Terrain theme and objects questions

[Scrapper_511]

1. What is the difference between 'Woods Con.' and 'Woods Dec.' ?

 

2. I've been using tree #18 (for Woods Con.), but to be sure, what type tree is most appropriate for a Korea map?

 

3. In general, how should the surface properties be set for grass, mud, dirt, and concrete?

 

4. How does the 'Fill' feature work?

 

5. I assume that increasing density and height of grass cover affects hardware performance just like tree density does. Am I correct or an ass?

 

Thanks in advance..!

[Ssnake]

1. Coniferous vs Deciduous. Pine trees vs everything that loses foliage in autumn and winter.
2. I've never been in Korea, so I'm keeping my big mnouth shut for once.
3. Hm:
   1. Ground resistance determines how quickly a vehicle comes to a halt if not accelerating
   2. Traction determines how well a vehicle can accelerate/brake. If ground resistance is higher than traction, vehicles get stuck. Use this only if you really, really mean it
   3. Hardness determines how deep a vehicle will sink into the terrain. It's primarily a cosmetic value, but should of course be somewhat consistent with the rest. Concrete and rock would be obviously candidates for "hardness 1.0", water would be 0.0, and everything else somewhere in between.
   4. Dustiness sets the amount of dust generated while moving across terrain. It should be high for "sand", medium for grass etc (depending a bit on the climate zone), and about zero for wet dirt (a.k.a. "mud").
4. Fill as in the map editor, or in a theme? If the latter, please elaborate because I have no idea what you could mean.
5. Not necessarily, as it would still be subject to the user's graphics detail settings. It'd more about the relative appearance of ground cover elements. Sometimes you only want few (bushes) to be around, grass on the other hand would be something very frequent

[Scrapper_511]

6 minutes ago, Ssnake said:

1. Fill as in the map editor, or in a theme? If the latter, please elaborate because I have no idea what you could mean.

I'm only aware of the 'Fill' button in the map editor.

 

Thanks Ssnake.

[Ssnake]

Well, there it works as described in the user's manual. You basically set the height deviation for the fill function, and it will flood all adjacent tiles of the same type, up the the upper and lower height threshold from the point that you clicked.

[Scrapper_511]

1 minute ago, Ssnake said:

Well, there it works as described in the user's manual. You basically set the height deviation for the fill function, and it will flood all adjacent tiles of the same type, up the the upper and lower height threshold from the point that you clicked.

Thanks. I'll review the manual too.

[Ssnake]

To elaborate on the traction and ground resistance issue... People usually recommend setting the traction on water to 100% (that is, the ground UNDER the water surface) to make it somewhat possible for vehicles to climb out of the water, once that they are in. And for the time being that is a reasonable advice. At some point it might no longer, provided that the player would have engineering assets to dig entry and exit points for water crossing sites.

But that's something to talk about for SB Pro PE 4.5 or so.

 

Also, the difference between traction and ground resistance sets the limit to what kind of slopes can be negotiated.

 

It would be possible to paint a hill slope with a "bog" type terrain that offers only a small (positive) difference, and make the hill effectively impossible to climb up. This may be justified for special occasions ("Hamburger Hill", maybe) but usually you wouldn't find bog type terrain on steep hill slopes, but rather at the bottom of valleys or so.

Just because the theme editor doesn't restrict you in what you're doing, not every combination makes a lot of sense.

[Scrapper_511]

YES!!! With 4.0 I can now create parking lots and city blocks with impunity!!! With nice clean edges too!!!

 

THANK YOU!

[Gibsonm]

1 hour ago, Scrapper_511 said:

I can now create parking lots and city blocks with impunity!!! With nice clean edges too!!!

 

Have you booked your "Big Yellow Taxi"?

[Scrapper_511]

Yellow? No. Battle Taxis? Yes.

4.0 is a thing of beauty. A few bugs here and there, but a thing of beauty!

[Gibsonm]

Perhaps too obscure.

 

Joni Mitchell

 

" Don't it always seem to go / That you don't know what you've got til its gone / They paved paradise / And put up a parking lot… "

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94bdMSCdw20

[Scrapper_511]

Went over my head, that one. I know of the song actually, didn't know the title nor the original song.

[Scrapper_511]

The new concrete, asphalt, and concrete map tool is a very welcome feature. However, in world view, their surfaces are largely penetrated by the terrain below it. I've tried laying these things in the flattest areas of the map but even the slightest undulations will expose the underlying terrain on top of the concrete, asphalt, or concrete plane. So far, I've successfully used it only on a perfectly flat blank map. Perhaps this tool was made to work hand in hand with the hi-res terrain?

 

Please excuse the crude appearance of this example (I was just checking out the new map objects).

 

[Ssnake]

Yes, the flattening of the underlying terrain is something that will be done with the new terrain engine.