Gen. Rommel's Mighty Unit Emporium - A Unit Preview Thread

[Stormrage]

Erm, if noble Rommel was in charge, there probably wouldn`t have been any wars in the first place Oh, and.. accurate goggles at civ-scale?

Great previews! You and Sandris really took the Paperdoll to the next level..

 

[Gen. Rommel]

Erm, if noble Rommel was in charge, there probably wouldn`t have been any wars in the first place ;

Damn, you're right! I totally agree. You always have a way of thinking outside the box Storm!

Oh, and.. accurate goggles at civ-scale?

Hmmm, well if none turn up, I guess I'll be forced to live with it.

 

[Stormrage]

Damn, you're right! I totally agree. You always have a way of thinking outside the box Storm!

Thats cos I do my thinking in a barrel, not a box

Nice avatar you have there

 

[TopGun]

Oh my gosh... both the Waffen SS and Rommel are eye candy "par excellence"!

 

[Mithadan]

Did you just change your title to Wüstenfuchs after previewing Rommel? If so, clever ploy!

I love how you did his jacket in Erbsenmuster (sp?), while that little pouch thingy on the side is in Eichenlaubmuster (sp?). Not only did these units have a bit of mix-'n-match of camo, these are two of my three most favourite patterns (the later "Tan and Water" Heer pattern being my other most favourite, the one that the Bundesgrenzschutz adopted after the war). Yay!

Poor Mosca, what am I going to do with his German soldiers now? I can't put all of them into my epic mod...

 

[Gen. Rommel]

Thats cos I do my thinking in a barrel, not a box

Stupid me! I should have known that from the start!

Oh my gosh... both the Waffen SS and Rommel are eye candy "par excellence"!

I have another unit I will be posting today that you personally will particularly like.

Did you just change your title to Wüstenfuchs after previewing Rommel? If so, clever ploy!

Nah, I had that title from the beginning, ever since I signed up here.

I love how you did his jacket in Erbsenmuster (sp?), while that little pouch thingy on the side is in Eichenlaubmuster (sp?). Not only did these units have a bit of mix-'n-match of camo, these are two of my three most favourite patterns (the later "Tan and Water" Heer pattern being my other most favourite, the one that the Bundesgrenzschutz adopted after the war). Yay!

Yeah, I used the two various camo patterns to differentiate between the canteen and tunic better, so that the two wouldn't blend in together too good. I was contemplating doing the same with the helmet but to my knowledge, the helmet was typically (although there were so many variations, making it hard to generalize) wrapped in cloth made of the same fabric as the tunic.

Poor Mosca, what am I going to do with his German soldiers now? I can't put all of them into my epic mod...

I figure it won't be helpful to tell you that I'm planning on doing at least 3-4 further Germans (WWII era) before I'm completely done...maybe even considering a 5th, based on whether Steph sends me the reference material for what exactly he's looking for (hint: he requested it a bit back in this thread).

 

[TopGun]

I have another unit I will be posting today that you personally will particularly like.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you got up your sleeve!

 

[W.i.n.t.e.r]

I liked Mosca's soldiers when they came out- yet what I see here is more than a tad better, imo. Some special troopers would be nice additions to complement the Firaxian units- a desert fatigues WWII infantry line is still very much needed (i.e. German, Italian, British, French, perhaps even some Spanish Foreign Legion troopers - if I remember correctly Mosca had some props for it ready but never continued)

 

[Gen. Rommel]

I liked Mosca's soldiers when they came out- yet what I see here is more than a tad better, imo. Some special troopers would be nice additions to complement the Firaxian units- a desert fatigues WWII infantry line is still very much needed (i.e. German, Italian, British, French, perhaps even some Spanish Foreign Legion troopers - if I remember correctly Mosca had some props for it ready but never continued)

All in the works! I agree that desert warfare has totally been neglected thus far and we need way more modern troops with desert theater-style clothing. I will make two different variations of the German desert troops (the DAK serving under Rommel), one with a particularly colonial feel.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you got up your sleeve!

Well, wait no further! I hope he's what you were expecting...I personally feel that it was very fortunate that you requested it, as I may have never stumbled across it otherwise.

Prussian Lützow Freikorps (1813)

 

[Sword_Of_Geddon]

Oh man I can't wait to update my german civ with all these great new units....

 

[Mithadan]

Perhaps 'wuestenfuchs' is just more noticable now with your new avatar?

Yeah, I used the two various camo patterns to differentiate between the canteen and tunic better, so that the two wouldn't blend in together too good. I was contemplating doing the same with the helmet but to my knowledge, the helmet was typically (although there were so many variations, making it hard to generalize) wrapped in cloth made of the same fabric as the tunic.

I suppose they would have preferred to have their helmets the same patterns as their smocks, but the reference pictures I've got suggest that this was rarely achieved. Not only was the SS continually testing and fielding new patterns, but scarcity meant that folks just took what they could get. (One reenactment smock manufacturer I know of refuses to guarantee to their customers that their SS camo smocks will be made from the same bolt of cloth!) All I'm saying is that if you wanted to put Eichenlaubmuster on the helmet cover, you'd be entirely within your historical 'rights' doing so!

Edit: do you think that an acceptable way of making the camo patterns more apparent at civ scale would be to significantly enlarge them? I'm thinking of how CamJH made the scale armour on his subcontinental Indian Medieval Swordsman noticable at civ scale by making the scales much larger than they really would be. Of course, in the PCXs you could keep the camo patterns to scale, because there would be less need for exaggeration at that level of magnification.

 

[BadKharma]

Another Prussian wonderful! Between you and Sandris there will be all new 18th century infantry for modders to use.

 

[TopGun]

Superb! The Freikorps fellow is great... exceeding my expectations, really!

 

[Sword_Of_Geddon]

What order do you intend on releasing these in? Just wondering, so many good units...

 

[TopGun]

What order do you intend on releasing these in? Just wondering, so many good units...

One after another...

 

[Gen. Rommel]

Perhaps 'wuestenfuchs' is just more noticable now with your new avatar? I suppose they would have preferred to have their helmets the same patterns as their smocks, but the reference pictures I've got suggest that this was rarely achieved. Not only was the SS continually testing and fielding new patterns, but scarcity meant that folks just took what they could get. (One reenactment smock manufacturer I know of refuses to guarantee to their customers that their SS camo smocks will be made from the same bolt of cloth!) All I'm saying is that if you wanted to put Eichenlaubmuster on the helmet cover, you'd be entirely within your historical 'rights' doing so!

Good points indeed! I guess I was just referring to the optimal conditions, though at the end of the war, there was no such thing anymore. People took what they could get, and even Germany's elite troops were not exempt from this status. I'll play around with it a bit and see what I like the most.

Edit: do you think that an acceptable way of making the camo patterns more apparent at civ scale would be to significantly enlarge them? I'm thinking of how CamJH made the scale armour on his subcontinental Indian Medieval Swordsman noticable at civ scale by making the scales much larger than they really would be. Of course, in the PCXs you could keep the camo patterns to scale, because there would be less need for exaggeration at that level of magnification.

I've actually thought about this as well! I was kind of discouraged that the camo wasn't as apparent since the colors seem to converge into each other the smaller the unit is. I'm glad you brought it up, because I had completely forgotten about wanting to experiment with this element. As you said, I can make the civpedia entries the way it is now and then simply change it for the actual in-game unit. I just hope the units don't look too busy as was the case with the Teutonic knight's shield (which was an evident concern of more than a few members). I'll make some samples and let you all choose which one works best.

Another Prussian wonderful! Between you and Sandris there will be all new 18th century infantry for modders to use.

Indeed, this was an area that was relatively vacant if you ask me. I always had the desire of making a full Prussian unit line but only after seeing Sandris' amazing British and Russian units, actually got around to doing it. As for me, I will be doing the Prussian line first, then the Austrian, at which point I will think about doing any further sets dating to this period.

Superb! The Freikorps fellow is great... exceeding my expectations, really!

Glad to see you like him! I'll just release him with all the other Prussians I guess.

What order do you intend on releasing these in? Just wondering, so many good units...

Yeah, I know you guys probably hate me by now since I haven't released a single unit...

But I will of course be releasing them eventually. I figure one I can release relatively soon is the Germanic Axeman...there's only like two more animations to render for that guy so he is in essence done. After that will probably be the whole Prussian line up. In fact, I would have maybe finished that and started rendering animations on my friend's computer but I am still awaiting a pickelhaube prop that I am having made by said friend. He said he'd have it done by thursday at the latest, so consider that I will probably post some preview of the last few Prussians that are still pending production. At that point, I can truly start rendering all of this set and you should see it soon (if all goes well, that is).

Before the Prussians, I may also release the Spartans as well. Seems the most logical step since they are not that big of a pack (two units compared to ALL those Prussians is indeed a great difference).

Than there's still those WWII era Germans...and those 'Nam G.I.'s...and those modern day soldiers from various countries...samurai units...Japanese WWII era soldiers...American WWI and WWII...British WWI and WWII...Italian WWII...American revolutionary and civil war units...Teutonic knights...Hospitallers...Templars...Germanics...Celts...Romans...and...and...and

Man so much to do, so little time!!!

 

[Mithadan]

Man so much to do, so little time!!!

Whatever you do, don't burn yourself out! If that happens, nobody gets nuttin.

I've actually thought about this as well! I was kind of discouraged that the camo wasn't as apparent since the colors seem to converge into each other the smaller the unit is. I'm glad you brought it up, because I had completely forgotten about wanting to experiment with this element. As you said, I can make the civpedia entries the way it is now and then simply change it for the actual in-game unit. I just hope the units don't look too busy as was the case with the Teutonic knight's shield (which was an evident concern of more than a few members). I'll make some samples and let you all choose which one works best.

Re: busy-ness; I don't think busy-ness is a problem when it comes to camo. Heraldry is one thing, concealment is another! But fair enough, we can wait and see.

 

[BadKharma]

I've actually thought about this as well! I was kind of discouraged that the camo wasn't as apparent since the colors seem to converge into each other the smaller the unit is. I'm glad you brought it up, because I had completely forgotten about wanting to experiment with this element. As you said, I can make the civpedia entries the way it is now and then simply change it for the actual in-game unit. I just hope the units don't look too busy as was the case with the Teutonic knight's shield (which was an evident concern of more than a few members). I'll make some samples and let you all choose which one works best.

The reason why you might be encountering that problem is for the same reason that the new digital camo is based on fleck tarn.
The smaller pattern areas tend to blend together at a distance of over 300 meters but effectively disrupt an outline when viewed at closer distances. Since making something smaller ie civ scale is effectively the same as viewing something a t a longer distance that is the most likely reason why it loses its differentiation. I think if you make the pattern larger and or not use historic colors (change the colors so they contrast more) I think you will have a better result at civ scale.

BTW those german units would look nice in SOE.

 

[againsttheflow]

...American revolutionary and civil war units...

If you could use some concept art I might be able to come up with some stuff. The civil war especially could use some nice units...


BTW, just knowing these units have so much detail makes them that much more fun.

 

[TopGun]

Personally, I would not alter the colors or the camo pattern itself. The civ-scale preview looks very authentic and "real". Yup, like lookin' at them dudes from afar. On Ares' terrain, these Waffen SS guys will blend in very nicely.