Armed Assault

Eine neue Map mit einer deutschen Ortschaft, so detailgetreu haben wir schon lange keine ArmA Map mehr gesehen. Sogar Gebäude wurden dafür erstellt und vieles überarbeitet. Versionen 0.8 bis 0.9 sind schon nicht schlecht, aber die Vollversion verspricht noch einiges mehr.

old Version:
-Schmalfelden / Germany Map v0.8
-Schmalfelden / Germany Map v0.81
-Schmalfelden / Germany Map v0.82
-Schmalfelden / Germany Map v0.9
-Schmalfelden / Germany Map v0.91
-Schmalfelden / Germany Map v0.94 Normal
-Schmalfelden / Germany Map v0.94 Heavy Vegetation
-Schmalfelden / Germany Map v0.94 Extra Heavy Vegetation

new Version:
-Schmalfelden / Germany Map v1.0 Normal
-Schmalfelden / Germany Map v1.0 Heavy Vegetation
-Schmalfelden / Germany Map v1.0 Extra Heavy Vegetation

Eine neue Map mit meheren deutschen Ortschaften, so detailgetreu haben wir schon lange keine ArmA Map mehr gesehen. Sogar Gebäude wurden dafür erstellt und vieles überarbeitet. Version 0.8 ist schon nicht schlecht, aber die Vollversion verspricht noch einiges mehr.

Achtung:Die Files sind mit dem Format 7.z gepackt, können aber mit WinRAR entpackt werden!

Schmalfelden Beta Map v0.94

Requirements: ArmA 1.08 or higher. No QG required.

Acknowledgements:

I could not have created this without the shared wisdom, help and encouragement from people like Opteryx, Planck, Linker Split, Phaeden, Edge, Allie and many other good souls in the BIS Map Editing Forum.

Legal:
Permission is granted for personal use only. Any commercial, military or educational use is strictly forbidden without permission from me.
Permission is granted to distribute this software as long as it is 100%
free of charge and this readme file is distributed with it.
I assume no responsibility for any damages this program may cause - use at your own risk. If your video card overheats or your computer blows up you're on your own.

Installation: Place the Schmalfelden.pbo file in your Arma/Addons folder.

Schmalfelden is a map based on actual terrain in Germany, created using a military 1:50,000 scale topographic map and a Google Earth image of the area. I selected this area for recreating realistic engagements in a European environment which might typically described as "good tank country", terrain which Soviet Forces would have sought to exploit with their tank and mechanized infantry forces had the Cold War ever gone "hot". Another reason I selected this area was because unlike most of Germany, the farming communities in this area are very small - most towns usually are at least a square kilometer or two. Hopefully the small size of the built up areas will help the ArmA AI.

Although the ground may appear to be flat (especially from the air) there are actually differences in elevation across the area of 50 meters. Making use of the valleys and draws are critical in your tactical maneuvering.

The map is also well suited for use in WW2 European scenarios. I also find quite a bit of fun to ride around on a motorcycle and explore the roads and trails and take in the sights from odd corners of the map. Flying NOE in a helicopter is also entertaining in itself.

This is a BETA version of the map - it is not finished. Road signs, road markers, power lines, street lights and other miscellaneous objects which bring "life" to a map have not been completed. There are not doubt objects which are currently not properly placed, like building interiors with grass floors. (these are difficult to look at completely in Buldozer).

Known Issues:

This map contains over 260,000 objects at this point and requires a good system for high FPS. How many objects are in the players line of sight is the main factor impacting frame rate. Obvious solutions to help improve FPS are reducing the Visibility Range and other Graphics options, increasing the fog in your mission setup (not unrealistic for Germany!) or fighting at night. A less obvious help is setting up missions so the players primary direction of focus is toward the center of the map where there are fewer forests. Keeping the forests on the west and northwest side at your back as much as possible is a good idea.

This is a 5120 meter x 5120 meter map, not an island - no water around it. Apart from the small size some may not be happy with, this introduces oddities on the right and lower edge of the playing area, where the overlap of satellite image segments overlaps the actual image. In effect you lose proper terrain image for some 500 meters on the right and bottom edge. Not particularly noticeable on foot, but definitely noticeable when flying. I use these areas as setup areas for AI controlled forces to enter the scenario. Additionally, the ArmA program uses the lower left satellite image segment to cover the area outside of the map playing area.

No airfield.

The forests do not have any under or edge growth. Not sure if I can do this without further hits on the frame rate. I have "roughed up" the terrain in the woods to help provide better cover (at least when prone).

The ArmA restriction of 4 textures per map segment (I have 6 total on the map) has required some texture fudging where there are too many texture types in close proximity. Therefore you will find some forest floors with grass instead of leaves and ferns. There are also some areas where there is light colored grass instead of preferred darker green grass.

Buildings.

Vegetation.

Roads

Interesting Note

. I know someone out there knows the area or even lives there, and while I am certainly open to criticism and correction, please remember I'm using maps, aerial images, and a few images off the net to construct the map. Plus faded 20+ year old memories when I drove through the area once after visiting Rotenburg which is east of the map area. (I lived in Thuengersheim, north of Wuerzburg 1985-88 while serving in the US Army.) In any case, please do not be insulted by my failings or errors.

I would appreciate reports of errors on the map if you can provide coordinates or some description of the location. Contact me on the BIS ArmA Forums (member name Nicholas Bell).

Enjoy!
Nick Bell
April 2008

CHANGELOG:

V.81 27 April 2008

Desaturated greens on satellite map and eliminated some of the whitest farm fields. I believe these white fields are ripe oats. The tan/brown fields are wheat.
Toned down the brightness of the quarry and the gravel pit.
Decreased the number of trees by 25,000 in the 2 woods in the center of the map and large portions (but not all) of the forests in the northwest corner. I have experienced improved frame rate. I plan to continue to thin out the forests.
Modifications to road network.
Cleaned up some road intersections. I am aware of others than need work.
Added road reflector posts on some of the roads. Unfortunately they are backwards from the actual German posts. Not much I can do about this.
Corrected building heights which where above or below grade (ie "floating" or "sunk")

V.82 4 May 2008

Further improvements on satellite map.
Eliminated another 30,000 trees. Frame rate continues to improve.
Fixed several more ugly intersections.
Objects added: Additional road reflector posts, road signs, street lights in 2 towns so far, miscellaneous objects.
More building height problems addressed.

v.90 16 May 2008

Reduction of tree quantity in all forests now complete - a major task. Frame rates should show improvement.
Added additional fields with hay rolls.
Added brush to numerous locations along roads, lanes, and between fields. This consists of krovi_long bush type sunk 1.5 meters below the surface. When used in combination with Durg's Vegetation Fix, these low bushes provide concealment when the player is prone.
Eliminated incorrectly located road reflector posts in towns and farm roads.
Further improvments in roads and intersections. The road smoothing script doesn't seem to be going the best job for some reason, and many roads remain somewhat bumpy.
More improvements in the satellite image, toning down the bright fields.
I continue to find floating or sunk buildings which I am fixing. Some I swear I have already addressed. Either my memory is bonkers (probable) or Visitor has gremlins (possible).
Odds and ends you probably won't notice.

V.94 UPDATE
***NOTE: ONLY INSTALL ONE VERSION OF V0.94 AT A TIME***

v.94 5 June 2008 (Plain Version - looks like previous versions)

1. Satellite image improvements.
2. Continued work correcting minor problems.

v.94HV 5 June 2008 (Heavy Vegetation Version)

1 & 2 As above.
3. Edge growth added to forests. Expect lower frame rates. Great for ambushing the opponent.

v.94XHV 5 June 2008 (Extra Heavy Vegetation Version)

1-3. As above
4. Because the edge growth creates a "hollow forest", this version adds a "minimal" amount of vegetation to forest interiors to break up line of sight. Expect lower frame rates. I have experienced some extremely "exciting" engagements in forests with this version, but you will probably have to crank down your visibility range and visual options to get decent FPS. Of course, if the mission is contained to forest areas you really don't need to have the visibility range set high. And if it causes too much lag, drop back and use either the "plain" version or the "Heavy Vegetation" version.

V1.0 - 27.08.2006
Hundreds of minor fixes and improvements to object placement, satellite image and terrain mask.
Major noticeable changes:

1. Terrain speed modifiers fixed so vehicles will not speed across farm fields.
2. Satellite map resegmented from 512 pixels squares to 256 pixels squares. This increases the playing area of the map on the east and south edge. It also allows for improvement in terrain mask. For example, there are areas the true meadow terrain now.
3. All versions can be placed in your addon folders and appear as seperate maps in the editor.
4. Signature keys included with each PBO.
5. Time to complete: 19 January 2008 to 27 June 2008. Approximately 340 hours.

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