Texas Discussion Thread

[SouthernMan]

@Tristman But this is something that's been done for a long time, maybe not in every building, but it's been done for a long time. I think in some buildings they don't do that because it's a very site specific building, although they reuse it in other places. But i could be wrong.

[flight50]

The thing about the micro site, all those gas station and restaurants is just using a prototype building to do skins on. No point in developing tons of buildings yet until they are voted in 100% and an asset person can take it from there. Get the scheme first, then go for complete model with graphic.

I'd like to think even the building itself changes up a tad with every new company. In real life, restaurants and gas stations here in the US are not all the same building. At least have a dozen generic buildings and setup skins for those. If SCS made new gas stations using the exact same building, people will call them out for not enough changes.

When it comes to making company diversity, I also say rebranded is good, its better than nothing. But that comes with a limit. Imho, only one rebrand could happen per building type, per company. Coastline Mining and NAMIQ is a good example. If another company comes on the MidWest and the East coast, we need totally new prefabs imo. Using the same exact prefab will get old that far into the US. For all the companies in ATS, I'd say you can only rebrand once using the same prefabs. We have too large of a team and too much talent to keep taking those type of shortcuts.

Time to add diversity now. If I had a vote, I'd use 35-40% or less recycled content. I'd make new as much as possible and fill in with only 35-40% recycled. 60% new with smaller states comes shouldn't be terrible. The West is much much worse. Each state ATS grows, the recycle library grows and grows. So 35-40% should still include a huge selection of already made content with every new state that comes. By the time we get to the Mississippi, the amount of reusable content could be double what it is now.

[Vinnie Terranova]

What do you guys think about the new Intermodal Terminals? Because to me it seems that those terminals are purely for visuals, and not for gameplay... It's just another (big) prefab where we only can pick up or deliver a trailer. There is nothing else to do. There are some animated things to see, like a crane that is putting a container onto a train and some passing trains. But what is there to do at those terminals, besides picking or delivering a load the same way as we do with all prefabs...? Regarding gameplay there is nothing new about these new terminals...

When I try to think back at all the screenshots we have seen about the Texas DLC, what screenshots can I remember? What screenshots have really impressed me? When I think of Texas, some view over El Paso comes into mind. And the offshore shipyards. But although I have a memory like a leaking colander, I can't recall other breathtaking screenshots... And that's something I'm a little bit worried about.

Is ATS (and ETS2 as well) still giving me what I'm looking for? Or does it lack too much gameplay? I don't know. One thing I know however, is that after Montana and probably before Texas I won't automatically invest in ATS anymore by buying new map DLCs. I really have to think about the future of ATS.

Sure, it is fun driving in the west of the United States. But I'm looking for something more than just driving. Just like ATS is evolving in the past 6 years, I am also evolving in playing ATS. But unlike ATS that is slowly evolving, I can't really evolve anymore: the gameplay is about the same as it was in 2016. The map is beautiful and way better, and bigger, than it was in 2016. But regarding gameplay there is very little added in all those years. And that is starting bugging me. It makes me wonder what kind of game ATS is. I've said it before: I think ATS is a simcade. With emphasis on arcade. I think I'm more looking for a more realistic game. I think the driving itself is quite realistic, so that's not the problem. But some other aspects are not realistic at all.

Maybe I stick with the west of the United States. I'm way more excited for the California revamp, and hopefully the Nevada and Arizona revamp as well, than I'm excited for Texas.

[Tristman]

What were you expecting the intermodal terminals to add to the game?
To me they look like new Rail Export prefabs to be honest. Remains to be seen if they will call them that, but I wouldn't be surprised.

[Optional Features]

What do you guys think about the new Intermodal Terminals? Because to me it seems that those terminals are purely for visuals, and not for gameplay... It's just another (big) prefab where we only can pick up or deliver a trailer. There is nothing else to do. There are some animated things to see, like a crane that is putting a container onto a train and some passing trains. But what is there to do at those terminals, besides picking or delivering a load the same way as we do with all prefabs...? Regarding gameplay there is nothing new about these new terminals...

When I try to think back at all the screenshots we have seen about the Texas DLC, what screenshots can I remember? What screenshots have really impressed me? When I think of Texas, some view over El Paso comes into mind. And the offshore shipyards. But although I have a memory like a leaking colander, I can't recall other breathtaking screenshots... And that's something I'm a little bit worried about.

Is ATS (and ETS2 as well) still giving me what I'm looking for? Or does it lack too much gameplay? I don't know. One thing I know however, is that after Montana and probably before Texas I won't automatically invest in ATS anymore by buying new map DLCs. I really have to think about the future of ATS.

Sure, it is fun driving in the west of the United States. But I'm looking for something more than just driving. Just like ATS is evolving in the past 6 years, I am also evolving in playing ATS. But unlike ATS that is slowly evolving, I can't really evolve anymore: the gameplay is about the same as it was in 2016. The map is beautiful and way better, and bigger, than it was in 2016. But regarding gameplay there is very little added in all those years. And that is starting bugging me. It makes me wonder what kind of game ATS is. I've said it before: I think ATS is a simcade. With emphasis on arcade. I think I'm more looking for a more realistic game. I think the driving itself is quite realistic, so that's not the problem. But some other aspects are not realistic at all.

Maybe I stick with the west of the United States. I'm way more excited for the California revamp, and hopefully the Nevada and Arizona revamp as well, than I'm excited for Texas.

I think, like most large prefabs in game, they are about 99% static eye candy and 1% functionality.

Take this picture for example:

[ external image ]

Will we see AI tractors coming to pick up trailers? Will we see those yard trucks in the back shuffling trailers around? Will we be able to connect to more than one trailer in a 100+ trailer lot? The answer to all of these is likely no.

How about here?

[ external image ]

Can we drive all the way to the end of this lot, or is there an invisible barrier? Will our trailer be right next to a nearly identical one in a random spot anywhere in the yard, or will it be the only such trailer of its type in one of three possible slots marked clearly by a giant, bouncing arrow?

[ external image ]
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How about here:

[ external image ]

Will we ever be able to haul the trailers parked out front rather than the trailers within the bounds of the prefab?

Or here and here. Will we be able to haul some of that cargo that sitting on the ground, or just look at it? Will those giant cranes ever move or just stand there? Again, likely no to all.

For the trains:

[ external image ]
[ external image ]

Will we ever see a train with more than two locomotives (something that nearly every train in the US has)? Will we see AI conductors shifting cars around in the yard or setting up a train that will eventually leave?

[ external image ]

And will a yard like this ever change between trips or will the same train cars be in the same spot every time we drive by?

And there are more questions yet like if we'll ever be able to pull under a crane and have a load (like a container) dropped onto our trailer via a cutscene?

I believe I can safely say the answer to all of these questions is no, so the DLC is just a big, pretty group of static objects. There could be more: there should be more, but there is not more.

A terminal like this irl would be a buzz of activity of vehicles, people, equipment, and more. In game, it'll largely be dead. I wish that would change.

[SouthernMan]

One of the things that bothers me the most about SCS maps is how perfect everything on them is, everything extremely perfect. "A perfect world". This is not reality! Like, there are no small bumps on the roads, there is no garbage in some places in the cities, etc, etc, etc... Another thing that bothers me is the fact that the sound of the SCS environment is weak/simple, you stop the truck on a highway (or in anywhere else) and there's just no ambient noise, it's all very quiet. But, for me, the biggest problem of the ones I mentioned is the ambient sound. The game can be extremely detailed, if there isn't a good ambient sound in it, unfortunately it will be more of a game where everything is deserted.

[Optional Features]

One of the things that bothers me the most about SCS maps is how perfect everything on them is, everything extremely perfect. "A perfect world". This is not reality! Like, there are no small bumps on the roads, there is no garbage in some places in the cities, etc, etc, etc... Another thing that bothers me is the fact that the sound of the SCS environment is weak/simple, you stop the truck on a highway (or in anywhere else) and there's just no ambient noise, it's all very quiet. But, for me, the biggest problem of the ones I mentioned is the ambient sound. The game can be extremely detailed, if there isn't a good ambient sound in it, unfortunately it will be more of a game where everything is deserted.

Agreed: industrial areas have graffiti, trash, lots of noise, and a general vibe. SCS doesn't capture the vibe.

That's what I've really liked about your yards: in the corner of the yard is an old truck or some rusty trailers or an overflowing bin. It's not a flat surface with perfect, recently poured concrete.

Look at the weeds in the yard: little things like this make a game feel less sterile and more real.

[ external image ]

But stuff moving and things to interact with are greatly missing as well.

Watch on YouTube

What is the chance we'll ever see a trailer handled like this in game?

I think part of is just comes down to research: they need to spend a lot more time watching youtube imo.

Watch on YouTube

[SouthernMan]

@seriousmods Perfectly buddy! But I still think at least someone on their team has these same ideas of improving the game, but maybe the established policy of the owner or anyone else at SCS is that they should always deliver a perfect game, as light as possible, etc. It's like "We can't tarnish some parts of the country in the game with rubbish in some places in cities, bumpy roads, etc, etc". It's the only thing I can think of. But I could be wrong.

[Trakaplex]

There are mods that enable that, but SCS doing that would be a game changer. Bumpy roads, potholes, realistic animal crossings, flying debris. The weather could improve with the seasonal update, whenever that will be. Tornadoes, hail, realistic lightning, sandstorms, hurricanes, blizzards...

Also speaking of Denver, they need to redo I-70 at Josephine-York Streets. They made it a tunnel with a park on top of it now.

[SouthernMan]

@Trakaplex Definitely bud! Modders in general always do amazing things for ATS/ETS. But it would be really nice to see this straight from the SCS, with things more alive. There are things that I understand that SCS doesn't bring for now, but... there are a lot of things that it doesn't make sense for them not to bring them into the game. And I always try to question some things from SCS wisely, because I understand how things work in his game. But, again speaking, there are a lot of things that it wouldn't be hard for SCS to bring to the game.