budding mapmaker

[Ebden~SPARTA~]

I've had a pet idea for a real-locale FPS map since mid-08, and I'd like to build it in AII. I've read some on the BI forum, downloaded the BI editing tools, but I haven't taken the plunge and imported the map data I downloaded from GeoBase. Why? From all the talk on TS I've heard, it appears I may need a number of other more expensive editing programs, like Adobe, which I simply can't afford.

 

This is not a plea for YOU to make it for ME, I'm not that lame.

 

What I am asking is:

 

Other than the BI editing suite, what software do I need to import and model existing elevation data as my base map? I must purchase Global Mapper, the map program I have as a demo presently, to export the elevation data as xyz or png (16b grey), so I'm looking for a freeware, or perhaps a small translation favor from someone who does have a comparable program (OK, so I am making a tiny translation plea, sue me.)

 

Also-for the start I would use existing ARMA II objects,but later I'd like to create some of the unique buildings in this area. In addition to the BI editing suite, what do I need to recycle existing objects and buildings, and what would I need to edit existing buildings?

 

I haven't even touched on mission ideas, but the area is such a unique geological oddity that it would make a great FPS map. This area, for those still reading, is the Eastern Avalon Penninsula around St. John's Newfoundland. The Oldest city in N. America, it also has some of the most dramatic waterfront around. The harbor is 1.25 miles long, which is entered through an 800ft-wide 'narrows' at a 90deg angle to the main harbor. Navigators must practice entering this harbor in simulator before entering, because one small mis-calc and it's bottoms-up. It's perfectly protected from the sea by 100ft+ cliffs extending the length of the penninsula, with only a few small rock beaches in some inlets. WWII-era batteries are still in place, however deteriorated, and would make for great fantasy-rebuilds in a map.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signal_Hill,_...nd_and_Labrador

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s,...nd_and_Labrador

 

dramatic elevation changes, greenspace, unique coastline, offshore oil-rigs, in-town oil depot, commercial shipping facility, and a very close airport give all the attributes of a good FPS map in a small, and I think replicable, scale for an AII map. I just have to figure out what I need to make this thing.

[MH6~SPARTA~]

Maybe this will help: http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/ArmA_2_Terrain_Tutorial

 

or this: http://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Visitor_3_Manual

 

Essentially if you want to do terrain editing, you need to use Visitor, which comes with the BIS tool suite. I believe you can import satellite and topography data into it as well.

 

For object editing, use Oxygen (also comes with the tool suite).