Caucasus update?

1. Every town looks the same because there are only "a few" generic buildings. Just look at the real Tblisi, Batumi or any other large city. Architecture can be vastly different.

2. Some villages are build on crazy slopes with their box base sticking out of the terrain and the other side being partially underground. Ugh!

3. There are only 2 lane roads. Not a single highway or highway junction.

4. A couple of airfields have these ugly bent taxiways. PAG-14 plates are not meant to be bent or cut.

5. In some instances the PAG-14 texture is reused and scaled improperly (ramp areas, rail crossings)

It's been 17 years since LockOn and I believe it's about time to give Caucasus a proper facelift.

with all respect, dear ED, in my opinion there is nothing to say against fudabidu´s points and - sorry to say that - but the new free map is an absolutely wrong allocation of ressources. . . marianas are far away if not to say an absolutely uninteresting place to feel the depth and complexity of this fabulous piece of software called dcs and it s strenghts. a proper upgrade or overhaul or at least redoing of caucasus would be the better if not at least the only option to win new customers and add new subscriptions or win back some disappointed.

For what is worth I completely disagree. Caucuses is great as it is, and the Marianas map will be a very welcome addition.

Sent from my Mi 9T Pro using Tapatalk

I think for a free map, Caucasus is okay but what I would really love is that the airport lighting (apron lights) get some love because at the moment they do not work completely. The problem is that until the last update we just used some mods as replacements but these don't work anymore, so the default lights are even more important.

Caucasus just received a big facelift upgrade in 2.5 release with new terrain engine.

It got speedtrees, terrain height map was made two times higher resolution, new city lighting, new terrain textures, new rivers etc.

There is no sense to start doing it now, as DCS is receiving a new terrain engine and it comes with the new free map that is the testing platform for it.

So we need to wait that terrain engine, graphics engine, physics engine and all that gets updated as there is big core features work underway, before Caucasus can be touched.

As core features are touching everything, especially higher fidelity to low level ground operations in Combined Arms and helicopter flying, with higher detailed terrain to offer cover and support for ground units and helicopters (as much you can read from their ideas).

So before all core tech is ready, no sense to touch Caucasus.

And once those are ready, it is logical to update Caucasus from old tech for maintenance reasons.

Caucasus just received a big facelift upgrade in 2.5 release with new terrain engine.

It got speedtrees, terrain height map was made two times higher resolution, new city lighting, new terrain textures, new rivers etc.

 

There is no sense to start doing it now, as DCS is receiving a new terrain engine and it comes with the new free map that is the testing platform for it.

 

So we need to wait that terrain engine, graphics engine, physics engine and all that gets updated as there is big core features work underway, before Caucasus can be touched.

 

As core features are touching everything, especially higher fidelity to low level ground operations in Combined Arms and helicopter flying, with higher detailed terrain to offer cover and support for ground units and helicopters (as much you can read from their ideas).

 

So before all core tech is ready, no sense to touch Caucasus.

 

And once those are ready, it is logical to update Caucasus from old tech for maintenance reasons.

+1 for that

Honestly I like Russian aircrafts and missions... Personally I would not mind to pay for updated (and maybe) bigger (by area) map... Specially with the latest history events in Crimean Peninsula... Specially missions new payed missions can be interesting there... There are stories to tell for sure!

I can see leaving what we have right now for free and creating updated "Caucasus++" map as payed with the "more and better" what ever...

First of all Mariana Islands terrain is going to be a nice and welcomed addition, stunningly beautiful judging from the shots and clips, and definitely a good choice, maybe not the best, but still valid for DCS.

I don't think re-doing Caucasus terrain would be a factor for user numbers, and with doing it from ground up option, I would like some other place instead, preferably more eastbound ;)

I would like to see the Caucasus get converted to a World War II setting so you can play in two different time periods like what their planning to do to the Marianas map.

the new free map is an absolutely wrong allocation of ressources. . . marianas are far away if not to say an absolutely uninteresting place

I'm probably in the minority but I wouldn't care if it was a fictitious map as long as the quality was good.

an absolutely uninteresting place

For me it isn't, because tastes differ. But you're entitled to your opinion regardless, of course.

Personally, I'm very pleased with the direction ED is going with the new free map. I love the look in the screen shots we have seen so far, it is a much-needed theatre for Naval aviation and I love the fact that we are going to have a WWII specific and modern version.

I love the Caucuses but it will look a bit shabby by comparison, particularly the buildings and the odd ground textures in built up areas that show 2D building outlines. I would like to see the buildings updated and those textures. A WWII version would also be a great addition while they are at it.

I would also like to see ED rethink their map design philosophy. Currently most of the playable area of the map is looking good from the ground, I would love to see future maps have a high detail main combat area that works for combined arms, medium detail areas surrounding outlying airfields and low detail areas in between. As an example, on the current Caucuses map, new airbase in Turkey would greatly add to the possible gameplay. The Airbase would be highly detailed, the area around it medium detail and the rest of Turkey only needs to be as it is now. We need the elevation mesh but only basic textures. This would effectively push the limits of the map size, making for many more years of new mission making.

It has been updated in that 17-year time span, quite a bit. For free maps though, we have decided right now to put our efforts into a second free map, maybe at some point we can revisit the Caucasus, but because it was imported from older version, its come as far as it can really without redoing it from the ground up.

Caucasus might have been updated, but in some areas it still looks like LOMAC with some additional trees and higher texture resolution. As a helicopter pilot I find that really disappointing. Only alternatives are the flat Normandy map or mostly empty deserts and I can't say I'm excited about a new map consisting mostly of water.

It shouldn't be too difficult to create some more low-poly buildings and distribute them around or fix a few flat taxiways, but what do I know. Could be DCS has the worst terrain editing tools ever conceived.

the flat Normandy map

I assume you haven't flown over Normandy at tree level then? Hardly flat....

Caucasus might have been updated, but in some areas it still looks like LOMAC with some additional trees and higher texture resolution.

While it's substantially superior, the map is still just a free resolution buff of a LOMAC era map, so I wasn't expecting major overhauls. The resolution upgrade was welcome, as well as all of the airports receiving more physical features present (ILS antennae, physical lights, taxi signs etc), as well as tunnels (even if some are a little funky) and some new map objects.

That said the Caucasus map in some aspects could do with some improvement. But again given it's same old map with a resolution buff, I doubt we'll see improvements unless a brand-new Caucasus map gets developed, one that'll probably be paid for (I'm more than willing to pay for a built-from-scratch Caucasus map, even if it didn't receive expansion).

I mean even if you compare the charts found when you click 'map' in the mission editor or the F10 map and compare it to what's there in DCS World, shows some glaring discrepancies.

For me there are several issues present:

• The map generally doesn't use photo-realistic textures - in fact in some areas some details, different colour etc all gets lost and replaced by a generic one the more you zoom in. And this isn't exclusive to just the low detail area, it's everywhere.
  
• Plenty of glaring discrepancies between the included chart (when you select 'map') and the map itself. Sure the chart isn't unified, it's made up of a collection, but you can verify most with Google Earth. A clear case-study (though far from being the only one) is Poti, which itself probably deserves it's own thread, long story short there's a lot of inaccuracies of it and the surrounding area, when comparing the DCS map, the charts present in the map view when in the ME or F10, and Google Earth.
  
• Flat, low resolution textures where there should be rocks, buildings, roads and walls.
  
• In some areas around built up areas, unless you're looking vertically downwards, there's grass, despite the texture being concrete/asphalt.
  
• The overwhelming majority of bridges and tunnels (both road and rail) have sharp and sudden inclines, where it doesn't make much sense (especially for rail), and is incredibly jarring to look at and not at all realistic.
  
• Marnueli AB absent - this is the principle air base of Georgia during the 2008-war right up until today. If you go into SAT mode you can even make it out if you zoom out far enough.
  
• Non-functional lighthouses. As well as many structures missing warning lights, when they're apparently present on the chart in MAP mode.
  

If a new map were to be developed, what airbases would be included? Would we get Marnueli? Would we lose Novorossiyk? Would we have Senaki, Vaziani and Kobuleti in their pre-abandoned state?

"The Channel" just released and it features 'gorgeous' hard edges and texture transitions. If this is the best the engine can do then I think it's safe to say it's outdated. With Syria coming soon as well I think we can't expect another major terrain update in at least 3 - 5 years.

Hey ED: did you read the news? Did you see the pictures? And what are you gonna do about it?

4. A couple of airfields have these ugly bent taxiways. PAG-14 plates are not meant to be bent or cut.

For me this is the most important part. Airfields are the main place to be in a flight sim so they should get special love. ED remade a few airports, like Senaki and Sukhumi Babushara and added a few new ones like Mozdok or Vaziani and the have nice detail. I don't ask for more. But why didn't they remake all airports to the same level? No one can tell that this would be out of the limits of the engine

100% supporting that point. PLEASE ED, this is an absolute valid point to add more depth and game play - and binding customers at the end.

While it's substantially superior, the map is still just a free resolution buff of a LOMAC era map, so I wasn't expecting major overhauls. The resolution upgrade was welcome, as well as all of the airports receiving more physical features present (ILS antennae, physical lights, taxi signs etc), as well as tunnels (even if some are a little funky) and some new map objects.

 

That said the Caucasus map in some aspects could do with some improvement. But again given it's same old map with a resolution buff, I doubt we'll see improvements unless a brand-new Caucasus map gets developed, one that'll probably be paid for (I'm more than willing to pay for a built-from-scratch Caucasus map, even if it didn't receive expansion).

 

I mean even if you compare the charts found when you click 'map' in the mission editor or the F10 map and compare it to what's there in DCS World, shows some glaring discrepancies.

 

For me there are several issues present:

 

• The map generally doesn't use photo-realistic textures - in fact in some areas some details, different colour etc all gets lost and replaced by a generic one the more you zoom in. And this isn't exclusive to just the low detail area, it's everywhere.
  
• Plenty of glaring discrepancies between the included chart (when you select 'map') and the map itself. Sure the chart isn't unified, it's made up of a collection, but you can verify most with Google Earth. A clear case-study (though far from being the only one) is Poti, which itself probably deserves it's own thread, long story short there's a lot of inaccuracies of it and the surrounding area, when comparing the DCS map, the charts present in the map view when in the ME or F10, and Google Earth.
  
• Flat, low resolution textures where there should be rocks, buildings, roads and walls.
  
• In some areas around built up areas, unless you're looking vertically downwards, there's grass, despite the texture being concrete/asphalt.
  
• The overwhelming majority of bridges and tunnels (both road and rail) have sharp and sudden inclines, where it doesn't make much sense (especially for rail), and is incredibly jarring to look at and not at all realistic.
  
• Marnueli AB absent - this is the principle air base of Georgia during the 2008-war right up until today. If you go into SAT mode you can even make it out if you zoom out far enough.
  
• Non-functional lighthouses. As well as many structures missing warning lights, when they're apparently present on the chart in MAP mode.
  

 

If a new map were to be developed, what airbases would be included? Would we get Marnueli? Would we lose Novorossiyk? Would we have Senaki, Vaziani and Kobuleti in their pre-abandoned state?

THIS +1, especially with Poti.

Stil an highly whished topic by me and my pals. We really like the Caucasus Map but would like to see a little bit more out of it. Like the missing AB Marneuli. I think it is a great Map put with a little love, it can get a very huge improvement.

I can only agree on my previous speakers/writers

Best whishes and all luck from Germany

New screenshots linked to the Caucasus map were recently released.

Is it something new coming on this map? Notting was annouced so why these new screenshots?
Aly little update….darker tress or other improvments planned in the next months?

8 minutes ago, Razorback said:

New screenshots

I have not seen any screenshots released by ED.

There has been a lot of screenshots for Barthek's mod. Although that is not IC compliant

24 minutes ago, Razorback said:

Aly little update….darker tress or other improvments planned in the next months?

Meanwhile you can use the mod bettertrees by Taz1004 with darker trees option in case you have missed it: 

I wondered the same.  They were posted here:

Silver_Dragon doesn't mention exactly where they were from, just "ED add new Caucasus map screenshopts: On develop".  First mention I've seen of any possible updated.