Map remastering

[shut shuttle]

I saw a post with a similar idea recently but it ended up being more about expanding maps, backfilling species, and adding new ones. The latter two are their own, well-discussed topics and I don't think map expansion is very likely to happen.

However, there are some ways that older maps could be improved similarly to how animals have been remastered. The team behind the animal models has been able to make massive improvements to the originals, and I hope the environment team would have similar success.

Some possible improvements include:

• Improving textures
• Improving terrain geometry
• Grounding floating objects/vegetation
• Rescaling mis-sized objects
• Fixing incorrect signage
• Adding detail & variety to outposts
• Adding new hidden details to stumble on
• Redistributing vegetation/adding new varieties
• Realigning audio to the environment (hearing invisible water or plants)
• Adding missing audio

To me there seems to have been a noticeable dip in map quality in the middle of the DLC releases. Layton, Hirsch, and Medved are very strong maps. That seems to pick back up with Rancho, with NEM, EC, and Nepal being a return to form. In between though things got pretty lackluster. Admittedly some of that is due to those maps being more open when dense, hilly terrain is where the engine is strongest, but that's not all of it.

With apologies to the folks behind it I think SRP is the low point and demonstrates most of the weaknesses. Its outposts are barebones and identical, the terrain texture and even the bush placement has loads of obvious tiling, and there are tons of floating objects.

There are a lot of specific things I'd want out of map remasters but I'll just share a few. Layton and Hirsch's outposts could be improved and they've definitely got floating vegetation. Vurhonga could use a little more color in its vegetation. NEM could use stone walls in the woods. And the GenZero Volvos need to be replaced on all maps. Feel free to add your own.

[lament geode]

Laytons and hirsh’s textures make me nauseous.

[shut shuttle]

Yeah there's certainly room for improvement, but I think those two and Medved are strong in other ways. They feel dense with vegetation and I just get the sense that more of views were deliberately crafted. That for those ones the team was spending more time at ground level rather than building them from above.

[brazen wedge]

Would you pay again for all these changes?
Remastering a map is like making a new one, they won't do that for free.

[shut shuttle]

Not saying they have to do it all. Just some examples of things I'd like to see, and any bit would help.

[pure chasm]

hirsch has high mountains in the southwest but they are hard to reach it looks empty, remodeling this area and make it more reachable (maybe add a lodge there to) would be perfect to backfill chamois and black grouse to this area