Desert Storm maps v0.91

[storm rider]

After a long time in the making I'm almost happy to release its first alpha version. The main problem with this map is that it being a desert plain, with imense quantity of shifting sand and varying soil moisture, the heightmaps from no matter what source (SRTM, Aster, Alos Palsar...) is extremely bumpy and noisy. A lot of work was put on how to properly de-noise the heightmaps: it's always a compromise, because it's impossible to get it perfectly, so choices need to be made as well as tons of trials and errors.

Last but not least, the choice of area also required a lot of testing and compromises had to be made. I tried to include the maximum in the limited area available and location the accurate positions of the historical events most of the time required a lot more than simply believing in wikipedia, which turned out to be very innacurate.

[storm rider]

Iraq-Kuwait NW Border v0.9

[storm rider]

Iraq_Kuwait NW Border v0.91
http://www.mediafire.com/file/1fbdv324o ... 1.zip/file

[noooooo]

Great idea. Giving it a try.

[tebeinteresno]

ORIGINAL: storm rider

After a long time in the making I'm almost happy to release its first alpha version. The main problem with this map is that it being a desert plain, with imense quantity of shifting sand and varying soil moisture, the heightmaps from no matter what source (SRTM, Aster, Alos Palsar...) is extremely bumpy and noisy. A lot of work was put on how to properly de-noise the heightmaps: it's always a compromise, because it's impossible to get it perfectly, so choices need to be made as well as tons of trials and errors.

Its true that hieght data is kind a noisy.
You could try "smoothes" effect with dev tool.
Also you can do that in QGIS with denoiser plugin

also here is some tutorial
or mb a can add that tutorial in map-making tutorial.

[storm rider]

I used Saga, which has the Mesh Denoise plugin included as default. The process takes some time, specially because in that tutorial the guy is pretty conservative in the use of iterations and threshold.

So I, as I said:

A lot of work was put on how to properly de-noise the heightmaps: it's always a compromise, because it's impossible to get it perfectly, so choices need to be made as well as tons of trials and errors.

The best setting that I could get any reasonable result without destroying the general outline of the area was 120 iterations and 0.1 threshold. That's what the current maps have. The same map in Steel Beasts Pro PE, only required half of that.

[StuartG]

Incidentally, great map. We really wanted a wide open desert map, so thanks for that.

[BeirutDude]

Anybody have a zip copy of this map that doesn't require my giving my first born child to get it? Never heard of MediaFire but those are some steep terms to gat a Zip file!!!!! [:(]