Update Speculation thread

I hope they introduce improved aerodynamics. If they are going to introdue a supercar with the posibility for a gt3/LMH version now would be a great time

 

This and previous info on .tech and latest events are in fact very interesting as speculation matter. Coupled with:

• Focus on new kinds of vehicles and painstakingly simulated modern cars safety/other systems, as shown by @Diamondback
• Focus on utilitarian traffic AI with for driving simulation vs. racing/chases AI/other fun sim AI
• Lack of focus in the game aspect (campaign, scenarios, etc) of .drive
• ...

... I speculate that .tech is now the focus of beamng development as a B2B driving/autonomous driving pro simulation could be a better business case (remember, this is no NGO) for this brilliant and long term effort than the 20 euro game we all love.

Besides, that would explain the PR policy too. The on/off teaser activity, patchy at best communication and absolute lack of an updated roadmap for a game that, I am sorry to say, is still in early access after so many years, could mean that @tdev is not just racing our teenage hearts with final countdowns but doing his best to keep an industrial or, who knows, state secret, safe...

 

Not speculation but I want a swap from the new Civetta (presumably the Fulmine) to go into the Covet. The Covetta

 

Well...if this is true, they wouldn't have any of this if it wasn't for ROR and this game. It's a little... narcissistic of them to just leave their loyal customers in the dark and have us figure this stuff out. Everything here, everything you said does explain a lot.

To the devs... Can we have an official comment on this, please? Or has communication really become a thing of the past?

 

The application of BeamNG to research and the .tech branch it spawned has not been kept a secret, though it is a quieter arm of the business by its nature. Simulation for research purposes probably involves lots more making UI apps that generate graphs and other systems for measuring metrics than cool things that make for entertaining gameplay. Plus, with the focus being on using the game to simulate real-world driving situations in order to train autonomous driving technology, anything generated by the actual research simulation is likely both experimental and proprietary - and part of an industry where it is necessary to be discreet and avoid leaks.

More interesting is the potential use of the software as a driver training aid - though I think before BeamNG can fully enter into that space, it would need to adapt itself to driving conditions and regulatory environments in various jurisdictions (read: There would need to be more maps representing the road design, traffic signage, common scenarios and other general conditions of various nations, states, provinces, regions, etc.). I think that this arm of the business is still in its infancy, but is arguably the area with greatest potential.

In any case, remember that the research simulators are essentially extensions of the same simulator that underpins the game, just custom-tailored to the differing needs of a particular industry. They're largely a different version of the same software - and anything the dev team learns by creating research software will likely inspire improvements or even directly feed back into the game. In fact, I could point to quotes by members of the dev team that lay out just how much developing the game itself is a research project into how to simulate cars!

Remember back in 2014 when it was reported by the BBC that BeamNG was being considered by the film industry to test stunts before committing the expense to prepare for an actual physical stunt? This is effectively the commercialization of that, but in two much larger industries.

If I'm remembering things correctly, following a particularly stressful time in the game's history, a member of the dev team pointedly noted that game development was being limited by financial resources (and I can point to that quote too if necessary). Remember, we all paid exactly once to purchase the game. At a certain point, the company would either have to find a way to inject more cash to keep up development, or stop / slow development to match a dwindling budget. Developing alternate versions of the software tailored to commercial uses is one way to do that.

On the opposite side, though dev-team-to-game-community communication has greatly improved over the last four or five years, it does still occasionally tend to be composed of brief little nuggets scattered across various posts, one little teaser at a time. While that's great and very fun to interact with, it mostly relates to short-term plans, and some big-picture things tend to be overlooked or forgotten by community members.

Right now, I'm unsure if the community knows anything about long-term plans for the game, even in terms of scope and scale. At the moment, we haven't even got a group of 'promised release' cars like we did for much of the game's history. It probably wouldn't hurt to take a pause to look at what's on the horizon again in terms of long-term plans for the game via a longer post on the subject to the devblog.

 

Seems like this went under the radar here:
https://documentation.beamng.com/official_content/levels/pbr-material-status/

 

PBR east coast usa would be interesting for sure

 

So the ones with WIP badge are being worked on, sick stuff
Do we have the chance to see these maps in future update tho

 

So, were these added some time recently in offroad_acc file for Hopper's parts, or have I just been blind to them this whole time?

 

Huh, that's a really neat feature! Based on Diamondback's wording the code currently seems to be experimental at best, but I hope something like this gets added when the ETK I-Series eventually gets remastered.

 

The I-Series is a bit old for this but then again, in the I-Series, the turbo boost readout is represented by something similar, so...
--- Post updated ---

You got a rhyme for "duck plue"?

 

Muck dew?

 

Could be!

 

Ah, what a great post. I recently wrote my bachelor's thesis about SLAM technologies and even cited a beamng source. The way I see it, beamng.tech has immense potential as a "training ground", if you wish. Imagine a manufacturer like Audi, wishing to develop a next step in their assisted driving; do they apply for permits to test their undeveloped AI in the real world, or do they start with a digital environment first? It would greatly speed things up, be cheaper and provide a solid starting point once they eventually switch to testing in real life. And as you know, cars are big business, big business is big money... I can see why beamng would focus on the tech branch from time to time.

Of course none of that is exciting to us, mere gamers. Recently the new content has been centered around remasters and... things that employ old core mechanics. A new car, a new map, they sure can be great, but they don't introduce anything profoundly new. I remember when we got FIRE, and it wasn't even mentioned in the change log. Sure PBR was nice, but not a surprise since it was discussed years ago.

So are they working on something new? Do they focus on the tech branch instead? Is the career coming soon? All these questions can be answered. Not by me. What is the direction for the game, we do not know. Have a nice day.

 

Indeed the digital environment is an ideal way to test irl systems. You mentioned Audi, the BeamNG.tech website lists Audi as a client, and has for a while. Not sure if that's what you were referencing but either way it is interesting. Lidar and other camera radar based systems have been and are becoming bigger than ever. I can see why beamng would be a good source to test these systems with as you say. I did not even realize the tech website was updated, had been a while since I looked into it.

I rather enjoyed PBR, felt worth the wait in my opinion, but I get that it wasn't a surprise like you mentioned. Would not be opposed to another blog discussing future ventures regarding the game.

 

Whatever you just said, I agree!

 

Whatever you said, I also agree!

 

whatever I said I agree!

 

Okay?

Anyway for next teaser I predict it won't be this Tuesday. But one after that or one after that.


I think it will be new super car with its panels on it.


Or possibly if there doing another car remaster possibly that.


I don't think it will be covet again but never say never.


As for update I think it will happen late June or July. I think if it was August the Devs will let us now like saying. Hey guys we have big plans and / or something isn't going right. Please bare with us


Over all I think it's the longest wait in a whole while. Other then I think in 2014 the pre rave update days if I remember correctly.

But I got a feeling it will be worthwhile the wait.

 

Whatever you said I also agree!

(This is evolving into an "I'm Spartacus!" game! )