Texas Discussion Thread

[flight50]

@averyc2506 that won't work for DFW. You have to many none critical roads and not enough critical roads. I-20 is the most critical one to have in DFW. That is the main trucking corridor to get to the East coast. I don't know how the devs will pull off DFW but that is why on post #1, I mentioned to stretch DFW boundaries out to get the below sketch I did in. DFW really needs to be closer to my markup as close as possible. I did this sketch months ago but its fairly valid still. The only things that can really be omitted imo are the inner rings from both Dallas and Ft. Worth and leave the middle road in Arlignton (360) in place. TX-183 could also be removed if need be to make room for DFW airport and Peterbilt. Otherwise, TX-183 stays too. TX-114 could also mess with DFW airport and Peterbilt. It is further North than 183 though. It all depends.

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US-80 is expendable. It is a trucking road but it should take a back seat to the Interstates here. SCS definitely can't choose 80 over I-20. I'd love it if SCS squeezes 80. The cool thing about DFW though is that for the density that we have, SCS could use cut planes all over the place since there re no huge mountain models to worry about. But we do have tons of urban development all nearly every road in the city. Once get out towards the country/rural areas, there are a lot more green fields. There could be 2 parallel roads like I-20 and US-80 fairly close like a 2-3 miles apart but the cut planes can hide that distance along with urban development.

As you guys can see, the biggest issue in DFW will be the interchanges. Again, stretching out DFW allows more space for these and gives an okay distance before the next junction. On each loop, you have several large junctions that will need to take place. Ft. Worth, min of 7 are needed. Dallas, min of 10. That is 17 junctions and that is minus the roads I listed in paragraph 1.

Here is another markup I did when I did the one above. The red ones are must haves. The others you may be able to get away without doing them if those roads don't come. But every circle is major in 1:1 scale. All junction in red will need to be accessible except the US-80 @ I-635. If 80 is in, then that too needs to be accessible.

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[fra_ba]

Wow! lots of red ones! I think Dallas/Ft. Worth will be kinda Portland layout wise.

[SmokeyWolf]

Also with 20 you avoid downtown as well.

I ran DFW and Texas all the time and even I am having a hard time trying to figure out what roads to include and exclude.

Peterbilt is all the way in Denton, don't think 360 will affect it much.

[Sora]

I'm confident that DFW is going to be the most difficult mapping project in the game until they reach the east coast. There's just SO much in that area and pretty much all of it is important for one reason or another.

Honestly, Houston might be the easiest major city after El Paso. There's still a lot to do there, but there's nothing nearby except Galveston, so it should be feasible to expand it enough to realize it. SA is very complicated and pretty close to Austin, which has a number of scenic urban route options.

[SmokeyWolf]

Laredo will be easy to map. I agree on Houston. Easier to map than DFW.

[ASUSTechSupport]

@flight50 @averyc2506

Thank you guys for the feedback on my map, I agree with your guys’ suggestions. It is crazy how many ways each city can be approached. Shows how much effort SCS puts into their map to make it top quality

[CodArk2]

Houston will be pretty easy. On the east side it cuts off hard after Baytown and there is pretty much nothing for 70 miles. West of Houston it tapers down after Katy. North of Houston sprawls the most and takes the longest to get out of suburbs, generally after Conroe though. South of Houston, gradual taper down of suburbs after League City with a hard but off after Dickinson before Texas City and Galveston area. Put in 610, 225 and 146 along with the interstates and good to go with Houston.

[flight50]

Alright everyone. I had this on my mind all night, lol. I woke up with Options for DFW and to illustrate a much better map. I actually spent better time this go around. Like Sora said, DFW will be the most difficult until the East coast. Solve DFW and I honestly think every other major city will be fine. Including how to rebuild Los Angeles.

Option 1. The "Ideal DFW". This has all the major roads and all the major junctions. Note all he interchanges. Use the Legend to figure out what is what.

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Option 2. This is has the inner rings of Dallas (Loop 12) and the inner ring of Ft.Worth (East Loop 820) removed. It also reconfigures TX-183 @ I-35 to make things a little easier

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Option 3. This is the bare bones minimum I think SCS can get away with in DFW.

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One thing about the Green Loop, look at it as one big ole race track. That is the key to DFW and that is the part I mention to expand out. Get it set in stone and then fill in all the rest. All those interchanges play a part in DFW. The blue ones must be there for realism but they can be blocked off. All the rest, need to be functional. DFW is massively urban. There shouldn't really be any space of green in Dallas and in Ft. Worth....not at 1:20 scale. The only place there can be green that is feasible is in between both cities. So perhaps a little 1/4 mile stretch after Loop 12 in Dallas and 1/4 stretch before Ft. Worth there can be a section of greenery only. This helps set boundaries. This can only be done on I-30 and I-20. TX-183 is really all urban. Dead smack in the middle on I-30, North of General Motors, there is Hurricane Harbor, Six Flags over Texas, AT&T stadium (Dallas Cowboys) and the Ranger Stadium. This are landmarks. Luckily most of I-30 is all in a trench so you can't see it all 100%. SCS can really get away with optimizing this area well but Six Flags and Hurricane Harbor are right off the Interstate. The other 2 are set off in a distance sort of speak. But you can see them once you come out of the trench depending on your elevation. I don't see a huge need to have access to this particular area trucking wise. All the industrial stuff is off TX-360. North and South of I-30.

Honestly speaking, Option 2 is the best we can probably get. This is a fine compromise. This map doesn't even show all the industrial zones. It's massive......like everywhere. I can do another photoshop markup to indicate where everything is but you can pretty much Google Map search and see it all. Not only industrial, but there are tons of retail and logistic everywhere. I wouldn't be surprise to see 15-20 deliverable locations in DFW honestly. If that sounds like a lot......then yes it should be. Less than 15 just wouldn't do the area justice. DFW just might be equal to all of NYC. That's just how massive the area is.

[Sora]

I feel like the secret for Houston is just going to be pretending that I-610 is Beltway 8.Something like this (red as expectations, purple as things I'd very much like to see but could live without) becomes a lot more feasible if you just make I-610 massive, spreading out all of its interchanges and giving you room to have the small 45-69-10 loop.

Red areas:
-All interstates, including I-610
-SH 225 because it services the port and nearby industries
-The rest of Baytown because it just makes sense

Purple areas:
-Pierce Elevated: The current I-45 connection between I-10 and I-69. Likely to be demolished within a few years, but a good view and still there for the time being.
-I-45 south of I-69: Galveston/Texas City. Ideally this should be there since there are a number of cool sites (like NASA, the Galveston Causeway, and a number of Galveston landmarks), but it might get cut off if Galveston doesn't make it.
-I-10 west of I-610: Katy Freeway, specifically the Memorial City stretch. Lots of interesting buildings and a few delivery options along the feeder road make it the logical way to integrate it into the game.
-I-45 and I-69 connection: FM 1960. Significant urban road in North Houston, with connections to the airport and some industrial options.
-Road near SH 288: the Texas Medical Center. The largest medical center in the world, and practically a city in its own right. I'm not sure if it's even possible to squeeze this in, but it'd be nice to see it.
-US 290: Important connection to Austin, and there's a fair amount of interesting points on both sides of I-35 (west has Fredericksburg and the Hill Country, east has Brenham and Elgin.) Might not make the cut because of how many highways there already are, but I'd really like to see it.
-Feeder roads near the Woodlands/Conroe: Fairly populous residential hub just north of Houston. The stretch between SH 242 and FM 1488 makes sense as a feeder road loop between its shopping centers and distribution centers (e.g. CVS, McDs.) Could maybe be streamlined as just 242.
-SH 6 near Sugar Land: The other big "residential hub". Don't actually know very much about this area but this road seems like it has a lot of stuff.

Some key scenery setpieces I'd like to see along the major interstates near Houston:
-I-69 bridges: These glow in bright colors at night.
-BE SOMEONE: Persistent graffiti that's incredibly iconic to anyone who lives in the Houston area
-Memorial City
-Memorial Park
-The Astrodome
-NASA (there's a cool-looking Frys next to it too, but it's probably going out of business soon anyway)
-The Galleria
-The Woodlands town center
-Generally lots of cool-looking hotels/offices, especially along I-10
-Pretty much everything visible from the I-45/I-10/I-69 loop

And if we extend out to Galveston:
-Galveston Causeway
-Moody Gardens Pyramids
-Galveston Cemetery
-Monument at 25th Street
-Ashton Villa (notice the statue, it's important)
-Moody Mansion
-Bishops Palace and Sacred Heart Catholic Church
-Pleasure Pier
-The Gulf of Mexico
(most of the actual industries are on TX 275, but Broadway is can't-miss tier and the Seawall has novelty value)

[averyc2506]

i knew that leaving out i-20 would be controversial im adding it back right now, i had no idea how important it was so thanks for the feedback ! i was just super worried about how they would be able to fit all of these intersections in, and have regular intersections at at-grade collector roads...