[Map] Dahla Dam (4km) [WIP]

[[R-DEV]Rudd]

Originally Posted by |TG-Irr|Nixon

I also have a few questions:

1. I can make the map, but for the CPs I will need help with the python, could someone help me out? DEVs or other member of community?
2. If anyone wants to help please contact me, this is a big undertaking for a novice like my self.

Cheers,

Nix

regarding 3, I assume you don't want to modify how AAS works, all you need is in the map audit tut or here http://www.realitymod.com/forum/f189...ial-aasv4.html

regarding 4, I think you have my xfire if you need help from time to time

[[R-DEV]Rhino]

Originally Posted by |TG-Irr|Nixon

@ [R-DEV]Rhino: The HQ is there because I wanted to put it out of the way and under a dome of death. Its only exit is a pass that will have two bunkers on the top of the hills. Both will have AT emplacements so if the CF come to close they will be blown away!

Red lines are predictable routs for vehicles to be moving from the Taliban main to the flags and yellow areas are perfect ambush spots for the CF where they are very likley to see enemy vehicles moving. This is way to predictable for a side that is meant to be able to blend in with the population and be coming out of anywhere and your focusing the gameplay into the middle of the map at just ambushing...

Even if you do have AT emplacements, they are not going to be manned all the time and all it takes is one sniper to take them out, which isn't going to be at all hard if they are in the same location ever round as after a few rounds, players are going to learn the perfect way to defeat them but they wouldn't cover anything like all thous spots the Taliban need to run though.

Your map will not play at all well with your main base there, trust me.

[ledo1222]

Looking at those Pictures the Dam dosent look all that difficult, Even tho it looks like a pile of earth and some concrete walls holding the water back. Witch in my eyes looks easily to build.

Second i would not place the Taliban main base there, because how will men be deployed to the front lines( The island FYI). I would altogether make a massive cave system with a Deployment area witch has a DOM around the cave system around 200-300m, so the CF can't easily camp the path way(s). If you do with making the Main deployment area in the mainland, i would make the Island a cache spawn where it has and underground little bunker, left by the soviet Russia. And it would have 40mm guns covering the Bunker, and the CF would have to Hammer it down with Mortars and Area Attacks. then the CF can come in there Chinooks and raid the place.

[[R-DEV]Rhino]

Originally Posted by ledo1222

Looking at those Pictures the Dam dosent look all that difficult, Even tho it looks like a pile of earth and some concrete walls holding the water back. Witch in my eyes looks easily to build.

Ye, it is in fact pretty simple to make with terrain and the road tools.

EDIT: Just looked at the location on google earth and I'm surprised how different your layout is from the real place... If your going to base a map on a r/l location, you really should keep to it as much as possible where you seemed to have changed everything

[|TG-Irr|Nixon]

@ Rud: Thx for the offer, will be in touch, what about those staticts of the optimized hedgerows?

@ Rhino and Ledo1222: The HQ is just one of the places where the Taliban will spawn. It will be out of reach of the CF to protect the BMPs and the T-55. I’ve planed may other sites (all over the map in basements like the cache in Al-Basara). If that para-drop idea I propose works there will be no camping for the CF since Talibans will come form everywhere. Also, CF will have there hands full looking for caches and re-capturing flags, maybe I was not clear, but they start with the VCP and that’s all, sure they can camp the caves and wait for the Talibans to come out but their tickets will run out. Furthermore, CF will need to leave behind some forces to defend the airbase since it’s pretty close to 2 hideouts and will come under fire. I would add that it’s the same case on Muttra City 2, there is only 1 way out of that neigberhoud where the MEC spawn… I never saw USMC camping there. Finally don’t forget that it’s a 4km map, 32 players.

@ Rhino: Are you sure you looked at the right spot? (33?17'37.77"N, 68?38'0.46"E). The dam is actually 34 km S-E from Ghazni. I’ve oriented the map to have the east on the top (looked better that way). I am mapping directly off the Google Earth imagery I took from the area. I am GIS graduate student so making maps is pretty much what I do for a living. This map is a 2:1 scale of RL, I would made it 1:1 but, I would have missed some of the cool elements like the surrounding mountains and parts of the city. The dam is 147 km form Kabul, that why the CF will only have the tanks when they get the airfield since they will be flown in…

[[R-DEV]Rhino]

Originally Posted by |TG-Irr|Nixon

I would add that it?s the same case on Muttra City 2, there is only 1 way out of that neigberhoud where the MEC spawn? I never saw USMC camping there. Finally don?t forget that it?s a 4km map, 32 players.

Muttrah is very different from this. The main obvious difference is Muttrah is an urban city, meaning it has lots of little streets, each street being a different rout with protection on either side (as well as cover for ambushers yes) but what this means is you get loads of different possible routes in a small space which for an ambusher means you can only cover only a few routes at any one time in a very small area as view distance accounts for very little.



Red marks MECs normal movements (yes the rout upto the NE isn't that common but dose happen) and yellow mark good ambush spots where the enemy is likely to be, with green dots marking common ambush points for guys with AT weapons or watching C4 etc.

Now the main reason why you don't see people hanging outside the main base is because most servers do now allow it. On servers that do allow it you do quite often find a guy with a H-AT sitting right out side the entrance on a nice high roof and it is pretty gey when it happens. But once the vehicles have got out from the initial choke point, they feather out over quite a few different routes and are pretty hard to predict which one they are going to take, although most people don't take the sea front route as its too exposed.

After that there is two predictable ambush points again which again, you do often see ambushes here too although for some reason not that many people have clocked onto the fact that here are some really common ambush points, maybe because it isn't that obvious just looking at the map but you do get some smart people setting up ambushes here, I've done it before and really raked in loads of kills to the point where guys where actually willing to risk going on the sea front rather than go down our death trap

After this point thou all movement again feathers out down many streets and is really hard to predict exactly which rout anyone is going to take.

So to summarise, the main reason why this isn't a huge problem on muttrah is because most servers don't allow it and its pretty damn hard to get an ambush team and supplies there without being spotted, since the only way to really do both is with a chopper and once you see that hovering outside your main you are going to investigate

Originally Posted by |TG-Irr|Nixon

@ Rhino: Are you sure you looked at the right spot? (33?17'37.77"N, 68?38'0.46"E). The dam is actually 34 km S-E from Ghazni. I?ve oriented the map to have the east on the top (looked better that way). I am mapping directly off the Google Earth imagery I took from the area. I am GIS graduate student so making maps is pretty much what I do for a living. This map is a 2:1 scale of RL, I would made it 1:1 but, I would have missed some of the cool elements like the surrounding mountains and parts of the city. The dam is 147 km form Kabul, that why the CF will only have the tanks when they get the airfield since they will be flown in?

That isn't the Dahla Dam (but I agree this dam/area a much better dam gameplay wise).

The Dahla Dam is 31?50'56.28" N 65?53'20.21" E which also matches the dam on your ref pics (a big dirt mount ) where the other dam you have is obviously concrete. You can confirm this dam I've pointed out is the real Dahla Dam as it is according to the wiki "34 kilometers north of Kandahar City", which I've confirmed on google earth it is.

This dam is called the "Band Sardeh Dam" and it looks like this:


It would also be good if you keep North at the same point ingame as it is in r/l, Currently East is your North...

[|TG-Irr|Nixon]

You are a fine geographer Mr. Rihno! I never imagined that someone would uncover my secret!

You are totally right, the true Dahla Dam is north of Kandahar City, however it’s a dull little place and that’s why I took the Band Sardeh Dam for my map instead.

Band Sardeh is protected by B Company of the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry: (At War: Reporter?s Notebook: In Afghanistan, Glimpses of the Soviet Try - Afghanistan - Zimbio) Nonetheless, being Canadian, I wanted a CF map and not another USA map, that’s why I named it “Dahla Dam” to be in tune with current events.

Like I said before, the concert dam static I am using is just a place holder until I am able to find a model or able to make a perfect 60 degrees slope on the whole surface and trust me I tried and its dam hard ( no pun intended ) with BFeditor!

As for the north being the east, I wanted it to be that way, just because it looks better. I’ve already started with the roads and statics so I guess it will stay that way.

Cheers,

Nix

[[R-DEV]Rhino]

hehe rgr

Originally Posted by |TG-Irr|Nixon

Like I said before, the concert dam static I am using is just a place holder until I am able to find a model or able to make a perfect 60 degrees slope on the whole surface and trust me I tried and its dam hard ( no pun intended ) with BFeditor!

there are two ways of doing this, there is first the simple way with using the road tool which is covered in this tut here, but isn't the best way but is the simplest so best for you: Making Terrain Slopes (Image Heavy) - Official BF Editor Forums


The best way, but the more complicated way is to edit the heightmap with photoshop and add a gradient on there which although complicated and very hard to do, can be done very accurately with a pretty much perfect gradient but it isn't something I would advise a first time mapper to try.

[|TG-Irr|Nixon]

Hi,

4 Questions:

1) Is there an easy way to keep track of destructible objects on a map?
2) Most of my map will be farmland, what will result in less lag: undergrowth, multiple rice fields statics or overgrowth?
3) Where I can find the file to compile my lightmaps for PR? (I have read that I need to d/l something I've used the search option to no avail)
4) Is there a better "lowresolution default texture", or should I use the vanilla one?

[[R-DEV]Rhino]

gay, was just at the end of replying then lost my post, damn quick reply!

anyways here it is again

1. Yes, in the level editor there is a "Level Info" tab at the bottom of the screen and clicking that will bring up lots of useful info about your map. In there is a destroyable object and dynamic object count, which should both be the same value unless you have some dynamic objects in your map (which your shouldn't) as dest objects are counted as dynamic objects.


2. Yes, but I've yet to perfect our new overgrowth fields performance which I plan on doing at some point in the next few months but generally speaking open fields are better for performance than lots of buildings


3. You can download PR's lightmap samples pack here: http://www.realitymod.com/forum/f354...p-samples.html
Note: It is a little out of date and while it dose have most of PR's statics in there, a few are missing. If you find any PR statics that you are missing lightmap samples for (note, pr statics, not xpack statics etc, there are not any samples for them) then just ask and we should be able to provide you with them.

You should be able to get the vBF2 lightmap samples on the editor forums etc, take it you already have them.

There is also the option of 3DsMax LMing which dose not require LM samples and gives you a much better result than editor lightmaps, how ever is very complicated. Basic tut on it here: Advanced Lightmapping Tutorial (using 3dsmax) - Official BF Editor Forums


4. Yes, you can find other low detail textures in the client.zips of other vBF2 and PR maps and just replace your "lowdetailtexture.dds" with one of them