Steel Beasts Dynamic Terrain Will Come After New Terrain Engine

[Asid]

Thanks for the update Rinix.

[Rinix]

Increase of size for installer is all but confirmed now. In June, before 4.0 was released, the system requirements were: http://web.archive.org/web/20160617200752/http://www.esimgames.com/?page_id=841

(Recommended specs are in parentheses.)

• 2 (4) GB RAM
• 256 (1024) MB dedicated video RAM, Nvidia GeForce 5+ Class (DirectX9 compatible card (with Shader Model 3.0 or higher)) or
• 256 (1024) MB dedicated video RAM, ATI Radeon 9600+ (DirectX9 compatible card (with Shader Model 3.0 or higher))
• 3 (5) GB available hard disk space

But since at least October, the system specs became and are currently: http://web.archive.org/web/20161020154233/http://www.esimgames.com/?page_id=841

(Recommended specs are in parentheses.)

• 8 (32) GB RAM
• 1024 (4096) MB dedicated video RAM, Nvidia GeForce 5+ Class (DirectX9 compatible card (with Shader Model 3.0 or higher)) or
• 1024 (4096) MB dedicated video RAM, ATI Radeon 9600+ (DirectX9 compatible card (with Shader Model 3.0 or higher))
• 7 (15) GB available hard disk space

Disc space and RAM requirements have shot up, as have the amounts of VRAM required for the graphics cards. These changes cannot be for 4.010, as the 4.009 release notes say that total permanent disc space used is about 6 GB.

Dividing 3 GB and 5 GB by the rounded figure of 2.4 GB for the 3.027 and 4.010 installers gives us minimum and recommended disc space to installer ratios of 1.25 and 2.083, respectively. Applying these same ratios to the new minimum and recommended disc space figures gives us two estimates for installer size: 3.36 GB and 7.20 GB. The first one will still fit on DVD+Rs, the second one will require DVD+R DLs. Given my assumption that eSim Games is assuming that everyone will have enough disc space, I think the estimate of 7.20 GB is more likely to be accurate.

[Asid]

(Recommended specs are in parentheses.)

    8 (32) GB RAM

[Rinix]

I forgot to mention that there is some ambiguity about the RAM requirements. Ssnake has previously said that:

16 GBytes would suffice if you need to pinch the penny and if you're not planning to do a lot of map conversion work once that the new terrain engine is out.

[Don_prince]

YAAAAYYYYYY I have just enoug... 32gb of ram in my laptop...

[Longknife]

Wow... And just a year ago when I bought my new PC I thought I was good with 16gm ram.... So much for that.


Have there been any ingame shots of this new terrain engine?

[Rinix]

Wow... And just a year ago when I bought my new PC I thought I was good with 16gm ram.... So much for that.

It may still be, like I said above. I have 16 GB of RAM too,

Have there been any ingame shots of this new terrain engine?

Just the trailers for 4.0 before the new terrain engine had to be postponed:
 
 
 

[Rinix]

More news: http://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/11131-will-this-ever-get-fixed/?page=2#comment-167482

off topic,but any idea when the new manual will be avail?

It's done, except for a passage about the new file organization and workflow of map handling in the New Terrain version. Once that the programmers have explained and demonstrated the changes to the rest of the team in a way that we can comprehend we will create a tutorial video for YouTube, and update the manual text. The plan is to have the manual ready when the new terrain engine gets rolled out. We want to run a new print, and naturally we don't want the printed manual to be obsolete from day one.

[Rinix]

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/01/13/the-flare-path-things-to-come-part-2/

Bumps. Lumps. Mounds. Trenches. Ditches. Furrows. Foxholes. Craters. Ruts. Scrapes. Knollettes. All things well-stocked contemporary armour sim SBPPE struggles to reproduce accurately at present. Last year’s 4.0 engine upgrade was meant to introduce support for much finer terrain mesh, but performance issues meant the improvements were temporarily shelved. The changes are now scheduled for March and though they won’t transform maps overnight (the cost of purchasing LIDAR-scan data for the game’s reality-based sceneries is prohibitive) will help roads navigate slopes and buildings more naturalistically, and open the door for natty developments like procedurally generated elevation ‘noise’ and drainage ditches.

[Rinix]

http://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/11302-eta-on-terrain-patch/?do=findComment&comment=167931

Well, certainly not before the end of the first quarter, potentially it might take until April.

The question is, how thoroughly do you want it tested by us.

[Asid]

Well, certainly not before the end of the first quarter, potentially it might take until April.

The question is, how thoroughly do you want it tested by us.

It is better to wait until tested quite a bit because you know what usually happens.....

[Rinix]

http://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/11302-eta-on-terrain-patch/?do=findComment&comment=167977
Ssnake says he's cautiously optimistic about performance improvements for SB that will come with the new terrain engine.

[Asid]

Thanks for the updates Rinix.

It is better to quote them and paste here so it will be asier to see. Not everyone visits other SB sites.

Thanks

[Rinix]

OK. The reason I didn't do so is because all Ssnake said was "I'm cautiously optimistic." He didn't even quote the post he was responding to.

[Rinix]

http://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/11302-eta-on-terrain-patch/?do=findComment&comment=168177
And Ssnake delivers more info:

The INITIAL scope of the new terrain engine is

• to retain backwards compatibility with legacy maps and scenarios
• to visualize/transfer into real geometry the "bumpiness" factor according to terrain theme settings
• to allow patches of high resolution source data in an overall low res terrain database (provided that the user has access to those data in the first place); this is by and large a classroom version feature only by virtue of availability and map editor functionality
• to allow modification of legacy maps to level and smooth roads
• to provide better methods to create overpasses and highway on/off ramps

Anything beyond that is "extra". Some extra features might make it into that final version 4.0 update but at this point we're more concerned about compatibility issues than anything else. New stuff that doesn't work properly is worse than useless. As these changes go very deep into the code base we need to be extra careful to create less damage than we add useful new functionality. It is of course somewhat frustrating that things always take more time, but at the end of the day we rather accept an avalanche of "are we there yet" postings in the forum than an avalanche of messages that things don't work.

I can but ask for your patience.

Also, we may be posting some preparatory information about changes in the workflow when handling new map data, or when setting up network sessions. Some of the established routines won't work any longer (or at least won't work with true high resolution terrain data), like embedding map data in the scenario files.