[WIP] Lighthouses mod

I've found this : http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/down...o=file&id=1315

Now two problems :

- how does it work ?
- what map should we modifiy ? Vanilla or WAC ? ...

[SquareSteelBar]

TerrainEditor + Tutorial by ref

[gap]

ops... while writing my previois reply I had missed SquareSteelBar's link (thank you mate!)

Originally Posted by SquareSteelBar

TerrainEditor + Tutorial by ref

This version of the download also contains detailed instructions on the SHIII terrain format and on its editing

Originally Posted by SquareSteelBar

TerrainEditor + Tutorial by ref

SH3 Terrain Editing.pdf : that was the file I needed ! Thank you mate !

Something interesting : http://www.kartengruppe.it/immagini/...0/0088G-SB.jpg (from : http://www.kartengruppe.it/index.php/nordsee-deutsche-admiralitatskarten)

But although the map was printed in 1943, it's based on a 1913 map.

In 1943, the island was bigger, as you can see on this picture :

Originally Posted by Kendras

In 1943, the island was bigger

Probably because of this : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Hummerschere

[gap]

Originally Posted by Kendras

Something interesting : http://www.kartengruppe.it/immagini/...0/0088G-SB.jpg (from : http://www.kartengruppe.it/index.php/nordsee-deutsche-admiralitatskarten)

But although the map was printed in 1943, it's based on a 1913 map.

In 1943, the island was bigger, as you can see on this picture :

Originally Posted by Kendras

Probably because of this : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Hummerschere

Good findings, thank you for sharing!

I don't know how far the Nazis went with their expansion plan, anyway the sandy beaches of Helgoland and Düne are subject to a strong tidal erosion, and their size and shape might have changed over time. Add to that the fact that after war the Brits tried to sink the main island

[gap]

Originally Posted by Kendras

In 1943, the island was bigger, as you can see on this picture :

Comparing your 1943 picture with a 2008 aerial view (taken from Google Earth), it seems that Heligoland has not changed mutch over the last 70 years. Not the same can be said about Düne though

[gap]

I have outlined the two islands of Helgoland and Dune on an equirectangular map projection (as the one used in SH games to represent the globe)...



and I have placed them on a 1deg lat/long quadrant of the size used for SHIII terrain masks. This is the result:



The resolution is poor indeed, but those are the limits imposed by the game.

Originally Posted by gap

I have outlined the two islands of Helgoland and Dune on an equirectangular map projection (as the one used in SH games to represent the globe)...

I prefer to have real shape, even if the map is deformed. It's not a problem, as the islands are very small. I will see that point over the week-end. Keep focusing on the lighthouses, I do the map job.

[gap]

Originally Posted by Kendras

I've found this : http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/down...o=file&id=1315

Got it

Originally Posted by Kendras

Now two problems :

- how does it work ?

The package comes with a readme file, but instructions are not too clear, and apparently they only explain how to merge in game a ready-made terrain modification, but not how to create a new one. Probably once the SHIII terrain is excrated using yhe tool, a set of heigth masks is created. From a comment on the download page, I get that this information might be in RAW format. If that was the case, any photo editor capable of importing/exporting from/to the RAW format could be used to edit the heigth information.

Hopefully someone better informed on the topic we are discussing will pop up and he will shed some light

Originally Posted by Kendras

- what map should we modifiy ? Vanilla or WAC ? ...

Well I would start from the most detailed SHIII terrain available (I don't know which one is the best between WAC and GWX). If I got it right, once the terrain data is extracted and modified, there are two ways it can be released:

- as a package containing only the modified areas, which can be re-merged to any version of the SHIII terrain data using the Extractor/Repacker;

- as a ready-to-use terrain data which can be enabled as normal mod using JSGME

The first method would contain the download size and it would allow more flexibility, because it would let any player free to choose which terrain data (mega mod) he wants to use as base for the merging of our modifications. The con, is that its installation would be a bit trickier.