Carraigdubh, County Leitrim. - A 5x5km Geotypical Irish Terrain

[sxp2high]

This is one of the most detailed and most beautiful maps I've laid eyes on! The villages are just incredible! Very nice work!

[twisted]

You've heard it before, but I'll say it again. Really great map man. One thing I question is the transparent grass on the little hills. Never seen it like that before. But incredible nap. Truly next level stuff. And see you are considering adding farms — awesome. Thanks very much for such an excellent map man. One if the best out there.

[dialektiikka]

Taking a good look on this tonight, as its been way too long since I've been to Ireland

Any possibility of including some archaeological sites in a future update? Leitrim is megalith tomb country, isn't it? With something like that on the map, It could present it as an example of virtual archaeology later this year (with proper crediting to you, of course).Please PM me if interested, Bushlurker.

[Slatts]

Taking a good look on this tonight, as its been way too long since I've been to Ireland

Any possibility of including some archaeological sites in a future update? Leitrim is megalith tomb country, isn't it? With something like that on the map, It could present it as an example of virtual archaeology later this year (with proper crediting to you, of course).Please PM me if interested, Bushlurker.

there isnt much historical stuff from the megalithic age up there to see, most of it would have been lost..tombs especially, i havnt heard or seen anything from that era

for archaeology artefacts the best era would be Celtic, ring forts etc.

[Bushlurker]

'Afternoon Gentlemen...

Once again I'd just like to thank everyone for their kind and positive comments, both here and elsewhere! I'm particularly delighted that people have generally picked up on the spirit in which this little terrain was intended... and, best of all, have had fun playing on it!

I grew up in an area on the outermost edge of Glasgow - little terraced and tenement-lined streets with pubs 'n corner shops just like Ballybrian - climbing over walls and in and out of peoples back-gardens, "playing sodjeys"
We knew every gap in the walls, every hole in the fences, every garden shed that could be usefully hidden behind, climbed on top of, or fallen off...
Techie stuff like javelins hadn't been invented, and our imagination didn't run to tanks or armour anyway... it was all about peeking round corners, windows, doorways - with a stick for a rifle and the backyard of the pub as an HQ...
When we got bored with "Urban Conflict" all we had to do was climb the last back wall in the street and from there on it was all just fields and hedgerows and drystane walls, cows and sheep - as far as our eyes could see, and our little legs could take us... before the big Dinnertime Ceasefire...

Carraigdubh of course, is all about recreating that fun again... with bigger guns... (and longer legs)

Anyhow... let's see if I can cover a few points that have been raised....

a bush on the road in grid 038026

I've shepherded that stray bush gently to the side of the road where it'll be safe! Well spotted!

a few golf and romeo towers about the place ?

Towers, border checkpoints and the like are best left to missionmakers I think... I don't really want to "hardwire" specific "military" items into the landscape...

the NE corner of the map is a little sparse I think adding in some hedgerows and another Ballybrain sized town up there would be nice. Also the bushes with the white flowers you use on the hills render very strangely at range they turn into white blocks you might want to consider using a different bush model.

Good points, both!... Yes - I think there's room for 3 Ballybrian-sized towns... I've already started work on one down in the SW - at the "main road" T-junction south of the sawmills...
For the NE I think I might expand the existing village of Satnamarra slightly... it's on a main road T-junction too, so it's a good spot for a "last stop before the border" mini-town...

The "ghost gorse" bushes... Yeah, they're the only "stock" vegetation model - an OA bush...
Since I recoloured all the other stock A2 veg, I was able to iron out differences in colour at different LOD levels (well, mostly...), but that particular bush shades to a very pale tone at distance... to suit Takistan, of course... Shape-wise it suits quite well, but I think I'll recolour it along the lines of the other vegetation... I'll be able to fix that tone change, and maybe even add some typical little yellow gorse flowers in the close-up LOD...

Any possibility of including some archaeological sites in a future update? Leitrim is megalith tomb country, isn't it? With something like that on the map, It could present it as an example of virtual archaeology later this year

Landscape archaeology was actually my RL occupation for the last 10 years! (until my recent radical career change), and quite a lot of that time was spent modelling "virtual archaeology sites" in GIS programs and the like... that's basically what led me to terrain modelling in the first place...
Though my area of expertise is in the Eastern-Mediterranean Bronze Age, I've done my share of tramping around the various types of megalithic-era tombs and bronze/iron age earthworks typical of this whole region of Ireland - and Scotland too...
Slatts is fairly correct, though...

there isnt much historical stuff from the megalithic age up there to see, most of it would have been lost..tombs especially... ...for archaeology artefacts the best era would be Celtic, ring forts etc.

Leitrim is fairly poorly represented on the archaeological front, compared to other Countys... not that I'm an expert on the area, of course... There's a megalithic-era tomb or two, and some iron age(?) linear earthworks and the like... no impressive megaliths or stone circles really though...

Earthworks and ring-forts could be modelled fairly successfully I think, though it might take a smaller scale ground mesh than this 5 meter one to do them full justice... it's something to think about though... I might take a little tour around the heightmap - see if I can spot a slope or hill that might have seemed appropriate at the time...
As for actual little dolmen/tombs, token megaliths or basic stone circles, the more practical reason of appropriate models becomes an issue... my current model skills aren't really up to par as yet, so it might be a while before I can muster an appropriate rock or two...


Though my modelling skills are still non-existent, I've started to get the hang of some basic texturing... a little...

Once I iron out a few dodginesses here and there I'll apply this fairly typical mixed sandstone bricks texture to a selection of the existing buildings, plus maybe variants in a "whitewashed stone" texture too, for a bit of variety... oh, and grey slate roofs mostly too...
It'll make the objects pbo a little bigger, but I reckon it'll be worthwhile for the extra visual ambience...

More pictures to follow once I have some more progress worth reporting...

PS...

@twisted...

One thing I question is the transparent grass on the little hills. Never seen it like that before.

Me neither!
Any chance you could maybe post a picture? Unlike the trees & bushes, all the clutter is 100% standard Arma 2 - I haven't added any custom stuff, so either I've used them inappropriately somehow and not noticed yet, or maybe it's some external thing like AToC?



B

[padu]

Great map Bushlurker ,live only a few miles leitrim
Regards padu

[Harzach]

Not much to add other than my praise. What a fantastic map! Excellent attention to detail.

I'm having fun thinking of the possibilities RE: SAS training/ops scenarios!

[BloodBane611]

Hey Bushlurker, United Operations just added your island to our server, and it is fantastic!

Here's a vid from a mission, the combined effect of night, fog, moonlight and hedgerows makes the setting amazing:

[JumpingHubert]

I found this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GECt4BIwafE

[Jedra]

Hey Bushlurker, United Operations just added your island to our server, and it is fantastic!

Here's a vid from a mission, the combined effect of night, fog, moonlight and hedgerows makes the setting amazing:

I am not quite sure what the locals would have made of all those American fellas marching across their farms! I am sure they would have appreciated the singing though.

Hope you didn't kill any of their cows!