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Soul of Anatolia: Building Intersections with Pavel
Today, we’re taking a look behind the scenes of the Soul of Anatolia DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2, this time focusing on the complex work that goes into creating the roads and intersections that connect its cities and landscapes. We spoke with Pavel, one of our Map Designers, who shared more about his work on the project and the process of building a road network.
Hi! My name is Pavel, and I’ve been working at SCS Software as a Map Designer for more than 7 years.
For the past two years, I’ve mainly specialised in everything related to roads and highways.
For Soul of Anatolia, I design large highway interchanges and create specifications for other departments for prefabs, tunnels, and traffic lights. I also work with my colleagues to place these elements throughout the map and strive to create a consistent driving experience for players.
What similar projects have you worked on in the past, and how is working on Soul of Anatolia DLC different?
The project that comes closest to my work on Soul of Anatolia is the Greece DLC, where I had some experience with the geometric design of interchanges and maintaining consistency in road elements such as toll gates.
Working on Soul of Anatolia is different mainly because of the scale of what I’m responsible for. I’ve been given much more room to influence the road layout.
How large is this DLC, and what challenges does it bring for you?
From my perspective, with my focus mainly on roads, this DLC is truly huge. For example, we have more than a hundred large highway interchanges on the map.
The challenge for me is to make sure these interchanges meet our requirements while also making sure everything fits within the map.
How does the creation and implementation of highway interchanges work?
Since the project is usually already underway in some form by the time I start working on it, I create pre-assembled interchanges separately from the project in a dedicated test map, where I also test newly created prefabs.
In this map, I always start with a rough prototype built by hand, where the main focus is choosing the right number of road lanes and the type of road intersection. I then iterate on this prototype, adjusting curve radii and fine-tuning road lengths to meet the rules we have established, such as clearance heights under bridges, road banking, and maximum gradients.
I try to calculate and build everything so that the interchange matches its real-world counterpart as closely as possible, is as compact as possible, and is also comfortable to drive through.
Once I’m happy with the prototype, it is copied into the project and placed in its designated location, where it may still undergo some minor adjustments. At that point, my work on the interchange is finished.
You spoke about prefabs; how does the creation of new prefabs work?
First, I consider whether a prefab really needs to be created for a particular situation, or whether the situation could be solved with a prefab we already have, perhaps with a small compromise.
If I conclude that a new prefab is necessary, I start designing it. I begin by putting together a rough prototype using roads. For the design, I use simple geometry, such as calculating the radius and sector of a circle.
It’s important not to make the prefab unnecessarily large while also finding the right compromise that allows both our AI traffic and players to drive through it without problems.
Once I’m happy with the shape, I create a simple blueprint of the prefab. In addition to its shape, it also shows the road markings and the routes that AI traffic will take.
Once that is ready, I create a specification for our road department. Along with the coordinates of the pre-assembled prototype, I include the blueprints and a basic description.
After that, I simply wait for the prefab to be created. Once it comes back to me, I either provide feedback on it or approve it for use on the map.
What are you most looking forward to seeing completed on the map as part of Soul of Anatolia DLC?
A little selfishly, I’m looking forward to finally having all the highway interchanges and prefabs completed. Toward the end of the project, I’ll also add the necessary accessories to them, such as traffic lights.
After that, most of my work will be focused on details and small touches that will allow me to give the project some extra care and bring the level of detail closer to the real-world references.
What have you enjoyed the most about Soul of Anatolia DLC so far, and what are you looking forward to the most?
I’m really enjoying one new type of interchange, and one modified existing type of prefab that I’ve wanted to have ever since I joined the company. I’ve now managed to get them created, and they’re already waiting for you in the map for you to drive through.
What do you think players will like the most about Soul of Anatolia DLC, and what shouldn’t they miss?
Of course, waiting at traffic-light intersections!
No, just kidding. It will definitely be the landscapes and landmarks. Even now, at a really early stage of the map’s development, some places can really surprise me with how detailed and beautiful they already look.
We hope you enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look at the work that goes into building the roads and intersections of Soul of Anatolia. A huge thank you to Pavel for sharing more about his role and giving us a glimpse into the process behind creating the region's road network.
If you are excited to be cruising in this map expansion, don't forget to support us by adding the Soul of Anatolia DLC to your Steam wishlist.
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