Guessing the Western Balkans DLC content

[P3TER_]

Quote removed - Don't quote images/code boxes - Rule 2.3

Thanks for providing screenshots of the hidden roads. The border crossing Portile de Fier I seems logically indeed. However, what city or road may this border crossing reach to? I think the IB (state road) 35 to the A4 near Nis, Serbia is a realistic option, though there are so much more options left.

[Adriatic Sea Team]

It will be connected with road 34 along the Serbian-Romanian Danube border. It has a beautiful view a lot of tunnels and curves through mountains, similar to Norway.

[P3TER_]

That's a good one. The 34 than can connect to the A1 at Naplatna Rampa Pozarevac via the 33 at Pozarevac for example.

[Adriatic Sea Team]

Yes I know, I'm living in Pozarevac and many times I drive by 34 and it has beautiful scenery. I found two videos on YouTube with exact locations where 34 passes so some SCS researchers can even see the situation of this road because it's not available on Google Maps Street View.

From Romania, crossing Iron Gate 1 and few kilometers into Serbia: https://youtu.be/lOBoXMGN86Y?t=2

If you want to represent this part of Serbia, this is must-have: https://youtu.be/uVlwefUVePE

[oldmanclippy]

I am also of the opinion like @jackalnxt that Greece is a shoe-in for the DLC following Heart of Russia. It is the most marketable country remaining (Ireland and Iceland are close behind in terms of marketability IMO). Of course the Western Balkans is the most popular theory for what that DLC will be, but I do want to caution people that it is remotely possible still for the next DLC to be Greece + Turkey. I think that would be a terrible miscalculation on the part of SCS, but it is possible.

However, I think given the upcoming Austria rework plus the big gap that the Western Balkans represents on the map is evidence for the Western Balkans coming with Greece. Austria sets up Slovenia from reworked Germany. I think they can knock out Austria in one fell swoop, so it is also possible that Switzerland and Northern Italy could also be reworked before the 2023 map releases, giving even better access to the Western Balkans using only updated parts of the map. Having that France/Switzerland/Italy/Germany/Austria section of the map up to a sufficient quality will be a huge boon for a prospective Western Balkans DLC. That means you can drive comfortably using many different routes from Lisbon to Athens without having to go through GTS or original ETS2 areas. Hungary would be a good place to rework as well, but the last we've heard SCS said base map reworks would come before any DLC reworks.

I also am of the opinion that balance in terms of road types will be key for this DLC. With the number of border crossings expected to be astronomically high, having good expressways is key. We have E70 and E75 that will get us between many of the important cities in the region. E65 is another route that could complement these in the west. Serbia and Greece both seem to have national roads that can function as expressways as well, while Slovenia has more E-level routes in its borders to help out. Then fill out the rest with smaller national roads and secondary roads.

I don't think that finding a good balance will be particularly difficult like it was with Iberia and RttBS. What will be the difficult part is the border crossings. So many in such a small space. Couple that with Timisoara, Resita, and Pernik being located way too close to the borders for their own good, and the footprint of the DLC is limited from the get-go. SCS has not done something like what I propose before, but it is a popular proposal over on the ATS forums with regards to the California rework: use the sea. Push things out to the Adriatic and Aegean. Sure it will make the map look goofy, but the sea represents free real estate that you can use to give yourself more room on the mainland. Push cities like Trieste, Split, Dubrovnik, Tirana, Thessaloniki, Athens, etc further out than the borders on the world map allow. Don't go crazy with it, but there's nothing wrong with half of Split sticking out into the sea if it means more room north and east of it for roads to breathe. Otherwise the scale can really start to become a problem. SCS needs to use every trick in the book, from exaggerating curves in the road to taking advantage of the space provided to be able to maintain some sort of continuity between the scale of the Western Balkans vs the rest of the map. Too dense, and it will feel like a mod and the roads will feel too short, too sparse and it will feel like a ripoff. It's a delicate balance.

[IvanKuz]

I agree with every word. In addition to border crossings, there are many toll plazas in the region, further complicating the problem of available space. SCS really need to overcome their fear of touching the sea and use all the space they can get out of it, because with the Balkans they are going to need it more than ever.

[Evil_Jason]

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Somethimg like this would be nice

[pigbrother]

Looks pretty cramped tbh. 46 cities? I really doubt they will be more than 30.

[P3TER_]

That's quite a lot, but lots of those cities may be included actually.

[IvanKuz]

@Evil_Jason "Okrug Bor" is not a town, neither is "Optina Delcevo". What you wrote are Bor district and Delčevo municipality respectively. The towns themselves should be just Bor and Delčevo.
As I've said to you before, maybe don't just blindly mark whatever the first thing you see on Google Maps...