(format and content of this thread shamelessly plagiarised from Korath's 1.0 announcement)
(as you may notice, much of this information is out of date, since parts of the GUFSM have been included in standard EU2 and Birger Jarl has released GUFSM 1.2, though not yet in complete form. MKJ has also put out some updated 8-bit flags. I will try and update the information here if I get round to it, but I think the ideal solution would be if Birger started a new thread...)
The Grand Unified Flag/Shield Mod
Download: GUFSM 1.1e (~5mb) (or the zip version, ~10mb [EDIT: Sorry, no longer available until I find some more webspace])
This is most recent release of the now venerable graphics modification for EU2, the GUFSM (Grand Unified Flag/Shield Mod, pronounced 'gum'). It replaces all the flags and shields in the game with ones that are not only more historically accurate, but also look much better because they use 24-bit instead of 8-bit colour.
Those responsible for this work of art are the project leader Birger Jarl, along with Mad King James, Iostephanos, and Korath, and contributions from Trajanus, Walter Hawkwood, Txini, and St. Leo. The person posting this only zipped a whole lot of files together and mangled some of these words.
Questions
How do I install it?
Run the executable, tell it to extract the files in your Europa Universalis II directory. Enjoy the new flags and shields!
Hey, the flags don't dim in the fog of war area (when the bits of the EU2 map you can't see get shaded). What's up?
This is an unfortunate side-effect of using 24-bit flags; some people like it, some people hate it. The ideal solution would be to petition Johan to support 24-bit dimming, or even better, to include the GUFSM in an official patch as well (see this petition). If they can include those two enormous mp3 tracks, why not some more updated graphics? At the moment, however, you'll either have to put up with it or download MKJ's 8-bit GUFSM Flags, which are not quite up to date (1.0).
I'm worried about what these will look like, and don't want to download something huge, replace my current files, and then find I hate them and have to reinstall EU2!
Well, you should backup your existing flag and shield files (copy the gfx/map/shields and gfx/map/flags directories somewhere safe) before installing. There are also previews for 1.0 and the 1.1 update.
I already have the GUFSM 1.0; do I really have to download all this stuff?
Nope! This download is for those who have nothing; if you already have 1.0, check out Birger Jarl's Version 1.1 update and unzip that over the top of your older shields and flags. Remember to rename the HRE files to HEI, though, and if you download the 4 extra shields mentioned in the 1st post (included in this release) you have to manually move each of their files to the appropriate directories.
Why are there two different downloads?
So Mac users can enjoy the GUFSM too! The ~5mb one is compressed with 7-zip (not available on the Mac), while the ~10mb one is in the more standard ZIP format (which everyone should be able to deal with). Both come packaged with a Windows self-extractor if you're happy about running files from the internet... the second one just needs to have a .exe added to the end. Of course, this is not applicable to Mac users, who will have to use StuffIt or similar to extract.
Is this compatible with the EEP and/or the AGC?
Short answer here is yes, they'll work fine. Longer answer: the AGC and EEP introduce new countries to the game, and change the countries represented by existing tags. The GUFSM does not have flags/shields for these new countries - it is designed for total compatibility with standard EU2. However, because the AGC and EEP install in a 'moddir', they install their new flags/shields in a different place, effectively supplanting the GUFSM flags which are now 'incorrect' (just as the standard flags are supplanted). There also won't be problems with any other moddir users, such as the Age of Nationalism.
You didn't answer my question.
Ask away!
(as you may notice, much of this information is out of date, since parts of the GUFSM have been included in standard EU2 and Birger Jarl has released GUFSM 1.2, though not yet in complete form. MKJ has also put out some updated 8-bit flags. I will try and update the information here if I get round to it, but I think the ideal solution would be if Birger started a new thread...)
The Grand Unified Flag/Shield Mod
Download: GUFSM 1.1e (~5mb) (or the zip version, ~10mb [EDIT: Sorry, no longer available until I find some more webspace])
This is most recent release of the now venerable graphics modification for EU2, the GUFSM (Grand Unified Flag/Shield Mod, pronounced 'gum'). It replaces all the flags and shields in the game with ones that are not only more historically accurate, but also look much better because they use 24-bit instead of 8-bit colour.
Those responsible for this work of art are the project leader Birger Jarl, along with Mad King James, Iostephanos, and Korath, and contributions from Trajanus, Walter Hawkwood, Txini, and St. Leo. The person posting this only zipped a whole lot of files together and mangled some of these words.
Questions
How do I install it?
Run the executable, tell it to extract the files in your Europa Universalis II directory. Enjoy the new flags and shields!
Hey, the flags don't dim in the fog of war area (when the bits of the EU2 map you can't see get shaded). What's up?
This is an unfortunate side-effect of using 24-bit flags; some people like it, some people hate it. The ideal solution would be to petition Johan to support 24-bit dimming, or even better, to include the GUFSM in an official patch as well (see this petition). If they can include those two enormous mp3 tracks, why not some more updated graphics? At the moment, however, you'll either have to put up with it or download MKJ's 8-bit GUFSM Flags, which are not quite up to date (1.0).
I'm worried about what these will look like, and don't want to download something huge, replace my current files, and then find I hate them and have to reinstall EU2!
Well, you should backup your existing flag and shield files (copy the gfx/map/shields and gfx/map/flags directories somewhere safe) before installing. There are also previews for 1.0 and the 1.1 update.
I already have the GUFSM 1.0; do I really have to download all this stuff?
Nope! This download is for those who have nothing; if you already have 1.0, check out Birger Jarl's Version 1.1 update and unzip that over the top of your older shields and flags. Remember to rename the HRE files to HEI, though, and if you download the 4 extra shields mentioned in the 1st post (included in this release) you have to manually move each of their files to the appropriate directories.
Why are there two different downloads?
So Mac users can enjoy the GUFSM too! The ~5mb one is compressed with 7-zip (not available on the Mac), while the ~10mb one is in the more standard ZIP format (which everyone should be able to deal with). Both come packaged with a Windows self-extractor if you're happy about running files from the internet... the second one just needs to have a .exe added to the end. Of course, this is not applicable to Mac users, who will have to use StuffIt or similar to extract.
Is this compatible with the EEP and/or the AGC?
Short answer here is yes, they'll work fine. Longer answer: the AGC and EEP introduce new countries to the game, and change the countries represented by existing tags. The GUFSM does not have flags/shields for these new countries - it is designed for total compatibility with standard EU2. However, because the AGC and EEP install in a 'moddir', they install their new flags/shields in a different place, effectively supplanting the GUFSM flags which are now 'incorrect' (just as the standard flags are supplanted). There also won't be problems with any other moddir users, such as the Age of Nationalism.
You didn't answer my question.
Ask away!
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