patrickov wrote: ↑18 Sep 2021 11:43
I had praised SCS in the blog comments, but promised to leave a few words on the forum. So here we go...
Part 1: My prediction of Lyon reskin
I find ETS2 reskins usually do little in improving the layout of the cities in the base map.
Tier 5 (complete rebuild): We only get two cities, Paris and Milano. Both serve as demonstrators of new DLCs.
Tier 4 (major changes to surrounding roads, inner city layout altered but not DLC-standard rebuild): Frankfurt am Main, Nürnberg, Dortmund*, Stuttgart*
Tier 3 (major changes to surrounding roads but inner city unchanged or only minor alignment change): Lille, Hamburg*, Erfurt, Kassel, Leipzig, Dresden
Tier 2 (moderate changes to surrounding roads): Reims, Erfurt, Rostock*, Berlin, Hannover, Osnabrück
Tier 1 (minor changes to surrounding roads or just simple reskin): Dijon, Metz, Strasbourg, Calais, Kiel, Magdeburg, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Köln, Mannheim, München
Notes:
Hamburg / Dortmund: Both are borderline cases. I put Dortmund higher because SCS actually inverted the city's directions and moved the quarry significantly
Stuttgart: The inner city actually stayed the same. The airport is what shot it up to Tier 4
Rostock: Tier 2 if the harbour is counted, Tier 1 otherwise
From the sneak peek, I think Lyon is most probably a Tier 3 or 4 reskin.
1. A46 is coming to encircle the city, which means it must at least qualify a Tier 3. If A89 completes its connection to Lyon (as in real-life) then it would be even more realistic, but I don't think it's on the list.
2. On the other hand, the depot area in Lyon is super-close to its most scenic part, arguably more so than Reims. I think it's too hard for SCS to abandon it altogether, so I don't expect a Paris-style rebuild.
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Part 2: Around Germany
The upcoming reskin (other than Lyon) is Austria. I think Wien and Salzburg might get a Tier 3, but I don't think the others would go past Tier 2. As commented in that blog post, I'd like to see the A10 completed.
As for Switzerland, I don't think there would be anything past Tier 2. Although I would be pleasantly surprised if they rework the minor road between A2 and Austria (I suspect it should be A13 in real life) or even add Vaduz into the mix.
Next is probably Benelux and / or Czech Republic / Slovakia.
For Netherlands, both Amsterdam and Rotterdam are T junction infested now so any sensible rebuild for them will have to be Tier 3 or above. Also, Europoort and / or IJmuiden should be a proper city.
For Belgium, I don't expect major changes to either cities (Liège) , but I do think completing A3 / E40 should be done, and if possible, add in Brugge to better balance the coastal area.
Czech is somewhat well connected so I cannot think of anything better. I mean, the less-satisfactory part of the country is towards Poland, and is rather dependent on how Poland will be re-skined. For Prague, though, letting truckers view the headquarters of SCS in-game might be a good idea.
For Slovakia, Bratislava definitely needs a Tier 4 revamp -- those bloody flat junctions! Also, I would love it if Považská Bystrica (along D1) becomes accessible.
Poland is a bit complicated. I
think the road south from Szczecin towards Prague can be dualled to reflect real-life better.
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Part 3: Great Britain!
A lot of people beg for the UK to be revamped. Well, yes I do think so too, but if we only go for road revamp we are not getting anywhere.
This place should be split into phases, with the final one coincide with a, say, Ireland DLC.
My take is to, of course, start from the Southeast.
Part 1 (South England and Wales)
1-1. Dover and the Channel tunnel port should be rationalized. M2 should be replaced by M20.
1-2. London definitely needs a Tier 5 revamp, i.e. align with at least Paris or Milano. The M25 should also be enlarged and have the Dartford crossing (A282) properly rendered.
1-3. Add Brighton between Dover and Southampton.
1-4. Add Bristol between London, Cardiff, Birmingham and Plymouth. Also rationalize the M4 / M5 junction.
1-5. Render roads in central Wales properly. And don't forget M50! (which is a minor road in the game)
Part 2 (North England)
2-1. Make Hull a proper city, at least like other DLC port cities. Also extend M62 there instead of patching a minor road over the UKTS map.
2-2. Rationalize the Liverpool / Manchester area by properly aligning M56 and M53. Extend M56 and render M60 to allow better access to Manchester from the south.
2-3. Properly sign A1 south of Newcastle to be A1(M).
2-4. Add Middleborough between Hull and Newcastle, extend the minor road between M6 and A1 to Middlesborough and properly sign it as A66.
2-5. Properly sign A69 (Newcastle to Carlisle)
Part 3 (Scotland)
3-1. Properly sign A7 (Carlisle to Edinburgh). Glasgow can do with Tier 2 but Edinburgh needs Tier 3.
3-2. Add Inverness and properly extend A9 there.
3-3. Render A82 and (follow example of ProMods) add Fort William if possible.
3-4. Properly sign the roads to Aberdeen (A90 / A92), and render the new A90 if possible.
3-5. Change the road west from Aberdeen to connect Inverness (A96)
Part 4 (Ireland DLC preparation)
4-1. Add Fishguard and render A40 / A48 to connect it with Swansea.
4-2. Add Holyhead and render A55 to connect it with Liverpool.
4-3. Add Stranraer, A75 and A77 for access from Glasgow and / or Carlisle.
I think this is more or less it...
I purposefully exclude DLC, even Going East, as I remember SCS said they'd do base game first.