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

[Shiva]

Depends a bit how and where Reno will be.
I should take a drive there, so I can compare where things have been deleted. I have not driven on that road since before the rebuild.

[rbsanford]

I probably should have said up to that Ag check point or where ever Ph2 left off. But I don't remember because I haven't been that way since phase 2 was completed.

Phase II ended at the limits of Reno.

I think there should be room for a good Pequop Summit, but it would come at the cost of the other summits (Moor Summit and Silverzone Pass) on that stretch. That'll have to be a running theme in Nevada: the state has too many mountain ranges, so it has too many passes, meaning a lot will have to be cut to allow the surviving passes to have satisfying grades, and to let there be the necessary boring stretches of valley highway between them. For example, US 50 has eleven named summits between Carson City and Ely:
[ external image ]
Eyeballing it, there's probably room for up to five in the game (if it were up to me, I'd pick Salt Springs, New Pass, Austin, Pinto, and Robinson), but that might be pushing it. I just hope the summits we get have good, authentic grades, with real feel to the elevation change, and that between them are those straight, seemingly flat stretches where nothing ever happens. I've never been to Nevada, but it looks like the highway experience is complete boredom with occasional bursts of excitement.

[Shiva]

Question, what summits do we have ingame, except Donners Pass, Lookout Pass.
And what space do they take?
Atleast flight50 hopes for Wendover to be mostly in Nevada. To get the Salt Flats bigger.

[rbsanford]

We have tons of summits, and their sizes vary. They're all truncated, of course, with shorter grades than the real things, so I would expect Pequop Summit would be no different; all we need is a distinct summit, noticeable grades, and authentic scenery and alignment (like the canyon on the western slope, and the wide median on the eastern). It's especially doable if I-80's alignment is skewed a bit, like what was done with Donner Pass: it looks funky on the map, but in-game it's amazing, and I think that's more important (of course that can go too far, like with the Sierra Nevada mod, but I don't think it has to be that extreme). Wells could also shift to the west a little bit to make more room.

For the record, I also think shifting Wendover a bit westward is a good idea. Having a job site there (tied to Jackpot) would also be a good idea, as that would give the 93A more purpose; I think I've used that road a grand total of twice.

[Shiva]

There is still limits to how much stuff can be shifted.
Sierra Nevada mod, I am not using it, due to, yeah, they went too far for my liking.
Donner Pass, that's actually not that extreme shift.

Pequop Summit, if Salt Flats keep the same orientation as right now, pushing Wendover south.
But Jackpot limits the amount Wells can be pushed north and still look good. West? maybe a little bit?

[rbsanford]

I just remembered that we do already have a representation of Pequop Summit in the game, but it's sort of a blend of Pequop with Silverzone, IIRC. I think this shows that an improved Pequop Summit is possible, even if Wendover is shifted west. I was thinking Wells could also shift to the west a little bit to make more room. That big curve west of SLC could also be adjusted, if possible, but not removed; there should be a boundary between the Great Salt Lake Desert and Salt Lake City.

What was done with Donner Pass may not be as extreme as what the Sierra Nevada mod did, but it's still a significant deviation compared to the old Donner.

[TruckingWolfUSA]

@rbsanford they certainly wanted to emulate Reforma, I think.

[flight50]

That curve West of SLC definitely can decrease in size. The real life curve isn't even that huge. It's oversize in Utah and the Nevada reworks can fix all that. What they'd rebuild in Utah for I-80 is way less work than I-40 that they did in New Mexico. So hopefully we get that entire stretch from Reno to that West SLC curve. Seems feasible to me.

I'll have some catching up to do once I-80 Nevada is released. I'll need to split capital time between Springfield Illinois and Pierre South Dakota more than likely. Once to Springfield, I need a load to Chicago. From there it's definitely Chicago to the Bay Area. Been waiting for Chicago to get in the game. It's in but now the hold up is I-80 Nevada. I simply just can't use I-80 thru Nevada.

I hope they don't rush thru Nevada though just to get to Southern Arizona. Southern Arizona should be great but it will get it's time. A brand new I-10, Phoenix and better SE Arizona will be a massive improvement.

[rbsanford]

Speaking of curves on I-80, I hope we get the Button Point curve near Winnemucca. It looks pretty odd, how the highway makes a near 90 degree turn like that.

[gptsj]

Once to Springfield, I need a load to Chicago. From there it's definitely Chicago to the Bay Area. Been waiting for Chicago to get in the game. It's in but now the hold up is I-80 Nevada. I simply just can use I-80 thru Nevada.

I did Little Rock - L.A. and for me it was quite boring in New Mexico and Arizona (except Flagstaff and very little else).

OFC the quality is much better than before.

IRL it's that boring for me ...