That were only the outer rings of the maps. Afaik both maps combined in TDU2 were about 2000-2500 km of roads. The Crew 1/2 has about 4500-5000 km of roads. But those were the only games so far with such a big map, so you can't really say we are spoiled with big maps. Thats just something i and i am sure a lot of former TDU-players expect from a TDU-game.
550 km of roads is just a joke and a slap in the face of TDU-veterans. Sorry i have to say that. I don't really care about a detailed, filled map. Forza has also a pretty filled map compared to The Crew 2, but it zero cruisingfactor as a lap around the map takes just 10 minutes. Cruising the hole map probably is finished in less than an hour with a fast car.
Don't get wrong. I have more playtime in FH5 as i ever expected, because i prefer the handlingmodel way over this bullhist Ivorytower calls a handlingmodel nowadays. But i never even thought about cruising around there, because it will get boring very soon. You can just have some casual fun in such games and i am afraid TDU SC wont be any different.
To quote RaceMasterDave:
"I understand what you guys are saying, but I am afraid, in 2022 and beyond, we'll never see another game with miles of roads where not much else is happening aka just a map with roads to drive/explore. You guys want something like Euro Truck, but then for cars That's not gonna attract the casual gamer and as we know, that's the main focus nowadays of developers : casuals and vanity lovers.......
And it seems also TDUSC is aiming for those : the Forza and TC players in general.
As a competitive, I am also not convinced about this Streets vs Sharps thing.
So from the 3 C's (casuals, cruisers, competitives), it seems they are also aiming mostly on that one group of casuals.
Some driving around, maybe some racing, but the focus will probably be on going to the casino, buying houses and decorate them with vanity items you have to win or buy.
Driving through the city at night with their blue neon underglows and pink lights shining on the road (that might also attract the NFS player and then they have all the players : Forza, TC and NFS)
And a year later, the game dies out, cause the casuals never stay around for long, they have to go by that time, cause there'll be a new title somewhere they have to play And in the meantime, they're making videos about "best car in the game" and "easiest way to make money" every WEEK for their youtube channel, rofl. It's amazing how fast those best cars change from day to day"
And i fear he is absolutely right with it. Publishers and Devs are concentrating only on the casual gamers, with who they can make quick money and who do not care about the longterm development of a game. Just look what TC2 has become. It was a nice cruisinggame at the release (or at least after they fixed the wheelsupport half a year after release). But after some time Ivorytower was concentrating only on the casual players and made the game worse and worse.
Nacon or Kyloton or whoever is responsible for TDU SC start right where Ivorytower is at the moment.