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[WxTech]

An image of Jackson field that I should have included above...

The stock buildings are still in place. What I need to know is this; is it best to keep stock buildings here in order to avoid potential incompatibility for missions that might have any of these structures specified as targets? Personally I would like to largely scrape the landscape clean and use more suitable structures. 

[Kopfdorfer]

As a Mission and Campaign builder I say scrap the buildings.
Yes it is true that it may pose problems that require simple FMB adjustments for pre-existing scenarios ,
but as a Mission builder I vastly prefer a blank slate than working around things that I cannot
change.

Just my 10 cents worth.

Kopfdorfer

[WxTech]

Perhaps the ideal is to supply two actors.static files; one with airfields empty and the other with suitable objects present for those who desire to jump into flying with minimum fuss.

But this leaves the matter of the inappropriate stock.objects, which . I suppose that erasing the bridges having already broke compatibility for campaigns to at least a certain degree, might we best just give in and embrace total change in the form of a more holistic revamping in all areas?

Because this is not intended to fully replace the stock map.

After fixing the runways, I'll mull over the possibility of keeping an actors.static which retains the stock buildings. Although it causes some anxiety to contemplate managing three versions of this file! 

[WxTech]

And Wards field done, which had two concrete strips and a bunch of concrete taxiways and parking aprons. Here the tone of the PSP is very similar to the ground underneath it and so is almost camouflaged.  The dirt strip is my partially transparent ground runway texture, where I've made the colour also much more neutral as opposed to the stock bright green. In this way this runway can work on a great many maps due to its 'neutrality'.

Side note: The sudden transition to forest in the middle distance will be extended to farther distance, as I increase the area around Moresby with the less tree'd textures. Thus far I only did a quick, initial treatment of somewhat limitated area.

[WxTech]

To get a sense of some of the texturing in flight, under the condition of haze in early afternoon.

A number of rivers having well visible gravel/silt beds look like this:



Areas of grassland:



Swampland:



And having some fun shooting up fuel tanks at Wards Field (featuring some v1.6 effects in development):

[genXgamer]

Any thoughts of adding some hills around Port Moresby's billiard table landscape?

Paga and Tuaguba Hills?

[WxTech]

I'm using a DEM file based on real topography. Are those hills too small in footprint to show up in this data? The only flattening I did was limited as much as possible to just the fairly small airfields. (Unlike what was done for the Green Hell map, where the sprawling complexes merged practically together and so required grading a huge area flat.) I suppose I'll have to see if a topo map can be located online.

I note that the DEM file I'm using seems to have the lower elevations not protrude quite as high as they do on the Green Hell map. If my file has the grey scale suppressed, I could easily apply a 'boost' using Photoshop.

[WxTech]

At the smaller scales of these topographic features, especially Paga Hill, the coarseness of the underlying grid of vertices makes a proper representation impossible. The result tends toward more of a pointy 'pyramid', especially if the adjacent shore is to lie at sea level. And the map_C may not be ideally positioned with respect to the height map grid, resulting in an offset highest point.

Consider what an even larger feature as the limestone cliffs of Southern England present in difficulty. It requires to create an object if a reasonably accurate appearance is to be achieved. And of course one cannot place objects on another object without specifying the correct height to add.

[WxTech]

So. I used an interactive online topo map that allows to click on a spot to find the height. I checked a number in-game heights and noted a systematic lowering commencing at around 60m and up. For example, some in-game heights (L) vs the correct values (R):

120 - 262
220 - 400
800 - 1100

I went through several iterations of applying a custom curve to map_H.tga, so as to boost the heights commencing just at the threshold of a bit below 60m. The curve set points I settled on, with input/output values:

20, 20
35, 35
64, 77
128, 148
191, 204

The two equal pairs in the lowest regime (for the lowest elevations) are to force a straight line, for no deviation. The curve is a smooth Bezier. The result is a much better match to reality, with all terrain except for the highest peaks near 4,000m looking more like the real thing.

It appears the hills at Port Moresby might have already been manually suppressed in the DEM image I obtained; I raised the heights with the unlocked FMB's height tool (the screenie below is from the unlocked FMB, and shows the marker pin that snaps to the nearest vertex.) As mentioned, the coarse grid of vertices does not permit fine-scale shaping of the topography. But I think this result is reasonably representative after comparing with photos of the city skyline.

[WxTech]

Another unlocked FMB snapshot, at Wards Field looking WNW. The hilly terrain aspect has definitely been boosted to nearer to reality, where the 220-400m tall hills here have been boosted by about 75% or so from their former too-low heights. While the view angle is different, compare to my reply #51 above, where the former overall lower topography should be apparent.

The pale green squares covering the airfield are the airfield plates temporarily made visible for easy placement. These plates render the ground beyond the runway plates smooth for safe taxying.

[Kelso]

We sit - we admire - we wait  .

[genXgamer]

Was planning on saying don't waste too much time on this matter but I see you've been busy overnight.
Perhaps of little interest/importance to others, I believe this further enhances the appearance of the map.
A Mixx style town texture would look fantastic sandwiched between the two hills.
You could get an idea of how it may look by trialling Mixx's Aust Sity texture from the Ambon Darwin map.

EDIT:   I think three city textures is an overkill for this map considering there's no Lae or Salamaua.