RAF_Louvert 101 Posted January 27, 2011 (edited) . Greetings All, With the latest discussions about the new outstanding awards that Paarma will be blessing us with when P4 arrives, I thought I might mention the minor upgrades I've been making to the current awards in P3. While they are nothing compared to what's in store for us in the future, they are still a bit of an improvement over what is seen on our "stock" pilot's pages at the moment. Here is my current campaign pilot's page showing a few of the improved images I've been building: If any one is interested in using these I will make them available in a download when I have them all tweaked and finished up. I can also build additional awards for those who might wish to have something that is not currently in the sim. I've done that already for Paul Blum, as evidenced by the Golden Military Merit Cross he was presented while still in the enlisted ranks. Cheers! Lou . Edited February 1, 2011 by RAF_Louvert Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cappy1918 0 Posted January 27, 2011 I would be most interested in the new awards, Lou. Would you be able to send them to my email address, cappy1918@yahoo.com ? Thanks a million.Regards Cappy . Greetings All, With the latest discussions about the new outstanding awards that Paarma will be blessing us with when P4 arrives, I thought I might mention the minor upgrades I've been making to the current awards in P3. While they are nothing compared to what's in store for us in the future, they are still a bit of an improvement over what is seen on our "stock" pilot's pages at the moment. Here is my current campaign pilot's page showing a few of the improved images I've been building: If any one is interested in using these I will make them available in a download when I have them all tweaked and finished up. I can also build additional awards for those who might wish to have something that is not currently in the sim. I've done that already for Paul Blum, as evidenced by the Golden Military Merit Cross he was presented while still in the enlisted ranks. Cheers! Lou . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Morris 2 Posted January 27, 2011 Lou, give me those medals pls. Great Work. m Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted January 27, 2011 (edited) Lou, that is beautiful work, man. Thanks for sending them. I am experimenting now, how to get a better resolution. One thing seems wrong though in your log: the German national flag of the Kaiserreich was Black-White-Red. Black on top. Or is it something else? PS: here is a WIKI site with all the flags of the German Kingdom and Duchies. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flaggen_und_Wappen_der_Bundesstaaten_des_Deutschen_Kaiserreichs Edited January 27, 2011 by Olham Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+elephant 36 Posted January 27, 2011 (edited) I like the pilot badge on top of the flag...Great Lou! As Olham said the if we could get the medals in a higher resolution would have been perfect. I followed your intructions and now having correct medals in the pilots Dossier. My own medals look a bit distorted when shown in Dossier but look fine in the announcement screen... Yours look fine in Dossier is there any distortion in the announcement screen? In Dossier they look a bit stretched to the sides... Edited January 27, 2011 by elephant Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wodin 0 Posted January 27, 2011 I'd be very happy to have them.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RAF_Louvert 101 Posted January 27, 2011 . Many thanks Cappy, Morris, Olham, Elephant, and Wodin for the kudos on these, and I will gladly make them all available when I have them completed. Now to the resolution: the size for these new BMP images is already 213 x 350 with a resolution of 300, which makes them giants when compared to the stock pictures. Here are two JPEG examples of the new files: The reason you are seeing a less than ideal representation in your pilot's page is because the sim resizes them to fit in the allotted space; and yes Elephant, there is distortion when this happens. The images on the announcement screen are shown in their true aspect. What I've done in an attempt to work around this is to stretch the images from top to bottom so that when the sim jambs them into the odd-sized slot they look relatively correct. However, because what you are shown is so small I don't think there is any way around the lower visual quality. I've tried numerous combinations already and what I have shown in my current pilot's page is about the best I've gotten so far. However, any one who wishes, please have a go at finding a better size and stretch to produce a nicer look, and if you come up with the magic combination let me know and I will readjust what I have before posting all of them. Thanks Olham for the correction on the flag. I did know that, and this is another reason why one should always get enough sleep. I have fixed my mistake and posted the updated snapshot. Cheers! Lou . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted January 27, 2011 Yeah, that's more like it, Lou! Must be trial and error about the stretching and distortion, to get that to look right? I have started an own EK2, but now you guys point out, that it may be even more complicated to do? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lewie 7 Posted January 27, 2011 . Many thanks Cappy, Morris, Olham, Elephant, and Wodin for the kudos on these, and I will gladly make them all available when I have them completed. Now to the resolution: the size for these new BMP images is already 213 x 350 with a resolution of 300, which makes them giants when compared to the stock pictures. Here are two JPEG examples of the new files: The reason you are seeing a less than ideal representation in your pilot's page is because the sim resizes them to fit in the allotted space; and yes Elephant, there is distortion when this happens. The images on the announcement screen are shown in their true aspect. What I've done in an attempt to work around this is to stretch the images from top to bottom so that when the sim jambs them into the odd-sized slot they look relatively correct. However, because what you are shown is so small I don't think there is any way around the lower visual quality. I've tried numerous combinations already and what I have shown in my current pilot's page is about the best I've gotten so far. However, any one who wishes, please have a go at finding a better size and stretch to produce a nicer look, and if you come up with the magic combination let me know and I will readjust what I have before posting all of them. Thanks Olham for the correction on the flag. I did know that, and this is another reason why one should always get enough sleep. I have fixed my mistake and posted the updated snapshot. Cheers! Lou . You may already know this, but. When resizing images, some programs like PSP have two options called Resize and Resample. If the images are temporarily changed from .bmp's to .jpg's and then resampled from a quality larger image, the jpg resample will approximate the quality of the Jpg at a smaller size with less 'rasterizing' of the image that you would normally get if only resized. The downside is the whole of the image quality suffers some as resampling adds odd artifacts to the edges of lines and sharply delineated shapes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RAF_Louvert 101 Posted January 27, 2011 . Yes, I was aware of that Lewie, but thanks for pointing it out. Always better to err on the side of caution, I say. Olham, it is bit more complicated than you might first have imagined, but nothing a little extra fiddling won't fix. . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RAF_Louvert 101 Posted January 29, 2011 (edited) . Good Morning All, As promised, here is the download of the new medals for our beloved sim. Instructions are included in the RAR file, so just download and unzip to a convenient location in your computer, than read and follow directions. New OFF P3 Medals Download Link And here are actual screenshots of some examples showing the new images as they should appear on your Pilot's Page: If you have any questions just post them here and I'll do my best to answer them. Also, if there is a particular medal or award you would like to see added to our P3 CoC cabinet, just let me know and I will build them for you folks. Cheers! Lou . Edited February 1, 2011 by RAF_Louvert Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
+elephant 36 Posted January 29, 2011 (edited) Great, thanks Lou! I don't know why, but I seem to have lost, (not showing), of all my medals in Pilots Dossiers, both modded and default... Yesterday everything looked fine... today no medals any more! Any ideas? Never mind...False Alert! Edited January 29, 2011 by elephant Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted January 29, 2011 (edited) Lou, I have tried to "build" me an own EK1, but however much I distort the BMP, it still looks wrong in the Log. I have distorted it vertical, so it looks very narrow and compressed in width, but in the log, it still looks too wide. I give it up for today. Edit: beautiful work you've made there! Edited January 29, 2011 by Olham Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RAF_Louvert 101 Posted January 29, 2011 . Thanks Olham and Elephant, glad you like them. Olham, if you send me the original EK1c image you are wanting to use I can give a go at fitting it for you. Also, I am currently working on the Turkish War Medal 1915, the Bavarian Military Merit Order, 4th Class with Swords, and the Britsh Military Medal, (for those who might be flying as Sergeants for King George V and earn an award for their heroic deeds). Cheers! Lou . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Burning Beard 14 Posted January 29, 2011 Thanks Lou, Got'em downloaded and installed, even fixed so my American pilot with 10 kills doesn't have two Medals of Honor. Beard Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dej 17 Posted January 29, 2011 (edited) Very nice, Lou. I reckon RNAS fans like myself might appreciate one of these included in the collection... the British Distinguished Service Cross The above is from the medal revamp I did for myself many moons ago. For Olham's information and anyone else who has distortion the resolution I used was 160x262. I get no distortion at all on a 1680x1050 display... haven't tested whether that ratio scales up without issue though. [EDIT] I saved the above as 'Distinguished Service Cross.bmp', i.e. with two spaces after 'Distinguished'. You don't notice in the dossier because 'Service Cross' is on the next line.[/EDIT] Edited January 29, 2011 by Dej Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tracers168 0 Posted January 29, 2011 Wonderful work! Please send to me too! tase1984@cebridge.net Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DukeIronHand 8 Posted January 29, 2011 Excellent RAF_Louvert! D/L'ing now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RAF_Louvert 101 Posted January 29, 2011 . Many thanks BB, Dej, Tracers, and Duke. I hope these will make your OFF'ing just that much more enjoyable. Tracers, all you need do is click on the download link in my post #11 above and follow the instructions. Dej, I have the British Distinguished Service Cross on my list as well and will start work on that next. BTW, the Turkish War Medal 1915, (or the Gallipoli Star as it may be better known), is all set to go into the P3 Medals Expansion Pack I will be making available once I have a few more add-ons completed. Here is an example of how it could be displayed, (keep in mind it is the Turkish equivalent of the Iron Cross 1c). Cheers! Lou . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wodin 0 Posted January 29, 2011 Superb...thanks old chap... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted January 29, 2011 (edited) Lou, I'm still fighting to get them right, cause I want some things differently. But I may find myself using your medals in the end, plus my own "Scratchboards (Squad signs) and "Nationality" board. Here is what I got so far - no way to get a more decent res, it seems. Edited January 29, 2011 by Olham Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dej 17 Posted January 29, 2011 Excellent work, Lou. Looks like you're a long way in to the medal project... there's certainly a lot of variations to cover, which is why I gave up on my revamp. Have you considered Bars too, like the attached? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RAF_Louvert 101 Posted January 29, 2011 . Thanks Wodin, enjoy the new bling Sir. Thanks again as well Dej, and yes I am kicking around the idea of having bars available. The issue is that there isn't much room on most of the ribbons for a bar, given the size of the medals themselves. And if I go much smaller on those we are back to the rather poor visual quality. Olham, I messed around quite a long while with the file size on these, and here is what I've finally landed on: I build the original image at 250 x 350 with a resolution of 300. Once I have it looking correct in terms of placement, size, quality, etc, I save it as a BMP and then reduce the width of that image to 213 while keeping the height at 350, which gives me the "stretch", (though really it is a "squash"). I then sharpen the image one or two clicks and save it once more as a BMP and I am done. What you see in the pictures I've posted today is what you should see on your monitor, (BTW, I took the screenshots off my monitor which is set at 1920 x 1080, 32 -bit color). Hope this is helpful. If all else fails I could drop the blue velvet background you have into my Paint.NET files and create a set with that feature. Cheers! Lou . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gaw 5 Posted January 30, 2011 nice touch.....thank you very much! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Wodin 0 Posted January 30, 2011 How about just having the bar without the meddle? With "Bar to Military Medal" say for the title? Just a thought. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
