ToraBora "Sandbox Edition"

[Chill xl 10]

This map, inspired by the afghanistan mountain region ToraBora, is 100 square km and has altitudes ranging from aprox 2000 to 2750m. A remote and barren outback enviroment. The base of the map is the heightmap of my previous project Aiaktalik, altough reworked, tweaked and modified. The overall height of the map is reduced and roughened up. Also the sat map is completely redone to suit the Takistan textures i've used from OA. Furthermore all objects used so far are all from OA aswell, rocks, trees, bushes etc.

This Sandbox Edition is the first release of this ToraBora map. It's not finished yet, roads and more human features should still be added. It does however offer mission makers a sandbox environment to build upon. Mission makers could add outposts, bases and even villages with the appropriate modules like RTE etc. Apart from the vast humanly untouched terrain there are this time two villages to be found.

Download:

• The map is available on the excellent Six Updater Platform by Sickboy.
  (Check out the Six Updater Portal Site for the latest update, version, size and changelog information!)
  (Use this link to auto add it to the dynamic preset in six updater: sixupdater://mod=896a63c6-0dca-11e0-af75-001517bd964c
  
• FoxHound kindly published it on ArmaHolic: http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=12969
  

Edited May 14, 2011 by Chill xl

[AnimalMother92 10]

Looks beautiful, can't wait to try this after my holiday

[esco7800 10]

great been looking forward to this map

[maturin 12]

What's the acreage like?

[Chill xl 10]

The map is 10 x 10 km, no idea how that works out in acres.

[metalcraze 290]

10x10 is 100 square kms, not 10 btw.

[Psilocybe 3]

You gotta love when you say to yourself "I wonder how that torabora mod is coming along" and you check to see it's just been released!

Can't wait to dl this after work.

[pauliesss 2]

Thank you very much Chill, downloading now! :bounce3:

[ArmAriffic 10]

nice work m8

[SPC.Spets 21]

it looks Awesome!

[gnarly_rider 0]

Absolutely sensational! I especially love all the dead ground/hidden gulleys everywhere......

[mr. bravo 17]

Very beautiful massive landscape! Especially love the mountainchain and valleys :D Better stay on your route here or you'll be forever lost in the deserts :p

[Stagler 39]

Its really good Chill. Needs the villages and roads finished of course but the object placement on the villages already done is excellent.

[ei8ght 11]

superb map the only criticism which is always the same for me is that there is no large flat area to bases and airports, it will be really great to make a dozen area with flat areas without rocks and trees to allow people to ask them bases or cities like this below

thx for the map!=)

[Chill xl 10]

Tnx for all the feedback! I will consider each remark and see if it fits the map concept and i can do something with it.

Next minor version will have some objects locations tweaked (mostly rocks passage leading to the highest peak / plateau). Also will try to add some ponds here and there, it think this willl fit pretty good.

I have been messing around with roads prior to this release. Still need to learn alot there... However, as far as i know at the moment, i can only add Arma 2 roads making this map a Combined Ops map only (it now is only dependant on OA). Still not completely sure what to with this...

Then as far as the largen open / flat areas to build upon, i have a dillema here. One of the reasons for this map was the fact that mostly all other maps are small and urbanised. Meaning you never are really in a remote outback environment you always stumble upon another human thing. If i would add empty flat areas, it would be kinda weird compared to the rugged terrain it sits in. I mght aswell just add the bases / villages myself, but then im fighting my own concept.

Not sure where to go with this, need some more thinking here.

[Gruman 123]

Gave the map a little shot tonight, looks realy good. I just miss the big freaking mountain, but we have that on aiktalik allready, so nevermind :cool:.

The color looks more natural than aiktalik, thats great.

So there is no flat space for an airport or similiar? So we have to go outside the map again.

I saw that the big rocks are now destroyable (sinkable :rolleyes:). Looks wierd, but at least we can clear a field of rocks for a base :P (Bug or a feature?)

Thanks for your work :)

[Chill xl 10]

Gave the map a little shot tonight, looks realy good. I just miss the big freaking mountain, but we have that on aiktalik allready, so nevermind :cool:.

The color looks more natural than aiktalik, thats great.

So there is no flat space for an airport or similiar? So we have to go outside the map again.

I saw that the big rocks are now destroyable (sinkable :rolleyes:). Looks wierd, but at least we can clear a field of rocks for a base :P (Bug or a feature?)

Thanks for your work :)

The big mountain (whole map actually) has been reduced by 250m compared to the orginal, this makes all the slopes a little less steep and thus a bit more accessable. It still is a big mountain... Takistan slopes up from around 2200 to 2800, this map goes up fom 2100 to 2750 pretty sudden.

There's no real flat area, it is the outback / mountains, normally the army or whatever uses a chopper to get stuff to and from these sort of remote areas. I think though, you could get a small plane in the air on the plains in the south. Wear a helmet though :D

I didnt know the rocks where destroyable... just checked and other maps have the same. You could clea an area and build something there...

[Coffeecat 10]

Great job man!

I dont think its bad that there are no towns or anything. Thats why we have the townmodule. On the other side its not fully usable without having the option to export own created towns on the map. Setting Waypoints and stuff is nearly impossible sadly.

[Chill xl 10]

Tnx, fyi maybe u missed it but at the moment there are two villages present on this map.

We at 6th sense always play coop in "sandbox" mode, meaning i make the mission, on a map of choise, on the fly with the Six Battle Center. A highly configurable mission making tool, it makes for example use of DAC and RTE which allows me to place camps, objects etc on the fly and the DAC zones spawns enemy units and waypoints. This sandbox edition really fits this workflow as i can go anywhere i want with the mission. We almost never play a mission twice, each sunday a new flavor. :P

Edited December 22, 2010 by Chill xl

[dimitri_harkov 10]

Great map - many thanks!

I really like the sandbox approach. I wouldn't mind if it stays the way it is.

Cheers,

D.

[Chill xl 10]

The ToraBora "Sandbox Edition" map is now available trough the excellent Six Updater Platform by Sickboy.

The Six Battle Center, that comes with the ACE mod, will also be updated to be used with this map. You can now start mission making "sandbox" style on ToraBora!

Check out the Six Updater Portal Site for the latest update, version, size and changelog information!

Edited December 22, 2010 by Chill xl

[miles teg 1]

Tnx for all the feedback! I will consider each remark and see if it fits the map concept and i can do something with it.

Next minor version will have some objects locations tweaked (mostly rocks passage leading to the highest peak / plateau). Also will try to add some ponds here and there, it think this willl fit pretty good.

I have been messing around with roads prior to this release. Still need to learn alot there... However, as far as i know at the moment, i can only add Arma 2 roads making this map a Combined Ops map only (it now is only dependant on OA). Still not completely sure what to with this...

Then as far as the largen open / flat areas to build upon, i have a dillema here. One of the reasons for this map was the fact that mostly all other maps are small and urbanised. Meaning you never are really in a remote outback environment you always stumble upon another human thing. If i would add empty flat areas, it would be kinda weird compared to the rugged terrain it sits in. I mght aswell just add the bases / villages myself, but then im fighting my own concept.

Not sure where to go with this, need some more thinking here.

I understand what you're saying. But from the point of a mission maker trying to make realistic battle missions simulating the fighting that took place around Tora Bora, the map is rather limited without good areas to put bases in. If you just leave some flat empty places (no massive runways, just enough room for a fire-base and a couple of helipads), that should be enough.

Oh...also... I have yet to try the map yet, but from the pictures the mountains look a bit small. I'd recommend making them a bit bigger as the mountains in that area are quite large. Even better if you can work with some addon makers to create objects that function as caves custom fitted to parts of your map.

However if the goal is just to have a big open wild space, I'm afraid many mission makers will pass on your map if it's not as realistic as possible to that actual area of Afghanistan.

Anyways, aside from that it looks very nice and I congratulate you on all of the hard work you have done! Keep up the amazing work!

Chris G.

aka-Miles Teg<GD>

[pre-Vet 10]

Good map for some 2001-2003 OEF ops :)

And for wide open spaces, use the MOAB ;)

No srsly, there are plenty 10x10km parts in Afghanistan without bases, so dont worry about realism. Mission makers could just use a "Rest Over Night" location to start your operations from, just make a cirle from vehicles and you are done. put some sandbags and hescos in front of the vehicles and you have a COP. Most exstended operations use these kind of improvised strongholds as patrol bases.

[Chill xl 10]

I understand what you're saying. But from the point of a mission maker trying to make realistic battle missions simulating the fighting that took place around Tora Bora, the map is rather limited without good areas to put bases in. If you just leave some flat empty places (no massive runways, just enough room for a fire-base and a couple of helipads), that should be enough.

Well the map is inspired by, but was never intended to be a replica of the specific area. The map is however based on real heightdata, making the mountains as real as possible, just not "exactly" the Tora Bora mountains.

Oh...also... I have yet to try the map yet, but from the pictures the mountains look a bit small. I'd recommend making them a bit bigger as the mountains in that area are quite large.

I suggest to do some "walking" around this map and see how big the mountains really are. This is a hughe map for such a specific terrain, everything is much much farther away as it looks. The screens are all taken with a viewdistance of 10k, the mountains in the back are 750m high and slope up pretty fast... I have yet to see a map that features bigger or more realistic mountains then this map.

Anyway, tnx for the feedback!

[Stagler 39]

Chill. Your map of course. But howabout a rough dirt strip with no outbuildings or anything. Just a strip of worn dirt. Kind of like that on Shapur but less civilised, or on Ramadi from A1.