FAQ and Updates

[SchneeFee]

On 12/22/2022 at 1:00 AM, OnReTech said:

@Spudknocker made a great first flight, I want to share it here:

 

 

 

Love the Soundtrack!

[JABO2009]

Now with the Sinai map beautifully teased in the 2023 and beyond Video, may we get a bit closer definition of "first Quarter 2023" realease date ? 

By funny coincidence Im currently on holiday in egypt and explored the pyramids myself yesterday  - exactly on the 4th of Jan 23  ))

Im super excited for this map ! Instant buy for me and thx in advance for this to come to our beloved DCS ! 

 

[OnReTech]

On 1/5/2023 at 9:44 AM, JABO2009 said:

Now with the Sinai map beautifully teased in the 2023 and beyond Video, may we get a bit closer definition of "first Quarter 2023" realease date ? 

By funny coincidence Im currently on holiday in egypt and explored the pyramids myself yesterday  - exactly on the 4th of Jan 23  ))

Im super excited for this map ! Instant buy for me and thx in advance for this to come to our beloved DCS ! 

 

Thank you.

There is no exact release date yet.
Let me just say that we are at the final stage of the 2nd phase. As soon as we finish it, we will start testing the map with the second phase enabled... I don't think it will take much time

[YoYo]

Do you test this map in VR mode too? Many users of DCS are using VR as well. This is very important feature that the map will be optimalized for VR mode too with good level of FPS and performance. The good example of optimalizations is Syria map for me, the bad South Atlantic map (they used different SDK and too complicated objects). 
 

Personally I cant wait for this map and Im interested as well!

[BIGNEWY]

40 minutes ago, YoYo said:

Do you test this map in VR mode too? Many users of DCS are using VR as well. This is very important feature that the map will be optimalized for VR mode too with good level of FPS and performance. The good example of optimalizations is Syria map for me, the bad South Atlantic map (they used different SDK and too complicated objects). 
 

Personally I cant wait for this map and Im interested as well!

SDK / TDK is the same for all third party's. 

[YoYo]

20 minutes ago, BIGNEWY said:

SDK / TDK is the same for all third party's. 

Ahh good to know, I had different informations.

[Iron Sights]

This might have been asked but I could not find it in a search. How much drive space for the install? Close estimate? I have a 2tb explanation planned, but I haven’t done it yet. Just want to see if it is within my old drives limit, so I can jump right on it.

[ThorBrasil]

On 12/5/2022 at 11:35 AM, markturner1960 said:

Wow, sale right here!! Mountain resolution and textures the most important, was very dissapointed in the lack of such in the SA map.....nothing worse than flying over mountains that look someone threw a painted tablecloth over some cushions.......especially when we have the scenery tech available now.....

 

 

On 12/18/2022 at 9:34 PM, OnReTech said:

google, bing textures, etc.. this is the easiest thing to do, we are trying to do something new in the development of the location. Soon you will see for yourself... 

Thanks for your thought!
 

 

 

The thing that takes away from the fun of flying is when you pass a mountain and it doesn't look like one. I would love to see something like this in DCS.

1.15

[cfrag]

12 hours ago, ThorBrasil said:

The thing that takes away from the fun of flying is when you pass a mountain and it doesn't look like one

I tend to agree. That being said, many mountains in DCS look like mountains, just not when you get too close to a very rough (i.e. low vertex-count) mesh (unfortunately very much in evidence in the western parts of the otherwise beautiful SA map), or in the rare case where you know how that particular mountain looks from RL experience (I have no such experience, as the only regions in DCS maps I ever visited were Nevada and the Haifa area, and on both occasions I was too busy partying rather than to take notice of the breathtakingly beautiful surrounding landscape). 

One thing that is a but off-putting is when you barely clear a mountain ridge in a helicopter (i.e. slow and close to the ground), and you are literally able to see the "edge" - the vertex line that connects two mesh points. I have no knowledge of how ED's terrain engine works, and I hope that in the future they will support dynamic edge tessellation of mountain ridges to break up long edges and make them look more natural. As an option, of course, because tessellation can be the death of performance.

Edited January 17, 2023 by cfrag

[BIGNEWY]

please remember our forum rules when posting about other sims.

thank you

[OnReTech]

2 hours ago, cfrag said:

I tend to agree. That being said, many mountains in DCS look like mountains, just not when you get too close to a very rough (i.e. low vertex-count) mesh (unfortunately very much in evidence in the western parts of the otherwise beautiful SA map), or in the rare case where you know how that particular mountain looks from RL experience (I have no such experience, as the only regions in DCS maps I ever visited were Nevada and the Haifa area, and on both occasions I was too busy partying rather than to take notice of the breathtakingly beautiful surrounding landscape). 

One thing that is a but off-putting is when you barely clear a mountain ridge in a helicopter (i.e. slow and close to the ground), and you are literally able to see the "edge" - the vertex line that connects two mesh points. I have no knowledge of how ED's terrain engine works, and I hope that in the future they will support dynamic edge tessellation of mountain ridges to break up long edges and make them look more natural. As an option, of course, because tessellation can be the death of performance.

 

It all depends on the original height map at the initial stage. The world map of heights is 38 meters per pixel (US 10 m.px). 

Theoretically, you can get a surface mesh with an average edge length of 40-60 meters, but I can’t even imagine how many triangles the Sinai map will occupy (100M + I think), I think that no other game engine will be able to collect and render it.

Therefore, various methods are used. We made a heightmap of 4 meters per pixel and use it to generate normal map textures etc. We are now making a utility that will be able to build a ground mesh from an improved heightmap - this should fix the problem of long edges on mountains.

The second option, to make adaptive subdivision, is to completely solve the issue of the mountain grid in the foreground. I think the ED team will implement this in the future!

[ThorBrasil]

@OnReTech 

First of all sorry to compare Sinai with Syria. On the map of Syria you can identify the region from country to country. I mean the houses and structures in general that are different depending on the region you fly.

My question is as follows.

Are structures on the Signals map unique in each country or region? Isn't it like Nevada, PG and Caucasus which are all the same? I ask because I am very interested in buying the Sinai map, even though I already have the Syria map. I would love to see that each region has its own style of structures on the Sinai map.

Is this a map designed for Helicopters with a helipad?

Don't be offended by the question.

Edited January 20, 2023 by ThorBrasil

[cfrag]

7 hours ago, ThorBrasil said:

I mean the houses and structures in general that are different depending on the region you fly.

Well, Wag's newest oevre shows off the Sinai map with what's most likely Cairo - and the pyramids seem a dead give-away. The houses there seem a mix of generic and individually crafted, and I hope that the pyramids are part of the latter, so you will be able to identify parts of where you are based on those. 

Now, the Syria map is currently the map to beat, and I'm hoping that Sinai accepts that challenge. The variety and local 'flavor' of the Syria map are indeed breathtaking, and I'm cautiously optimistic that Sinai will follow suit.

7 hours ago, ThorBrasil said:

Is this a map designed for Helicopters with a helipad?

I think this is a sore point in Syria. There are way too few helipad in metropolitan areas (Haifa, Damascus, Beirut, Adana, Larnaca, Nicosia) - a great chance for Sinai to distinguish itself

 

[OnReTech]

11 hours ago, ThorBrasil said:

@OnReTech 

First of all sorry to compare Sinai with Syria. On the map of Syria you can identify the region from country to country. I mean the houses and structures in general that are different depending on the region you fly.

My question is as follows.

Are structures on the Signals map unique in each country or region? Isn't it like Nevada, PG and Caucasus which are all the same? I ask because I am very interested in buying the Sinai map, even though I already have the Syria map. I would love to see that each region has its own style of structures on the Sinai map.

Is this a map designed for Helicopters with a helipad?

Don't be offended by the question.

 

We tried to separate the assets by country, Egypt and Israel have their own buildings and assets. Of course, there are same objects for both such as industrial buildings, ports, etc... When flying, I am absolutely sure that everyone will understand in whose sky and on whose territory you are) We tried to separate the assets by country, Egypt and Israel have their own buildings and assets. Of course, there are same objects for both such as industrial buildings, ports, etc... When flying, I am absolutely sure that everyone will understand in whose sky and on whose territory you are)

 

Edited January 20, 2023 by OnReTech

[OnReTech]

Dear pilots and friends.

The OnReTech team is in the final stages of the second phase of the Sinai map project. We took the time to unique models and small details on the surface. Improved green colors for field and surface textures. Fixed some bugs and comments. Modeled 11 new airfields.

We continue to work on the second phase and are engaged in setting up and testing the project.

Edited February 10, 2023 by OnReTech

[draconus]

The details, objects, textures, bumpmapping are really great, next level quality

Two nitpicks:

maybe disconnect the panels from the building to place them right toward the sun?

the sails are placed wrong and they can't be used the same for every yacht direction

Edited February 11, 2023 by draconus

[Iron Sights]

Looks like it’s coming along nicely. Maybe it will released on the next patch?

[Pipe]

Looking good!

[saito]

The level of detail is really impressive!

[OnReTech]

7 hours ago, draconus said:

the sails are placed wrong and they can't be used the same for every yacht direction

not every skipper knows this)

2 hours ago, Iron Sights said:

Looks like it’s coming along nicely. Maybe it will released on the next patch?

maybe

[Gierasimov]

2 hours ago, OnReTech said:

maybe

Hm... Better save some $$ just in case it does! 

[JABO2009]

So great details and scenery !! What a nice map !  All my fingers crossed for you guys bringing this map hopefully  with the next patch )

[OnReTech]

9 minutes ago, JABO2009 said:

So great details and scenery !! What a nice map !  All my fingers crossed for you guys bringing this map hopefully  with the next patch )

We are newbies, but we are trying to do everything right

[MRTX]

I was wondering if you have considered developing a custom assets pack for Sinai?

Whilst we obviously have access to tons of soviet equipment to depict the Egyptian armed forces in an accurate fashion, there isn't a single Israeli made vehicle available in DCS besides the Merkava. And yes i know that such asset pack poses a noticeable investment of time and money, but even a small assortment of IDF vehicles would go a long way in creating a more immersive experience on Sinai. 

[ThorBrasil]

6 hours ago, OnReTech said:

We are newbies, but we are trying to do everything right

The important thing is to continue supporting and improving the map after launch. Add landmarks, tourist attractions, places with a helipad, etc. This will make it become a big map.

It is impressive how the map of Syria has tourist spots and helipads. I'm looking forward to seeing this on the Sinai map. I intend to give a vote of confidence and buy in the pre-sale.

Edited February 12, 2023 by ThorBrasil