A 1:1 Map Scale Is Feasible, But Not Manually

[Some newbie driver]

Although impressive, JeeF, that's the WAAAY easy part of what has been discussed here. Discussions, attempts and demos about either procedural or data-based 3D Earth simulations had been done for decades. It's just about how much computational resources you have and the access to GIS data (for 1:1 depiction) or good procedural algorithms (for realistic although imaginary depictions). Today the amount of GIS data available and the improvement on computing makes it doable on a commercial scale, as demonstrated by this video.

But that's an "empty" Earth. It has only the geographical traits (land shape, water bodies, soil types, vegetation cover...). It has none of the human-made contents that fill the land and that are the key parts in SCS maps to make us feel we are driving on those places (even if due high scale they had to cut tons of content). There exist no database that could be used to feed those 3D earths with the real looks of l towns, cities and other human structures in those places. Procedural city generation, even if exist from years ago, doesn't produce variety good enough (specially for European or Asian look-a-like cities; only for more regular and modern American-like cities). And AI applied to those would create something that would look realistic but that would not match real places.

The big burden is to depict real places at vast terrain extensions; because is a work that MUST be done manually. If SCS games where about trucking on an hypothetical far-future terraformed Mars; we would had been able to drive on a 1:1 map 5 years ago already. If done properly, anything procedurally generated could had been OK for us due lack of any possible IRL comparison. It just had needed to look realistic, not real.

Regards

[JeeF]

I guess it comes down to preference.
I would rather drive a 1:1 fictional world instead of a 20:1 real world.
I would rather drive fictional trucks that could be visually damaged and had better physics and dirt/scratches/dents, instead of driving brand trucks that look like plastic toys.

[Optional Features]

I would rather drive a 1:1 fictional world instead of a 20:1 real world.

Well, as someone else said in another group, the 1:20 map is fictional itself.

SCS has had to cut out a lot of things to make this map, and as a result, some areas are a far cry from their real world counterparts. I was just watching some footage of a trucker going through a pass, and the in-game version only has a tiny piece of what he showed. Such a beautiful area irl, and could be amazing in game if it had the space.

As for map scale, a 1:1 interactive trucksim would be like a flightsim to me. Crossing a great distance is an accomplishment, but shorter runs are an option when time is limited.

At current scale, one can drive from coast to coast without a bathroom break. That seems a little ridiculous.

I would personally lean towards double or quadruple current scale as a happy middle. At 1:10 or 1:5, the mountain ranges that barely exist in game would be formidable, the rural areas in between cities would feel proper, and the cities themselves would have room for more, which they badly need.

But the problems I have with the game are independent of map scale: in reality, the current map is probably double its size if SCS opened up the roads and businesses that are available. Only a piece of the map is actually playable: one could put an entire game behind the walls.

[Trakaplex]

I was wonder if we could actually add Google Earth's ability to create 3D buildings to it but with a higher quality camera. Overlay the street map and real travel data so the AI could trace it. @JeeF

And yes, both games are fictional renditions.

[automaton]

A larger scale would be nice (like 1:15 or something), but a 1:1 scale would absolutely not be feasible. It would require a lot of manpower and award very little liberty; small inaccuracies would be noticed quickly. The drawbacks would far outweigh the benefits not only for the devs but also the player; I don't want to be sitting in front of a screen for two hours driving a virtual truck from San Diego to Los Angeles; I'd rather do that in a real truck instead. That SCS software creates relatively authentic representations of cities, states, etc. at a 1:19/1:20 scale is formidable in and of itself.