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[Kanttori]

I am editing and also retowning/revillaging the old FinsGulf map. I am also going to "hide" about 75 % of rivers on that map, because there are too much of them: all the little streams in the real world are like a big rivers in that map!

Everything is working fine, I have an unlocked (HSFX-version) FMB, but the actors static file is too big and the FMB don't load it. I have used a "blank" actors static file with the texture and coastline jobs, but now I need to remove a huge amount of bridges away and work with the buildings. So what is the way that I can open the stock map with the default actors static file? Do I need more RAM-memory or what?

[Uufflakke]

The problem with Unlocked FMB is that the actors.static does have its limitation and therefor the map won't load.
It has nothing to do with your RAM-memory.
An option is to cut up the actors.static into a few parts so you can continue working in Unlocked FMB.
To edit an actors.static you need to have Zuti's Actors Management Tool.
It doesn't make sense to open an actors.static with notepad though since it is all coded.
With this tool you can add, remove, filter and merge what you want.

https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,33463.0.html

Another option for adding more buildings etc. is by creating missions in normal FMB. Then copy every line in the [Buildings] section and paste them in the extracted actor.static.
Actually everything is explained in Zuti's tool.
Don't know the maximum of an actors.static but I have one that contains already 9.44 MB. I've read that 15.0 MB is possible too.

[Kanttori]

Yep Uufflakke, I understand and downloaded  Zuti's tool. You have great tools here, by the way: Map_c etc. tools!

Actually I can open the FinsGulf map with the UP3 Unlocked FMB -version and I think this method is going to work:

I remove with UP3-version all the buidings from those town which I am going to retown. Then I can work with the HSFX Unlocked FMP (I like it more)  and place the buildings with the blank actors static file for ex. only to the Viipuri town: so I fill that "hole" what I have made.

Then I have actors  static big file with the whole map's buildings WITHOUT buildings in Viipuri town and a small file WITH only Viipuri's buildings. Then I merge tose two files with the Zuti's tool. And use this method with all the Finsgulf's towns, town by town. Am I right?  

[Kanttori]

One more question: If I don't touch the airfields, can we use the old FinsGulf missions with the becoming new "FinsGulf_RRR" terrain? I must also change some roads' and rails' paths in the towns and delete many bridges.  I am going to "fill up" a lot of large rivers because they are actually small steams. It makes the navigation then very much easier... Can they affect to the old FinsGulf missions?

[Uufflakke]

To populate a map the way you do is possible indeed by merging the two static.ini's town after town, village after village etc.  But very time consuming. And populating a map is already a time consuming job.
What I did with my HighRez Crete map is deleting all unwanted objects in UP3RC4 Unlocked FMB and pasting the new static.ini into my DBW1.71 install. So Crete was basically empty except the airfields. (That was something I wanted to do at the very end).
Then in default FMB I added objects again as if I were creating a normal mission. Saving the mission, locate its folder/file in the install and every line in the [Buildings] section I pasted into the extracted static.ini. After creating the new static.ini with Zuti's tool I checked everything in normal FMB and continued with populating another part of the map.
That way I preferred to populate a map. Populating a map completely in Unlocked FMB works too of course but I had my reasons to do it the way I just described.

About the untouched airfields and mission question: it depends. As long as name of map stays the same then missions can be played again. With untouched airfields planes will take off and land without exploding or so. It might affect other moving objects like trains and vehicles for instance since you plan to delete bridges, roads and rails.

[Kanttori]

I am not going to delete roads, only about 50% of bridges. So I must "join" those road ends (without bridge in the middle) to roadnet. So it don't affect to early msiisions trains and vehicles, I suppose.

It is good idea to delete all the towns and villages and populate them after the textures are ready built!

[Whiskey_Sierra_972]

Hi!

Nice to see that this map 'll get the lifting deserve!

A suggestion about popolating city: AFAIK in a big city the FPS drop is due too high number of different types of houses so take a look at the overcity FPS drop too....maybe instead of reducing the number of building you can reduce their variety....

[Kanttori]

I remeber that Whiskey!

I started the Finsgulf populating and removed everything else but not airfields and centrums of Helsinki and Leningrad. There are many historical buidings almost in their right places and I just trim them to match with the new textures. Now I can work with the HSFX-unlocked FMB and the actor statics file is about 700 kb (the original is over 5000 kb). Everything works fine!


I must use "elongated" textrues as they have used with the original map. It looks not very good because of the low resolution (only 512x512 pixels to the 1 mile square), but there are no room to the several better quality textures. I mean thoes textures which have the "tga,-2" end in the load.ini. But I thing everybody uses those "elongated" with the big cities? Are there becoming  some day bigger terrain textures, for ex. 2048 pix? I have done all my new textures to that size for the future use.

One question more : Can I rotate objects freely or only wit those 5, 15 and 30 degrees steps? Viipuri's blocks are something between those steps!

[Uufflakke]

One question more : Can I rotate objects freely or only wit those 5, 15 and 30 degrees steps? Viipuri's blocks are something between those steps!

F5 and moving mouse.

Have you also tried F10 to get a better picture of added objects to the map?

[Uufflakke]

For texturizing a map, instead of pressing 'insert' all the time there is a command to quickly fill up a certain area with your desired texture.
Something like press 'Z' + left mousebutton and move the mouse over the map. Better ask Cyberolas, he came up somewhere with that trick.
I read about it when I was done already with retexturing the Crete map. 

In IL2 2048x2048 textures can be used since 2012 but not much textures are available yet. You need to create them yourself like I did with rextured Crete and some other stuff like clouds and trees.
Carsmaster created a mod for using high resolution textures. You need to install the mod manually previous to 4.12 version.
In 4.12 it is just a matter of enabling the mod through JSGME.
Besides 2048 size textures Carsmaster worked on a 4096x4096 texture mod but stopped the project.

[Uzin]

It is "cyberolas F-trick" described here:
https://www.sas1946.com/main/index.php/topic,42289.0.html

[Kanttori]

I read about it when I was done already with retexturing the Crete map. 

In IL2 2048x2048 textures can be used since 2012 but not much textures are available yet. You need to create them yourself like I did with rextured Crete and some other stuff like clouds and trees.
Carsmaster created a mod for using high resolution textures. You need to install the mod manually previous to 4.12 version.
In 4.12 it is just a matter of enabling the mod through JSGME.

I have done myself all the cities, forest, swamp, etc. textures, but just now I am using some Compass' villages and fields before I have finished my own ones. So making textures is not a problem to me. But I have read that 2048-textures don't work with the HSFX History MOD which most of us Finns players are using?

Thank you for that rotating help! EDIT: What must I do with the mouse and F5, It don't rotate? Is it really working also with the HSFX Unlocked FMP? F10 is good!