The missing forts around Verdun in WOFF: Mod is now available

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Greetings All,

While working on the training modifications to the current Köln aerodrome for OldHat's project I discovered there was a fort nearby. At almost the same time I made this discovery Shredward sent me a plethora of information about not only the fort but also about the historically important Köln-Butzweilerhof aerodrome as well. Now I should point out that said aerodrome is a project that has been, for quite some time, on my list of things to build for WOFF as it is to Die Fliegertruppe what Farnborough and the CFS were to the RFC/RNAS. However, as this is another one of those LARGE projects it will have to wait a while. But in the course of trading e-mails with Shredward we got on the subject of the ring of forts around Verdun that have never been added into the WOFF landscape. There have only ever been the two forts of Douaumont and Vaux to the NE of the city and unfortunately little time was given to even those, (understandable as there were far more important things to add and refine in the sim). I told Shredward I would look into what I could do in terms of placing the additional dozen or so facilities around "The Devil's Anvil". As I have no clue how to build 3-D models for WOFF, (or any other sim for that matter), I am limited to working with what we currently have. So I've spent some time creating a generic facility file for the forts, (which will allow me to more easily fit them into the landscape), and I've gotten creative with some repainting of the stock textures. I've also added in a few buildings and trees and such to give the thing a bit more depth and life. I have attached a couple of screenies showing the "before and after" differences at this point. While it is not ideal I think what I currently have should show fairly well around Verdun and elsewhere.

(right-click on an image and open it in a new tab to view it full size)


The stock Fort Douaumont.



My reworked Fort Douaumont.


As always, any and all feedback will be much appreciated. What would be even more appreciated would be someone willing to build new models for each of the many forts that formed the ring around the city during the Great War.

Cheers!

Lou

Looking good Lou,i really hope somebody can come along and help with the 3d models

Lou

I concur with Adger!! I wish we could entice a modeller into this sim. That would be fantastic.

I think, even if Lou encircles Verdun with the existing fort model, and sprinkles a few more of the important ones up and down the line, that will be a tremendous addition to atmosphere, as well as navigation. However, if someone does want to step up to build landmarks, I have work for them.
Cheers,
shredward

Another great idea for a mod, Lou. I'm afraid I can't help with the object modelling, but please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help.

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Thanks for the input and encouragement everyone and for the offers to help. I have four forts located in the sim landscape so far which is a start, albeit a meager one given that the list I have at the moment contains 21 forts that need to be in and around Verdun. Here is that list, (and if I am missing any I am counting on Shredward to inform me of such):

Fort de Belleville
Fort de Belrupt
Fort de Bois Bourrus
Fort de Chana
Fort de la Chaume
Fort de Choisel
Fort Douaumont
Fort de Dugny
Fort d’Haudainville
Fort de Landrecourt
Fort de Marre
Fort de Moulainville
Fort de Regret
Fort de Rozelier
Fort St. Michel
Fort des Sartelles
Fort de Souville
Fort de Tavannes
Fort de Thiaumont
Fort de Vacherauville
Fort Vaux

It will go more quickly as I move along since I will not need to rework the landscape textures for every facility because once I have a choice of five or so I can pick the best one that fits the situation. Unfortunately I won't have much time this week to devote to this project what with a four-day work trip coming up. Ah well, c'est la vie.

Later All.

21 forts! That is quite a project! If you can merely place one-quarter or one-half of those, that will still be quite an addition to the sim. Heck, even one or two would be great. Bonne chance, mon ami.

You gotta love Lou, he doesnt do anything by halves.
Cheers,
shredward

Great idea, Lou.

I asked Geezer, and he has given me permission to convert his Models to use in WOFF. No promises on when they will get done, but I'll work on it. I can't make new models, but I can adjust these to fit the WOFF terrain, as needed. Gives me something to do while I wait for the rest of the training models to be completed.

Here is his work:

Genius on the rise of flight forum did something similar
Also, check this book :
http://revueicare.com/LA-BATAILLE-AERIENNE-DE-VERDUN-1916

Lot of high quality and large pictures

Very nice Lou, I would like to help, but I have absolutely no computer skills. I can turn it and off. I built it, but that is the extent of my computer skills. I t is god that we have talented people such as you and all the other fine people who increase the immersion of this sim.

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Thanks for the continued input and support folks, it is always inspiring. The following is a screenshot of a very nice fort model built and provided by Geezer and ported over into WOFF UE by OldHat. I am about done with the repainted textures you see here, which I just put together in order to have it all blend better with the landscape and look a bit more "organic".

(right-click on image and open in new tab to view it full size)


I have all the forts placed around Verdun and am now going around a second time and giving each a final tweak to fit them properly to their immediate surroundings, (having them hook up to nearby roads and such).

Must head out now for the day but I am hopeful that I can get back to this project again soon as there is still a fair amount to do.

Later all.

Lou

Very nicely done Lou. Color tones and feeder road placements are spot on mate!

They'll never try and take Verdun now !

Incredible work as always, Lou. Forts, airfields...I vote you to be the Official Landscaper for WOFF UE.
Seriously though, your talents and dedication are deeply appreciated, good sir.

Great !

+1

Looks Great! Can't wait to see it in game

Regards,

Jeff

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Good Morning All,

I can't believe it has been nearly five months since I last touched this project, what with the various curve balls RL has thrown at my family and I during the interim. However, I am easing back into my WOFF building efforts and this will be the first one I intend to complete. This last weekend I had time to work on the damaged textures for the forts in order to represent the first half of 1916 when a fair number of them were being attacked. By the last half of 1916 most of the forts to the east and north of Verdun were entirely flattened so my intent will be to have you see this in the sim landscape even if the front lines have not yet swept across the aforementioned forts. As is always the case with OFF/WOFF and its vintage game engine compromises must be made in order to get to where you want to be with such projects.

In addition to the ring of forts around Verdun I am also intending on adding in a few of the more historically important forts along the Western Front that can serve as additional landmarks and navigation aids. I traded emails with Shredward about this and he heartily agrees and will no doubt provide me with more info about such facilities than I will ever be able to use - the man's a wealth of such knowledge.

I am attaching a teaser showing the beginnings of the first of these historically important forts. I knocked together the skeleton for it over the last couple of mornings before work and I have the scale of thing fairly sorted out at this point and am now getting things placed about before I further refine and tweak the textures to blend and fit with the surroundings. You folks will now know at a glance when you are flitting about in the area of Lille.

Later Gents!

Lou



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Lou;

I am happy to see you finding time for your pleasures in life. I know it's been a long haul and it's not over yet. Hang in there mate. Oh and by the way, how is the read going on Barker?

Best Regards!

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Robert,

It has been a long haul, thanks again for your support and kindness. And to "Barker VC", it is a super read! One of the things I particularly like about Wayne Ralph's handling of the man's story is that he takes you down all sorts of side streets, just far enough that you understand the significance to Barker, but not so far that you don't wish to go on yourself and do further reading and research into the detour. One such is the brief mention of William Wedgwood Benn and the spy mission he and Barker were involved in. If you've not read "In The Side Shows" you really should, and the entire last chapter is about that mission.

Best Regards Mate!

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Ah, glad to hear you enjoyed it Lou. I suspected you might be drawn to that part dealing with the spy mission.
I don't want to give too much away in case you haven't yet finished the book, but I particularly was captured by Barker's warning published in the London Sunday Express in 1922 in response to John Galsworthy recommendation to abandon civil and military air activity. He shows an intelligent insight towards the future, much of it bearing significant weight.

Lou!

Great to see you back to work on these fantastic improvements to the Western Front. The forts look great from the air - I'm excited to see them fully realized around such an important sector.

Good to see your name popping up on the boards again too, glad to have you back with us mate.

Cheers!

Great work Lou it is good to see you back I hope everything is working out for you, you are a fine Gentleman and a scholar! Thanks for the support you give to the WOFF community.
Thanks John

'Always wondered what the Verdun Forts looked like!

Hot damn Lou! Great to see you back in action... missed you while you were gone and so looking forward to whatever masterpieces come out of your efforts...

Ahhh.... one request if I may...

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Thanks for the encouragement Gents, it always helps to hear feedback and input on these projects.

James, as I've noted before, I've no clue how to build the 3D models for WOFF, (or any other sim for that matter), so all my work is focused on creating the needed texture files for these projects and then placing already existing buildings and trees and such onto those new textures. People like Geezer are the artists who can actually build the models and I wish we had more of such talent willing to create the much-needed items for WOFF.

To the texture files, I attempt to get as much of the detail as possible "painted" into them as this minimizes the additional load on the graphics side of things. Once I have that sorted out I can add in the other items, as sparingly as possible, to create the new facility. In the end the fewer items I can get by with to create the look of a place the better as it keeps the demand on your system lower which means a smoother running sim.

After these last couple of early mornings before work I have the Citadel textures pretty well fitted and blended into the surrounding landscape and can now continue setting buildings and planting trees. Great fun!

(right click on image and open in new window to view it full size)


Later folks.

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By the way, just as a point of reference, I am working off of the following photo from 1917 and also off of a current Google Earth image to help with some of the finer details.

I second James' request!

The thing that strikes me with the fort you are working on - I must have missed the name and I'm embarrassed to say I can't think of which one it is - is how utterly imposing that fortress is. Seeing it rendered in WOFF gives you a real sense of how massive the thing was and what it must have been like to try to capture it. Makes you shudder just thinking about it. Awesome stuff Lou!

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Capt, it is the Lille Citadel and it is massive. I've actually had to scale it down slightly in order to fit it on a single 1024 x 1024 DTX3 texture tile, and it's still huge.

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I give you the not-yet-Leaning-Virgin. For the disco version, take a jaunt by later in the war.
Cheers,
shredward

Yeah already in there, for a long time

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Even after all the years and the thousands of hours I've spent flying about in OFF/WOFF I still see new things and details I never saw before. The sign of a truly great sim, or possibly my own inattentiveness, but I'm going with the former.

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That makes two of us, Lou! Starting to show my age!

Then fly in the Alsace region, like at the Belfort airstrip. Not much to encounter on enemies, but flying true the mountains is really enjoying WoFF terrain.

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dutch, I've probably flown in the Alsace as much as I have around Flanders - love the mountains.

Capt, the advantage we have with our memories and foci getting blurry with age is that we can now enjoy the same things over and over as if they were new. See, silver lining.

Despite being out most of the weekend I was able to make progress on "la Citadelle de Lille" and now have nearly all the buildings and walls placed and have made a dent in the tree plantings. Also refined the textures and further blended everything to get it looking more as if it belongs in the WOFF landscape. I am hoping to have time this coming weekend to wrap this one up and get back to the forts around Verdun. If all goes as planned I should be able to offer the mod to you folks by Christmas.

Later!



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Oh, that is looking very very nice !!!
Cheers,
shredward

Lou, the fort looks really, really nice! Too bad we won't be able to see it very long in its untouched, pristine condition!

What a nice addition to the game. My only complaint is the number of pilots I will probably lose who will get caught staring at the scenery when they should have been watching their six instead!

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Thanks Ted and BB, I appreciate the feedback. BB, the Citadel of Lille was not leveled during the War and in fact is still intact, so you'll be able to enjoy this one throughout the conflict. The same can not be said for many of the forts around Verdun.

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For those interested I'm still planting trees and adding details to the Citadel and surrounding grounds. Earlier this AM I did some work along the eastern canal. The whole place is really starting to shape up and fill in, at least I feel like it is, it gets hard to tell sometimes on these long-term projects.

Lou, what can I add!!!

Awesome stuff Lou!! Looking great!

'Nuff said!

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Good Morning All,

It's been a crazy busy couple of weeks here for me but I did manage to get in some time on this project. Just a pair of teasers before heading out again for the day. Thanks as always for the support and kudos folks, really helps keep me focused on such affairs as this.

Later!

Lou



(right click on an image and open in new window to view it full size)

Here's a shot showing the work around the remnants of the old moat system.



The view from 12,000 feet.




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Lou, an excellent piece of work as usual! I might just enlist your skills for a redecorating of my DiD pilot's digs

Much appreciate the updates Lou!
Looking forward to this!

That is really marvelous, Lou. Thanks so much. Can you, pls, include this juicy target into the WOFFScenery/Period/xxx/Targets list?
Speaking as an Axis bomber pilot that would be very appreciated.

Absolutely gorgeous, Lou. Great work as always.

Be careful, Jara. I bet Lou will be defending such a juicy target with plenty of guns! I also get the feeling that your puny bombs won't be able to put much of a dent into such a formidable structure.

You do not know the secret weapons of the Axis yet, Bob.

You are obviating the use of your fabulous maps. As my boss likes to say, keep up the mediocre work :jawdrop

Cheers,
shredward:

Speaking as one of the English Lords, it would be very much appreciated if you would bomb that for us. Save us a lot of petrol, as the Citadelle de Lille is a considerable distance into Hunland. We could spend the day dressed in ladies clothing, having tea and crumpets instead.
:whoohoo
Cheers,
shredward:

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Thanks for the feedback gents, glad the place is looking good to you all. And Jara, as Shredward has pointed out, Lille was under German control for nearly the entire war. Also, the Citadelle was used as a prison for the hostages who'd be taken by the Hun to insure the obedience of the city's inhabitants, so it was not targeted by the Entente forces for that reason.

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Damn intelligence service! Why nobody told me that it is already ours?

Because you’d bomb it anyway. Itchy trigger finger and all that.

Great work Lou! Can’t wait to see it finished with the sheep and cows around. But ... why is there Pentagon near Lille?

Lou, this is amazing stuff. Then again, everything you've done has been amazing stuff.

I've been having some issues with the combined airfield mod of late, so I haven't been able to appreciate the work as much recently. I was getting a crash to the mission end screen after about 5 minutes of flight, and it was occurring sporadically, about once in every four or five missions. It might simply be overloading my CPU, I've removed all mods and begun reinstalling them one at a time. So far, no issue with the populated airfield mods, but the crashes resume when the combined airfield mod goes back in. I spoke with Robert Wiggins this week and he's going to check the mission logs for me.

Do you think Mossy Face Wood will ever be a standalone mod?

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Raine, yes, for sure, my plan is still to offer Mossy Face Wood as a standalone and I am hopeful it will be soon. If things go well here I would like to finish up the forts mod and Mossy Face and get them both posted within the next two weeks*.
As to your CTD when using the combined airfield mod it may be an overload issue, though I tend to doubt it. Have you tried installing just one standalone aerodrome mod to see if the issue occurs in that situation?

Fullofit, the Pentagon, just as the Statue of Liberty, was a gift to the U.S. from France. Lille is where they mocked it up first before sending it over in pieces to us - yeah that's it that's the ticket.


* Refer to discussion and meaning of the term "two weeks" found elsewhere in these forums.

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Lou, that's my next plan -- installing standalone mods to see if it's a problem I can isolate. But I tend to think it might be an overload. The only odd thing about the overload hypothesis is that in my last DiD pilot's career, I'd get the same crash while flying behind German lines well north of Reims, and I can't think what the thing would have been trying to load in that location.

I'm not working at the problem very hard at the moment because I have time only to fly Corderoy's DiD career, and there is no way I'll risk a mission-ending crash with a British DiD pilot; the crash would be highly likely to drop the fellow out of the air on the wrong side of the lines.

Thanks for your reply! It's always great to have you back in the campaign thread.

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Seasons Greetings All,

I am getting close to wrapping up my "WOFF UE Forts 1.0 Mod" and am working on winter textures right now for le Citadelle de Lille. Here's a chilly teaser for you.


The view from 12,000' - man it's cold up here!


The first release of this mod will contain this facility as well as adding in the ring of forts around Verdun. I will make available future updates to the mod that will include additional landmark forts elsewhere in the WOFF landscape.

Cheers All!

Lou

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Lou! What a lovely Christmas scene you have made for us. I can't say that I've modded WOFF before but I am definitely going to have to try your forts - they look phenomenal.

A very Merry Christmas to you and yours, my friend.

Cheers!

Crikey that looks cold. Yep, must be the winter of 16-17, the coldest in living memory of the soldiers in the trenches. Absobloodylutelymarvelous!!!
Cheers,
shredward

Greetings All,

Well here it is, not quite in time for Christmas but close. I've just zipped up and sent the completed mod to Sandbagger for hosting on his Users Mod Page but for those of you who just can't wait here is a temporary download link:

WOFF UE Forts Mod by RAF_Louvert

Allow me to quote the "read me" included in the mod:

This is the WOFF UE Forts Mod which will install the ring of forts that existed around the city of Verdun at the outbreak of the Great War. The "Devil's Anvil", which the city was referred to from early 1916 onward, was the scene of some of the worst bombardments of the war and by 1917 all but a handful of the forts remained intact, those being to the south and west of the city.

The fort model used in this mod was provided by Geezer and was ported into the WOFF sim by OldHat, many thanks to both for their generosity and efforts. The original fort textures were reworked by me so that the model would better blend into the WOFF landscape.

In addition to the Verdun forts this mod will also install the historic Citadel of Lille. This facility was created using stock WOFF objects and a full set of custom textures "painted" by yours truly. As time allows I will be creating additional such facilities for a number of other landmark fortifications that were seen along the Western Front and used as navigation aids throughout the war by pilots and observers on both sides.

Finally, this mod also makes minor position adjustments to the Verdun and Souilly aerodromes in an effort to have them better fit their immediate surroundings. I am planning to build a new Verdun aerodrome facility at some point in the future and place it where it belongs on the eastern edge of the city.


Please take note that as this mod changes the global layer files in the sim it should not be used at the same time as other mods which do the same thing, such as the aerodrome mods. Hopefully Robert will find the time in the near future to add this to the consolidated mod.

Let me know what you think, and happy flights! Also, Happy New Year!

Lou



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Thank you, Lou. Enjoy the rest of the year off.

A labor of love, results in a work of art.

Thank you Lou.

Marvelous! Many thanks, Lou.
Just in time for the New Year, what a way to start it off!

Regards,

Brilliant work Lou. I know how much work that took.
Cheers,
and a very Happy New Years
shredward

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Thank you Ted, Jenks, Stache, and Fullofit, let me know how it works for you all once you have it loaded up.

And Fullofit, I did enjoy taking the rest of the year off and now I'm back at my next WOFF project.

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Can't wait to try it out Lou! Looks great from the screen caps.

That is incredible work RAF! I wonder if the devs would ever consider integrating this and the Consolidated Custom Airfields mod into WOFF UE with a patch - if all the mod authors agreed to it.

Hi all,
Version 1.0 now uploaded to the User Mods Page:

http://www.thatoneplease.co/indexWOFF.html

Thanks wonderful work Lou!!

Thanks, did downloaded it. While I was killed in action, next campaign will be around this fort.

I second that suggestion. It would be great to see more of these excellent mods assimilated directly into the game to keep things clean and simple.

Nice work as always Lou. You are a great asset.

When can we expect to see these forts added to your Verdun map? (just kidding ... or am I?)

Thanks for your wonderful work, Lou.
However, as you already mentioned, since this mod affects previous airfiled mods (global layers and gl.lib files), I will wait for RJW to finish his Filescamp Farm project and then I am going to merge all these mods, including my Populated airfields mod, together.
If you agree, of course.

Beautiful work, Lou! These forts add a really nice historical touch to the sim -- and they sure look pretty, too!

As being promised I did give it a go, only not all the forts are showing from some in the battle zone I see only the ground texture but no buildings.
I did start at the Verdun airfield in a QC mission.

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Dutch, in the mod there are three versions of the forts around Verdun. The first shows no damage at all, the second shows some shell holes, and the third is but an outline in the destroyed earth. You are correct that the last version is nothing but a texture tile in the landscape. I tried to match the look of it to the bottom image in the following:



Thanks for trying out the mod, I hope it is working well for everyone.