Montgomery 205 Posted March 26, 2013 I may be way, way off here, but is it even possible for BIS to create a much more user-friendly terrain creation tool? A lot of games over the years have had terrain editors that are fairly simple and much easier for people to use. I don't even know if it's possible and I'm just curious about it. Here are some example pictures of what I am talking about. I don't even know what games these are from, but it gives you an idea of what I had in mind. Is it even possible? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Binkowski 25 Posted March 26, 2013 They've been asking for an updated version of Visitor for awhile. And they have yet to put it out. And iirc it's the reason why OPX left the community (well, one of the reasons). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
m1lkm8n 410 Posted March 26, 2013 (edited) It's funny I never really thought of our version of visitor as a terrain creation tool. More like an object placement tool. As long as the terrain creation tool you are using can export in an xyz format is just so much easier to create the actual terrain there. Though I am amazed at the stuff people have been able to crank out for arma 3 with the current version of visitor and some flim flammin. I there's an island floating around by fromz that looking absolutely stunning. It hard to imaging its going to get to much easier when they sell the real program for thousands of dollars Plus if it got to much easier like vbedit the place would be flooded with islands and wouldn't be the same Edited March 26, 2013 by M1lkm8n Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aussnipe73 3 Posted March 26, 2013 I don't even know what games these are from Well I dont know about the last one but the top two are from World in Conflict(2007) better known as WiC and one of my all-time favourite games, that's its level editor called WICed. It was a very good editor but all maps had to be the same dimensions 1536x1536m. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Montgomery 205 Posted March 26, 2013 the place would be flooded with islands and wouldn't be the same This is exactly what I want. I would love it if we were flooded with islands. Why wouldn't you want more to choose from? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
m1lkm8n 410 Posted March 27, 2013 (edited) This is exactly what I want. I would love it if we were flooded with islands. Why wouldn't you want more to choose from? It's not that I don't want more content but I'd rather have quality content. Just take for instance the project I'm working on now. I'm recreating grand manan. My best friend actually just moved to Canada. I have him out taking pictures of stop signs , mailboxes, houses anything to create the feeling of actually being there. Instead of just pumping out mini-stratiss or Lemnos or whatever they changed the name to now. See what I'm saying. Yes a newer updated version of visitor is surly needed but if they give us anything like vbedit it wouldn't be the same as it is now. These guys (the mod makers) work months maybe years just to get close to a completed island that offers that new never been here before feeling. Edited March 27, 2013 by M1lkm8n Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Twin2Win 1 Posted March 27, 2013 It's not that I don't want more content but I'd rather have quality content. Just take for instance the project I'm working on now. I'm recreating grand manan. My best friend actually just moved to Canada. I have him out taking pictures of stop signs , mailboxes, houses anything to create the feeling of actually being there. Instead of just pumping out mini-stratiss or Lemnos or whatever they changed the name to now. See what I'm saying. Yes a newer updated version of visitor is surly needed but if they give us anything like vbedit it wouldn't be the same as it is now. These guys work months maybe years just to get close to a completed island that offers that new never been here before feeling. 100% Agree with you! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Harzach 2505 Posted March 27, 2013 This is exactly what I want. I would love it if we were flooded with islands. Why wouldn't you want more to choose from? Signal-to-noise ratio. 90%+ would be uninspired or worse. And a startling share of those would be genital-shaped. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZeroG 23 Posted March 27, 2013 Second that. Just look at the flood of missions...besides lame gameplay, some get released not even working...that wont happen with islands, as creating them takes time and passion... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Montgomery 205 Posted March 27, 2013 And a startling share of those would be genital-shaped. That's probably true, lol. I'm sure there would be a large number of islands that would be crap, but I also believe that there would be more awesome ones to choose from. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johanna 11 Posted March 29, 2013 We need this, only $13,065.00 Tho i just ordered the trail for 60 dollars... *klick* https://store.bisimulations.com/products/vb-edit *klick* Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
m1lkm8n 410 Posted March 29, 2013 We need this, only $13,065.00Tho i just ordered the trail for 60 dollars... Can't say I'm not curious. Let us know how it is. I know your limited to size though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
johanna 11 Posted March 29, 2013 Can't say I'm not curious. Let us know how it is. I know your limited to size though Tell us more... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
biggibs 0 Posted March 29, 2013 (edited) lol seems a bargain at that price! Kind of reminds me of a more advanced version of Silola's/mapfacts Map 3de app that was released for arma 1 http://www.armaholic.com/page.php?id=3724 realy was quite a powerfull app,there was a good long demo video of it in action on youtube they even provided a demo island they made with it,nice looking too! still have the 3de app and copy of video kicking about on my hdd somewhere! Edited March 29, 2013 by BiGGiBs Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ZeroG 23 Posted March 29, 2013 Well, no export - no use...I assume it will only make you sad :) I think the inbuilt 3DE is just about right. It might not be very comfortable BUT it is far better than Visitor 3 PLUS it doesnt cost additional money... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
luki 53 Posted March 30, 2013 3de :) good old times... Visitor3 really is out to date and mutated more to a converting tool in the whole map building process. What is missing imoh is at least update for the new functions like roads, shapefiels, 3 digit Terrain cell size, normal map, layers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bvrettski 10 Posted March 30, 2013 You guys should see World Builder for Company of Heros. Thats easily the most visual, intuitive product I have seen for map creation. Something like that would be a huge advance for ARMA 3 I think. As it sits now the tools and the processes required handcuff the creation of great maps and good missions. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
r3volution 0 Posted March 30, 2013 I think any arguments against having a more accessible map creation tool due to there being 'too many crap maps' as a result, are insanely short-sighted. Sure there would be idiots, but most mod sites aren't going to upload Dick Island 3.2 so you aren't even going to have to sort through them. Second and most importantly there are probably a ton of highly talented people being left out of the map creation field in Arma just due to the insanely high skill level required and the convoluted nature of map creation. At this point I swear that I would honestly buy a lite version of VBEdit if they would release one for sub 500 bucks. It's just criminal that a studio which prides itself on having a mod friendly game, hasn't started to invest more heavily in modder friendly tools. Goodwill can't keep the hard core of map makers going forever, at some point most will get sick of working with poor tools. That said, if a better tool is in the works, I'll take it all back. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Harzach 2505 Posted March 30, 2013 My previous comment was a bit tongue-in-cheek, of course. A user-friendly terrain editor would naturally allow the better mapmakers to create better maps faster, and to an even higher standard than they hold themselves to now. While the current tools certainly cull the weaker talents, they also cull potential talents without the time necessary to learn the tools. Not to mention weigh down the "stars" of the mapmaking community. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zeep 3 Posted April 3, 2013 Plus if it got to much easier like vbedit the place would be flooded with islands and wouldn't be the same You're wrong about that. Quite the opposite happens when more people can use the mapmaking program easier. True, crappy maps will be made but the overall quality bar will be raised because mapmakers will want their map to be the best among all the others. Also Orange maps (untextured maps, like for TF2, DOD etc) were disliked a lot in the beginning but they did bring new designs, some of them very interesting. That in turn inspired more accomplished mapmakers to use parts in their maps. Competition is good. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dmarkwick 261 Posted April 3, 2013 I've had a good experience using GeoControl 2 to generate extremely real terrains and then texturing it with Vue. Been a long time since I did this though :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
freakjoe 3 Posted April 3, 2013 I've had a good experience using GeoControl 2 to generate extremely real terrains and then texturing it with Vue. Been a long time since I did this though :) Thanks alot for those links! That first program seems extremely helpful. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Greenberet40 136 Posted April 3, 2013 Thanks alot for those links! That first program seems extremely helpful. At first view this program its that we need ¡¡¡¡ :D that only wait support the files of Arma III Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Twin2Win 1 Posted April 3, 2013 Well I believe you can export to Tiff or something like that which can be imported into visitor or in to L3DT for further changes. Heck I've considered picking up the crysis 2 software because they have a tools that lays down a road and smooths terrain underneath it automatically. save and export that to L3DT and continue making your HF =) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lightspeed_aust 681 Posted April 3, 2013 Second that. Just look at the flood of missions...besides lame gameplay, some get released not even working...that wont happen with islands, as creating them takes time and passion... Yes you will get good and bad maps because some ppl are perfectionists and some are just happy to knock up any piece of crap. But the community will sort out the diamonds from the rubbish. Even with current map making tools, there is a significant gap in level of quality/finish. Providing better tools will just open the doors to new ap makers and raise the benchmark for quality. And make it easier and quicker to create them. A Crysis map editor would be ideal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
