Before the final release of version 42 I'd like to add some more maps into the default mod. I am currently looking for some new heightmaps that I can use to make these new maps. Any submissions would be greatfully recieved.

4 from merge's collection. 3 Terrain types, and 1 different.
Feel free to look them over.
(file extention bmp not allowed.. :c )

Thanks thrax those look nice, I'll add em soon.

id love to contribute. i spent most of the weekend putting a little mod together, but im afraid it got deleted somehow. (happens). i took some screenshots, though...

they may have been too big for the default mod, i dont know.

before i waste any more hours, can i get a couple of things confirmed?

1./ landscape size does not influence game speed in itself. obviously the triangle count will scale with landscape size for a given height map, but am i right in thinking that, for example, a 1024 x 1024 sized level thats completely flat, will give no more landscape triangles (to speak of), than a map of half the size?

if this is right, we can use much larger landscape sizes and limit the raised/mountainous areas towards the outer edge where theyre more obscured by fog, without fear of slowing things down.

screenshots:


2./ its ok to double up on the heightmap size. ie, a 2048x2048 heightmap used with a 1024x1024 level size. this seems to give significantly higher landscape detail.

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this is a concept ive been considering for a while. countries of the world...

i know a few people have considered it, but most havent been/arent able to pull it off, so i guess its still new.

screenshot:


youre welcome to use this one (attached minimod):

i only have the uk so far. the method used to make the heightmap is very time consuming. i could do a couple more countries in theory.

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i have a suggestion. would it be possible to limit certain weapons to certain landscapes? id really like to see larger level sizes (thats, playable area sizes, perhaps 384x384), but obviously, we're currently limited by max weapon power. if we could allocate a particular weapon set for a larger level, we could use a velocity mulitplier (or something) for each of the default weapons, to allow them to reach all the way to the other side. it could be a nice way to buffer a switch to larger levels.

The speed is all down to the number of triangles drawn (mainly). So yes if you create larger landscapes using the same number of triangles then the speed should be the same.

I am thinking about making a mod that is built into the game that has larger maps, and perhaps even a single player campaign based on the world map. But I don't think I will put any larger maps into the default game at the moment.

Note: If you get the SVN version I have now put in 5/6 or more maps so that is probably ok for now.

K



hate to argue with you, but i dont think thats true. i did some tests with and without nolandlod on, and it seems as though landscape triangle count makes little difference. a million or so extra triangles (reported) (i know, sounds absurd) had little impact on frame rate, at least on my hardware. what did make a difference was shadows. seems like turning off shadows makes much more difference to performance on larger levels. could we have some kind of 'shadowlod' in the future?

If your card does everything in hardware then yes it wont make too much of a difference.

I'll need to check but I think the shadow landscape already has LOD applied to it. I'll have a look at the code.

I'll experiment with some of the pictures I have on here. and lappy landscape 2 is absolutely beautiful you selling time shares there by chance?