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Kaska

Summary:

Kaska is a revision of the Skira map from Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising, inspired by the real-world counterpart, Kiska.

Revisioned for ArmA 3, Kaska is a vanilla take on Skira, requiring no additional mods to run and is 1:1 in size to its counterpart - 30km across.

The map also has been given some additions to compliment the ArmA 3 sandbox such as two more airstrips, a Go-kart course and a large town in the centre of the map.

Background:

Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising was released in October, 2009, the same year as Arma 2 and 4 years before ArmA 3. OF:DR released with one map - Skira, based on an island called Kiska, as part of the Aleutian Islands between Russia and Alaska. Skira is a largely inspired version of Kiska and revised for the OF:DR sandbox, adding towns, lakes and more.

OF:DR has since dwindled in popularity and multiplayer is no longer officially supported, leaving the game to be a single-player experience alongside other unofficial multiplayer projects. Despite this, Skira has always been a fulfilling throwback and with the introduction of ArmA 3 the desire to play the map in the updated sandbox never ceased, even 7 years after purchasing ArmA 3.

Multiple attempts have been made to bring Skira to ArmA 2, then ArmA 3. Most have only gotten as far as porting the terrain albeit some on smaller scales. After being able to get the ArmA 3 Tools to work in 2021 the task to bring Skira to ArmA 3 was again on.

Kaska:

After 15 months of development, the map has been released under the name 'Kaska', a name nodding to the original island of Kiska whilst being its own take on the interpretation of the island.

Staying true to Skira, the map was made 1:1 in size with its counterpart and where possible mimicking its terrain from the western airport, to Little Skira, to the volcano. Town locations have been kept and some upgraded to larger settlements to increase replayability, as well as the addition of two extra airstrips to make better use of the air vehicles that ArmA 3 has to offer. In addition further roads have been added between roads and towards beaches better connecting the map, as well as offering potential locations for player-made bases.

The map was made using vanilla assets from the base game and Tanoa (Apex) to ensure both the map is accessible to as many people as people as well as keeping the map performant despite the size.

Though mostly staying true to the terrain of Skira, ArmA 3 has the limitation of only having water sources (without mods) at sea-level . Therefor, significant terrain altercations have taken place, mainly at the centre lake to support having water source present on the map and retaining the centre settlement.

Now:

As of the 9th of August, 2024, the 2nd year anniversary of the map's release, Kaska is 'Version 1.4', the fifth and final major version of Kaska for Arma 3. The tree/bush:rock ration has been reduced from 15:1 to less than 5:1, providing natural cover across the map, as well as newly added built up areas and updating existing settlements.

As of the 19th of August, 2023, Kaska is 'Version 1.3', the fourth version. The largest change is the addition of agriculutral fields, largely changing the surrounding landscape around towns, bettering gameplay. This version also improves the airport with lighting, markings and overlay on the airstrip.

As of the 15th of December, 2022 Kaska is currently 'Version 1.2', the third version. This version brings expansions to already present towns, villages and infrastructure as well as new additions such as villages as forests not featured on the original map, Skira.