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[nounette]

Hi everybody,

The big Mideast map it's now complete. I've populated missing cities and fixed bugs.
I don't expect to add many new features as the map is becoming a little heavy with so many objects (don't be surprised if it takes some seconds to load).
The only big change that is still on the work is the update of airbases to their historical layout.
Beside this, I think that there'll be only bugfixing based on your feedback. Then, I'll concentrate on the 48 campaign.

You'll find v2.00final at http://www.gamefront.com/files/20374234/MideastBIG+v2.00final+by+Nounette.rar
EDIT:
On top of the map, please install the following hot fixes:
1) http://www.gamefront.com/files/20567278/map_F_rar
2) http://www.gamefront.com/files/20567355/Heights_Water_HotFix_rar
END EDIT.

I've tested the version and it's compatible both with v4.09 and v4.10, please read the installing instructions (now released in english, french and hebrew - thanks IAF.Phantom-)

The release includes:

New features:
1) Added new objects (egyptian monuments, buildings)
2) Populated Cairo, Dumyat, Banha, Tanta, Damanhur, Abu Qir, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Bilbeis, Helwan, Madinat Sittah Uktubar, Al Fayyum, Beni Suef, Adabiya, Al Hafair, Ain Sukhna, Alexandria
3) Added train stations to Cairo, Dumyat, Banha, Damanhur, El-Mahalla El-Kubra, Bilbeis, Beni Suef, Alexandria
4) Added ports to Alexandria, Abu Qir
5) Added Gizeh and Saqqara ancient sites

Fixes/improvements:
1) Made Suez Channel navigable (made it wider so cities and objects around had to be moved to the new shores).
2) Fixed/improved some layout textures, bridges and roads
3) Corrected shorelines and shallow waters
4) Removed bunker on Nir-Am runway end
5) Improved Nile layout near Cairo
6) Relocated Alexandria, improved river and shore layout

I hope you enjoy it and, as always,  I'm looking for your feedback.

Cheers,

N

You'll find below some screenshots of the added new areas

Abu Qir


Alexandria


Cairo




Gizeh


Saqqara

[Poltava]

Thanks for this! It fills a BIG gap! 

D/L-ing now!

UPDATE: I get an "error writing to file" when I unpack it! And then there is nothing in the MAP folder. It has happened twice! 

Am I the only one with this problem? 

[nounette]

Hi Poltava,

Try to delete your internet temporary files (sometimes it stays than the cache and you think you downloaded it again but it's not true) and download it again.

Let's see if someone else has the same problem. If it continues happening I can upload it again.

Cheers,
N

[UP~Boomer]

I just tried the link,
downloaded ok and the archive opened up NP

[Korrigan]

Yes, the archive is OK for me too, I extracted it with 7zip without hassle.
Thank you for this great map, Nounette.

[Col. King]

Downloaded and tested.
Really a great map, beautifully detailed. I really love the Gizah and Saqquara pyramids, not to mention the Sphynx. I visited Cairo, Gizah and Saqquara back in 1990, and Jerusalem and Masada in Israel during a touring trip. Wonderful places, lot of History...

Thank you very very much for your effort.

[Mission_bug]

Very nice nounette, thank you very much.

Glad to see you removed the object at Nir-Am.



The buildings still make my eyes hurt though.



A bug report, the aircraft on AI into Sde Dov stops here.



Now this is lovely, a cruise along the canal Adds so much to immersion.



Looking forward now to the campaign you're working on.

Wishing you all the very best, Pete.

[Benno]

Nounette
Thanks a lot .
Benno

[UP~Boomer]

Hi,thanks for the larger version of your map

Once extracted though,
I noticed right away you did not index your ed_maps
or any other files that could have been indexed

Your map folder once extracted,is 350 mb
which is ridiculous

especially because that IS just the map folder,
not including the _Tex folder which also needs to have .tga's indexed

I've only indexed the three ed_maps and the map_f
(although the map_f is blank ?)
 is there a reason for a blank map_f.tga ?

and I reduced your map folder down to just 111 mb from 350 mb
by only indexing your ed_maps and the blank map_f.tga

ed_map01.tga was 195 mb
once indexed,it is now down to 48.9 mb
almost 150 mb less in size,and that is only one .tga

your whole texture folder,could also have all the textures indexed
would reduce your whole tex folder down by 50 + mb

considering a lot of people have to pay,to download stuff
these things should be indexed by the map authors before uploading them for download

It also keeps our hardrives from overflowing in size,
 with unnecessary texture sizes
people actually wondered why it took forever to load the game before ?


The game can not use millions and millions of colors
so there is absolutely no reason to be uploading these .tga's in RGB format not indexed to 256 colors

I have been looking at this map to include it into a map expansion pack

So I  have to fix all this,before we include it


It may not seem like a big deal to some,
but downloading maps that are literally hundreds and hundreds of MB larger than they need to be...
is a bit much

Don't feel to bad about it,
a lot of other map makers have been doing the exact same thing

ps:
I also wonder why,you have so many textures in your mideast texture folder...
that are default .tga's that are already in our games in _Tex/land/summer
example> all the MTO .tga's
we all ....already have these textures in our stock ,default game
there is no reason they need to be duplicated into our games just to sit in your mideast tex folder...
and in our land/summer folder

and I noticed there are .jpg's in your mideast tex folder
which there is no need for

a lot of new map makers with in the last year or so have been doing these things,
there is no reason for it what so ever,and is a pain to fix

[nounette]

Hi Boomer,

Sorry for all the errors I've made. I've followed Kevinp's tutorial and I don't remember have seen the remark about the image indexing. I can assure you that, having made plenty of intermediary backups of the map during the work, if I had know about it I would have indexed them.

Concerning the jpgs, they were original files of 4.09 that I've used in one of the first versions of the small map but they were not in the last version. If you have jpgs on your texture folders is because you installed the new version over the previous ones and you kept the old files there. The only jpgs included in the new versions the sample screenshots.

For the reused textures, some of them were modified and for the most of them I've added the bump and tree files (that they didn't come on the original distribution) so I imagined that I needed to put them too in the folder.

Finally, I thought (when reading kevinp's tutorial) that the map_f was mandatory (in the tutorial he said to leave it blank by the moment). That's why I've put it. If it is not necessary you can take it off.

I've tried to do my best but I'm new to map making so there are some tricks that I don't know yet. In any case, I'm very happy you consider the map to a new release of the expansion pack.

Thanks for the time you're spending on fixing all my mistakes

Cheers,
N

[UP~Boomer]

Hey Nounette

no apology needed for any errors,you have done an excellent job on this map
the errors are minor and a lot of others do the exact same things

I just redownloaded V2 and yes ,no jpg's   
were there from me updating

NP with me indexing your ed_maps to add them to an expansion map pack
I know that is not mentioned in that tutorial you used,among other things that are not mentioned

We have been posting this for some time now over at Ultrapack,and here at SAS about indexing .tga's
and that the native game can not use over 256 colors,
and that none indexed .tga's are not good to have in maps, objects or cockpits ete

Only .tga's with alpha channels should not be indexed,and need to be left in RGB mode
otherswise if indexed they lose there Alpha channel

dont feel to bad though,a lot of others are still not indexing
and some have made a few maps or whatever 

I have been looking at the odd textures that you modified,so I know what you mean there
IMHO it is always better to rename them somewhat
at least then people will be aware to the changes,and that the .tga is in fact been modified from default .tga

If the default .tga is not modified,and a tree file or bumpH files has been created,
then only those files created need to be added and not the default .tga's
and the newly created tree and bumpH files should be located in the folder structure that is where the default file is located

That way the tree file and bumpH file will work off of the default .tga file from the default folder structure
Rather than duplicating the default file,just to add tree or bumpH files

Map_F is a mandatory file,I believe though it is only needed by those who use excellent settings
it is the Far map ,
so you don't have the land disappear at a certain distance with the fake circle of water or whatever it is surrounding you

There is a way though,to produce a true map_f of the map in question
myself,I am not sure about how map_f is handled in the tutorial
and I have just been noticing looking at a lot of other maps,they are a lot of them also running blank map_f's

anyway,thanks for listening
no worries it is all new to everyone at first 

I know your new to map making,and IMHO you've done a splendid job on the Middle East
I really like the fact you added land mass onto your original map
objects included .... 

Spectacular first map   

[nounette]

Hi Boomer,

I've indexed all tga's with no alpha channel and it has reduced the folder size by half
I've also checked the tutorial for map_f. In fact there's a first part where it left it blank but it comes back to the end of the tutorial (that I've skipped before) to fill it. I've done it now and it has fixed the water problem from far sight that was bothering me
Tell me how to send it to you so you can add it to the package.

Concerning the bump and tree files, I didn't want to put them on the original folders because that would affect also other maps using those textures.

Cheers,
N