Issue when compiling terrain from TB to ArmA 3

[Sgt H. Taylor 10]

Hey, all, I hope you will be able to help me gain some understanding here. I have an issue when compiling terrains that I have been unable to resolve through research. At a guess, I probably have something wrong in my mapframe size ratios, but having mostly followed tutorials and having little documentation online to work with on this, I don't know what. So:

This is what my real-world-grabbed terrain looks like in TB:

http://puu.sh/cXnnF/9334e44c56.jpg

The following shots are of my current TB mapframe values:

http://puu.sh/cXnoM/da399c4fc6.png

http://puu.sh/cXnp3/b653b55320.png

NOTE: those values and that terrain are edits to generate square numbers in the values- my original terrain size of 28388 had some wonky stuff like a cell size of 27.72 that I read would generate errors (so I figured the following error was exactly this). Eventually I need to figure out how to ratio it out so the terrain matches real-world scale in game, but for now, I just want to get a test terrain compiled successfully.

The problem is, when I compile this successfully using PBOProject (as recommended by the helpful people here), this is what the editor gives me:

http://puu.sh/cXnuL/9d2c0eb374.jpg

a lightly rolling landscape 1024x1024m in size with no features and a strangely high average elevation.

In-game, this just looks like a murky tan undulating mass that is so resource-intensive my ArmA starts crying in pain and trying to hang up. I can't find any comparable issues on here to reference, and I with my limited knowledge have no idea what's going on. Please, o great and wise BI veterans, what in the heck did I do?

NOTE: I've messed around with this a fair amount, trying to square things up and ensure I have whole numbers and sensible stuff showing up, including a good representation in Buldozer (it does load and show correctly there). No luck when compiling.

Edited November 19, 2014 by spartancain

[Vcz 10]

strangely high average elevation.

In you'r config.cpp change the "elevationOffset = 2000;" to "elevationOffset = 0;"

I didn't see you'r normal sat image in TB, maybe it's you'r problem.

[m1lkm8n 410]

Can you take a shot of your processing tab as well. Plus post your island configs via pastebin.

As far as your samplers tab goes, in the section that says sat/surface mask you have 1024x1024 which makes every pixel of your sat image and layer mask cover 27 in game meters which by all accounts is terrible :)

I would suggest you try to match it to at least 1:1. Which in your case would be an image that 27648x27648.

As far Normal sat images they aren't needed as long as you export , 6 ground surfaces selection, in fact I would even suggest you don't use them. A well designed mco texture will look better in game. The sat normals look a little overdone from my experience. But try it and see for yourself once you get things straitened out.

Also you only need one map frame. Delete the other one and make sure the setting are correct in the one that you didn't delete then hit rebuild terrain in the processing tab before you export the wrp and sat/layer masks

[Sgt H. Taylor 10]

This is just outstanding, you guys have been really fast and helpful. Vcz, didn't even notice that. Thank you. A lot of these tutorials do a great job of walking you through what to do, but leave you with an uncomfortable lack of understanding what things mean and what you can do with them, which is definitely where my problem arises here, and these responses are great.

Thanks as well, Milkman, I've ditched the sat layer. I think Fallujah is the only map I've had any affection for that I noticed had a sat base, and that was a bit.. odd. You're certainly right I think, if I spend the time to do my masking correctly and generate a decent mco, that'll take care of it. As far as that goes, I'm not at that computer right now, but I'll see later if I can export the heightmap and use the image as the base for a custom mask once I fix some of the terrain issues I now see.

Speaking of which, I think a combination of three things fixed my problem:

1) fixing that dang offset

2) deleting that extra mapframe likely helped

3) since I started using PBOProject, it created an addons folder under my staging folder and crunched into that rather than directly to the staging folder, so I wasn't even copying the right PBO into my @mod folder to test. A bit embarassing, but the result:

MY TERRAIN COMPILES CORRECTLY! I can now load it into editor correctly, spawn, and now see from ground level the issues there are with it. From here, I'm sure I will have some more questions for the wise folks on here as I continue to work my way through, but for now this particular problem has been fixed in style. Thank you both for your prompt assistance!

[m1lkm8n 410]

Sounds good. One thing tho. You mean you'll ditch the normals sat layer correct? Not the regular satellite Map...that is actually needed :)

[Sgt H. Taylor 10]

Sounds good. One thing tho. You mean you'll ditch the normals sat layer correct? Not the regular satellite Map...that is actually needed :)

Well now that you mention it, I guess that's exactly what I mean haha. I wasn't previously aware there was a difference! (I only had one sat layer as far as I know- the generated one from L3DT that shows in the Raster Layers menu, as that was what was used in the tutorial and I just wanted to figure it out before jumping in with both feet)

EDIT:

Having figured out some more on this topic... I don't have a normals layer, do I? I don't think I do, I think I just have the sat map..

Edited November 20, 2014 by spartancain