Washington State custom map project

[Uriah]

Hi everyone!

 

New to DCS, but I am catching up quick. I am building a custom map for DCS World for Washington State. This thread will contain all the information concerning this project, and feel free to chip in, once I get the 3D terrain and imagery working it would be great if people helped populate the map with 3d models. I will be releasing the map under a Creative Commons free-use attribution license for your information.

 

Here is what I have so far:

 

I downloaded the elevation and orthoimagery geographic information system (GIS) data from the USGS ( http://viewer.nationalmap.gov/viewer/ ). You can too! I will look into the copyright concern expressed by CaptainPecan, but I believe that since the data is furnished by the U.S. Government, (that is our tax dollars at work) it can be used for any and all purposes. People have created entire businesses around GIS data, so I believe use for non-profit open-source is unquestionable, but I will ask a friend who works with GIS data just to be sure.

 

Next, the data is BIG. I mean REALLY BIG!!! What I have is 1/3rd arc second elevation data, in ArcGrid format, and 1 meter orthoimagery in JPEG 2000 format. The database is over 40 GB for the entire state of Washington at this resolution, including the imagery and elevation data, with most of that being the imagery. Another option would be to focus on Western Washington, including Seattle (with all the 3D buildings) and the North Cascade Mountain Range (as seen in the attached images). One reason for this is Eastern Washington isn't as interesting from a geographic perspective, and that is why I am so excited and committed to building this map for the DCS community! I could also decrease the resolution of the imagery, but I would like to keep the resolution of the elevation data because it really makes things look smooth, and at a lower resolution sharp features like mountains look really bad.

 

I have some decisions to make in terms of what I can and cannot do, but I will need to get into the DCS database system to see how they stitch together their image tiles and 3D surface geometry before I can go any further.

 

1) There's a wiki that goes over terrain creation using the current engine. I would advise you to hold off until Eagle Dynamics Enhanced Engine (EDGE) is released. The plan is to release support tools for the community to develop maps/terrains in the future. Do not expect this anytime soon, but it should come within a year of the release of Nevada and the debut of EDGE.

 

I am going to see if I can talk the ED and figure out more about this new engine, to determine what database system/structure/file formats they are going to be using for EDGE so I can get working on the Washington Map. If anyone has more info on this it would be appreciated!!!

 

Also I cannot find the Wiki Revelation mentioned, does anyone have a link to it?

 

Well that is all I have for now folks! I've attached some screenshots of the terrain (running in ArcGIS) at full resolution and at the highest display settings possible. See for yourself how awesome this is going to be!

 

If anyone has feedback, suggestions or answers, that would be awesome! If anyone would like to get in on this project send me a message. SUBSCRIBE to this thread to follow this project and receive updates and eventually the final map. Happy flying!

 

Regards,

Uriah

Edited January 24, 2014 by Uriah

[NineLine]

Oh, I always wanted to do the Southwest Part of BC, so push the map up over the border a little ways for me will yeah :)

[Uriah]

As far as I know the USGS only provides elevation data and orthoimagery for the United States. I've attached an image which shows the Elevation Availability from the USGS National Map Viewer. If you can find a source it is easy to put together.

 

-Uriah

[Uriah]

Resources, Links and Tools

 

This post will be continually updated with resources, links and tools provided by the community and myself. :book:

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http://en.wiki.eagle.ru/wiki/All_about_land

[aaron886]

Good start. Think long-term though, who knows how long it will be before an EDGE SDK is released.

[Scoggs]

I would love it! Good luck!

[Uriah]

Yeah, I have taken that into account. I am trying to figure out exactly what EDGE will turn out to be so I can either wait or determine what is different and begin now. Any information would be valuable!

 

Be sure to subscribe to this thread if you're interested!

 

Regards,

-Uriah

[rassy7]

I didn't even know this was possible. Best of luck! I'm surprised there haven't been more attempts at custom maps, considering it's one of the most limiting aspects of DCS World for people who played a lot of FSX.

 

Sidebar: How far east are you planning to venture? Coeur d'Alene Lake could be a lot of fun (was born in CDA).

[pepin1234]

good luck. We want this Kind of project, we need maps.

[Uriah]

I just sent a message to ED to inquire about the EDGE SDK, we'll see what they say. I am all about it! Washington State is beautiful and amazing to fly over (in real life).

 

I actually have a few missions in mind, but I don't know if it is possible to create customized single player missions for other people to play.

 

One idea is to have the player fly an airplane though the mountains at low altitude, below radar level, and strike a "base" that I am going to model/build which is fortified inside a mountian. There is actually a small landing strip way out in the Stehekin Wilderness (North Cascades) that I have been to, and the concept is based on how difficult it is to maneuver aircraft at low altitude through this terrain, it would be a serious challenge. Not to mention the topography make it almost impassible to vehicles, I know the area like the back of my hand.

 

-Uriah

[Uriah]

rassy7: Currently I am not sure about the file/size limitations for maps. I would love to do the entire state, but there are more questions than answers currently. If size is an issue I can create multiple maps, and somehow join them together. If not I would focus primarily on Eastern Washington because of the terrain features in the North Cascades, (where I grew up), but hopefully this is not the case. Like I said in the first post, the dataset I am working with is insanely big! We'll see. Glad people are interested.

 

-Uriah

[Home Fries]

Sweet. Now we just need the A-6 and/or EA-6B to fly those low level routes through the Cascades! :joystick:

Go Hawks!

[Uriah]

Where is the Like button?! By the way the pilots coming over from the Naval Air Station on Whidbey Island fly through my area in the A-6 and I have seen them pop over a ridge while I was hiking less than 40 ft over my head. Sweat aircraft! Pilots training for Afghanistan fly the Cascades because the terrain is so similar to the Kush.

Edited January 24, 2014 by Uriah

[b00ce]

A dream come true, even better than Take on Helicopters. :D

 

I miss home, I need to go on leave.

[Home Fries]

Where is the Like button?! By the way the pilots coming over from the Naval Air Station on Whidbey Island fly through my area in the A-6 and I have seen them pop over a ridge while I was hiking less than 40 ft over my head. Sweat aircraft! Pilots training for Afghanistan fly the Cascades because the terrain is so similar to the Kush.

I was stationed at Whidbey in the 90s, and back then the Prowlers would exit the route so close to SEATAC airspace that they would immediately squawk 7600 (lost comms) once they finally "came up for air". This would cause ATC to reroute all air traffic in the immediate area. Ironically, it was ATC who told them to squawk 7600; all of the controllers knew exactly what was going on.

 

[aaron886]

I didn't even know this was possible.

 

It's not, not right now. I hope everyone realizes that before they have unrealistic expectations. Uriah has elevation and texture data and is working on a terrain mesh. That's very good, but unfortunately it's a far cry from having it in the simulator, and as of now it is not possible to create terrain for DCS.

[71st_Mastiff]

wow great looking map, can't wait, are the trees collidable?

[Lt.Seahawk]

Look at this guy, 15 Forum posts and already has a good looking map :thumbup: I like ya.

 

Is it hard to import the mesh data into 3DSMax? I was thinking about fort rucker as a map.

[Uriah]

aaron886: I am a little confused at this point. Are the tools for creating DCS terrain exclusively for certified 3rd Party developers? Could you explain yourself a little further, because I am getting mixed messages from other members saying I can create terrain maps and get them working in DCS. Any how, I am looking forward to EDGE (along with everyone) and am well on my way to creating some sweet maps in the near future.

 

Regards,

-Uriah

[Uriah]

By the way, just to clearify, I don't have anything yet but some really nice GIS data (Geospatial Information System data) that I painstakingly stitched together from over 1000 JPEG 2000 raster files, and over 40 ArcGrid elevation files. So the trees are just pixels, along with everything else.

[Flаnker]

Good work! Good luck!

[Uriah]

Thank you. Subscribe to the thread for updates!

[aaron886]

There was no need to make another thread to ask if this was possible, Uriah. At this time, it is not. (Per my post.) If you want to learn more about EDGE, do some searching of Wags posts and posts from RRG Studios.

[Pyroflash]

There was no need to make another thread to ask if this was possible, Uriah. At this time, it is not. (Per my post.) If you want to learn more about EDGE, do some searching of Wags posts and posts from RRG Studios.

 

For normal users at least. I'm sure that if you talk to ED, they will have more information for you (Uriah). After all, they created the maps somehow. Just because the information isn't publicly available doesn't mean that there isn't a way to currently do it.