Texas pre-research tips

[index]

If you all get to the east and you want to recreate the pines there - please don't recycle the pine models you already have! The long leaf pine is a very common pine throughout the South and it has an appearance distinct from other conifers/evergreens you might find out west that are already in ATS. Using these ones you have now would give a lot of the rural south a more alpine/western feel which can take away from the unique atmosphere long leaf pines give (which are also the state tree of Alabama and North Carolina). In some spots you might be able to get away with the pine models you already have, not that big a difference, thus not a problem, but some spots look pretty different from your usual western pines.

I noticed this shot and depending on its location in the state, if it's east TX, if they're not placeholders, you all might want to strongly consider modeling some long leaf pines.

[ external image ]

GSV shots of some:

https://www.google.com.mx/maps/@30.2344 ... 384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.1009282 ... 384!8i8192

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.3082893 ... 312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.1864961 ... 312!8i6656

As you can see the shape and profile is quite different from the way the ones in the west are especially with the branches. On many you have a lot of trunk and the leaves don't start till they're all the way up near the top, and typically they all grow similarly in groups. If you google search long leaf pines you can get some more examples too, better than what I can provide. I'd also suggest looking into slash pines and loblolly pines for the future, loblollies can be found in Texas as well and appear very similar to long leaf pines. I would highly recommend modeling those for Texas as well.

Edit: I'd also consider modeling the Sabal Palmetto too. Native to the South with a width from the fall line to the atlantic coast, stretching from North Carolina to Texas. Pretty popular as an ornamental plant especially in coastal towns. Sabal minor as well.

[flight50]

Nice @index and I totally agree. I know along I-30 when I travel back and forth to my parents home town in Little Rock, I-30 becomes loaded with long leaf pines around Texarkana and beyond. I'd concur with the new models. Although we don't know where these pics are yet, w.i.p can certainly give the devs time to swap out models.

[Sora]

I agree completely. That sort of pine tree is pretty emblematic of eastern Texas, to the point that part of the state is known as the Piney Woods, so it's the one tree I can definitely recognize as being wrong (if it's meant to be eastern Texas.)

[CodArk2]

Here are some pages about pine trees in Texas

https://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/aldridge/forest.html

https://balconygardenweb.com/types-of-p ... as-native/

http://www.treesforme.com/tx_pinus.html

[Jman12678]

Just wanted to introduce myself and wanted to share that I am engineer that works for TxDOT. I can provide really good technical advice for the roadways across the state. I'm in the Houston region which has some of most massive freeways in the state.

[Jman12678]

Here is a link to a website I've been to that give really good information on Texas roadways

http://texashighwayman.com/texhwys.shtml

[flight50]

@Jman12678 Hi Jman. Thanks for posting this. I'm sure the devs could use some of this. Do you have access to all of Texas though? I am in Dallas and just like your city, there is always some type of road works going on. Do you know the finishing details on how highways will look before they are built? Example, a few years back, I know TxDot had an animation of the I-635 project that is on Youtube or at least was. I haven't looked in years. They have been underway for phase II for about a year now but I haven't seen an animation for the new phase. Do you have access to stuff like that?

The devs will more than likely have to update certain roads that are under construction in Texas before the dlc is released or even after its released. Texas is difficult because the Texas Triangle is always under development road and even building structure wise. So either they'd have to come back later and update or just let roads be.

[Laqueesha]

Small thing, but the parked car models still all have Californian license plates. Is it possible to make them randomized or cover them up; you can see them in this picture on the red Range Rover to the right. Noticed this back in 2017 when the New Mexico DLC released, since NM has yellow license plates but Californian ones are white.

[Jman12678]

@Jman12678 Hi Jman. Thanks for posting this. I'm sure the devs could use some of this. Do you have access to all of Texas though? I am in Dallas and just like your city, there is always some type of road works going on. Do you know the finishing details on how highways will look before they are built? Example, a few years back, I know TxDot had an animation of the I-635 project that is on Youtube or at least was. I haven't looked in years. They have been underway for phase II for about a year now but I haven't seen an animation for the new phase. Do you have access to stuff like that?

The devs will more than likely have to update certain roads that are under construction in Texas before the dlc is released or even after its released. Texas is difficult because the Texas Triangle is always under development road and even building structure wise. So either they'd have to come back later and update or just let roads be.

@flight50

Yes I have access to all the database and alot of the major stuff is on the txdot website for the public to access. They can pull detail sheets like for the high mast lighting to get the dimensions of poles and the lights on the rings but I can share if they have trouble finding. Yes the finishing details are included in the plans we use for construction. Roadway layout. Geometry of profile and alignment. We have standards for the construction of barrier with dimensions. Guard Rail. Light fixtures and signals.

https://www.dot.state.tx.us/business/st ... nfiles.htm The standards for items which have dimensions and details

https://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/proj ... udies.html All major projects that are in planning and development across the state.

list of all projects and studies and they can pull schematics for the future design of the roadways.

I know for the future the Texas triangle which is I35,I45, and I10 will be 3 lanes in each direction between Houston, San Antonio, and Austin

I know one thing I wonder they can do is if they change the roadway light fixtures to LED instead of the sodium vapor since most of those have been replaced by LED lights now.

[ external image ] Regular Lighting
[ external image ] High Mast Lighting

[R1600Turbo]

Super late on this, but I posted a topic in the wishlist area for something I would like to see included with Texas.

viewtopic.php?f=185&t=297357