Texas Discussion Thread

[flight50]

Marfa is definitely a scenic town at the most. Its only necessary to make the US-67 junction Southbound. Alpine would be the town to mark imo. It has 2-3 depots that can come to it. I'm with Ethan though. Between Van Horn and Del Rio, there is nothing really. We need at least one city marked though. That is a 304 mile stretch to not get anything. Just from Alpine to Del Rio is 204 by itself. Obviously SCS can chop this up to cut out boring stretches but its hard to imagine that US-90 isn't on the Texas map. I-10 from El Paso to then Del Rio isn't exactly ideal imo.

Besides, US-90 will be a very simple and linear road to build. Its desert and arid lands. SCS has plenty of experience with this in ATS so it will go quickly. US-90 will mostly be like this and this. The further you go to Del Rio, the scenery does get a little more interesting though. I hope this stretch of road makes the map. Wide open dry land with distant background mountains will be most of US-90 though. Lots of LOD models. Until you get to I-35 and East of it, Texas will perhaps go pretty smooth. West of I-35 is huge is the problem but I don't think the stress comes until we get to I-35 and the triplex of Texas. That is when scale issues and the mass amounts of detailing is required.

At the price of an ETS2 map, the devs can't really afford to not allow Texas to live up to the hype. I mention the new companies and new things Texas can bring to ATS. If a good portion of all that comes, there is no doubt, Texas will be a huge success for ATS. People that own both games or even only ETS2 right now, Texas will be persuasive and you will invest. The blogs will be numerous as there is tons to cover. If people are willing to shell out $17.99 for a ETS2 map, there shouldn't be hesitation to do the same for Texas in ATS. If people are expecting Texas to be $11.99 just because all the other dlc's are, you might as well stop playing ATS now. If Texas comes in as the largest SCS project, you will have to pay but I am sure it will be well worth it.

Imo, the minimum for Texas is 10k miles of road. 15k on the high but 11-12k is ideal to me. 25-30 marked cities. Less that 25 don't represent a monster sized state imho. Not all cities have to be huge. If you want to know what I'm thinking, check out page one. I'll add scenic towns later this weekend perhaps. Industries. Texas is more than just oil and gas. There's a good handful of new industries that could come to Texas. Cotton is one of the biggest. It sets up a ton of new cargoes for ATS. Cotton has a global affect. New companies, ideally 15-20 should be feasible in Texas imo. Texas is about the size of the base map and it marks the midpoint of the US on the Southern corridor. Treat Texas like its a 2nd basemap and add generously. Please, no Idaho for Texas. Zero new companies was an insult to many ATS fans. New companies should really start to emerge as we shift to different time zones, geographical regions and landscaping. All these factors drive the different industries and where you start seeing more variety in them. Texas jump starts that.

Texas would be perfect for a few new features or additions. Multi drop is one if it's not in place by then. Start working it now. That should give plenty of time. New road types. Texas will have plenty off roading that can happen with oil/gas, farming, mining and yes forestry. We have somewhat smooth dirt roads to quarries and we have bumpy to logging roads. Can we get muddy roads and gravel bed roads? Or a varied dirt road.......something mixed with smooth and bumpy in segments of the road? Can we get dust storms in dry areas of the map. Texas can get windy at times and dust flies everywhere. More complex campuses. Oil fields are everywhere in Texas. Most are very close proximity. Can we have pickup at many locations and not just 1? Example, take the Wallbert logistic center. There are what 6-8 docks for trailers. In the oil field, spread those 6-8 docks out in the form of 6-8 areas instead of docks. Flatbeds, lowboys, step decks, double step decks, special transport and heavy haul can all access these individual areas a lot better than a prefab with docks.

New trailer? Single step decks and curtain sider. Oil/Chemical tankers and Livestock owned will need to be in place for Texas. ATS use to have curtain siders before 1.32 kicked in. SCS removed it and brought the sliding tarp. Well thats a totally different type of trailer. A curtain sider works very very well for depots that do not have docks. You unload in the middle of the parking lot. Maybe we can get a loading animation going for this. That's a new feature. Texas being so wide open and with off roading and the many areas in all of ATS that have places to take trailers without docks, I think a good time to reintroduce curtain siders is Texas. Now Wyoming could very much bring these trailers as well. Its a wide open state that should have lots of off roading areas too. Either way, as long as the last of the non specialized trailers make it into ATS, we good. So that can be in the next 1-2 years I suppose. But no matter what, I am sure the devs will have to bring some new feature or whatever with Texas. On the stream with SiSL yesterday, he mentioned that SCS always tries to find the right time to introduce something. Whether it is an update or dlc. Texas will need something to go along with its price tag to get more wow.

Texas is also the perfect time to do an oil/gas related cargo dlc for heavy haul and special transport. That would be sweet. In West Texas, the amount of bridges are less than that of the East. We can get some large oversized thing going. Especially for ST since those are short trips anyways. Don't forget the new wind turbines either. Lots of space in Texas for ST and HH loads for those.

[EthanE40]

Absolutely agree.

As for I-10 between El Paso and San Antonio, the only city I see getting mapped is Fort Stockton. While it is just a small town, it's probably the biggest inch of civilization between the two major cities. Van Horn will probably be scenic as really all it needs is the I-10/US 90 junction and the Pilot truck stop at the corner of it. Now as far as industries go in Fort Stockton, there really doesn't seem to be much besides some oil stuff and the usual Walmart and Tractor Supply Co. They also got a Halliburton lab there off US 285 near I-10, so I could see that getting in.

[Onagerlinn]

I really hope US 67 between Fort Stockton and San Angelo makes the game. It's an important connector from I-10 to the "Heart of Texas" region. I also hope we get more cities than just San Angelo in that area, maybe Brownwood or Brady or something.

[flight50]

I-10 from El Paso to San Antonio would be too bare with just Ft. Stockton. I didn't place another city on that route yet but I'm not done with the page one city map. But SCS has to map more on that route to break things up. I can always find some potential in most places. We don't need much though. 2-3 depots is all that is needed. Gas stations to deliver gas, new construction prefabs, road works, farming and Eddy's/Tidbit are always options 9/10 times. With Texas, we can't live out Oil/gas so that will be all over for the most part. We need several new gas companies though. Gallon is getting played out just like Wallbert. We need more options. The biggest thing in the West is that you have to go beyond the town itself and include the surrounding areas. There is too much space to not tap into all this open space.

Lets check out I-10 shall we, lol.

Van Horn - Loves, Pilot, A&A repairs (scrap yard), Dollar General, South on US-90 Pecan Grove Farms, Natural Mineral -quarry (West of town on I-10), Pecan Grove Farm North of town on FM2185, new housing community construction site, gas station

Ft. Stockton - tons of oil/gas pads around the area, Loves, Flying J's, Walmart, Bridgestone Test center - (tires manufacture should come to ATS), Belding Farms off FM-2037, PB Materials - (quarry), Halliburton, Ace Hardware, Stockton Ford dealership, Amistat Motors, TSS Sand Plant, housing community construction site, gas station

Ozona - tons of oil/gas pads, Dollar General, Wool Growers, Lowes Grocery, South of Town - Ozona Gas Processing plant, numerous oil/gas contractor depot options, housing prefab, gas station

Sorona - tons of oil/gas pads, South of Town Multi-Chem, Simon Petroleum, South of town Jacam Chemicals, Sonora Construction, Road Runner truck stop

Junction - Pilot, Cedar Fiber, Native American Seed Farm, Lowes Grocery, Dollar General, gas stations, housing prefab, East of town - Chem Pac Inc

Kerrville - Tellus Equipment, Walmart, Foxworth Galbraith Lumber, Hill Country Stone, PMI Pipe steel, Dr Pepper Snapple, TJ Moore Lumber, HEB, Crenwelge Motors, CVS, Dollar General, Home Depot, Lowes, McCoy's Building Supply, Ashley Home Store, Cecil Atkkission Motors, Ben E. Keith beverages, Solar Energy Farm (East of Town), MG Building materials, Ken Stoepel Ford, gas station, housing prefab


So Kerriville for sure gets marked. Between Ozona, Sonora and Junction, one more needs to be marked to populate I-10. Sonora perhaps is best and it has industry the others don't and it in the middle between Ft. Stockton and San Antonio. If possible Ozona and Junction small scenic towns.

@Onagerlinn I agree. Brownwood would be perfect. Along with San Angelo and Abilene, those three can have a lil mini triplex. Stephenville, Brady and/or Comanche can be scenic in that area.

[Onagerlinn]

@flight50 Yeah I think Brownwood would be the best option for the region. Unlike areas to the west, there isn't much oil/gas in the area. There are big 3M and Kohler plants on the south edge of town, which would be great adds. Heading north, there's a McCoy's Building Supply which could be a Plaster & Sons prefab. The whole south end of town is a big industrial area: Wes-Tex Printing (4-2 Print? Haven't seen one of those in a while), Wright Asphalt Products (Bitumen), Ratliff Steel Company (Steeler or Avalanche), and a slew of other options SCS can pick from. The commercial center at the north end of town has your usual suspects; Walmart, Home Depot, Tractor Supply, car dealers, etc. North of town there's a lake with a marina. There are Allsups/Alon gas stations at the south end of town on 377 and the east end of town (technically Early) where 377 and 183 split.

By the way, I wish SCS gave Allsups its own prefab when Texas opens up. Allsups are EVERYWHERE in west Texas, and parts of NM too.

[TheRedRaider]

It's been awhile since I've been active on this thread, but here is my prediction for Texas using @ads678 concept map with some changes and additions https://i.imgur.com/j3Y6XbL.jpg
I agree with @flight50 on Kerrville and Sonora getting marked, Junction can be scenic with the Pilot serving as a gas station and rest stop. This opens the door for US-83 to be added between Abilene and Laredo, its a beautiful drive between Junction and Uvalde as you wind your way through the hill country. Something definitely needs to fill the void in central Texas, Brownwood is the best pick for that especially with what @Onagerlinn mentioned.


On a side note one thing I would love to see make it is the midpoint on route 66 in Adrian Tx. There could be an achievement to go with it, something like "We're Halfway There" -Visit the midpoint on Route 66.
https://i.imgur.com/spH4ov6.jpeg

[flight50]

@TheRedRaider funny you mentioned Adrain. I just found that yesterday, lol. https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/18921

I can agree with your map edit. Not bad. We're all speculating so no wrong or right. Most of the cities on your map is what I had on my page 1 map.

[TheRedRaider]

Yeah, about a month ago I had a free day and decide to have a day trip around the panhandle and saw that and thought, that would be a cool place to visit in person and possibly in ATS. One thing I wanted to ask is what about the NE corner of the panhandle, will any town be mapped there. I was tempted to put Perryton in but i figured it would be too close to Guymon which will most likely be in the Oklahoma DLC.

[flight50]

I like Perryton for US-83 and Canadian for US-60. Good farming and Cattle in that entire region. Texas will need cities that is in route for Oklahoma. I think the links come with Oklahoma for sure though.

[JohnMc19]

Just been catching up with this thread. I must say that Texas will likely arrive summer 2022, from fan point of view let the development continue with Texas and first box up the west. Texas is the half way point for ATS I feel before Texas is part 1 and after Texas is part 2 for ATS. Let Colorado, Wyoming and Montana shine before Texas because I feel the state that comes directly after Texas would be overwhelmed with Texas. Going to talk numbers I think for Texas to really shine, new companies need to be at least minimum 15, cities minimum should be 25 and road network should be at least 11,000 miles. Its a massive state and needs to feel this way Austin, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Houston and San Antonio. When I first started playing ATS never took much notice of the industry and what impact it has but since reading more forums about industry and companies, what happened with Idaho can't happen again no new companies. Its why I like to see Wyoming and Montana come before Texas get some more companies into the ATS world before Texas hits. We should at least get one cargo pack before Texas and then with Texas we can get another one. Slowly build up cargo packs and new companies new industries. Texas will change ATS and boy I can't wait to see it happen.