COD skin ideas
 

Ok,first of all,before anyone who's politically correct starts ranting,I'm not a Nazi or have any tendencies in that direction.

Right that said,skinners could we please now have some historically correct swastikas to install on all German default aircraft tail fins.

If anyone else has any skin ideas please share with us all,thanks.

I managed to add swastikas to some of the standard Bf109E3 and Bf110C4 skins, but didn't manage to add them to any other plane since I can't edit any of the marking files and there aren't any other skins available...

I might be able to host them somewhere, but I doubt this thread'll last long enough since the previous one about this subject was promptly removed...

Thanks anyway Danny,I thought this might be the case.

Ok, here goes nothing...

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4131559/PaintSchemes.rar

these are the skins for the BF109E-3 and BF110C-4. "install" instructions included in the file.

Have fun and let me know what you think!

EDIT: If you live in germany or any country that's not too keen on swastika's, use at your own risk...

Wow thanks mate.

Hi Guys, I hope you dont mind, thank you Danny, theyre perfect. :grin:

Excellent . Thank you Sir! ;)

Glad you guys like them :)

Now if only I could find a way to actually use them instead of just looking at them in the plane viewer... Could someone please advise me on how to use them in single mission? :rolleyes:

I can only see them when I build a mission in the FMB, no doubt single player skin selection will be added , fingers crossed.:rolleyes:

These are great Danny,spot on,I do like my gaming to be historically correct,makes the atmosphere that more realistic.Thank you very much indeed.

Nice job Danny, now tell me where you found the template/void, I only have empty skin folders in my directory...

I didn't. I found these skinfiles in the main game directory and guessed by eye where the decals had to be placed. These are the only skinfiles that are freely accessible, there aren't any skinfiles available for other planes...

I have found one 109 texture in the cache file along with a dds version of the same texture but nothing else anywhere...

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover\PaintSchemes\Skins

that's where I found them. Like I said the only planes that have editable skins at the moment are the BF109 and the BF110. All other folders are just full of .mrk files that I'm unable to open.

Ah, thanks mate! :)

Hmm, is it me or are moderators removing any screenshots with swastika's in them :P

Might be a good idea to change my signature picture...

edit:

I found out you can use some of these skins in single player if you happen to get lucky...

in steam go to the Library and Right-click Cliffs of dover. Click properties. Click updates. Uncheck Steam Cloud Synchronisation.

paste the skins into this folder and click yes when asked to overwrite.
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover\PaintSchemes\Skins


In some missions one of the standard skins will be picked and if you're lucky the game will pick a modified one.

Yep, they have pretty strict rules here. I used to have a Balkenkreuz as Avatar but when this board was created I was asked to change it because the Balkenkreuz was considered a NS emblem. 1C House rules, I'm afraid.

Take a Bundeswehr "Eisernes Kreuz" then, my friend :) I'm really looking forward to their reactions :D

spitfire and hurricane has also skins in thier folders.
and i save them in the 1C Soft Club directory , actually, to see them in game.

hi guys, not trying to hijack the thread but I have a couple of questions, maybe you can help me

1. Why can't I choose a custom skin on the Quick Mission?
2. When I make a mission on the FMB and Apply a custom skin it works there, but if I record a track and then play said track. Why isn't the skin applyed?

One of the things that need fixing in this game.
As right in one of the first menus, you can go to aircraft, choose which
ever aircraft you want, from what ever unit, even add skins, but that was it.
That makes as much sence as the dress-up pilot in the neighboring menu,
nice play thing but of no real meaning for the game.

Danny M NL,
Thank you oh so very much, just seeing the emils complete has boosted my morale for this sim. We must have complete looking aircraft, for those of us that are allowed such.

I hope that Oleg and team will support and make easy the moves by those like Danny that are not up against silly rules taken too far, to make their sim complete visually and allow them to get at what needs getting at so as to introduce the tail markings. I am sure Oleg is for completeness.

Oleg. Please give Danny and others full access to mod this. No skin off your nose. What others do in countries where historical accuracy is allowed is ok. No harm in allowing others to do what you are not allowed to do, whilst operating within the boundaries of a country that disallows such.

Books , paintings all allow portrayal of what actually was seen on aircraft. I can understand it being forbidden to create such a marking where it never existed, a town wall etc in spraypaint, but to try and wipe out occurrences where it was seen such as an airfcraft tail is going too far, what do they do to photos in books of aircraft, fuzz out every tail unit ? Those books wouldnt sell in the UK or USA as thats vandalism of a historical pic. If we see footage of a german rally on tv, we see flags with the swastika, its not promoting it, just showing it as it was. Are these fuzzed out. In the UK we see it as it was.

Allowing simmers to have those markings will not warp their minds and turn them into nazis, far from it. In fact the more someone is denied something the more it turns from being not given a seconds thought to being focused on. Its just a marking to folk, without which aircraft are incomplete appearance wise. Just seeing it on the tails makes one realise how much it adds to the look, just as if the side intake was missing.

Stick at it guys, we need the tail markings for the correct look, nothing more, barren tails though are not acceptable. The 110 swastika by the way needs to be higher.

BOBC

Danny,
you have PM, hope its of use.
BOBC

The skins need to be in the STEAM skins folder

Great Danny!!!


Its now getting better and better.

Cheers LC

I know, I already stated it in the readme ;)

The reason I won't change it yet is I'd rather mod the marking files themselves rather than the skins since the marking files are universal and thus are compatible with any skins available, not just the ones I or someone else decides to edit.

And I'm not too happy about the fact that as it is now the swastika's still show even when markings off has been selected from the aircraft menu, since they're part of the camouflage layer instead of the markings layer...


And I saw your PM, really helpful, thanks!

Likewise, thanks you.

A temporary solution might be HERE

Already knew that one, but that only works for the Full Mission builder, not for quick mission. As it is now I have overwritten the standard skins in the steam folder, and sometimes the game selects a skin for me that actually has the swastika's on them.

Danny,

are your skins supposed to be for the Bf-109E-3B too? Are they the same ones?

Thanx

Danny,
Glad, ...Very glad, the PM supplied a prog of use, brings us that bit closer to correct looking Luftwaffe aircraft.
I am as much watching your every move, wishing you on etc, as I was following glimpses of what BoB SoW then CoD was offering.

Salvation of the sim is with you :-)

Dont they just look a whole lot better for it, just hope the bombers can be done, they look even more barren with such a large tail fin and just grren paint.

Damn shame they couldnt do it so that downloads emanating from the UK had full markings and those from distorted history countries had incomplete ones.

BOBC

Hi Danny,now we know where the skins are located in the Steam folder as per Stiboo's great find,are we closer to being able to put you're superb swastikas on all German aircraft?,They really look good as you know,and you are bringing us the aircraft historically correct,as they flew in 1940.Thanks mate.

I'm looking into the bombers, but I have to check if I can edit the marking files themselves instead of the skins, that way everything still looks OK when trying to fly with markings from a different nation. Right now you would see the swastika even when flying with british markings...

Gotcha,I understand,you're doing a great job that's really appreciated my friend,keep it up,thanks.;)

thanks,m8 work great,my 109 doesn't look so naked anymore,cheers.

You need to remember that there are legal issues with the markings in Germany where this game is also being marketed. I'm sure as things progress and there is more knowledge developed you will see a very active skin/texture development community.

apprieciate that who can give me the template of He111 and JU88 and find a way to enable custom he111 and ju88 skin in game.

Kegetys extractor will let you get the DDS files to make your own templates and weathering layers etc.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...M-overlay0.jpg

Eh, what extractor?

Is that the panel-lines as mapped in CoD? If so, could I ask you really, really nicely if you could extract the Hurribird too and post it here?

Sure! I'll put if up when I get home this evening. Standby... :)

A strange website lol :)
http://www.cliffsofdover.fr/addskin2.php
http://www.cliffsofdover.fr/skin2.php ...

Here you go. Plus a few more ;)

Below are jpeg only. Better resolution DDS's are here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=V9QIJN7P Included are Hurri, Do17, He11, Spit, 109, 110, 88 and Blenheim IV.

BTW: the extractor is the one made by Kegetys that allows the performance increase everyone is talking about right now. Should be easy to find.

http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/d...HurricaneI.jpg

There will probably be something similar released officially later, but these should do nicely in the meantime. Looking forward to seeing those skins :)

take care and wait a little.
 

Ithink I have read somewhere that the skins of the planes should not impair with the panels and other details of the planes! Some templates are announced but not the one you have extracted for some file in the game. I shall try to find back this post from long ago. :rolleyes:

Nice, let's put some swastika's on those He111's...

Thanks Feathered, but what program do you use to open the files for editing? My Photoshop does electronic the equivalent of staring blankly at me.

Lets get skinning :)

You need DXTbmp or the DDS plugin for Photoshop Friendly Fire

Please glance over this thread: http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/showthread.php?t=17959

In it I raised the matter of historically incorrect aircraft markings (Unit ID code markings on fuselage, incorrect Balkenkreuzen, etc) as were being seen in the weekly updates. Others raised points of inaccuracies in RAF roundel coloring, tail insignia/flash colors, etc.

I was told repeatedly not to worry, that my observations/suggestions were premature, because the screencaps were just of W.I.P. skins, that the markings shown were just "Placeholders", that correct markings would be in the Release version, and that in any event the user would have complete flexibility to place/modify/select markings as he saw fit.

In the released versions of ClOD, however, nothing seems to have been changed/corrected with regard to correct historical markings.

I do not yet have ClOD (I'm in US)
Question: Can the historical errors such as those which I mentioned in my "Constructive Comments" thread be corrected by the user in ClOD as it has been released? I've looked at the German manual, and seen the markings section, but it does not have flexibility in markings placement/location, and seems to have only limited flexibility in markings selection/colors.

Question: Will the 3rd party skinners be able to correct the markings/placement, or does the 'Layer' system of the skins prevent that?

Opinion/question: IL-2 when first released had the same default 'absence' of the hakenkreuzen...yet there was an almost immediate "quasi-3rd party" 'fix', and it did not involve the feared "Modification" of the code!

Why would 1C have not followed the same procedure with ClOD as they did with IL-2? Why would they design ClOD to be impossible (or seemingly much more difficult) to 'fix' by some 3rd party person to allow use of hakenkreuzen by those who want them? Did anyone go to jail or pay a fine in a German court for the Hakenkreuzen "mod" used in IL-2 worldwide for 9 1/2 years???

Because since last year Russia has a new law on "national-socialist propaganda" which is as clear as stirred mud. Because it is so unclear (and because of the realities of modern Russia) 1C - the mother corporation - decided to omit any swastika from new game releases for safety reasons. As it stands now even the provision of a way to add the swastika by a gamer could (theoretically) put them in serious legal troubles. All it takes is an accuser with a grudge, a state attorney with ambitions and a judge with a bad attitude and 1C is on trial. And they seem to like their show trials over there.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...Lanefinal2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...e/Ritchie1.jpg

Nice job Kristorf. I've still got your Geoffrey Wellum one from the original Il-2 one of my all time favourites. Looking forward to seeing where you go with Cliffs of Dover ;)

To all skinners!

I am no skinner, so i want to thank you in advance for any skins available in the future. All of you are making a great job.

I know that with ongoing skins CLOD will be as exited as it was IL1946.

Thanx guys for your hard work;)

If someone in the UK or the USA mods it to show complete Luftwaffe markings for their own use, that can't be illegal , not in a country with more sense that allow historical representation. If a ruskie decides to use that then that ruskie should face the laws of his land. If Oleg was to produce model Luft kits and someone in the UK put an aftermarket tail decal on it, thats not Olegs fault, if a ruskie imported a sheet and used it, in a public place, then they know the law, but in their own home, thats ok, unless Russian police raid homes looking for sims with Luft tail markings, or model aircraft with same, or e.g. UK produced books with original Luft pics in. What if a Ruskie is flying European Air war, or BoB Wings of Victory. Are they allowed to do so, but not buy a product that shows the same artwork from a Russian company ? Just about shows how damn silly the Russian law is.

It has been pointed out on another thread that the problem lies in the fact that its not been given an 18 certificate, its a childs toy and that disallows swastikas, make it 18 cert and no longer a toy, and its ok.

Code it such that purchase from within Russia sees only the swastika free version available. Problem solved.

I will not have a Russian law depriving me in a different country of my freedom of choice that my previous generation fought and gave their lives for so as to defend that freedom, and who helped free Russia of Nazis who sought to remove such freedom, only to see it removed by the defenders so it seems.

Swastikas on tails is not going to turn Russian sim players into Nazis. A rule that has been made without any evidence to back it up.

BOBC

You can rant about this all you want, the issue remains the same. 1C:Maddox Games is based in Russia so for them the russian laws apply. And said laws allow for any potential interpretation so even the provision of a way to add a swastika to the in-game markings is a potentially dangerous thing for 1C. Which is why they did not make one.

Got an issue with that? Take it up with the Duma. :roll:

the problem isn't the swastika itself, the problem is what the swastika came to represent (and continues to represent today) and who it offends.

It's a pity that after a rich history of being a symbol of good luck within 5 years the nazis make it a symbol of oppression and bigotry.

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/picture...&pictureid=696

This is Wings of Prey, if your country's laws allow then you can enable historical Luftwaffe markings by free downloadable content..... Why not with Clod?

probally because of the nature of the release (a bit too early) and probally because thats the last thing on there minds. and who said they wont release somthing to allow you to it at your own leisure. its actually irellevant ! personally i see no need to view the swastika. its just a symbol.

and if you all keep shtumm about it they might release the "decal editor" for you to add them at your leisure. so lets get the game to 100% then worry about swastikas and historical correctness.

12 years it took because it started on January 30th 1933, and it was not just a sign of oppression and bigotry, it was also a sign of Terror and massmurder.

sometimes i think, this hole dicussions about "historical correctness" is just to cover the fact that some guys get a boner when they see a swastika.

Nahhh,not me.........just get a boner when shooting down anything with a swastika on it:grin:

Yeah i take your points, I can understand most people not bothered, if I was just into the sim as a game then there is no real need.

It's just that I like to take realistic looking screenies and videos of the sim, and it looks to be capable of producing some good 'photoreal' images. The only shortfall is the absence of the 'complete' markings.... perhaps only a thing understood by my fellow classic aircraft anorak types lol :rolleyes:

http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/picture...&pictureid=705
http://forum.1cpublishing.eu/picture...&pictureid=704

Honestly, why don't you just make some skins with swastikas on them for the photo shots?

Don't be daft, which idiot would make skins for this...................:rolleyes:

Skins don't work reliably yet. Many won't show at all. Frustrating as hell.

...how's it going Danny ? :-)

Is there any site that has started to offer a decent collection of CoD skins yet?

Cpt Farrel has shown some pictures of his upcoming work and they look amazing.. but none are available yet..

M4T for CoD would be http://www.airwarfare.com/sow/index....tegory&catid=9

Gamekeeper, the admin has really worked hard and there´s already downloads coming in, not saying this is the only one, but you might want to share your files there.

Yeah,this is very frustrating,it's a real travesty,as you're special skins you did recently Feathered were bloody superb.

In fact I still have them in my skin folder waiting patiently,so that when they do get this skin problem sorted,I'll still have those nice skins ready to use;)

Stil only shows in FMB, right?

Someone else already started working on those. They're not perfect but good enough.

Sadly I'm a bit busy with schoolwork at the moment, I can hardly find the time to play the game, let alone mod it :(

If anyones interested here's a skin Ive been playing with tonight, i'm no where near as good as most of the Skinners on here but it's a start, give it a try and see if it works for you.

Remember to place it n : C:\Users\****\Documents\1C SoftClub\il-2 sturmovik cliffs of dover\PaintSchemes\Skins\Bf-110C-7

http://www.mediafire.com/?697ac6bhhmqgs5r

:grin:

http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.ph...3288789/1.html

Cpt Farrell is working on several skins...

Me too, m8, I get annoyed every time when I i.e. see a Spit with German markings online.