Nordic Horizons: Building Nature & Mountains with Pavel

Another blog where we take you behind the scenes of our work is here! This time, we're excited to introduce you to our talented map designer Pavel. He is currently working on the nature and mountains for the Nordic Horizons map expansion. So let's learn more about his creative process!

Pavel - Map Designer

"In this map expansion, I am recreating the beautiful archipelago of Lofoten. It extends from mainland Norway into the North Atlantic Ocean and despite belonging to the Arctic Circle, there is plenty of taller vegetation as well. This, combined with the majesty of the mountains surrounded by water, the colourful houses, and the many fishing harbours, creates an environment that is very satisfying to both capture and pass through," Pavel says about his project.

As with all new map expansions, we conducted field research by travelling to the country ourselves to collect references and data. 

"I have had the opportunity to visit Scandinavia several times. Most recently, it was made possible by the management of SCS Software for research. The journey through Norway and Sweden was very beneficial for me as a map designer," Pavel tells us and also walks us through what needed to be done before the actual designing of the map.

"Research into shorter and taller vegetation, architecture and road networks preceded the design of the landscape. Textures, models and other functional elements were gradually created in collaboration with all departments. Their use and the representation of the landscape character in the map is preceded by a layout including the road network, depots, truckstops, gas stations, etc. On this layout with the help of Google Maps, I gradually, taking into account the limits of the virtual environment and the map editor, create a landscape with natural elements. This involves a lot of spatial imagination and sometimes a little magic."

Pavel uses his experience from his previous work, being part of the team doing the Austria and Switzerland Rework projects, where he also designed mountains and nature. "Experience from past projects featuring mountains, such as the rework of Austria and Switzerland, is certainly showing in the new Nordic Horizons DLC. I'm glad to see that the possibilities and limits of the editor are expanding," he says.

Of course, there are still limitations to the map expansions and we have to work strictly within them, as Pavel confirms. "Deviation from reality is determined by our scale, visibility, optimization and interpretation," he shared with us.

And his final message to our #BestCommunityEver? "If you love traversing beautiful landscapes with Viking history and experiencing the adventure of exploration from the comfort of your home, you'll love this DLC. Personally, I love the capital of Lofoten, Svolvær, which is a really beautiful place, so make sure to visit it," he says.

We hope you have enjoyed this little sneak peek into the making of our upcoming map expansion for ETS2. If you are as excited about the Nordic Horizons DLC, make sure to add it to your Steam Wishlist! Stay tuned for more updates by following us on our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.