Kuban Autumn Nth Africa Desert Beta upload - Updated version to 8. 10-01-2023

[esk_pedja]

6 hours ago, Off_Winters said:

PS my profession is geology, you picked a subject close to my heart.

 

Every genuine Aussie has some send under the skin ?☺️?

 

 

[Stonehouse]

We don't all live in the desert ? but you are very much right that there are a lot of very good beaches in constant use lol

[Beebop]

[vonGraf]

23 hours ago, Off_Winters said:

I never could work out why Japan was included in the various menu tabs as the game has no Pacific elements to it

 

I think it's just because Japan was in the so called 'Berlin - Rom -Tokyo' axis and the game uses this 'axis' term.

Edited October 23, 2020 by vonGraf

[esk_pedja]

10 hours ago, No457_Stonehouse said:

We don't all live in the desert  but you are very much right that there are a lot of very good beaches in constant use lol

 

Don't forget that I'm also Australian ( Thanks Mr Paul Keating )... and topless chicks  at Bondi and Gold Coast  look much more attractive than Luftwaffe technicians in Lybian desert  

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by esk_pedja

[Stonehouse]

More the merrier ? 

[Off_Winters]

6 hours ago, vonGraf said:

 

I think it's just because Japan was in the so called 'Berlin - Rom -Tokyo' axis and the game uses this 'axis' term.

 Hi VonGraf,

Thats true about the three way axis after late 1941, its just strange that they chose Japan over Italy to display on the menu label for the axis forces. For the Allies menu tab they show all of the big three to display the UK, USA, and Russia as you would expect. yet on the axis tab rather than display the three they chose two countries and one of them is not in the game content.

not that it really matters, its just a niggly litlte issue which I have fixed for my install along with the other emblems altered or omitted.

[Off_Winters]

Hi All,

default aircraft skins in menu and game for plane types used are now set to Nth African/Med themed skins (screen shot shown is not all aircraft changed just a selection). The main roads and tracks are now more sandy in colour and the apron areas on airfields are no longer british green/yellows, still working on airfield boundary roads (still a bit bright).

Where there is not a skin included with stock content that matches the theatre of operations I'll make up an historical skin and place that into the menu screens and game as default. this means (hopefully) when you play either a QM or a mission that does not have a skins selected by the mission author you will see a desert schemed skin on the spawning aircraft.

a WIP shot of a 1942 dated RAAF 3 sqdn P40. bomb loads for P40 changed from Russian bombs to American and British bombs.

and a shot showing some of the hunting down of various textures used in each location, to enable changes.

Esk, I will be lightening up the base textures in the coming days.

regards Rob.

Edited October 24, 2020 by Off_Winters
spelling

[esk_pedja]

 

Did you get the job appointment with devs ?

 

Edited October 24, 2020 by esk_pedja

[Beebop]

Inspired by the Afrika Korps train repaint you did I made an Afrika Korps Ju-52 for this map repaint.

 

 

 

If interested;

Download HERE:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/4gcocd7dy2viq90/BBop_Afrika+Korps_Ju52.dds/file

 

 

As well as this :

A generic Torch P-38;

 

Available here:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/hr7w7stdn9wqwdn/Torch+P-38.zip/file

Edited October 24, 2020 by Beebop

[Off_Winters]

9 hours ago, Beebop said:

Inspired by the Afrika Korps train repaint you did I made an Afrika Korps Ju-52 for this map repaint.

Thanks Beebop,

with your permission I'll include your Ju52 skin as the default skin option for the Ju52 in game.

regards Rob.

 

 

[DetCord12B]

OMG this is f#$kin' brilliant!

 

If needed I could retexture the ground forces in the accurate Afrika Korps uniforms.

[Beebop]

1 hour ago, Off_Winters said:

Thanks Beebop,

with your permission I'll include your Ju52 skin as the default skin option for the Ju52 in game.

? Of course.  Thank you!

Edited October 25, 2020 by Beebop

[Off_Winters]

1 hour ago, DetCord12B said:

OMG this is f#$kin' brilliant!

 

If needed I could retexture the ground forces in the accurate Afrika Korps uniforms.

G'Day Det,

I was hoping you would come into the conversation, mate I would love any help you could offer.

I have got an early period Afrika Korps uniform on the go which requires a bit of TLC. But what I was really hoping to ask is, would it be possible to look at repaints for vehicles (Axis & Allied)?
I'm currently directing people to install your tri-color repaints to get more of an desert feel, but would really like to include new textures with the MOD so people don't have to chase up numerous items to get the game looking correct. thanks for any help you may be able to offer.

regards Rob.

PS happy to send my template as it stands if you need it. (painshop pro 20 .psp file format)

[Off_Winters]

Found the text file that controls the description for each skin in game.

So can now change the names and put in short historical descriptions for revised skin selections.

 

[Beebop]

AH - MAZE - ING!

Well done!

(any calls from the employment department boys in Moscow?  IMO you are Team material!)

[Raptorattacker]

Excellent project. Congratulations. I haven't tried the MOD yet but, from the images/videos it looks great!

This community never ceases to amaze me, you should be very proud of yourself!!

 

Rap (Skinner)

 

[Off_Winters]

48 minutes ago, Raptorattacker said:

Excellent project. Congratulations. I haven't tried the MOD yet but, from the images/videos it looks great!

This community never ceases to amaze me, you should be very proud of yourself!!

 

Rap (Skinner)

 

Thanks Rap,

And thank you very much for allowing me to use some of your skins going forward. there top shelf stuff, and it has reduced the workload for tropical schemes tremendously, which means I can concentrate on other aspects of the mod. thanks again. 

regards Rob.

[Robert_Molders]

This is really a superb mod mate! Very well done!

 

An idea....Is it possible to add also the playable German/US tanks playable with the expansion Tank Crew?

[Deacon352nd]

Off-Winters, this mod is fantastic. You have opened up a slew of new mission possibilities for my group. The Tunisia battles will have tanks, planes and ships come alive again. 

[Off_Winters]

1 hour ago, SKG210_Molders said:

This is really a superb mod mate! Very well done!

 

An idea....Is it possible to add also the playable German/US tanks playable with the expansion Tank Crew?

G'day Molders,

I do not own the Tank Crew component of the game yet. But as this mod is basically a redone version of the Kuban autumn scenery and revised content for skins of various models and new menu screen options I would think that the Tank Crew content would work with no issues. You just need to play on the Kuban Autumn map to see the mod.

Or is there another aspect I do not understand of the tank crew expansion you are asking about? I'm happy to try and incorporate as much stuff as possible to give the widest range of use for people to enjoy.

regards Rob.

I really don't like the merging the site does when you try to make a second post.

A new skin for Squadron Leader Clive Caldwell, C.O. 112 squadron late 42, and revised menu content to suit.

 

 

The new Caldwell skin up a bit closer. 
Note the pilot model is British (rather than Russian, as usually seen when flying the P40) and the Russian bomb is replaced with US type.

regards Rob.

Edited October 25, 2020 by Off_Winters

[Robert_Molders]

I'll send you a PM later on mate. Thanks for your detailed reply! Salute!

[Robert_Molders]

PM sent!

[Off_Winters]

Hi All,

I have been lucky enough to have several people allow me to use their existing work and offers of support with updated work to suit the MOD requirements. this will speed up work greatly, especially in the aircraft skinning area.

I wont list the guys here now, as I believe more people will most likely come on board and I don't wish to give credit to some and not others over time. but I will include with each release a readme file that outlines who has contributed, and a list on the forum post advising updated material released.

working on adding in some Tropical 109E profiles to replace stock/default content, and adding in some historical context to the description.

There are some great skinner here.

 

regards Rob.

 

[Stonehouse]

Passing thought, it would be good to have some generic skins if possible as well as specific aircraft skins. eg a 2/JG27 skin which was for the guys other than Rodel. Wish there was something like the old auto populate side numbers thing we had in IL2 46 or something like the DCS bort number system. 

[Off_Winters]

1 minute ago, No457_Stonehouse said:

Passing thought, it would be good to have some generic skins if possible as well as specific aircraft skins. eg a 2/JG27 skin which was for the guys other than Rodel. Wish there was something like the old auto populate side numbers thing we had in IL2 46 or something like the DCS bort number system. 

Hi 457,

yes agree, you can see at the top of the aircraft list (in the screenshot) some names of units without pilot names associated. these are generic type skins. obviously I cant get all units and time frames in there, but I hope to have a reasonable selection.

regards Rob.

[Stonehouse]

No problems at all. Like I said it was a passing thought. 

 

Cheers,

Stonehouse

[esk_pedja]

Hi Rob,

 

Did you consider releasing 2 options :  "light" version with a landscape,..etc. and "hardcore" version with skins installation... ?

 

Many casual users of desert landscape - already have overloaded MODS and JGSME... and sufficient custom skins, for their casual visits of desert.

Edited October 27, 2020 by esk_pedja

[Off_Winters]

6 hours ago, esk_pedja said:

Hi Rob,

 

Did you consider releasing 2options :  "light" version with a landscape,..etc. and "hardcore" version with skins installation... ?

 

Many casual users of desert landscape - already have overloaded MODS and JGSME... and sufficient custom skins, for their casual visits of desert.

Hi Esk,

 

Yeas I could do that, although the people choosing the light option would not see any of the revised aircraft menu content. They would be choosing skins from their custom tab and loose the ability to see the preview picture and the included historical content in the description box. it also means spawned aircraft in missions in their installs may not have tropical skins applied.

I'm only adding in enough skins to give each of the main types a few tropical versions to pick from and give a brief historical review for each skin. I have worked out how to remove skin selections from the Official aircraft tab.
This means if I only have 5 tropical skins say for the 109E7 then they are the only options that will be available in the "official" skin tab for people to select. of course their other content is still their in the "custom" skin tab to use if they wish.

In the screen shot you can see there is only 5 "Official" skin options for the Bf109E-7. the other default skins that you would normally see in this window are now available in the Custom skin tab rather than here in the official skin tab.

 

But I can definitely do two versions for people to choose what they would like to use.

regards Rob.

 

When your mechanic needs to work on the breaks and wheel bearings all the time because of infiltrating dust, but is to lazy to put the spats back on your Stuka before you fly.
 

 

 

There is no real magic here, the spats are simply invisible due to a change in the alpha channel. theres no impact on FM etc. its purely visual.

 

Edited October 27, 2020 by Off_Winters

[Beebop]

Betterer and betterer.

Within the confines of the IL-2 Great Battles game engine/game content you will be giving the CLoD Tobruk a run for it's money.

 

 

[Off_Winters]

Hi All,

Following on from feedback about ground colour being a bit to dark/orange, I have started to work on lightening up the surface textures. you can see in the screen shots the original orange type tones along the edge of the roads, and the new more yellow/whitish tones in the main scenery areas. still has quite a bit of  tweaking to do to get tiles to blend but its a start. I will also have to redo the green dots that represent the sparse desert bushes to sharpen them up and give a bit more definition. Also now have the last of the road/track/paths textures toned down to a matching sandy type colour, and a bit more work on blending in the main large airfield.

The large airfield has also had the large arched concrete and steel hanger removed and replaced with twin wooden hangers to reduce the European look of the airfield. this worked better than expected with all damage modeling and texture rendering working as it should. I was concerned the .col file data would conflict, but after taking across the volume/size data the building behaved as it should. can even fly through and between them with collision data working correctly. now that I've done it once hopefully the villages can be tweaked a bit as well.

regards Rob.

Edited October 27, 2020 by Off_Winters
added picture

[Blitzen]

ARE THESE CHANGES NOW INCLUDED IN THE MODS BETA IN THE FIRST POST...YET??

[Off_Winters]

39 minutes ago, Blitzen said:

ARE THESE CHANGES NOW INCLUDED IN THE MODS BETA IN THE FIRST POST...YET??

Hi Blitzen,

No not yet. I hope to do one more update this weekend before I head out to the mine site for work. once there I wont be in a position to upload large files, so trying to get as much done before I go. everything above and hopefully a bit more will be in the update.

regards Rob.

[Beebop]

It's moving along nicely.  Don't rush anything.  Take as much time as you need.  Better to take the time now than have to go back and fix things which, given this games code, could be more difficult then rather than now.  It will be worth the wait.

I continue to be impressed with the quality of work you are doing.  I think we all are.

[Robert_Molders]

I'm also at work on the textures mate so we can then share and compare the results. Not yet what I want but here there's a first image as reference. ( let me know if you prefer having these updates here or via PM )

 

Edited October 27, 2020 by SKG210_Molders

[Falcon41]

Off_Winters

     I'm usually not one to use MODs; however, yours has really impressed me.  I'm in the process of building several P-40 missions from the Tuskegee Airman while in Tunisia.  I've loaded your MOD and its changed the environment completely, Great Job!  I have noticed that not all German vehicles changed their colors to a desert scheme, but I assume its because all the changes you've made haven't been incorporated yet.  A simple question however, did you mean for the desert environment to appear only when the MOD is activated?  I build my existing missions using the Kuban fall map and when the MOD is not activated the environment is as originally produced; however, when I activate your MOD my missions take place as build only the desert environment is produced.  There doesn't appear to be any difference in mission objectives and performance.  I apologize for these questions but I've just stated using the ME and MODS.  Also I noticed that the German uniforms have orange cast to them, is that intentional?

     Keep up the great work!!

Falcon

 

[keeno]

I'm not really one for MODS but this looks great!

[Beebop]

@Falcon41,

* It is possible to install the textures "permanently" but then you would lose the use of the stock Autumn map.  By using JSGME you can change Kuban into "Tunisia" then disable it for historical Kuban Autumn missions.  Also by using the JSGME you save yourself from making an installation error (or errors) that might affect the games look or even loading correctly and uninstalling is easy, quick and complete.

* Repaints for vehicles and personnel are in progress but will be incorporated into the final product.  Several excellent folks are at work helping Off_Winters achieve this goal.

* Mission goals and objectives are set by the game code and how the mission builder incorporates the Editor.  This repaint is eye candy only and does not affect gameplay.  That would be heavily frowned upon by the Devs.

52 minutes ago, keeno said:

I'm not really one for MODS but this looks great!

Well it's not really a "mod" as much as a repaint.  It's only a "mod" because the textures are not part of the stock/Official game.

At least to my mind a mod changes  the game in a way the developers night not have intended.  The "mods" we have are eye candy or variations on that theme.    They give us new looks for the existing maps and change how the game looks.  None affect gamepaly, which is fine by me.

[Falcon41]

Beebop,

     Thanks for the answers, particularly the explanation of mod vs repaint which makes me understand why my mission objectives and circumstances didn't change only the look of the environment in the surroundings.

 

Falcon

[Off_Winters]

7 hours ago, Falcon41 said:

A simple question however, did you mean for the desert environment to appear only when the MOD is activated? 

I build my existing missions using the Kuban fall map and when the MOD is not activated the environment is as originally produced; however, when I activate your MOD my missions take place as build only the desert environment is produced.  There doesn't appear to be any difference in mission objectives and performance. 

Also I noticed that the German uniforms have orange cast to them, is that intentional?

 

 

Hi Falcon,

The Desert Mod is only supposed to be there when activated, it replaces the Kuban Autumn/fall map details. Which means if you want to play a Russian mission on the Kuban coastline unless you turn off the mod, your mission will have desert scenery rather than the correct Kuban scenery. To this end I recommend the Mod be removed when you are not wishing to fly desert scenarios, as it will impact scenery in small ways in NW Europe and Russian maps whilst installed.

Your missions you have created using the Kuban Autumn/fall map, they will work perfectly with no change to objectives and outcomes with the Desert Mod enabled, because the landscape/map is still the games base Kuban Autumn/Fall map files with revised visual content. 

Vehicles are still a work in progress, eventually hope to have correct desert schemes for both axis and allied forces. the 'orange cast" you mentioned, I'm not sure what you mean, I believe you are talking about the uniforms having a colour-blooming effect? if you have a screen shot of what you are seeing it would help to correct an issue. the uniforms are supposed to be a light/mid green tunic with tan/yellow pants with green canvas and leather boots.

thanks for your feedback/comments, look forward to trying your missions when done, if you upload them.

regards Rob.

6 hours ago, Beebop said:

Well it's not really a "mod" as much as a repaint. 

She's goes a bit past just repainted textures now  

But you are right, its not like CFS3 were I can build new 3D models, or even create new maps and add to the game etc. we are still very limited in what can actually be done in IL2 BoS. however I'm sure in time there will be other aspects of the game/sim that will become more freely available for change.

regards Rob.