Update the base games.

**Ashcloud** · 12-30-2020, 08:08 PM,

I would love to be able to fix some of the issues in the base games and then get them to the publisher so they can release a new update to include the fixes.

One of the things that annoy me endlessly are the top down graphics displaying more than one person on a commander - it has his name for freaks sake. I still prefer the original graphics to the top down version - but I have gotten used to the top down version, now can we just make the top down version work properly and display the units correctly please!

How they changed the graphics without consulting all the players mystifies me.

Personally the 3d view can be removed entirely from all the games - unless they improve them tremendously.

How can we get more support from the publisher? They are still actively selling the product but are not providing any support - I really like Rich and his service is fantastic but John needs to step up and get re-enthused with the series he is still earning from. I understand that it is a small company and they are stretched but there are active community members who love the series and would do a lot of the fixing for free if they could just get some support in amalgamating the changes into the update exe's. Also to support the modders like Warhorse and build exe's for the mods with the related changes needed to make the mods a complete stand alone product that they could package as free DLC.

So much love could be given to this tactical turn based engine to make it truly great and immortal. It deserves so much more, and so do the people still paying their hard-earned cash to keep buying it.

Embis · 12-30-2020, 08:40 PM,

I share your pain Ash, I think most of us do. It was a promising looking update which went off half cocked because of those mistakes. As described in another thread (https://www.theblitz.club/message_boards...?tid=74247) I found a workaround that keeps me happy which I will paraphrase and repost here:

Most of the series have a "notes" folder and inside that is a zip of the original graphics. Just extract this zip file into an empty Dir and then look for the following files:

Map/2Dunits50.bmp
Map/2Dunits100.bmp
Info/Units.bmp

copy these into the relevant "Map" and "Info" folders of the game. overwriting the files that are there.

Since most of the games are "infantry heavy" this pretty much restores the look to my satisfaction. You will still have the top down view of the vehicles, but all the leader and unit graphics are restored as portraits, looks a lot better in my view and you get the best of all worlds.

As far as I know Eagles strike is the only SB game update that did not contain the original graphics zip (an oversight I believe) but I can supply you with those if you need them.

Xerxes77 · (This post was last modified: 12-30-2020, 10:00 PM by Xerxes77.)

(12-30-2020, 08:08 PM)Ashcloud Wrote: I would love to be able to fix some of the issues in the base games and then get them to the publisher so they can release a new update to include the fixes.

One of the things that annoy me endlessly are the top down graphics displaying more than one person on a commander - it has his name for freaks sake. I still prefer the original graphics to the top down version - but I have gotten used to the top down version, now can we just make the top down version work properly and display the units correctly please!

How they changed the graphics without consulting all the players mystifies me.

Personally the 3d view can be removed entirely from all the games - unless they improve them tremendously.

And all the screenshots on the product pages still show the original graphics... a bit misleading really.

As a relative newcomer, I agree with all this and share the frustration at the unrealized potential of the series. Currently I'm bummed that there's no way to see some sort of after-action report of what happened in a turn! I know other series have it, or at least give the player some sort of feedback. Here, I often get into this long, chaotic firefights and after the dust settles I only realize I've lost a leader in a stack when I see a gun on the floor.

It's the really small things that can go a long way, e.g. a big red "X" flashing over a stack, or a particular sound effect could play when a unit is destroyed instead of having it silently disappear. The manuals are thorough but the game itself can be so morose when it comes to communicating info to the player...

Re: the graphics issue. I've met the challenge halfway by using topdown for the units on the ground and classic portrait graphics for the big pictures, which IMO are absolutely required. I've also fixed the 3-guy problem with the leaders by editing the 2dunits files and now the leaders are just a little dude. It helps a lot with troop recognition in the battlefield.

phoenix · 12-30-2020, 10:22 PM,

Also, over on Task Force Echo 4, I discovered, you can still download many, many files for various titles that replace the top down graphics with pics that are indeed better than the originals, in some cases. Worth checking that out to ease the top down problem.

https://tfe4.wordpress.com/graphics-and-...es-strike/

**Warhorse** · 12-30-2020, 11:45 PM,

To make a single man is no problem, my mod has it now, the problem is ALL oob's in the game need to be gone over and select through the picture until the single man comes up!! I didn't do that for the update, as it never even crossed my mind until I started work on my mod.

As an aside, I recently came into what I believe is all the original graphics for SB titles, although I don't think all the titles are there. I will try to get those out here, but be warned that there will most likely still be errors with vehicles and such, infantry probably ok.

-72- · 01-06-2021, 08:20 AM,

"How they changed the graphics without consulting all the players mystifies me."

Technically .... they probably consider that they did - they did the weathervane thing and went with the flow of posts included in this very folder, which were clearly in favour of using that material -the fact that no one seems to remember any of this -I find it pretty interesting ... as in where in the hell were any of you back then???

I know because those posts were undermining the project that I was given for them, to the point where I gave up -and recommended they go with said person's work.

Also -you can't do a single person graphic for leaders and multiple for squads/sub squads/crews - barring a programming change by the publisher - which I am pretty certain is never going to happen. Educated guess, but if they released the North Africa maps -then they're done with the series. I'd asked for that several years ago -got told 'no' ... I guess think of the meme that goes: 'Ok so there's still a chance!' -It was a project that had been for a game in development.

The gist is - this is essentially a mod project for end users now. Fwiw, it isn't high on my things to do list. I can get the original stock for FWW and I think Grenada (which I did miss doing earlier). I'm not interested in hosting that stuff on my own site.

**Warhorse** · 01-06-2021, 09:57 AM,

(01-06-2021, 08:20 AM)_72z Wrote: "How they changed the graphics without consulting all the players mystifies me."

Technically .... they probably consider that they did - they did the weathervane thing and went with the flow of posts included in this very folder, which were clearly in favour of using that material -the fact that no one seems to remember any of this -I find it pretty interesting ... as in where in the hell were any of you back then???

I know because those posts were undermining the project that I was given for them, to the point where I gave up -and recommended they go with said person's work.

Also -you can't do a single person graphic for leaders and multiple for squads/sub squads/crews - barring a programming change by the publisher - which I am pretty certain is never going to happen. Educated guess, but if they released the North Africa maps -then they're done with the series. I'd asked for that several years ago -got told 'no' ... I guess think of the meme that goes: 'Ok so there's still a chance!' -It was a project that had been for a game in development.

The gist is - this is essentially a mod project for end users now. Fwiw, it isn't high on my things to do list. I can get the original stock for FWW and I think Grenada (which I did miss doing earlier). I'm not interested in hosting that stuff on my own site.

Well, you can do a single leader, and I have, however, and it is a biggee, ALL oob's have to be gone through unit by unit, and select that image for each unit!! I've done it with my mod, so every scenario in my mod has single leaders, but sure as hell ain't doing it for every game, let someone else do it!

So, my mod has pre Blitzkrieg, Blitzkrieg, Desert Warfare and now also mid to late war, so either play it, or don't, but I will NOT be doing anything else for the vanilla games. Anyone feels strongly, get down off the high horse and do the work, find out real soon it's not the piece of cake everyone seems to think it is!