General and Technical Inquiries about COH modding

Hi fellow eastern frontiersmen!

I have an inquiry about the possibility of making an all new animations for coh. For example
- i would like to replicate the Sturmtiger's reloading animation in coh 2 for the coh1 sturmtiger
- i would like to add a new animation for at guns where you can retreat it's crew not with the gun but like "abandon the gun kind of thing".
- adding a new grenade throwing for infantry models (where they throw a grenade while on the prone but shorter range)
- adding a disembark option to all vehicles not to repair the tank but to retreat.
- adding a halt option to kompanie fuhrer or captains in order to stop retreating units.
- adding a new ability in commander doctrines. Not a copy but an all new ability.
- adding a transfer orders in coh1
- adding a switch to different weapons for infantry units
- adding a scorch earth policy for Soviet major where he locks down a sector with katyusha rockets also destroying the point in that sector if hit by rockets
- adding a halt retreat to Soviet officers where he will shoot his pistol in the air. Stopping the retreat in his vicinity.
-

Last edited July 17, 2017 at 4:24 AM by mackerbryanee13

Perhaps I'm mistaken but I think you are confusing what animations are and what function they perform in CoH, unless you made a mistake while writing your post. While a lot of things aren't possible without custom animations, CoH doesn't have only that as limit to make custom things. To rectify some thoughts:

mackerbryanee13 wrote:
- i would like to add a new animation for at guns where you can retreat it's crew not with the gun but like "abandon the gun kind of thing".

That doesn't need animation, it is an engine thing. You can already enable or disable your units to abandon the heavy weapon using corsix. And I'm sure the engine doesn't allow the heavy weapon to be automatically dropped while you retreat the infantry units. That would need to be done by the player(abandon then retreat).

mackerbryanee13 wrote:
- adding a disembark option to all vehicles not to repair the tank but to retreat.

I don't understand this one.

mackerbryanee13 wrote:
- adding a halt option to kompanie fuhrer or captains in order to stop retreating units.

That has nothing to do with animations and can't be done because the engine doesn't allow it.

mackerbryanee13 wrote:
- adding a new ability in commander doctrines. Not a copy but an all new ability.

Before that you need to familiarize with the structure of the files and check some already existing abilities so you know how they work. If you downloaded Corsix Mod Studio from its official page, you should read the tutorials posted there. That's a good way to start.

mackerbryanee13 wrote:
- adding a transfer orders in coh1

What is that? Like in CoH2 were you can kill your units to get more free population?

mackerbryanee13 wrote:
- adding a switch to different weapons for infantry units

That doesn't require animations, just an ability or a couple of them... unless you want to use a weapon that doesn't exist in coh but that would require a new model not new animations. But the answer for the new ability will also apply here.

mackerbryanee13 wrote:
- adding a scorch earth policy for Soviet major where he locks down a sector with katyusha rockets also destroying the point in that sector if hit by rockets

Same than the answer of the new ability.

mackerbryanee13 wrote:
- adding a halt retreat to Soviet officers where he will shoot his pistol in the air. Stopping the retreat in his vicinity.

Retreat cannot be halted. It can be delayed, it can be prevented, it can be tuned up with different modifiers, it can be redirected to anywhere but the HQ but it cannot be halted by the player once it is active. There are only three ways for the retreat order to fade off:

1) The unit arrives to their HQ or designated retreat area.
2) The unit is wiped out, so there are no survivors to come back.
3) The unit can't find a way to return, so it will stop after a while at the border/closer point to the designated retreat area. Meanwhile your unit cannot be used until the engine says so (retreat order expires). Why would that happen? Bridge maps, full blockade/isolation of the HQ territory.

Last edited July 17, 2017 at 5:24 AM by Enrique 'Blackbishop' E.

okeey thanks for answering.. yeah that englightened me to my inquiries..

what about this one: we all know the aircraft in coh flies in a straight pattern always.. can we modify it so that it can circle around like the planes in coh2?

-i mean disembark.. means that the tank crews can abandon the vehicles.. rendering the vehicle capturable..

-transfer order is where you can click on to any unit then they will retreat out of the battlefield.. like putting them in a surrendered mode but they will exit in the call in entry point near your HQ.. therefore bringing back the resources you spent on that unit.

-do any of you ef developers ever made a brand new animation for a custom unit? or you just made your custom units to piggyback into an existing animation. therefore, saving you tons of time..

Last edited July 17, 2017 at 5:50 AM by mackerbryanee13

I think there are no custom animations. They are way to complicated. Thats the reason why we dont use a Maxim MG for the red army. It would a hell of a job.
And as far as i know it was never achieved in coh at all...

but it's achievable is it? it's just people don't have time...

Sure. It is achievable. I have talked with Walki about custom animations in the past. It was a interesting discussion because i learned a lot about animations in CoH and animations in general.
As far as i know it is a hell of job. Gaming studios invest numerous hours in animations. They are using modern tools like motion capturing. To achieve custom animations in CoH you should have either a lot of time and skill or the right tools and resources.
But i'm not the expert. I can only tell you that custom animations would be a total new step for CoH modding.

I have done custom animations, and all I can say is that it's not at all worth it, unless it is necessary. For example, the sturmtiger reload is possible, but don't plan on spending any less than a staff week on just the crew moving alone, and that's for a basic animation.

Regarding aircraft flying in circles: not possible with the coh1 engine.

Can you guys make a unit with the same appearance of that of original coh units?

Whenever i stood a t34 with a stuart. There is a big difference when it comes to texture, glossiness, specular, brightness, etc. Ef models look a bit bland or gloomy. Like a sushi without the soy sauce.

The only ef unit i can see that match up to original coh units is the T60 light tank, ford GPA, Katyusha, and SU-76.
The rest are gloomy. Tell me what is the reason?
And also who made those ef models i mentioned above? Was it tankdestroyer?

Because thats how they were textured. It's not like you can copy and paste the skins - you have to make them from scratch.

FWIW, many forms of sushi lose nuances when you use soy sauce ;)

May i ask some questions.

Who made the katyusha model for ef?

Is it possible to create an ability where it will land a whole division of paratroopers over a wide area. I want to mimic operation market garden on my battles.

Is it possible to add a controllable helicopter in coh engine.

1. I don't know.
2. Yes
3. Yes, but it doesn't work well. http://www.moddb.com/mods/zombie-mod-a-company-of-heroes-modification/images/some-more-blackhawk-shots1#imagebox

Katyusha was made by DMZ

it's funny to hear a german soldier taunting the brits in wolfheze campaign of operation market garden.. he shouted ''THESE BOYS AND OLD MEN KNOW WHAT TO DO!''

It's related to the american intelligence telling the paratroopers that the german army stationed in holland are mostly Kids and Old men.. LOL