Update Speculation thread

I literally went into freecam and made a virtual line connecting the highways, and to my surprise, they lined up perfectly.

 

So that asks the question, could this be a planned feature?

I'd like that better, because if you manage to get past the barriers already existing at those ends of the map, you'll reach a very unnatural edge of the world. Tunnels that connect those roads together would be a great way to fix that.

 

Highly likely since if it wasn’t, why would these roads that the player can’t access exist in the first place? To almost every game developer, those roads would be immediately removed because it’ll cause unnecessary FPS loss.

 

Interesting. I've seen finished games that doesn't remove incomplete roads, paths, etc, that's just blocked off, similar to the roads found in WCA.

Take for example that one map ported to BeamNG that I believe was from a Ford racing game. The highway section has barriers on a road that leads to nowhere, because it's not part of the assigned racetrack. I believe that's just one example of a blocked off section that goes nowhere on that map, it's been a while since I played it.

I believe they do that for visual reasons. Removing those areas and leaving nothing there could corrupt the gaming experience for players, if the game developers doesn't find a way to do something with those areas of course.

 

Yet that was a game where the map didn’t have any FPS issues, yet WCUSA is basically on the bleeding edge of performance and that the BeamNG devs would have removed the roads that the player doesn’t see (the roads go a long distance past the playable area) and it would have helped with performance.

 

Most certainly, but if they did get rid of them, how would they hide the fact that those are unfinished roads that goes nowhere?

I think the thing they did with the bridge worked perfectly, with the barriers blocking access to it until they added the looping tunnel. If a bigger tunnel is planned for those other roads that's at the center of this discussion, what they're doing with them now is just as good. The barriers and specific environmental features does the job of hiding the unfinished areas until they can implement such a tunnel, and if there isn't a tunnel, it creates the illusion that there's something more out there, just as long as you don't go exploring it.

I agree that WCA is a performance heavy map, but I do believe they're working as hard as they can to make less heavy on Performance. I think I even noticed a difference with the building DAE files lately. I distinctly remember there being one big file with all of the Belasco buildings put together. Now it's been split into two or more separate DAE files, the first one being called "buildings_visual" which is the one I remember, and the other being called "buildings_west." I say two or more because I only noticed those two, and I currently don't know if there's any more of them.

But if you ask me, it's debatable how performance friendly WCA could possibly be.

 

I think a mountain pass will be better.

 

I don't think that will happen. I've been told before that Mitch wants the map to feel like it's a part of something bigger, and connecting the highways would ruin that feeling.

 

...but would also make the map better for driving purposes, which i'm not sure, but i think might be the point of BeamNG.Drive?...
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also, ive realized whats wrong (in my opinion) with WCUSA:

It doesn't feel busy.

and before i elaborate let me get the stupid fact that someone will say which is "yeah its cause there are no cars on the streets and people lol thats why". And you, nonexistant person, are correct, that is a part of it. But thats not a part [the devs] can fix. What they can fix is the little things. here, let me explain:

here is a picture of a random LA street:


here is a picture of a *similar* WCUSA street:


and these streets are similar, but the second picture, of WCUSA, is missing a few key things:
- trash
- Advertisements
- Wear & Tear

these three key elements, i think, would make WCUSA look ten times busier than before, as they all share the same concept of people, people leaving trash, people putting up advertisements, and the buildings that people make wearing down over time.

a few other, possibly more complicated ideas would be:

- palm trees to replace the regular trees (palm trees feel more lively and fit the coastal sunny environment better, and are rarely used in any other maps)
- more textures for windows, so that not all are the same. (some with shades drawn, some with curtains drawn, some half open, some fully open, some with half closed shades, bright spots in the windows so it looks like they have lights inside)
- some open doors?
- glowmaps on half or 3/4 of the windows at night, like in GTA-V, so it looks more lively
- birds atop some wires or buildings?
- a bit more wires
- more signage

and that's about it...

One last thing before i go, i've realized WCUSA needs a boulevard. a Time Square, a Las Vegas strip, a center. without it, the city just feels, unfinished...
tell me what you think!

EDIT:

so i messed around with the sun a little bit, which is better?


or



(1st is new, 2nd is old)

fun fact the game now runs faster with this lighting somehow

 

The first one of course.


The tunnel loop in WCUSA reminds me of good ol' midtown madness 2!

 

I like your vision of a brighter, warmer-colored sun, and I agree that some nighttime effects would set the city off well. But adding more details (like garbage, extra wires and signs, more damage decals, etc.) would increase performance overheads. I also disagree with palm trees being the exclusive tree species of Belasco: your reference image shows temperate tree species in LA, and Belasco does well enough with both species playing a part.

The avenue along the waterfront probably serves as Belasco's cultural center. Besides, you have to remember that the city is based on San Francisco (waterfront and hills as cultural centers) and Los Angeles (too spread out to have much of a definite center at all). Neither city has a true Times Square or Strip, San Francisco doubly so due to its topography. Not that Belasco's waterfront seems to be much of a happening place either way.

 

Agree.

Urban settings won't ever work in a game like BeamNG unless they opt for solutions like simplified traffic or static props.

 

I might say they will take up spaces I could use for placing deformable cars.

 

I hate to bring up "the forbidden list", but on there, there was a car called the "Jargl DT825". is it possible that that eventually changed to the wentward DT40L?

 

I don't think so, considering that Jargl was meant to be a Volvo-style brand, and the Wentward looks quite North American.

 

Not likely. If brought to fruition, the Jargl would be a Swedish car.

 

I think there will be a Highway loop in West Coast... There are the tollbooths and since the map is quite big, I think there could be another small village/city in the other part of the Island. I think West Coast is a long-term project and what we see now is just a part of the map... Just my two cents...

 

when you think about it though, not only is the name similar, but volvo also makes buses (or at least bus chassis). it's possible that they originally planned to make a European coach bus, but decided that it would be better to make an american on, to go with the game's biggest city (or at least so far)

 

Maaaaaybe, but very unlikely.

If they decided on such a change, the Jargl idea would have simply been scrapped, and "DT825" fits any kind of Swedish vehicle, from a compact car to COE trucks.
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Yerba Buena is the most likely inspiration for that island.

In that case, we might see some Coast Guard stuff, maybe parks, a few homes, etc.