Splash

For reference, here are some screenshots of the un-altered stock textures in-game.

I believe if text an arm's length away is out-of-focus, you need glasses. On that premise, I've been reworking the interior panels of the Leopard series so that I don't feel like I need a new prescription.

Elements of these files appear in all crewable Leopards (with the exception of the Leopardo and Strv 122, which have their own language-specific graphics, and are not covered by this mod).

I can't improve on the lit buttons until I can solve the voodoo of the "changertexture" graphics file. But what I have done is re-do the blurry text on panels viewable by the gunner and commander, added a few details and some text missing from the stock textures, recreated some of the manufacturer labeling, and upgraded much of the fastening hardware (bolts, screws, etc.) 

The textures -- leo2A5_hi1 and leo2A5HI2 -- are not "higher-rez" but rather the same size (2048x2048) as stock. 

Sources were mostly Google images and a couple of YouTube vids of the interior of a Polish Leopard 2A5. Plus a clue from Ssnake (thanks) which I was able to confirm via one of the videos. The work is based on the stock 4.363 graphics files and some 15-year-old textures by (apparently former) community member Hase, so it's not 100 percent my own art.

Click on the images for full detail.

Another issue that might be a bug, common to all the post-2A4 Leopards, is that the TIM on/off switch is set to OFF initially ... even though the unit is clearly ON. 

You can use the clickable switch to turn it off ... but only after first turning it to the EIN position. From that point it works as one would expect.

Thank you, very much.

These look correct?

I guess I'll shelve the idea of higher-rez buttons, since the changertexture.dds is such a mystery.

But I'd still like some help updating the higher-rez interior panels for the Leopard. For now, a couple of issues (screenshots below):

On the commander's display, there's a box below the nameplate that seems to contain a series of alpha-numerics; with the lower left one in blue.
Top line appears to be something like x0 x1 x2 x3 x4, with x being maybe a letter? Bottom line similar, same letters but with different numbers. It's hard to tell from the blurry stock texture, and I can't find a web image clear enough to decipher.

On the other display (made by AEG; don't know what it's called), the field for speed in km/h is missing a label on the stock texture, but from a video I found showing a Leopard 2A4 interior, it should have one -- I just can't tell what it should say. It appears in the vid to be about the name number of letters as HOHE above it -- maybe a little longer. I assume from the SBWiki the label should be "Speed" ... but the abbreviation for Geschwindigkeit I've used is too long. Could "GESCH." be right? Or could "SPEED" be appropriate in German?

Would appreciate any help.

I would be surprised if this hasn't been reported before, but I couldn't find mention of it so ...

The gunner in Leopard 2A5-DK and 2A5A1-DK cannot reach the Normal/Emergency/Manual switch by looking to rear-right using Mouse View. (Screenshot below; crosshair showing extent of movement).

The switch can be reached in the other Leopard 2's (including the 2A5A2-DK) using mouse view. 

It also can be reached using Track-IR in all Leopards, because the mouse isn't locked to the view.

Worth noting is that in the affected tanks, you can reach the switch if you first pan to your LEFT, ZOOM (N), then pan back to the rear-right.

Starting head position just a wee bit too far forward in those two tanks, maybe? I don't know if this existed pre-4.3xx, since I normally use Track-IR, but I assume it did. I suspect most just use the hot keys, anyway.

Thanks. I've been saving without mip maps all along. 

I've tried no compression, DXT1, DXT3 and DXT5. My DDS plugin for GIMP doesn't offer a 4 bpp | no alpha option, only an RGBA4, which was another fail. I've been using RGB8 -- though I also tried RGBA8 once with no luck.

Converting the image to 4 bit in another app just seems to lose all color detail. You sure it's supposed to be 4 bit? The original seems to be 8 bit.

I'm trying update/rework some higher-rez Leopard interior graphics based on some outdated files in the download section.  Specifically, the works by Hase.

A problem I've encountered is that while I'm able to upgrade the various illuminated button labels by modifying the "changertexture.dds", doing so causes a loss of the displayed telemetry. 

I've tried several approaches, all unsuccessfully.

I'm hoping someone at eSim can clue me in to the necessary export settings for the file ... or perhaps another modder has already cracked this nut.

16 hours ago, Ssnake said:

The manual may be out of date. Try it out.

Tried. You do appear to be able to set the formation for a battle position (Hold/Defend/Guard) waypoint, but regardless of the formation set, a platoon fans out into a line formation upon reaching it.

They follow formation orders at a Stay waypoint, as the manual says.

3 hours ago, Volcano said:

Regarding the Leopard 2A4 -- it will not get a 3D gunner until (if ever) it is updated.

The 2A4 has a gunner as of 4.357. Evidence in the posts and pic above. 

It, the 2A6Ma2 and Leopardo2 have the gunner crewman modeled now. The 5's and the 6 don't, which is the odd thing since the 2A6Ma2 uses the 5/6 model and view for F7.

If I'm not mistaken (might be) the current 2A4 is of similar or older vintage than the 2A5's in SB.

OK, for anyone who might prefer a more "mature" vintage of concertina wire, I'll attach the file below. Unzip it and copy the file into any or all of your seasonal mod folders (woodland, winter, desert, autumn). Put it alongside -- not within -- the various nations subfolders. If you want to go back to the shiny stuff, just remove or rename the file.

Before using, ensure that your combat engineers' tetanus boosters are current. 😏

Concertina.zip

1 hour ago, TSe419E said:

I thought this kind of wire wa made from galvanized steel and didn't rust?

That's a fair point. 🤫

40 minutes ago, Gibsonm said:

Does it also apply to the spools when attached to the vehicle?

In the first screenshot of the Boxer above, the roll shows the rust. 

For comparison, unmodded:

What do you think? Too much? Too little?

Sounds like the sort of thing I might do. 🙂

Will take a look at it when home from work.

I've been doing the same as Lt DeFault for years ... except with CH products. Works great.

The new Leopard model is a beauty. Is that yours, @DK-DDAM? Nice. Are the earlier Leopards on the table for such an upgrade?

I'm not sure there's anything "old school" about Mirzayev's method. He doesn't stipulate spawning infantry at the LZ as in ye olde days before choppers carried troops. It's not mentioned specifically in his description, and I didn't download his example, but I'm pretty sure the units he designates to the conditional routes away from the LZ are those carried on the helo. 

Indeed, if one did this as Ssnake describes, the unloaded troops would just lie there on the ground after the helo departs -- which is one of the things the OP was trying to fix.

FWIW, no delay is necessary for "proper disembarkation". A simple "Troops>Dismount" condition on the waypoint will cause the chopper to stop, land, unload troops, and (assuming a conditioned or unconditioned route away for the helo) immediately depart the LZ.

In summary: 
1) Assault route for loaded helo to LZ.
2) Waypoint at LZ with Troops>Dismount condition.
3) Route away from LZ for Helo (whatever tactics you deem appropriate)
4) Conditioned route(s) leading from the waypoint for the troops (conditioned to "embark if" for each of the named units aboard the helo -- or alternatively one route conditioned to "embark if" "not" the helo).
 

That did the trick! Thanks.👍

Gforce Experience is installed (card is RTX 3060ti) but I'm not aware of using an overlay. 

I can't get Alt+F12 (show/hide frame rate) to work on a new computer with a fresh install of SBProPE v4.357. Can only access it through the System dropdown. Trying to figure out if it's something on my end or a bug.

Tried plugging in my old keyboard. Same result.

Other Alt-modified commands (Alt+H, Alt+G, Alt+C, etc) work in-game. Other F12 functions (screenshot, time acceleration) also work. 

Show frames, no bueno.

Could anyone confirm whether it works for them, please? I don't think I have Alt-F12 locked to some other function that would override, but who knows? Windows 11, by the way.

Yeah, a little late for that now. 🤣

Probably true I would have found it confusing. I struggled quite a bit with Roguesnake's templates initially ... but that was due primarily to me being a self-taught hobbyist at this stuff.

This was a bit of a nightmare, no lie. It was simple enough to convert the stock all-green version into something I could paint camo layers underneath, and I have a pretty good eye for mentally unwrapping corresponding shapes on a texture to locate the various structures on the model ... but when I ran into the need to individually find and paint dozens of identical bolts -- I just about dropped the project.

Then, obsession with it got the better of me.  🙄   I like the way it turned out. It's certainly good enough for the interim.  But I think I'll call it done and move on.  

Yes, I could.

So when I get obsessed with something, sometimes it's hard to put it down.

Ok, so I figured one of my first skinning projects with the new 4.357+ would be to re-do my Bundeswehr scheme for the new Eagle IV model.

(Why there's never been one included is a mystery to me, but I suppose there are reasons.)

First I noticed the newer 4.357 models get higher-resolution textures. Nice. Lots of real estate for detail.

Then as I got into this project I noticed ... Every. Single. Bolt. on the crew cab of this vehicle is modeled and textured individually. And I'm like, What the actual f**k? Some will be green. Some will be brown. Some will be black. But which ones are which?

<scratches head>

Maybe the author has a secret location key, and willing to share?

So, long story short, I guess this might take a little longer than I thought. 😳