WIP Beta released A new *CITY* map - LOS INJURUS 2023-12-20

So after yesterday's 'Paving paradise and put up a parking lot' asphalt* goodness...

More texture upgrades now for the buildings. Most (but not yet all) of the stucco textures have been updated now. I don't have all the different colors 'set' yet (as they merely use the same 'base' texture and then 'color' it as-needed at run-time) but that'll likely happen tomorrow.

When I get the colors set to what they're supposed to be, I'll add a variation 'layer' to the graphic (inverted detailing, essentially) to help break up any visible repetition in the graphic (it doesn't really repeat, but the human eye is naturally good at picking up patterns naturally).
The cloverleaf by the (unfinished) island base got dressed up much nicer (and the bridge abutments/embankment walls were bugged, that's FIXED now).

*the parking lot texture in the 1st shot is still work-in-progress and a bit too shiny (hence why it looks a bit dark, that's due to overdone reflections).
Still, the map is surely improving, and the quality will definitely be more apparent with the better textures - which is just what this map needed.
Can't wait to get some better ones on those hideous commercial buildings!

I will be working on textures for a large part of the remaining time up to the beta. So expect more of that. I will try and get some signs in if I have a bit of extra time, so the highway isn't so darn naked. I shouldn't have any issue getting the beta up as-mentioned in the previous post(s), just before next weekend.
*CRASH CRUNCH* *SMASHY-SMASHY SMASH* *cats knocking stuff down at 2 AM*
So anyways, more goodness in the coming days.

 

Cool, I'm glad for all the progress you're making on this map.

 

By the way bob.blunderton, I have a question for you. After you get done working on this awesome map. Is there any chance that you will update Roane County?

 

I had originally planned an update to Roane County TN for this month, but that got shelved for the foreseeable future as of this moment.
A few reasons for this decision...
For starters, I'm not quite where I want to be completion-wise on Los Injurus, so I don't have 'spare' or 'unallocated' time to put up for it.
It's not currently broken (none of my current supported maps are broken to my knowledge), so why throw more time and effort at something that works for the time being.
I would sooner wait for the next major update to BeamNG before I go messing about with it currently, as we're about 60 days past the last major version release date. This way - and considering the only true bug with Roane County besides signs that eat you - is the 'do not enter' sign graphics for the face of the sign is broken - and some slightly underwhelming performance... I don't think it warrants time yet.
Though if any of my maps go belly up I can have time to put into fixing them right away (with the exception of the outmoded So-Cal Interstate, which conflicts with this map and is no-longer supported as this map uses that map's terrain / naming structure - DO NOT download or run So-Cal Interstate, or it will break Los Injurus royally).
Map supported on 0.18:
Los Injurus
Nevada Interstate
Roane County
Tail of the Dragon / Deal's Gap (one map one download, two different names)
Maps not supported on any version of BeamNG:
So-Cal Interstate (superseded by Los Injurus), due to conflicts, and So-Cal offers nothing Los Injurus doesn't have, except some major and unexplained LAG.

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Just more boring texture upgrades in the last 24 hours, nothing to show right now.

 

I asked that question because of the "Do not enter" sign texture issue. Anyways, Thanks for answering my question. However, I do have one more question for you though.

Have you considered adding a truck downhill sign or something like that to the area in this picture below?

 

Yes, truck grade signs are planned. They are not made yet, I will have to get those in when I do the signs.

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Got some more upgrading done on the map.

All the asphalt textures used for old grey colored driveways (not concrete ones), and some of the building stucco texture upgrades are making a difference.
Still didn't do various building color tones, those are not going to be separate files anymore. They're mostly all sourced from two colored files and toned for the different color profiles. This was done due to the fact that it's now one or two 50mb stucco textures (only one of 3 layers is different between the two), versus about 30~40 different little 80~800kb files all different color. Works better this way, and it's just a smarter more efficient way to do it, too.
Improved the spawn area interchange looks.

If people can't see the difference in the next version, or don't notice it, they're officially blind
So yes, the long overdue fit-and-finish quality-of-work update is well on the way to getting done. At-least I finally can share some of the work results tonight.
More tomorrow, there should be daily updates until the next supporter update.

 

Improved the area over by the Bloodbath & Beyond store (and behind it/up hill from it). Including the store lot itself, too, got a big upgrade there.

The area I spoke of a moment ago, pictured below, got all the stop signs needed. I didn't do much else other than overhauling the terrain a bit surrounding it.

I hope all see as much improvement as I know has gone into this map in the next update. I am working on bringing the immersion factor as best as I know how and have ability to do so. That's all for tonight.

 

EVENTUALLY I'll be getting buildings into the map. Hopefully the purchased ones are quicker to put in than making it entirely myself.
Likely I'll use bits and pieces of them, the details like windows, shutters, railings and so-forth to speed up production of existing buildings.
It's not textured, but yet it will be in eventually in one of the newer subdivisions (housing developments).

 

Next supporter release is coming out between Saturday morning and Monday morning, not sure which day, depends on how far I get.
Not one for making excuses but can't even walk right now and the pain is awful. So I might have to sleep a while until it lets up a bit, IF it lets up.
Please excuse the last minute delay (I don't like to do that but I won't release it unfinished more-so than it already is going to be).

Something is very very wrong with my right knee, I can't put weight on it and I can't use the thigh muscle above it, I've had issues with it before but not this bad.
If I have to go to the hospital (only a few days) I will upload and ship as-is in working (though possibly slightly unfinished) condition before I go.
The doctors in this state don't prescribe any useful pain medication down here, even if I wanted to take it... so yes I'm well up the creek with a turd for a paddle.
What'd you do Bob? you dummy!
Woke up like this this morning and was reading news in pain, then the cat started to make sounds on my bed like it was going to blow chunks, I quick got up not thinking and made the knee even worse than it was. Saved the bed covers from the cat though. Cat is old and when it makes sounds like techno music you know it's going to blow chunks...have only seconds to react. Liken it to 'seconds from disaster' series.
Don't need pity (though maybe a good solid bump on the head so I could sleep for a while would be welcome at this rate), but please bare with me here!

Going to eventually have to go in for knee surgery but I want to get this Los Injurus well to completion before I go in for any surgery. Though I do I have USB extenders hooked up in case of emergency and I'm bed ridden for a while - I will still be able to edit and model from bed, if I get laid up long term

Edit:
I did add AI to the on/off ramps that let you off the raised highway before it goes over to the mall, where it curves and goes under the highway. If you turn around at the spawn, enter the highway next to 'Long Dong Silvers' and go straight, skip the next exit and take the 2nd one before it turns, it's that pair of entrance/exit ramps that now have AI. I spent a LOT of time working on the AI in general, simplifying a lot of it to keep it off the limit present in 0.18 for max AI nodes, in preparation to add more roads & nodes to it.
Got rid of some pesky 'weeds growing in the road' spots, but there's still a few more, if anyone knows of any, please show them to me so I can get rid of them (I don't remember where they all were, OOPS). So if you see a plant or 'bush in the road', just put me 'on blast' and I'll have it nicked.
What's still to-do before release?
Add in more of the commercial textures (as a lot of the purchased buildings will require some work on the UV's before I introduce them and this is very time consuming), I will be updating many of the poorly tiling textures currently in the map.

 

The island Air Force base now has a spawn point that starts you on the runway (for pilots, primarily). It also now has proper grass, and is visible from very far away / high in the air, with enough detail to make out the runway and the layout of the island (what is there thus far anyways).

Please note that the bridge won't be visible from very high in the air or very far away, that's intentional as you don't need to see it when you're a mile away from it (it would extend down and out of the bottom of this picture). This is a design decision on my part to keep FPS up (trust me, we'll need every bit of FPS boosting hacks like that when this project is done, so that 'the rest of us' can enjoy this).
Still, for the finished product, those with 8gb of RAM, an RX 570/470 8gb model, and an intel 2xxx~4xxx series 3.5GHZ processor (or better!) should have no issue having playable FPS (45+) with basic reflections and shadows enabled. Even the original first-generation socket 1366 (x58 Nehelam chipset) can run this just fine with a basic video card with 1gb of VRAM (though on low and lowest details!).
Spawn points! There's a TON and THEY WORK too! This was done because if I am going to delay the release into the weekend, it better be worth it.

Of course, there will be MANY more to be added as the city becomes more filled in. Expect more spawn points especially after I get some more of the dilapidated buildings, other dirt/asphalt tracks, industrial areas / port areas, derby arenas, mobile home parks, and developments full of cookie-cutter McMansions in the map. That and countless other buildings and other city bits. So do expect another round of spawn points added in by mid summer, but the ones here (default is not shown, it's just out of the picture) will be in the supporter beta going out in a couple days.
No longer will you have to drive to everywhere, when you can start there! Seeing as this is a huuuuuuuuuuge map (though not as big as Roane County), I am sure some folks will find this quite beneficial and a time-saver if you have a specific favorite hang-out spot in the map.

 

Cool, I'm really glad there's going to be spawn points in this map. This map really needs them. bob.blunderton, I'm grateful for all the effort you put into map. Keep up the good work.

By the way, I have a question for you. Are there going to be dead dirt roads that lead to trailer parks in this map?

 

You're very welcome, thanks!
I am not sure what the roads leading to the trailer park will be like, but I will do my best to make some dirt roads out in the country-side areas of the map. They won't all be treacherous off-road trails along cliffs after-all.
There will be more than one trailer park, too. Some will be better than others. I will even be making my first house - a 1997 Fleetwood double-wide 1800 sq/ft home that I got when it was 5 years old like-new, to put in the map one day. That's not yet though, I don't even have a place picked out for it to go yet.

 

Thanks for the information bob.blunderton =)

By the way, I'm just curious and I don't like people asking "wHen iS tHe mOD gOing tO bE reLeased?", but I have a question. Do you have an estimated/planned month for release of the next update?

 

I hope you get better soon, Bob ! Don't push yourself outside of the limits (concerning the map making) that only makes things worse for your health !

o.t. Nice to see those spawn points coming up

 

Agreed, I hope bob.blunderton gets better soon =)

Anyways, hey bob.blunderton. I'm sorry about your knee and I hope it gets better. It sucks to have pain. If you're reading this, I have 2 things to tell you about.

1. There are roads with missing bridges on them like these on Los Injurus.



2. There is a new female staff member called Leeloo. She has a thread called "Hello, world!" if you want to check that out.

 

Hey bob, i was going through some old map threads, and was wondering what happened to your generic city project? If you dont mind me asking -- would you ever get around to resuming that?

 

That was hard to read (with the weird caps).
The next PUBLIC update will be out after the next major game update, and will likely sync up with the previous supporter release to the time-frame if it's not too buggy or unfinished.
There's a few bridges missing and some sections of road that went away when the game ate the old mesh roads (I had use a pair to stick roads on mountains and hadn't gotten around to manually replacing them yet). I haven't replaced all of them yet, due to time constraints and not wanting to put work into areas I'm going to tear up more later.

When I realized and weighed my options, I realized I could make something SO much better if I ditched Generic city for Los Injurus project. I hated to do it but it was the way Generic city was put together that made it difficult. When I realized I'd have to re-do every single object, I started from scratch in-stead (but with another pre-made 'empty' map with only roads) without the confines of having to make it within another person's 'project framework'.

 

Wow! Impressive map!
Are the train tracks compatible with the trains, like in Roane Country?
Thanks!

 

All tracks in my maps are the same gauge track and should work with most or all trains that I know of.
In designing the tracks for this map, I used an existing track from Roane County to judge the size / shape / gauge of the track.
The crossings for roads are a bit different, as the track is recessed into the pavement a bit (it still works fine), but should clear most rail vehicle undercarriages.
All track in this map is custom made, including the stations both below and above/in-ground (some are sunken stations but still open to the elements).

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This is one of the main reasons I haven't released the map yet, is this:

There's four different layouts, all the same general shape. The window placement and garages (if it has one) are different along with the coloring.
I will do a few different floor plans / shapes later on. So don't expect this development to be 100% full of all this exact layout. It's meant to generally have a lot of 'samey' looking homes as my knock at cookie-cutter McMansions (having been in the building trade growing up) is very real.
I've got most of the stucco options re-textured and re-colored as of last night, and I changed a few of the colors (hopefully for the better).
The spawn points are working, I've tested most of them but you can tell me if any don't work properly, or if there's a spot that's missing a spawn that SHOULD have one (I will be adding at-least a dozen more over the map project length).
The development here is named 'Beaverly Hills' and has a spawn at the grey house I showed the other day, which is also below for reference. It might get moved later on to the house with the long curving driveway pictured above, as that's a lot more stately.

All in all this is slowly starting to look better over time. There's still some models with bugs that have been around for over a year I have to get to fixing, adding more signs and such, and doing more AI tests (which hopefully I don't go over the limit of AI nodes before the game updates).

 

I'm sorry that was hard to read bob.blunderton =(

Anyways, thanks for the information about the bridges and the update release.

Man, you're working hard on this area bob.blunderton. It looks really cool.