rhumbaflappy
Charter Member
Hi wolfi.
This has been the main terrain problem of CFS2... the land-masking is misplaced or mis-shaped. The mesh is not bad, and if we want a "standard", then SRTM mesh is probably the best solution. What you then find is some islands are miles from their correct position. CFS2 used the old CIA-based World Data Base. SRTM is satellite radar reflectance. They don't match, and the SRTM is a lot closer to reality than the CIA WDB.
The SWBD are based on satellite imagery, and in many cases, the old World Data Base... as the images ( especially islands ) are cloud-covered in the LandSat7 pictures. There's a bit of hand masking as well, I believe.
As Chris points out, the modern shorelines can deviate a bit from WW2, and those areas require research and tweaking.
Both the terrain mesh and the LWM masking can be done relatively easily.
You can use SBuilder or Slartibartfast to produce FS9 LWMs which can then be converted with LWMViewer's decompilation ability, and Edgar Knobloch's CFS2 water conversion program. Sander De Cocq used FS9 water masks, that are then run through LWMViewer to obtain images.... But the FS9 data is still not right! SWBD is better.
Shorelines ( beaches ) are trickier, as they require Ground2K. Many times I just ignore the beaches. Most areas of the world don't have the nice wide sandy beaches we see in the sim. When you're thinking of replacing entire LOD5 sized areas, the beaches are a bit insignificant... better to model accurate beaches near airfields and targets, rather than the whole world. Landsat imagery can help locate these significant beaches, and they can be modeled in Ground2K, using LandSAT images as a background.
As far as flattening the occasional water hill... if it really bugs me, I make an a16 flatten. But SRTM mesh, and SWBD masking fits 98% OK, as Chris indicates.
It becomes a matter of scale. We can't get the whole world to near photographic realism, but small areas we can, as Jean has demonstrated.
Jean has pointed out the new problem we have with better data. If we adopt SRTM and LandSAT7 as the terrain standard, then we will need to scrap most of the airfields and missions already made, as they no longer fit our new ( and more accurate ) world.
The MSFS world has already gone this route, constantly seeking better realism. I still remember the first time I took GIS data and converted it to water and roads in FS2002. That was my "WOW!" moment... no one had done it before. For the first time in a flight simulator, I KNEW where I was. :isadizzy: That's the reason I prefer rebuilding the world as best we can, and making new airfields and missions to match. Let the past go, and accept the WOW.
Besides, that gives Chris a reason to rebuild all of his beautiful bases to match the new terrain.
Dick
This has been the main terrain problem of CFS2... the land-masking is misplaced or mis-shaped. The mesh is not bad, and if we want a "standard", then SRTM mesh is probably the best solution. What you then find is some islands are miles from their correct position. CFS2 used the old CIA-based World Data Base. SRTM is satellite radar reflectance. They don't match, and the SRTM is a lot closer to reality than the CIA WDB.
The SWBD are based on satellite imagery, and in many cases, the old World Data Base... as the images ( especially islands ) are cloud-covered in the LandSat7 pictures. There's a bit of hand masking as well, I believe.
As Chris points out, the modern shorelines can deviate a bit from WW2, and those areas require research and tweaking.
Both the terrain mesh and the LWM masking can be done relatively easily.
You can use SBuilder or Slartibartfast to produce FS9 LWMs which can then be converted with LWMViewer's decompilation ability, and Edgar Knobloch's CFS2 water conversion program. Sander De Cocq used FS9 water masks, that are then run through LWMViewer to obtain images.... But the FS9 data is still not right! SWBD is better.
Shorelines ( beaches ) are trickier, as they require Ground2K. Many times I just ignore the beaches. Most areas of the world don't have the nice wide sandy beaches we see in the sim. When you're thinking of replacing entire LOD5 sized areas, the beaches are a bit insignificant... better to model accurate beaches near airfields and targets, rather than the whole world. Landsat imagery can help locate these significant beaches, and they can be modeled in Ground2K, using LandSAT images as a background.
As far as flattening the occasional water hill... if it really bugs me, I make an a16 flatten. But SRTM mesh, and SWBD masking fits 98% OK, as Chris indicates.
It becomes a matter of scale. We can't get the whole world to near photographic realism, but small areas we can, as Jean has demonstrated.
Jean has pointed out the new problem we have with better data. If we adopt SRTM and LandSAT7 as the terrain standard, then we will need to scrap most of the airfields and missions already made, as they no longer fit our new ( and more accurate ) world.
The MSFS world has already gone this route, constantly seeking better realism. I still remember the first time I took GIS data and converted it to water and roads in FS2002. That was my "WOW!" moment... no one had done it before. For the first time in a flight simulator, I KNEW where I was. :isadizzy: That's the reason I prefer rebuilding the world as best we can, and making new airfields and missions to match. Let the past go, and accept the WOW.
Besides, that gives Chris a reason to rebuild all of his beautiful bases to match the new terrain.
Dick
Last summer I started a 3 part mission - fighter sweep, dive bomber attack (using Wolfi's SB2C) and a torpedo attack - using the stock scenery. I got lazy and gave up... maybe this will reinspire me. 
