The Stories Behind BeamNG Maps

I've been wanting to do this for a while now, partly because of my lifelong interest in world building and partly because stories for each of the maps sort of just naturally unfolded in my mind as I drove on them. I've decided to write up a plausible history and backstory for each of the major maps in the game (JRI, ECA, and Utah). Jungle Rock is here now and the others will be posted as I complete them. I must add the disclaimer that everything here is entirely made up by me and is in no way official. If any backstory is added into the game by the devs in the future, it may be vastly different than what I've come up with here. I just do this sort of thing for fun and wanted to share it. Enjoy!

Spoiler: Jungle Rock Island

Jungle Rock Island is a small (2.2 km^2) volcanic island located approximately 2,000 km south-southeast of Japan in the North Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Commonwealth of the Liliana Islands and is currently uninhabited.

Jungle Rock Island was first discovered by Europeans in 1564 when it was sighted by Marcelo Constantino de Garcia who was a member of Portuguese explorer Ronaldo de Barreto‘s expedition to the East Indies. After de Barreto’s death on the island of Saito, he successfully navigated the ship San Pedro to the Moluccas. He never landed on Jungle Rock, though the Spanish reached the island and built a small coastal battery, Fort Cuántico, near its north shore in 1776. The fort was intended to protect a minor trading operation from pirates, but the island proved unprofitable, and operations withdrew completely only a year later. The island remained untouched until 1899 when it became part of German New Guinea. The Germans named the island St. Magnus and built a small pier on the island’s west coast so hunting parties could easily land and take advantage of the island’s abundant wildlife.

After World War I, Jungle Rock, along with the rest of the Liliana Islands, were handed over to the Japanese as part of the South Pacific Mandate. Taking advantage of the island’s isolated location far from any light pollution and existing pier, they constructed the Shunkai Observatory on a tall outcropping on the its northwest corner. In 1922, a lighthouse was constructed on the island’s southeast point (to the right of the lagoon entrance) in order to aid passing ships on their way from Tokyo to Saito. This was mainly as a result of the sinking of a freighter that ran aground on the island nine months prior.

During World War II, the Japanese took advantage of the island’s strategic location and began using it primarily as a military base, shutting down the observatory and lighthouse. The pier was expanded to a small port in order to ship in supplies, the jungle was cleared for an airstrip just inland from the lighthouse, and a barracks was constructed near the north shore. A number of pillboxes also sprang up around the island as they prepared for an attack from the United States. The airstrip was used to launch aerial attacks on the already-captured islands of Saito, Tautoa, Tabote, and the Makmamao Islands. Jungle Rock was the only island in the Liliana archipelago not to be captured by the United States before the end of the war.

In 1947 the United Nations granted control of the Liliana Islands, Jungle Rock Island included, to the United States as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. The observatory and lighthouse reopened and garnered a small tourist industry, though the island’s primary use remained military. It was the American soldiers stationed there that gave the island the nickname “Jungle Rock” for its isolated location. The name became official in 1951. The number of tourists to visit was not large enough to justify the cost of keeping the observatory (now far too outdated for any astronomical use) or lighthouse (made obsolete my modern navigation technology) open and they were abandoned in 1968 and 1976, respectively. The island remained occupied as a military base until 1980 when it was decided that it was not strategically important enough and that its isolated location made it far too expensive to operate. Jungle Rock Island has been abandoned since, only set foot upon a handful of times.

Spoiler: Firwood, Maine (ECA)

Firwood, Maine (officially the City of Firwood) saw its beginnings on August 7, 1761 when Jack Bell and Robert Moore were granted an area of 800 acres to start a colony. The first to settle arrived in the spring of 1763 and Firwood was officially incorporated as a town in 1796. Unlike a number of other towns in Maine, Firwood never saw a push for industrialization in the 19th century and today maintains a population of just 516.

The Perciville Inn, often considered Firwood’s most famous landmark, was built in 1867 over the hill to the west of Retriever Bay. It was a favourite among the area’s more upscale visitors and is still a thriving business, popular among newlyweds. The Perciville family, who were struggling financially before its construction, quickly became the town’s most influential family and remain so today. The inn celebrates its 150th year of continuous operation in 2017.

In 1919, a forest fire was sparked just north of the town when a Bruckell sedan hit a tree and ignited. It was an unusually dry summer and there was little anyone could do to stop it from spreading as it neared the town. It burned for three days, covering a total area of 196 acres, and killing 56 people. Much of the town’s buildings date to this period. Main Street’s buildings mostly date between the 1919 fire and the late-1920’s while the housing developments to the town’s north and east were completed between the late 1920’s and mid-1930’s.

A string of five disappearances occurred under mysterious circumstances over the course of 10 months during 1953-54. All were males between the ages of 17 and 20 who vanished from their homes at night and whose cars were found abandoned at various points around town. Detective Miles Dixon was put in charge of the case but no definitive suspects were ever found. The case went cold in 1955 and remains open.

Firwood today relies almost entirely on tourism, the only other industry being logging. Most of the residents either work at the shops on Main Street (all of which are locally owned and operated) or are artists taking advantage of the slow pace and beautiful scenery. Firwood is also a popular retirement spot with 60% of the population being over 65.

 

holy f nice story cant wait for the other ones to come out written in beautiful detail and a great background story

 

It is a fine read, and there were points that I could find extraordinarily plausible. Good job!

One quick tip: the fortress located around the southwest corner of the island looks to be at least 200 or so years old, and would have been too obsolete to be built post-1899. I'd say it's implied that a major European power landed there between the mid-sixteenth and mid-nineteenth centuries.

 

I actually spent a lot of time wondering what to say about it. I know it's older but I'm not sure enough on the architecture to nail down who built it and when, so I eventually decided to gloss over it. I might try to work it in at some point, but I'm not even really sure what it is to be honest . I've never seen anything like it.

 

Nice story

 

CORRECTION: The proper term for these "small bunkers" are pillboxes, because they resemble a pill bottle, minus the cap.

 

I'd like to see ECA as i know the true history of the area (New Hampshire/Maine) as i live there currently.

 

Oops, you're right. Fixed.

--- Post updated ---

It should be done today or tomorrow

 

Or the day after, because sleep is a thing that didn't happen to me.

(this was supposed to be an edit of my previous post, but I guess that just proves my point)

 

Would be cool to see some rock walls and older houses.

 

To give an idea of how scatterbrained I am and why this is taking so long, my last Wikipedia excursion went Maine > Mendocino, California > The Karate Kid, Part III > Star Trek V: The Final Frontier > William Shatner, then to putlocker.is where I tried to find Star Trek: The Original Series. Back on track now!

Edit: Just found out about Automation, the car company tycoon game. Shit. Off the tracks and over a cliff in a spectacular explosion of willpower.

Edit: Done!

 

Great story for East Coast USA.

However, Firwood is actually a city not a town. The Sunburst Firwood Police liveries say "CITY OF FIRWOOD". So you might have to change your story a bit. But overall, very well done.

 

I added a bit to the beginning. I think that's the sort of thing that can chalked up to overly ambitious small town politicians so I think referring to it as a town when not using the official title is appropriate

 

Great stories! I particularly enjoyed your attention to detail, and your addition of the missing persons anecdote for Firwood.

JRI's fort appears to be a fortification for a fixed battery of coastal artillery, resembling many such structures build by the British in Bermuda in the 17th-19th centuries (Fort Scaur: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:...earing_mount,_at_Scaur_Hill_Fort,_Bermuda.jpg). Based on the location of the island and the rough time period of the fort, I might explain it as "a small coastal battery fort built by [the Spanish or the Dutch] in the late 1700's. Ostensibly the fort protected a minor trading operation from pirates, but it also served to cow the native population into submission and introduce European culture ahead of the Crown's formal declaration of sovereignty in 1827. Ultimately, however, the island proved unprofitable, and operations withdrew completely only a year later."

 

Thanks for the info! I hope you don't mind that I used almost your exact version of events. Couldn't have come up with anything better myself

 

Can you also do the other maps? Here's a list of the ones that could have an interesting or at least a plausible backstory:
-Cliff
-Derby Arenas
-Dry Rock Island
-Hirochi Raceway
-Industrial Site
-Italy (when it comes out)
-Port
-Small Island, USA

Source: BeamNG Official Content wiki page
http://wiki.beamng.com/Official_Content#Levels

 

Wow, nice stories, can't wait for Small Island and the mine in Utah.

 

Story behind BNG
Big daddy gabe coded some stuff one day
the end

 

??? Tdev and estama coded some stuff one day

 

and papa tdev and esta