Sheilds - Adjusting the Sizes - Scale

[dimitrios the samian]

Hello .....

I have noticed that shields are always larger than the actual soldier on the bif plate .... sometimes almost twice !
They seem to vary , So they must be adjustable somewhere.
Scaled down somewhere .
Can some one point me in the right direction please .

Below are two pics of very large shields ..... ( Neg Infantry especially )
& also 2 bif plates were the shields are more true to scale , side by side in perspective to the soldier .

18785

18786

18787

18788

[macsen rufus]

Hi DtS,

Very briefly ( there is a guide out there somewhere that goes into detail....)

The shield in the BIF plate has a set of co-ordinates that define where it is (top left corner, bottom right corner) - these are defined in the textures/men/BIFname/shields.txt files accompanying each BIF.

When it is rendered, another set of co-ordinates defines where it is drawn relative to the unit 'origin' - this is a set of four co-ordinates, one for each 'corner', as this allows 3D perspective to be simulated. It's not true 'scaling' as you are thinking. It's more a case of 'draw this area into that area'. These co-ordinates are in the textures/men/items/shield#/unit-name/action.txt files. Each action for each unit has (IIRC) 48 sets of 9 coordinates - 4 (x,y) co-ordinates to position the corners, and a single 0/1 to define whether the man is drawn before the shield or vice versa (for when the shield is on the opposite side of the body to your viewpoint). 48 sets because there are four viewing angles in 12 frames of the BIF.

The reason some shields (usually in mods...) are drawn larger in the BIF is purely for resolution - notice most of the original MTW shields are pretty basic in design.

[dimitrios the samian]

ahhhh ... bingo :idea2:
Its done automatically ....
So on that heavily used Hellenic bif , a shield half the size would still work but , just need its co-ordinates to be reset .
& yes , I've read those 2 guides , by Wellington & Duke John , they are very valuable .
Thanks Mac :bow:
This is excellent new !

[macsen rufus]

It's probably worth trying to reduce some of the less detailed shields, but the fancier ones will probably look awful due to pixellation effects. And to be honest, it was the incredible details on the HTW hoplite shields that got me hooked in the first place....

[dimitrios the samian]

We really need to experiment here ...... ( but its for the future deluxe versions of our mods)
I think reduced by half they will still look fantastic & it would free-up up to 40% on the bif plates .
Take a moment & have a looksee at the pics I posted , see there is a mother Mary on one of the shields & its small !! ~:)
Should look like that on the battlefield :yes:
I can send you the bif & you give it a try ......

hmmm , & We can always leave those really highly detailed ones if there is space !
ps ... & I'll search for GDS tonite .