I am definitely all for this its been way too long that the old Grid Map has been neglected and it definitely needs an overhaul!
Definatly, i first owned the game on an old laptop, only was capable of east coast and gridmap at meh framerates so thought needs to be left for people playing on low spec machines --- Post updated --- it'd be nice instead also just to prehaps keet current grid , prehaps maby as an optional install and have like a secont gridmap, prehaps even have a "stunt" style map and a more realistic "car tessting" map
Oooh! nice work! I really like those red and yellow "shoulder marks", which I assume indicate a wall or an obstacle is in your collision course... Here's a suggestion for a "pipe"- It's something I've wanted to test for a while and should be a pretty easy build. You know how they say that at over a certain speed, Le-mans prototypes and F1 cars make enough downforce to be able to drive upside-down? So I thought about having a 90 degrees rotated half-pipe, with some added flat area at it's top, where you could test just that (say with a hill-climb aero kit) (red car in drawing). It could also be used as a unique-shaped ramp(yellow van in drawing).
Coupled with the fact that there's no real "wet" environment variables in BeamNG to the best of my knowledge, it would be good fun to drift around on a wet skidpan. Kind of like the ETK Driver Experience Center wet asphalt area in the west section. The rectangular shape isn't really suitable for drifting though, you need more of a circular skidpan for that.
Just a small thought, Could you please implement some more interactive pieces? I am not sure how to say it, kinda mini-scenarios. Like the drag strip on West Coast USA, how you can start a race directly from freeroam Because the gridmap feels very static at the moment
You guys also should make a section were there are a lots of terrain, like drag, ice, road, grass and mud. For example an ice hill that's keeps steeper. Because i love to see how cars react on different terrain.
The idea of separating the activities accordingly in 4 zones is great, it puts all of the new ideas in order and makes the New Grid Map look and feel as clean and well organized as before! The aesthetics of the original picture are amazing, this pictured part of the map looks kinda like a skateboard park (or a gymkhana park, to be more precise)! My only suggestion is to keep the outer ring in the new version and increase its perimeter, to better suit the increased size of the new Grid Map. I think the Grid Map's "One of everything" concept is completed in a better way if the outer ring is included!
I just had another idea that I wanted to throw out there: The ability to test open, limited slip and locked differentials on 4WD vehicles in the "Offroad Testing" section. The picture below demonstrates a course that is purposefully designed to show the weakness of open differentials by using opposing undulations, while also giving 4WDs with long suspension travel an advantage. Maybe the undulations should become gradually more severe as you drive along the course to highlight where the limits of your vehicle are? Proof of concept using some custom objects I rendered and it seems to work quite well:
The same concept, yes. Although that particular one looks like it only has one set of ramps, which might not be ideal for testing all variations of vehicles (i.e. too difficult for a road-going sedan but too easy for the offroad trucks like Prerunner). Depends how many vehicles the devs are interested in accommodating on a single test course.
that is literally AMAZING very modern and clean, although if you could add some offroad hills, a small pond that would be perfect
Honestly, I'd rather see the etk test center turned into something like the VW-Audi group's Ehra-Lessien test facility. Grid map is still cool though.
Why not something like Porsche's facility in Leipzig? It has everything: off road trails, a race track with multiple possible paths (some of which go up and down a large crest in the middle of the facility) and a skid pad. I mean, your idea about (quoting James May here) an "Arrow-straight straight" is great for testing the Autobahnstorming capabilities of the modern ETK cars (or any other modern BeamNG car for that matter) but, with the (r)evolution the handling model of BeamNG currently undergoes (good dynamic handling electronics, good tire model, good differentials - both mechanical and electronic ones) these cars also have a newfound handling prowess (or, at least, an improved one)! Maybe a new "ETK Driver Experience Center" map combining both these ideas, yours and mine, would be nice! ;-)
