Matrix Games Forums

There is a thread about 3-D maps for the COTA version, but I would love to see some for the terrain of the BftB/HTTR maps.

Having a 3-D feel for the terrain is critical for a real commander, and it if just as important for winning BftB.

Even if the maps were simple 2-D with contour lines, I'd be pretty happy. I know that the game uses colors to denote relief, but I can't visualize 3D with color at all. With contour lines, I can see it right off the bat. I remember seeing a pic of a human body that had nothing but contour lines -- the shape was clear!

Out of curiosity, do the units "see" based on the moderate resolution of the game maps, or are they have a view based on a more detailed map?

There is a google earth tour for BFTB, that has all the maps in 3-D, available here: http://www.matrixgames.com/forums/tm.asp?m=2465176

I never did any for HTTR as the terrain is either flat or very easy to read.

I'm hoping one of the map overlays for the planned CO2 will be contours. I asked for this a while back but Dave said the current graphics package could not support transparent overlays.

A feature like the 'terrain' layer in Google Maps world be a golden addition to the game.

3d would be great for sure , i use the LOS tool constantly and get a pretty good feel for it

ORIGINAL: rfrizz
Out of curiosity, do the units "see" based on the moderate resolution of the game maps, or are they have a view based on a more detailed map?

LOS checking is done at the resolution the terrain tables (see options to experiment with different values in the MapMaker) has been set to. The resolution that you can see on the official maps was chosen as the best compromise between fidelity and speed. LOS checking, together with path finding, takes up a very significant amount of CPU time (hence the plans to adapt the engine architecture to the kind of multi-core multi-CPU setups which have become so common in the last 3? years).

Obviously, this trade-off between fidelity and speed is a moving target and was sort of a least common denominator. It depends quite a bit on the kind of rig you're running the game on, so YMMV and all that