Update Speculation thread

oh well I know that (thanks though) but as I said I am not a baby boomer but a millennial, the baby boomer age was really some of the best times this world has seen, well except maybe Australia in the '70s

 

C'mon guys, this has already happened a few times before. We're here to speculate about updates.

Now, about maps: I know some people are less-than-happy about Utah getting a remaster, either because there's likely to be an FPS decrease, or because there are older maps that more desperately need remasters. While I agree with both points, I think that every map since Italy needs some form of an update, and it seems to me that every map will get an update eventually. My only worry about the Utah update is that they'll put something in that large open area just off the default spawnpoint. That's my favorite place to romp around and lightly damage a car.

What I think needs to be completely redone (and probably won't be) is West Coast USA. For a city map, it's way too small. If you're going to try and combine all of the features of California (big city, large highway, forest, semi-suburban housing, beach, etc.) then the map needs to at least be as big as Italy. Plus, before it was integrated with the game, Gamergull complained that his traffic tool didn't work properly on WCA because the AI paths were poorly designed or something like that. I believe that is still an issue, though I can't use the traffic tool because I have an igpu and am stuck on the 0.16.3 crash workaround.

As for the LeGran, it doesn't really come off as rushed to me. Sure, most (all?) of the configs are factory ones, but the car itself seems on par. I enjoy driving it because no guilt comes to me when I smash it. I do agree that the airbag steering wheel is off center, and the area around the gear lever needs more detail, but otherwise it seems fine. I don't think it will be redone from scratch.

 

A lot of wasted space on West Coast USA. Although it's a fun map, the race track takes up wayyy too much space. It's almost the size of the city.

 

Maybe when (if) they redo WCA they should spin off the race track into a separate map like Port.

 

I agree 100.69% on this, the map is indeed very cool. But the racetrack just takes up all breathing room of the entire map.

 

That's why I suggested to move it to the island and make the racetrack either a suburb or a city like area.

 

I think WCUSA needs a more compact interchange, and perhaps a racetrack that's more compact too

 

I doubt anything useful could be done on WCUSA without removing the race track entirely from the map and putting it in a new map.

I'm still surprised there isn't a discount Lombard street and Randy's Donuts, and now that traffic works in game a street car would be do a lot for the immersion.

 

While it's extreme and will never happen. I personally think the current WCUSA map needs to be scraped and a new one from scratch made.

 

Well... That certainly is extreme.

It is personally my most used map; I do like it. But it certainly always has felt like it made a lot of compromises to fit everything in, especially now that we have Italy. The suburbs is probably the best example, it's so small I really wonder why it's even there.

 

This along with the downtown- city area feeling so unfinished. It feels like all of the map's energy went into the race track. But I'ma stop here before I derail this discussion more.
OT: I wonder what the new hopper variants are going to be.

 

WCUSA is fine. It need just some final touches. Better option is just make next one that go further to the south and expand city. Eventually also make "less heavy" version with closed racetrack like Hirochi Raceway for people with "potato PCs".

 

They can't do what with the map limitations.

 

What? They can't make separate map?

 

Concerning the Hopper, I would be surprised to see any new configs other than whatever they call the new crawler. Maybe one variation for crawling and a faster version for king of the hammers type racing. There's a good chance the custom version will get the new engine too.
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Maybe a seperate map that they "connect" like how the snowrunner maps will be connected, but that would feel weird since WCUSA has a mini version of most of what could be in it.

 

That's a good idea; it would give the main part of the map more space (for a larger city or better integreation of the city and highway) and would give purpose to the bridge that leads nowhere. Additionally, it would negate having to make a new map, which seems like a lackluster solution.

 

They could change some buildings on WCUSA but still it shouldn't be that big issue. Belasco South also could have similar districts or more suburban and holiday resorts.

 

and the highways that look like they connect, but aren't due to the current engine limitations, which probably can be improved as development continues.

 

I am sorry to be off topic here but same things I just cant let stand this way:

Watch out for the blue text when scrolling down fast, this will be the end of my post. (if you dont want to read my offtopic)

I am sorry to have to break this to you, but most cars build in the last 20 years have been computer controlled to some extent. In fact, basically any fuel injecting system (not even mentioning direct injection) is based on a computer sending a "inject fuel now" command. No command... no fuel... no power... no driving. The throttle valve has been automatic for a long time, too. The ECU knows much better and more precise than you what is needed right now.

The reason cars become more and more computer on wheels is quite simple that for most people the benefits by far outweight the costs. Buyers vote with their wallets.... you either build something similar or you will leave the market.

Overzealous safety regulations? Seriously? I am sure most people would prefer not dying or being terrible injured in crashes. I will gladly hand control to the computer if it means that I will miss the tree instead of dying or screaming in agony.

Nasty turbo I4 replacing your beloved V8? Perhaps the V8 should have have had better efficiency manners.

The first thing that europeans notice about the average american car is that the engine seems awfully lowtech. Wait seriously... 8 cylinder... more displacement than my fuel economy and this lousy excuse of total horsepower? Seriously? What are you doing with all those cylinders and displacement? Not much. With is a problem... because it really hurts efficiency. An V8 is simply bored most of the times..... like a freight truck engine inside a covet. I mean, you can do it... but why waste so much space and weight when there is no hard benefit in it?

The problem with the V8 and the large displacement is that it doesnt do anything most of the times. You however have the mechanical losses all the time, you have the weight all the time... the space all the time and the poorer emissions all the time because it takes longer to heat up and turns fuel less efficiently into movement.

Give me turbocharged direct injection power band every day. Sovereign gliding, power on demand with little need to search 3 gears lower.... I am driving a naturally aspirated gasoline engine but I wish I would not. At low revs, it has no power at all.... but fuel economy is bearable if not impressive. At medium revs you have some power but fuel economy becomes poor. At high revs, you finally have power but you need your own gas station.

So what happens is that for everyday driving... you use a high gear which gives you acceptable (by the standard of the nineties) fuel economy but poor performance.

It occurs to me that you havent been driving a modern car very much. Or that you happen to had particular horrible ones. The ETK 800 is actually a quite realistic version of a modern car today. Excellent handling, driveability and state of the art technology make a comfortable and joyfull driving experience. "Breathless I4"? Are you aware that naturally aspirated engines literally are starved from air? That is why they are inefficient... you have 2 litres of displacement but only can take in air for arround 1.2 litres displacement. Why have the mechanical losses of 8 cylinders and 5 litres of displacement all the times when you dont need the majority of this power potential for most of your driving? Why not have a smaller more efficient engines that delivers the same peak power on demand but is far more efficient when under low load (which is the majority of driving)

I dont think input lag is an issue. I havent noticed any in the super downsized turbocharged cars I have been driving. In fact... the availability of real torque and as such power at lower RPM is a nice safety increase. You dont need to search for 2 gears lower first before you can accelerate strongly.

Not quite sure why the parking brake of a modern car should be weaker. ESC being not fully shut off able is a very good decision... one that even you will approve off when it saves your butt in real life. As will the people you will not run over because you will not loose control.. this time.

ESC being fully shut off able in the game is a design choice that makes sense. Not only can one wonderfully demonstrate of how much safer it is to drive with it enabled but the game grants you much more control overall over your vehicle than it will ever happen for most people in real life.

I havent heard of malfunctions of anti collision systems so they seem to be rare. And most probably they will still make far fewer errors than human drivers.

Volvo actually wants to limit top speed of its cars to an extent. Which for the vast majority of drivers on the world wont make any difference because local public street speed limit is well below that limit (160 km/h or so I believe). Outside of germany - which may get a speed limit sooner than you think - there is no legal place outside of a race track to drive this fast.

Of course lots of people do. But I ask the question... why should the public bear those risks?

An car enforced speed limit could always be lifted - on the racetrack - but it would reduce the amount of people who go 200 on a road meant for 130. In fact, it seems like a - intended - oversight to even allow cars to be sold that can go much faster than the legal speed limit. I mean... sure it should go somewhat faster for overtaking and safety reasons but for that 30 km/h + would be sufficient. Historically, building cars that accelerate good but have street legal top speed would have been difficult. The engine needed for reasonable acceleration would easily push the car beyond the legal speed limit.

But today... with computer control everywhere? You can only go faster than the legal speed limit because - so far - it hasnt been done, but it could be done anytime. Fun fact... many car rentals in Germany actively use a speed limit system... because they dislike paying for all the wanne be racers ruining their cars and insurance ratings.

A car used on the public road should disobey the driver if the driver makes a mistake... or mistakenly believes that the public road is there for his testing of the physical limits of the car.

Throttle isnt laggy.... what is laggy is a crappy non turbo non direct injection engine that needs a downshift before it delivers anything like power.

Trying to outsmart the ECU most likely will result in worse fuel economy and less overall safety.

You are correct that some measures are indeed primarly aimed at fleet averages. Still.. drive by wire is not only more efficient in general but also makes a lot of modern safety features even possible. Drive by Wire lag is absurd.... a computer can increase injection amount many times faster then you can flooring the pedal. It can read a crap ton of sensor data and decide the ultimate injection time and amount for the requested demand. If there is lag... it is either intended or caused by something else.

Driving a car that was not meant to be driven "sporty" sporty has significantly increased risks. This is quite noticable both in reality and in Beam NG where driving "average" cars at 200 km/h gives you a far less secure feeling that driving "fast" cars at 200 km/h.

Demand for safety system is real and that is hardly surprising. Most average people do actually favour staying alive and without those systems it would never have been possible to lower the amount of fatalities this much. Maybe airbags had some issues in the beginning but in reality..... they have saved countless lives as have safety belts. Anti Lock brakes saved countless lifes... ESC saves countless lifes.... only a fool would want to go backwards in this regard.

Relying to much on sensors may cause some accidents but those numbers and the severity of them pales compared to how many accidents didnt happen because your car actually informed you/hit the brakes before you run over that child.

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I agree with you, but maybe since you have so much text, put it in a spoiler box. Especially in an off-topic post.