Roads in Video Games

[KG909]

Any Fallout 4 pics?

HTC Desire 510

[vtk]

I was watching some old Modern Warfare 2 gameplay today, and I realized that one of the in-game depictions of I-95 along the east coast is... wrong to say the least:


Link to bigger image

The biggest inconsistencies are that it is depicted running through upstate New York, avoiding both Connecticut and Rhode Island completely, and traversing the western half of Massachusetts up into Maine. I believe that it is also depicted running too far to the west in North Carolina and Virginia as well.

Interesting, since the northern end of the line looks like the way I-95 goes through Maine.  Still, I doubt they would have transferred some sort of vector data into the image just for a game.

They probably traced the line from one map with some manner of vector pen tool, then fit the line to where it looks like it should go on that satellite image.  If the map and the satellite image are in different projections, which appears likely, then it would become impossible to fit the whole path of I-95 correctly.  Also, I think those graticule lines are pure bullshit.

[Eth]

Any Fallout 4 pics?

Coming right up...


The Mass Pike entering the tunnel from the west. I can't make out much of what the BGS says thanks to the vegetation. A sign facing the other direction indicates that it has a speed limit of 75 MPH.


Standard traffic light assembly.


A major interchange west of the city, probably meant to be that of I-90 and I-95.

For what it's worth, I have thus far found no route markers at all in the game, which was a bit of a bummer after a good effort on that in New Vegas.

[Zeffy]

Here's some more in Fallout 4:
WARNING: LARGE IMAGES


Not only is it button copy, but it looks like that LeHay font seen in New England/Maryland was used on the numerals here as well.


Seen entering Concord. I haven't seen any other signs like this for the other settlements however.


An unknown double-decked elevated highway, with segments partially destroyed.


Guide sign located somewhere on State Street.

Many road signs are button copy, something I think is particularly cool, but thanks to the effects of a nuclear explosion, most roads are left in a semi-destroyed state and no one uses vehicles anyway.

[peterj920]

Gran Turismo 2 has the Alaskan Way Viaduct in a Seattle race

The Pacific Coast Highway is in Road Rash

[KG909]

Any Fallout 4 pics?

Coming right up...


The Mass Pike entering the tunnel from the west. I can't make out much of what the BGS says thanks to the vegetation. A sign facing the other direction indicates that it has a speed limit of 75 MPH.


Standard traffic light assembly.


A major interchange west of the city, probably meant to be that of I-90 and I-95.

For what it's worth, I have thus far found no route markers at all in the game, which was a bit of a bummer after a good effort on that in New Vegas.

That's a damn shame, New Vegas was filled with shields.

Here's some more in Fallout 4:
WARNING: LARGE IMAGES


Not only is it button copy, but it looks like that LeHay font seen in New England/Maryland was used on the numerals here as well.


Seen entering Concord. I haven't seen any other signs like this for the other settlements however.


An unknown double-decked elevated highway, with segments partially destroyed.


Guide sign located somewhere on State Street.

Many road signs are button copy, something I think is particularly cool, but thanks to the effects of a nuclear explosion, most roads are left in a semi-destroyed state and no one uses vehicles anyway.

Pretty good bgs' and I like the Concord sign

[Zeffy]

Pretty good bgs' and I like the Concord sign

That's because Massachusetts already has numerous signs like this for a lot of (Middlesex/Suffolk Counties?) towns/cities.

[Buffaboy]

Microsoft had a few decent driving games circa 2002. I had the Chicago one.  It had a freeway that basically made sense, if you accept that the world is only about four square miles.

Midtown Madness "Chicago Edition" followed by Midtown Madness 2 (San Fran and London) and then on the xbox only Midtown Madness 3 (Washington DC and Paris)

Was a fun game, still is today, so many ways to have fun in a cruise, demolition derby, cops and robbers, etc.

I spent a large amount of time playing all of these, especially the Chicago one.  I actually learned how to get around Chicago and Washington (the Xbox one) by playing these games.  I haven't been to San Francisco (nor London nor Paris) yet so I cannot attest to how MM2 helped me.

Hah! I had the same experience many years ago in about 2005/06.

[Zeffy]

Had to post this one when I saw it.

[Bruce]

Infamous Second Son:



Looks like Interstate (maybe)?, typical for video games. As always though, I approve of it in a video game BGS.

If that's the Pioneer Square pergola back there, then this makes even less sense...

They reused the SR 520 exit sign a bit...at least this placement makes more sense (SB on what seems to be a much thinner Ship Canal Bridge):



And another weird one:

[kurumi]

Disclaimer: have not played, and GTA 5 is from 2013 or so.

GTA V has an expanded San Andreas Map (link) with Interstate, US ("rural"), and State ("urban") routes. There's a wiki page too.

And for run, here's a tour of some freeways using a freight train mod (warning: violence, blood, middle fingers -- just like the game):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_99RbScTas

[kurumi]

Traffic flow measured on different intersection and interchange types in Cities Skylines (with some mods):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yITr127KZtQ

[silverback1065]

Traffic flow measured on different intersection and interchange types in Cities Skylines (with some mods):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yITr127KZtQ

i just got this on PS4 yesterday, I'm having a lot of fun playing, It's my first city sim game!

[kurumi]

"Mini Motorways", a new road design game on Apple Arcade:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb6bf14lAYw&feature=youtu.be

Plenty of things to complain about, but might be fun to play

[ET21]

Disclaimer: have not played, and GTA 5 is from 2013 or so.

GTA V has an expanded San Andreas Map (link) with Interstate, US ("rural"), and State ("urban") routes. There's a wiki page too.

And for run, here's a tour of some freeways using a freight train mod (warning: violence, blood, middle fingers -- just like the game):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_99RbScTas

This is a glorious mod lol

[JoePCool14]

"Mini Motorways", a new road design game on Apple Arcade:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb6bf14lAYw&feature=youtu.be

Plenty of things to complain about, but might be fun to play

Nothing says road creation like three different and very short "Interstate 1"s! I wonder what the point of the game actually is. Is it just a watered down Cities: Skylines if only traffic was important?

[TEG24601]

"Mini Motorways", a new road design game on Apple Arcade:

Plenty of things to complain about, but might be fun to play

Nothing says road creation like three different and very short "Interstate 1"s! I wonder what the point of the game actually is. Is it just a watered down Cities: Skylines if only traffic was important?

It is a new game from the people who brought Mini Metro.  Instead of taking shaped people to shaped stations, it appears you take people of a color, in a car of the same color, to a building of the same color.  The point of the "Interstate" routes is to simply bypass intersections that may be busy, and allow people who need to get from one side to the other, faster.

[Bruce]

The Last of US II is set in Seattle and features a bit of I-5 in this trailer scene:

[X99]

I'm kinda surprised no one brought up the I-88 Freeway Loop from Burnout Paradise or BPR.

I won't be the one to do it though, instead posting this:

It's the only picture of my Minecraft city map, Myers County, that features part of the freeway system traversing between the towns and cities in the map. I didn't make special Interstate-style signs or anything like that, but what I did do is name them accordingly as the Interbiome Highway System (abbreviated IB-xx). There are also a few state highways, marked the same as the Interbiomes- regular signs with the numbers on them. Here's the best part: I never planned on modding this map. Those freeways are for horses. I still have no idea why I started building freeways, but looking back on it, I'm glad I did. It's the best-designed thing in the map.

Now that I feel bad about it, my next visit to that world (probably tomorrow) will include a lot of concrete on the roof of the Nether and my first attempt at giant pixel art.
EDIT: Can't map in the Nether, so I went a few thousand blocks away from the spawn north of everything I've built and started building the sign on the top of a mountain.

[inkyatari]

I love how the different selections in the Activision game Freeway for the Atari 2600 has the roads named after famous real roads...

6.   Select game with game select switch. In all games, there
     are ten lanes of traffic, five in each direction.
          Game 1:   Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, 3 A.M.
          Game 2:   Interstate 5, Seattle, 6 A.M.
          Game 3:   Santa Monica Freeway, Los Angeles, 10 A.M.
          Game 4:   Bayshore Freeway, San Francisco, Midnight
          Game 5:   John Lodge Expressway, Detroit, 9 P.M.
          Game 6:   The Beltway, Washington D.C., 6 P.M.
          Game 7:   LBJ Freeway, Dallas, 5 P.M.
          Game 8:   Long Island Expressway, New York City, 3 
                    A.M.

GAMES

Each game offers a different challenge. The type, speed and
frequency of traffic may vary, depending on the game.


     GAME ONE: LAKE SHORE DRIVE, CHICAGO, 3 A.M.
Automobiles only. Traffic is thin. Speeds are relatively slow.
Autos move slowest in lanes closest to curbs, then faster with
each lane closer to center of highway.

     GAME TWO: INTERSTATE 5, SEATTLE, 6 A.M.
Upper lane closest to center of freeway has trucks; all others
have autos. Traffic is thicker and moves faster than in Game
One. Speeds of autos increase in the same order as they did in
Game one.

     GAME THREE: SANTA MONICA FREEWAY, LOS ANGELES, 10 A.M.
Trucks are now in both center lanes. These trucks are the
fastest moving vehicles, and they move faster than the fastest
moving vehicles in Games One and Two. Traffic is thicker in
the two lanes closest to the curbs.

     GAME FOUR: BAYSHORE FREEWAY, SAN FRANCISCO, MIDNIGHT
There are trucks in all lanes. The trucks in the lanes closest
to center, as well as those closest to the curbs, move at the
same speed as the trucks in Game Three. The trucks in lanes 2
and 4 move at half the speed of those in lanes 1 and 5. The
trucks in lane 3 are the slowest, and move at half the speed
of those in lanes 2 and 4. (Lane at bottom of screen is lane
1; lane at top is lane 10.)

     GAMES FIVE THROUGH EIGHT
Similar to Games One through Four in the amount of traffic for
each game. But, take care, because the speeds of the vehicles
are increased and decreased at random throughout each of these
games - without regard to lane. You'll really have to be on
your toes, because you can never tell when the speed of any
particular traffic will change.

[X99]

Now that I feel bad about it, my next visit to that world (probably tomorrow) will include a lot of concrete on the roof of the Nether and my first attempt at giant pixel art.
EDIT: Can't map in the Nether, so I went a few thousand blocks away from the spawn north of everything I've built and started building the sign on the top of a mountain.

Update: I went south, not north. Oh well.

Instead of BGS's (Big Green Signs), I have BWS's (Big Wooden Signs). Here are the two largest ones, both at the interchange shown in my first picture:

The BWS at the western terminus of IB-295 in the middle of the Southlake Interchange, directing traffic to IB-95/MC 1 south towards Ravinton and Pickerville, or IB-95 north towards North Ravinton and IB-40.


Approaching the Southlake Interchange from the south on IB-95, the BWS directs traffic to continue north on IB-95 towards North Ravinton and the IB-40 interchange, IB-295/MC 1 east towards the south side of Myers Bay, or straight ahead to exit onto Waterfall Park. (This was the original pathway between Prismarine Lake and Ravinton in the early days of the map, now taken over by Waterfall Park, IB-95, and MC 1.)

[JoePCool14]

Now that I feel bad about it, my next visit to that world (probably tomorrow) will include a lot of concrete on the roof of the Nether and my first attempt at giant pixel art.
EDIT: Can't map in the Nether, so I went a few thousand blocks away from the spawn north of everything I've built and started building the sign on the top of a mountain.

Update: I went south, not north. Oh well.

Instead of BGS's (Big Green Signs), I have BWS's (Big Wooden Signs). Here are the two largest ones, both at the interchange shown in my first picture:

I like what you did with the top of the shields. 

[X99]

Now that I feel bad about it, my next visit to that world (probably tomorrow) will include a lot of concrete on the roof of the Nether and my first attempt at giant pixel art.
EDIT: Can't map in the Nether, so I went a few thousand blocks away from the spawn north of everything I've built and started building the sign on the top of a mountain.

Update: I went south, not north. Oh well.

Instead of BGS's (Big Green Signs), I have BWS's (Big Wooden Signs). Here are the two largest ones, both at the interchange shown in my first picture:

I like what you did with the top of the shields. 

It was an attempt at symbolism: showing grass, stone, and sand as the things connected by the freeway system.

[X99]

Just to prove a point about route zero being EVERYWHERE on signs:





This is on the east coast; however, I've seen signs for it near NYC, Chicago, Seattle, etc.

From what I read on the game wiki, they tried to sign all of the highways on the map, but after finishing all the ones in the Midwest section, it was taking too long and they gave up and left the placeholder US 0 on the rest of the signs in the map. Would have been nice if they could have tried to fix a few more for TC2.

[jhuntin1]

Fallout 76 has a pretty well marked out system of West Virginia roads for 100 years in the future, even though a lot of numbers don't make sense. I-59 runs through Charleston and also begins and ends in weird places. US 66 has been recommissioned in the future, apparently, since it's in the game as well. I have no idea if the state highway numbers match anything in the real state, but the junctions are mostly well marked out with advance signs, directions signs, etc.