First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

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Adebar
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First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by Adebar »

I really love the graphic style of this game; but in a resolution like 1680x1050 all units look like wearing sackcloth and ashes, they're simply too small (at least for an owl like me).

So I was checking the data files ... and found something to fix that.

Instruction: Go to the 'Data' folder (in the game's main folder). Make a backup copy of MAPVIEW.TXT! After that, open this file.

You'll see the following lines:
PITCH 45
ZOOM 400
ZOOMLIMIT 500
ZOOMINLIMIT 300
ROTATE 30
FOV 30
Now you can make the following changes:
PITCH 45
ZOOM 400
ZOOMLIMIT 800
ZOOMINLIMIT 100
ROTATE 30
FOV 30
Save. Then start the game and load a scenario. Now you're able to zoom much further in and out.

(In case you cannot save the changes: This is because the .txt file is write-protected. Change this via "Properties".)

Of course you can experiment with other entries to find the right zoom adjustments for your needs. BTW: PITCH determines the camera angle. Change it's entry carefully, it can lead to ugly results.


Happy gaping! :shock:
Last edited by Adebar on Mon Nov 03, 2014 7:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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IainMcNeil
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by IainMcNeil »

One warning about this - if you allow zooming out you may find performance issues. If you zoom in too far you will notice the models are not designed to be looked at close up. If these are not issues for you go for it!
Adebar
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by Adebar »

Sure, all changes at your own risk! :wink:

ATM I'm quite happy with:
ZOOMLIMIT 550
ZOOMINLIMIT 200
Truly a refreshment for my eyes! 8)
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Micha63
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by Micha63 »

Could you please post a screenshot. ?
Adebar
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by Adebar »

Sure. Those screens below are with ZOOMLIMIT 550, ZOOMINLIMIT 200 as mentioned above. ZOOMLIMIT 800, ZOOMINLIMIT 100 like in my first post proved too extreme for me.

Max. zoom out:

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Max. zoom in:

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Micha63
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by Micha63 »

Ok, thanks for posting.
Warlord156
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by Warlord156 »

Purely a personal preference, but I prefer the pitch at 30 rather than 45.
jack54
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by jack54 »

Thanks Adebar... with the increased zoom the graphics are considerably better than my first impressions at 1920 x 1080. I set 'in zoom' to 175 and can easily distinguish the various units now.
Adebar
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by Adebar »

Glad to be of help, Jack.

1920 x 1080? Dammit,the game must look great on such a big screen!
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nikdav
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by nikdav »

Great ! adebar, 550/200 work very good. :wink:
Thanks
Adebar
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by Adebar »

You're welcome, Nikdav!

And thanks for your great scenarios for Unity of Command, BTW. - If you like this game, perhaps you're interested to do some custom P&S scenarios too? :wink:
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nikdav
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by nikdav »

Thanks Adebar, glad you like UOC and i think that actually UOC, P&S and Ultimate general:Gettysburg are the best engines for the history lovers.
P&S is a dream, i start to redeploy on my table a dozen of books (Dogde,Guthrie,Wilson,Parker,Oman,Taylor,Montecuccoli....) for that period, but the editor is a little complex and I must finish Operation Mars scenario for UOC before start other project. :)
Adebar
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by Adebar »

nikdav wrote:UOC, P&S and Ultimate general:Gettysburg are the best engines for the history lovers.
Completely agree with you, all three of them are very well done soon-to-be-classics. (Though I had to skip UG; can't get used to RTS.)
but the editor is a little complex
Yes, it's more complicated than I thought it would be.
and I must finish Operation Mars scenario for UOC
Looking forward to this!


Regards,

A.
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Cataphract88
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by Cataphract88 »

I tried this out, but the game would not give me permission to save the changes. :( I've never had that happen before, but then again I am using Windows 8. :roll:
Adebar
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by Adebar »

Hello Richard!

I should have mentioned that most of the game's .txt files are write-protected. You have to change this by unchecking write-protection in "Properties". I'll add that to the descriptions.
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Cataphract88
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by Cataphract88 »

Hi Adebar,

That was the first thing I tried, but all I got back was: 'Notepad: Access Denied'. :? Weird!
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Adebar
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by Adebar »

Weird, indeed. I have no clue what causes this. Maybe the Devs have an answer?
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by pipfromslitherine »

If you are installed in Program Files, then the OS prevents you from changing things. Either run your editor in Administrator mode, or copy the file out, edit in another folder, and then copy it back to Program Files (which will prompt for confirmation).

Most mods are not going to be in the install dir, so this is not a common issue.

Cheers

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Cataphract88
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by Cataphract88 »

Thanks a lot, Pip and Adebar, I have got it to work properly now! :D

This is an improvement to the game that should be the standard setting from the start. Maybe something for a future patch :idea:
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Re: First Mod: Improved Zoom ;)

Post by Paul59 »

Apologies for bumping this thread, but I think a lot of new players to Pike and Shot (and Sengoku Jidai) may have missed this wonderful mod of Adebar's. You can use it to get a much closer zoom, and a lower camera angle, which I think gives a much better look to the game.

My own preference is for a Pitch angle of 23, rather than 45. It gives a much nicer camera angle in my opinion.


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