CoD2 Back2Fronts xmodels from CoD Black Ops and others news

Hi all! Today I got one very good model-development news, some additional information for the latest download - "Back2Fronts visuals" addon and some mod delay apology.

EDIT START

Scripts
Weaponfiles
I was testing quite a large weaponscript update today. I unintentionally switched the coordinates for viewmodel's position. Result? Well, pictures you can see below - in prone position the viewmodel is translated to the left side of player's view so it looks like he is holding the weapon in the left shoulder. Playing the game with that was kinda crazy but funny so I decided to share it with you.

You can watch here, or use image section.

EDIT END

Modelling
Modelling development
I have been given access to the CoD Black Ops modding tools. I was happy that it contains also some (not all) of the game's models (xmodels). Sadly, the xmodel file version has been changed since CoDWaW. So it is not possible to open/convert those xmodels using xmodelexporter anymore.
However, I have successfuly found a way how to hexedit the file version signature into the one from CoDWaW. This means that those CoD Black Ops xmodels can be both opened and converted using xmodelexporter. Basically it is nothing more than rewriting the CoD Black Ops xmodel's file version header into CoDWaW file version header. Each file has its own header that serves as a kind of "signature". After this, the xmodel can be loaded into xmodelexporter and opened or converted.
I have tryed to change the header even more downwards the version - to the CoD2. I wanted to do it because it would spare tons and tons of time on production of characters, hands and even heads. But unfortunetely the version gap between CoD2 and CoDWaW is too large.
Check out what I was able to do with this in last week...

Sten Mk2 and Mk2S
What I wanted the most from CoD Black Ops was naturaly the British "StenGun". I checked out also the other WW2 weapons there but they are just copies from CoDWaW (or in very few cases, CoD2) - just with slightly different textures.
So I was interested mainly on the "StenGun". CoD Black Ops has it in pretty big detail. Good thing is that there are both the silenced (Mk2S) and unsilenced (Mk2) versions. I spend 3 days of work on editing the model. I corrected all things that I didn't like (missing surfaces, tons of UVs, chamber, receiver, recoil spring, wrong buttplate and some other details). I also created 2-times larger texture in pretty good 1024x1024 pixels high resolution. Both DX7 and DX9 modes are supported of course (colors, normals, speculars).

You can watch here, or use video section.

CoD2 B2F Sten Mk2S (silenced)
To see the "StenGun" ingame I took a video capture from the British Normandy level "Prisoners of War". It is the mission where you must ride at the back of the truck and make your way through the ruined way full of Germans and one tank :-) Except from the Sten Mk2S you can see also the Panzerschreck RPzB 54.

British winter character
I tryed my hexedit method also on a more complex xmodel - a character. I chose British winter character because it was the only WW2 character xmodel that seems to be in CoD Black Ops modding tools pack.

I was partially successful. The body seems 100% fine in xmodelexporter. The gear for it works on 50% in xmodelexporter and the head crashes the xmodelexporter. Luckily I don't need head. I can use CoD2's heads. But there is a problem, unfortunetely, the xmodelexporter cannot convert the skin weights (= stuff needed for animation) so I am not decided yet about including it because I would have to do the weights myself which is awfully boring and long activity. Check out the xmodelexporter render pictures:

Back2Fronts release decision [M O D D E L A Y A P O L O G Y]

There is a delay in development - some developers are having break or are off now and I don't have as much time to work on the mod as I needed (I am starting Master's studies). So, I want to merge pre-alpha and alpha into one release at the end of 2011. Also, this was the reason why I released the Back2Fronts visuals addon to make your waiting a bit shorter. I will try to finish the true language addons as soon as possible too.

Download
Back2Fronts visuals addon
I already inserted some info for the Back2Fronts visuals addon in the last news post:

MCh2207Cz wrote: I think that majority of you know - we have put the "Back2Fronts visuals" in the download section.
This modification contains much of the visual style of Back2Fronts. It corrects original CoD2 models and changes their textures into much more detailed ones plus it has new weapon animations (G-43, SVT-40, Thompson M1, slight changes on Lee-Enfield, Kar98k, Garand M1 and MP-44). New sounds include all original weapons, artillery, vehicles and Back2Fronts menu music (full 8 min track). Also all Back2Fronts 2D graphics included (ingame icons, pictures and images of all sort). This separate mod is applyable to original Call of Duty 2 game. This separate mod is compatible with other separate mods from Back2Fronts team.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS NOT A PRE-ALPHA! We decided to release this to shorten your waiting. This modification (as the name indicates) is just a visual modification. This means that it changes only visual content of game like textures (skins), models, 2D graphics, animations and sounds. All CoD2 specific layouts had been kept in their original form (so UVs for models and their textures, layout for 2D graphics, frames for animations and timing for sounds). No scripts are contained in Back2Fronts visuals.
As a result of it being script-free (without scripts) and with original CoD2 layout, THE BACK2FRONTS VISUALS WILL WORK WITH ABSOLUTE MAJORITY OF OTHER NON-BACK2FRONTS MODIFICATIONS. You can apply it for example on WCP (we tested it)...

But I would like to specify and highlight few things. THE FOLLOWING TEXT DESCRIBES THE POSSIBILITIES OF CUSTOMIZATION OF THE BACK2FRONTS VISUALS. The compatibility of Back2Fronts visuals is set to maximal possible level. I wanted to include this into it from the start. Back2Fronts visuals has 2-side compatibility:

1) It can overwrite most mods and work togather with them reliably
COMPATIBILITY RULE: THE BACK2FRONTS VISUALS IWD'S FILENAME MUST BE ALPHABETICALLY AFTER THE OVERWRITTEN MOD IWD'S FILENAME.
For example, when there is a mod that has iwd's filename "z_realmod.iwd". Then the Back2Fronts visuals iwd's filename must be for example "z_zb2f.iwd". You see? - "z_zb2f" is after "z_realmod".
This is the case of all mods that contain scripts.

2) It can be overwritten by almost any mod
COMPATIBILITY RULE: THE OVERWRITING MOD IWD'S FILENAME MUST BE ALPHABETICALLY AFTER BACK2FRONTS VISUALS IWD'S FILENAME.
For example you don't like the skin of the G-43 rifle. So you find a skin mod for the G-43 that you like. You must find out what is the Back2Fronts visuals iwd's filename. Lets say "z_zb2f.iwd". So the G-43 mod iwd's filename must be for example "z_zg43.iwd". You see? - "z_zg43 " is after "z_zb2f ".
This is the case of all skin (texture), sound, effects, 2D graphics,... mods - so mods without scripts.

That is quite all for now. Oh and yes, I added "StenGun" into "MAIN MOD FEATURES" to correspond the present state and I added CoD Black Ops into "MOD CREDITS".

MCh2207Cz