ADDING MODS TO COMBAT MISSION
One of the most enchanting features of COMBAT MISSION is the freedom it gives you to change the appearance of existing vehicles, men, buildings and terrain with even more elegant and artistic modifications of the original images supplied with the game.These "artistic modifications" are referred to as "art mods" or simply "mods", and are revisions to the BMP files that feed images to the game. This allows the players to continually "upgrade" the game with even more realistic artwork, and these are passed on to the rest of us as free downloads. This is done by preparing a new "skin" for the 3D wire frame vehicle.
Since all the 3D images in CM are basically blank wire frame shapes, ANY flat skin can be draped over them. A ridiculous example would be to redraw a tank with an all "red" skin, and call it The Red Baron! This modification artwork is usually done in some popular "Paint Program". The mod subject could be a Sherman with a plain overall olivedrab paint job. The mod artist could go in and add Canadian, or British markings to it to dress it up a bit. The images that come with the game are very well done to start with, but the ability to allow the individual to go into the game and alter vehicle cammo to his own preference makes it even better.
As previously mentioned, the 3D wire frame models cannot be altered, but the skins that are draped over them CAN. This can be done in either "low res" or "hi res", and depending on the capabilities of your computer, you should choose wisely. The low res images will run faster because they carry less detail. The hi res images are larger files and show every bit of fine detail, but cannot win battles for you any better, and may cause the game to run with jerky motion. But they just look beautiful on screen!
These mods can be built for both PC and Macintosh versions of COMBAT MISSION. However, since the game was originally built for PC and adapted to Mac, the steps involved in creating new mods is much simpler on the PC than with a Mac.
An original game image, compared to an art mod enhancement.