Released Advanced Island Redux 2.3

that 6% is only on highways, If you make a pass road, it is often 14-16% on some parts. If you make a Highway, I wouldn't reccomend more than 8% so if you want a mountain, don't let the highway climb over it, but 'hang' it to the sides. (Google Autostrada Brennero for some great examples ) If you make a pass road, wich would be great in the setting of this map, you can get away with lots of hairpins and 14% angle.

 

I think that steepest inclines are on gravel roads, it gets then less and less as road class gets bigger, which is also nice practice to follow in map making and I think this Advanced Island has a lot of that right.

10 degrees would be 17.6% grade hill and I think they don't come much steeper than that on any road, but then again there are some crazy roads on this planet and in BeamNG we can have even crazier

 

Yes it's generally about 6% grade limit on new highway construction, though there are instances where older ones are grandfathered in. 6% isn't so much realistic idea for this game, until we at-least have tiled terrains (read: much larger available area!), though I tried to keep grade realistic in Tennessee and a little bit less-so on my other maps.

 

Yeah, some performance optimization is indeed needed to get larger terrains more feasible. Surely terrain without any objects or driving without caustics, reflections and shadows would run easily even now as if you set visual distance to something like 5k and have huge terrain without objects it runs really well, but for some reason we as players want to have little more than sand dunes to drive on

I think that official maps have max around 9 degrees on pavement, but I haven't check every location of course. It is a compromise and to be honest, I don't really get how all you guys can even make such nice grades, but that is why you create awesome maps and I look my imported heightmap with big question mark over my head as it looks like like those crazy islands from Asia

 

Poor JD, we've murder his thread *cue sound of train from 'an old Western movie' derailing and crashing into the canyon, exploding for no reason other than it's a movie* ...
But yeah, totally thanks on that - I tried to help JD with the map a bit, sharing some of my info (and making that ring-road and some textures), because I knew he's capable of using it (not implying anything on others)... but it takes VISION, vision my friend. Close your eyes and dream a bit.
Go on the internet, especially if your brain's out to lunch when you've tried the former, and look up some stuff, some photos of something like you'd want to try and make. I always loved speeding down expressways in a video game, and in a car accident simulator, that love is two-fold. Makes for some epic videos, too, and that's why you'll see my maps (and this one!) in car-crash videos periodically here and there, and sometimes more-so. When I get the missions stuff more figured out, I will have much more fun to serve up with the highways, as for now you have to set your own goals.
I do keep my DOT standards handy when making highways, roadways, and other such things, it helps. You just have to know and have a sense of what you're going to make, from the start. If you change your mind half way through, it's going to show on your map, and it will result in a lot of wasted time. However, that being said, I'd have to admit right up-front that my whole recent works on So-Cal and now especially Nevada Interstate is essentially 'double-work' because I am re-doing the highway I built a year ago, making it finally get that much closer to what I envisioned. Just dream, and the rest comes naturally. It takes a special talent and vision to make maps instead of just playing them... but don't feel bad, some folks it comes to better and faster than others.
Me, I can sit and crank out map stuffs for 8~16 hours straight... starving the stuffings out of myself in the process, or however long until my back gives out from being vertical (it's on it's last legs, but it's OKAY, I have this thing in my sleeping quarters, and a SNES controller + extension + USB converter plug and can run my Beam editor with a SNES controller using a controller-to-mouse and keyboard converter software).
Just give it a shot, and start with something you can handle. If you overwhelm yourself your brain's going to revolt and not work with you. Just do a little each time. Tennessee USA didn't get released to any officially decent degree of completion until 6~9 months after I started it. I worked on it about 1000 HOURS, that's a LONG time... longer (Considerably) than in-game maps. Not everyone has 1000+ hours to work on a map. My other two maps, by comparison, have ~500 hours or so each. Start out making a small racetrack loop or something, something reasonable, but don't release it until it's done. Sure it's easy to want to get your stuff out, but if it's not done enough to keep people occupied for a while it might not get the response or praise you're looking for. That having been said, you're free to use any and all of my textures or resources (atleast, ones that don't belong to others), to help aid you in your quest to great-map-ness, and I wish you the best on that. Find something you're good at making and run with it!
I make highways and snazzy networks of roads that lead to no where that no one (but people who download the map) will ever drive on. But I LOVE using the editor and MAKING something, vs just running over bunnies with a tank in GTAV or shooting cats like rockets out of a large anti-tank launcher in Fallout, I MADE SOMETHING, I have something to show for it, and often, if it gets far enough along for release, other people like it too! It makes it all worth it in the end. Accomplishing a goal - even just having one in the first place - is VERY good for your brain. Your brain likes this!
Just remember, Tennessee USA, was a concept, a large-map-test for the Beamng.drive engine, it wasn't even supposed to ever make it to beta-release.

 

Did somebody ask for smoother, banked roads?

 

I can already see movie makers doing videos there!

 

Got tired of the curved roads that didn't look so great, so I tried improving them. Freshly curved asphalt on freshly banked terrain. Also, a little peak at a new addition to the map....

 

Hoping for a new update in the next few weeks. This update will feature freshly-paved smoothed roads, a reduction in the amount of sidewalks, a tunnel, and (possibly) some trails. I'll post a few more pictures soon. Oh and also, I removed some rocks from the sides of the roads that would pop tires often.

 

From the looks of it, I'd say you got the corner banking down pat (or atleast really got the hang of it). Thanks for taking the time to improve this map... this should be a lot of fun.
Car accident simulator now with smoother roads and more banked corners for higher speed = better crashes = who would have ever 'thunk' that one up? Keep up the good work.

 

I was unsatisfied with the banking, so I banked them......again. This time, they look and feel really nice. Along with fresh banking, I laid down fresh decal roads (again) that look much nicer, as you can see below. Just compare them to older screenshots. The AI should follow a much smoother, less linear route now, and there's also a tunnel. Enjoy the screenshots, I'm hoping to push out a new version soon.

 

a little birdy told me you were working on this...
and then I ATE IT...
*smiles with fangs*
it's looking better... keep up good work here.

 

A quick update for this map: I am hoping to release the new version soon once I make sure it's to my liking. I will try to finish it up this weekend and push out the update.

 

New update is pending guys!

 

This looks so good! For some reason i didnt saw your screens from earlier this month in this post but this map really looks awesome. How big is this map? 2000x2000 or bigger?
Edit : sorry lol i clicked on this thinking it was Pobcot island so thats why i didnt saw earlier posts and thought it was changed super much.. Fail from me

 

jdbensch updated Advanced Island Redux with a new update entry:

Smoother Roads, New Roads, Less Sidewalk

Read the rest of this update entry...
--- Post updated ---

Well I hope you'll give the map a try, I really enjoy it. I think the map is 2048m x 2048m but it could be 4096m x 4096m. I don't recall.

 

Downloaded but wont show in my maps on freeroam

 

There is one folder too many, remove Advanced_Island 26 so that there is only levels folder in zip and it should work.

 

Did as you said, still no map

 

Thanks! It works!

Here is the map fixed