Never mind asking.
PS:
This is indeed not so super easy as maps in CUP are somewhat 'hidden' in SFS files.
Best way to enable a new sky texture would be find your map of choice in another install, copy its map folder over and add the entry for the sky manually.
Feel free to ask, if this is too complex.
Cheers
Tom2, you might be sorry you had told me to "ask". Now just let me get this straight and I will try to leave you alone. I now have a _Tex folder like you guys told me. But - I have a whole bunch of maps in WAW/Mapmods/Maps listed. Aren't they the ones that I would add the sky textures to instead of "copy its map folder over and add the entry for the sky manually" from another install as you said? Would they be different? Now I will restate - I can be a pain I know, but I really do appreciate your help and patience and I am trying to learn from you guys. It's just another sign of old age I guess. Thank you again.
'Ol Navy, never mind, in THIS case I am with you as eneabling such a sky texture needs understanding of
a) how to install and/or manipulate mapmods...
b) how to apply a dedicated "per map" mod to the somewhat hidden mapmods folders in CUP...as in C.U.P., default maps are inside the IL-2 Sturmovik 1946/SFS_MAPS folder.
There is no way to apply this fix for one of the non standard named sky textures to a map in CUP without first creating that specific map folder inside the module where you want to have the new sky tex...an example:
You want a new sky, let us say vp's new default
clouds256.tga in e.g. the SLOT map. This is also a good example, as the SLOT map was sort of renamed in Dark Blue World to something that makes any fix in a map called SLOT rather useless as the name does not fit (always DISLIKED the new naming conventions in mod packs).
Now, you need to have the SLOT map "load.ini", the file which defines which tgas, textures etc. will be used in that map.
YOu would have to extract that map, open the load.ini, and add: (In one of the multiple load inis of that map)
...
[APPENDIX]
HighClouds = Clouds256.tga HighCloudsNoise = CloudsNoise.tga
...
Plus put the texture you want to have in that map into
E.g.
IL-2 Sturmovik 1946\#WAW\MAPMODS\MAPS\_Tex
Where you have to create a MAPS/_Tex folder, aka two folders, if none is present.
Basically, forget it.
If you want a specific texture in one of your maps, let me know the map and I can see if I can extract it for you or not, but please not more than 1-3 maps.
Better:
Make yourself comfortable with how to add maps, then you will soon find these edits very piss easy to do, at the start you need to understand how maps work:
https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,37295.0.htmlPS:
TO be honest, while these new skies look fantastic from a screenshot perspective, ingame, I find some of this new look rather comic alike as the lower far horizon always stands through as contrast and the default IL-2 sunlighting gets somewhat interferred with, plus there is a rectangular pattern visible when you fly at high altitude often. Nevertheless I use some of the new beauties and handcrafted me some MTO/PTO versions from vpmedia's versions. In short, fantastic ideas but not without a price, at late noon I still find the default IL-2 light effects best. Nonetheless I love the idea to manipulate the old default IL-2 colours.