[Map] Russian Farmlands (2km) [WIP]

[Elektro]

My most realistic artistic PR dream view is a Tank driving on a road with european style houses while its evening ( Not Night ) I can so imagien it in this map.. Not a city just a small little village with a few houses

[Jonny]

Lots of houses are almost unique, there are no standardised plans anywhere. Even housing estates have several different plans, and people then pay for further changes. The kind of thing thats most important is the number rooms it has, how many storeys it is, the overall shape of the building and details it has around doors/windows/eves/chimneys.

For instance, if there are a roughtly equal number of those houses with 3 and 4 main rooms, but few others, then the models should have either 3 or 4 main rooms. Similarly for the number of storeys, if the buildings are almost all 5, 9, 17 or 23 storeys tall then you dont go and make any 4 or 6 storey ones *hint to DEVs*.

Anyway, these two refs are really good:
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/o...l/15225856.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/8455212.jpg
I see 2 storey red-roof, white-rendered, square foundation houses in the central area and single storey, slate/metal roof, wood-cladded housing around them. It indicates that the house_dest series need re-texturing and that a new series needs to be made for the larger houses.

I also see something very similar to one of the militia apartment buildings there, so that could be used in the central area which would otherwise have required new statics. It seems its possible to get away with a couple of changed textures here, which is quite lucky.

[[R-DEV]DankE_SPB]

Originally Posted by Jonny

Lots of houses are almost unique, there are no standardised plans anywhere. Even housing estates have several different plans, and people then pay for further changes. The kind of thing thats most important is the number rooms it has, how many storeys it is, the overall shape of the building and details it has around doors/windows/eves/chimneys.

village houses rarely has more than 2 storeys or 1 storey with small attic under roof, where people store tools etc.(though sometimes they build separate building for it)

well, here is a "plan" of my friends house i've been not long time ago(pls excuse my 1337 paint skillz)

notes:
1 storey, small volume attic under roof
furnace with 1 chimney(a bit shorter and thicker than on picture), made of bricks then covered with concrete/painting so it looks smooth and white, 2 small stair steps before short veranda, then entrance
and dont forget there is always a toilet outside in small wooden cabin with 1x1m dimensions

roof like here

windows in room looks like on picture above
windows at kitchen


abandoned houses

[Jonny]

That kind of thing is pretty much exactly what modelers would need, and the more detail the better. Where do the different roof heights meet? Or is that a different building hiding behind there?

[Machin1st]

Wow, didn't expect such an interest in this little project. Thanks everyone, the more people who share their opinions the better this is going to turn out!

Thanks for the reference images! This might come in handy...

BTW you Russians! Cant you help me name the map? I dont have much knowledge of the russian geography, and i certainly dont want to give the map name that all russians will laugh at :P While doing some research i found that the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast might be a possible / realistic location since almost 41% of the land is farmlands. The geology of the place seemed right too... But this region of russia seems almost too developed now days? Dont get me wrong, but it's going to be hard to create all those fancy houses in the picture i posted, so lets just say the map might look a little underdeveloped / poor and slightly war-torn.

Please give me a name of an area where this map fits and a some sort of reference in english, the map cant be called Russian Farmlands forever :P


As for the buildings, i know it might not be a 100% accurate mirror image of the area, but then most PR maps aren't. I think the general area is more important to the gameplay than the details of the houses...

I'm going to try to use the existing statics and if that doesnt look appealing enough i will do somthing about it, iven if it requires me to make my own textures / statics.

The picture with the buildings which caused debate is not meant as any kind of benchmark for how the village will look in the final result, just a general impression.



I have been trying out some stuff on a test map now and soon I will begin working on the main map.

By the way, this is the first time i work with the BF2 editor( but that doesn't mean I cant learn ), so I've got some questions i hope somone can answer:

First off: What low-res map setting is ideal for PR? The default value seems to be 256 x 8? Will this effect terrain warping for low-end computer users?

Secondly: Any limitations in number of statics or such to keep in mind? ( mostly in regard of performance, I dont want people with low-end machines lagging )

I am planning to use bushes alot on this map, as in operation Ghost Train. This is because i want to create a more dynamic forest-gameplay with limited line of sight where you can hide in bushes! And also to provide some hiding places along ditches and waterholes. Are these considered as Undergrowth, overgrowth or static placement? And how will this impact performance on a map of this size?

In general i think there is going to be alot of overgrowth, undergrowth and static placements on this map...


Now please bare with me, I've got another exam coming up this week and becoming a development engineer isn't always easy, so the mapping comes second hand


If there is anyone who feels that they have the knowledge to create a map that meets the standards of the other PR maps, and the time to chit-chat ( getting bugged over MSN/Ventrilo with potentially noobish questions ) please send me a PM with your mail address etc, I really think I could use some help later on.

But give it some time and hopefully i wont disappoint you guys!

[[R-DEV]DankE_SPB]

N.Novgorod seems fine or you can go south and pick up other names on Volga river or to the west from it, towns like Penza, Tambov, they are surrounded by farmlands from all sides

Originally Posted by Jonny

That kind of thing is pretty much exactly what modelers would need, and the more detail the better. Where do the different roof heights meet? Or is that a different building hiding behind there?

those are 2 separate buildings

[[R-DEV]Deer]

Heh im working on similar map =)

[Spieler]

Originally Posted by DankE_SPB

N.Novgorod seems fine or you can go south and pick up other names on Volga river or to the west from it, towns like Penza, Tambov, they are surrounded by farmlands from all sides

Such name seems to be what you need. But don't use word "farmlands", please. It's not russian word - we have no "farmers". This word came to our language from English.
May be just "Volga fields" or something in such way.

[Jonny]

Originally Posted by Machin1st

As for the buildings, i know it might not be a 100% accurate mirror image of the area, but then most PR maps aren't. I think the general area is more important to the gameplay than the details of the houses...

Dont underestimate the details. The large scale layout may affect gameplay, but the little things make it believeable.

Originally Posted by Machin1st

I'm going to try to use the existing statics and if that doesnt look appealing enough i will do somthing about it, iven if it requires me to make my own textures / statics.

I recommend custom textures to everyone, its a small increase in download size compared to the map, but it can go a long way to making the statics and area feel unique. You can go from a roughly similar area, to something almost photo-realistic.

Originally Posted by Machin1st

The picture with the buildings which caused debate is not meant as any kind of benchmark for how the village will look in the final result, just a general impression.

The building textures are a very important part of any map. Dont underestimate them.

Originally Posted by Machin1st

this is the first time i work with the BF2 editor( but that doesn't mean I cant learn ), so I've got some questions i hope somone can answer:

First off: What low-res map setting is ideal for PR? The default value seems to be 256 x 8? Will this effect terrain warping for low-end computer users?

Secondly: Any limitations in number of statics or such to keep in mind? ( mostly in regard of performance, I dont want people with low-end machines lagging )

I am planning to use bushes alot on this map, as in operation Ghost Train. This is because i want to create a more dynamic forest-gameplay with limited line of sight where you can hide in bushes! And also to provide some hiding places along ditches and waterholes. Are these considered as Undergrowth, overgrowth or static placement? And how will this impact performance on a map of this size?

The low res setting is for surrounding terrain, and is given in squares-per-edge and square size relative to primary terrain. If the edges of the primary terrain wont really be seen too often, and are quite flat, you can get away with 256x8, otherwise the more detailed 512x4 or even 1024x2 will have to be used. It wont give a massive impact on performance though, most of the fighting should be concentrated away from the surrounding terrain and it should not be seen much. Terrain warping is a totally seperate issue to this, and only something you need to worry about if you have sharp changes in the gradient of the terrain.

There is almost no limit to the number of statics you can use. The last thing you want to worry about is performance for low-end machines. This is so important I am going to repeat it, in big text:
The last thing you want to worry about is performance for low-end machines
If you start worrying about this, you WILL cripple the map before you even get halfway through. Look at korengal, *some* people cant run it very well, but just look at the sheer number of objects there is. Even with that many objects, ther are still only *some* people that cant run it.

Bushes can be overgrowth or statics, it depend on how they are placed (dragging onto map from object list, or painting using overgrowth tool). Dont forget about the large bushes you can get by sinking trees into the ground, and dont forget about the overgrowth grass. Both of those can also be used to great effect. You really need to avoid using undergrowth to obscure peoples LOS, it can easily lead to grass you cant hide in. As for performance issues from vegitation:
The last thing you want to worry about is performance for low-end machines
Seriously, the BF2 engine is not that fragile. It wont break easily. I can almost guarantee you will lag out the editor long before you come close to causing in-game lag.

Originally Posted by Machin1st

If there is anyone who feels that they have the knowledge to create a map that meets the standards of the other PR maps, and the time to chit-chat ( getting bugged over MSN/Ventrilo with potentially noobish questions ) please send me a PM with your mail address etc, I really think I could use some help later on.

PM me if you have any specific questions, I usually respond to them pretty quickly.

[[R-DEV]fuzzhead]

Just wanted to say, I agree with you that we need more maps of simple areas, with lots of good terrain features without being overdramatic.

Just small dips and ditches is much prefered over giant mountain ranges and weird hills IMO...