Saturday 31 August 2013

Issue 4 - Esbekistan

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Island/Map: Esbekistan
Game: Arma2 + Arma3
Maker: GreenBeret40
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The first 20 minutes of exploring the super-sized terrain of esbekistan (20x20km) with a humvee really made my eyes open wide and my heart sing. Some deeper kind of beauty and realness instantly caught my full attention. Its not like esbekistan is packed with exciting objects or colossal buildings, its a terrain that seamlessly flows together and suprises within believable little details and credible realworld structures. For example, i saw a little housing area on the map i had to clear (insurgency) and took the main road leading to the village, just to see when getting nearer that the buildings were hidden up between the rocky cliffs above me. To reach them you have to climb the hills and enter them through narrow paths from the top. A perfect spot for a hideout, good to defend and hard to reach, something a real afghan tribe would have build.


 A fully equipped combat training area including armored dummys and a shooting range is completing the whole package. For me, the incredible amount of detail i could see and feel on esbekistan is barely found on any other map.

If i compare the infantry combat on this island with takistan, i really feel a big difference. Where on takistan the most towns are surrounded by either flat land or high hills, the esbekistan landscape offers various graded plateaud areas, all kinds of larger and smaller hollows and tableland kind of compositions that never seem to stop between the "main areas". An undetected entering here is often possible in many ways and you dont need to play the old routine of spotting on the hill for the CAS, watching the action from far away. On some maps, you really can feel that youre walking through some space that has been filled with nothing but boring flatness and some trees. In esbekistan this is never the case. every openspace area really makes sense in the context of the environment. Still its mostly a feeling i try to describe, so you really have to see this island by yourself.







Interview:


GreenBeret40


1. Im really fascinated about your map and how well and beautifully everything on it is arranged and composed. Where did you get your inspiration from to make your map "Esbekistan?


Well, Esbekistan its a real place near the border of Paquistan and Agfhanistan. I try to collect all the information that for these place (fotos, videos,testimonials).



2. After looking at some of the screenshots one would predict something like "another afghan/taki-looking map" but there is a lot of custom stuff added and hidden in the details.
Please tell us about the creation process and the 3rd party stuff you added to your island!


The process its very simple once you start working the map focus on specific areas and no move to the next area until completely finish try to work in details from this specific zone. I like to work on hidden details that the only way to find them is when a player goes on a simple patrol with your platoon or when you fly in a helicopter.


3. Which map of all the other arma custom made maps do you like the most and why?

Aliabad region and Kazar-Kot Valley i like it because this maps has the things that I described above.


4. The map runs pretty smooth for such an huge environment. Do you have any tips and tricks in terms of performance for the rookie map-makers?

My recomendation from big maps its try not load with a lot of objects the map and working from the sat map file to have similar view on the ground that when you fly the efect its very realistic.


5. Arma3 is comming and the community is producing a lot of content. I havent seen any real islands yet, is it already possible to make Arma3 Islands? Will they be done the same way Arma2 did it? 

Well for me the real problem has two ways:

a) We need the new tools from Bohemia, they are not released yet. Its posible to make a new map from arma3 with the actual tools but its very very complicated. All mapmakers (and me of course) are waiting for the release of the new tools.

b) Now actually the new maps of Arma3 (Stratis ,Altis) have mediterranean style (the buildings ,enviorement ..). We need from the comunity new buildings of Afghan style or european style. I hope for the future to make addons for this type of terrains.


6.So once again: Esbekistan for me is a real masterpiece and i cant wait to see new maps! Are you currently working or planning to work on a new island for Arma3?

Now im working on three terrains ( Greenberet are you crazy ? jajajja ;) Naryn,Lythium and Fortisventu. Mainly the principal project its Lythium and Fortisventu. Lythium its based again Afghan style (waiting for new buliding obejcts ....) and Fortisventu, its a place where i live. These terrains are from the spanish mod of the spanish army for Arma3.


7. A question i like to ask randomly: Did you learn scripting/coding with arma, do you need it at all for map-making?

Well in the process of creating a map instead [of scripting/coding] its required to have a little knowledge for the config of the map.

     
Ingame map of Esbekistan and Esbekistan ShowcaseVideo



Links:
Clan: Unidad de Simulación Táctica 101 (España)
GreenBeret40 @ YouTube



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