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[cameni]

We are going to update the road generator and editor in a short while, and I'd like to get some feedback and collect the requirements for both the base road system and the editor.

Some of the planned extensions:

• separable parameters for left/right road side
• customizable marking system and road profiles
• curbs and sidewalks
• aging

Feel free to list and discuss whatever you think the road system needs to be able to produce. Some things like the road posts, guardrails etc will be handled by a different system, but the definition for them will be likely included in the road data and thus in the editor.

[HiFlyer]

Bridges, if not now then eventually, and some way to do overpasses, unless all roads are intended to be flat ribbons.

Road markings tend to become "smeared" relatively close to the camera, which is not so good on runways. Any way to push things out a bit?

[Jagerbomber]

Awesome!

How hard would it be to have it naturally make merging lanes on itself, like would you have to have a separate segment designated to the merge (a merge tag/setting?) with the various merging options, or could it kind of do it on its own by a set # of lanes? and then the user would have to adjust the width of the segments to have it look right, so that the lanes aren't too small, and the lanes would adjust to the set road width.  But then that would be an issue with it not knowing which side of the road has more lanes...  hmm

But I also know there tends to be an issue that happens with lines on curves where they tend to distort and somewhat disappear in parts, and that might happen here too.  And yeah, the AF (I think it is) on roads at a distance needs work.  Or LOD idk.

Oh yeah... and then there's the issue with needing (or wanting...) turn direction markings on lanes at intersections...  Is it possible at all to have settings, like marking settings, like a drop-down for each separate lane (varying by the number of lanes), so there isn't like an insane amount of intersection choices in one list, or not?  If this is possible, you could choose the line markings on each side of each lane as well (like when you need to state where the center line is, like in the problem mentioned above).

I mean... I guess technically you could kind of do this by having a ton of separate roads next to eachother for each lane... but I'd think we'd want to avoid that. ?

[wayne57]

intersections are a must and right and left cut offs

thanks

wayne57

[cameni]

Markings are likely going to be rendered separately (or in addition to a new algorithmic baked-in AF), because the sharp contrast and tiled terrain rendering limits AF and makes the terrain blurred at an angle. In any case only the common marking styles will be included with the road data, and there will be a vector drawing overlay for painting stuff on the terrain.

Merging and intersection creating is a task for the editor; in a cumbersome way it can be achieved manually (although the current system has some precision limitations). We plan to automatically create a connection or intersection as soon as you connect road to another road's node. Merging lanes will probably require some more hints.

[Steve.Wilson]

Just thinking....multiple lanes in each direction would be necessary for highways, along with a dividing median that may or may not have a consistent width.

Are railroads part of this system?

[Jagerbomber]

I'm thinking, most of the time, it would be better to have each side of the highway separate.

[cameni]

Are railroads part of this system?

Only in part.



Track foundation is, but the rails and sleepers are generated geometry, like road posts or poles.

[ZeosPantera]

Automated placement of a side object every X meters (lamp posts, parking meters) or auto placement of turn signs on sharp enough curves.



Also how about center deviders?

 

[aWac9]

our problems are created by civilization.



problem solved
"roundabout"   https://www.flickr.com/photos/awac9/13972599368/

[HiFlyer]

our problems are created by civilization.

Humans in Ant Mode.

[Jagerbomber]

Road sign (or any sign) text needs to be easily editable, but that's a different matter.

[Foxiol]

It would be cool if we can make "instant tunnels" while placing the regular roads. One tool similar to what we have but instead of making the terrain flat make other to go through the terrain like a secondary option.

In Cryengine for example you need a separated tool to first make holes in the terrain and then place or fill the "void" with whatever you want to put in it to make the caves or tunnels (works the same way).

But since Outerra is massive, it can be great to have something that makes the tunnel maybe by setting the height, then with some predefined parameters (the width and the diameter in meters, and if it can be square/rectangular just set some predefined measures).

I know nothing about technical stuff/words/difficulties to do that...I just talk as someone who likes to do stuff with terrain.

Also as others said, bridges can be added too but those can be made by assets, just make a hole in the ground with the right tool and then put the bridge there. If there is a river you just need the asset, then put the road over it and you have the bridge. In that case we need collisions for static objects. Then we can import bridges.

[PytonPago]

A possability for inteligent elevated  road structure ? ... you know, when an elevated road is there, it will have some of the base-profiled bridge forms, but when a road is underneath it, it would re-set the bridge segments eqi-distant to the needed placement or add a side-suported structure (for spiral-roads whyte possible side-roads for multiple-floor stuff).

http://www.hdlandscapewallpapers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Nanpu-Bridge-and-Spiral-Road-Shanghai-China.jpg





And some bridges :










... where would be 3 base-types: -- highway style (just central or side-based pillars), cable-suported (golden gate), structure suported(from underneath) -- if possible, that there could be a way to define the base-look of them trough some kind of pillar-3d-model, so the variations and design could be modifyed by all. What the characteristics of the base-model would be is a question based on the way the road-tool will work ...

[John514]

Procedural bridges, auto-placement of streetlights, tunnels.

One thing that could be implemented right now:
When a road crosses another one, a spline point shpuld be made on the xroad, that has the same elevation as the first road. This way the crossing will be level.