SLX Desert Island Example

[Solus 1]

Hi, I tried using the OFP islands in version 1.01 when I first got ArmA but they always crashed the game so I put the project on hold for the time being. A few days ago Deanosbeano showed me a video of the OFP islands that he had found out worked in ArmA 1.05.5 beta and helped me figure out that something was changed in the latest patches that allows the OFP islands to be used in ArmA without crashing. However ArmA doesn't use the same way of texturing islands as OFP does so I had to figure out how to get the textures working, this addon is an example and explanation of how I did it.

Pictures:

Desert Island

OFP Intro

First Test

Downloads:

ArmedAssault.info Mirror: SLX_Desert_Island_Example.rar @ ArmedAssault.info

Armaholic.com Mirror: SLX_Desert_Island_Example.rar @ Armaholic.com

SLX_Desert_Island_Example.rar @ FileFront.com 9.2 MB

SLX_Desert_Island_Example.rar @ unbase.com 9.2 MB

From the readme:

This addon contains an example of the OFP desert island for ArmA. It uses satelite, mask, and detail textures from Sahrani lite.

How to get OFP .wrp islands into ArmA:

Apparently only ArmA versions 1.05.5 and greater are able to use the OFP version .wrp islands without crashing so make sure you are running ArmA with the latest beta patch. The islands should be usable right away from OFP, nothing has to be done to them to get them to work in 1.05.5+ but they won't be textured. To get island textures working in ArmA you need to hex edit the .wrp to make the texture paths pointing to .paa files point to .rvmat files. Remember that when hex editing a file you cannot add or delete any letters/numbers/characters so the path to the .paa files in the .wrp has to be the same length as the path to the .rvmat files you are going to use. For example,

"LandText\pi.paa" becomes

"SLX_Isl\1.rvmat" which is the same length, 15 characters.

In WrpTool you can replace the island's textures with other textures that have file name paths that are as long as you are going to need.

The .rvmat files are rapified text files, but ArmA doesn't seem to like reading them as plain text so you will also have to hex edit the .rvmat files to point to the paths of your textures. Since you can't change the lenghts of the paths in the .rvmat files you will have to make your texture and folder names the same length as the .rvmat path lengths.

You can unrapify the .rvmat textures with Kegety's unrap tool to make them more readable so you can see what you are trying to hex edit.

The different textures are:

m_XXX_XXX_lco.paa: These are mask textures, they determine where and which kind of detail textures to show when you get up close. The different colors in the mask texture are for different kinds of detail textures. The type of detail textures that the mask shows is determined elsewhere in the .rvmat.

s_XXX_XXX_lco.paa: These are satelite textures, they determine what the ground looks like from far away.

X_detail_co.paa: These are the detail textures that you see from close up to the ground. They show up on the parts of the mask texture that has the color they are configured for.

Naming of the satelite/mask textures:

The first set of numbers is the vertical row/strip, counting left to right.

The second set of numbers is the horizontal column, counting from top to bottom.

For example, in SaraLite 000_000 for the top left and 000_001 for the one to the south of that. 010_000 would be the top right. 000_010 would be the bottom left, and 010_010 would be the bottom right. 005_005 is the center.

ArmA satelite/mask texture .rvmat files seem to be set up to take up many .wrp texture cells, you will have to experiment yourself to find out exactly how many. Once you find out how many they take up you can texture .wrp cells of that size with different textures for each of those large cells so that you can have multiple satelite maps linked together. For example if they take up 9x9 .wrp cells you can texture those 9x9 .wrp cells with the same texture, then the next 9x9 cells with another texture and hex edit the textures to have different .rvmat files so that you can define a different satelite/mask texture for each one.

You will also have to experiment with .p3ds in .wrps to find out how to place them to fit in ArmA.

Also there's a landGrid setting in the config that should be set to the scale the island grid is at.

Some useful tools to use in making ArmA islands:

WrpTool

PaN-Tool

unRap

Hex editor

cpbo

PboX

If anyone wants to host the file they can. Anyone can use the example config to make their own addons. The pbo should be able to be extracted with most pbo tools.

The island and textures are only for example purposes.

Thanks to Deadeye with ArmedAssault.info and El nino Foxhound with Armaholic.com for the mirrors!

[smiley nick 51]

Thanks Solus, you are my hero

[bravo 6 0]

weeee

another great work from Solus

[ravendk 25]

What a guy!

[VaiHalen 0]

So we can expect custom islands in Arma soon... This is a major breakthrough! Excelent as always Solus

[paragraphic l 2]

I guess it's still not that easy to do, unless they don't need costum textures but it looks like it's going to be a hell of a job without the tools. There are 2 islands released atm and both with desert textures, so unless the Malden island will be released I won't expect to see more islands soon.

Still great job Solus, as always

[buliwyf 4]

Great news! Thank you!

[eJay 1]

But new island looks ugly, really ugly. No offence, this is great news, but...it looks ugly

Wait for tools.

[Undeceived 392]

I LOVED this intro from OFP!!! :-)

Great work!

[Snake Man 401]

Island texturing looks great, you did a nice job with it. And I especially appreciate the way you explained the basic texturing method here, its very nice of you, thank you.

[R0adki11 3945]

So now it looks like we can have the CWC islands and Nogova in Arma

[[aps]gnat 28]

Great work Solus! Thanks very much for sharing

[DarkGiver 0]

But new island looks ugly, really ugly. No offence, this is great news, but...it looks ugly  

Wait for tools.

Did you read this sentence ? :

"The island and textures are only for example purposes."

Using this method we can of course do better textures...

If you want to always wait the tools, you will never do anything....  

Fortunately... we are many to try to make with what is available...

Congratulation Solus... very good job... another great step for the community

[NeilReed101 0]

Nice work Solus, (and all who helped) you must be one the most hard working members of the community, every body said it was impossible without the tools , but yet again your work, is groundbreaking, as with slx ,.

p.s is their any hope of seeing a version of slx in arma maybe using some of the different types of scripts other people have allready released ?

regards Neilreed101

[lee_h._oswald 0]

Great, I love the old desert island intro.

Nice work!

MfG Lee

[Frantic 0]

WOW...

great job!!!

Looking forward to see the old OFP islands in ArmA soon!

[Deadeye 1]

I love Desert Island. Thx

BTW: Solus could you delete a few PMs? You inbox is full.

Cheers

[Solus 1]

Thanks, everyone!

NeilReed101: ArmA SLX is in the works, maybe I'll try putting some more screen shots up somewhere.

ofpdeadeye: Sorry about that! I hadn't checked how many I had left in a while. :/

Edit: I've cleared out some old PM's so there's free space now.

[Shins 0]

Top work guys. Now all we need is someone to rework the ECP prequel to this intro (I loved that reference from ECP)

[HDlaeppli 0]

for such a thing I waited. very good work, thanks for that.

[luemmel 20]

thx, very good work!

i hope this example will generate the snowball-effect. please say that everon will also be possible.

i am looking forward to your next working title.

[Commando84 0]

the AEC islands conversion for arma with nogova now included maybe

[R0adki11 3945]

AEC plus Nogova i think that would need a monster of a computer

But it would be cool though

[mcnools 62]

AEC plus Nogova i think that would need a monster of a computer

But it would be cool though

why should it? I mean, Sahrani is bigger and more detailed.

[luki 53]

Thx Solus