game without the necessity of the player manually rewriting and restoring the BMP and or Wav files that are replaced or added when each mod is installed. The original mod manager program is CMMOS. This mod manger required a special retooling of a normal mod to make it CMMOS compatible. It is not a bad choice for CMBO and/or CMBB, but is very limited for CMAK. All of the initial mods done for CMAK by the great moder GordonMolek [and at least semi-connected to Battlefront] were not CMMOS compliant:
http://www.combatmission.com/mods/newmods.html
While there may be more, I can remember only gridded and other terrain mods, uniform mods, and an M-10, German HT & Kubelwagon CMMOS mods being available for CMAK. CMMOS has the advantage of being the better of the two programs with regard to seeing the mod and options for that mod before you decide to use it. Read about it here:
http://www.combatmission.com/mods/cmmos.asp
The second mod manager (for PC users) is McMMM. It is available from CMMODS and in my view is the best choice. It allows you you use virtually any mod "as is".
Let's move to the second type of mods, which is winter mods. Other than terrain, none of the standard versions of the games come out-of-the-box (or by download) with any winter versions of AFVs, infantry or guns. Especially if you are playing on the eastern front, these mods need to be your first stop. They are also a good place to start because when you first install one, you will not overwrite anything in your game file. This is because the winter and summer versions of the same unit do not share the same set of BMP files. [That said, be aware that certain groups of regular and winter units share BMP files. For example all axis countries in CMBB might use the same truck BMPs, or versions/types of AFVs may share certain BMPs--so if you change one, you can inadvertently change them all.] DEY (aka daffy) is one of the good winter modders not only because of his own skills, but also because he often starts with a superior version of of the unit he is modding and then winterizes it. Kingfisher also did some good work. I especially like his winter STUGs.
The third set of mods are the regular out-of-the-box in game playable units. There are many fine modders. But limiting my recommendations to just two, get vehicles made by MikeyD and infantry mods made by AndrewTF. Going beyond them, Mr. Noobie did some excellent Russian AFV mods when CMBB was new. Saturnin did not make many mods, nevertheless the tank mods that he did are quite impressive.
The fourth set of mods are to terrain. These include, but are certainly not limited to the much discussed grid mods. Even without eyes as old as mine are, rocky terrain is very difficult to spot without a mod. I strongly suggest that you mod this first. Much of this type of mod comes down to personal preference.
The fifth type of mods are those relating to the interface. I prefer historically accuracy to political correctness, so I have installed mods that perform that change for the Germans. I have also changed the US portraits in CMAK to show the 48 star flag behind them instead of the current 50 star flag. You can also change your in game interface and your splash screen, just to name a couple more within this type.
The sixth type is sound mods. Unlike the visual mods, which change or add to the files in your BMP folder, these mods change the files in you Wav folder. Some of these are very good, but in other cases I prefer the out-of-the box sound. In all three versions of CM I have installed my own personal mix of original sounds and those provided by modders, including some by our own KG_Leopard (formerly known as Scipio). He also did the first winter mods for CMBB.
At one time there were a number of sites that offered or displayed mods. CMMODS has done it's job quite well over the years and most of these sites have bit the dust. But here are few that you can check out:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/gautrek/home.html
http://www.zimorodok.org/
http://www.ww2steel.com/CM/Combatmission.html
http://www.wargamer.com/Hosted/TCMHQ/International.html
http://home.iprimus.com.au/mudansha/
It is important to note that computer crashes at CMMODS have resulted in the permanent loss (at least to the CM public) of some mods. Many of these mods were restored by AstroCat. As a result, mods made by others are listed under his name at CMMODS.
That should be enough to digest for now. Please feel free to post any and all questions or comments on this subject. I and the rest of the guys, all of whom are more computer savvy than am I, will attempt to be of help.