WIP Beta released The Tennessee USA Roane County 0.71 Beta Discussion/Suggestion/feedback Thread 19.3.1

In the previous video I had ESC turned off - I did forget to remove the ABS though...

I don't have an Xbox controller, but here is the Group 4 Bolide running the same(~ish) course:

 

Fair enough.

You have a steering wheel right? You have it very easy, I often struggle to drive in straight line... Because look: 0.5 cm movement on joystick is 1.5 turns of steering wheel. I have no chance on being precise and in control. Drifting is absolute nightmare. Practically impossible. I would love to buy myself the steering wheel, but: my mum thinks it's stupid idea (without a reason), I have only 2 weeks left of vacation and school is really time consuming.... fml

 

Actually, I've been using the Steam Controller's gyroscopic control for steering in all of my videos. I drive standing or sitting, using the triggers for throttle and brake and the hand grip buttons functioning as paddle shifters. I bought the Steam Controller because I wanted something much more precise than a gamepad, which would be less cumbersome and hacky than mouse-steering, and cheaper than a steering wheel.

It has a steep learning curve and takes some getting used to, but if you spend enough time fiddling around with configurations and checking out the ones uploaded by other users, eventually you'll have a very precise system that is tailored to your liking for only 50 bucks (cheaper if bought in a bundle or on sale).

It boasts another advantage (as an argument to your mother) - Unlike a steering wheel, which is admittedly a single-purpose, space consuming device that tends to be expensive, the Steam Controller can be used with a multitude of games, and thrown in your backpack and taken to a friend's house.

I honestly considered returning mine when I first got it due to the alien feeling it initially gives off, but I am glad I persevered and learned it inside and out because I now don't play games any other way. It's the best fifty bucks I've ever spent on myself, gaming-wise.

 

with the tree fix the map runs buttery smooth on my 8 gigs. Thanks

 

Does compressing it into a .zip file works? I want to know, because it didn't work for me in the My Documents/BeamNG.Drive/levels way, although it showed up in the menu, yet clicking it didn't yield anything.

 

KEEP IN MIND YOU CANNOT USE 7Z FILES NATIVELY WITH BEAM! Just getting that out of the way 1st, no pointing fingers etc
Okay, if you're trying to make sure it works unzipped:
First make sure to remove any of the Tennessee USA or Tennessee * beta1 file zips from your mods\levels, because an old version was released about one month and 2~3 days ago. If this conflicts, it could confuse the game - this will prevent that.
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The correct location path to the .mis file, is ...\my documents\beamng.drive\levels\SouthernHighway\southernhighway.mis (the art directory is here, as is southernhighway.forest that you can swap out for the reduced-tree model available on the Opening post of this long thread).
Make sure it didn't unzip as Tennessee-something-beta2\levels\southernhighway etc.
If your not sure, open the zip file, and the levels folder (in the ZIP *AND* in mydocuments\beamng.drive (not mods\levels!), and drag and drop the southernhighway folder from the zip into the levels folder in the beamng.drive folder.
If clicking it does nothing, it means it couldn't find anything, or your pc might not have enough ram. Most people can load this with 8gb of system ram or more, HOWEVER, some of you with 6~8gb of system ram might need the REDUCED FOREST FILE PATCH in the first post of this thread, get that to reduce RAM use by HALF. It's there for some folks to be able to enjoy the map, (and because doing things the ouerbacker-way like Mammoth valley proved just not very easy to implement. It also would have held up every version being released by atleast another day).
If you have this on a hard drive, it could take 3~4 minutes to load, where a high-end SSD setup like I splurged money on a few years ago here is ~40 seconds or less until the map pops up (less with reduced-forest-file).
A fast processor also cuts down on loading time, because it has to calculate the map-wide collision model for trees on run-time (map load).

Ram use on full, unadulterated version - 7~8gb or more depending on IF multiple instances of AI are used.
Ram use on reduced-forest-file version - 3.7~4.8gb, increasing if you use AI in multiple instances, and as you drive.
Using this reduced version could as-stated-above help with load times on older-style processors that are still normally fast enough to run the game. Once loaded, if the main game is playable and you have plenty of ram, any processor normally able to run the game should run this.

If you still cannot get the map to work please reply with
The amount of system RAM installed and the operating system installed - 64bit OS required!
The type of processor you have, and if you have the game installed to a hard drive or solid state drive.
The exact location to the southernhighway.mis file.
A console screenshot of your attempt at loading the level (just after it gets stuck or fails, press ~ then take screenshot)

--Get back to me, I'll check in a few hours and then again tomorrow. Same goes for anyone else. There's nothing on my end that should keep the map from working.

If you wish to re-zip this into a zip file, name it TennesseeUSA.zip or something similar, and make sure the folder structure (when you open the zip) looks the same as mine starting with levels\southernhighway\ .
Beamng.drive does not work yet natively with 7zip, though many games do, Beam does not yet. I am working with the devs on this - just keep in mind, loading times with 7zip files even when they're supported would be longer due to 50% better compression (almost) used - but space is less - 190~210+mb saved on a 651mb file!

This concludes todays reading on the poorly construed thread-turned-BOOK.
"I am going to need 8gb of ram just to read all the stuff in this thread" --one of our forum guests here

-- Cheers folks

 

Made a GDrive mirror: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BzJ-WWaQYXttb2hWT2JLbnlmQms

 

(link removed, new version available on the Beamng.drive site)
Awesome - thanks there for that. I'll post it in the OP. Appreciate this.
--- Post updated ---

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More STUFF.
Got the bridge done for PANSY HILL (what a name), it goes into downtown Harriman over the Emory River. Looks almost like the real thing!
Installed Emory Drive between the bridge and N Roane St (the main street in downtown Harriman). It even has the arched deck.
Put in the Rocky Top gas station in Harriman, right off the bridge, at Emory Drive.
got a few other buildings, going off what's there in real life. Tried to get most stuff close to it, but the lumber yard/construction place there on Emory isn't identical. Need to get the Utah metal-pole buildings scripted in as this will do, the one near the start of the UTAH map.

Got another 5 miles of road plotted, but not graded or done with decal roads yet. It's in the area between the Kingston Fossil Plant and Harriman (downtown) and hence why I needed to build that bridge.

Going to be building up downtown Harriman a bit now, and I'll be doing some of Rockwood right after. I was going to do the buildings last, but I need to get the roads spaced right here and I need to have some of the buildings in to do that correctly.
Considering making all the additional models that I do custom for this map - ones off sketchup warehouse or whatever its call, going in their own directory. This will make it so you could technically run the map WITHOUT this directory of models and assets (and supported textures), to get it running on a lower-end machine, but it'd just lack the models being there at run-time. Those with 8gb or more of ram would be able to afford to have them added in. I basically want to keep this running for most of us (those with 8gb of ram and up!), with full building detail.
I am working off the lower-density forest, due to the fact that since I will be expanding the map to areas where there is NOTHING nearby, no trees, no 'nuthin' anywhere nearby, it'll only make RAM usage heavier, which is bad news. However, there will still be an enhanced (full) forest-file available for those that desire, when this is much closer to done. The buildings, simulated-town environment will more than makeup for a few missing trees on the horizon.

It gives me great pleasure to do this map building. I'd say this is by far the most fun, enjoyable and redeeming thing I've ever done on any computer in the last 22½ years I've been using them. I want to thank all for the help in Beta-testing, as the last Beta2 went really well, received plenty of feedback. The folks like @NewoFox making videos, and @Username providing mirrors and all the other folks including the testers and even kind folks letting me assets (of course I asked FIRST, respect) - it could not be possible without you. Last but not least, the devs, who have been so helpful, especially when I push for features to support such a big map, and they DELIVER - making this possible, in a reasonable amount of time - or even possible at all I am always thankful for what I have.

A few pics, now that the buttering-up part is done *grin*, nothing too fancy, just shows progress

 

No problem. Just put my name with the @ so someone can contact me if it doesn't work or something

 

Could you add some signs like "dead end ahead", because when I'm going 350+ km/h I can't slow down enough to not crash on those trees...

 

Near the Kingstan church, there are 3 floating tree objects.

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To @bob.blunderton , I must that this map runs very well, with little to no lag, very little freezing.

Also this map looks very close to the I-40, area. Loading time ~1 min.

Specs: I7 4770k @ 3.50GHz, GTX 760 1989mb, 15.9 GB ram, No overclocking

 

Signs will be in, as soon as I get the next batch of models loaded in without the game freezing. I tried a few weeks ago and had a game-freeze issue when I loaded them into play. Will follow tutorials kindly linked herein this thread a few pages back and get more models made for this.
Keep in mind if you're going over the speed limit THAT MUCH, you might not be able to read a tiny little yellow-diamond sign in time I will try to put up some construction barriers NEXT TO (but not in) the roadways that dead-end about a half-mile before they end or there-abouts. It will be handled, in due time. It's not the highest priority like getting the entire road-network done though.

Done and done TY

Okay, awesome. I will take care of those floaty trees/forest objects. I generally try to remove the whole lot of them around the area when I play with the terrain, but I think I failed here. I will address these as soon as I start my next mapping session, as they're right near the start-point. Thank you for the performance feedback too

P.S. The map is meant to have the real terrain, the real road network, possibly not so much every house and side-street in town is perfect, but I am doing what I CAN, with what I have, so this isn't an 8gb download.

 

Will there be working streetlights at the intersection where the car is first spawned? If you can't make them "work" like actual streetlights, at least have them as a texture or a single blinking red or yellow light.

 

Yes street lights will be going in, in a few days to a week. A new beta will come out in a week to 10 days with them. They will be the lights used in the Australian city map (the small, unfinished one). It's the only Beam map that has traffic lights. I need to finish some more towns (like downtown Harriman) first, so I have a place to test them. I'd like to see if I can make timed ones, too, but pretty sure that'd be a scripting challenge for after the map is done. I am all sure you know which map I am speaking of. So yes, traffic lights and signs (what ones are already in Beam unless someone provides models that work with the game - or I spend a day or three trying to fix models to work with the game via multiple tutorials) will be in the next version. Looks like I should have a new beta out by around the end of the month here/start of next.
There will be traffic lights everywhere there is supposed to be one IRL as this is real terrain/real road layout.
This will be realistic enough to be used by police departments/sheriff's departments/crash recreation locally (that is a large motivator here).

 

Tub Springs road from Emory Heights to Swan Pond Ln (By Pansy Hill Bridge) is in.
Emory Heights Ln is in (different from previously mentioned Emory Drive across the Emory River)
Bullard Ford Rd is in (from Emory heights lane to Swan Pond Circle)
Swan Pond Circle is in from Swan Pond Ln to the map-edge
Swan Pond Lane is in from the entrance to the Fossil Power Plane (broadway of america entrance) to Swan Pond Circle
A bit of Swan Pond Lane from Tub Springs road to Pansy Hill Dr (comes out by the bridge)
Confused yet? Well, don't be. That's 7 new miles of road including the ~1 mile I made the other day while fiddling about in Harriman.
Now you can drive from the Fossil Plant entrance (that previously dead-ended) to the downtown Harriman area.
Two box-culvert style bridges are in now, on the roads mentioned above, just small things barely noticeable.
Installed the rail-crossing by the fossil plant on Swan Pond Rd (just nw of the Fossil Plant building itself).
I will eventually get a large chunk of the track built around here in the not-too-distant future.

Swan Pond Rd itself isn't done from Swan Pond Circle to Tub Springs Rd, but will be shortly, though there are other roads that take you to Harriman.
Pretty much everything is ready for trees here, it's all smoothed up, and the intersections are all done. The grass layer is also in, here.

 

Apart from the fact I drive 350+ kp/h in a family wagon and crash on trees showing dead end I want to point out that I'm getting absolutely lost on this map. Anyone has any idea how could I find my way back to the town without reloading the map?

 

Simple. set the AI to manual, and set the target to Kentucky St or Kentucky Ave (forget which one it is) in KINGSTON. That's the starting town. I think there's also like 'spawn point' or something similar. RACE street East will also drive you right past the starting point.

Or set the AI to take you to BURGER WORLD. There's only one right now, and it's just north of the starting point.

Yes you can get lost, it's a huge map. It's the biggest map in Beamng.drive. That's what google maps is for

 

maybe a dumb question but where can i download the map after all the reading i really want to play it, and if my pc can't run it (i have 8GB of ram) i won't complain i know that its a HUGE map

 

As far as I remember USA is quite big and finding 8x8 km square in entire Tennesse will be hurtful. Link maybe? thanks.

 

Found the Kingston/Harriman area in less than 30s with just some of the info on this page, just sayin'.

Google maps.........the circle is closed!