6000km Map: Anybody want to work with this...?

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

I'm slowly developing the concept, and it works like a charm -- but -- it takes new methods and compromises, and some new challenging problems to be solved.

 

6000 "SF" kilometers. Should be near maybe 7-8000 km, so its not as off scale as stock SF maps. Terrain file sizes are...

 

HFD -- 68.6MB

TFD -- 25.7MB

 

 

Height map...

 

Working texture map...

Edited April 22, 2008 by Lexx_Luthor

[Stick 773]

Great place for the Siberian Sun Lexx.

[Silverbolt 104]

well i'd like to play in your map, but i think i cannot help since im completrly n00b

now siberia sun mod will have a apropriated terrain :rofl:

Edited April 22, 2008 by Silverbolt

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

Well, there's some issues.

 

(1) I only have blank terrain now...ie...solid colours, colour coded for terrain type, and their transitions. Blank tiles are required for proper zoomed out view of texture file in the TE, like the view shown above.

 

(2) KMD works like a champ, except there's a "bug" that drags unit icons off the map when the position X value exceeds about 2400km. The X position is corrrect, just the icon is missing and can't be worked with. I've been setting takeoff waypoints manually in the mission file by matching takeoff waypoints with airfields (which are also affected). But its not really a "bug" since I guess Kreelin nor anybody else expected this size map to be shoehorned into the SF series.

 

(3) Somewhere along the process, I lost some terrain elevation detail. The hills and mountains are not as "strong" as normal. However, a more recent paste of some Alaskan terrain into this map preserved great elevation detail. This is seen in the F-100 screenshot below, having just taken off from a base I setup in Alaska. I have to figure out where I lost this.

 

F-100s over Alaska. This elevation detail is good.

 

Yak-25 over Lake Baikal. I had to manually texture the land bridge to the island (a ten second process). This has less strong elevation as that more recent Alaska area addition.

 

The nice thing -- to reduce the map size on disk, I use a 1km height resolution which allows me to run a whopping 250km horizon distance, with an ATI-9200. The Yaks are at about 8km, yet no Combat Flight Sim Earth Pancake is visible.

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

Update -- actually, I can use KMD to set waypoints anywhere, including takeoff, but it requires a steady hand.

 

I initialize the aircraft at map left (X < 2400km) and drag it East. The icon vanishes off the left edge, but the mouse cursor is still there so I look at the KMD mouse cursor coordinates. If I get the cursor within a few km of the airfiled location specified in the DATA file, it all works. If I lose an aircraft waypoint, I manually set it to zero and it becomes visible again at the left edge. Eventually I hope ot have a campaign system for this map, so its not dependent on a mission editor. I don't know if TK's campaign generator would work here. I'd have to have a "frontline" almost surrounding the USSR in a circle. Is that possible?

[krfrge 742]

Wow!

 

Lexx

 

Great work.

 

1956 - Soviet response to US aggression in Europe. Soviets launch a surprise attack on the US. Of course, in a non-nuclear exchange.

[deep 5]

Beautiful! I love the atmosphere (no pun intended).

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

Thanks, but I need help making nice terrain tiles. I got the sky down, but I can't tile.

[GreyCap 0]

How perfect would this be for U-2 missions! :yes:

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

Kinda long. Maybe better with B-70.

 

I uploaded it, Terrain section, but the field is "white" so I don't know if it took.

[+76.IAP-Blackbird 3,545]

Damn this is long! Wow looks good!

[Silverbolt 104]

i know they're working on a new DBS terrain, but this one is really beautifull

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

A better view of blank tiles, including transition tiles. Beyond the Yak is the big "island" poking out into Lake Baikal. This island in particular, and Lake Baikal in general, I use as a standard for getting results I want. I had to hand tile the island and land bridge to get it right. The double size height map scale and tile size cause this requirement for hand tiling (takes about 10 seconds). The Auto Transition tiling takes care of the rest.

 

...altitude about 4 to 6 kilometers...

Edited April 24, 2008 by Lexx_Luthor

[+Viggen 523]

There are targets to yeah?

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

Targets are way in the future. It may be helpful to recall that 36 standard SF maps fit into this thing.

[GreyCap 0]

Targets are way in the future. It may be helpful to recall that 36 standard SF maps fit into this thing.

 

Great project Lexx! Please keep it up, I would help you big time if I knew a single thing about modding.

[kct 5]

In real-time, it would probably take several hours with a B-52 to fly to Russia via a plane from Japan.

 

I'm interested to see how this turns out.

Edited April 25, 2008 by kct

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

I forgot to mention the ideas for Texturelist came from the biomes.

 

World Biomes ~> http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htm

 

 

kct::

In real-time, it would probably take several hours with a B-52 to fly to Russia via a plane from Japan.

 

I'm interested to see how this turns out.

It would take very roughly about maybe close to 6 hours to cross the map. Say two hours in NGHENGO's WB-70 ..... "W" for WIP. Shucks it may need the space to turn around at Mach 3.

 

On the other hand, the PVO player would enjoy industry standard "combat flight sim" mission time, which is one good thing about the often limited endurance of Soviet interceptors under afterburner, Tu-128 excepted (two in WIP the last we heard). Setup with realistic fuel consumption, this sim is unique in offereing the greatest challenge in managing fuel in afterburner with classical jets, an age when both cars and missiles sported huge fins. According to Bill Gunsten, the Su-7 had about 6 minutes flying time in afterburner at low level.

[FastCargo 412]

You still working on this LL?

 

I've been finally working on the B-70 FM using the knowledge I gained working on the B-1B FM...the problem is I'm running into the borders on the normal maps. I've hit 3 of the 4 'edges' on the Desert terrain in the same flight within a few minutes (admittedly, that's at 8x speed, but still...).

 

Anyway, I think I need a bigger playground...

 

FC

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

That is obsolete but you can download it as a test map, with blank colour coded tiles (SF1) (6 Million Meter Map) See if it works. It has flattened airbases setup if I recall.

 

My chronic problem is I can't tile terrain worth a zinc nickel. Since then I am supposed to be working on a 10k map initially based off 3dem, infinitely more accurate, and containing LeMay's Ring of Fire surrounding USSR, last year...you remember...

 

Merry Christmas from North Pole #3

 

...that thing. If I were to upload it, it can only have blank tiles unless we poked around. I'd love to get back on this thing if can be useful to others, like a strategic level campaign, maybe with some compromise concepts to make it easily playable and enjoyable.###

 

Careful: KMD has a fascinating bug in the X map coordinate beyond about 2000km. You'll see it. I can work around it.

 

 

 

------

 

### footnote: I'm guessing a good computer SacSim would be halfway between an air combat JetSim and Silent Hunter games, detailed modelling of manning ECM gear, nav, bombing, in addition to the classical joystick. When you think about it, Silent Hunter is a strategic interception game, with unguided missiles, and guns on deck; something for everyone. Granted I never tried SH, but I've heard some about it.

[+PureBlue 71]

FC, I have a 1304km by 1304 if that works for you?

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

I think the new DBS map was over 2k, and with no tile left behind!!

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

FC did you see my reply attempt at the bottom of last page?

[FastCargo 412]

Lexx...yes, I did. I downloaded the terrain, just haven't had a chance to play with it yet.

 

Wait, I just noticed, the DBS map is fairly large as well?

 

FC

[Lexx_Luthor 57]

DBS about 2k I think.

 

But give 6k a shot and lemme know. I made it 1 SF ago. Nobody tried it I suppose.

 

 

"...will be done in 2 SF's."