Story/Campaign Mode Questions

So I have a question about the direction campaign mode will be in beamng. A lot of work has been put into making these decent maps, mainly east coast usa. There are other maps I am aware of this. But when story mode comes around are you going to have just alot of small maps with different loading zones? Or do you guys need to go out and develop a massive ecosystem? It's a large request but I think for the success of a story mode a very large scale map needs to be made. A map about 4-5 times larger the East Coast USA. Something in the perspective of Grand Theft Auto Games. One large map for primary story mode features. KInda disappoints me to think all of the other maps are considerably a waste. Maybe they would be utilized for multiplayer and sorts. If the ultra massive story mode map was too much of a strain on networks. In all reality you guys, devs, need to start considering a massive ecosystem for story mode. I could see that making this game extremely successful. A large enough world allows plenty of variety and locations to explore. This isn't a discussion about how said map should look. But I really think this is the best way to make a successful story mode. Wouldn't really seem proper for loading screens between different maps while playing a sandbox style story mode which is what i'm expecting it to actually be.

It is very time consuming to develop these maps. I would think that if you could hire a few more environment artists and work together on one massive map it would add to the splendid success of this game.

Discuss..

 

If it was there was going to be a separate open world story mode, I think you should start in one map, and then be able to drive through portals to other maps. In each map there would be races and events. Your money and collection of cars would be shared throughout the whole thing. The only thing is that the maps might have to be modified slightly to have connecting roads, for example if you went through a portal, the road you would appear on would look like the one you just came from, except continuing into the rest of the map.

 

Man, I've never really thought about this. But having a massive map like GTA, or even more massive like ARMA III would be amazing.

 

Good Luck

 

I'm kind of glad there are multiple small maps, as opposed to one large map.

Consider the problem that arises when you want more than one biome in your game; or if you want urban, or rural. Or if you wanted something fantasy/VR. It's impossible to fit it all in one map unless it's the size of the JC2 map, and even then the biome transitions were noticable.

I think in a campaign, we should be able "take a plane" or something to another part of the world. That way you can have deserts, rainforests, tundra, deciduous forest, urban, prarie, or VR biomes in one game.

 

That is a pretty good idea man. Different parts of the world with a list of different missions in each.

 

Do you think something like this would currently be possible with some pretty hefty scenario scripting?

 

Large, singular landscapes are not currently possible in Torque. Terrain limits are at 2048x2048 resolution, and while this can be stretched out, it tends to cause z-fighting and makes the ground jagged and low-detail. Multiple terrains are not supported in Beam, and floating point errors cause noticeable z-fighting issues at as little as five kilometers from the scene's center, camera rocking at 15.

The solution of faintly 'connecting' two levels by way of a trigger and a loading screen has occurred to me, and is probably possible. What would make it even more nifty would be if such a system didn't just apply to airports and seaports, as suggested above, but that you could drive toward a dead-end on a road near the edge of one level, and the game would automatically load the corresponding map for that route or direction. For instance, if you load up 'Eastham' and drive west, you eventually hit a trigger that auto-loads 'West Chester,' and places you on West Chester's eastern border in the same car of the same condition as when you hit the trigger. This gives one the illusion of long-distance driving and opens the game up to navigational and long-haul trucking challenges.

 

That is what I was trying to say, but you put it way better.

 

When will the Next update happen? its been A long time since an update. lol

 

But haveing a Open world like Gta would be nice but what would kill it is if it had multiplayer with jobs for tow truck Ect.

 

Thats not what i was asking. But thaks for only careing about the Update and not what i had also said.

 

Based on how long it takes to load a level currently I'm not sure how you could have it transition smoothly. It seems to me that beam would have to stop you in your tracks, run you through the level loading screen, and plop you down in the new map at roughly the correct position. Then you would have the issues of maintaining momentum, and the possibility of multiple ways to access a given terrain. Can beamNG have one map with many possible spawning locations based on how you got there? Could it keep the damage on your car and maintain your trajectory and speed right off the loading gate?

I suppose that there could be a fictitious road that goes off into the horizon that the car travels on beyond your control (which would act as a loading screen), with the car appearing in the new map in a parking lot or something, but that doesn't seem like much of an improvement over just swapping maps in a menu.

The idea that you could "get on a plane" to different maps seems more reasonable based on what we have now. They could even integrate it into a central garage (or something similar) that exists in every map where you could customize the car (repair the car?), switch cars, or change maps (kinda like Midnight Club).

Alternatively, they could take the approach that pretty much every racing game does and have the campaign consist of a glorified menu with access to a progression of scenario type levels. This doesn't really seem in the spirit of BeamNG (or at least what I see it as), but it would be an easy way to tackle the campaign mode.

 

BeamNG is Anything. Not just limited to one thing. i was just saying It would be cool to have a map like gta a game like Midnight club all in one. but with that comes time. iv been with Beam since Beta stage

 

LOL have some respect bro, only been here 1 day and already being salty. tdev kindly answered your question, you will learn that begging for things is not how it works around here.

 

I'm under no illusion that the transition could or would be done smoothly. At any rate, the maps would likely represent a variety of different inferred geographic locales and biomes, such that driving directly from one map to another would be either painstakingly time consuming, or unrealistically brief. And no, I suppose it's not really a massive step up from working off the menus. But I just want the rough feel of driving cross-country, and you can't do that with menus. Plus, you can't tell me you wouldn't want a 'Cannonball Run'-type event.

As for your other concerns, damage state-saving is planned, and while they don't have any context, positioning multiple player start points is at least a Torque-supported feature when last I checked. I imagine the question of when to use which is where scripting would come into play.

Oh, absolutely. What I'm proposing isn't near-future, I'd be satisfied if this were ever integrated at all, no rush. And I never had it in mind that it would be an alternative to 'flying' from place to place. Some maps aren't part of the mainland, and others may have purposefully ambiguous locations. That, and it would be a bit of a balancing act during the campaign; "Do I save time and fly, or save a pretty penny, and drive?"

But yes, the flying proposition is more realistic and easier to code. Level designer has it easier, too.

Sadly, that seems like what they're gearing up for now. And it would probably be most conducive for showcasing the tech to strip the gameplay of any specific context, whether it be your garage plan or my portal plot.

 

Could just have a bunch of different "states" have a world map that starts with a 3x3 2048x size plots each state has a list of missions and you got to unlock each with a certain amount of progression. DLC could be new 2048x tiles added to the original 3x3 map. Traveling between each state would be done by plane or train with just a simple loading screen. Would be cool because the main map would show an overview of each time and they all come together to make a Country. This would make for a nice system that would actually make the limitations seem neat. And a source for later income with dlc

 

This should be considered way later on... also we have one map creator.

This is some AAA level content here...