WIP Beta released Barbent's Homerange (Alpha) 0.1a

No. Not at all .
It's a matter of combination. Creating a highly diverse and rich map doesn't necessarily require powerful performance and large memory. For example, for the entire map with all its climate zones, I only use 16 different ground materials, which combine very well. There are no walls, curved guardrails, or long fences with a high polygon count. For the same reason, I love cubist architecture . I designed many assets to be combinable. Where I don't need PBR, I don't use it, so I need less bitmaps to be loaded.
All LUA systems are programmed to be very efficient and adaptable, resulting in minimal performance requirements. Even when the weather is in full swing, you won't notice any impact on the FPS. It's not comparable to volumetric clouds in terms of performance demands.
For me, it's part of the project to design the map with the lowest possible performance requirements. (My PC is an old potato, that's the true reason )

 

Wow, absolutely outstanding work, at the forefront of innovative ideas for sure, excited to see it in action.
I suppose you can have a variety of different cloudscape looks, sunset, stormy, sunrise etc.

 

No, there is only one cloudscape for now. But this one is linked to the dynamic weather wich is generated above you (as seen in the videos). Its transparency, color, brightness and height are continuously adjusted so it fits perfectly to bright skies or thunderstorms as well and to all different daytimes. Additionaly the cloudscape is slowly animated. Manually selecting different cloudscapes is not planed for now, because I decided to have the weather system controlling the complete atmosphere look.
Edit: If you like you can always disable the Homerange Weather System and use some mod like CK Dynamic Skybox to manually select a different cloudscape.

 

I remember when an update was planned to release before 2025 ended... and then it was 'probably early 2026'...

Still got a lot of anticipation built up for this map. Is your plan to fully finish this project before release?

I gotta be honest: I prefer the gradual update process because it gives me more reason to jump back into the game and see what changed. But you do you! Thanks again for all the work you put into this project - hope we get to enjoy this playground soon

 

Hey Snubnose, thanks for your question

I'm working full-time on the map. I want to reach a certain stage of development before releasing it. I've made some truly extensive changes to the map and started major projects. Many interesting new road connections have been added, along with a lot of new features and locations (see above). In some ways, the map is currently less finished than it was a year ago. But it's getting better and better...

In some places there is still quite a bit of chaos, which I naturally want to eliminate first, and complete some very large construction sites. So please understand that I first want to get the map to a state where I think it's a polished piece of work - even though not finished. Then there will be a release, which, however, will be far from the final version. I also think it's nice for the community to witness the development. So subsequent releases will then be published at closer intervals. I am sorry that I announced possible release dates some time ago and was unable to keep them.

I think the decision is important and the right one. I'm trying to reach the intermediate goal as quickly as possible.

Some impressions of big changes, which are more or less finished. There are way more. Stay tuned!

 

Is there a dock where large ship like the MPV40 from Fun Physics mod can berth?
because the cargo docks on the west coast are unusable due to the ridiculously shallow water...

I were to be a little greedy, I would like to have at least two ports so that A to B gameplay is possible.

 

There are, if I haven't miscounted, eleven different harbors. These vary in type and design. Most are designed for smaller ferry or freight traffic. I'm also currently developing a ferry (last 3 pics; based on the flat top barge) that precisely matches the specifications of the numerous ferry terminals. They are in various bays, on islands and in the inland waterways which is connected to the sea by canals. So there's a wide ferry network. The docks are designed so that several heavy trucks or buses can drive onto the ferry and the transition between the quay and the ship remains perfectly level. But first I'll release the next version of the map. The ferry as a vehicle comes later and maybe will be part of the map then.

The largest deep-water harbor for now is Pt. Andreas (pic #1), with water depths exceeding 12 meters. Despite the map's size, everything is somewhat smaller than real-world large ports. Naturally, there are limitations to the harbor design, meaning they can't be compatible with every ship mod. Furthermore, for technical reasons, the water depth outside the map is limited to 20 meters.

 

Wow! I am now inspired to make my own map! Keep up the good work!

 

Looks incredible. I agree with BeamNut ive been meaning to try and make my own map sometime.

 

still waiting for this map. its amazing the details and effort that you are putting on this project. i wonder if someday we will see this map on RLS career overhaul.

 

Step by step .

 

How do you make sound emitters with custom audio files? I am wondering because I want to do this in my map.

 

Hey passengerpigeon !
I am just wondering what problem do you have . Well, this is definetely the right place to discuss sound emitter issues - LOL

But welcome anyways. I'm guessing your trouble: There is some special behaviour with BeamNG (who is surprised?): Since more than a decade BeamNG isn't able to change the audio file after a SFX emitter has been created. Not the World-Editor can do this nor LUA. No way to change the sound-file - except by reloading the whole map again or by using a little trick :

Just create a sound emitter, edit every property to your liking and select your sound file. Then delete the emitter and press undo immediately! This way the SFX emitter is recreated with all the settings you wanted. And - tataaaa - the sound is running (if playOnAdd has been checked). See the picture for the steps I'm doing:



The best way is to use the OGG file format. Remember that this is a container format. So carefully decide what compression you need, if so. But OGG can also be uncompressed. WAV or even MP3 files also work without any problems but are not recommended. WAV is big, MP3 is a bit performance hungry. Also remember that when you check "is3D" you can localize the emitter with your ears but obviously it cannot play in stereo. So you can save half the filesize by creating mono sound files. Only 2D sound emitters can play stereo but they are not spatial then because left and right are fixed by the stereo channels.

Hope that helps . Please PM if you have further questions. Thanks.
Have fun making noise and good luck with your map project! I'm curious what you are creating.

 

It's not that I've tried this already and run into bugs, but that I am not sure where to place the custom audio files in my map folder so that the dropdown menu will recognise them in the first place, and I couldn't find the answer through Google.

 

Ah, Google!

The word 'Google' is written wrong from 'Googol' which means: 'Ten to the power of one hundred' which is NOT 110, even though I thought it was for a long time. I feel that this is quite a big number! For me it's simply too big even if I use small fonts. Well, here's the number just to show it:
1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
(okay, I omitted the area code)
Just look at all those zeros nearly without anything between! This large number was invented by a mammal specifically to describe the sheer amount of unanswered questions in the lower east universe. They become really very (very!) heavy over time and are starting to bring the whole solar system into a Imbalanced situation. But wait, that can be exciting, though
To make sure I didn't miscounted while writing (I am somehow responsible), I wrote a special monitoring software suite with even more zeros in it, but that's a whole other story. To avoid wasting work I now decided to import the working part of the core code into Homerange (first pic) so that everyone can enjoy it.

Take a closer look if you like, maybe you can guess what a fire baby is:


(Of course Google KI knew what a fire baby is: A fire baby is
a fictional modern slang to describe the complexity of healthcare.
I didn't knew that =) I'll never stop learing to learn I promise)

Oh! I'm sorry! I don't mean to tease anyone. I've been spending a bit too much time on top of the World (Editor) and nearly was trapped in between LUA console and reverse engeneering intentions while working nonstop on the map these past months, no years! Maybe I'm slowly going crazy from it. Yes, I believe that.

---

Well, back to your real question: I personally have put all my sound files into art/sound (in my map folder) like always. Also I do not have a drop drown menu list sorting problem. To me It just opens a dry file selector box instead..Maybe it's because you're trying to select your sound file through the "track" property which actually opens a never ending drop drown menu list battle field. There you can easily try to select a bunch of sound events. They can play several sound files at once or by chance on very special unknown conditions (multiple frogs on ice e.g.). These are all vanilla presets from the inner town of Bremen. If you like to play your own sound file though, you'd have to select it through the "filename" property field (last pic). Then it can be that a file selector box opens quite suddenly. In there navigate from Mars to Moon, then to "levels"->mapname->art/sound" what was not that much complicated to me cause I learned all the planets (till Jupe). For subsequent file operations you can use the path history at the very top of the darkly and low hoovering selector box (no pic for this, cauz too dark)



See: I tried to answer but hardly could . But don't worry! We'll find a clue for the ultimate mega gaming solutions. Surely ... If all else fails, we'll simply open a few JSON files from below the underground and quickly insert your sound files in there somewhere with ease. Feel free to ask, if something was less nitty or poorly gritty.

(Only stupid nonsense I know. Deep is the ocean. I'm not )

 

The magic of LUA

It's truly exciting that the BeamNG devs have even included programming languages (Lua and Java Script) for us to individually extend the features and game experience. Lua is particularly well-suited for player-map interaction. I've been working on various features for some time now, and I've already described some of them above in detail. Now, I've compiled a list of Homerange's current additional software features, which I'd like to share with you so that you know what's coming.

Description of Lua features in Homerange

General:

• Important: All readable output or continuous status informations during individual situations are displayed though the vanilla Messages App. To have it installed and permanently visible is highly recommended. Most informations are additionally signaled acoustically and thus are thematically identifiable without having to look at the app.
• No additional app is needed and doesn't cover the sceen.

Code design:

• All functions are optimized for performance as far as I could and jobs get scheduled to spread all the workload over fine time slices according to their priority. Stuttering caused by sudden and extensive Lua tasks does never happen.
• Most functions are object oriented what means they can handle an unlimited or even dynamic number of places to take individual action. No additional coding is needed when I let the map grow and more instances for facilities are added.
• All functions are accessible from Freeroam or other game playing modes like Missions or Timetrials.
• All functions are non game breaking. They do not need any additional user input except playing and acting with your vehicle or the avatar.
• Most functions are appropriate for multiplayer experience by design.

List of Features and Functionality:

• Freeroam full automatic time measuring, comparison and logging of lap times for the Airtona racetrack.
• Fuel stations: Non game breaking, timeline based and individual refilling logic for cars, racecars, planes and ships. Different opening hours and refilling precedures for ~15 fuel stations or refilling facilities.
• Realtime audio mixer controlls many ambient sound tracks according to daytime, weather, region, elevation and vehicle velocity.
• Sound crawler dynamically spawns a huge variety of sound events around you depending on location, daytime, weather or your current activity. Objects can optionally serve as landing points for the sounds (e.g. for birds or churchbells). Replaces hundreds of individual fix placed sound emitters.
• Dynamic walking noise for the avatar (unicycle) and additional car airstream noise depending on velocity, region and elevation.
• Animated static or dynamic weather and weather events. Influences or generates sounds, sunlight, clouds, air humidity, rain, water waves, thunderstorms and more. Projected as well as generated and animated cloud skapes (prepared for BeamNG updates). Neutral mode for third party weather or skybox mods.
• Moon and realistic moonlight. Time based moon movement.
  
• Dynamic four dimensional environment temperature curves from -40° to +50° Celsius depending on daytime, weather, region and elevation.
• Automatic streetlamps and city illumination depending on daytime and weather conditions.
• Additional fully automatic flashlight or headlamp for the avatar. Rotation with viewing direction in all axes, including vertically. High range.
• Information system: Read about usefull, beautiful or misterious places or possible activities. Written weather forecasts. Get into investigation of crime cases or solve mysteries (alpha).
  
• Avatar diving capability using BeamNG's water physics. Experience Homerange even underwater, observe animated fish, or find new clues to solve a puzzle. Constant monitoring of diving depth and blood oxygen. There's an outdoor swimming pool with a diving school where you also can get optional diving equipment and oxygen bottles.
• Avatar healt monitoring and care (alpha). Sensation of hunger and thirst. Fountains and locations to drink an/or eat. Vending machines that offer delicious things or useful tools.
• Avatar inventory system (alpha).
• Selective radio calls for special or authority vehicles like police, fire service, abulance, towing services or public transport.
• Informative and rich but unobtrusive 'did you know' display on map start
• Elevators to get on building levels or on top of high towers (alpha).
• Many openable and animated doors and gates for pedestrians without using physics but can block or be open what leads to a minimal RAM and performance impact. Avatar invertory based key and keycode system (alpha).
• Automatic and animated light switching for garages, buildings or locations.
• Large number of interactive fire places all over the map at most beautiful, hidden or mysterious locations. Individual timeline based fire evolution. Rest and enjoy!
• Non vanilla traffic speed cams with authority vehicle detection. Trigger threshold depending on daytime. Shocking flash and optional remote vehicle shutdown for future realism. Penality system with license plate recognition. Display of session-based speed records.
• Highway sign bridges display current informations like daytime, ouside temperature or traffic information (alpha).
• Air traffic support with spoken and displayed tower radio messages for three airports and air fields. Clearances for taxiing, takeoff and landing.
• Navigation: Several radio localizers (beacons) with different ranges and frequency groups send out to ships and aircrafts or any other registered vehicle. These do not need any modification to receive the signals. Localizer ID, range information, current distance and bearing are displayed continously. Very distant islands or off shore facilities are planned. The system is also capable for triangulation as well as short or extremely long range navigation.
• Intelligent logistic bays (20, more to come) measure the remaining distance to the loading edge and show it on a traffic light, in the app and acoustically. Recognition of license plate and/or trailer ID. Continous display of vehicle gross weight and change (alpha).
• Vehicle scales measure the real weight including loose goods or any additional (wanted or unwanted) load on the vehicle. Detection and weighing of articulated lorries and any number of attached trailers. No length limitation. Display of individual weights and the total of the vehicle train (alpha).
• Automatic animated bulk material conveyor belts and loading stations for loading dump trucks with sand, gravel or crushed stone (also still apha perhaps in cooperation with the author of the bulk material mod).

Planned:

• Interactive and animated carwash
• Special or contaminated fuel types
• Adaptive daytime play controlled by the vehicle speed. Faster riding lets the time pass more quickly while resting lets it stand still. (so there's no flickering of shadows btw)
• Many small or complex mysteries to solve
• Spatial and logical labyrinths
• More to come... nothing is safe

This is the under-the-hood part of the upcoming Homerange release. For me, it's a universal toolkit so that I can envision and will certainly implement many more applications on the map.
But not to forget: the visible part of Homerange is still progressing rapidly, and the wait for you until the next release is getting shorter and shorter...

 

Holy moly, revolutionary and groundbreaking work Barbent, a master of their craft. Thank you for your on going and innovative work on Homerange and will look forward to trying it out

 

地图真的很酷，探索各地都很有趣，但为什么铁路系统被移除了？我只在地图上看到废弃的铁轨和火车站。
[引用=“Barbent Servo GT，发帖：1705209，成员：536808”]是的。不知怎么的，我脑子里突然想到我也能在这张巨大的地图上开火车。最大的挑战是非常起伏的地形。这里平坦的铁路线不适合，因为我主要想要视觉交通，而不是地铁或高脚线路。所以它只适合精准定制的曲线和大量缓缓的爬坡和下降......我实现这个的基本想法是把网格路推导出轨道（Blender的问候）。几段短平路已经可以通行，尤其是通往大型后勤中心的连接路段和通往沙漠的部分路段。

[附加]1121316[/附加] [附加]1121317[/附加]。[/引用]

 

Hi wcapolice
请用英文写在这里，以便大家都能更容易地阅读。
(Please write here in English so that everyone can read it more easily!)

You wrote (translation):
"The map is really cool, and exploring the different locations is a lot of fun. But why was the railway system removed? I only see abandoned tracks and stations on the map."

Thanks for your question. Well, the railway is a bit of a complicated issue. I removed it from the current release because it was simply too unfinished or useless, and yes, I thought back then that I'd definitely release an update soon that would focus partly on the railway. But as things often go, it turned out differently, and over a year ago I decided to completely overhaul the map and really change a lot of things.

I'm still working on this transformation and making great progress. However, I have to say, it's becoming increasingly difficult to integrate a railway line into the map, as the density of roads and settlements keeps increasing.
But I certainly haven't completely abandoned the railway idea! Also because I've prepared a special feature, namely an automatic train switch (as a static asset, not a prop), and I'd really like to implement it in Homerange. The switch has some unique geometric features: it doesn't need to be manually switched, and I could use it to create reversing loops (balloon loop) and automatic train sorting at stations depending on their incomming direction. That would be great, imo.

So, I'd really like to be able to run trains in Homerange as well. But right now I'm 120% focused on releasing a major map update as soon as possible, and unfortunately, the railway will have to wait. So please be patient, just as I have to be patient until trains can perhaps run on Homerange...

 

Looking forward to the arrival of the railway system. Besides that, there are a lot of dead-end dirt roads on the map, and the traffic flow is way too fast—they can go up to 140 km/h on the highway. Hopefully, these issues get fixed to enhance our driving experience. Overall, this is an excellent map with huge potential, and with future updates, it could become one of the best map mods in BeamNG.drive.
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