Update Speculation thread

It's not as good as HD video, but there's still an abundance of photos of car wrecks from the era. They don't come with the context of motion, but filling in some of the "how it happened" details shouldn't be too difficult for most of them.

Hell, if the devs have their stereoscope at the ready, there are even references that are almost better than a photo

 

Hate to break the bad news, but the "empty area" is out of the 2048x2048 zone. So only models can be used there, not terrain. In other words, using that space is very limited in it's potential. Take the island the bridge leads to, that's also out of the zone, and you can see the island is... not very detailed, should we say. there's a reason the bridge leads straight to a tunnel inside the island and you can't drive on the island.

It's possible, but as said before- there's some real limitations. (no option to add grass, janky island model designed to improve performance, not be drivable, and a whole bunch of stuff) making it possible but difficult

 

You can drive on both these areas, as well as the area on the other side, outside of the Redwood Forest, where we say the Airport can be. Plus these map zones (like the 2048x2048m you said) aren't standardized, meaning they're open/subject to changes at any moment.

 

Is resizing the only way though? Can some terrain be added outside? Hmmm...

 

I can't find the photo or the YT video right now, but If I recall correctly someone found a old video of some BeamNG devs at a indie game conference (I think), and they were showing the attendees what they've done so far. And as part of their slideshow presentation, they showed a drawn 2D map of I'm guessing is what WCUSA was supposed to be like from the start. It's a shame that we got a smaller version of the map and not the "full" one if you will. Hoping that one day the dev's are somehow able to work out performance issues and either make it a separate, more detailed map or simply add onto the existing WCUSA map.
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Found it

 

I believe it can be done because let's not forget about the turnaround tunnel that was closed right up until the 0.21 Update (and that has no lit signs as I said): it's out of the map yet the devs added it as a content upgrade!

 

The tunnel uses a mesh, rather than the terrain system.

 

Id argue West Coast Usa cant be remastered, since it was never finished.

Also, since the development and release of West Coast Usa, Italy was been released, at a staggering size of 16km^2, four times the size of West Coast USA’s 4km^2. A terrain of that size would be perfect to finally realize the potential of West Coast Usa, and, if any attempts at completion are made, it would be best for a fresh start altogether, to start over on the much larger sized terrain.

 

Yeah, there is still plenty of "construction" going on in various places. and part of the expressway is still blocked off, as well as other parts of the town still blocked off and unfinished.

 

Honestly, I was expecting the ETK test center to get drastic changes in 0.24, only the materials were worked. I hope we can see a stretching autobahn in this map or total remake of it to a german map which would add to the portfolio of beamng's diverse landscape

 

I see. The bottom line is that the Devs learned from their past experience with level/map development and this experience is already being implemented and further developed in Italy.
Let's not outrun things (if anything, this has its negative consequence, which is disappointment after overenthusiasm) but, with this thinking path, it kinda seems natural that, sometime, the WCUSA map will be replaced by a new, larger one, with the existing map (just as it is, for not alienating the fan base and also for time saving during development) being only a part of that larger map.
If anything, the WCUSA map deserves to be larger because even the size alone is better representing the source of inspiration of this particular map!

 

Yes 100% WCUSA was certainly envisioned to be much bigger than it currently is, and with updates im sure these little reworkings will come around to it, you perfectly described the mindset

Yes most certainly, at the time im sure WCUSA was almost the devs pushing to see how big and how detailed a map could be, which is why it features a cramped, somewhat bizzare layout when comparing it to a real world city. In my opinion, it will feature a full replacement rather than a revamp, much like how Dry Rock Island was fully replaced by Jungle Rock Island once the devs realized they had outgrown that map and restarting would be easier than constant revisions.

now of course this new map would not come this update, not next update, or for a long time, since remaking an entire map on a larger scale is nightmarish to almost anyone, but im willing to hedge a bet that it could come in the next 3 years, seeing as how the game has progressed with its mapmaking recently

 

i wish there was brazilian like beamng map,

 

where would it take place? Sao Paulo, Rio? a rural-urban map would be nice

 

maybe sao paulo because its cool

 

Going to start my hypothetical “West Coast V2” map in a couple minutes. I’m m going to make it more Italy like, increasing size to 4km by 4km and adding more towns and attractions, while making it still less dense.

 

cant wait to see it, also cant wait to see who thinks its an official WCUSA remaster first

 

Great, looking forward to it! BTW, expect my WCUSA- Alternate History No Racetrack map mod to hit the repository by summer 2025. No guarantees though.