Request for collaboration on North-UK

[KipperUK]

We all know that making landscapes is sometimes difficult, and almost always insanely time consuming to do it right.

I'm wondering if there's a way in which we can standardise and speed up the work on them so that we end up with a few high quality ones, rather than a million low quality ones.

I've started working on enhancing Andy1248's North-UK photoreal scenery, specifically because it's my 'home' scenery and it's the one I will use the most. I've nailed the workflow:

- Get the tile size texture as a layered file (I'm using paint.net)
- Highlight dense forest areas in two layers (coniferous and deciduous)
- Highlight sculpted tree areas (ie, along rivers, roads) to add to the deciduous layer.
- Highlight rivers/lakes/reservoirs and oceans to create the water texture layer
- Highlight urban areas to remove forests and potentially re-texture later.
- Highlight roads / rails / rivers on separate layers to create more defined textures where you can't see flat low res cars/trucks/trains/boats.

Unfortunately even one tile, done properly, takes a huge effort (because the old magic wand approach to forests can be hit/miss depending on the photo texture) - and there are about 150 tiles, 120ish of which contain features.

After all that is done, there are objects to model, texture, and place - and that is another big job (which may lend itself to using some kind of source control depending on how the data is stored). Airports and turning points are important, but so are towns and villages which all look much better represented by 3D objects.

Are there any willing volunteers to start working on tiles and creating the detail layers mentioned above?

[Andy1248]

To assist with this, I will create a North-UK folder on OXO's FTP server. Sub folders can be added for each work stream/Gliding Site.

The more that can contribute the better the result, so anyone interested in helping with this please contact OXO (by PM) who will provide the FTP server details.

I will also add the install files to the FTP server (including the 'Working Textures') if the server has capacity (Working Textures are 20gb).