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Altiplano

by Major Desync (aka Woesinger)

Background: Altiplano is situated in the Andes along the borders of several South American nations. It is a high plateau, only sparsely populated due to its aridity and extreme altitude (at least 3,700 m above sea level).

Once the almost exclusive province of mining companies, the great open-cast pits became econonomically inviable. Their closure left abandoned mining camps and other infrastructure strewn across the high desert. These bases were soon repurposed to support the construction of solar energy plants by the Agola Corporation in an attempt to revitalise the region. Later, Altiplano came to be used for other more clandestine purposes. Regional governments constructed clandestine research installations far from the prying eyes of oversight committees or the media. Drug cartels, meanwhile, also appreciated the border region’s isolation. Their smuggling camps dot the rugged mountains and dry canyons, moving constantly in an unending game of cat and mouse with national and international drug enforcement agencies.

Recently, tensions between NATO and CSAT have led to new frontlines being drawn in the plateaus of the Andes, as each bloc backed its own proxies among the nations of South America. The old mining camps and aerodromes are now occupied by international “stabilisation forces”. Ostensibly deployed to prevent long-smouldering border disputes igniting into brush fire wars, this military build-up has only added more fuel to the pyre. As NATO and CSAT face off around the world, it takes only a single spark to set Altiplano ablaze.

Features:

Terrain dimensions: 20.5 km x 20.5 km
Terrain area: 420 sq. km
Heightmap resolution: 5 m/pixel
Elevation range: 3727 m to 4495 m
Approx 400,000 objects - all A3 only; no map addons required.
Vast majority of buildings enterable.

High-altitude desert terrain, with salt flats, dry riverbeds, rocky canyons and mountain ridges.
1 large military base with extensive fortifications, barracks, offices, hospital and airmobile facilities.
1 large biosciences facility, with research domes, offices, fortifications, and a construction site.
1 air-base, with associated navigation and early warning radome installations.
A range of industrial facilities including 6 solar energy plants, 2 factory compounds, junk and container yards, and several isolated outlying installations.

Note: Altiplano’s high altitude affects the aerodynamic performance of helicopters and planes.
The following aircraft cannot take off in Altiplano:
NATO: AL-6 Pelican; AR-2 Darter; UH-80 Ghosthawk; AH-99 Blackfoot.
CSAT: Jinaah AL-6; Tayran AR-2; Mi-290 Taru.
Independents: AL-6 Pelican; AR-2 Darter; CH-49 Mohawk; WY-55 Wildcat.
Civilian: All drones; FH-302.

Additionally, the NATO AH-9 Pawnee and MH-9 Hummingbird and the civilian M-900 lose lift and cannot operate above 4,000 m.

Altiplano’s size, topography, ground cover, and locations make it perfect for large scale motorised, mechanised and armoured warfare scenarios. It is also well suited to hit and run raids by insurgents or special forces against well-fortified installations.

This addon is released under the Arma Public Licence Share Alike (APL-SA) licence.

Required Addons: None.

BIS Forum Link: https://forums.bohemia.net/forums/topic/215174-altiplano-420-sq-km-desert-terrain/

Known Issues:
1: AI vehicles intermittently have difficulty pathfinding across road bridges.
2: Fog does not function properly. It cannot be set above 1,000 m in Eden and produces odd visual effects in Zeus.
3: Having the Alitplano mod active will make the small thorn bush clutter models on Stratis, Altis and Malden turn black. An interim fix is to not have Altiplano active if you're playing on these terrains.

Credits & Thanks:
Silola for the X-Cam mod.
Mikero, whose tools underwrite most of the the Arma modding community.
BIS for producing the Arma series.

This terrain is dedicated to the memory of Paul “Bushlurker” Pelosi (1960-2017).