Arkansas Ideas/Tips/Suggestions

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bobgrey1997
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Arkansas Ideas/Tips/Suggestions

#1 Post by bobgrey1997 » 16 Nov 2018 11:44

After Kraake posted various threads for current planned future DLC research tips, I decided to make my own, but for a bit further off DLC I hope to one day see: ARKANSAS. I figured that at worst, this thread won't help SCS (due to lack of planning for this DLC, or maybe it never makes it out for some reason, etc), but at best, it can help their research efforts not only for this particular state, but also for other states (Arkansas is similar in many ways to many other states).

I might as well copy over this list of other states which SCS has made research threads for:

COLORADO | IDAHO | MONTANA | OKLAHOMA | UTAH | WASHINGTON | WYOMING | TEXAS

Keep in mind this thread is not part of that list, nor is it part of their official research, just something I wanted to share due to my hopes of seeing this DLC eventually be made.

Arkansas; otherwise known as "The Natural State" is a mostly-rural Southern State, covered largely by mountainous forests and expansive farmland. A significant portion of the state is considered either National Parks, National Forests, or State Parks, which helps the state keep it's name as the Natural State; not covered in urban development. This should allow for quite some scenic routes in the game!
Arkansas can be devided into 5 geagraphical regions:
River Delta/farmland
Ozark Mountains
Arkansas River Valley
Ouachita Mountains
Gulf Coastal Plains

[ external image ]

Industries common in the state include forestry, food, and retail.
Grant County (County Seat: Sheridan) is a major hub of lumber transport.
Bentonville is home to Wal-Mart Stores (the larges retail company in the world) and Sam's Club.
Dillard; a large department store chain in the South, was started in Nashville, Arkansas and is currently headquartered in Little Rock.
One of the world's larges meat product company; Tyson, is headquartered in Springdale.
Stuttgart, not only known as the "Duck-Hunting Capital of the World" but also the "Rice Capital of the World" is home to the largest rice producer on the planet; Riceland.
On a "closer to home" note for the truckers here, one of the larger truck transportation companies; J.B. Hunt is based in Lowell, Arkansas.

In terms of trucking, while many roads in the state may officially not allow truck traffic due to National Parks and all, one of the roads most-traveled by trucks in the United States is Interstate 40 between Little Rock and Memphis. This stretch of road has many truck stops.
A recent unfortunate event was when a Loves Truck Stop burned down on Exit 161 of I-40. From what I understand, a rebuild is in progress (I really liked that place, too).

Here is a map I made of some cities and roads that could be included in the DLC:
Arkansas ATS Map
Blue marks: Cities marked on in-game map
Green marks: Smaller towns possibly not marked
Red mark: Capital City; Little Rock

Some of the green towns are not actually on an included road, but those are areas which will likely be large gaps which could easily hold a few new roads and a town.

I will be back with some more information, such as landmarks and scenic areas, as well as possible locations of specific in-game locations and services.
Feel free to share any other information.
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flight50
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Re: Arkansas Ideas/Tips/Suggestions

#2 Post by flight50 » 23 Sep 2021 23:33

Before I forget about this place, this prefab (link below) is perfect for the new Johnson & Smith depot we got with Wyoming. My dad lives a block from here and I pass this place every time I visit him. Its a pretty massive place. It right off of I-30 just across the Arkansas River. It could be a tight fit to get Broadway St. right after the bridge but its the road we take to get to a roundabout and then to this rail yard. It could possible fit between the river and the I-40 @ I-30 junction. SCS would also need to get in the I-40 @ US-167 junction as well. Lots of things happening in the small area. But luckily this area can be exaggerated. The metro area is around 3/4 of a million people. That to me warrants a pretty nice sized metro city.

We might get the I-430 connection. I'm not sure about I-440 though. We'll need I-530/US-65 to get to Pine Bluff. I-40 to get to Memphis and to Ft. Smith are automatic. But what connects to it will be the question.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.7628822 ... !1e3?hl=en
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55sixxx
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Re: Arkansas Ideas/Tips/Suggestions

#3 Post by 55sixxx » 24 Sep 2021 00:48

The road layout on your map looks nice but it has way too many cities cramped up together... And i wouldn't say it's a further off DLC because after Texas get's released, we could be seeing this state in 2023 together with OK and LA.
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Re: Arkansas Ideas/Tips/Suggestions

#4 Post by bobgrey1997 » 24 Sep 2021 04:07

So, I could've sworn I pisted this earlier, but it seems to be missing now. It was taking forever to load when I hit Submit, so I turned my screen off and set my phone down while it did it's thing. Maybe it didn't go through.
Anyway, I was able to back-page a few times to get back to where I was typing it, so here it is:

Ah, I forgot about this pooor little thread. I think I made it too early, but maybe it will get some use soon with Texas around the corner.
I think we will see US67/167/I57, as that is the only major connection from the Little Rock area to all of north-eastern Arkansas. 530 is also very important, as the same is true but for south-eastern Arkansas.
I hope to see 430 and 440 as well. 430 could be easily doable if they scale the city right, as it is a decent distance from downtown and the other junctions. 440 is maybe not so likely, but it would be still be nice as the majority of Little Rock's newer industry is along this route, including the river port and airport, and 2 rather busy industrial parks.
Central Arkansas is rather dense compared to what we currently have in the game. As such, there are some highways I think we should see outside of Little Rock, but they might not be likely due to their proximity to Little Rock. One of these highways is US 64 between 67/167/57 at Beebe and Interstate 40 at Conway, which acts as the northern bypass for Little Rock, allowing traffic from the northeast region to get to the western region without having to go into Little Rock. Including Conway as a marked city would allow further accuracy here, as it is also where US 65 meets Interstate 40 from the north. While Conway could do as a scenic suburb of Little Rock (because that's exactly how it acts in reality, honestly), giving the room of a marked city would allow for US 64, US 65, and Interstate 40 to be routed in a more realistic way. Conway also has one of the rather few bridges over the river in the Central Arkansas region: AR 60, which leads to Perryville (a small town far enough away from, well, anything that we might be able to see it as well, though likely only as scenic because there is absolutely nothing there anymore).
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flight50
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Re: Arkansas Ideas/Tips/Suggestions

#5 Post by flight50 » 25 Sep 2021 11:16

I see what 55sixxx is talking about. I don't think I ever looked at the link until now. That's a ton of cities and roads for Arkansas though. I think we'd get 60-65% of that. Arkansas gets no more than 8-11 marked cities. As is, that is Texas sized cities and more than California currently. You have 33 cities as marked. Arkansas is about 75-80% of Washington and even with Washington's density, Arkansas tops Washington for its size. There's just not enough space in Arkansas for that many roads and cities at current scale. I think ads678's fanmade map has a more realistic road layout and city count. He's missing Ft. Smith though. But 1-2 other cities are possible on his map but 33 cities is too many. Texas might not even get that many.

Ft. Smith is definitely mapped from ads678's map. Little Rock and North Little Rock becomes a metro area so I agree with him on that. SCS might throw Cabot/Searcy and Conway in that as well. Blytheville is right off I-55 so its very possible. Good industry there and with cut planes, should be far enough away from Jonesboro.
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bobgrey1997
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Re: Arkansas Ideas/Tips/Suggestions

#6 Post by bobgrey1997 » 25 Sep 2021 15:52

Yeah, the map is old, as in before Washington DLC old. It definitely needs to be completely redone. I honestly don't even remember how I went about making it.
I think the map by ads is very well done, and is more like what we should see.

Arkansas will be an interesting DLC, as it has fewer cities and more towns than any state we have seen so far (except for maybe Utah and Wyoming, and Nevada; but that doesn't count because everywhere has more everything than Nevada). These towns also have many of the country's (or even the world's) largest companies.
Arkansas is home to:
Walmart and Sam's Club
Dillards
Riceland
Tyson
Carmart

And, if this supposed branded carriers thing ever takes off:
JB Hunt
USA Truck
CalArk
PAM Transportation
Maverick Transportation

FedEx was also founded in Arkansas, but has since moved its headquarters to Memphis.
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Re: Arkansas Ideas/Tips/Suggestions

#7 Post by Bob123412 » 25 Sep 2021 18:58

I always thought fedex was from Indiana. That's where all there trucks seem to be registered to.

As far as cities go, I agree that that many seems implausible, but that is the whole problem with most of the east coast, too many cities, not enough space.
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Re: Arkansas Ideas/Tips/Suggestions

#8 Post by bobgrey1997 » 26 Sep 2021 00:42

Almost all carriers register their equipment in Indiana due to business tax in Indiana. I'm not sure what's so different there, though.
This is the first thing I noticed when I went to CR England; a company founded and still headquartered out of Utah, with literally every truck and trailer on Indiana plates.
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Re: Arkansas Ideas/Tips/Suggestions

#9 Post by Bob123412 » 26 Sep 2021 20:37

I feel like almost all is a bit of an exaggeration, but a lot of the major carriers do have Indiana plates I've noticed. One thing that makes them stand out is that they can get there company logo stamped onto the plate which I have never seen on a plate from any other state.
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bobgrey1997
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Re: Arkansas Ideas/Tips/Suggestions

#10 Post by bobgrey1997 » 26 Sep 2021 22:30

"Almost all major carriers" would have probably been more accurate.
I actually didn't know Indiana allowed a logo on the plate. I haven't noticed this yet. Maybe, I should start looking around and see how many I can find.
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