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

[Brendan0620]

What I'm really looking forward to in an uodated I-80 isn't just a more realistic ride with better scenery, but also better services: between Sacramento and Wendover (!) there are no proper truck stops, and the only easily-accessible rest area between Donner Pass and Wells is in Elko, which you also have just enough stamina to reach from San Francisco. IIRC, Lovelock was listed in the new mileage targets, so it looks like we could get a break in that jornada del muerte (plus truck stops in all marked cities). I'm hoping prefabs will be designed with turnpike doubles in mind, so I can get some use out of mine.

Carlin was also listed like Lovelock, and that city has a Truck Stop too.

I'm wondering what they'll do with the stretch from Wells to Wendover, it's not visually "bad" but definitely not up to par with newer reworks and DLCs, do they keep it or scrap it completely and start from scratch again?

[rbsanford]

Wells to Wendover is pretty good, but I wouldn't be surprised if they redid it with a different approach. I'd kind of like to see Pilot Peak, there's this nice canyon on the western slope of Pequop Summit, etc; there are different ways to handle it, but I can't complain about the current stretch.

One thing I think could be done (I know Flight will agree, he mentions this a lot) is the Bonneville Flats could be expanded and given updated scenery. It should be a perfectly flat, straight, long stretch with featureless white/gray ground, and distant mountains, something incredibly boring but also somewhat hostile; what we have would be much more interesting/boring and authentic if it were longer, the terrain more flat and white, and distant mountain models revisited to seem further away. The Wells-Wendover stretch could be shortened a bit to accommodate this, and/or that big curve between the flats and Magna could be tweaked.

[flight50]

Yep, you beat me to it, lol. I definitely think they should scrap everything from Truckee to the Salt Flatts and make it more accurate. Redoing a portion of Utah should hurt. The redid all of I-40 for New Mexico. The biggest issue I have is US-93 Alt pushes into Utah when it shouldn't. That is why the Salt Flatts is so short. Too many curves when it can be simplified. Back then, the problem SCS tried to do is remove boredom. Well not mapping what's there and faking it in makes an inaccurate stretch. Just map what Google Maps shows and the criticism won't exist. Trying to get too cute kills immersion. Especially for the dry desert. Its desert...let it be desert. Too much vegetation isn't accurate. Get rid of all the Salt Flatts instead of trying to tweak it.

I also think we should have gotten a Potash depot out of the Salt Flatts. Nevada should bring plenty of new mines/quarries. The Salt Flatts is right up that alley. If we got a more accurate I-80 coming out of Nevada, we just might be able to get exit 4 and get to Intrepid Potash. That curve heading into SLC could be about 75% of the size we have now. Its kinda oversized. We just need enough curve to feel it but most importantly, we maintain speed. Shorting that curve and that too can give us a longer Salt Flatts.

US-93alt and the Salt Flatts should look more like this:
viewtopic.php?p=1561760#p1561760

[Rkaw1447]

Wells to Wendover is pretty good, but I wouldn't be surprised if they redid it with a different approach. I'd kind of like to see Pilot Peak, there's this nice canyon on the western slope of Pequop Summit, etc; there are different ways to handle it, but I can't complain about the current stretch.

One thing I think could be done (I know Flight will agree, he mentions this a lot) is the Bonneville Flats could be expanded and given updated scenery. It should be a perfectly flat, straight, long stretch with featureless white/gray ground, and distant mountains, something incredibly boring but also somewhat hostile; what we have would be much more interesting/boring and authentic if it were longer, the terrain more flat and white, and distant mountain models revisited to seem further away. The Wells-Wendover stretch could be shortened a bit to accommodate this, and/or that big curve between the flats and Magna could be tweaked.

This is from ghost recon wildlands in 2017. They got salt flats perfect. The one in Utah just looks like desert in ats. It’s sad

[Kistk3]

Yep, you beat me to it, lol. I definitely think they should scrap everything from Truckee to the Salt Flatts and make it more accurate. Redoing a portion of Utah should hurt. The redid all of I-40 for New Mexico. The biggest issue I have is US-93 Alt pushes into Utah when it shouldn't. That is why the Salt Flatts is so short. Too many curves when it can be simplified. Back then, the problem SCS tried to do is remove boredom. Well not mapping what's there and faking it in makes an inaccurate stretch. Just map what Google Maps shows and the criticism won't exist. Trying to get too cute kills immersion. Especially for the dry desert. Its desert...let it be desert. Too much vegetation isn't accurate. Get rid of all the Salt Flatts instead of trying to tweak it.


US-93alt and the Salt Flatts should look more like this:
viewtopic.php?p=1561760#p1561760

If they don't take your idea of how to make the new Salt Flatts (and room and time to do now they have) forget it. The whole Nevada we know now must go, nothing there is good to re-use. And the Salt Flatts picture from GRW, I played that game back in 2017, Ubisoft did a great work on scenery there, and the Salt Flatts was a representation of the Salar de Uyuni from Bolivia. Something like that SCS must do on the Bonneville, there is even a truck stop, famous spot where drivers stop to take some pictures and walk around the Salt:

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7401895 ... FQAw%3D%3D

[Tristman]

The rest area at least is already in the game.

[Shiva]

The Potash at Wendover? if skipping Exit 4, to give more length to the Salt Flats.
And skipping Exit 2 too.
Possibly using Exit 1 "UT" and/or Exit 410 "NV", to reach the Potash.

Truckee? Wasn't the road down to Nevada border totally redone?
I would expect that Reno rebuild would fine tune I-80 in that area.

[Onagerlinn]

I wouldn't mind touching up I-80 east of Wells to offer a better Pequop Summit--as well as any other changes to stretch out the flats a bit--but IMO those aren't particularly high priority.

[Shiva]

There's not much space for that summit.
And possibly even less, if Wendover gets its proper location.
But it will be interesting to see what SCS can fit there.

[flight50]

Truckee? Wasn't the road down to Nevada border totally redone?
I would expect that Reno rebuild would fine tune I-80 in that area.

Perhaps not exactly Truckee. I just know that's the last city in California. 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. So where SCS left off,rebuild that all the way into the Salt Flatts.