Steel Beasts Dynamic Terrain Will Come After New Terrain Engine

[Asid]

Please don't be a full installer...
Please don't be a full installer...
Please don't be a full installer...

  It might be



  It won't be.

Please dont be another $45 upgrade...
Please dont be another $45 upgrade...
Please dont be another $45 upgrade...

[Rinix]

The 4.018/9 release notes say that the next update (which most likely includes the new terrain engine) is scheduled for July.

[Rinix]

http://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/11460-efforts-on-terrain-representation/#comment-170210

The engine will, in principle, be able to handle LIDAR scan data (as has been demonstrated by this YouTube video from last year. Whether it's always a good idea to use high resolution data is a different question. The ground resolution has been increased by a factor of 256, which also means a factor of 256 in the growth of height maps; if a current height map is 30 MBytes large we're talking about a single map occupying 7.6 gigabytes. This has implications about loading times, data storage/disk space, system RAM requirements, and the way how internet multiplayer sessions can be set up if some players don't yet have the map installed for a given scenario. Also, you need to ensure the validity of map data across all clients.

A better approach would be to use higher resolutions more selectively. You need high resolution only where there is high detail. So, that's one more area we're working on, to allow to mix source data of variable mesh width as a means to reduce the sheer mass of data to deal with. Oh, and on top of it, please retain the ability to edit a map on the fly to meet a scenario's specific requirements.

Of course we have ideas where we want to go. The initial implementation will be substantially less ambitious. Like I mentioned before, the initial scope of work is to replace the old terrain engine with one that is fully backwards compatible AND which has the growth potential for future improvements while retaining much of the ease of use that we're accustomed to when it comes to our map and mission editors.

In summary, the things that you mention are to a degree our long-term goals. The short-term goal of releasing the new engine later this year is more limited in scope to minimize the overall development risk. Secure the bridgehead first, then break out of it.

[Rinix]

http://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/11505-itec-2017-rotterdam/#comment-170753

If any of you need an incentive: We'll have a very cool Marder simulator on the stand where you can hop into the gunner's place to shoot stuff. 20mm @ 900 rounds per minute, what's not to like?   

And there'll be some swag to grab - a new iteration of the world's best mousepad with a spoiler of things to come.

Oh, and a preview of the new terrain engine.

[Rinix]

https://www.itec.co.uk/exhibitors/esim-games/
Check the press releases for this:

eSim Games, LLC is proud to return to ITEC 2017 (International Training and Education Conference) in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, May 16-18. ITEC is a venue for the military sector and educational community.


eSim will be presenting their premier product, Steel Beasts Professional, with its unique new high resolution terrain engine and a refurbished legacy trainer, extending its operational lifetime by 20 years and expanding its functionality by integration with large scale tactical exercises as well as battlefield management systems. The technology is also suitable for vehicle-appended trainers.

http://www.esimgames.com/?p=2045

Final preparations are underway – eSim Games relocates to the Netherlands for a week.

We're looking forward to meeting you there. Together with our partner Diehl Defence we'll exhibit a Marder turret live – you're invited to hop in, and have some old school gunnery fun with a 1000 RPM 20mm autocannon. As a lasting souvenir, we'll have the world's best mousepad ready, this year in its fifth iteration – giving a hint about future developments.

Oh, and we'll have the prototype of the new terrain engine ready, just in case you were wondering. Fortunately we got the permission to use a LIDAR scan based sub-meter resolution terrain database for demonstration purposes. Visitors of the Åben Hede events – a popular annual display of Danish firepower – will immediately recognize the sand dunes of the Kallemærsk heath between Oksbøl and Blåvandshuk.

The only downside is a reduced responsiveness for customer support requests. Also, the web shop will be closed down for a few days. Please excuse the inconvenience.

[Asid]

Thanks for keeping us updated Rinix. This is very helpful 

[Frankie]

That dynamic terrain with higher resolution undulating slopes, ridges, trenches and valleys opens up lots of ambush possibilities.

[Lusik]

Thanks for the update Rinix. I don't go to Steelbeasts.com too often so each one is appreciated.

[Rinix]

Thanks for the update Rinix. I don't go to Steelbeasts.com too often so each one is appreciated.

You're welcome, but this latest news isn't from there.

[Rinix]

http://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/93-sb-on-mac-system/?page=2#comment-171606
Now Ssnake's saying that 8 GB RAM is enough for normal use of PE, with 16 GB RAM worth considering if you can afford it. Yet the system requirements on eSimGames' website still say 32 GB RAM recommended.

Outlook for the new terrain version: Lots of RAM is a good thing, although for PE users in normal cases 8GByte should suffice; if you can afford 16, consider them an option. An SSD will also be a great thing to have, and be beneficial for everything that you do with the machine, including pushing lots of map data around.

Well, what can I say. In high performance computing (whioch games are), bigger is better.

[Frankie]

The more the merrier.

[Rinix]

http://www.esimgames.com/?p=2058

The other highlight was the presentation of the new terrain engine with a LIDAR scan based terrain data base of sub-meter grid resolution – at virtually no performance loss over SB Pro PE 4.019. The scan was made of the highly rugged sand dunes of the Kallemærsk shooting range near the Danish Combat School in Oksbøl, southern Jutland. The stunning quality of the terrain representation aside, a change towards high resolution terrain also seems to have a profound effect on simulation outcomes – in particular the shift of impact locations from a near uniform distribution over the whole vehicle silhouette which is still the norm in 10m grid DTED3 databases to almost exclusively in the (upper) turret area, as long as crews manage to utilize the terrain for masking (more on that topic in a later post).

Of course: Seeking hull-down positions has been standard fare in Steel Beasts since before version 1.0. But high-resolution terrain databases offer so many more opportunities to dash into cover where in traditional databases suitable firing positions are often confined to major ridgelines. Shifting the impact locations away from the hull – which seems to reflect real life battle results since WW2 – has in turn an effect on the overall attrition rates of the whole vehicle fleet in operations.
The real work is only starting now, of course – adapting the behavior of computer-controlled units to both recognize smaller firing positions and to avoid steep discontinuities in the terrain, particularly on mountain roads, and to deal with the effects of deformable terrain at runtime. Next year's show report promises to be interesting.

[Rinix]

http://www.steelbeasts.com/topic/11549-bm-15-pele-issue/#comment-171889

Well, I wouldn't want to create the impression that it'll be part of an update of the PE this year. The new terrain engine with a few related features will be the final update for version 4.0. Anything beyond that will be wrapped into a new major release, maybe end of 2018.

[Rinix]

http://www.esimgames.com/?p=2070
And also:

[Asid]

The higer resolution terrain adds a lot to SB