Alternate worlds in DCS

[Weta43]

ED has said that there are a limited number of objects that can be held in the database of the current BS engine, which is why part of the Caucuses was lost when the new/remaining areas had their object density upped.

 

It may be that a new engine capable of overcoming this limitation is close, and it may be that database was shorthand for whatever system BS uses to store the details of its terrain, but assuming that there actually is some sort of database used in BS, then given that the area that can be modelled at this detail from 1 database is adequate for fixed wing CAS aircraft missions & more than adequate for helicopters, might an answer to this be to just allow switching between 2 or more databases to allow variety in mission? Rather than ‘expand’ the terrain that is loaded, allow players to switch between loading separate areas..

 

Perhaps a first additional database could cover the Crimean peninsular with slightly more of the land to the north & west + east enough to provide a slight overlap with the present BS map (as there’s a fair amount of work gone into that area already & I assume some of it would be transferable).

 

Missions & campaigns could move forward and backwards across map areas (especially if some overlap occurred so that a mission that ended with securing a site at the outer extent of a map could continue from there once the new terrain area was loaded in the next mission).

New databases (terrain packs) could be rolled out with modules, & the work could all be rolled up into one cohesive map when the engine allows…

[warthogmadman987]

That sounds like a good idea, but I think ED is trying to get away from the copyright issues with Flaming Cliffs. That is part of the reason we wouldnt have that terrain or any of the flyables from flaming cliffs.

[Boberro]

...That is part of the reason we wouldnt have that terrain or...

 

Is it mean that terrain - Crime is restricked by copyright? Nobody has restriction to the part of world, ED could do once again Crime.

[Weta43]

I don't think it's about copyright

Originally Posted by EvilBivol-1

That's correct, the Crimea had to be "flushed" to make room in the database for the new terrain areas and increased density. It will be like all other unmapped areas of the terrain - flat and featureless.

 

Also the DCS Ka-50 page says :

 

Black Shark World

 

“DCS: Black Shark” operations will be based in the western Caucus region and will include portions of Russia, Georgia and a small part of Turkey. With Russia, special attention is paid to the Krasnodarskiy, Karachayrvo-Cherkesiya, Kabardino-Balkariya and Stavropol’skey regions. Some of this area will be recognizable from “Flaming Cliffs”, but “DCS: Black Shark” has added a considerable new amount of terrain, particularly much of Georgia. The “DCS: Black Shark” map is approximately 330,000 sq. km of ground and sea area.

 

Which means at least part of the old map is included - implying there's no copyright problem, & also see this from the DCS site:

There's a good chunk of the old map in there, so I think that - as they said - it's more about the number of objects and engine limitations than copyright problems.

[LazerPotatoe]

I like the idea, but unfortunately I don't think it is that simple.

 

Being a developer, and having played with some game source-code, I can tell you that it is unlikely that the terrain "database" is a single file that can be swapped in and out. It is more likely a series of hard-coded limitations in a variety of subsystems.

[Weta43]

I'd imagine so - otherwise they'd probably have thought of it themselves, but sometimes the obvious passes us by & it might never have occured to them.

+ You never know - a couple of .dll's

or duplicates of those hard code limited subsystems from a certain point down in the tree where you just change a path variable or two & load from a different directory ...

 

Might not be elegant, but might work till the new engine is done...