Graphics

[StephenT]

Austria-Hungary went to war because half-wild, uncivilised Serbia - a country where assassination and conspiracy were daily events - was sending its terrorists and murderers into peaceful Austria, killing the eldest son of an anointed monarch and bringing anarchy and Asiatic barbarity to the homeland of Mozart and Strauss...

(True, the Monarchy's politicians might have had other reasons for the war, but this was the reason people queued up at the recruiting stations and paraded through the streets)

 

[Josip]

Originally posted by StephenT
half-wild, uncivilised Serbia - a country where assassination and conspiracy were daily events

LOL, I don't think there's any better description of Serbia!
The things have hardly changed today - just take a look at the assasination of their own president a few months ago! (or prime-minister, don't know for sure)

 

[Allenby]

Stephen's got it right I'd say - even the Kaiser talked of the 'final battle between Teuton and Slav'. We may look back with a degree of cynicism concerning the causes they were fighting for, but for the people involved, the ideological aspect of their various causes was certainly strong.

As for the logo, I'll try and downsize the Somme picture and see what the result looks like.

Concerning the Flanders cemetary, I'm not sure it would be suitable, on the basis that the victors suffered millions of casualties too - it would send across the message that only the losers suffer dead and wounded.

 

[Angelos]

Originally posted by StephenT
Austria-Hungary went to war because half-wild, uncivilised Serbia - a country where assassination and conspiracy were daily events - was sending its terrorists and murderers into peaceful Austria, killing the eldest son of an anointed monarch and bringing anarchy and Asiatic barbarity to the homeland of Mozart and Strauss...

(True, the Monarchy's politicians might have had other reasons for the war, but this was the reason people queued up at the recruiting stations and paraded through the streets)

It also helped that the Austrians occupied Bosnia,a region largely populated by Serbs.And the archduke was assasinated at an (even then)provocative considered,parade.And they even dared doing that parade in Sarajevo,a city considered sacred by the Serbs!Talk about a major deathwish on account of Ferdinand...

 

[Allenby]

Proposed Icon

compared with....

Multiplayer background screen, Gallipoli 1915

 

[unmerged(8915)]

well, since you guys will not budge on the roundel-marianne issue, , fine. i can live with it. besides that, all the graphics look supreme

 

[unmerged(16020)]

Other ideas for the icon:

The guy is Richthoven.

 

[Allenby]

Originally posted by Ladislav
well, since you guys will not budge on the roundel-marianne issue, , fine. i can live with it.

I'm sure we can have the RAF roundel for the entente symbol - besides, Marianne hardly fits well with Autocratic Russia, does it? It's fine to represent 'democracy' but maybe not the Entente. Are we making a mountain out a molehill, or is it something worth considering?

 

[unmerged(8915)]

well, the way i look at it, i view WW1 as a clash btw. entente and central powers, with ussr joining the fray only later (as soviet russia was outside of this bi-polar pre-1914 break-down).

if you view Entente as a champion of democracy (which even respective propaganda ministries found difficult considering Imperial Russias track record of democracy) and Central Powers the champions of repressive governments then it (Marianne) is fine, which i believe is a somewhat grade-school outlook on the complex conflict.

Alas, i view WW1 as not a clash of ideologies. in fact, both camps had a roughly same ideology (conquer the foe, make him pay).


this graphical icon issue does not warrant a more detailed examination of the various currents within the governments. but i though it would be estethically pleasing to have major symbols representing the three alliances (not ideologies).

so that the icons would be uniform. maybe we could change the red star of communism (in HoI) to just a plain red star like in my above post. that way all the symbols would look similar and quickly communicate the alliance identity. (a french roundel is just as good)

i like the background very much though

edit: i like this one the most,

is it british troops in somme?

 

[StephenT]

Originally posted by Ladislav
well, the way i look at it, i view WW1 as a clash btw. entente and central powers, with ussr joining the fray only later (as soviet russia was outside of this bi-polar pre-1914 break-down).

Um - since Soviet Russia didn't exist in 1914, it's not surprising it was outside...

if you view Entente as a champion of democracy (which even respective propaganda ministries found difficult considering Imperial Russias track record of democracy) and Central Powers the champions of repressive governments then it (Marianne) is fine, which i believe is a somewhat grade-school outlook on the complex conflict.

It's not how we view WW1; it's how the participants viewed it. People don't go to war over complex geopolitical theories; they fight for symbols, for ideals, and (alternatively) out of fear and hatred of the enemy.

Alas, i view WW1 as not a clash of ideologies. in fact, both camps had a roughly same ideology (conquer the foe, make him pay).

I used to think that too - reading primary sources (especially news articles and cartoons) from the period changed my mind.

The problem with using a roundel, IMO, is that it's a national symbol - to me at least, your picture signifies "Britain" not "the Entente".

 

[Allenby]

I'm inclined to keep Marianne where she is for the sake of continuity.....and it would be annoying to change it at this stage

 

[unmerged(8915)]

The problem with using a roundel, IMO, is that it's a national symbol - to me at least, your picture signifies "Britain" not "the Entente". [/B]

does the maltese cross represent bulgaria? did in HoI the fasci represent Japan?

no, if we keep looking for the perfect symbol, we will never find it. we have to settle for the best possible. in my view, the roundel (french or british) suits our purposes just fine. denoting an alliance.

_________________

in terms of both nations having not the same aspirations (of conquest), that is simplistic! especially once the death tolls started rising you should know that all nations sought geographic annexations to soothe the national outrage. so did France, so did Germany, so did Russia, so did Austria-Hungary.

to say WW1 was fought for ideology is idealistic. unless you call materialism an ideology.

______________

i vote for roundel, maltese cross and 2D red star. could somebody (just for the heck of it) put it into an image so we can look at it, and if the majority is still opposed, i retract my suggestion!

 

[Allenby]

Comintern

Central Powers

I agree with Ladislav, that this

logo is certainly extremely good and could be used for the mod, if others accept...

although I'm still rather proud of the eerie ghostly effect I've somehow managed to give this one

 

[Shadow Knight]

I vote for Allenby's ghostly Icon...although the other one is quite good.

 

[Allenby]

We could have both

 

[Allenby]

How about we change Austria-Hungary's colour from a sky-blueish colour to a more Austro-Hungarian brown?

 

[Shadow Knight]

Brown is good, any depressing color would suit an old on the verge of collapse Empire.

Although could you now change Serbia to say red. Should Serbia do exceptionally well (say a human vs. AI), Serbia's gray could become confused with Germany's.

 

[Allenby]

How about Yugoslavia's standard HOI colour? A fine looking Orange Lucozade colour.

 

[StephenT]

I'm happy with that... (both changes)

 

[Shadow Knight]

Looks good. That should stop any annoying conflicts with border colors.