Anyone needs/wants new landscapes?

[Jason]

I know what you mean I opened it up and was like "ugh". It's a monster of an application that is for sure. I'm keeping myself busy with Flash/ActionScript at the moment as I am working on re-creating the H&D2 mini game. If you create something special I will have to whip out the H&D Editor

A project that I want to do is re-creating the original missions, there is a lot of them. There are some that really need upgrading to help improve the gameplay. There are almost no trenches or fox holes in the game, something that is really missing IMO.

[Bighouse]

I found some of those "empty maps" I have created earlier. There are 3 of them and they are not the best ones I've created but it's a start. I can give them to the community if you tell me how you want them to be sent.

And they are truly EMPTY ones. You will have to fill it up in editor. Only the basic terrain with textures are done in 3ds.

Now that I have taken a short recap of how 3ds worked, I think I can try making something new.

[Jason]

If they are under 1.2 mb then you can attach them to your post using the "Additional Options..."

[Bighouse]

If I click Additional Options, it only gives me 3 check boxes
"Notify me of replies"
"Return to this topic"
"Don't use smileys"

Doesn't really help me in making attachments 

[Jason]

that's not good, this forum software is buggy

Alright, just email them to me and I'll attach them, webmaster@hidden-and-dangerous.net

[Bighouse]

Ok, just emailed them to you. Back to creating something new and better 

[Jason]

Bighouse Scene pack 1 is attached to this post!

They aren't bad, the second map in the list definitely has potential!

[Bighouse]

So, I have been playing with 3ds max 3.0 now for awhile and started creating new Italy1. At first I tried using the same method I used when I created new maps last time but I founds it rather hard. Then I tried the method that I'd like to have used back then but computers where too bad to run them smoothly.
As they are much more powerfull now, there should be no problems.

At first, I create an elevation map with photoshop (greyscale image, white is high, black is low ground). Then I start save that same image as a texture image and start putting the textures on top of those greyscale areas. At the finish I have an elevation map and a texture map with all the parts ready. The texture map is usually quite large. With this Italy map, I used 2500x2500 image to give it the necessary detail.
Then I go to 3ds, create a plane, apply displace and give my ele-map. Terrain is now formed according to the elevations I've created.

Then edit mesh, do some finetuning, apply UVW-Mapping and create a new material (the texture map created in photoshop) and apply it to the plane.

[Jason]

It's so much quicker to use a elevation map but getting the scale right is what I found difficult. How do you tackle this issue?

What was the previous method you were using? was it the one used in the Making a Simple Terrain tutorial?

The How to Create Simple Terrain tutorial by Pterodon is more like your original way and I would imagine exactly how the H&D developers did it themselves. Both H&D1 and H&D2 aren't very smooth in the detail of the terrain which doesn't help with it's current rate of aging

I've made some huge maps using the elevation method and the performance was fine but didn't add much additional objects. I'm guessing the performance issues are solely based on the amount of objects you add to the map such as lighting.

[Bighouse]

Before you create that plane object, import a i3d object such as Opel_Blitz. Then using that as a reference, create the plane. Scaling solved.

[Jason]

But that's just guessing really

[Bighouse]

I don't see what's there to guess. You can make your map the right size if you scale it according to the model like Opel Blitz. For displace start with less strength and make lots of renders to adjust elevation.