Reduced Specular Reflections For Select AI Artillery, Vehicles, and Crewmembers

[MajorMagee]

I've always been bothered by some of the crewmembers skin and uniforms looking bleached out. (see images below)

In working on the WW1 expansion mod I discovered a way to tone their specular reflections down.

This mod takes care of the WW2 crewmembers, including the ones in my AI Expansion mod. AI Expansion Mod from 2023

Download Crew Darkening Mod Here

(If you are using the AI Expansion, this mod should be installed after it to ensure that their crews are updated.)

Quote

 

To make things easier I've combined all of my AI Expansion and Improvement Packages into one comprehensive 2026 release.

This includes all of my previous AI related mods for Vehicles, Artillery, and Infantry with the new combat ground unit look

applied in one comprehensive package with no need to download anything else.

Updated to ver 7.001a on 9 Feb 26

Download The All-In-One AI Expansion ver 7.001a Here

Download Player Vehicle Mod Package Here

If you are installing both, do the AI expansion first and let the Player Vehicle Mod overwrite any duplicate files.

 

Base Install

After Mod

Edited February 10 by MajorMagee

[AcesDarthBubu]

Looks way nicer than base in my opinion. 

Any possibility to merge or put all your AI related mod in 1 big mod for easier management ? 

[MajorMagee]

It's possible, but I have a few more ideas for improving the AI, so give me a few days to work those in as well.

Any requests for other enhancements or additions that you want me to look into?

[MajorMagee]

For example, I just ran a test on the M30 seen in the upper center of both pictures above. It's possible to make that less bleached out as well.

I see only four people have downloaded this mod so far, so for now I would suggest everyone wait until I can do further reworking of all the models, not just the crews.

[Stonehouse]

Much better, wool and cotton fabric doesn't reflect much light in real life perhaps unless wet. Even field helmets were painted in completely flat paint as I recall. I assume to reduce reflectivity to avoid giving a soldier's position away

Edited January 13 by Stonehouse

[AcesDarthBubu]

19 hours ago, MajorMagee said:

It's possible, but I have a few more ideas for improving the AI, so give me a few days to work those in as well.

Any requests for other enhancements or additions that you want me to look into?

Well, since I am not modder nor mission builder, but rather just someone that plays in editor for fun. I don't have any other requests in mind. You guys been doing great work already. I am just eagerly waiting to see what else you can come up with, getting proper texture and graphics in maybe for those without actual representations perhaps? 

[MajorMagee]

Okay, thanks. I'll probably have the everything combined version ready by the end of next weekend.

Toned Down M30

I agree that there's still a bit too much of a sheen on the clothes and helmets still. I'll probably have to take a look at the alpha layer for that.

Edited January 13 by MajorMagee

[MajorMagee]

Progress on the Zis trucks, the 72K AA gun, and the M42 AT gun.

Base Install

After Mod

I also did some more work on the troop's uniforms and helmets to kill the sheen.

[MajorMagee]

Slow progress, but I finally discovered the place to hex edit to make the glass transparent on the Sdkfz10-flak38.

Base Install

After mod

[MajorMagee]

I'm getting closer to publishing a comprehensive reworking of the AI Artillery and Vehicle Expansion. Here's a sample of the reduced glossiness, and darkening where needed. (As seen through my medium dirty Lens Mod)

Sorry about the choppiness. Watching at 2x speed smooths it out a bit, or pause it to get a better look.

Edited January 27 by MajorMagee

[Stonehouse]

So much better than stock...........cloth reflects like wool or cotton should now and there is just the right amount of reflection from things like curved mudguards on vehicles

[MajorMagee]

I'm currently running down subtle things like the brass artillery shells being washed out to white.

[jokash]

IL2 really has a lot of camo variations.Mod looks good also 👍

[MajorMagee]

Those camo variations are not in the stock game. They are from a mod I published back in 2023.

 

Meanwhile I've made more progress with making these look more like ground combat units. The brass even looks like brass now.

Base Install

After Mod

Edited January 27 by MajorMagee

[MajorMagee]

Happly, as far as I can tell, with today's release of V7.001 there were no changes to the Base Install AI Vehicles and Artillery that my Mod is based on. They are still just as shiny as they ever were.

In case you were wondering about the M4a2, I've tuned my version so the vehicle matches the look of the stock texture file itself versus the Base Install's significant darkening of the texture during the rendering.

Edited January 28 by MajorMagee

[MajorMagee]

Download The All-In-One AI Expansion Package

This includes all of my previous AI related mods for Vehicles, Artillery, and Infantry with the new combat ground unit look applied in one comprehensive package.

[MajorMagee]

Having just completed this large update, I can really identify with this answer from Han's blog yesterday.

Quote

Answer: In the gaming industry, there is a rule: the larger the project, the more difficult it is to develop. We have actively developed and refined Great Battles for 12 years, introducing various improvements, fixes, and refinements. If you compile a list of these changes, you'll find more than a thousand items. However, as long as the project has little content, when introducing new technologies or refining old ones, you don't have to change many objects created for the previous version of the technology. When the game has more than 100 aircraft, a large number of maps, and a career mode, fundamental changes to technologies and approaches become impossible. This is one manifestation of the well-known dialectical law of the transition from quantitative to qualitative changes. That is why, in 2022, we decided to create Korea as a completely new simulator, using its own technologies, its own approach to game design, and much more that was impossible to implement in Great Battles due to the large amount of existing content.

The addition and enhancement of so many AI elements took me over 600 man hours to develop and produce. The initial development and production work was spread over 6 months back in 2023, and now another month was spent adding more Infantry choices and updating the look of everything. Based on my current rates, that's $40k freely donated to at most the 300 people who downloaded it. To me, it was worth the time and effort to do this for my own use. Would I, and 300 of my friends, have each paid $150 for someone else to do this? Doubtful...

[354thFG]

So do you just drop this into the main game folder to install? Can it be installed with JSGME?

[MajorMagee]

Yes, it's designed to be installed with JSGME.

p.s. I've started taking a look at the player driveable vehicles to give them a similar ground combat unit look. This shouldn't take quite as long as there are far fewer of them. Unlike the AI package, the Player Vehicles will require you to have Mods enabled for the effect to be visible.

Edited February 1 by MajorMagee

[Billsponge1972]

Thank you MajorMagee! I think this is spectacular work! 

I was wondering if I can add "additional AI ships" mod by Stonehouse over yours?

I just added them together! 

Thanks again to both of you for this!!!

Edited February 8 by Billsponge1972
Had wrong author of mod and solved it

[Stonehouse]

3 hours ago, Billsponge1972 said:

Thank you MajorMagee! I think this is spectacular work! 

I was wondering if I can add "additional AI ships" mod by Stonehouse over yours?

I just added them together! 

Thanks again to both of you for this!!!

The Additional warships mod only contains all new units plus stock ships with reworked AI and AAA - so I don't think there will be overlap between it and this.

However, being honest I have downloaded MajorMagee's pack but just haven't had time to really try it out in conjunction with other mods. I still believe you should be fine.

Edited February 8 by Stonehouse

[Billsponge1972]

Thanks Stonehouse!  Yes, it seems to work just fine. All the extra units are in the mission editor. I tried some of the missions that came with the AI expansion with no issues. I would love this add-on and yours to be integrated into the game.

[MajorMagee]

Yes, this should work independently of most other mods.

I'm about halfway through updating the user playable vehicles. 

I agree that having these as part of the base game would certainly make things easier for mission and campaign developers.

[Billsponge1972]

MajorMagee,

 I think there might be an issue with the mod.

 It might not be registering all of the player kills in the post mission screen. Maybe it's on my end, not sure but something to investigate more?

[Stonehouse]

8 minutes ago, Billsponge1972 said:

It might not be registering all of the player kills in the post mission screen.

Not sure if it is the same but I have the same issue with Additional warships. The destroyed AAA guns etc on the ship are counted but not the ship itself. So far, I have not found a solution to the problem. Obviously, there is a piece of config somewhere that has not been done but the file or whatever has so far eluded me.