New Terrain: New Guinea to Rabaul

[bbosen]

Thanks for your help everybody. Here's my newest terrain.


JPG:  http://snowplow.org/bobbosen/AcesHigh/Terrains/NGuinea2.jpg

RES:
http://snowplow.org/bobbosen/AcesHigh/Terrains/NGuinea3.res





You can also get my "Solomon Islands" map nearby:

http://snowplow.org/bobbosen/AcesHigh/Terrains/




And I have a few movies:

http://snowplow.org/bobbosen/AcesHigh/promo





All developed in the lab shown here:

http://snowplow.org/bobbosen/fslab





Regards,


-Peabody-

[bbosen]

Oops!  Looks like that first link should be:

http://snowplow.org/bobbosen/AcesHigh/Terrains/NGuinea2.JPG

[kanttori]

Nice maps! Couple of questions:

1) Are all those airfields and targets historical?
2) Are the maps' scales 1:1?
3) Have you contact CT staff with these maps? I think Combat Theater needs these very much if they are historical!:aok

I asked Dux if he makes the new clipboard maps to your maps. One tip: when you are creating map (I mean clipboard map) with the Terrain Editor use the "Time" button and adjust the time as late evening (almost dark). Then create the map and edit it more bright for ex. with Photo Shop using contrast and brightness.

If you follow those instructions there are not any sun reflex in the middle of the map and also the hills and mountains are shaded: the clipboard map looks very good after it!

[bbosen]

Thanks Kanttori.

The names and relative locations of all bases are historical, using American names in some cases and Japanese names in others.

The Solomon Islands map is close to 1:1 in scale.

The New Guinea map is approximately 2:1 in scale.

I have made no direct contact with CT staff.

I'll try out your suggestions to get lighting and shading prettier in my next revisions.



Regards,



-Peabody-

[kanttori]

Ok!

I send message to Dux, the Big Boss of our Terrain Team.

He's going to visit in this thread soon. I also inform CT staff from the New Guinea map.

I just checked it very quicly Off line and it looks good. Couple of landscape hint: use more textures to make the landscape alive. For ex. use "Farm" tile when there are inhabited areas on the coastlines. I know the houses are not looking like as "New Guineans", but after we have the "Customize friendly" Terrain Editor update Squirrel can make better tectures to this map!

Are the elevations from satellite data? I noticed that couple of mountains were about 15 000 feet alt, so have you doubled the elevations?

[Reschke]

Bbosen would it be possible to shift that map of New Guinea a bit to the East in order to include the northern solomons area and Bougainville? If so that could open up a huge selection of possible setups for us in the CT.

As for the New Guinea as you have it now I will check it and see what I can do to hurt the map. I have a few setups that could work on that map as it is now. Thanks for the nice looking map.

[bbosen]

The elevations and geography of both maps come from satellite date. Elevations have NOT been doubled.

I have paid no attention to "strat".

I will consider making another New Guinea map shifted farther east to include Bougainville, but I don't have a lot of time. This could take awhile....


-Peabody-

[kanttori]

Bbosen: make the adjusments to landscape and I can create a simple strat system to your New Guinea map, if CT staff really wants this map!

[Reschke]

I want the map Kantorri. Heck that should be enough of the CT Staff right....

Seriously I would like to have it in order to run a few setups over the next few months.

[bbosen]

OK, I've made the cosmetic improvements requested earlier, and I've added 3 more (little-known) airfields. I've also moved the carrier groups around to better concentrate the action near the Rabaul area, and I've eliminated a few buildings in that very dense area to help out with framerate. The result is named: NGuinea6, and it's available for download from the free H2H area right now.


What else do you need?


-Peabody-

[kanttori]

I need all the map files to check it with Terrain Editor! Can you zip the files and send it to me:

kanttoriXkesalesket.net

(X is that @)

[bbosen]

OK Kanttori. I emailed you a link to the NGuinea6 source code directory. I hope you can adapt it to your needs.


-Peabody-

[kanttori]

Thank you!

Couple of questions from the map:

1) Bishops are Allied and Knights are Japs and all the Japanese fields A2 - A11 and P10 are situating in the New Britain and New Ireland islands. So I think the A27 (Wewak: You have assigned it as Japanese) must be an allied field, too, because all the other fields around it in the New Guinea are allied?

2) Around the Rabaul are couple of fields very near each other. Are they all historical or can I remove one or two of them?

I am making the next adjustments to the terrain:

1) I am going to add "Capture Towns" to all the airfields and remove the map rooms from those fields which now has any town. As you might know "TOWN0" shape contains the map room. Of course I am saving the Task Group's map rooms.

2) I must switch the grass fields "SAFLD1" to "SAFLD0", because Skuzzy had informed Terrain Team that we can not use those "Grass airfields". Sorry, but Skuzzy removed them from my FinRus, too...

3) I am going to add Rook's HQ and couple of fields to Northern Australia. There must be all those three countries even if we use two.

[bbosen]

Kanttori:

I've inserted my answers into your text below. All of my new information is enclosed within square brackets [like this].


-Peabody-


Couple of questions from the map:

1) Bishops are Allied and Knights are Japs and all the Japanese fields A2 - A11 and P10 are situating in the New Britain and New Ireland islands. So I think the A27 (Wewak: You have assigned it as Japanese) must be an allied field, too, because all the other fields around it in the New Guinea are allied?

[I left Wewak as "Knights" (Japanese) because, according to the records in my possession, the Japanese never did surrender it. It remained under Japanese control until after the war ended. Use your judgement.]


2) Around the Rabaul are couple of fields very near each other. Are they all historical or can I remove one or two of them?

[They are all historical, and all placed as near as I can get them to their actual locations. Inasmuch as the overall scale of the map had to be condensed to about half size, their represented, relative positions are closer together than they were during the war. I realize this is going to make it difficult to capture some of those fields, but this, again, is historical: The allies decided to "bypass" Rabaul because it was deemed to have been too expensive to try to capture all of those airfields.]


I am making the next adjustments to the terrain:

1) I am going to add "Capture Towns" to all the airfields and remove the map rooms from those fields which now has any town. As you might know "TOWN0" shape contains the map room. Of course I am saving the Task Group's map rooms.  [OK. For the sake of framerate, I suggest you avoid adding any _new_ towns. I think that's what you are saying....]


2) I must switch the grass fields "SAFLD1" to "SAFLD0", because Skuzzy had informed Terrain Team that we can not use those "Grass airfields". Sorry, but Skuzzy removed them from my FinRus, too...  [OK. I hope this change doesn't degrade framerates further.]


3) I am going to add Rook's HQ and couple of fields to Northern Australia. There must be all those three countries even if we use two. [OK. I suggest you add only a minimum of extra objects to avoid further degradation of framerates.]

[kanttori]

I just heard from Terrain Team that there is coming an "official" version of that same area! I am sorry, but I can't finish this map to CT, because Terrain Team has it's own New Guinea map coming soon after releasing the New Terrain Editor. I have seen the clipboard map from that "official" map and it is almost the same area that you have, bbosen!

I have edited your New Guinea on the last week and repaired there next things:

1) Added Capture towns to every field (removed individual map rooms). In the current TE version this "standard" system works best in the arenas.

2) Added couple of the biggest rivers to New Guinea island.

3) Made landscape adjustments to coastlines: added forest, grass and farm tiles to there. I looked the real life maps and noticed that populated places are mostly on the coastlines except in the New Guinea there are many "jungle towns", too (I have not edited much the inland, only here and there, so check it yourself).

4) Added Zone system: Rooks have their HQ, factories and three airfields on the Australia. Also Knights and Bishops have their factories on the Australia. Zone system needs it.

I have renamed the Terrain Editor files (newguin) and you can find it from here:

New Guinea

After checking your map I want to instruct you with them:

1) Always go through every coastlines, lakes and rivers with the real life maps, because the terrains made with the satellite data have always coastline errors.

2) If you want your maps to CT or SEA, build always the Zone system to your maps. Be careful with the Zones, you had couple of errors with them! As you know the first Field must always be Bishop's (country 1) and Zone 1 (it was right). Also the the first 3 zones with the HQ:s and factories must be: Bishops (Zone 1), Knights (Zone 2) and Rooks (Zone 3). If yo use more zones after them you don't need to care the zone numbers. Was it zmeg who teached this to me...

3) Finish the landscape with different tiles. Don't use farm tiles on the mountainsides, it is not real looking! I am always flatten the elevations under farm textures.

4) If you want your maps for example to CT use they must contain couple of GV spawns between fields. You don't need to make a large GV-spawns net.

After all your map looked good, you must only always finish them before releasing. So don't depress and continue your map building! I am not ready map maker, too, but I try to learn it all the time!

Keep also on your mind that Terrain Team needs now and then new GOOD map makers... show us that you are one of them!