Option to increase visible spawn distance of other trucks

[Ryeng]

Suggestion Name: Option to increase the visible spawn distance of other trucks.

Suggestion Description: Many times when I'm driving, I feel like my immersion is broken when I see a truck appear out of nowhere in the oncoming lane. I think the visible range for spawning in trucks should be much longer, so that you can see other trucks from further away and at max, rarely see the actual spawn of a truck. It would need to be optional and/or adjustable so that people can choose a setting for their preferred experience and computer system.

Any example images: Not needed.

Why should it be added?: Not only will it improve safety, but it will improve the driving experience and also add the option of increased realism when driving without using the GPS markers. I'm a realism geek, so I like to turn the GPS markers off. However, with the current spawn distance, I often see that a long stretch of road seems perfectly clear, but then as I start to overtake someone, a truck in the oncoming lane spawns up too close to safely overtake even though it looked clear a few seconds ago. Of course, you can use the map markers to see when the road will be clear, but I think that's a boring cheat to be honest. Don't get me wrong, people can use it as much as they want, but it should still be possible to drive safely should you choose to drive without it. 

[Batslav]

If possible i do agree with it. Sometimes trucks spawn shortly before we pass each other.

[bryangullickson]

If it's Possible I Agree i'd thoroughly like the option to increase the spawn in distance of trucks to fit my needs and also be able to use my computer's hardware to the best of its abilities though it does seem in recent patches the spawn in distance has decreased dramatically as if almost to suit the needs of the community with less powerful hardware though not sure if that is TMP doing or SCS doing

[_.Queen Rosalie._]

1 hour ago, Batslav said:

If possible i do agree with it. Sometimes trucks spawn shortly before we pass each other.

The way it's worked is that if there's more than x number of players near you, then the visible distance is reduced.

 

As for this, it's already technically a thing, in the options menu in the tab menu, there's a slider for draw distance, I think the max is 500m from your position which is actually a fair distance from you.

[Ryeng]

@megadethsteve666 Thanks for pointing that out. I need to try that slider  I'll report back with my results 

[Batslav]

megadethsteve666

This might be the reason but i am sure that i have seen single trucks that spawn closer many times.
My slider is at max btw, do you mean more trucks in visible range or just in GPS range that affect it?

I still think it can be increased a bit.

[[A2B] - CEO - [Ryan]]

Sounds a good idea, as I'd say the max spawn distance isn't the greatest so its a +1 from me

[H4MZ4_]

Slider in Tab Menu does nothing for me, the spawn distance is way to low when there's too many trucks around even when the slider is maxed out. I understand it's to prevent client fps lag, but I still wanna raise it up higher, especially for those who might not even feel the lag as much as others.

[pete_agreatguy]

Plus one from me. It is an excellent idea.

 

Not sure about anyone else but I have noticed that some users have the distance set shorter than the longest currently available.

 

The problems with this idea we have are:

 

1) Some users computer specs cannot handle much distance due to graphic limitations.

2) What can the servers handle in terms of how often they update the position on users on the roads?

[_.Queen Rosalie._]

14 hours ago, Batslav said:

megadethsteve666

This might be the reason but i am sure that i have seen single trucks that spawn closer many times.
My slider is at max btw, do you mean more trucks in visible range or just in GPS range that affect it?

I still think it can be increased a bit.

I'm talking about visual range, the distance that you can see a vehicle in front of you through the windscreen. 

 

Typically, trucks will spawn closer to you if, within range of you, there are more than a certain number of trucks, so busy areas like Calais-Duisburg road etc, traffic that's stopped at your max range that your game loads them in system wise, not visually, that will reduce approaching vehicles draw range to within a 200 hundred Metres of you meaning they "pop" in super close to you. 

 

It was added ages ages ago to try and combat lag mostly. 

 

But you you have to bear in mind, what are the limitations on the server? Perhaps the reason for the cap is because the server can't draw any further away, otherwise the range would have been increased long long long ago.

[Ryeng]

^Tried to play with some of the settings. I was able to increase it slightly, but would love it to be even higher. As for limitations on the server, that's half the reason why I'm suggesting/asking. If the server can handle it, and it is up to clients to choose how good or bad fps they want to have, then I think it should be increased further to allow higher distances.

[Aragon]

7 hours ago, Ryeng said:

^Tried to play with some of the settings. I was able to increase it slightly, but would love it to be even higher. As for limitations on the server, that's half the reason why I'm suggesting/asking. If the server can handle it, and it is up to clients to choose how good or bad fps they want to have, then I think it should be increased further to allow higher distances.

 

The draw distances are much higher than you'd imagine for the server, and they have been since the dawn of time. The vehicles are loaded instantly from about 600-800m but the client just 'holds' back when you can actually see them. 

 

As far as you can see the white (sometimes blue) lines, that's when the vehicle is actually loaded. You should be able to test this yourself in-game with console command g_developer 32 , even though my camera is dynamic, it should work similar for you when driving.

Spoiler

 

 

The reason this was done was so players would have a more reasonable FPS in traffic jams to reduce accidents, although at times it can indeed work the exact opposite, so for the most part I'm in favor of your suggestion.

[Ryeng]

@Aragon Thanks for you response and insight. I hope that an increased distance will be made available in a future update then, as I see no reason why we shouldn't have the option to adjust these settings ourselves if the server can handle it anyway.

Could you provide any info on the vehicle light's spawn distances? It would be great with a slider where you can choose spawn-distances for other truck's lights and accessories as well. But maybe more importantly, bring back other vehicle lights road glare (which has an extremely low spawn distance today) so that we can start using our lights more properly in the night time.

[Aragon]

@Ryeng Headlight distance and vehicle details (interior, outside accessories, grille) render range were also greatly reduced with no option to make them back to how they were previously.

[Ryeng]

@Aragon Thanks, but why? Server performance?  

Edit 1: Also, why with no option to revert or adjust?

[Aragon]

^Not really. All of these reductions still take place on the client side, the server loads everything regardless. Developer's choice, not mine. Kind of sad about it myself although it is for FPS reasons again, but that doesn't really make sense in my application because I'm running a Titan X.

Edited July 20, 2017 by Aragon

[Ryeng]

10 minutes ago, Aragon said:

render range were also greatly reduced with no option to make them back to how they were previously.

What do you mean with no option to make them back? 

Edit: And if it's all client side, why add such limitations without making it optional? Why don't you just make it the same as truck spawn distance, so that people can adjust them both if they get bad fps (although seperate sliders would be preferable)?

Edited July 20, 2017 by Ryeng

[Aragon]

@Ryeng It's not a problem to tag me, it's better than quoting the above statement which is against the forum rules. 

 

Render range = draw distance, same thing. The best way I can explain it, is with a picture. On the left is how my truck looks when someone else sees it on their client, and on the right is how I see it at that position when I look at it myself.

 

Spoiler

 

As for why there isn't an option to override these somewhat ugly effects, I don't know myself. I wish there was, but like I said, it was the developer's choice.

[Ryeng]

@Aragon Yeah, I understand that render range = draw distance. But why did they change those render distances of accessories, lights and light road glare, if it all is client side anyway? Why wasn't it added as an optional feature you could enable disable depending on your fps preferences? Totally fine if the "Default" was disabled, but with the option to enable if you wanted to. 

Edit: Of course I understand the literal "why". (Better fps), but I don't get why it was forced for everyone if it could be optional. Makes no sense to me. 

Edited July 20, 2017 by Ryeng

[aaaMArtin]

This suggestion seems more and more reasonable based on all the information regarding server limitations (or the lack of in this case). The ability to adjust settings like these is something I think will be very much appreciated by all users. Not just for users with a Titan, but also those with low end computers. Given the option, users can turn their settings both up and down, giving them the experience they want. You say it's developers choice, but hopefully his mind can be changed? I truly hope this becomes a thing.

[_.Queen Rosalie._]

5 hours ago, Aragon said:

^Not really. All of these reductions still take place on the client side, the server loads everything regardless. Developer's choice, not mine. Kind of sad about it myself although it is for FPS reasons again, but that doesn't really make sense in my application because I'm running a Titan X.

I guess it's more for the wider audience, for those who haven't got the money to be able to run £1500+ GPUs, I mean, my new rig has a GTX 1070 8GB Gaming card from MSI and so I get pinned 60 on high settings in pretty much all traffic, but my old rig had a Radeon R9 280 and it struggled, especially after Vive La France was released, so I would say the reductions are more for the equality of the community that and 9/10 times you don't really see traffic too often passed 500m away from you due to terrain, elevation changes and just how the roads wind around a lot, if all the roads were flat and had long straights, then seeing traffic at double the distance would make sense.

 

Personally, a better fix for FPS is to default have things like Beacon light reflections, cabin animations etc all turned off and it's up to the user if they wish to have those things enabled or not, that would always help people's FPS greatly, there's nothing more frustrating that hitting a queue and it be a wash of flashing orange lights that end up turning everything into a slide show.

[slushbro]

Nice idea and the option would allow people with a low spec pc to  change the settings how they can play it.

+1

[LasTears]

• +1 Good idea for low-budget computer and broadening the field of view reduces the accident rate and provides a better gaming environment.

[Aragon]

Hello,

 

Your suggestion has been accepted. We are currently working on stuff in the graphics settings for this.

 

Regards.

[Leon Baker]

Hello there,

 

You can adjust the draw distance via the graphics settings within the TAB - https://prnt.sc/3ALofr-sbTFV

 

Sincerely,

Leon Baker

Community Manager

 

// Completed