UK Improvements?

[Glowstrontium]

I was just wondering if there are any plans to improve the signage in the UK - the quality of work done in many countries is amazing, but the UK signs are still pretty much original and poor in comparison.

In real life, you never have different sized text on the same sign, yet in-game many do, and some like "Channel Tunnel" are actually squashed.

Also, lane drops are signed wrong in many cases with fork signs instead of the style below:


Below is an example of how gantries tend to look (this one also has the variable speed limit signs):
https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.36717 ... gUXdDA!2e0

[ScuL]

Trust me, living in the UK I'm quite frustrated by the state of the country in the vanilla map.
It's certainly one of those things on the to-do-list!

Including proper slip roads & roundabout off-ramps

[ZelvaCZ]

Hello,

these seem to be reasonable suggestions. Unluckily, although there are some plans for UK, they won't be realized very soon because we know that "SCS is planning something there"

Good rest of the day,
Zelva

EDIT: ninja above

[Superdavecan]

I agree with ScuL, the UK is desperately in need of improvement! I also know that SCS is working on something in the UK, although I don't know what... I'm sure ScuL knows though. Apart from the signs, I've got a whole laundry list of things that could use some work... bearing in mind that I have no idea what SCS plans to fix or expand in the UK, and what the scale of those changes will be. So, here goes... these are things I'd like to see, irrespective of what SCS is doing:

In London, which needs a comprehensive rebuild:
- It needs to be possible to enter and exit from all four directions, so the M4 needs to be expanded past the M25 and into London. Possibly the M3 as well
- Get rid of that terrible crossover in North London, and simply have the M1, A1 and M11 expand into London itself instead of stopping at the M25
- The business area on the M1 that ProMods built, with the IKEA and EuroGoodies, shouldn't qualify as London. Expand that a bit and rename it Luton, since it's in about the right position for Luton anyway.
- If there is a maximum number of companies per city (I assume there is), then renaming that M1 bit Luton frees up space for two more companies in a comprehensively-rebuilt London
- I support the construction of the M23 and Brighton, or possibly Gatwick. The South Coast should be more accessible from London instead of going almost all the way to Dover, or all the way to Southampton. Even if Brighton is not built, the existing Portsmouth could be easier to access

Elsewhere in England:
- Make the scenery more boring! SCS tried to make the landscape more interesting than it really is, and made the English countryside too rocky and forested, when it really isn't like that at all. Just like ProMods has rendered northwestern Germany more realistically with the upcoming ARP release, England could use the same treatment.
- So many of the A-roads do not have route numbers. This is just sloppy; I believe every road should have a route number (apart from the access roads to farms or quarries, of course).
- A lot of those A-roads bear little relation to the real path of their real-life counterparts. Some of them aren't too bad though... for example, the one connecting Carlisle and Newcastle is OK, and only really needs to be signed as the A69. Similarly the road connecting Carlisle and Edinburgh could simply be signed the A7.
- Birmingham is a mess... I know ProMods has discussed fixing this up before, but has been prevented from doing so by these SCS plans
- Liverpool and Manchester are also a mess... I propose having the M62, M56 and M60 forming a proper ring road around Manchester, and having the M62 connect straight into Liverpool, like it does in real life. It would look much simpler on the map too
- The area north of Sheffield could be made much more realistic... extend the M62 towards Hull, and where Leeds would be, make the M1 and the A1 (M) connect properly with each other. In fact, Leeds is big enough to deserve a place in the map
- I support Hull being made into a city in its own right, and not just a port
- In Newcastle, it needs to be possible to drive between the city and the ferry terminal without having to go all the way out to the A1, and then going back in again. A direct connection should be built
- England is very empty... it really can't be that hard to add cities like Brighton, one of Truro or Penzance, Norwich, Oxford, one of Leicester or Nottingham, Leeds, possibly York. I think Bristol was in the plans too, before they had to be halted

In Wales:
- Wales is very poorly represented, with only Cardiff and Swansea as cities and none at all in the north! I would suggest Bangor at the very least, and possibly Aberystwyth in the middle. I know Holyhead and Fishguard were planned as ferry terminals to Ireland...
- Cardiff is a mess! When accessing Cardiff from the east, the route the satnav gives you is ridiculous, turning to the right in the wrong direction and then crossing a bridge back over the M4 into Cardiff. Should be made more realistic
- All the A-roads should be assigned route numbers and possibly removed if illogical

In Scotland, Platypus is expanding Northern Scotland and doing an excellent job of it. So I'll just talk about what I would like to see improved in the existing areas:
- In Edinburgh, the A720 doesn't have any at-grade intersections. Both entrances to Edinburgh should be with proper exits
- Glasgow is quite unrealistic; it could be made to look a lot better by extending the M8 west into the city and also extending the M74 further west
- Northeast of Glasgow, there is now a complete motorway connection all the way to the M9, none of which is designated the A80... it has been replaced by the M80. So it should no longer be signed the A80 in the game
- Where the A9 and M90 meet (Perth), it's a bit untidy... perhaps Perth could be built as a scenery city
- The road to Aberdeen has no route number; it should be the A90. Dundee should also be built, since it is an important city in Scotland and there is plenty of space for it
- The generic A/B-road west of Aberdeen should be scrapped, and replaced with the more realistic A96/A95/A9 route. Maybe Platypus has this in mind

Again, those are some things I thought of... I know SCS is working on something in the UK and maybe they've thought of some of these. I'm pretty sure ScuL agrees with some of these too. I'm sure we can all agree though, that if these changes actually took effect, the UK would be a much more pleasant place to drive in the game!

[rarespetrosanu]

U're right Superdavecan
For me UK is not a standard for roads , a lot of them are wrong written - the change from M to A is misunderstood
But the main thing - UK needs these improvements definitely

[thekovacs]

Thought I'd add my two cents. Or two pennies, to be more accurate.

Naturally, I know that there will be improvements to the UK eventually, and it's worthwhile waiting for, especially considering that surely ProMods haven't dropped their ideas to add extra cities in Britain.

In terms of considering Leeds... Don't you think, there might be a problem that Manchester and Leeds would be very close in-game, considering the scale of the map? It might limit other development in that area.

My notes:

Positive:
-The South Coast looks nice in parts, especially on the A27/M27. Presumably, this is at least partly because of ProMods influence in the area. Love the cats eyes on the road.
-The Welsh roads are nicely modelled, and the textures are good, especially on their version of the 'A470'. Although there really need to be more mountains. That Brecon Beacons area is a glorious drive in real life.
-There are a few parts of the M1 and M4 which seem fairly realistic
-M4/M5 Almondsbury Interchange re-building is really good.
-The A36 is definitely representative of the type of real landscape you'd see on the real equivalent.
-There is a nice view on one part of the M5 towards Birmingham, and even an attempt at replicating the Bromsgrove masts with the SCS model equivalent? Maybe.

Needs improvement:
- M42 needs to be built, and given proper junctions with the M40 and M1
- M5 in the West Country looks very bad. I agree with the point about SCS trying to add too much grandeur to the scenery. Most of the route between Bristol and Plymouth in reality is flat, barren landscape.
- Exactly the same story with the A12 and A14. It just doesn't look like the flat countryside around Cambridge.
- It'd be really nice to see the Gordano Valley M5 stretch on ETS 2, though, as an exception to the rule on the M5.
- M1 through Yorkshire is equally a bit barren and lacking the interesting bridge designs of reality, and the magnificent view over Sheffield would be a really nice touch to add.
- It'll be a joy to see Bristol and the M32 added. More settlements in Wales will also be great.
- M62 is really lacking in every way. The junctions with the M1 and M6 are bad, and I agree that Manchester needs to have the motorways built around it as in reality.
- A66 needs to be re-worked to give the real expanse of that Pennine feel.
- London needs a lot more work.
- The Severn Bridge needs to have toll booths added, like in real life.
- A9 needs to re-built and extended, with the Drumochter Pass included. Really looking forward to this in ProMods 1.9
- As ScuL mentioned, these motorway junctions, with the terrible slip roads!

Still, I am very glad to have Britain in ETS2, and glad for the upcoming improvements. The fact is that for those of us with a lot of familiarity with the British road network, it'll never be right That's why other countries are far more exciting to me on the game.

[martinusK]

- England is very empty... it really can't be that hard to add cities like Brighton, one of Truro or Penzance, Norwich, Oxford, one of Leicester or Nottingham, Leeds, possibly York. I think Bristol was in the plans too, before they had to be halted

Agree on that 100%, especially knowing that the scale in Great Britain is 1:15 (that means more building space, right?).

[Glowstrontium]

Also, I can't believe they left the Dartford Toll crossing out - the River Thames is completely absent on the M25, yet the Medway Bridge Crossing on the M2 is included.

Here is a page showing UK signs - Some of the ones in-game are correct, whereas others are totally wrong and inconstant. The A1(M) is correctly labeled on the map by Promods, but the signs just say "A1" in the Motorway typeface on a blue sign. The 30mph limit sign is using the polish texture, and the flag signs at intersections are oversized.

Furthermore, these illuminated bollards that plague almost every road are nowhere to be seen:

[thekovacs]

Also, I can't believe they left the Dartford Toll crossing out - the River Thames is completely absent on the M25, yet the Medway Bridge Crossing on the M2 is included

I can remember that this discussion appeared before, in reference to including the Dartford Crossing on the M25. It's a spectacular bridge, but the general consensus was that there isn't enough room on the map. It would seem like a significant part of the Eastern section of the M25 would just be consumed by it.

[Jan Verschueren]

Also, I can't believe they left the Dartford Toll crossing out - the River Thames is completely absent on the M25, yet the Medway Bridge Crossing on the M2 is included

I can remember that this discussion appeared before, in reference to including the Dartford Crossing on the M25. It's a spectacular bridge, but the general consensus was that there isn't enough room on the map. It would seem like a significant part of the Eastern section of the M25 would just be consumed by it.

Iirc. there was also the issue of not having a one sided toll prefab which prevented taking tolls at some bridges in the UK.