What makes an [off]road 'fun'?

A really, really long time ago, I asked you guys to tell me what it is that makes a road fun to drive.* Now, I'm asking the opposite question: what terrain, features, and designs make for good offroading?

I'll admit, offroading isn't especially my shtick, so I'm not really sure what kind of joy it brings some of you to drive where there's no pavement in sight. What features should I look to add? What shouldn't I? Are there some examples I should look up? Is there common ground in the terrain used for mudding/rock crawling and the 'fast' offroading (trophy trucks, etc.)? And are there styles of offroading that BeamNG can't simulate, or doesn't have the vehicles to take advantage of?

*If you've just started making BeamNG levels, this thread is a gold mine for learning how to make good, fun roads.

 

Power and tires

 

Hmm, should've clarified: I'm looking for tips on level design, not vehicle design.

 

Oh so like maps? You want a nice hilly section, a rock crawling section, a desert section, a forest section and an off-road course.
Boom done

 

parts (such as rock crawling sections) which are difficult, bit still barely passable with an inappropriate vehicle, like a covet.

 

Lots of bumps so your Off-Road Hopper goes flying.

 

Rocks, lots and lots of rocks. Especially ones that are strategically placed to swallow tires whole.

^ Something like this lol

 

a dirt track to hoon around on with a rocky area for more serious off-roading

 

One thing I find very strange in Beam is the lack of big trial trucks. Obviously Pavel Zagrebelny's games are people's go to for the big off road trucks, but none of his games do well at higher speeds at all. Which means there isn't a single game on the market that I know of that does well with the big stuff. I've always thought Beam would be perfect for this sorta stuff, but we don't have the content for it. Off road maps are generally made with Hopper sized vehicles in mind, not big 8x8 trucks. Fitting an off road H-Series on a lot of the off road trails we have is a squeeze, forget about an 8x8. Even if we had the maps, there's no official vehicles of this sort and only a couple of mods.

TLDR: Something that you can get a big truck onto would be cool, a lot of what we have is a squeeze for anything bigger than a single cab D-Series...

Spoiler: Reference Stuffs

 

Rocky water crossing are fun to me. I always enjoy a mix of easy trails and harder trails that will require more professional vehicles. I also like lots of altitude changes, not suddenly, but over time you wind up really high.

 

Alright. So the highlights, as I understand it, are:

• Divide the offroad sections by difficulty. Some areas should be just barely traversable by road cars, and can be crossed at high speed and risk by dedicated offroaders. Others require purpose-built vehicles and much more care and attention. And both should, ideally, be clearly distinguishable.
• Get the suspension flexing. Bumps and surface unevenness make high-speed driving more fun, rocks do the same for low speeds in challenging areas.
• Interact with the terrain. Cross rivers, climb mountains, dive into valleys and canyons, etc. Every moment doesn't need to be hair-raisingly difficult, but you should feel like you're getting somewhere.
• Give plenty of space. Players using mods or prospective future content shouldn't feel left out because their vehicle can't fit. Make paths broad enough for the player to truly explore, and if there has to be a narrow channel, be tasteful.

 

For rallying - Hairpins, elevation changes (e.g. hillclimb), smooth dirt, cuttable corners, narrow roads.

For fast offroading - whoops and bumps including off camber ones, smooth jumps, bumpy and fast straights. Pushing suspension to the limits. Something that requires specialized long-travel suspension.

For trails - Sceinic (e.g. dense woods or a nice cliff side view), water crossings, steep inclines and decents that require approach/departure angle planning, off camber paths, crap on the floor that makes you glad you're in a hopper and not a unibody Covet.

For Derby races - banked turns, smooth jumps, wide roads for racing side by side, figure 8 intersections

IDK how to crawl.

 

The off road trails on American Road by Primo3001 and the trails on Glass View Mountains by Straubz are my favorite maps for 4x4 fun.

 

Definitely a mix of difficult terrain, with a more relaxed one that can be crossed in a stock Hopper is the way to go for me. Most maps I've tried either had some steep hills that couldn't be climbed with a more "normal" rig, or the terrain was just way too aggressive for it to be enjoyable

 

If you're looking for ideas for an offroad map, I'm personally a good fan of desert trails.
https://www.beamng.com/resources/beamng-off-road-open-desert-trails-4096x4096.5438/

It's really all about having a trail with whoops and bumps that can be driven across with pretty much any vehicle, but will heavily limit your speed unless you're driving something like the Trackfab Unlimited or the LKS Prerunner.

An other thing that's definitively great fun, but doesn't many options available is an off-road stadium track. WCUSA has one, but in my opinion it's a bit small and narrow, and the jumps aren't the best shape. There's is also bajarama, however that map is definitely showing it's age.

 

Lots and lots of mud. Specifically mud trails where puddles are deep and some easy to get stuck in. I have yet to see a map that’s off-road focused in mud specifically, it's all shallow mud or dirt roads. Some people have tried with water but that’s not considered mud. I believe @Insanegaz made a map with this desired effect a while back which was perfect.

 

I wish there was a map for light offroading/greenlaning that can be done with a road car like my Covet 4WD or a AWD Pessima.

 

I think there should be flooded roads sketchy rocks that are difficult but not impossible (passable by the ibishu crawler) a separate track for stuff like jumps there should be mud hills and different terrain and landscapes.

 

baja 1000 style fast trails there is not much of them and i want to drive fast

 

steelies!