3D Map 015

Agent Smith

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I mentioned in a recent CPX, that I was working on a 3D map of 015 using Google Sketchup.
These 2 pics are of the work in progress.
Ultimately the model will be available to anyone wanting it.
(Sketchup is free). It is also compatible with google earth, although I am yet to learn how to export it...
regards to all
A.S.
 

GCoyote

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Very interesting.

Another project I'd like to try sometime is exporting contour maps generated by another program [like SimCity4000] and convert them to a TacOps useable format.
 

Dogma One

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I love it! It will give me a better "battlefield" perspective,and give me some idea where is the best position to defend or dig in...et cetera. It would be sweet if Major H add this "option" on future TACOPS 5
 

Agent Smith

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I'm just trying to create some quicktime VR or google earth compatible maps for planning.
Although I might try creating an AAR using the model and some unit icons and making a small animation of the action.
 

pmaidhof

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Pretty neat.

I remember way back when there was a working "steel beast" version of TacOps Map 1 as well.
 

Rattler

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Good Stuff! Worthwile following up IMHO.

Question: How do you establish building heights (I see the rafinery tanks are different hights, also the village sized town shows skyscrapers)?

Are these depicted heights based on a statistical pattern or just artistic interpretation?

Rattler
 

dhuffjr

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That is looking pretty neat. What are your plans for it? It looks like a neat planning tool.
 

Agent Smith

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Rattler, at the moment, the latter, (artistic interpretation), given the city form on the map is essentially just that.
Will continue the experiment to the point of exporting and sharing; but the biggest issue I am having at the moment is the inherent limitations of a laptop graphics card memory. (slowing down significantly). Some of the smaller map scenarios should be fine though.
All vertical heights (trees and cityscapes), are currently abstracted. The model is however scaled at 1:1. The high ground elevation is set approximately 50m above lower plane. But I'll take advice/ direction on what people think appropriate. I wanted to test the concept first before worrying about tree heights and whether smaller town and building blocks have some level of height hierarchy.
Dennis as posted earlier, I think it would be really neat to have an animated 3D aar. But I think it's strength is really as a planning tool.
(I am not for a moment suggesting that tacops should end up looking like the combat mission series.)
 

JeffERobertson

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NASA World Wind

If you are interested in interesting sources of maps check out NASA's "World Wind". It maps Landsat, topographical maps and other interesting stuff to a globe. You can zoom in to a detail of about 15m per pixel for landsat images and even finer detail for topographical maps. I used it recently to look at the "real" vortex CPX terrain. (Someone added the South Africa topographical maps as a layer that could be viewed).

It displays different types of layers (real color, pseudo color which highlights things like vegetation, water, minerals) and also has elevation built into it. I have been tinkering with some software to extract this information and create tacop maps. The extraction is working rather well. From a software perspective it is an interesting tool in that 1) it is easy to create plugins that interact with the data and/or Display. 2) it is open source.

If you want to play with World Wind you will need a high speed internet connection, and reasonably good graphics card and Windows (Mac is not supported).
 

Agent Smith

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Interesting spin Jeff, I'd come across world wind a while back as part of my research into virtual environment generation software, but never considered it from a tacops perspective, will give it a second look.
 
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