Mapping Red Dead Redemption 2! Landmark Analysis Thread

[DuPz0r]

There's no doubt that the shots are in close proximity.

 

I'd say this:

 

Mainly because we see Mossy Flats in that second shot.

Edited October 15, 2018 by DuPz0r

[Cutter De Blanc]

Everytime I visit this topic I'm just like "Did the map leak yet????"

[Nutduster]

2 minutes ago, Cutter De Blanc said:

Everytime I visit this topic I'm just like "Did the map leak yet????"

 

God, ain't that the truth. I click on the last page of this thread about 900 times a day hoping the real map will be in here.  Enough speculating, I just need to know now!

[TigerWoodsLibido]

I'll be honest, I've been on this board since I was getting hyped for San Andreas and trying to hopelessly figure out the map for that one. I only come into this thread as all the rest of the spoilers and gameplay I want to be completely surprised with.  All I want to know is are my old stomping grounds back and better than ever from RDR1 and how massive is the map.

 

I predict it will take a half hour to ride across the map at full gallop.

Edited October 15, 2018 by TigerWoodsLibido

[DarkDayz]

There is a huge world to explore, set across a range of America's heartland and frontier.

 

VO from first gameplay trailer. I'm taking that as no Mexico from here on. The lizard shot isn't enough for me.

[Pudgehodge]

On the topic of map expansion and the possibility of the boundaries of the leaked map (and New Austin) being extended to make the base map bigger, I've been paying a lot of attention to what we know about the areas beyond the map boundaries (both in RDR2 and RDR). 

I made a mock up (a crude one) giving a rough idea of the type of landscape/ mountains that we know of outside of the boundaries by using and images we have seen from RDR2 showing the areas beyond the boundaries, and also referencing the leaked map (and RDR's map to fill in some of the blanks). The most obvious things to note are that:

 

- there are more rocky mountains to the north beyond the Grizzlies' map boundary

- the mountains to the north of New Austin (Redemption Mountains) seem to get less drastic compared to the Grizzlies, and seem to get more dry as they get closer to the south-east where the landscape begins to turn into desert

- south/ south-east of Flat Iron Lake and the Lannahechee, there are large rolling hills covered densely in trees, beyond those hills there is desert and dry lands

- there are large, rolling mountains south of Nuevo Paraiso, and it looks like the desert extends beyond those mountains (to the south/ south-east)

 

 

So when considering extended map boundaries, we need to think of how they would border off those extended areas, how much sense they make for the story, how much sense they make for the map layout and in-game travel, what would make the extended areas unique from other areas in the map, etc. We should also keep in mind whether or not we have any evidence of these extended areas. 

 

Personally, I think the most likely extension is the mountain/ plateau area north of New Austin/ west of West Elizabeth. The heights of the Redemption mountains could serve as a natural boundary, and I think there's enough area south of the Redemption Mountains to fill with an extended map, and it would be the best place to open up the "bottleneck" of the map at the Lower Montana River. It's also worth noting that it's one of the very few areas that they seem to be avoiding showing. Another reason I think this is most likely for a map extension (though this is somewhat personal speculation) is the screenshot of the 4 gang members with the south in the background:

 I searched high and low in-game, and the only spot that made sense to me where this image could be taken from is the plateau/ shelf area above/ behind Hennigan's Stead (the area south/ south-east of Aurora Basin). Though I don't think any map extensions would be too large like some others have been speculating, if there was an extension in that area (or any area), I don't think it'd be any bigger than this: https://i.imgur.com/Sbmvqvm.png

 

The other area that makes sense (visually) for an expansion of the map would be the area south of Flat Iron Lake: https://i.imgur.com/kK6el9Y.png

Though if Nuevo Paraiso isn't part of the map, then an expansion in this area really wouldn't help the "bottlenecking" issue much and there would have to be some points of high interest on that side of the river for it to make sense with the story and game, otherwise you'd just be taking a boat over there just to get to the other side of the river. We've seen that it's mostly rolling hill with forest on that side of the river, but there does appear to be some dry lands beyond the hills, and they seem to extend up river as we can see in the Raonoke Ridge image looking across the river (on the left side of the image): https://i.imgur.com/KZhh6nn.jpg

If this was an extension area, it seems like it'd be hard to border off seeing how there are really no visible mountains, cliffs or rivers in the distance.. though I suppose if they really wanted to, they could just throw in some small, steep rocks as a barrier that are too small/ far to see in any images we've seen.

 

The only other area that could make some sense as an extension would be south-west of RDR's map. Like the area south-west of the Sea of Coronado and Escalera. Again, this expansion would really only make sense if Nuevo Paraiso is part of the map, but it is an interesting looking area looking towards it in RDR, and it also could have the potential to be connected to the "alternate region" in the leaked map. Still I think that area makes the least sense of the 3. To me, there aren't any other nearby areas that make sense for expansion, and I think the area near Redemption Mountains makes the most sense.

 

Let me know what you folks think about the extended boundaries or if there's any other evidence/ hints at map extension.

[Nutduster]

I am not aware of anything concrete that points to expansion beyond the scope of the known leaked map + old map (with or without Mexico).  Maybe the one and only meaningful suggestion of more is all the previews talking about how huge the entire thing is.

[ivarblaauw]

The only thing I am pretty sure about is the valley west of Big Valley... that one we can literally see and would be fully surrounded by mountains from all sides which would act as a natural boundary. 

It also seems quite untamed by civilization, so I get a feeling like The Revenant there. Loads of hunting opportunities in that area. 

Likely it would touch the north of New Austin, with two or three (new) roads leading out of the mountains.

 

South of Flat Iron Lake seems plausible as well, but only if Nuevo Paraiso is in the game, otherwise it wouldn't make much sense.

 

The land east of Roanoke Ridge... isn't that the expanded island where the Prison is located? Or is that island completely removed?

But in the end it doesn't really matter, I can see mountains in the back, so even that side is barred off by a natural barrier

Edited October 15, 2018 by ivarblaauw

[mrots]

1 hour ago, darkdayz said:

There is a huge world to explore, set across a range of America's heartland and frontier.

 

VO from first gameplay trailer. I'm taking that as no Mexico from here on. The lizard shot isn't enough for me.

I'm still on the fence regarding whether it's in the game or not, but Mexico IS in North America. Your quote doesn't necessarily reference the United States of America (disregarding Mexico), although I see how it could be implied...

Edited October 15, 2018 by mrots

[DarkDayz]

2 minutes ago, mrots said:

I'm still on the fence regarding whether it's in the game or not, but Mexico IS in North America. Your quote doesn't necessarily reference the United States of America, although I see how it could be implied...

 

Well you learn something every day, thanks for clarifying.

[Nutduster]

Yeah, their wording is (perhaps intentionally?) a little vague. America is often shorthand for just the United States of..., but it also can mean North America (including Mexico and Canada).  It doesn't usually refer to South America, for whatever reason. If someone meant to use shorthand for North and South America, they'd probably say "the Americas."

Edited October 15, 2018 by Nutduster

[HockeyMike24]

Or if Mexico is in the game it could just be a small portion of the map so they likely would just mention America as that's most of the playable area.

[GTARDR]

My latest and most craziest vision.  

https://i.postimg.cc/7DwWFr9Z/map2-4.jpg

They said, "Everything you see, you can go there...".

Edited October 15, 2018 by GTARDR

[eastriver]

1 hour ago, mrots said:

I'm still on the fence regarding whether it's in the game or not, but Mexico IS in North America. Your quote doesn't necessarily reference the United States of America (disregarding Mexico), although I see how it could be implied...

The word "America" in the English language is without exception always used to refer to the United States of America.

There shouldn't be any doubt that when the women referred to America she was talking about the USA.

If there are Spanish-first speakers among us this might be sound weird because in the Spanish language the word "America" means the continents of America and not the USA-- this is also true for the Portuguese language and the French language-- but this is not the case for the English language.

While the gameplay trailer did refer to the USA exclusively they might have left out mentioning the Mexican territories on purpose. I want to say that RDR's promotion was mostly focused around the American part of the map despite Mexico being a large part of the map, but it's been eight years so I'm not sure.

Edited October 15, 2018 by IG_

[cremefraiche]

Does anyone else have the feeling that "everything you can see, you can go to" was taken out of context?

 

Don't get me wrong, I think we're in store for some big surprises, but I can't help but think this was probably clever PR speak and that the demo that reviewers played had Arthur set somewhere that it would be true that you can go to everything you currently see, but that may not be true in other areas of the map.

 

For example, we know R* stopped someone from getting a train to St. Denis, so maybe that same statement "everything you can see..." wouldn't necessarily apply to somewhere else, say, on the water, St. Denis for example. 

 

Am I making sense?

Would be interested in hearing some differing opinions, too, I am by no means attached to this idea. 

 

edit: just noticed GTARDR's recent post - this was not meant to reference or discredit your ideas  

 

 

Edited October 15, 2018 by cremefraiche

[bcsimms04]

5 hours ago, Nutduster said:

 

God, ain't that the truth. I click on the last page of this thread about 900 times a day hoping the real map will be in here.  Enough speculating, I just need to know now!

Sometime between like Wednesday and Sunday it will leak

[PixelQ]

7 minutes ago, bcsimms04 said:

Sometime between like Wednesday and Sunday it will leak

Please please this. I've checking this thread for years now... literally.

[Non Funkable Token]

At this time I prefer to just wait and see the map when I get the game.

[TigerWoodsLibido]

All I want to know is if my old stomping grounds are back, no other details.

[Flapjaw]

6 hours ago, TigerWoodsLibido said:

I'll be honest, I've been on this board since I was getting hyped for San Andreas and trying to hopelessly figure out the map for that one. I only come into this thread as all the rest of the spoilers and gameplay I want to be completely surprised with.  All I want to know is are my old stomping grounds back and better than ever from RDR1 and how massive is the map.

 

I predict it will take a half hour to ride across the map at full gallop.

Haha same. Though I dont remember making an account here until 2008. Waiting for San Andreas details was a very memorable time in my early years of using the internet. 

[USAPatriot]

I hope we don't get a leaked map.  I look forward to getting the game, opening up the map booklet (if they have one) and comparing what we did with how the actual game is.  Yes, I would do this before I play the game.

[Doomageddon666]

[Bleep%]

7 minutes ago, Doomageddon666 said:

Need to spell it out for me. Are they focussing on finalising RDRO or have they made RDRSP as a platform to primarily introduce Online like they did GTAV? 

Edited October 16, 2018 by Bleep%

[Orfan Loom]

22 minutes ago, Bleep% said:

Need to spell it out for me. Are they focussing on finalising RDRO or have they made RDRSP as a platform to primarily introduce Online like they did GTAV? 

The message with this quote from a presumably R* ex-employee says only that: The main focus of the team is on RDRO, but they are also Remaking RDR1, and it will come as a stand-alone single-player DLC for RDR2.

[dandroid]

4chan "leaks" should be taken with a wheelbarrow of salt... but a RDR remake would make a certain amount of sense.

1. The video games industry loves remakes right now. Clearly they're profitable.
2. We know Rockstar have already gone to the effort of remaking New Austin for RDR2.
3. RDR2 already has a gameplay mechanic where the game world evolves with the passage of time.

On the other hand, it'd be an enormous undertaking.

 

I'm curious what form it would take. Translating the game world would probably be the most straightforward part. But would they use the original motion capture data? Would that be jarring to see 2010 animation systems in a 2018 game engine?

 

[rogerer]

15 minutes ago, Orfan Loom said:

The message with this quote from a presumably R* ex-employee says only that: The main focus of the team is on RDRO, but they are also Remaking RDR1, and it will come as a stand-alone single-player DLC for RDR2.

 

it means, RDR1 map will probably not be included in RDR2 until DLC with new re-made story will be published? Maybe DLC could be only story....

Edited October 16, 2018 by rogerer

[Orfan Loom]

4 minutes ago, rogerer said:

 

it means, RDR1 map will probably not be included in RDR2 until DLC with new re-made story will be published?

If they really are creating a Remake of RDR1....

But if they're not...

Neither way it makes sense to show Armadillo and Mexico in the trailer, and then not include it in the base RDR2.

Edited October 16, 2018 by Orfan Loom

[rogerer]

yes, but DLC can be just a new story (rdr1) on the same map (incl rdr1 map). We will see in 9 days or sooner

[Punkd]

who says this post from the ex-employee isnt a fake? its likely 99% fake imo

 

[bakerach]

27 minutes ago, rogerer said:

 

it means, RDR1 map will probably not be included in RDR2 until DLC with new re-made story will be published? Maybe DLC could be only story....

There is about a 0.001% chance they went to the effort of remastering the old map just to lock it behind a paywall.

 

If it's there (which is almost certainly is, since they've been shoving hints on our faces for months), it'll be part of the game from day one.