WIP Beta released Nevada Interstate (prequel to So-Cal Interstate) 9.0 c

cool cool what u said sounds fine that's pretty much what i was going lol

 

Due to the good response from some of my cohorts on Steam, and the good feedback on here, I've made more of this!
Finished up (well except for some bumpmap works) the entrance ramp/merge apron texture to the 'new' old concrete kind. I'm not going to do the whole map in it, just parts to break up the monotony as you race about and crash here or there!
I've had the original texture for quite some time but I made it tile nicely and brought it out to higher 4k resolutions so it looks good. Otherwise it might as well look like it was out of Midtown Madness or Doom (dos Doom) or something!
Again, when this gets uploaded, the textures are always free for anyone to use. These are painstakingly hand-made for the whole community.
So as the pictures show, you can't even see where the seams are. Recommend playing this in the evening where the lighting isn't over-saturated.
Sure looks better than the old rubbish I had previously. I will be updating the 3-lane to something like this, possibly.
Edit, the pic of the 'newly paved' area keeps an older texture here (as in: it's in the last version of the map), I've banked this turn now too, in both directions. It flattened out as you got to the end, causing you to lose it as you crested the incline. Added a guide-rail in the center for crossover crash prevention (wait, did I just prevent crashes in a car accident sim?). Expect to feel the pavement changes, though the bump is very minor, it's there.

 

Those roads look beautiful!

 

Thanks, it means a lot, in my never-ending attempts at trying to always out-do my previous work. In that respect, after releasing Tennessee's last update back in November (or, whenever it was, my memory is far from wonderful), it put shame to my previous works, especially pre 0.6.x releases where they added in better editor features (read: better roads, much easier to make good banked corners!). So, going back and making this better now, since I already updated the majority of So-Cal last month (try it out if you have a half-decent video board and an okay cpu or better).
Basically, I am making this what I always wanted it to be from the get-go last year. There's no more AI glitches with it traveling either way on the highway, got those fixed too just FYI if anyone else is reading this.
When I get another week-to-10-days in on this, I'll be sending out a closed beta, so expect a re-release 'sometime this month' and hopefully 'within the next two~three weeks' kinda time-frame, no promises though because I may add more or get hung-up on something for a bit.
Again, this will work with the AI lane-minding, so while that feature isn't 100% finished yet, it should be good when it is!
There will be an airport as I said two posts up or such. It will be paved, roughly a 1 mile long runway. No fancy buildings just a fence possibly or guide-rail between it and the road, though it will have hangars that do already exist in the map and some random out-building or two.

 

These are best maps really, I like that new texture a lot too!

Also I find these maps are actually really easy on GPU, much better than official maps.

Have you had World editor to select 2 objects, when you select single object from object list? I'm really amazed that what you can create with world editor as whatever I try to do with it ends up editor starting to act up, like in SoCal, if I type info and try to select levelinfo, editor randomly select some mesh road object along with level info, happens with other maps too, then the lag and crashes, really nerve wrecking tool to work with.

Really looking forward of Nevada update though, latest fun I had on this map was with D-series, I put as many exploding propane canisters as I possible could on bed and then drove like an maniac.

 

Thanks, glad you like my Interstate map series! Beamng needs highway maps, and more of them!
Yes, yes it does do that. The editor gets goofy when you go over 2048 objects per map (not including what's in the forest brush).
If you need to select something, FIND that thing like "THELEVELINFO" and hold CTRL and select it (when nothing's selected), you should get two things, go find the mesh road or whatever else is there and, while still holding CTRL the whole time, click that OTHER thing, you should still have the properties of THELEVELINFO handy, there should be one thing selected now, just that one thing, levelinfo.
And yes, yes it drives me batty. Don't DELETE things when you have this bug, it deletes all bunches of random stuff.
All three of my maps do it because all of my maps have 2500~3600 objects of the max 4096 (including player, camera, any AI vehicles, etc).
You can however, use notepad++ (or any text editor) and make raw-edits to the main mission file (.mis) of the map yourself.
If you're just editing thelevelinfo it might be faster. You wouldn't want to know how long it took me to !#$%ing select THE WATER plane in So-Cal...
For example, if you find the road near the longest tunnel, that has an overpass over the highway, and you select all the way points on the bridge over the highway, and delete them, the whole map goes dark.
You've deleted the sun too, without trying. I did get a serious laugh out of this though. Needless to say I left the spare waypoints, they're not harming anything.

 

I simply cannot understand how you manage to pull trough all that, but reading all that made me laughing hard as that is so much of truth how that editor really makes anyone crazy that attempts to push just a little bit of it's limits

Thanks from the tips, it certainly makes life easier. I'm honestly leaving map making for masters like yourself, but I do like to do all kinds of experiments at times.

 

thanks bob this sounds so good i can't wait also with the closed betas will those be given out to a select few

 

A little progress here, finished up my concrete textures here. These textures should be considered 'finished' now.
I changed one of the full bridge (pairs) into more of a box-culvert style bridge(s). This is more fitting. This area is no longer perfectly 'flat' either, though it's fairly straight so you can still speed through quite fast. The bridge also isn't a bump like many of the old bridges were (small deviations in surface are OK, ones that throw the car ARE NOT). This now looks much more complete/professional than it did before. The bridge rails are 2d but won't detract as of such, while you're at speed (this is done for ease of use, and to reduce the already-fairly-high poly-count).
It also takes LESS objects to make these than it did the old bridges.
*EDIT hours later* Got more stuff done.
The interchange with all the night pictures is done now, too. I added a daytime picture too, it's all banked up including the off/on-ramps and such. You can fly through here with the '88 NOMI Pessima at full speed (my favorite regular tester as of late), 120~130mph - and I'm doing this driving with a keyboard... so it's pretty smooth.
Remember, I haven't even touched many of the surface roads, those won't make it with this update (unless they're really terrible), plus many of them have quite a few fun spots I don't want to mess up (hill crests, intersection 'humps' to-do with the road taper for water run-off). If any of the surface roads are 'too shoddy' or just 'of poor workmanship' let me know and I'll consider messing about with them before the update gets pushed through. Some of the side-roads are designed to be less than 100% smooth for challenge purposes.
Brought to you by my DSL that is the absolute worst internet I've ever had Yes, DSL modem in the other room, I hate you, I hope you know this. Ugh.

 

Just wanted to stop by and tell you that your maps are awesome, not had the energy lately to play due to work on my IRL car and beeing sick lol but needed to have that said

 

@Brother_Dave - thanks, it means a lot. I try my best!
The interchange in the above post, it's approach road/surface road has been smoothed out (the non-highway part, the highway was taken care of yesterday) it was pretty awful before, but it's fine now.
Two intersections on the 5-lane (4lane + turning) have been tapered properly, to provide some wonderful airtime when you fly across it. Roads are generally tapered from the center to either side for purposes of water runoff. Well, now they might as well be jumps, but don't worry, you won't wreck unless you're trying to. I flew over it in the NOMI Pessima at over 100mph, and survived, each way. Fun fun times. I figured it was needed.
Several sets of on/off ramps got re-graded so they're much more normal and tame now. No more sharp incline stuffs there as much.
BIG improvement to the flat corner issues:
FIXED, banked, Pair of corners on a mountain-top (see pics) near the left hand entrance/exit and the overpass (over opposite side).
FIXED, banked, another corner on a mountain-top at one of the map corners not too far from the dam where the it became unbanked as it crested the hill.
FIXED, banked, both directions of highway where it was not banked, they're now grade-separated and the inclines are much more truck-friendly.
FIXED, banked, surface street nearby where 4 lanes become 2, corner was flat, now it's properly banked.

A little improvement on the brightness of the concrete textures, so if you play in full daylight (though it looks best at mid-to-late afternoon sunlight) it's not so washed out in the bright light.
AI test will ensue shortly and show me what I have or have not done wrong.
I haven't put signs or traffic lights in it yet as I may choose to wait until I put everything in for that and do it all at once. I mean it IS the middle of no-where...
This map should be somewhat more Commercial-Truck friendly. I wouldn't say they'd be best buddies but it's a LITTLE more tame.

That being said, it's quite a bit more fun now that things are banked, and it's really shaping up to be what I wanted it to be originally, or at-least a LOT closer.
Progress is progress, and I've most likely put another 10~12 hours in on it just in this day alone. It's 100% worth it when you're speeding down the highway.
I'd say at this rate, if the AI tests out well, and I get a few bumps smoothed out where I've noticed them, and one more small 3/10ths of a mile section banked, it would be pretty close to ready (pending a beta test).

Pictures: (note, while some of these places - most of them - will look familiar - they are pictures that are where things are changed now, for reference. They are taken AFTER the changes so look closely at turns or intersections/interchanges that are banked/regraded/tapered etc).
When you play it, you will see, while surface roads get only subtle touches; the highway itself is almost completely rebuilt.

 

Automatic transmission that I built for T-series is quite nice, I think that I have managed to climb all hills at Nevada and SoCal with that transmission and I think it was AR162b's semi pack that had T75 extended frame, full load of Tasti Cola provides lots of grip.

Those roads look really awesome, I have had plenty of crashes in Nevada, I like how terrain surrounding roads is not flat, but has lot of shape in it, so veering off from road at 160mph will hurt, a lot, do a barrel roll they say

I'm looking forward of driving on this new version like a mad man, is there other way to drive?

 

Looks awesome can't wait to drive cars to their limit and completly destroy it also I can't wait to see the improvements thanks again and as always keep up the good work

 

Well you don't have too long to wait here. I am getting this to where it's not so bug-filled, etc, at this point, and the AI works well enough it shouldn't mess up.

AI test is good, working fine, not surprising as it worked before. Will have to fix a few ramps so the AI uses them better.
Fixed numerous decal road texture errors, and poor blending at a bunch of spots.
Fixed a truckload of bushes in the roadways. There were a LOT of these, now there shouldn't be any.
Tapered a few more intersections (3 more?), to make awesome jumps... if you go way over the speed limit, that it.
Adjusted the starting point 'room' so that it's not so thrown-together (I'd been meaning to do this all along). No more bad/unsightly edges!
Ironed out a bunch of rough corners randomly scattered about the map. Fixed some of the main road (the one inherited from Black Hills) in a few spots where it was really bad. It's not perfect but any experienced speeder should be able to keep the car pointed where you want to go.
Fixed the trails (all of them I think) that would cause the AI to cut corners badly, wrecking them out or just slowing them down more than needed.

I am sure there's a few things that I've missed, but once I get the AI working better on some of the exits, and do something with the trumpet interchange (banking in), I'll have something to trumpet about - an update on here (pending private evaluation by the beta folks and the devs).

On other notes I'll be recording map demos in the future at some point, since I now have the space to do it (was able to score some Toshiba-MLC-nand enterprise-class SSD's for over 50% off retail - 23¢ a gigabyte after taxes and shipping ). Now I really have good free space to work on more content creation for here (and my music production).
No pictures today, there's not much to show, this was just a quality-of-work (Q-A) type session today fixing all the broken/imperfect stuffs and enhancing already-existing features of the map.

 

Glad you're updating this map Bob! It's near the top of the few terrains I like to mess around on.

 

Glad to hear you and many others are as stoked to play it as I am to finally get done working on it for a while It's been a run, but I've finally got it licked.

There's only one glitch, you may start submerged 4~6 inches (a few centimeters) into the ground, and have to wait 3~4 seconds at MOST for the vehicle to move. The spawn point refused to fix, so I didn't bother, I messed with it for an HOUR and gave up, not worth it. It works fine and atleast you have a vehicle when you start the map.

IT should be fun for all. There's plenty to do and LOTS of intersections to jump now that they're tapered - there's atleast 6 or 7 of them like that, possibly 8 if I forgot one. The AI also frequently uses both in-road (the tapered intersections) and off-road jumps (mounds of dirt scattered about). I had a hoot for the large part of two hours jumping intersections with the broken-down junkyard oldsmobile. One jump and a door falls off, another jump and two more fall off, etc.
The AI will also drive UNDER the boxculvert that functions as a can-opener now. So give the AI a box truck or a cube van (moving truck) and watch the fun! This box-culvert I speak of is where a trail goes under the fourlane near some water. It's just like the 11-foot-8 bridge on youtube!
It's pretty much the only bridge in the map with a plain, concrete, non-striped (no lines painted) surface, on a four-lane road. It's by the retention pond.

There's some animated lights now, and I tried to fix the soundstage but that also refused to select properly, so again, it's there, but it just wouldn't work, being as I always have music on anyways, the wind can wait.
A day should be roughly an hour long in this map. Check or uncheck 'play' on the time (environment settings menu) as you prefer. It gets dark but the map is breathtaking at night.

Finished up the trumpet interchange, that's all banked now too, and exits graded nicely. Added some guard rail here, that embankment is STEEP.
Fixed up a section of flat and slightly uneven highway near the dam and the rock cave thing the highway goes under (see picture).
Fixed a bunch of lumpy spots on side-roads mostly in corners, basically wherever it shouldn't be lumpy, should play much smoother through these.
THE WHOLE HIGHWAY IS NOW BANKED. ALL OF IT. EVERY BIT. YOU WILL LOVE IT.
Added two lights to the town, and two to a nearby intersection (1st one you come to if you go left from the start with the convenience store at it).
Put the wind-farm back on the one side of the map from where it disappeared in version 4 (oops, editor bug), replaced some missing guard rails too.
Put the crash-friendly ends on the culvert I just built with the open rails the other day, you might do some wicked crashes hitting these, so don't!
Banked a few turns on a not-that-substantial side-road. It's so non-substantial that I didn't even upload a picture of it (1st right then 1st left from start)
Fixed a lot of road-edge blending that should have been done in the last version, not so many jagged edges (you should still stay on the road: HINT)

THERE IS AN AIRPORT, ITS PAVED, ITS A MILE LONG, Two hangars and a misc building. It's not great but it'll do. Hopefully it's far enough from the hills that you don't ram into them taking off. It's very flat to one side and the lamps *ARE NOT* in the flight path on the nearby highway. The AI can drive on it too, and may choose to. It's accessed via a dirt path so drive around on some and you'll find it. It's surface is as flat as a squirrel in a highway at rush hour. The old dirt airport is still there, too, not too terribly far away.

Lots of odds and ends, much busy work, got rid of even MOAR stupid bushes in the road. Where do they all come from???

Expect to see this within the next 2~3 working days, it will be a 363.x mb download.

 

bob.blunderton updated Nevada Interstate (prequel to So-Cal Interstate) with a new update entry:

Version 7.0

Read the rest of this update entry...

 

Found a few little bugs.

 

You didn't take the old version .zip out! Those bugs are 4.0 and that mesh road is present (that covers the bridge) in 7.0!
I have tested this very thoroughly, driven all the roads, and it should be bug-free.

 

I did delete the old one however I didn't clear my cache, after that it works perfectly, sorry about that and as always great work Bob.