Swastika skins

[Ekaton]

Is there a skin pack that eliminates ahistorical skins from the game and uses accurate ones instead?

[THERION]

8 minutes ago, Ekaton said:

Is there a skin pack that eliminates ahistorical skins from the game and uses accurate ones instead?

 

If you love to have swastikas on the skins, there are plenty of them as custom skins. But if you mean to

replace the default skins with historical skins with swastikas, so this might only work with a mod.

 

There might be such a mod, but I actually don't know as I don't care about swastikas to be honest.

So, have a look in the Mods section of this forum, maybe you will find such a mod.

Edited August 1, 2020 by THERION

[Ekaton]

I don’t understand the skin structure. There are default skins, PWCG skins and the historical skins pack. I’m confused how to replace them all, so that I don’t end up with some planes with swastikas and some without them.

 

Being of Jewish descent it’s very important for me to have swastikas in my game, I feel passionate about history and I hate washing it down, trying to cover nazism under the carpet. Pretending that Luftwaffe planes did not carry that shameful symbol. It feels so incredibly wrong. We must never forget and removing them is shameful.

Edited August 1, 2020 by Ekaton

[Mitthrawnuruodo]

28 minutes ago, Ekaton said:

Is there a skin pack that eliminates ahistorical skins from the game and uses accurate ones instead?

 

Yes. The skin situation can be slightly confusing because there are two classes of skins

• Built-in skins shipped with the game - replaceable by loading mods (see for example this mod for uncensored skins)
• Third-party custom skins that you download - simply choose uncensored versions or don't use custom skins.

Edited August 1, 2020 by Mitthrawnuruodo

[THERION]

17 minutes ago, Ekaton said:

I don’t understand the skin structure. There are default skins, PWCG skins and the historical skins pack. I’m confused how to replace them all, so that I don’t end up with some planes with swastikas and some without them.

 

Being of Jewish descent it’s very important for me to have swastikas in my game, I feel passionate about history and I hate washing it down, trying to cover nazism under the carpet. Pretending that Luftwaffe planes did not carry that shameful symbol. It feels so incredibly wrong. We must never forget and removing them is shameful.

 

Mate, I didn't want to criticise you at all. I was just telling you that the default skins do not have swastikas in general, not even for the Finish Airforce, although their swastika

had nothing to do with the 3rd Reich's symbology - displaying the swastika is simply forbidden in most countries.

The only way to have swastikas on your skins, is to use custom skins. If you want to install them, it is very easy:

 

In your game's directory "data" you will find a folder called "graphics" with the subfolder "skins". This folder contains all the plane's folder were you can place your

favourite custom or personal skins. Here is an example:

 

"C:\Steam\steamapps\common\IL-2 Sturmovik Battle of Stalingrad\data\graphics\skins\A20B"

 

This is my path I use, if I want to place some new skins for the A20. If you don't use Steam for your games, the your game's path may vary, but the green part of

the path is the same for both of us.

 

Make sure, to place the correct skins in the corresponding plane's folder or you won't the skin in the game. This is especially important, if you want to use some

Bf-109 skins, as there are different models of it. But usually the instructions are quite clear on how to install the skins.

 

Shalom

 

P.S.: My grandfather used to fight in the resistance in France during the war and eventually took care of six Jewish siblings in Montpellier

        until the end of the war. The parents couldn't escape with their children because of too much risk and as my grandfather was their
        friend already before war, they handed them over to him to take care of them. They all survived and the parents came back.

 

Edited August 1, 2020 by THERION

[Ekaton]

Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like you offended me. I just understand that it’s a touchy subject so I wanted to clarify why I want them in my game.

 

Thanks for your suggestions!

[PatrickAWlson]

Going to be plain about it - PWCG skins were never meant for everybody to do their own home brew.   The structure is complicated because, believe it or not, it really is complicated to assign skins.  I have to know if the skin is factory, squadron livery, personal, historical ace, summer, winter, what dates it should be available from, etc.  If it's personal then should it be limited to a specific squadron or can it be widely used? Then the code has to make the best decision and believe me, I hear it when it doesn't go right.  With that in mind, any edits are on your own and I cannot take the time to assist in home brew projects.

 

This latest project makes use of in game skins.  These will never have a swastika - full stop.  1C cannot add swastikas and sell in Germany.  I am not against correct, historical skins but I have what I have, and at the moment that is mostly in game skins.  It is entirely possible for in game skins to be replaced by user made skins over time.  However, the GB community is not well organized around skins at the moment.  Each skin is the product of the author.  I cannot simply grab it and repackage it without permission.  I have made inquiries in the skins section as to who might let me use their work.  We'll see what happens.

 

[Guest deleted@7076]

-Deleted-

Edited September 12, 2022 by Varrattu

[Guest deleted@210880]

Removing the cross in the game is not trying to wash down history or hide Nazi attrocities, nor are the countries trying to do so that have banned the symbol. Countries have memorial days and constructions to, records of, museums to, educational courses and books on the Holocaust and attrocities... if those things are removed then something is up. Removing the cross in a game to comply with a law in a coutry of sale is just, well, what had to be done to sell the product there.

 

This is a game. It has no civilan targets, no bombing of women and children in the fields, no strafing of refugees, no burning of people shut in barns and churches, no trains to the death camps... and I think that is probably for the best, but in doing so surely it is more guilty of 'hiding' those attrocities, and much more so than one emblem being missing (or replaced by a pretty daft token of it). I mean should anyone actually be having so much fun flying in a war game, all those luftwaffe squads certainly are having fun, one would hope they aren't really in it to provide air support for the Third Reich to conquer the world but instead are simply playing a game...

 

But (I hesitantly say) of course not, people fly the planes because they are interested in the technology, the skill required, or indeed the political and social history - but this they learn in detail properly elsewhere because, like I say, there are no war attrocities here, or indeed any 'poor young men indoctrinated or drafted into service', all of that lies outside of the game.

 

If we come to the point where people's only source of historical knowledge is a game and not any real sources, we're pretty screwed, and no cross on a tail-fin is going to change that.

 

 

 

[PatrickAWlson]

This is a forum for PWCG.  The OP asked a question specifically regarding use of swastikas in PWCG.  Please limit discussion to that subject.  

 

Since the original response things have changed since the first answer.  At that point of the first answer I was using skins shipped with the game, none of which have swastikas.  Therefore at that time no German planes in PWCG had swastikas.

 

Since that time I have just collected over 1000 skins for PWCG for use in PWCG missions.  Many of these have swastikas.  Many do not.  Having or not having a swastika was not a criteria for inclusion.  Use of a swastika was a decision made by each individual skin author.  This is the current state of PWCG and it will remain so for a very long time.