ATS long term development map - all states, Canada & Mexico

[RTobi]

I'm just curious what others think/ guess how SCS will create the ATS map
I already think SCS will have an own plan, more or less lol. This topic is just about how I and you imagine how they gonna built north America in ATS.
We know SCS does face some other topics in order to stay competitive as a company for a long time with ETS2 and ATS (e.g. the graphics) but let's just limit the discussion and opinions on the map progress.
I made one large picture consisting of 16 smaller images, showing my assumption how they could put the US and parts of Mexico and Canada into the game - step by step
(note that you can zoom into every area of that image):
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipO ... VBYWpXZldR
Black = Existing states
Red = "next" DLC - new state
Green = "previous" DLC/ state(s) so you have a better contrast
brown = all the "previous" DLC's
Pictures are numbered and you can see my explanation to every picture/ step below.

Some basic things; explanation of pictures 1-16 are below:
Basic 1: I started with the current map and added usually 2 states in each new image (which doesn't mean that they have to be released together!). I do believe it's better to try to get the map "box-styled", so that the player has the ability to travel a lot without having to cross the same roads and cities all over again (which is the case now when you often travel between Cali/ Nevada and Arizona where you just can use 3 interstates only).
Basic 2: That map pretty much concentrates on the US. From the business perspective, I think the game would sell best with most time spent on map building in the US but also putting some effort into Mexico and Canada over the time to keep it not just US only.

Images:
1 - adding Utah- I believe it would be the best to get a nice "square" (or as I also call it "box-styled" as the map is not always a square) so you can drive around freely without being on the same routes over and over and over again. Utah includes not only desert but also green parts and forests.
2 - adding Oregon + Washington - Getting away from the desert to get some change in the scenery. Also needed for the further "box-style" of the map.
3 - Idaho + Baja California, Mexico - Continuing in the green northwest with 1 state while expanding the map to Mexico for the 1st time. Baja Cali seems not too large so it might be great for a start. Advantage of having a new "green" state and a new desert-like state.
4 - Wyoming + Colorado - Best way to continue the box-style and the north-south map building in the next step
5 - Montana + New Mexico - Box-style. Great square to drive in, nice possibilities to go into every direction. Green state & desert.
6 - Nebraska + Kansas + Canada? - same as 4 (Best way to continue the box-style and the north-south map building in the next step) - the road infrastructure looks funny/ "unique" as well if you look at it on Google maps. Might be a good point to take the first step into Canada but Canada's regions/ states are very large! Which is why I added the question mark.
7 - Oklahoma + Texas - You can finally go really big and step 6 helped with that
8 - North & South Dakota - completing the square/ box style
9 - Sonora + Chihuahua - time to visit Mexico again. Texas is done so there are quite some ways into these 2 mexican states.
10 - Minnesota + Iowa - just the best way for the further development of the map
11 - Missouri + Arkansas - continuing
12 - Louisiana + Mississippi + Canada? - finally reaching the old south. And possibly time to add some new parts of Canada.
13 - Wisconsin + Illinois + Indiana + Michigan + Ohio - get the north done - could be changed with 15 which I later noticed
14 - Kentucky + Tennessee + Mexico - definitely #14, needed for the box, no matter if step 13 stays step 13 or changes with 15. Probably the right time to complete northern Mexico.
15 - Alabama + Georgia + Florida - completing the southeast to get the rest of the east/ northeast done which are more or less (very) small states.
16 - rest of the east and northeast. See the arrows which continue into Canada.

There seems to be the other opinion in which people would like to see the development going straight to the east (New Mexico - Texas & Oklahoma - Arkansas & Louisiana & Mississippi & Tennessee - Alabama - Georgia). But I think this would make you end up driving the same roads not just 10 times, more like hundreds of times and the only advantage would be the east - west coast travel.

From my perspective the box styled would be better. Especially since SCS could mostly add one northern and one southern DLC which will usually result in 2 totally different looking states which I think will let more people buy the DLC's.

Note that this topic is not about the existing discussion of "New Mexico or Oregon next???!?!??", it's about the long term development as the title says

[Mohegan13]

While I can understand the aesthetic side of things, I doubt SCS make their map plans based on looks. Now Pavel mentioned in the Squirrel interview a year ago that they planned to have multiple map teams working both East and North. We don't know which way they are focusing on or if that plan is still the plan.

But I believe New Mexico is next state for one reason: Texas.

Texas is a HUGE area, it's almost as big as California and Arizona combined. My thinking is, if the average state takes around 6 months then Texas will be close to double that. So if they get New Mexico done, they then have that connection to Texas, so while other team[s] focus on making and releasing the Northern states like Oregon/washington/Utah/Idaho one team can focus purely on Texas.

By the time Texas is ready to launch, we'll probably have Oregon & Washington, and maybe Idaho and/or Utah.

We currently have no idea what SCS plans are, all the info we have is over a year old and even then was just an idea not a set plan. We don't know how many map teams SCS has per game, we only know what they were hoping to have after the ATS release.

But from a purely logistical standpoint, getting NM done so they have a direct connection to Texas, allowing one team to focus on that while others focus elsewhere just seems to make the most sense to me.

[RTobi]

They could also focus on other states, I mean, Texas is not a requirement for the game to become good and I'm sure people will not be very satisfied if they only get desert scenery now. And I also think how the map would look like if they were building New Mexico, Texas and Oregon + Washington. We would pretty much end up driving the same roads up and down.

[arthurcfbr]

I chose the box style. But i heard that by different people and some clues in some SCS's blog posts that the next state can be New Mexico. But who knows. It can Be any state.

[rocknrollDaVE]

the central parts of Oregon and Washington are desert. the east is mostly dry (brown) parie lands and the south part of Idaho is all flat dry (brown) praire land. just saying

[TomDooley]

Sorry, but this poll and discussion is moot.
I understand the wishful thinking, but SCS will do whatever they feel reasonable and not ask us about it. Some states are simply a little bit more likely than others, but not sure.

Still, in my opinion, whatever that's worth, it would make sense for SCS to pour out Utah, New Mexico, and maybe Oregon next - in that order. Reason: Utah first, if only because it is needed for multi-direction map progression and reasonable routes (I'll gladly say again that no-one would drive Kayenta to Elko via Kingman and Vegas on SCS' normal-weather routes) and to keep all further options in their hands. I agree with the opinion about Texas - the sheer amount of landmass would surely attract many Texans to drive from their home realms. With the size also comes a number of cities to include.

I hurts me to say, but I'm not so sure that we will EVER get Canada, Mexico, and anything beyond Texas though there are a number of states left. Okay, you can make all those Flyover States a bundle the quality like C2C looks now, barely anyone would notice anway. "Are we in Nebraska yet?" - "No, still Idaho" - *YAWN* Okay, wake me up once we're past Wyoming."
Yep I know that I make fun of a lot of people who don't deserve it, but still...

And yes, I would happily pay good money to drive the Overseas Highway with my 579 on a state-of-the-art map, but if SCS didn't hire ten entire map dev'ing teams from thin air, I think we need a very big cushion under our butts during the wait.

Tom

[angrybirdseller]

We are jumping ahead here because this project will take years. Here the thing cant make Nebraska like C2C then have Iowa look like DLC France it wont work. Lets on concentrate one or two states not twenty of them.

[room217au]

Sorry, but this poll and discussion is moot.

Correct. There is absolutely no point in speculation.

[rocknrollDaVE]

being from the east coast i can truly see the natural wonder of states like Wyoming, Nebraska and Idaho. they are so big, vast and otherworldly at times that it makes me feel very small

[TomDooley]

Yeah, those states were there even before geography was invented.