Feature Wishlists & Suggestions for ATSimulator

[rlrh1996]

FEATURE WISHLISTS & SUGGESTIONS FOR AMERICAN TRUCK SIMULATOR



I'm trying to compile all the suggestions by everyone in this thread into the next few posts, each of which focuses on a particular category.

I hope that SCS can use some, if not all, of the suggestions to improve their future games.

Thanks everyone for contributing to this thread!



INDEX sorry guys, because the max. number of URLs is 5, some of the URLs are just text and not links


1. Useful Resources for SCS


2-6. Feature Wishlists & Suggestions by Me

• 2. Highways forum.scssoft.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7660#p20268

• 3. Cities forum.scssoft.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7660#p20272

• 4. Scenery forum.scssoft.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7660#p20274

• 5. Gameplay forum.scssoft.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7660#p20275

• 6. Miscellaneous forum.scssoft.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7660#p20279

7. Feature Wishlists & Suggestions by Others

• 7.1. Feature Wishlist & Suggestions by DocMoriarty

• 7.2. Feature Wishlist & Suggestions by puddlejumper365

• 7.3. State Welcome Signs by rocknrollDaVE

• 7.4. Specialized Truck-stops by FirstFlyte

• 7.5. Road Reflectors by FirstFlyte & fidelio

CHANGELOG check this out if you want to know when new stuff has been added


4/9 - Rearranged thread again, added useful resources for SCS as section 1, moved road reflectors suggestion to section 7, updated various suggestions, added Centrino2's wishlist
4/8 - Rearranged thread, added DocMoriarty's and puddlejumper365's feature wishlists and suggestions to section 6.
4/5 - Updated Cities section with prototype city map, filled side/semi-related stuff section with rocknrollDaVE's state welcome signs suggestion and FirstFlyte's specialized truckstops suggestion

Hey guys

I’m a huge fan of SCS games. I got my start with Haulin’, which I bought for $9.90, back when it was published by Valusoft and easily available throughout the world. Since then I’ve played the previous games and almost all of the subsequent games, but after American Long Haul, I can only buy them online as I live in Singapore, where such games are not easily available

So recently I saw this blog post showing an American truck, and what else could it be made for except American truck Simulator?
Since it’s still very early on in its development, I think it’s the perfect time to offer suggestions to SCS Software to help them improve their future game(s), before it’s too late, and while we still remember the shortcomings and disappointments of Euro Truck Simulator 2, which though is a great game, can always be improved.

To forum moderator: I know this doesn’t really belong here, but there’s no forum topic for future SCS games; it’d be great if you could create one and move it there!

[rlrh1996]

1. USEFUL RESOURCES FOR SCS



1.1. Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD)

• Information on road and highway markings and signs
  http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009r1r2/pdf_index.htm

1.2. Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Standard Highway Signs & Markings (SHSM) Book

• Detailed information on road and highway signs
  http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/ser-shs_millennium.htm

1.3. Speed Limits

• Speed limits of each state linked to by rocknrollDaVE
  http://www.truckercountry.com/speed-limits.html

1.4. Road signs in the United States

• Wikipedia article linked to by rocknrollDaVE
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_signs ... ted_States

1.5. Truck Stops

• Examples of truck stops linked to by FirstFlyte
  http://xrscorp.com/blog/lifestyle/best-truck-stops/

1.6. Numbered highways in the United States

• Wikipedia article linked to by rocknrollDaVE
  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numbered_highways_in_the_United_States

1.7. Long Vehicle Combination (LCV)

• LCV laws of each state given by rocknrollDaVE

i think this is important to note. the LCV (long combination vehicle) laws of each state
-double trailers (each trailer 28ft in length) are allowed in every state
all others listed here
[ external image ]

1.8. Highways

• Information on United states highways written by rocknrollDaVE

i was just thinking about the three major types of United States highways and i think its impotant that i explain the main diffrences between them

- US
- Interstate
+ Turnpike/toll roads

all US's and Interstates are owned by the United States goverment
*all Interstates and US's are toll free
-*except some major bridges and tunnels

what is a US
[ external image ]

a US is any major United States highway that is built to a standard that does not meet Interstate requirements.

these roads can have the following lane set-up
[ external image ]

they can also be multi-lane like an Interstate.

but unlike an Interstate they can have intersections and red lights and turn offs they can also use a more conplex lane set up when going through a town (like a center turn only lane)

US's can have exits but these for the most part are not numbered becuse US's are not required to use mile markers and will simply be marked with a EXIT sign (some major US's have mile markers along the road owned by the state)
[ external image ]


what is an Interstate
[ external image ]
-must have a minumum of 2 lanes + shoulder going in each direction
-must use exits to get on and off (no intersections or red lights or cross-roads)
-are required to have mile markers at least once a mile (some states have them every .1 of a mile so you get 45.4, 45.5, 45.6 ect...)
-all exits have the mile marked on the sign (mile = exit number)
[ external image ]


Interstate numbering

1 and 2 digits - the main Interstate
(5, 79, 4, 80, 77, 10, 95)
eaven numbers - east to west
odd numbers - north to south

3 digit - split off from main interstate (moastly around citys)
[ external image ]

Interstate 376 showen above goes from Interstate 76 in to the city of Pittsburgh
it will always lead back to the main Interstate in at least one direction

Mile Markers

-always start at 0 at the west end of the Interstate and get higher as you go east
-always start at 0 at the south end of the Interstate and get higher as you go north

***only mesures the miles within one state, does not mesure the entire length of the Interstate***

-must be placed every mile
[ external image ]

every interstate including 3 digit will have there own set of mile markers

what they mark othen then the mile number
- how far from one side of the state to the other (only in the Intestate runs from one end to the other)
- how far from the start of the Interstate to the state border
- how far from the state border to the end of the Interstate
- how far from one end of the Interstate to the other (only in the entire Interstate is within one state, moastly applies to 3 digit Interstates)

Turnpikes and toll roads
these are roads that are owned by the state, what ever state they may be in
-can be a part of an Interstate
-can be a part of a states own road system
-must have a toll of some kind to use

***WARNING***
these can be extreamily complex and very greatly by state in the way they are set up

like in New Jersey the exit numbers on the NJ Turnpike are not marked by the mile but are actully exit numbers like 1, 2 ,3 ,4 ect...

before putting in any Turnpike or toll road in look it up before attempting to put it in the game becuse these are not goverment owned they do not need to follow the same set of rules as Interstates

that is all for major highways

i can do an explanation of 'what is a state route' later

its time for my next How to American Road!

this one is complicated becuse its about:

What is a State Route

[ external image ]

every state has its own sign including Washingtn D.C
[ external image ]

full list of signs for every state
routemarkers.com/states/

these roads are owned by the state they are in, extreamly few of them have tolls

they can take on all kinds of looks and just about any lane set up

from what i know, all state routs are paved in some way. it is extreamly rare that one wont have lines painted on it

rarely they will have mile markers

some state routs have devloped in to major highways (99 in California)

each state have hundrads of these (except for some of the small states, they might have a few)

some states have 4 digit state route numbered roads (1106)

most state routs have a direction above the sign others a direction is part of the number (E3)

before putting a state route look it up for its number, path it takes, citys and towns it goes though, and roads it crosses. some of these take extreamly complex routes and can get tangled in a net work with other state routs, US's and Interstates.

on todays episode of How to American Truck i want to talk about a topic that touches me in a special way, like that one dark and stormy night my dad entered in to my room and told me about this topic when i was younger

disclaimer: whatever meaning you get from the above statement is a product of your own mind

the Michigan state truck weight law

why am i chooseing to bring forward this strange law that only one state has? it makes for some extreamly cool trailers

here is a list of all 50 states weight restrictions before you need a oversize/weight permit
aitaonline.com/Info/Road/Weight%20Size%20Limits.html

Oklahoma is another state on the list that adopts this rule

there may be other states that use this as well, but not alot.

the rule states that you can have a truck with a higher weight as long as you have axles spaced out along the trailer to hold 16,000 pounds each

look at some of these trailers that are used

[ external image ]

these trailers can be taken out of state only if
-they are unloaded of extra weight to comply with weight limits
-unused axles are lifted off the ground
-comply with LCV laws

[rlrh1996]

2. HIGHWAYS



2.1. HIGHWAY LAYOUT


2.1.1. Remove the suicidal permanent slip lane

How many times have we done the right thing and stayed on the outermost lane as a slow vehicle, only to realize that this whole lane was actually a slip lane at the last moment (especially at night), and then swerve sharply onto the other lane just before the turnoff, causing an accident?

To improve this situation, I suggest following the country’s specifications for such situations (e.g. in the US, marking that particular lane as a slip lane, and also an ‘Exit Only’ marker is required for that lane on road signs, some distance before the junction), which I will elaborate more below.

2.1.2. Customized / Non-Prefab Interchanges

After a while, interchanges in ETS 2 start to get boring because they all look and drive the same, and you know exactly what to expect when you’re driving there.

I suggest having customized and non-prefabricated interchanges to remain more faithful to the original interchange and also to allow for a greater variety of interchanges which may not always follow a standard design but are hybrids.

Just my two cents, but I think people would enjoy the game more if every junction they meet is different and unexpected, so that you really have to concentrate on the road signs and the map if you don’t want to lose your way; in a way, it brings back the romance of a road trip.

Here is an example from Rig’n’Roll, which has a very nice game world except the driving sucked:
[ external image ]
[ external image ]
As you can see, the game’s one looks quite close to the original.
Having played it, I can safely say that every single interchange is different, so I really liked driving around the game world, but as I said before, the physics and sounds were horrible.

2.1.3. Keep the original number of lanes

I think a simulator can’t really be one if the real highway has, let’s say, two lanes on each side, but the game’s highway has three lanes on each side. This is probably where Convoy/Haulin’/ALH failed the most, with far too many six-lane highways, so I hope this mistake isn’t repeated. Probably the easiest way to check out the number of the lanes on a stretch of road is to use Google Maps Street View, which covers the entire US. For example, if the Golden Gate Bridge has six lanes, please keep it as six lanes.


2.2. HIGHWAY ROAD MARKINGS


2.2.1. Follow the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD)

Here is the official link to download the latest version of the MUTCD: http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009r1r2/pdf_index.htm
It contains everything SCS needs to know about creating American road textures, everything from the widths of the lanes, thickness of, lengths of, spaces between the lines, etc, so that the highways SCS creates can look as close to real-life US highways as possible.

I don’t know if SCS read this before, but I don’t think so because the Convoy/Haulin’/ALH road textures and signs don’t look like their real life counterparts.

I’ve actually been doing modding work on a city-building game, Cities XL, and here is a screenshot from my American road textures mod for the Realistic Highway mod, following the MUTCD’s specs (yes, I know it sounds weird, but I did a mod for a mod):
[ external image ]

2.2.2. About the suicidal permanent slip lane

I think this screenshot from the MUTCD about road markings for such a situation says everything about what needs to be done (pg 363):
[ external image ]


2.3. HIGHWAY SIGNS


2.3.1. Follow the MUTCD again plus the Standard Highway Signs and Markings (SHSM) book

Here is the official link to download the SHSM: http://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/ser-shs_millennium.htm
It contains all the road signs in the US and some highway signs, but most of the highway signs are actually inside the MUTCD. Please try to follow the official road sign designs to give a better sense of realism.

Here’s a screenshot from what the creator of the Realistic Highway mod for Cities XL is doing, following the MUTCD:
[ external image ]

2.3.2. About the suicidal permanent slip lane (again)

Another screenshot from the MUTCD says everything again (pg 204):
[ external image ]

[rlrh1996]

3. CITIES



3.1. CITY LAYOUT


3.1.1. More varied and realistic city layouts

I’m sure many ETS 2 players think that cities in the game are boring. Everywhere you drive, no matter which country, all the cities look pretty much the same, usually a square grid, maybe a few roundabouts and a bridge.
I think this needs serious improvement. I know it’s hard trying to squeeze a big city into a very small piece of land, but it's possible.

One possible approach is to take note of the major state routes/highways passing through the real city and then build a game city along these main roads while keeping the original layout of these roads. This means that cities in the game don’t have to be an enclosed square or something like that, but rather a (very) small linear slice of a believable or plausible city with one, two or a few main roads and lots of closed side roads, and then build services like gas stations or dealers along these main roads, with factories or trade depots on side roads. Try to add one or two famous buildings and it’ll be great! It’s also important to keep the original number of lanes in the roads to make it more realistic.

I’m sure many players would prefer this approach to the design of cities in the game. This could get players actually excited to visit new cities, because this would give each city its own unique character, and also because, well, San Francisco would actually feel like San Francisco, just that you can't see the whole of it.

Here's a sample... it's just a prototype, so criticize it so we can improve it. Maybe we can come up with a set of "rules" that can be applied to any city to make a good map out of it?
[ external image ]
As you can see, I've condensed San Francisco into a small area ( I think? ) while keeping the major avenues and streets, then placed the companies, services, etc. around them, and I also included the City hall as a landmark building.

Again, I have to give credit to Rig’n’Roll for succeeding.
[ external image ]
[ external image ]
The San Francisco in Rig’n’Roll is built along US Route 101, or Van Ness Ave, and the City Hall is really along the road, but it’s facing the other way, but still it really feels like San Fran.

3.1.2. More road types

I think the variety of roads in cities in ETS 2 is severely limited; it seems like every city you drive to has a four-lane avenue as its main thoroughfare.

Please consider including more types of roads in cities to make each city more unique and different from each other.

Here is a list of almost all of the road types (together with shorthand names SCS may use in map editor) that can be found in cities:
TLA-3/5/7/... - Turning lane avenues (e.g. for TLA-5 there are 2 lanes on each side and a median lane for left/right turns)
AVE-2/4/6/... - Avenues (e.g. for AVE-2 there is 1 lane on each side and a grass median)
ARD-3/4/5/... - Asymmetrical roads (ARD-3 is 2 lanes on one side and 1 lane on the other, ARD-4 is 3+1, ARD-5 is 3+2 or 4+1, etc.)
RD-2/4/6/... - Roads (e.g. for RD-6 there are 3 lanes on each side and no median)
OWR-1/2/3/... - One-way roads (e.g. for OWR-2 there are 2 lanes going in the same direction)


3.2. MORE TRAFFIC, PEDESTRIANS & SOUNDS


I don’t think I’m the only who feels that cities in ETS 2 are quite dead.

To solve this problem, I suggest having more traffic (a small jam is welcome) and pedestrians in cities so that cities don’t feel like a ghost town, and also more sounds such as honking or bicycle bells and such to make them feel more lively.

I think players would enjoy cruising into a city full of life after a lonely journey on the highways.


3.3. ROAD MARKINGS & SIGNS


Same thing, please follow the FHWA’s MUTCD (see section 1.2.1 and 1.3.1).

[rlrh1996]

4. SCENERY



4.1. Localized landscaping


PC Gamer says this about ETS 2: “The further you get from central Europe the less convincing the landscapes become.”, so please ensure that the scenery in the game world matches the real scenery so that the game feels more realistic.

For example, Interstate 15 between Los Angeles and Las Vegas lies in the Mojave desert, so there must be desert terrain along that stretch, and Interstate 5 between Los Angeles and San Francisco lies in the Central Valley, with farms on the east side and desert/mountains on the west side.


4.2. More natural landmarks


It would be great if the game had more natural landmarks as scenery to make it more exciting and interesting on the journeys across America.

For example, we could be driving towards LA and the San Bernardino mountains would be somewhere in the distance, or being able to see Lake Tahoe when driving along Interstate 80 near Reno.

[rlrh1996]

5. GAMEPLAY



5.1. DRIVING


5.1.1. Moving camera

Okay, the title’s bad because I don’t really know how to describe this, but in the real world, due to inertia or stuff like that, when for example your car goes over a bump or a bridge joint, your head tends to move not in sync with the vehicle, you know what I mean? So if, like, the truck crosses a bump or a bridge joint, then the camera should move up and down a while to make it more realistic.

5.1.2. Road noise

I think this would really make the game more interesting and more immersive. For example, if the truck drives over a gravel road, then there’ll be the sounds of stones, or if it’s a rough patch of highway, then there’ll be more tire noise. Maybe even play a noise as vehicles cross a bridge joint, you know that sound? Surprisingly, Sleeping Dogs has this feature, just drive to a bridge, get out of the car and wait for other vehicles to cross the bridge joint and you can hear the sound.
And also this from Centrino2:

Got this picture from rocknrollDaVE, notice to the left and right, there is a rumble strip, those tend to be quite loud when you run over them, of course they are meant to warn dozing drivers to wake the he** up! Although success rate varies.
[ external image ]
So more road noise for ya, and something to add to highways.

5.1.3. Bring back CB radio!

Title says it all! I really miss this feature. With the CB radio, you really feel like you're in the truckin' fraternity or stuff like that.

[rlrh1996]

6. MISCELLANEOUS



6.1. MORE USER-FRIENDLY MAP EDITOR


I don’t know if this is possible, but it would be great if the map editor could be as easy to use as in city-building games such as SimCity and Cities XL which also allow you to build highways and stuff with mods.

For example, the Realistic Highway mod for Cities XL works using “puzzle pieces” and draggable roads. If you want to build a highway, then select the 2-lane button and drag it for some distance, do the same for the other direction, to increase it to three lanes, place the 2-3 lanes transition puzzle piece, join the 2-lane one to the 2-lane side, then select the 3-lanes button and drag out the other side, to create an exit, choose the slip lane texture variation, connect a 2+1 lane puzzle piece, then drag two lanes out one fork and a slip lane out the other fork.

Here’s a screenshot:
[ external image ]
[ external image ]
Interchange made in Cities XL:
[ external image ]

[rlrh1996]

7. FEATURE WISHLISTS & SUGGESTIONS BY OTHERS sorry guys, the max. number of URLs allowed is 5 so the URLs below are just text and not links



7.1. Feature Wishlist & Suggestions by DocMoriarty
forum.scssoft.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7660&start=60#p20943

My 10 cents on ATS:

Map:

- First of all: A map scale similar to ETS2, at least a lot more detailed than in 18 WoS Haulin/Long Haul. This actually means that, knowing SCS, the initial map will only cover part of the US (ATS - West Coast or ATS - East Coast to begin with). Additional states should then be added via DLC which should be a lot easier for ATS because by then SCS will have the technology for map DLC's.
- DLC's should cover Canada, Alaska in the North in a Winter setting and New Mexico in the South. It would be awesomest though if DLC's would cover South America over time too. Just imagine a truck sim where you can haul something from Alaska ice roads down to the South tip of America via the Yungas road. Would take like 8 hours RL time i guess.

Weather:
- More varied and RANDOMized weather. What i really hate is that once per day rain shower that has been there since 18 WoS games. Ok now we can adjust it's length but thats still annoying. I don't want to know the wheather. There should be times with 2 or 3 showers or light rain all day and then there should be 5 days without any rain at all. And there should be localized wheather. That means that wheather should also depend on area. I really dislike seeing rain in the desert. Also add: Fog, light rain, cloudy sky with no rain at all 2/8, 4/8, 6/8 and merciless beautiful blue sky with no clouds at all. Could even add a wheather forecast page to PDA.

Immersion:
- Cut scenes when visiting the hotel for example or maybe even when taking a nap in the trucks bed.
- Top notch would be if we could actually leave the truck and go into bars or so on truck stops like in Rig'n Roll
- Option to turn off cut scenes for those who favor playing it arcade style

Gameplay:
- Garages with 3 and 5 slots like in ETS2
- Gas station and a workshop should be optional upgrades for garages which cost money but decrease gas cost and repair/maintenance when present
- ETS2 has the problem (like many such economic simulations) that at later stages in the game the user earns an insane amount of money. To remediy this a real headquarter should be introduced which provides office space for office workers. In order to manage the garages and get orders etc. you need to hire 1 office worker for a 3 slot and a 2nd office worker for a 5 slot garage. Of course the space in the headquarter building is limited and you need to upgrade it too in 4 or 5 steps where each upgrade costs like twice of the previous upgrade. And of course the headquarter office building must have a 3D-representation which gets more and more impressive the higher it's upgraded.
- Statistics that let you see how some factors develop over time, fuel consumption, repairs, revenue, profit, number of transports etc.
- Special Missions that require multiple loads transported.
- Special multidrop missions where you have to go to several places (not my idea)
- Hired drivers gameplay a combination from 18 WoS and ETS 2 game: It should be possible for the hired drivers to automatically find jobs as well as contracting them to the companies. If contracted then the driver must of course be stationed in a garage in a city where the contractor resides. Contracts should reward a little more revenue than random jobs. Contract-slots should be earned by driving for the companies like in 18 WoS but maybe 1 slot requires at least 2 or 3 jobs done.

Simulation:
- Fuel consumption should depend on the players driving style.

DLC:

- DLC: European Truck Import Dealer: sells a handfull of European Trucks for those who prefer them over U.S. Trucks
- DLC's for map extensions so that finally everything from Alaska to South American countries is covered.

Edit:

Modability:
- Use Lua as scripting language (like Farming Simulator for example, we used this in the last project i made for customization). An extremely fast scripting language written in C (without++) ! This would also help a lot with current modding problems where a mod usually replaces one complete .sii file rendering other mods changes to that file useless. Also allow modders to mod scripted content. There have been done some really awesome mods with Lua for farming simulator like the 'CoursePlay' mod, something completely unthinkable for ETS2.
- Use a file structure where it's easy to add trucks, trailers, paints etc. without having to interfere with stock stuff. I think about a structure like in Microsoft FSX where an airplane is basically added simply by putting it's folder in a defined subfolder of FSX.

7.2. Feature Wishlist & Suggestions by puddlejumper365
forum.scssoft.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7660&start=80#p21314

My dad drives so I know alot about the trucking buisness, and i am going to put in mt $2 worth (yes i have alot to say). So i have played all the 18 WoS games from hard truck 18 WoS to haulin', and i liked them, but it just didnt feel realistic... yeah the trucks were good and the physics were almost flawless for the times, but when your not on the highway thats where it gets arcadish.

i have a few tips for ATS.

1 trucks

.1.you have a few good trucks but alot of them you dont see often... so here is a few i would like to see in ATS

.1. international lonestar

.2. international prostar

.3. kenworth W900L

.4. kenworth T800

.5. kenworth T600

.6. freightliner cascadia

.7. freightliner classic XL

.8. freightliner FLD

.9. international 9800 cabover

.10. volvo 880

So theres a few that i would like to see, it would be nice to see some different trucks...

2 driving

.1. engine brake.

On all the 18 WoS games the jake brake has been WAY too strong!!! I am in a freightliner cascadia, which has one of the strongest jakes on the road, and cant stop the truck without the foot brake, so please fix. The sound on the jake is also REALLY bad, it sounds like a washing machine with a throttle! listen to some real american trucks and go by that....

.2. trailer droping

Stop making it where you lose your trailer when you jackknife or hit somthing!!!!! I could understand it in the earlier 18 WoS but now, its gotta stop.. Make it where it damages the sleeper when you turn too hard and the trailer when you hit somthing with it. I cant tell you how many times I have made a corner lose my trailer and dont notice it untill i am halfway to where im going......

.3. traffic

GIVE US TRAFFIC BACKUPS!!!!! On the real roads there is always a backup.. due to construction, accidents or someone saw somthing shiny and slammed on the brakes...

.4. wreckers

I think if you crash ,run out of fuel, ect, that you need to be towed instead of magicly being transported by a black screen... there needs to be wreckers.

.5. tires

On real roads, a real problem is tires deciding to explode... This needs to be part of ATS.

3 the buisness

.1. you need to have it where you can accualy run a trucking company, instead of just buying trucks hiring drivers and thats it... it needs to be where you have to buy your own trailers, do "live loads" where your getting loaded in a dock, design company decals,ect

one thing i left out last night was they need to have classic trucks.. new trucks are cool and all but i got a soft spot for the trucks that started it all. (yes they would be more expensive but just flat out cool)

.1. diomond rios

.2. white/freightliners

.3. old macks

.4. the original KW W900

.5. KW cabovers

ECT.

that would be another cool feature. of course they would steer slow due to lack of power steering...

7.3. State Welcome Signs by rocknrollDaVE
forum.scssoft.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7660&start=10#p20517

for the in-gamp map dont just have a blank map with the roads and the citys. put the outlines of the states as a background
something like this would look cool
[ external image ]
also keep in mind that each state has there own unique welcoming sign when you cross the state line
[ external image ]

I took this photo at the state border between California and Nevada going from Las Vegas to Los Angeles on Interstate 15:
[ external image ]


7.4. Specialized Truck-Stops by FirstFlyte
forum.scssoft.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7660&start=10#p20511

Please include specialized truck-stops to your list of SIDE/SEMI-related stuff. There are quite a few of these spread throughout America, and they cater specifically to truckers (eg. showers, truck-washes, parts & accessories sales, mechanic services, etc.)
FirstFlyte

as for the truck stops in question there is a chain called Travel Centers of America. and a few others i know about like Flying-J. look some of those names up.
[ external image ]

Clicking the links in this blog post will point you at 10 - there are certainly others (I'm not a trucker so I don't have insider information - I've just driven by a number of them)
Here's a Google snippet of the world's largest (Iowa 80)

05-04-2013 1-32-31 AM.jpg

7.5. Road Reflectors by FirstFlyte & fidelio
Link to FirstFlyte's post: forum.scssoft.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7660&start=20#p20619
Link to fidelio's post: forum.scssoft.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7660&start=30#p20623

On the subject of road-markings, I'd like to see cats eyes. For those who don't know what those are, they're reflectors embedded in the road that light up very nicely at night (and during rainstorms) so you can keep in your lane without having to rely on just paint.

catseye.jpg

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it gets so hot in some places in the southwest U.S. the asphalt road surface becomes soft enough to coat vehicle tires with tar, which then covers up the paint marks by coloring them black. if it weren't for these embedded road reflectors, there would be practically no lane markings. this is a particular problem in las vegas. the tar does a pretty good job of covering the reflectors too.

7.6. Feature Wishlist & Suggestions by Centrino2
forum.scssoft.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7660&start=100#p21332

Here are some links to ideas I have proposed for ETS2, but I would like to see them in ATS.
Decaled company trucks: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3820
Rear Spotlights (since they are legal in America): viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3767
Cargo for box trailers and parking brakes: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5353
Wheel Flap Physics: viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7822

7.7. Landmarks by FirstFlyte
forum.scssoft.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=7660&start=150#p23001

Some thoughts on a bunch of stuff...

Unless I missed it, we should also create a section for must-have in-game landmarks, like there are in ETS2. A couple of suggestions to start things off:

• Welcome to Las Vegas sign?
• Hoover Dam
• Grand Canyon
• Hollywood sign?
• Statue of Liberty
• Niagara Falls (via a border crossing?)
• St. Louis Arch
• Golden Gate Bridge
• riverboats on the Mississippi
• ...and the list goes on and on and on...

Some homage to Route 66 would be kinda cool. Also PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) could be one of the included routes. (I believe I mentioned the Trans-Canada highway in a previous post).

Map-makers will need to strike a delicate balance to ensure the driving experience includes all of those 'wide open spaces' North America is famous for.

Cheers, (and apologies for the brain dump)

FirstFlyte

[rocknrollDaVE]

i am with this %100

bit i got one sugestion to all SCS staff

USE GOOGLE EARTH/MAPS!!!!

best tool ever!
it has everything about the world all in one place!
also street view!

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[matt1982]

and please have own your own trailer scs