[stratweg]

Following this link, you will find demo of a little game that is similar to Close Combat

http://www.windowsgames.co.uk/download.html

Search in the demo list (free games) and select the game named FIREFIGHT

In the demo pack, you will find (in addition of the demo) 2 little tools that are very interessant in modding work :

1/ A tool to create (automatically) shadows mask for any vehicle image
2/ A tool to rotate any vehicle image

[ScnelleMeyer]

Sounds interesting - thanks! But when I downloaded the game - there was just a Firefightsetup.exe file
Where are the tools you mention located and what are their names please?

[stratweg]

You have to install the demo : the tools will be founded in the directory of the demo : they name "MakeMask" (to do mask shadow) and "Rotate" (to rotate image). The demo is secure, I used it a long time.

[ScnelleMeyer]

I dont have any such filenames in my demo directory

[stratweg]

Curious : I have the tools in mine (I downloaded the demo last year). I am trying to download the demo again and I will see

[ScnelleMeyer]

Yeah, if not maybe you can upload the tools somewhere?

[stratweg]

Ok, I see the pb : the demo has been upgraded, it's now a new version and it does not include the tools. The old version (5.0) had the tools, yet it's no more the case.

perhaps you could try with this link, that allow to download the old demo (version 5.0) thant contains the tools
https://softdeluxe.com/Firefight-203595/download/

EDIT : Seems it's not the old demo I have, mine seems be more older than I though, I saw that because the look design of the game has heavy changed, in my old demo all graphs have low quality and the new demo has better graph look

I am searching the old demo. If not founded, I will send you a MP

[ScnelleMeyer]

OK, thank you very much Stratweg. I replied to your message now.

[stratweg]

Ok, I sent to you a MP.

The game itself (Firefight) seems in the new version to have now a better look graphs and more features than older version. I played it a long time some years ago in the past and the game was (even in the old version) very funny and addictive. I will play the new demo and see what has changed, and probably buy the new version if it works under Windows 7- 32 bits.

This game is also easy to mod, I remember I had made a French Legion mod that worked fine

[stratweg]

I changed the title of the thread : Perhaps would it be usefull to use it to share tips CCMT modding, and in particular all things that may cause crash game.

By example :

1/ IN BLUE TEAMS / RED TEAM
To enter parameter 0 in col 93 (Ammo count) causes crash game

2/ IN WEAPONS
To enter parameter -1 or 0 in col 5,6,11 and 12 causes crash game if the concerned weapon is used in SOLDIER.
This cause of crash is very vicious, because game doeS not procure any alert as it do when there is other parameters errors in ROWS : game crashes without any explanation : very frustrating, you have to search long time to find the origin of pb.

I experimented it during my work to create a "no weapon ammo"

=> Col 5 and 6 : Each weapon MUST have targets (O targets or no target is not allowed, despite the text of the comment in databook
=> Col 11 & 12 : Number of rounds per clip and burst MUST be > 0 (O is not allowed and causes crash game)

On the general way, we have to take care with -1 and 0 parameters : they are sometimes a little bit "dangerous" and it's better to verify in other places of the databook to see how they are used.

3/ IN BLUE TEAM / RED TEAM : To change graph names for turrets to set "NONE" in place of a turret name may cause crash game in some case (perhaps because program does not accept the "NONE" turret parameter if there is à graph turret TEX in the AZP file : I did not yet explored in detail this cause of crash but I experimented it after some modifications of turrets


4/ IN VEHICLE : Col 3 (class number) MUST alway be in continuous order

5/ IN WEAPONS : Col 1 MUST always be in conitnuous order

6/ IN BLUE TEAMS / RED TEAMS COL 71 MUST reflect the total of SOLDIER LIST and SOLDIERS TYPE that are not affected by -1 paramater

7/ HARD CODING IN WEAPONS : Some weapons are hard coded, not only weapons that are indicated in WEAPONS : col 1 in weapons has a text that indicates other weapons that are hard coded : take care with all mortars, all grenades and all off map arty (mortars and guns)

On the general way, it's better to take care because CCMT may have hard coding in other slots : SOLDIERS, VEHICLES, etc

8/ In SOLDIERS : Col 1 MUST always be in continuous order

9/ IN BLUE TEAM / RED TEAM : It's batter to keep the col 3 (Team class) in continuous order, but the violation of this "rule" seems have no crash game effect (I founded an error made by dev concerning col 3 and it has no effect in game.
But it's better to take care to maintain the continuous order, because games will probably crash if 2 rows have by error the same N° in this col 3 (class team)


Please : If you do some modding work with CCMT, report here tips, tools and errors or crash games you experimented : It may save time for modding work  

[ScnelleMeyer]

[stratweg]

Concerning col 5 and 6 : I experimented a crash during work to create a no weapon ammo, but perhaps this was caused by col 11 and 12, I will verify again
EDIT: I did a little mistake whent I wrote the post : "interdiction" of 0 is for col 6, not for col 5, you are right.
For col 5, the paramater that causes crash may perhaps be -1 (No allowed target)

Concerning hard coding : The list in WEAPONS is completed by a advice in col 1 WEAPONS:
Thes text of advice is that : “NOTE: Some weapon classes are hard coded!  Off board artilleries, mortars and all grenades types MUST never change indexed positions”.
Due to the fact that off board arty and “all mortars” was not in the first list, I though it was possible to find other cases no indicated in the list (I prefer to be careful, because cause of crash game are not always given by the program and in this case, it cost lot of time to identify the origin of crash)

Concerning turret : I experimented a crash game when changing the turret graph of veh class 52 or 53 at the beginning of my work : I set turret as “NONE” and game crashed. Your are right, it’s in VEHICLE and not in TEAM, just mistake of my part when I wrote the post

Concerning the continuous order of class columns : You are right, it’s intuitive. But very oft, when  I copy-past, I forget to change the number and it’s usefull to take care about that. Lot of things are evident and intuitive when you are familiar with CCMT modding and databook, but at the beginning, I have to say it’s a real hell and perhaps this thread may help those who want to learn as I did => all things are not so evident when you begin, I had some difficulties in first times, and in addition english is not my native langage (I have lot of difficulties to understand the logic of english words, french langage is very precise and english is a hell, with some words that may have lot of different significations, depending of context)


Your answer gave me a new question : Some weapons must keep the same index class, ok. But is it allowed to change the order of rows to reorganize WEAPONS, SOLDIERS and VEHICLE ? (by reorganize, I mean : to change the place of contents of the rows, by example : to set the content of row 34 in row 17, etc : If it would be possible, I plane to do heavy modifications to have a more clear oob for vehicles, soldiers and weapons, the actual is a real mess, with all ARMY and OPFOR elements mixed. Some are used by the 2 sides, but lot are used only by a side.

I did this kind of heavy reorganization for BLUE TEAM / RED TEAM and it causes no any crash. Is it the same for SOLDIERS, WEAPONS and VEHICLES ?

[ScnelleMeyer]

Yes, you can move any soldier, vehicle and weapon (except the hardcoded ones) to other index numbers , but of course you will then have to update their references accordingly. For example if you move a weapon - you have to update its number in vehicles and soldiers sheets as well.

[stratweg]

Ok, thanks, I will take care with that in work.

During my tests, I noticed that CCMT becomes more interessant when you play alternate missions that have not objectives flags : by example, a mission may be to conduct 3 or 4 civilian groups in safety to the airport to be embarked in plane, and around there are heavy and large OPFOR forces that attack (I will create invisible victory objectives : they will not be visible even the player choice the "visible option". If the victory objectives are not visible, you don't know where OPFOR units will go : no any informations about intentions of ennemy...)
These kind of missions will not work with the vanilla process of victory conditions, but they will be very funny and various to play (same with missions that give you orders to find and destroy some enemy material depots => I will create these kind of static depots, using WSPMBT ammo/bunkers graphs : to create immobilized opfor unit may be possible)

[Pzt_Kanov]

Hi!

[ScnelleMeyer]

I also did a lot of trial with Blender and 3d models. Both to render them into usable 2d versions and I made a special shadow set-up that would render out all 64 shadow images for a vehicle.
My experience is that all the 2d renders needed some touch-up in Photoshop or Gimp before being ready for CC. Especially if the scale was less than 10pixel per meter

[stratweg]

In above post, I mentionned a possible cause of crash :

IN BLUE TEAM / RED TEAM : To change graph names for turrets to set "NONE" in place of a turret name may cause crash game in some case (perhaps because program does not accept the "NONE" turret parameter if there is à graph turret TEX in the AZP file : I did not yet explored in detail this cause of crash but I experimented it after some modifications of turrets

Founded the real cause : in VEHICLE, when you set "NONE" for the turret graphic parameters (col 5), you must at the same time update the col 114 (always in VEHICLE) and set 0 = "no turret" (if you forget that and set 1 or 2, game will crash during fire of the unit without any advice about cause of crash)