Improved Towns & Villages Mod

[Highwayman-Ed]

Hey Highwayman-Ed i've just downloaded and taken a look at the mod, it's freaking huge!

 

You should consider just uploading the textures you've edited so we can insert them ourselves into the zips the same way toby23 did with this work, this would save a ton of bandwidth.

 

I agree, I might just put the textures in on their own for those who don't use JSGME, I'm just trying to make it as simple as possible.

[Mustang]

It works well, the larger cities really need this treatment also :)

 

[Robin_Hood]

That looks great! I'm downloading and will be testing it.

 

On EDGE, however, you might not necessarily want to stop modding altogether, because the Caucasus map should not work with EDGE (would require to redo the whole map). So I believe any improvement you make on the map will continue to benefit everyone who wishes to use the Caucasus map (and let's face it - Nevada is great, but kinda limited too, so until there are 3rd parties terrains out, I guess both will be used concurrently).

 

That's how I see it, however.

[samtheeagle]

Been playing using this mod tonight, and I just wanted to say thanks Highwayman-Ed! It makes such a difference to the look of the environment. No more nasty straight line texture boundaries at the edges of towns :) So far everything looks great, I've not spotted any real problems. Just did a Huey free flight around Tiblisi and even the big urban area looks grand :)

 

EDIT: Oh yeah, I'd defo appreciate a download of just the textures you've modified. I understand why you've bundled everything up, but personally I like to manage my own mods with JSGME.

[Highwayman-Ed]

Just a little update on some of the Phase II textures that I'm working on now I have a foundation... No ETA on a final version of these yet...

 

[samtheeagle]

Glad to see that you're still working on this mod, the phase II stuff looks even better! Anything that can breathe new life into the terrain is a massive plus in my book.

[zaelu]

looking great!

[SmokeyTheLung]

Great work, the night lighting is looking way better.

[Highwayman-Ed]

I've done some more work tonight on adding details to the tiles, and there is definitely a fine line between a little and too much detail with the way that the tiles are placed in game.

 

These screenshots are taken in some of the larger villages, well away from the cities, and I'm tweaking them to make them work better where I can where overlaps occur. For now, here are a few early morning spring shots.

 

 

 

[Mustang]

Highwayman, you should experiment with a lower noise1PerSquare value in your High.lua, really helps with the scale and reduces the texture repetition with the DTAC terrain or toby23's mod -

 

noise1PerSquare = 2.0; or noise1PerSquare = 3.0; should look much better.

 

Great work BTW :)

[Dauntless]

:thumbup:

[ericshark]

merci for the partage good job!!!

[Highwayman-Ed]

First post updated with the latest links.

 

You will notice some repetition in cities, you will notice some overlapping in places, and you will notice occasionally that there are car parks on 45 degree slopes and some with rivers running through them. This is the nature of how DCS lays down the textures and there really isn't much I can do about it, and it's why I haven't included more details or proper roads in them. See the shots below for some examples from a summer morning flight near where the KA-50 quick start mission begins.

 

I'm still looking at the town textures, but they're more complex to work with and I may never be satisfied with how they work enough to publish anything, but I'll keep tinkering...

 

 

 

Edited November 4, 2013 by Highwayman-Ed

[Milli]

Thanks again highwayman for you work. I'm using it with great pleasure.

 

Regards,

Milli

[Home Fries]

Great mod, Highwayman!

 

Just so you guys know, you don't need to actually insert the new graphics files into the zipfile. When DCS looks for a zipfile, it will also look for a folder of the same name in the same folder as the zipfile, and it will actually pull files from the folder before it pulls from the zipfile.

 

So all you need to do is duplicate your zipfile tree with folders, like so:

 

DCS World\
    Bazar\
         Terrain\
              vfstextures\
                   LandTexturesAutumnOther\
                   LandTexturesSpringOther\
                   LandTexturesSummerOther\
                   LandTexturesWinterOther\

Then simply copy the new textures into the folders, and there's no need to modify or replace your original zipfiles.

 

Note: this also works well setting up the mod for use with JSGME.

[samtheeagle]

OMG! That's awesome. I was considering posting a feature request for that very thing, just like how Strike Fighters 2 works...

[Deadman]

Ed great work as all ways :thumbup:

[cichlidfan]

Great mod, Highwayman!

 

Just so you guys know, you don't need to actually insert the new graphics files into the zipfile. When DCS looks for a zipfile, it will also look for a folder of the same name in the same folder as the zipfile, and it will actually pull files from the folder before it pulls from the zipfile.

 

...

 

Note: this also works well setting up the mod for use with JSGME.

 

Very cool. :thumbup::thumbup:

 

This also means that the JSGME mods folder can be much smaller.

[Strut]

Good stuff Ed, im just waiting for the Gold coast meter maids and carpark attendants......

[Skulleader]

Hello,

 

I have a little question for Highwayman :

Please if it's possible can you give me the list of all your files that I need for obtain the same result than you (on your screenshots) ?

 

For the moment I've just downloaded one file: "Highways Villages Mod II - Files Only" but I'm lost for have the same result that your screenshots.

 

Please can you give me this list ?

 

I would like to thank you in advance for you help, excuse me for my poor English.

 

Best regards. Skull

Edited October 26, 2013 by Skulleader

[Highwayman-Ed]

You'll also need PeterP's HDR mod, Sweet FX, Mustang's Clouds (<- all bundled together in JSGME format here) and also Rocky's DTAC trees (available here). I also have a customized version of Toby 23's Low and slow noise file that I use as well, but I'm not able to publicly release that one.

Edited October 29, 2013 by Highwayman-Ed

[Derk]

Just wanted to say thank you for the time and effort you put into this mod, you made my dcs flying so much more enjoyable.

I hope you will be able to work up some satisfying results with the city tiles too. They are in desperate need of your touch!

 

And then, perhaps when it's all done, Toby23 and you could join up and release the titanic_terrain_tile_texture_touch-up pack?

 

anyway, rep inbound for a job well done.

 

Thank you!

[Spanker79]

I click to download the full version (630MB) but i only get a download of 514 MB.

Is that ok?Missing something?

Is it JSGME compatible?

Edited October 28, 2013 by Spanker79

[Highwayman-Ed]

I click to download the full version (630MB) but i only get a download of 514 MB.

Is that ok?Missing something?

Is it JSGME compatible?

 

Updated, new pack is 210MB in JSGME format, see the first post for the links

Edited November 4, 2013 by Highwayman-Ed

[blackbelter]

How much does it affect FPS? It looks amazing, but would not be worth it if FPS gets too much of a hit... Thanks!