Schmalfelden, Germany Map

[W0lle 1052]

New textures are much better now then they were before, no more almost snow white textures.

Performace inside the woods is still terrible (but no wonder if you have an ancient GF7800 AGP).

Outside the woods, looking at them seems to be slightly better.

Overall you made some good progress here.

Edit:

Two problems with the ponds.

The one in Speckheim, seen from the road:

The one at the area north of Schmalfelden:

The rocks near the water have a blueish color. This problem exists at both ponds, the big and the small one.

[mr burns 132]

Also, anyone willing to share their mission(s) with me? I don't have much time for "fun" since I am working on the map, but would appreciate seeing the map from your perspective, so to speak. Thanks.

I´ll see if i can finish one quickly, but dont expect much more than "go in & kill everybody" with a pinch of nasty surprises.

Maybe wolle is willing to convert his VBS2 mission for us to ArmA

Performace inside the woods is still terrible (but no wonder if you have an ancient GF7800 AGP).

Outside the woods, looking at them seems to be slightly better.

Exactly the same here

[Panther77 0]

Excellent work!

Something about the town signs and Leitpfosten: The current signs are not the same as during WWII, so it would be a good idea to make two version of Schmalfelden map - one pre-1945 and one Y2K-Version to play different missions on it.

edit:

Missions on Schmalfelden map? There about 10 MP missions on timeghost.de ArmA server

[[GLT] Legislator 66]

1. Performance is very good now (40 to 60++) although at 4 km viewdistance there were some 20 fps phases while flying around with an ah-1z.

2. I got stuck in the lake after driving into it I couldn't swim, the water disappeared and I stand 5 metres above ground.

3. I'm eager to see some german objects in one of the next releases Yellow mailboxes, pink telephone cells, german advertising on walls, something like that.

4. Some auntumn trees would be cool.

5. Those ArmA standard buildings ... well ... I can live with them, but I think they ruin the map somehow Would be nice to have a second version with custom buildings (QG + Community objects).

In short words: very very very good work

[mr burns 132]

Counter Strike - Schmalfelden

^^ Command 4 M1A1 + 2 Stryker + 2 Vulcan and 2 infantry squads to recapture 3 towns from the bad bad SLA.

Mission uses DAC by Silola and Minefield script by kronzky

It´s been made in favor of SP and my weak computer, but should also work and give enough of a challenge for up to 20 players in Coop.

Not really tested .. 0500 over here

[Juan 0]

This map reminds me of "Band of brothers".

This is great.

[W0lle 1052]

Also, anyone willing to share their mission(s) with me? I don't have much time for "fun" since I am working on the map, but would appreciate seeing the map from your perspective, so to speak. Thanks.

I´ll see if i can finish one quickly, but dont expect much more than "go in & kill everybody" with a pinch of nasty surprises.

Maybe wolle is willing to convert his VBS2 mission for us to ArmA

rgr

Speckheim Skirmish

Converted and done a quick test @ 7:00am.

[alext223 0]

Very cool map dude! A definite CWR map! Just how many tanks can I fit on the map and still get a decent FPS? Cheers man. Keep up the good work.

Alex.

[MEDICUS 0]

After some short testing:

* Performance inside/near woods is slightly better, but still very low.

* Problem with the ponds (still mentioned)

* Hovering houses in Schmalfelden (Obj-ID: 99337 & 99336)

* Some houses are placed "too high". It's sometimes possible to enter them by foot, but it's not possible to drive a car into them (Hangars/Garages).

Locations:

Grossbaerenweiler - Obj-ID: 129048 & 120110

Speckheim - Obj-ID: 37797

Wolfskreut - Obj-ID: 293896

Kleinbaerenweiler - (as good as all Hangars) Obj-ID: 4927, 4930, 39559, 191680 & 294791

* Some misplaced road poles at the t-junktion in Heufelwind (Ea45) and in Wolfskreut (Di19/20). Also check Eh33, the crossroad at Be42 and Dh31/32

* Broken road-section in Eb23

(If the Obj-IDs don't help, give me a hint and i'll post screens of the different locs.)

Really great work so far. Love the atmosphere in the villages.

Keep it up!

MfG, Medicus

[oldy41 61]

Great and beautiful map!

It really looks like the real stuff around here! ;-)

But please:

Do NOT put traffic signs, advertisings or the like on it, which were specific to a certain period.

I would rather keep the map open for both WWII and CWC and later missions.

Best regards

A.

[Undeceived 392]

But please:

Do NOT put traffic signs, advertisings or the like on it, which were specific to a certain period.

Yes, this is right. Would it be possible to make two versions?

Thx again, Nicholas!

[Daniel 0]

Got a bush in the middle of the road at the junction in DJ 07.

[oldbear 390]

Mirror updated on Armed Assault.info :

http://www.armedassault.info/index.php?cat=islands&id=30

[Nicholas Bell 0]

Thanks for the missions - hope to try them this week. And I am working on correcting those mistakes revealed. I appreciate the pointers, while wondering how I missed them. I know the broken road was fine in Buldozer, so I'm wondering what the heck happened. No excuses.

Not sure if I can get every hanger & barn to be able to be entered by vehicles. The buildings are limited to the amount of slope they can handle. I can sink the buildings and give them "mesto" texture floors (ie gravel). Flattening the terrain is what I should have done initially before placing the buildings, but I was learning as I went along. Flattened the terrain now can introduce problems to buildings and roads in the vicinity which are worse than the original problem. The map elevations are based on a 10 meter grid which makes it difficult to fine tune. I will do what I can.

The problems with the ponds are also a result of the 10 meter grid. I could "fix" the problem by making them larger, but then they wouldn't be the correct size. To me, they are there for looks, not swimming . When I release the map source files you can alter them to suite your needs.

Regarding German signs, mailboxes, etc - I am not a modeler. I can repaint existing signs (or at least I think I can - but I'm starting to doubt that...) but unless someone with modeling experience can send me the files which will work in Visitor, there will not be anything "new" or specifically German on this map. I apologize for my limited skills and lack of time to learn 3D modeling. From what I have picked up modeling objects is quite an undertaking itself -and there's little room for artistic license.

As for including or not including certain things/having multiple versions - I am not against doing this to a limited degree. Limited. Fortunately one of the few things Visitor makes easy is deleted objects from the map, or exchanging them for others. So if there is something specific you want in a version - please provide the model. For example deleting the road signs is a simple matter. Exchanging the summer trees for autumn trees is likewise easy. Beyond these minor changes I will let others do the work. As I said earlier I will release the source files so others can muck around in Visitor to their heart's content - while I work on a different new map perhaps.

So the plan remains:

1. Concurrently work on fixing problems, adding stock Arma objects, and cutting down the number of trees to help increase frame rates. (hey, a pun )

2. Attempt to repaint existing ArmA signs and integrate.

3. When the map is "done", then provide a limited number of easy to do alternate versions.

Somewhere in there I hope to find some time to create and play a few missions myself.

[[kh]jman 49]

Download Mirror: Kellys Heroes

Schmalfelden

[mrcash2009 0]

Great stuff, havent got home to try this latest update but progress is progress.

Sounds great about passing the source to other modders, that way the map will have a large lifetime becuase then people with specific requirements or other coversion mods can package it with relevant timeframe extras like signs, and additional parts. I think thats a great attitude to have in a modding community, no ego, just great source to help others and originate ... all good in my book

If you do another map, check out areas in Wiltshire within the UK, stone henge / avebury ... some real nice areas to moddel a map on ... would be very nice and again, very original too.

http://photos.jibble.org/albums....ook.jpg[

[Panther77 0]

At first a problem i faced yesterday in v0.81: The red reflector posts (=Leitpfosten) are on the right side of the road, the white on the left. Thats strage. Nevertheless, the reflector post model used is a Czech one, not German. The German ones are described here: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leitpfosten (linked in a previous post i know), the image in the upper right corner describes the placement.

Metrics: http://elib.uni-stuttgart.de/opus/volltexte/2003/1520/pdf/DIP-2073.pdf Page 6

A few valuable links concerning traffic signs during WWII:

http://www.themt.de/org-1170-49.htm (german)

http://www.fh-merseburg.de/~nosske/EpocheII/vk/e2v_stvo.html (german)

The essence: In 1934, most of the signs that are still valid were introduced. Design has changed a little (e.g. trains and cars icons were modernized). And there was not STOP-sign in 1934. The stop sign introduced in 1938 had a blue filling (http://www.hs-merseburg.de/~nosske/EpocheII/vk/e2v_vs5.html)

The road reflector posts were first introduced in 1957 i think. But i'm not sure, photos should help.

A suggestion to increase performance and the degree of realism: A reduction of the tree count in forest by 50% in addition with lines of bushes inside and surrounding it. This way it would be impossible to see troops inside the forest from outside.

http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bild:Goemnigk_field2.JPG

http://www.plattapussenta.ch/WaldrandTeit.JPG

http://www.wald.de/wp-content/uploads/waldrand.jpg

http://www.wzw.tum.de/wdl....and.jpg

[MEDICUS 0]

Just started a night map and realised that there are no (well .. actually i found a small one as a gardenlight) streetlights in the towns.

Any chance to add some? Would add a lot of atmosphere.

(The small one like the one in the garden should even fit the space of time (193*-2008))

MfG, Medicus

[Nicholas Bell 0]

Quote[/b] ]If you do another map, check out areas in Wiltshire within the UK, stone henge / avebury ... some real nice areas to moddel a map on ... would be very nice and again, very original too.

Beautiful countryside. Bet the frame rates would be horrible too!

Quote[/b] ]At first a problem i faced yesterday in v0.81: The red reflector posts (=Leitpfosten) are on the right side of the road, the white on the left. Thats strage. Nevertheless, the reflector post model used is a Czech one, not German.

Yes, you are right, they are not correctly set. The double reflectors should be on the left side. However, the black chevron correctly points down to the road. So half right, half wrong. Most importantly, the Visitor Avenue Script which sets these in place puts them the way they are shown. Impossible for me to fix this - I'm too stupid to understand scripting code. But I bet some intelligent fellow could work out a Visitor script which could rotate all specified objects 180 degrees, which will set the reflectors on the correct side.

Quote[/b] ]A suggestion to increase performance and the degree of realism: A reduction of the tree count in forest by 50%

The process I outlined above and am currently working is reducing the tree count in any one forest to 50-60% of the original version. The woods in the center of the map in v0.81 are examples of this process. Much fewer trees and they will just be bumpy golf coarses

Quote[/b] ]in addition with lines of bushes inside and surrounding it. This way it would be impossible to see troops inside the forest from outside.

Nice photos. That is what I would really like to do, but this will offset any FPS gain from eliminating trees. I plan on experimenting to see which bushes create the greatest concealment with the lowest loss of FPS before going crazy with this. The long sideways zig-zag shaped treeline in the center of the map is an example of bushes and trees which was what I originally intended to do. I have not done any missions involving that treeline with the bushes to see the impact on FPS. Anyone notice any noticeable lag in that area?

[malick 0]

I could test this map yesterday : it's a very nice representation of a central european country, with an excellent (i.e. real) road system. The looks of the villages are really nice, with small farms and a church.

As previously stated, FPS can be largely optimized by reducing the tree count, replacing 25% of the trees with bushes and deleting another 25%.

Any plans to extend the map ? Like adding a river with bridges, some hills, a larger town, etc... This would make this map a must !

Anyway, it's a very nice job !

Malick

[Panther77 0]

Another consideration of the tree count:

The trees look fairly small. The beech is the dominant tree in German deciduous forests, with a typical height of 25-35m (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fagus_sylvatica). Some pictures that are "typical" or "representative" in my opinion:

http://www3.lanuv.nrw.de/static....mer.jpg

http://www.bogon-naturfoto.de/Nationa....261.jpg

http://www3.lanuv.nrw.de/static....ald.jpg

Let's get mathematical:

An increase in height by 25% of all trees covers an area of 156%, so the tree count can be reduced by 36% to preserve the current density.

An increase in height by 50% of all trees covers an area of 225%, so the tree count can be reduced by 56% to preserve the current density.

An increase in height by 75% of all trees covers an area of 306%, so the tree count can be reduced by 67% to preserve the current density.

An increase in height by 100% of all trees covers an area of 400%, so the tree count can be reduced by 75% to preserve the current density.

[LastNinja9 0]

The BEST MAP EVER !!

and i LOVE the dense forests.

If there is another map with less trees, pls keep the old one.

It rocks ! Than you !

[Nicholas Bell 0]

Quote[/b] ]Let's get mathematical:

An increase in height by 25% of all trees covers an area of 156%, so the tree....

Panther77-

I'm ahead of you on that - I increased the tree sizes when I began redoing the forests. Visitor allows for randomizing object size, but because it requires input of the size less than 100 percent and another more than 100 percent, it's not possible to create trees that are, for example, 130 to 150%. Instead, the highest minimum size value can be 100%. To wit, I have the trees being created randomly between 100-150 percent of the model size.

I've eliminated several tens of thousands of trees and am continuing to see improved frame rates. My static test where I am in a field looking at woods from about 1 km distance has now increased from the original 30-31 to 50-55. Close in the woods the FPS is in the 30-40 range. Hopefully others who are suffering low frame rates will see some improvement too.

I'm also continuing to fix problems, add objects of interest, and tweak the satellite image. I plan to post another interim update this weekend.

[MEDICUS 0]

I've eliminated several tens of thousands of trees and am continuing to see improved frame rates. My static test where I am in a field looking at woods from about 1 km distance has now increased from the original 30-31 to 50-55. Close in the woods the FPS is in the 30-40 range. Hopefully others who are suffering low frame rates will see some improvement too.

I'm also continuing to fix problems, add objects of interest, and tweak the satellite image. I plan to post another interim update this weekend.

Good news!

[Daniel 0]

I take it by update you mean a new version of the map?