Update Speculation thread

The planned drivers and pedestrians will be anime girls confirmed!

 

BeamNG campaign is just Initial D confirmed

 

WeebNG.drive

 

To be fair, there was a hint that they were planning a steam deck version (which would use linux) a while back when tdev posted his whiteboard.

 

I wouldn't be opposed

Plus, we'd have to have a Japanese map for that, which I'm all for.

 

Hasn't BeamNG worked on Linux via Proton for a bit now?

 

Tdev stated there is a new map coming down the pipeline, which is big news as this will be the first all-new map to be added to the game since Italy in 2018. He also softly hinted that the map will be 'sunny and dry', which narrows it down a little. I've compiled a list of just about everything I've seen suggested, and my thoughts on each:

Spoiler: Australia

The good: Australia is a nation that is quite sunny and largely dry, has a prominent car culture and, until recently, had a proud auto manufacturing heritage. It is a really quite unique-looking place, plus one of the major game developers is from there and has made a hobby of converting real-world locations in Australia to BeamNG mod maps in his spare time. And given the popularity of Mad Max among motorheads, it has a precedent as a setting in popular media.

The bad: It's also quite open, and the drier parts of it are often quite flat. Given BeamNG's limitations on game world size, it's unlikely that multiple biomes and landmasses could feature. Additionally, a lack of left-handed traffic* and right-hand-drive car configs might cut into the potential of the place without additional features and content. And we'd probably need a ute

Spoiler: Mexico

The good: Mexico is also quite sunny and fairly dry, and has a strong offroad racing heritage which would go perfectly with the offroad superbuilds. There is a diversity of biomes, and a good selection of roads, from dusty desert highways to tight European-style streets. No new traffic features or vehicle content are needed (though a late-model version of the Autobello could be written into the lore, à la the Volkswagen Beetle on which it is based). And there's precedent, with the most recent Forza Horizon game set in Mexico.

The bad: Because the most recent Forza Horizon is set in Mexico, people will invariably compare the two or possibly even accuse the devs of shamelessly borrowing the idea for the setting. Moreover, the setting lends itself to some ill-natured jokes about Mexicans and immigration.**

Spoiler: Greece

The good: White rocks, azul seas, ancient architecture and roughshod and technical roads that lend themselves so perfectly to rally. A few developers live here, so there's ample opportunity for the team to get perspective on whether the digital place is true to the real one. And I suppose it would be nice to see road signs in a script other than the latin alphabet.

The bad: Greece is a warm, archipelagic region resting on the European half of the Mediterranean coast: it would basically be Italy, part II. And while the poor maintenance of the roads makes them perfect for rally, it makes them awful for nearly every other high-speed driving discipline if not completely ruling out using some of the game's vehicles.

Spoiler: Sub-Saharan Africa

The good: An adventurer's paradise. This would be a map focused chiefly on offroading and perhaps rally racing, a first of its kind. Sparse grasslands carved through with dry shallow rivers and dotted with rock-hard termite mounds and umbrella-like acacias.

The bad: An honest depiction of Sub-Saharan or Sahel Africa would probably need to consider the troubles that plague the area IRL. Poverty, disease, war, and poaching aren't exactly rare here, and while some of this could be tastefully turned into scenarios ("deliver the vaccines", "arrest the poachers"), it's probably a heavier series of topics than should be levied on a driving game. Also, I'm just not sure that official maps ought to be designed just for particular types of vehicles: there would only be a handful that would even be capable of truly exploring the map without a large network of roads.

Spoiler: The Middle East

The good: Unique architecture (some of it the epitome of ancient) and one of the last types of terrain yet to be portrayed in official maps: large, horizon-rending sand dunes. There's good potential interplay between the tarmac streets of affluent cities and the golden sand of the endless desert.

The bad: Like Sub-Saharan Africa, it has to dance around the real-world conflicts and human rights violations that are suffered in this place, and like Mexico, it lends itself well to some jokes in poor taste. And without Japanese pickups or Soviet automobricks, there just aren't very many vehicles in the game's roster that would be at home here.

Spoiler: Las Vegas (or a fictional equivalent)

The good: Dry lake beds and brown mountains cut through by a powerful river/reservoir, and hosting a gambler's mecca that looks good in the day and drop-dead gorgeous at night. Tons of scenario potential, and no shortage of backroads racing and offroading opportunities in the surrounding wilderness.

The bad: Cities, especially ones with big blocks and broad streets, tend to have a bad rap among driving enthusiasts: iconic as the Strip is, it's not exactly technical. And while the view at night alone would make it worth the price of admission, BeamNG doesn't handle nighttime atmospherics well with just basic street lighting, let alone a cacophony of colorful dynamic displays.

Spoiler: Antarctica (or other tundra map)

The good: Frigid temperatures ground atmospheric moisture and dispel precipitation, so, yes, Antarctica and other polar regions are technically dry. 'Sunny' would be more of a stretch, though such regions can experience up to a few months of consecutive sunlight in the summer.

The ultimate frontier, largely unexplored by man or even by most modern living things. Permafrost, blankets of snow and cliffs of ice. Remote research facilities with strict logistical demands, etc.

The bad: There's nothing here. Most of the above ideas are for pretty sparse places, but this would take the cake. No infrastructure, no trees, a couple of buildings and a few exposed rocks. Other than the coastline, a few odd mountains, and some hidden ice fissures or caves, the softly undulating terrain probably wouldn't inspire much interest. And it's not like there's much to do here IRL: environmental and/or tribal law would probably forbid motorsports and restrict civilian visitors. The game engine can represent overheating reasonably well, but cold weather simulation isn't Beam's strong suit. And very few vehicles would be at home here: most research stations use heavy machinery, tracked vehicles, and dogsleds for their ground transport, with rare exception (Autobello ftw).

*I've since been informed that left-handed traffic is, in fact, supported by the game and is used on the Automation Test Track map.

**I was initially under the impression that the game still had a Border Patrol D-Series config, but have since been informed it was removed quite some time ago. Jokes about the above are certainly still a possibility, but are now much less of an inevitability and I think the setting wouldn't be in as poor of taste.

 

Back in late 2019 (0.18) the D-Series Border Patrol was removed from the game, and replaced with the D-Series Park Ranger (although the Park Ranger is essentially the same, just with swapped logos and "PARK RANGER" text instead of "BORDER PATROL"). It wasn't mentioned in the changelog, and it looks so similar, so this change is easily missed.

 

For the Australia point,
Traffic on the left does exist in beam. Spawn the AI in Automation test track

 

As far as fictionalized Las Vegas goes, some inspiration from the Caesars Palace Grand Prix would be interesting for map design. Same goes for a map based on Texas/Circuit of the Americas, but that would just be WCUSA without the coastline.

 

Then I hope they will add some eurobeat soundtrack.

 

That's a good breakdown.
I personally think Australia makes sense the most just because it offers long straight roads for long-haul delivery missions that I think is actually missing in the game (maybe it could come with t-series rework, but thats a stretch). There can be also a racetrack like Bathurst and good baja/offroad rails.
The only other map that could offer this is maybe Mexico.

I agree with Africa/Middle East being a bit problematic and Greece being nearly the same as Italy. Las Vegas would be another US map, which I think we have a lot at this moment and also West Coast is basically San Francisco mixed with LA. It would be better to just make that map larger as there were already mentions about this.
Antarctica has no infrastructure, so that would feel like another "Cliff" like map.

 

I wonder if garage-to-garage delivery will appear on all maps?

 

Garage to garage on plain grid?!?!?!!?!??!?!?!!?!?

 

on a cliff

 

In Utah.
--- Post updated ---

And East Coast, West Coast.

 

Garage To Garage Delivery on template_map

 

If the new map really turned out to be 'straya I wonder how many vehicles would get official RHD conversions. I think it's safe to say the new supercar would get one.

 

If it turns out to be australia, I hope Bastion gets Supercar V8 configuration.