Mapping Los Santos! Building/landmark analysis

[burner12]

 

Is anyone else super excited to just hop in a vehicle and just drive like a maniac all over the map? Freeways, Highways, Avenues, Side streets, dirt roads it doesnt matter. But that will be the first thing I do after I complete the first mission is just drive for hours on end. See the map in all of its glory. Then start doing some missions and activities.

Same here. I'll complete the first mandatory mission and then I will be exploring the whole map.

I saw a thread earlier this week about guys who will explore the map online first thing.

It would be cool to do something like that with the mapping gang.

Discover what we were mapping for all this time together.

Me too, I'm going to get a car first as Michael and drive around looking at all the areas and the "world" R* has built. Then switch to Trevor and fly around the "world" seeing the beauty and size!

[lxr]

Here's a collection of shots that show the eastern edge of the city. One thing that's interesting is that the yellow and green arrow peaks don't reappear in other shots. That means what we're seeing there must be some sort of valley, running roughly southwest-northeast, behind the red and orange arrow mountain, up towards the reservoir.

 

Edited to add: I guess it's possible to argue that the red arrow in the first image is wrong, that it points to another, taller, distant mountain (maybe at the end of said valley), and that the actual red arrow mountain (and the dam) is hidden behind the "V", "I" or "N".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 13, 2013 by lxr

[gtamann123]

Is anyone else super excited to just hop in a vehicle and just drive like a maniac all over the map? Freeways, Highways, Avenues, Side streets, dirt roads it doesnt matter. But that will be the first thing I do after I complete the first mission is just drive for hours on end. See the map in all of its glory. Then start doing some missions and activities.

Same here. I'll complete the first mandatory mission and then I will be exploring the whole map.

I saw a thread earlier this week about guys who will explore the map online first thing.

It would be cool to do something like that with the mapping gang.

Discover what we were mapping for all this time together.

Me too, I'm going to get a car first as Michael and drive around looking at all the areas and the "world" R* has built. Then switch to Trevor and fly around the "world" seeing the beauty and size!

That will be amazing. Im going to hop in Mike;s F9 and get on the interstate and just see where it takes me. Then head out to the countryside and exit off onto some smaller roads and then side roads and work my way back to the city and drive the side streets around LS. It will be incredible and it gives me chills just thinking about it. This game needs to come out NOW! this will probably be the best gameworld in R* history if not video game history. I'm calling it now.

[kesta195]

Great work again lxr, I for one thought the jet screenshot was facing North, not East, although I can see now that it does in fact face East. So would the dam be just out of shot, to the left?

[lxr]

 

Great work again lxr, I for one thought the jet screenshot was facing North, not East, although I can see now that it does in fact face East. So would the dam be just out of shot, to the left?

Yes, precisely. See here and here.

 

Edited to add:

 

The Jet shot, even though it's blurred, is by far the best one we have of that area. It doesn't leave much doubt about what lies south of the dam. One can even see that the valley may have and upper (brown arrow) and lower (orange arrow) part. I also believe it's the only shot so far that shows a very tiny glimpse of land beyond the eastern range (violet arrow), given that slightly lighter color is a good indicator of slightly larger distance.

 

Edited January 13, 2013 by lxr

[Beliy360]

 

Lake

 

Grand Theft Auto V version of Saints (born in Los Santos) is a fictional city of Los Angeles and clear. The Saints, he first appeared before a game, which was published in 2004. The game is out of town, and the surrounding beaches, mountains, forests and mountains, and Lake - hydrosphere is a full container LAKES (lake bed) and an integral part of a natural pond, water, and a direct connection to the sea (the sea) [1] Limnology kymrkzy lakes. Geographically, hollow lake water. Photos from the sea to rivers and lakes ..... According Rock games, and other major cities in the case of [4] San Andreas. In the January issue of Game detective said, and size of the map of GTA V will be great Dan Hauser him an interview, and 2012

[Fido_le_muet]

Come again ?

[kesta195]

Great work again lxr, I for one thought the jet screenshot was facing North, not East, although I can see now that it does in fact face East. So would the dam be just out of shot, to the left?

Yes, precisely. See here and here.

 

Edited to add:

 

The Jet shot, even though it's blurred, is by far the best one we have of that area. It doesn't leave much doubt about what lies south of the dam. One can even see that the valley may have and upper (brown arrow) and lower (orange arrow) part. I also believe it's the only shot so far that shows a very tiny glimpse of land beyond the eastern range (violet arrow), given that slightly lighter color is a good indicator of slightly larger distance.

 

Why is it that East LS seems so much smaller here than in the observatory shot or Vinewood shot, or is it just me? The mountains look much closer here.

[lxr]

 

Why is it that East LS seems so much smaller here than in the observatory shot or Vinewood shot, or is it just me? The mountains look much closer here.

It's perspective.

 

If we had a panoramic shot of the city from the south, say above Vincent Thomas Bridge, the Vinewood Sign would appear to be sticking right behind Downtown, on top of a more or less straight wall of hills. Only through shots from the Vinewood Sign have we learned that, for example, there is a full amphitheater hidden in these hills.

 

So while East LS may not be as wide as the other shots we have suggest (weird optics in at least two of them), it's definitely wider than it seems here. Same for the mountains. This is not a wall, but quite a deep stretch of territory. Depending on how you look at it, you can see up to three distinct mountain ranges ending in that shot.

Edited January 13, 2013 by lxr

[Troll Proof]

So what are you saying about the size of East LS then? Greater than what you were expecting?

[lxr]

 

So what are you saying about the size of East LS then? Greater than what you were expecting?

Hard to say, since I didn't come with any particular expectation. Could it be the size of Alderney? I think it's smaller. At least narrower. Some parts of it. But by how much? I really don't know. I'm not even sure what exactly I'm comparing, since Alderney ends at its coast, while East LS doesn't end at a wall of mountains.

Edited January 13, 2013 by lxr

[kesta195]

East LS doesn't end at a wall of mountains.

Doesn't it? I though it did.

[lxr]

 

East LS doesn't end at a wall of mountains.

Doesn't it? I though it did.

Well, that was at least what I was trying to argue, with regards to the Jet screenshot, above.

 

At first glance, when you see these six arrows on the left, you'll probably see them lined up from north to south (left to right). I was proposing to see them lined up from west to east (close to far). Orange, then brown, then dark blue, then light blue, then yellow, then green.

 

We've seen houses above Echo Park, more houses even higher up, and I'd expect a full highway leading west. Can't rule out a tunnel, but I don't think there would have to be one, given how much space there is.

Edited January 13, 2013 by lxr

[kesta195]

East LS doesn't end at a wall of mountains.

Doesn't it? I though it did.

Well, that was at least what I was trying to argue, with regards to the Jet screenshot, above.

 

At first glance, when you see these six arrows on the left, you'll probably see them lined up from north to south (left to right). I was proposing to see them lined up from west to east (close to far). Orange, then brown, then dark blue, then light blue, then yellow, then green.

Ok I see where you're going, but doesn't the observatory screen with Michael and Franklin show that the mountains east of the city do in fact run almost directly north-south?

[lxr]

 

East LS doesn't end at a wall of mountains.

Doesn't it? I though it did.

Well, that was at least what I was trying to argue, with regards to the Jet screenshot, above.

 

At first glance, when you see these six arrows on the left, you'll probably see them lined up from north to south (left to right). I was proposing to see them lined up from west to east (close to far). Orange, then brown, then dark blue, then light blue, then yellow, then green.

Ok I see where you're going, but doesn't the observatory screen with Michael and Franklin show that the mountains east of the city do in fact run almost directly north-south?

That must be some sort of illusion. It's what one would expect, but not what one can see. Mine shows hardly any mountains at all.

 

There is the other Observatory shot, at the beginning of the second trailer. In that one, the Observatory obscures most of the mountains.

 

Your eyes will probably just fill in a straight line there. Mine will do the same. But I don't think it's a straight line. Actually not at all.

[Showstopper 26]

You don't think there's any tunnels?

[kesta195]

 

East LS doesn't end at a wall of mountains.

Doesn't it? I though it did.

Well, that was at least what I was trying to argue, with regards to the Jet screenshot, above.

 

At first glance, when you see these six arrows on the left, you'll probably see them lined up from north to south (left to right). I was proposing to see them lined up from west to east (close to far). Orange, then brown, then dark blue, then light blue, then yellow, then green.

Ok I see where you're going, but doesn't the observatory screen with Michael and Franklin show that the mountains east of the city do in fact run almost directly north-south?

That must be some sort of illusion. It's what one would expect, but not what one can see. Mine shows hardly any mountains at all.

 

There is the other Observatory shot, at the beginning of the second trailer. In that one, the Observatory obscures most of the mountains.

 

Your eyes will probably just fill in a straight line there. Mine will do the same. But I don't think it's a straight line. Actually not at all.

Oh yes the observatory shot was a mistake on my part, although if you look at this there does seem to be mountains that run almost all the way up to the ocean, not leaving much room for a potential suburban area to continue east.

[lxr]

 

You don't think there's any tunnels?

Honestly, I have no idea

 

Actually, the only reason I was looking at the eastern edge of the city was because I was trying to find out where on the map R* could be hiding the massive mountains/ranges in images 10, 11 and 12, here.

 

One can take an even further look, see below, at the eastern horizon of the known world, from north (left) to south (right). I still don't see them. Should I look harder? Maybe. Do they have to be in the east? Not at all. North of Mt. Alamo, pretty much anything is possible.

 

Edited January 13, 2013 by lxr

[kesta195]

lxr, which direction is the second picture you posted facing? I've always wondered about it, and have never been able to place it at all. There seems to be a tiny visible piece of a built up area just left of the mountain in the foreground but the rest is obscured. Is this north of LS, facing north still? I'm baffled by this screen haha.

[lxr]

 

Oh yes the observatory shot was a mistake on my part, although if you look at this there does seem to be mountains that run almost all the way up to the ocean, not leaving much room for a potential suburban area to continue east.

Again, someone stuck a big fat "V" in there. To fill in one range of mountains, running south towards the ocean, may be the most obvious thing to do, but... why not fill in three ranges of mountains, running northeast?

 

 

lxr, which direction is the second picture you posted facing? I've always wondered about it, and have never been able to place it at all. There seems to be a tiny visible piece of a built up area just left of the mountain in the foreground but the rest is obscured. Is this north of LS, facing north still? I'm baffled by this screen haha.

Assuming you mean the one with the plane and the train, that's facing east, more or less. The tiny piece of shoreline (and the overall geography) is a bit clearer here.

Edited January 13, 2013 by lxr

[kesta195]

Oh yes the observatory shot was a mistake on my part, although if you look at this there does seem to be mountains that run almost all the way up to the ocean, not leaving much room for a potential suburban area to continue east.

Again, someone stuck a big fat "V" in there. To fill in one range of mountains, running south towards the ocean, may be the most obvious thing to do, but... why not fill in three ranges of mountains, running northeast?

 

 

lxr, which direction is the second picture you posted facing? I've always wondered about it, and have never been able to place it at all. There seems to be a tiny visible piece of a built up area just left of the mountain in the foreground but the rest is obscured. Is this north of LS, facing north still? I'm baffled by this screen haha.

Which one exactly?

Well yes it is annoying that the V obscures most of the range, although mostly I was referring to the fact that the range continues up to the ocean, between the V and the ladder. This still leaves the mountain area behind the V open to speculation about the continuation of East LS, however the Jet screenshot posted earlier does show this area, and by the looks of things there is a wall of mountain there also. The way I see it, if there is an extended urban area we haven't seen, it runs north east of the city, the only area we truly haven't seen yet (only slightly in the Vinewood - helicopter screenshot) but nothing is really clear yet.

 

In regards to your second reply I was referring to the screen with the plane flying over the train, with the ocean and some mountains in the background.

[Choco Taco]

I'm not sure about the size and scale of the area north of the city, but I think all of the angles and locations of the entire map are accurate.

 

 

[lxr]

Well yes it is annoying that the V obscures most of the range, although mostly I was referring to the fact that the range continues up to the ocean, between the V and the ladder. This still leaves the mountain area behind the V open to speculation about the continuation of East LS, however the Jet screenshot posted earlier does show this area, and by the looks of things there is a wall of mountain there also. The way I see it, if there is an extended urban area we haven't seen, it runs north east of the city, the only area we truly haven't seen yet (only slightly in the Vinewood - helicopter screenshot) but nothing is really clear yet.

Sure, I'm not claiming there's room for a full urban area there. And true, nothing is really clear yet.

 

The more I think about it though, the more I like the "three mountains ranges" theory. As opposed to my previous "one range descending slowly towards the ocean, with one peak in the middle" mental model of it.

 

At least that range is not what I'm seeing in the three shots I posted earlier that are all looking east, with Downtown in the foreground. It's always just two mountains. And they would be part range one and range three.

[gtamodeller]

Hi all

Heres a big update of my 3D mapping.

The most parts fits much better now and i added some more landmarks aswell: mountains edges, 100 Wilshire, LSX Tower, Gerald Desmon Bridge, Looking from vinewood sign to Griffith.

Every thing that is placed in 3D is placed where it belongs to, based on the screenshots and camera matchmaking.

 

Heres some things i want point out.

In some screens, buildings seems easy to place better just by moving to left or right. But the problem is every time i change position of something i have to refitt it

in all the other cameras. So i have to find an average position for all the landmarks.

 

For east LS the only landmarks added at the moment are: Trevors Quad Bike, Gerald Desmon Bridge, Dam.

 

This time i added a texture of Liberty City in the 3D view and scale it until it fitts the proportions of my 3D modell.

This was just done by guessing, but thats what i was looking for: spacing between the streets, Highest building compared to LC Empire State Building, Golf Court Size,

Average size of buildings such as LS City Hall and Sierra Tower. Airport Landing runway.

 

This work was much easier because of the awsome work from all of you who made the building identification stuff. Nice Job Guys.

 

the latest post about the eas side from lxr helped my to keep working on this. because this was one hell of an puzzeling task.

 

 

So here is the Gallery of the most of my shots i used:

http://s1275.beta.photobucket.com/user/gta...sSantosMapping3

 

And here is the current version of the map with a Liberty City comparsion:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kesta195]

Well yes it is annoying that the V obscures most of the range, although mostly I was referring to the fact that the range continues up to the ocean, between the V and the ladder. This still leaves the mountain area behind the V open to speculation about the continuation of East LS, however the Jet screenshot posted earlier does show this area, and by the looks of things there is a wall of mountain there also. The way I see it, if there is an extended urban area we haven't seen, it runs north east of the city, the only area we truly haven't seen yet (only slightly in the Vinewood - helicopter screenshot) but nothing is really clear yet.

Sure, I'm not claiming there's room for a full urban area there. And true, nothing is really clear yet.

 

The more I think about it though, the more I like the "three mountains ranges" theory. As opposed to my previous "one range descending slowly towards the ocean, with one peak in the middle" mental model of it.

 

At least that range is not what I'm seeing in the three shots I posted earlier that are all looking east, with Downtown in the foreground. It's always just two mountains. And they would be part range one and range three.

This is a lot to ask, but if you have the time would you give a quick sketch of your 3 mountain range theory? I'm really interested but I think I'm just too tired to be able to visualize it based on text and arrows alone

[lxr]

 

I'm not sure about the size and scale of the area north of the city, but I think all of the angles and locations of the entire map are accurate.

 

Yes, that's actually quite good. My main headache with regards to GTAKiwi's map, see first post, is that Mt. Zancudo (red peak) wouldn't appear behind Vinewood at the position where you show it appears.

 

I still think Mt. Zancudo runs a bit more SE-NW than just straight S-N, and Trevor should be further to the east, but... it's definitely an improvement.

 

 

Edited to add:

 

But here's the other part of that same headache: The left side of your yellow angle must be facing more west than straight north, given that the Vinewood Sign runs from west to east. I tried my best to verify that the ledges in the background behind the sea, and the ledges to the left of Trevor, are in fact the same. But with Mt. Zancudo appearing where it appears, that makes that whole area still pretty tight, doesn't it?

Edited January 13, 2013 by lxr

[jbte]

 

[

 

 

 

[Atadritaata]

Hi all

Heres a big update of my 3D mapping.

The most parts fits much better now and i added some more landmarks aswell: mountains edges, 100 Wilshire, LSX Tower, Gerald Desmon Bridge, Looking from vinewood sign to Griffith.

Every thing that is placed in 3D is placed where it belongs to, based on the screenshots and camera matchmaking.

 

Heres some things i want point out.

In some screens, buildings seems easy to place better just by moving to left or right. But the problem is every time i change position of something i have to refitt it

in all the other cameras. So i have to find an average position for all the landmarks.

 

For east LS the only landmarks added at the moment are: Trevors Quad Bike, Gerald Desmon Bridge, Dam.

 

This time i added a texture of Liberty City in the 3D view and scale it until it fitts the proportions of my 3D modell.

This was just done by guessing, but thats what i was looking for: spacing between the streets, Highest building compared to LC Empire State Building, Golf Court Size,

Average size of buildings such as LS City Hall and Sierra Tower. Airport Landing runway.

 

This work was much easier because of the awsome work from all of you who made the building identification stuff. Nice Job Guys.

 

the latest post about the eas side from lxr helped my to keep working on this. because this was one hell of an puzzeling task.

 

 

So here is the Gallery of the most of my shots i used:

http://s1275.beta.photobucket.com/user/gta...sSantosMapping3

 

And here is the current version of the map with a Liberty City comparsion:

thats pretty cool

 

and makes gta iv map look tiny considering this is just the city part of V

[lxr]

Hi all

Heres a big update of my 3D mapping.

The most parts fits much better now and i added some more landmarks aswell: mountains edges, 100 Wilshire, LSX Tower, Gerald Desmon Bridge, Looking from vinewood sign to Griffith.

Every thing that is placed in 3D is placed where it belongs to, based on the screenshots and camera matchmaking.

 

Heres some things i want point out.

In some screens, buildings seems easy to place better just by moving to left or right. But the problem is every time i change position of something i have to refitt it

in all the other cameras. So i have to find an average position for all the landmarks.

 

For east LS the only landmarks added at the moment are: Trevors Quad Bike, Gerald Desmon Bridge, Dam.

 

This time i added a texture of Liberty City in the 3D view and scale it until it fitts the proportions of my 3D modell.

This was just done by guessing, but thats what i was looking for: spacing between the streets, Highest building compared to LC Empire State Building, Golf Court Size,

Average size of buildings such as LS City Hall and Sierra Tower. Airport Landing runway.

 

This work was much easier because of the awsome work from all of you who made the building identification stuff. Nice Job Guys.

 

the latest post about the eas side from lxr helped my to keep working on this. because this was one hell of an puzzeling task.

 

 

So here is the Gallery of the most of my shots i used:

http://s1275.beta.photobucket.com/user/gta...sSantosMapping3

 

And here is the current version of the map with a Liberty City comparsion:

This is very impressive! I guess I'll have to look at it for a bit longer...

 

When it comes to comparing Los Santos with Liberty City, maybe this (based on this) can help as well. Assuming Chrysler Building == US Bank Tower.

 

[Choco Taco]

 

 

But here's the other part of that same headache: The left side of your yellow angle must be facing more west than straight north, given that the Vinewood Sign runs from west to east. I tried my best to verify that the ledges in the background behind the sea, and the ledges to the left of Trevor, are in fact the same. But with Mt. Zancudo appearing where it appears, that makes that whole area still pretty tight, doesn't it?

 

Yeah, it's difficult trying to get everything to fit when certain landmarks have to be in certain areas - the mountain north of the city can move too far east or west and the highway running towards the city can't go too far south. Plus, if one of the locations is incorrect, it can throw everything off... and then not knowing how far away the mountains are...