This repository offers the coordinates of scenery towns in ATS. It was created in order to allow the ATS Slippy Map by @truckermudgeon to add an extra layer showing scenery towns.
Initially, town positions were recorded manually using the game's "bugs.txt" feature. The result was placed into subdirectories in this repository, sorted by state.
As of early 2024, there is a plan to base this dataset largely on mileage target data. The goal is to improve the efficiency of creating and maintaining the dataset. See ATS slippy map ideas.
Going forward, the subdirectories will no longer be systematically
maintained. The all-towns.geojson file, which is used by Trucker
Mudgeon's map, will be the only supported output format. The
subdirectories will eventually disappear from the main branch.
They are archived in the towns-txt branch.
A "scenery town" in ATS is defined for this repository as any location which is not a marked city on the in-game world map and which meets both of the following criteria:
-
Buildings exist in the game world.
Any kind of buildings will do, even commercial or abandoned ones. -
The place name exists in the game world.
This usually means the exact name must appear on a green road sign. Any deducing of place names from e.g. building names or other indirect sources should be avoided, except where the situation is super obvious.
Additionally, the following locations are included if named because of their navigational value, even where no buildings exist:
- Highway junctions
- Mountain passes and prominent bridges/tunnels
I'm absolutely open to discuss changes to these criteria. The
ATS Slippy Map thread
might be the best place to have such a discussion. Feel free to tag me there
(@nautofon).
At least mountain passes should probably be in another dataset instead of this one. They might be removed here if such a dataset becomes available separately in future.
Beyond that, it might be interesting to expand this idea to other POIs, such as historical markers, rest areas, or viewpoints.