Base Map Rebuild (CA, NV, AZ) General Discussion Thread

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Bedavd
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Re: Base Map Rebuild (CA, NV, AZ) General Discussion Thread

#461 Post by Bedavd » 07 May 2021 23:43

MountainCloud9 wrote: 07 May 2021 20:36 Not unusual considering they are working on phase 1, which is Northern California, and they wiil most probably not touch Oregon's connections
I think you've got it backward there. Working on Northern California they will likely be touching every connection between Oregon and California, as well as parts of Nevada. It's odd the AI is spawning with Nevada plates when the location for pics 1&10 is the CA/OR border on US 199, 200 miles away from Nevada.
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Sora
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Re: Base Map Rebuild (CA, NV, AZ) General Discussion Thread

#462 Post by Sora » 08 May 2021 00:17

Major road layout rework
City rebuilds are great and all, but this is what excites me. California suffers really badly from a road network that was designed at 1:35, and there are several places where it makes little or no sense (with the Fresno area being a shining example of this.) I'd love to see what California could look like in 1:20, because there are so many things that need to be cleaned up/added/removed/rearranged.

(Nevada isn't hit as hard by this outside of the Reno/Carson region because it's a very sparse state to begin with; Arizona is also hurt by 1:35 map design, but the more complicated interchanges, signage updates, and later road additions do a better job of hiding it.)
Bedavd wrote: 07 May 2021 18:47 An interesting thing I just noticed on the blog... ALL of the cars in ALL of the photos have Nevada plates, even the ones taken of the inspection stations on the CA/OR border.
This reminds me: I wish they'd make license plates a little more dynamic. Rather than having all of them being from the state you're in, it'd be nice if about 10% of them were from surrounding states and another 5% were from any state at random.
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Xaagon
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Re: Base Map Rebuild (CA, NV, AZ) General Discussion Thread

#463 Post by Xaagon » 08 May 2021 00:28

flight50 wrote: 07 May 2021 23:39 Paid dlc's will always have priority and we all have to understand that. This is something they technically do not have to do, but as a curiosity to their fans, they are upgrading the quality across the map.
I used to be entirely on board with that thought, but now I'm starting to think (or at least hope) that SCS does not see California as a no return investment. I am pretty much an ATS-only player, only playing ETS2 when they have some kind of special event. I'm thinking there are players out there that are the reverse, that is ETS2 is their main game and they only play ATS during special events. If their only exposure to ATS is the base map, what reasons would they have to ever buy paid DLC or recommend ATS to their friends?

As to the hypothesized phase I, or "Norcal" as we called the area when I lived there:

Redding was rebuilt recently and may not get much of an upgrade. I'm also thinking we won't see lots of change on the roads added with Oregon, outside of the introduction of the agriculture inspection stations.

Eureka isn't bad in my opinion, but I look forward to see what they change with it. I would expect maybe some more realism and would hope for additional content like companies or delivery places.

Ukiah is where I grew up. What they have in the base map is enough to invoke feelings of familiarity and a touch of homesickness. I'm hoping they add a bit to the area. We could get a lumber mill on the north end of town and a winery as well. If they go beyond my expectations they'll even add CA-20 from Ukiah to I-5. CA-1 along the coast and adding Fort Bragg is a dream, but not really an expectation. I fear that they might take something away from what's already there in Ukiah to make room for something else, but I don't honestly expect that they would do this to me.

Sacramento could use some help. There's some Sacramento specific stuff there, but it doesn't all come together like a paid DLC city would. I look forward to seeing the revamp.

Truckee in the base map doesn't come across as I remember it in real life. I look forward to seeing them fix this one too.

Hornbrook should become Yreka. This has been discussed a lot in older threads so I won't add to it here.

Adding something... Yuba City/Marysville, Chico, Red Bluff, Susanville, Alturas as a deliverable place. Many options here, I hope they pick some of them.

South of I-80, but I did want to mention San Jose. After the rescale they did kind of add it as scenic on US-101, but they didn't really have enough room to do it justice. I think if California were released today as a paid DLC there's no way that it wouldn't get included. I'm thinking San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose would get more of a Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia treatment.

I remember the original blog said something about cities would not be worked on at first, but then they showed work on San Francisco. So, did they get some more resources? Are they going to give us a new road network connecting to existing cities and rework them later? I guess we'll find out when they release the first update.

As to the license plates, yes I agree make 5% of car plates from another state and maybe make 75% of truck & trailer plates from another state. Not sure how hard that would be to do...
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Re: Base Map Rebuild (CA, NV, AZ) General Discussion Thread

#464 Post by leo.arevalo12ss » 08 May 2021 01:48

I'm thinking the first phase of the rework for california might be adding agricultural inspection stations all across California's state borders ex. Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona as well as the rework for North California but that could be a bit much
Take it with a grain of salt nothing is 100% sure
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flight50
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Re: Base Map Rebuild (CA, NV, AZ) General Discussion Thread

#465 Post by flight50 » 08 May 2021 03:41

Sora wrote: 08 May 2021 00:17 This reminds me: I wish they'd make license plates a little more dynamic. Rather than having all of them being from the state you're in, it'd be nice if about 10% of them were from surrounding states and another 5% were from any state at random.
I'd love to get this...why? Because it is 100% realistic. If I posted up in one spot on any major highway in my town, I can promise you I'd find a lot more than just Texas license plates. Most Americans can vouch for this. Not to say that its not the same elsewhere. I don't live elsewhere so I can speak for elsewhere. Typically you will see the most out of state tags from bordering states. But every now and then you see people from further away. 2 reasons for this. 1) people move/relocate and 2) people travel to vacate. Road trips are a very common thing to do during holidays and school break when family travel the most. It would be pretty immersive if things felt that way in the game too. Although I don't pay attention to tags in ATS....I actually do in real life. Especially when I am traveling myself. So yes, I definitely second this.

@Xaagon I too am like you. I primarily play ATS but I own and support all the ETS2 dlc's outside of paint skins. But I think the rebuild is mainly for new buyers of the game. If one already owns the game, chances are if they don't like the base map, they don't drive it. SCS will continue to make money off them with newer dlc's because the quality is much better. The only benefit for seasoned players is that now we can use the entire map. A bonus for us for sure. But the main purpose imho, is that demo. The demo is California. I think Nevada is included as well though. But if the demo looks great, chances of people returning to purchase more is higher. If the quality level is high for the demo, imagine what the dlc's would be like is perhaps what SCS is hoping those people will think like. This is more than likely part of the reason. Otherwise, they could avoid redoing it and just let people be complain. Luckily for ATS, its really onlye 2 states. Arizona is ok-ish. But everything East of the base map would all be higher quality. When SCS does events for example the Xmas event, you always see the base map cities finished first. Since Colorado turned out great, it had a few cities in that list of finished first too. Most people that don't buy dlc's, will only play the base map because they refuse to purchase additional content. Welllll, if the base map is upgraded and for free, that might entice them to also invest in more paid dlc's.

I agree with cities recently touched and roads/cities added for Oregon. They are in much better condition in regards to needing a total revamp. But I do think some tweaks can still come. Perhaps textures, signs and terrain models. Mainly, I'm hoping for some added roads and maybe some less overly done curvy roads that don't suite lcv's very well. Example is CA-299 West of I-5. Taking an articulated HH on that road is next to impossible to keep in the lanes. That road can use less sharp curves as it could be smoothed out better and add better banking.

I agree on Eureka and Ukiah though. They are bad. Much better than Hornbrook. Maybe Yreka develops but tagged to Hornbrook. Otherwise that could bring errors for everyone. SCS can always add but removing will present some issue more than likely. But with all of California, there are two things I desire the most. Terrain model upgrades and newer depots that have come since California was created. The road take care of itself. No way can they reskin and not redo roads. Especially with them treating roads with a lot more accuracy now.

Sacramento really needs a decent make over for 2 main reasons. CA-99 and US-50. In order for these to fit, I'd imagine the city has to push East slightly and spread out more to allow these additions. We need both these road to be implemented to get a better vibe and increase the road network. We also need this spread to allow a tad more room between Sacramento and Oakland so the Bay area can breathe. Sacramento to Oakland leaves very little room to pull off a better Oakland and then head across the Bay. A redone I-80 from Nevada to US-101 will be a much needed face lift but it needs space. SCS probably started in Northern California considering Oregon brought some reworks already. Not to mention, the team started out small. So until the team can grow, tackle the areas that needs the least amount of work perhaps.

Good point on the Bay area. Treating it like the Washington trio is perfect. That's exactly what I'm saying. I don't recall San Jose as scenic because I don't frequent that area, but if it can become more like what you said, that is a huge plus. Again, the ocean can really help out California. Most of the busiest parts are one the West side of I-5. Push that coast line out. Then East of I-5, push over CA-99 a tad East to now allow I-5 some space. So CA-1, US-101, I-5 and CA-99 can all have a solid chance of become a lot more relevant than what it was.
Trucker_Tommy
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Re: Base Map Rebuild (CA, NV, AZ) General Discussion Thread

#466 Post by Trucker_Tommy » 08 May 2021 06:52

Jumping the gun here a bit and images from California look so far great but when Nevada’s turn comes up is it phased? Nevada is smaller than California but is it small enough for one
hit or do we get it in 2 phases?
Optional Features
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Re: Base Map Rebuild (CA, NV, AZ) General Discussion Thread

#467 Post by Optional Features » 08 May 2021 07:37

While the rebuild looks nice, I really hope this isn't the final look for I-5 coming out of Medford. If so, literally everything other than the inspection station itself is off. I have traveled through this area many times, and know the route well. Just from this pic, I see a number of errors.

[ external image ]

To start, the freeway doesn't continue through as shown in the pic. Instead, there is a runaway truck ramp that bypasses the station. The station itself sits approximately in the middle of a long downgrade, approximately 4 percent for 2 miles. There is a steeper section early coming out of the Siskyou Pass (the tallest pass on I-5 at over 4k feet) that is 7 percent. Between the two hills, truckers have a long ways to build up speed and potential crash through the inspection station taking out everything in their path. The state constructed a bypass emergency lane in this case to prevent such a catastrophe.

[ external image ]

Secondly, again in regards to the grade, what is shown seems to be flat from the farthest reach of the camera to the foreground. This is incorrect. While the station itself might be on flat ground, the whole entrance and exit is a continuous downgrade.

Third, the hills: they are too close/improperly positioned in the pic. The main hills are off to the sides of the inspection station, not directly in front of it.

I don't mean to nitpick, but this concerns me as the previous rendition of this area imo is the worst part of the whole map for accuracy (at least of the areas I've driven irl). This should have the look and feel of the Eisenhower grade in Colorado: a long, steep climb that will challenge truckers and passenger motorists alike. If the rest of this section looks like this picture, it will be pretty, but still horribly inaccurate.

From this video (which SCS should reference in the build):
Here is the inspection station:
[ external image ]

Notice how steep the grade is.

[ external image ]

[ external image ]

[ external image ]

I hope this isn't a final product, and can be improved somewhat. The I-70 grade in Colorado feels like a mountain pass: this should have the same feel.
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Re: Base Map Rebuild (CA, NV, AZ) General Discussion Thread

#468 Post by hangman005 » 08 May 2021 07:48

Rebuild blog has got me drooling.... and like every post from SCS makes me impatient.... is it the future yet?
angrybirdseller
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Re: Base Map Rebuild (CA, NV, AZ) General Discussion Thread

#469 Post by angrybirdseller » 08 May 2021 07:54

I do not compare ATS to ETS2 the city layouts in Germany and California are totally different

Will California be at detail and quality of Colorado? No, it will be acceptable to blend in with existing map DLC.

I do think California rebuild will be better than Germany with ATS.

California rebuild will better than Arizona, but keeping my expectations in check as it 1:20 scale and paid DLC will take priority over free updates. Sure, be couple more blogs about phase 1 rebuild of California.
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Re: Base Map Rebuild (CA, NV, AZ) General Discussion Thread

#470 Post by Sametbey2 » 08 May 2021 11:32

I'm sure it will look great after California is completely revamped. It will look very different from current California. It is completely redesigned in cities!

Hmmm ... I'm also sure it will be renewed in industrial areas. I believe new cities and roads will be added.
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