[FS17]Kleinhau Official Feedback (4km Map)

[aklein]

pfreek, first thank you for your post. One thing that frustrates us players is the feeling of a lack of communication on things. We are left guessing and anytime we get real information from real staff its helpful even if we don't like what we read.

I'm sure the community could find non beta maps that have issues just like you pointed out on your photos. The one that jumps out at me right now is the lack of a transition on the road going into the main farm at Lawfolds. it does not transition it just ends like you pointed out on Kleinhau.

The worst news is that 4X maps and consoles are not compatible in any way at this point.

[Hiijinx]

via Imgflip Meme Generator


Thanks for reply Jan, could you explain what the quoted text means? I see its all textures and a hash number which for me is when something downloaded is different from what it should be and is used to prevent corruption but all the textures I see listed are ones which GIANTS created ? I haven't edited any of those which is confusing me. How did you get this list because its the first I am hearing of it.

As for the 2 road issues - the "painted" side roads were done with the idea that players could plough over them to combine multiple smaller fields.

The "main roads" out of models are something which I am both happy and unhappy about but due to technical issues, which I will explain below - have been left as they are.

While I admit that the GIANTS map as well as many other custom created ones have much better roads made in blender/3ds max out of one continuous mesh than the ones I have in my map - the simple answer behind this was I did not know about creating them before hand and by the time I read about it, my map was largely finished.

This is why I have the prefab "build your own" piece by piece system in it. Getting the seems to match up on a flat map doesn't seem much of an issue but when you have hills and valleys to deal with it became a right pain in the... asphalt, when coupled with an editor which eventually lagged so badly (see video below) every time I wanted to move an object, was out of the question to start over.

I had considered removing all the main road models and just painting them on instead, at least this was there would be no ugly 1990's pointed edges to deal with but it would look less professional overall. Would you even pass a map with 100% painted roads anyway?

I have tried to export the terrain as an .obj into 3dsmax but 1) it seems to miss parts of the terrain and 2) unless you can suggest some ideas, I have no way of telling where to built the roads to match up with the existing layout. (This method seems to only be for new maps with no models on it yet).

So without completely rejigging the entire road system - as well as everything near it due to knock on effects, I cannot see how to improve it much further. If I remove one problem piece and adjust its angle/height etc - the next one needs to change to match it and so on. Pavements, houses, bushes etc would also need to be moved to avoid objects floating in mid air. Easily do able but not when the editor is struggling as badly as it is.

You are right in saying that I have learnt a lot from this map and could do better on a future design but as mentioned before, I have no desire to create any more.
Yes I would know to create the road system first but this doesn't help Kleinhau.

Is it superior to other maps? No it is not the best map made, no it doesn't have the same methodical finish as the GIANTS maps nor does it have fancy features like others but what it does do is offer a highly detailed 4x map, true to life replica, 96 fields and lots of hidden easter eggs to find with an actual forest in it, not just a few dozen trees scattered around.

The map is twice the size of a standard map (many of which, are only about half of that with barren borders around it) so the chance of finding less than perfect areas is going to be higher. In actual fact, I wanted to add even more detail to Kleinhau but the lag made me reconsider.

I just want people to play my map and I know already from speaking to many people that the "beta" tag really does scare people off
But what is "beta testing"? Google describes it as ;

The goal of beta testing is to place your application in the hands of real users outside of your own engineering team to discover any flaws or issues from the user’s perspective that you would not want to have in your final, released version of the application. Example: Microsoft and many other organizations release beta versions of their products to be tested by users.

Does the map work? - Yes
Are there any errors in the log? No
Have all reported bugs been addressed? Yes
Does it have a good overall rating? Yes

No its not the best map but it works and is bug free so by this definition should easily pass the beta stage when you consider some games which actually made it to market (no mans sky, batman arkham knight etc).

Why not just adopt a system like FSUK and have grades of map from Gold to Bronze? This would seem a much more accurate description of how you class maps as beta/final because right now many players see the beta tag and are afraid its gonna crash, get updated so they lose their save file or it just plain doesn't work.

If you can suggest how to build a custom road mesh on an existing map I would love to hear more.

Is Kleinhau really destined to remain in beta forever?

Anyway, heres the lag I have to deal with. It gradually became worse over time, I can only assume due to sheer number of objects on the map which is why your comment of "more detail needed" really shocked me haha !

[Hairy Bob]

It does make me laugh how Giants have great mods like this map in perpetual beta, given the amount of bugs present in the games on release, requiring multiple patches to sort out.
It seems to me that the initial versions of fs ought to have a big​ "BETA" sticker on them!

[pfreek]

Hey there and sorry for the late reply. I was in a hurry the last week and did some vacation around easter holidays, but I'll try to explain it as detailed as possible.

... could you explain what the quoted text means? I see its all textures and a hash number ...

You asked me once, what are the reasons the map isn't available for consoles - just as an example:

The quoted text shows materials of your map, which are relevant for a console version. By this I mean, that you would have to check these materials, what could be missing. For example a normal map, or wrong textures files etc. pp (DXT1 and 5 are allowed) You got the idea, I think!

... it became a right pain in the... asphalt, ...

1) it seems to miss parts of the terrain and 2) unless you can suggest some ideas ...

1) Had the same problem
2) Yes, I can! I solved the problem by using the height map out of the GIANTS Editor. At first, I created a simple plane in 3ds Max, sized 4096x4096 (4k map - therefor I know the problems around the console version and didn't find a solution yet ... I didn't really try though, as I have a lot of work to do anyway ) and selected the "Displace" modifier. You may have to do a simple black and white texture of the original green/red one, before using it in 3ds Max, but I recommend to try and error a bit for yourself. I hope this helps at least.

... I cannot see how to improve it much further. ...

"A wise man changes his mind, a fool never will." We may have to have a second look at it. Maybe it gives you something in return and you will try to do a completely new map! I'll add a "Non Beta Testing of Kleinhau" to my "Sticky Notes"

Why not just adopt a system like FSUK and have grades of map from Gold to Bronze? This would seem a much more accurate description of how you class maps as beta/final because right now many players see the beta tag and are afraid its gonna crash, get updated so they lose their save file or it just plain doesn't work.

We have a 5* rating system and as this page is visited more frequently by a lot of customers, there will be a lot of hate too. I think, the 5* rating is fine. An improvement could be the possibility to allow a rating INGAME - but only once, bounded to your key / installation. How would you name the Beta section, btw? I tried to change the names to:
• Premium (for the tested once atm)
• Default (for the Beta section)
Regrettably, there wasn't much positive feedback.

Anyway, heres the lag I have to deal with. It gradually became worse over time, I can only assume due to sheer number of objects on the map which is why your comment of "more detail needed" really shocked me haha !

Don't forget to post the log.txt file!

[Lisertan]

Please use the new forum here: viewforum.php?f=939 This thread will move to that forum, soon.

Cheers
Lis

[JohnDeere318]

Whoops, that's the German version, here's the English version: viewforum.php?f=940

[Lisertan]

^What he said.

[englenghardt]

Some question guys,

i had this problem when editing the ground on this map with ground modification mod v1.0.0.5. it works with other map(American outback/rattlesnake/coldborough) but not with this one.
The problem is it seems it can edit the ground, but it did not edit the skin of the ground. I can change the ground to asphalt but the skin of the ground still dirt/grass and when i drive through it, it actually leave the asphalt trace.

Just look at this SS http://imgur.com/a/1X8Gg

Used on kleinhau 1.2.1.0

EDIT: not sure its the ground mod itself or the map, so i just need to figure it out first, but its work ok on other map, so gotta post on this map thread first. thanks inb4

[pfreek]

Welcome to the Non-Beta section!

[Hiijinx]

Thank you very much Jan. You've made my day

[sdrocky]

Got the freeze again with the updated map. i am suspecting it may have something to do with autosave as i have that enabled with the game extentions mod. ill let you know if it crash's or not with autosave disabled.

love the map btw.

[Guil]

Thank you very much Jan. You've made my day

Congrats on getting the map out of beta. Now for the inevitable question, will it be coming to console?

[pfreek]

A 4k map is not possible on consoles (yet)

[Guil]

Sorry didn't realise it was 4k but never say never

[sdrocky]

Crashed again with auto save disabled. not happy. wasted an hour and a half on mowing grass and no auto save to go back to. same lockup/freeze. can alt tab. can not quit out. have to log out of windows and log back in. so annoyed. this is the best map and my absolute favourite. id rather go back to the earlier version.