I've dusted off my old Campaign Eckmuhl mod, updated it with the improvements that went into my Campaign Leipzig and Campaign 1814 mods, made a few changes, and added a few new features.

And the big news is that thanks to The Big Red One from Task Force Echo Four, I didn't have to break it up into lots of tiny pieces, so you'll be able to download it in one shot.

So what's in this mod?

First, it uses a slightly modified version of Ezjax's 3D units and terrain.  The difference between my version of Ezjax and his original version is that I've made lower terrain elevations a darker green than the higher ones.  The units and bases are unchanged, but there's a blood/no blood option for casualties in case you don't want dead bodies cluttering up the battlefield (blood is the default option).

The 2D terrain is based on the summer terrain in my Leipzig mod, which is in turn derived from my Panzer Campaign mods.  The 2D unit symbols are essentially the same as those used in the original version of my Eckmuhl mod, though there have been a few improvements along the way (check out the victory flags).  The idea was to make the unit counters look like the symbols that you would see on a map illustrating one of the campaigns.

The mod uses the same unitbox conventions as my Leipzig and 1814 mods, but the images in the unitbox are Volcano Man's (with a few slight modifications) mounted on flags that were in use in 1809.  

Finally, I've kept most of the incidental artwork that went into my original Eckmuhl mod, though I'd present it a bit differently if I were doing the mod from scratch today.

Here are a few screenshots of what the current state of the Eckmuhl mod looks like:

And above all I'd like to extend a big thank you to The Big Red One for making it possible for to bring my older Napoleonic mods out of mothballs.  It's even more of a pain for me to break a mod up and upload it than it is for you to download a mod in a dozen pieces and have to reassemble them.

Here is the link for downloading this mod:

http://www.wargamer.com/forums/posts.asp?t=585826 

As everyone has probably noticed I update my mods fairly frequently, so it's not a bad idea to check it from time to time to see if the version number and upload date have changed.

There is an official patch for Campaign Eckmuhl in the works, and this mod is already largely compliant with what that patch will do to the game.  However, since it's hard to predict exactly what changes will or won't happen in the patch, it is almost certain that there will be another version of this mod after the patch comes out.  The changes won't be dramatic, will be generally hard to notice, and won't be as great as the ones that I'm expecting to see in the upcoming Wagram patch (which, in turn, will trigger a newer version of my Wagram mod).

I've never downloaded or installed a mod so excuse my ignorance but is there much to installing this mod?  Thanks.

Installation of my mods is always manual, but it's really not complicated at all.

I'll describe the installation experience.  Like swallowing, it's easier to do than to describe.

Start with a clean install of the game.  This part is easy if you've never used a mod before because what you have on your computer will, by definition, be a clean install.

Make sure that you have already installed the latest patch.  It's important to do your patching before you add in any mods because some patches add in revisions of HPS graphics files that will overwrite the mod graphics. 

Make a copy of the game before you add a mod to it.  This step is important, especially if you find that you either hate the way the mod looks on your system, or it doesn't run properly (that should only happen if you have a really old computer), or you want to figure out what changed and/or remember what things looked like before you started fiddling with the graphics.  The other reason you want to do this is in case you make some kind of mistake in installing the mod and need to start over.

There's a quick and easy way to do this, and it should work even if you aren't using Windows XP as your operation system.  (Note: I'm not a tech guru and I will continue using Windows XP until my system gives up the ghost and I'm forced to learn to use something else.  So my comments on how to do things are Windows XP-centric).  Find the folder with the game in it.  In Windows XP you would probably go to your C drive, then to Program Files, then to HPS Simulations.  I've heard tell that in Windows 7 it's not a good idea to put game programs in Program Files, so if you aren't using Windows XP the HPS Simulations folder is located somwhere else.  Go inside the HPS Simulations folder and find the folder for Campaign Eckmuhl (or whatever game you're doing this to).  Hover your mouse pointer over the Campaign Eckmuhl folder and right click.  From the menu that appears choose 'Copy' (about two thirds of the way down the list on my computer, mileage may vary). Then right click on an empty space (be sure your mouse is over an empty space and not a folder) and choose 'Paste' from the drop down menu that appears.  It might take a few seconds, but eventually a file named 'Copy of [whatever folder you were copying]' will appear.  If you happen to look inside of it the contents will be identical to what was inside the original folder (which, for the sake of argument, was probably Campaign Eckmuhl).

You've now backed up a plain vanilla copy of your game, and you're ready to roll.

Make a holding folder somewhere in you computer that's easy to find.  I usually do this on my desktop, and as a result I have the most cluttered desktop in the Western Hemisphere.  It doesn't matter what you name the folder, as long as it's distinctive and will help you remember what's inside of it.

Download the Campaign Eckmuhl mod and save it to the holding folder you just made.  What you will be a downloading will be a zip file with a name something like 'Eckmuhl Mod version 2.11'.  Do not under any circumstances download it to your HPS Simulations or Campaign Eckmuhl folder.  You're putting it in that holding folder so you can figure out what you're dealing with.

[If you've never downloaded anything manually before you should be aware that just before you do it you'll be confronted with a little menu that is asking you where you want to put the download.  You can navigate around in that menu until you find the spot where you want to save it.  Easiest place to find is your desktop, and that's why mine is hopelessly cluttered].

Unzip the zip file you just downloaded.  The reason you're doing everything inside a holding folder is so that, if something goes wrong, the files you unzip won't go scattering all over your computer.  So you shouldn't need to specify a location to unzip things to.  When you get out of the unzipping program, you should see a folder with the exact same name as the zip file you just unzipped. 

[I'm going to skip the part where I explain what to do if you can't unzip the zip file because you don't have Winrar or Winzip installed.  If that becomes an issue, ask about it, and I'll explain how to get a free, legal, and non-annoying version installed on your computer].

You should now be staring at a folder named Eckmuhl Mod version 2.11 (or something to that effect).

Inside that folder there should be another folder with an identical name.

Inside that folder there should be a folder and a text file.

The folder is named 'Campaign Eckmuhl', and the textfile is named 'READ ME (no kidding)'.

The readme file contains notes about the mod, instructions on how to install the mod, and instructions on how to use and install the desktop icon that is included with the mod.  I've included instructions on that because most people don't seem to know how to use them.

When you looked inside your HPS Simulations folder you probably noticed that there was a folder named 'Campaign Eckmuhl'.  If you right click on the 'Campaign Eckmuhl' folder in your mod folder (the one inside Eckmuhl Mod version 2.11 that we were just talking about), select copy from the drop-down menu, and then go to your HPS Simulations folder (e.g. C:\Program Files\HPS Simulations), you can right click on an empty space and select 'Paste' from the dropdown menu.  When asked if you want to overwrite anything make sure you say 'yes to all'.  

That's the long way of describing it, and despite the long, verbose description, there's really nothing to it.

The short way of describing it is to say that the folder structure of the mod exactly mimcs the folder structure of the game, so all you have to do to install the mod is to copy and paste the Campaign Eckmuhl folder from the mod to the inside of your HPS Simulations folder. 

That's probably the best answer to your question, but the problem is that if you've never done it before that answer will look like complete gibberish and computer double-speak.

So give it a try, and if you have trouble with it, don't be afraid to ask.  Chances are there are a couple of dozen people out there who are having the same problem but are too embarassed to say anything, so by asking you're doing everyone a favor.

The Eckmuhl mod has been updated to version 2.12a which includes a few small corrections and minor improvements.

The latest version can be downloaded here:

http://www.wargamer.com/forums/posts.asp?t=585826

A bit of housekeeping.

Although there have been a few updates since my last posting, the main update that will bring this mod into allignment with the new patch hasn't happened yet.

A few features of the other mods keep getting added to it (often without fanfare), and that's why the mod is currently up to version 2.13e.  As I continue to overhaul the other two mods in the series, small changes will keep showing up from time to time.  But the main event will be a revision of the parts of the 3D units that are probably showing up as purple outlines since the latest official patch.

I am currently working on Campaign 1814, redrawing and repainting the 3D unit bases and repositioning the units.   There are an awful lot of them, and because most of them have six different facings there are a whole bunch more.  The one consolation is that anything I do for Campaign 1814 effects three different mods (Leipzig, 1814, and one that can not be named).  When 1814 is done I plan to rework the Wagram mod, and because most of what gets done for Wagram will carry over to Eckmuhl, the Eckmuhl mod will come out shortly after that.

When the post-patch version of the Eckmuhl mod comes out I will make an announcement.  In the meantime the mod should work fairly well for most units,  though from time to time a 3D unit will show up as a purple outline and a unitbox image will either be wrong or missing.

The Eckmuhl mod has now been updated to version 3.1. This brings it in line with the latest patch which threw Ezjax's 3D units out of whack. So you shouldn't see any 3D units outlined in purple, or completely invisible except for their flag.

Here are some screenshots of the latest version of the mod:

The mod now includes most of the features that have been showing up in my other Napoleonic mods, including some new victory music.

You can download my Eckmuhl mod here:

 http://www.wargamer.com/forums/posts.asp?t=585826