[Mod] Stalingrad Tex Mod

[JamieDodger]

Hi All,

 

I've been flying the IL2 series since Forgotten Battles and made quite a few mapmods for ol' 1946 - had a long break from modding but just came back to it. Been experimenting for several weeks with a couple of maps but I'm no expert yet!

 

No criticism intended since I obviously love this series..but the landscapes have always been somewhat bland. I sometimes just like flying around in planes of this era so a more convincing world can only improve enjoyment.

 

This mod is an attempt to make the Stalingrad Summer map more realistic and 'alive'. I have swapped out and edited trees and riverbanks by mix-matching from other maps (is this ok?). I have altered and cut-in transitions where possible on city textures and otherwise edited some 200 files. Having done a lot of flying/gliding in RL I have a sense of what the ground looks like overall so have tried to add diversity, and bring out the detail in vegetation for a more natural and 'grittier' look. It's also a bit 'greener' which I believe is accurate. It works for me - looks great in vr too! Should mention I don't use Reshade or the like..I may mess with it a bit more but I'm quite happy with it as it stands for now.

 

JSGME ready, link below (if anything isn't 'kosher' I'm sure someone will let me know!)

 

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ecxivvmxlphrizu/Stalingrad_Tex_Mod.7z/file

 

 

[THERION]

Hi,

 

well, your mod is nice, although historical and topographically not correct, I think. Don't take me wrong, for sure your work is appreciated, but

in fact the Stalingrad area was a little bit bland at the time, because it was the steppe landscape. So apart from small villages and hamlets

there was nothing - not even paved roads but only dirt roads.

 

Cheers

 

 

[Danziger]

It sounds interesting but it is very difficult to make out in those pictures with all the cloud shadows on the ground. Since the focus is on the ground, maybe try some screenshots without clouds?

[DD_Arthur]

Thanks for this Jamie,  will give it a spin later tonight

[JamieDodger]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

 

I actually did a lot of research of this area for a mod I did for the old IL2 some years ago so I have historical material/photos etc. Without offending anyone I can't really agree that the steppe is as bland as the stock map. Certainly west of the Volga is greener than stock and to the east its a lot greener today, no doubt due to irrigation/intensive farming. You can get a good idea of the topography from FlashEarth including what it was like in the past. I understand that the soil is light and sandy though. I was aiming for a more natural 'feel' overall and my point is that Nature is rarely lacking in 'detail'. Obviously it's down to personal taste and that's ok!

 

Couple of cloudless screenies.

 

Cheers

Jamie

[Blitzen]

I’ll be delighted to try this out.I am flying a Ju-87 campaign & a 109 Scripted Campaign on the Stalingrad map so this might make a big difference to the miles & miles of scrub vegetation I currently fly over....?

[sevenless]

Looks absolutely great. I love it!

[FurphyForum]

Yep, 'Well Done'..

Stalingrad map is a dull map... No so now with this mod added. 

[Danziger]

I have no idea how historically accurate it is but it looks very nice. I like it. Thank you!

[sevenless]

On 4/4/2020 at 4:11 PM, JamieDodger said:

Thanks for the feedback guys.

 

I actually did a lot of research of this area for a mod I did for the old IL2 some years ago so I have historical material/photos etc. 

 

Jamie,

 

don´t know about your plans with the Stalingrad map, but let me tell you that I would highly appreciate it, if you could do your magic on the fall/harvest map also. I think the summer map has turned out great and adds a lot of variety and brings out landscape features (balkas) which were easily overlooked before.

[JamieDodger]

Yes I agree the autumn map could be better in terms of colour and detail...I will take a look at it soon. At the moment I'm trying some new textures I made for the Rheinlands industrial areas to see how that works.

[AcesHigh]

I love it, historically accurate or not it's beautiful, thank you for sharing

[peregrine7]

This looks excellent, you do have an eye for detail! I love the transitions, little gullies and riverbanks. Brings a bit of life to a map.

Just at a glance the steppe looks surprisingly green for an area of dusty grass. My understanding is this area has become more lush since WW2 and yet IRL the colours look very different:
 

E.g.

 

VS:

 

Tree, grass, soil colour:

(Heavily Oversaturated but relative colours still seem intact)

 

Happy to be proven wrong though! And as I said the detail you've added looks fantastic.

 

Edited April 8, 2020 by peregrine7

[Beazil]

Beautiful work Jamie.  Thank you for sharing it with us.

[JamieDodger]

Just thought I'd drop in a few of the pix I used for reference. As you can see, the area is certainly 'greener' than what is represented in the original map.

 

 

Am about to upload an autumn version of this mod.

 

Cheers,

JD

 

Edited May 6, 2020 by JamieDodger
incomplete

[sevenless]

1 hour ago, JamieDodger said:

Am about to upload an autumn version of this mod.

 

Can´t wait. You´re the man!

[Tom25briklebritt]

@JamieDodger

This map is great, I love it. Thanks for sharing with us. I wish you would put your hands on Bodenplatte map. 

[ightenhill]

Jamie quick ? does your original description infer  that you need other maps for this to work?

[JamieDodger]

Don't think so - pretty sure I included everything you need for it to work.

[-47-Uncle_Bob]

Hello. Do these texture mods still works. I check the folder structures and the folder structure in the game is different. I cant even find the equivalent files. The only folder I see in stalingrad is "roads" and those are bin files.

[marcost]

3 hours ago, -47-Uncle_Bob said:

Hello. Do these texture mods still works. I check the folder structures and the folder structure in the game is different. I cant even find the equivalent files. The only folder I see in stalingrad is "roads" and those are bin files.

 Yes it does, use JSGME to install safely and reversibly

 

Regards