Truck Simulators |OT| Hauling Cargo Across Europe and the US

[Rhomega]

Welcome everyone to the thread for Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator, developed by SCS Software, based out of Prague, Czechia. SCS Software previously developed the original Euro Truck Simulator and 18 Wheels of Steel. What may seem like incredibly dull games are actually rather a source of relaxation as well as learning about the cities and roads of Europe and America. Pick a starter city with a garage. Start doing work. Buy your own truck and make more money. Buy garages and hire workers to make more money. Go explore. Paint your truck in any color or a wide variety of styles, including more purchased through DLC.

Both games feature a quality modding community, which can make things from new trucks to paint jobs to map expansions.

From Great Britain to Hungary, from Sweden to Italy, Euro Truck Simulator 2 surprised everyone with its popularity after launching on Steam in 2013. The map has expanded several times, including:

-Going East! (Eastern Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary).
-Scandinavia (Denmark, as well as southern Sweden and Norway)
-Viva La France! (Expansion of France west of Paris and Corsica)
-Italia (Expansion of Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia)
-Beyond the Baltic Sea (South Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and pieces of Russia)
-Road to the Black Sea (Romania, Bulgaria, and the northwestern section of Turkey known as Thrace)
-Iberia (Spain and Portugal)
-The Heart of Russia (including Moscow and reaching the upper Volga River)
-Sometimes map expansions come with patches, like in Hungary, Austria, and Italy.

ETS 2 also allows for cabin accessories, window flags, and company-specific customizations (through paid DLC).

Following the success of ETS 2, the game came to the United States with American Truck Simulator. California, Nevada, and Arizona are included for free, but newer states are paid DLC. Those being:

-New Mexico
-Oregon
-Washington
-Utah
-Idaho
-Colorado
-Wyoming
-Texas (upcoming)
-Montana (upcoming)

Along the way, the map was rescaled to make it larger and more in tune with the European counterpart.

Players of either (or both) are encouraged to sign up for World of Trucks, which is connected to your Steam account. You can get custom license plates (including ones for your favorite state or country, provided it's in the game), upload screenshots to your profile, take special jobs with real-time time limits, as well as participate in events that will get you some nifty extras.

 

[bubaglobalj]

Love that you did a double OT! Man I wish this would come to consoles. One day!

 

[Mengy]

Nice Rhomega, I was just thinking last night that it would be great to make a new OT over here, but for both games together. Now I don't have to!

Mexico DLC for American Truck is coming very soon, I'm looking very forward to driving it. I actually haven't bought the France DLC yet for Euro Truck but I most likely will today once the Steam Sale starts. Both should keep me very busy all winter long. :)

 

[Samimista]

Well done on the OT.

Anyways, I enjoy playing Euro Truck Simulator 2. I don't play it that often, but I have 41 hours on Steam. I usually like listening to an audiobook or music in background just to help pass the time.

Have not played American Truck Simulator, but I'll eventually get to that. Are the states in the first post the only ones available in the game?

 

[Rhomega]

CA, NV, and AZ are in, and NM will be in soon.

 

[delalaser]

ATS is less than 7 bux rn on steam. so tempting!

Wish I lived in a bigger place so I can have my wheel setup. ETS2 is def relaxing, parallel parking got me fucked up tho!

 

[Jimrpg]

Huge fan of ETS2, will pop in from time to time. :)

 

[Samimista]

ATS is less than 7 bux rn on steam. so tempting!

Wish I lived in a bigger place so I can have my wheel setup. ETS2 is def relaxing, parallel parking got me fucked up tho!

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Ooh. I might have to get ATS now while it's on sale.

Hahaha. A wheel setup sounds fun, especially if somehow you're able to install pedals. :)

I can never park the truck in reverse; I always skip that part, haha.

CA, NV, and AZ are in, and NM will be in soon.

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Thanks; I'll be sure to pick ATS up soon (maybe even today). I've never really been outside of Florida except for New York, so it'll be interesting traveling through the different states.


So, what does everyone's truck company look like? I currently have three employees and paying off a 400,00$ loan. I previously paid off a 100,00$ loan in order to hire the employees and to get their trucks.

 

[Rhomega]

In both games, I have hired every employee I can. They're all high-rated, with at least 7.5. In ETS 2, they're mostly 10.0. I have more money than I know what to do with.

Gameplay footage for ETS 2's Special Cargo DLC, featuring loads so big you get escorts to block traffic so you can navigate turns without worrying about cars getting in your way.

 

[Mengy]

So, what does everyone's truck company look like?

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In ETS2 I own every garage and they are all upgraded to 5 bays filled with trucks and drivers, and my company has many millions of dollars in the bank. I'm filthy rich and I buy trucks just to pimp them out for the fun of it.

In ATS I only own about half the garages so far, again all 5-bays filled with trucks and drivers, but there are much less garages in ATS than in ETS so that is a much smaller empire, and I only have like a couple hundred grand in the bank waiting to buy the next garage and build it up.

 

[Zepp Twofist]

Gameplay footage for ETS 2's Special Cargo DLC, featuring loads so big you get escorts to block traffic so you can navigate turns without worrying about cars getting in your way.

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This might be the dlc I'm looking the most forward to of everything in the pipeline. I love heavy hauls.

Great OP by the way. Having one topic for both games is definitely the right move.

 

[Samimista]

In both games, I have hired every employee I can. They're all high-rated, with at least 7.5. In ETS 2, they're mostly 10.0. I have more money than I know what to do with.

Gameplay footage for ETS 2's Special Cargo DLC, featuring loads so big you get escorts to block traffic so you can navigate turns without worrying about cars getting in your way.

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Wow, very impressive! This week I've been swamped with school work, but I think after the weekend I'll play more ETS 2. It's very relaxing.

Thanks for sharing that. :) I'll be getting that DLC for sure. This is pretty much me when I try to reverse:

In ETS2 I own every garage and they are all upgraded to 5 bays filled with trucks and drivers, and my company has many millions of dollars in the bank. I'm filthy rich and I buy trucks just to pimp them out for the fun of it.

In ATS I only own about half the garages so far, again all 5-bays filled with trucks and drivers, but there are much less garages in ATS than in ETS so that is a much smaller empire, and I only have like a couple hundred grand in the bank waiting to buy the next garage and build it up.

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That's amazing. I hope to own every garage in ETS2 someday. :) What's your favorite trucks to buy?

I like Volvo since they're cute. My character drives the pastel green one.

 

[Deleted member 6949]

I was a huge booster of Euro Truck 2, but for whatever reason I still haven't tried Amero Truck. How is it now? Does it feel like an upgrade to Euro Truck, or the same game with different maps?

 

[Zepp Twofist]

It's explicitly not an upgrade. They are working on both games side by side and both receives all the non-map/truck updates. They even switched to having the same version number for both games recently to reflect how the engine and tech is the same.

That being said, the base map of ATS is a lot better than the base map of ETS (think Scandinavia DLC level). But the essence of it is different trucks and different scenery.

 

[Mengy]

That being said, the base map of ATS is a lot better than the base map of ETS (think Scandinavia DLC level). But the essence of it is different trucks and different scenery.

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Yep. ETS2 is the more mature game with a larger map and more trucks and accessories, but I honestly prefer playing ATS now despite that. I just love the map environment and detail better, it seems to fit more for trucking IMHO. I do wish ATS had more trucks and accessories though. It will in time of course.

 

[Zepp Twofist]

After the latest beta update to ATS it has started to win me over. The new roads they have added to the base maps are really well done. Probably among their best work. If NM is all like that ATS might finally be shaping up to be on equal footing with ETS.

Also, the fact that they have planned New Mexico, Italia, Oversized cargo and hopefully the new Scania trucks all before this year is over really shows SCS are catching up to their explosive growth over the past few years.

 

[AleeN634]

Looks like the American Truck Simulator New Mexicodlc is arriving next week.

 

[Rhomega]

Specifically November 9th, and will sell for $11.99, €11.99, and £8.99.

 

[Mengy]

Specifically November 9th, and will sell for $11.99, €11.99, and £8.99.

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Nice! First day for sure, and I now know what I'll be doing next weekend!

 

[Zepp Twofist]

Really looking forward to this. The ATS beta activated random roadside events two days ago, which makes driving on the highway a bit more interesting than it currently is.

 

[Jimrpg]

Just installed Promods 2.2.

I guess the only thing I don't like about promods at this stage is that I HAVE to buy the Italian DLC next month to keep using the latest Promods update and there's no way to turn off automatic updates in Steam either.

 

[Zepp Twofist]

You can switch to previous versions in steam by opting in to betas. Scs keeps around a few years worth of old versions for mod compatibility

 

[Ted]

Nice, an OT!

I'm pretty early on in these games but I love them already. With a wheel or a controller they're great, stick on a podcast and just take in the sights.

Also, thread doesn't have enough pics of cool trucks, and I don't even own one yet and am a terrible photographer so these are some quick snaps from recent jobs:

 

[Mengy]

Also, thread doesn't have enough pics of cool trucks

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Quite true, I'll post a few!

 

[Jimrpg]

You can switch to previous versions in steam by opting in to betas. Scs keeps around a few years worth of old versions for mod compatibility

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Thanks. I'll give that a shot.

And loving the screens guys. I'm not playing ATS yet but love seeing what it looks like.

I've only driven 4% of roads in ETS2 in 14 hours so I have a heck of a long way to go.

Last night I drove from Duisberg to somewhere up in Sweden. I'm on a i5-4690k overclocked to 4.5 and GTX 1070 and still getting lots of framerate issues, but it could have been either the sunset or rain. Plus I set the Promods config file to 'high' settings' maybe I'll adjust it to medium. The last promods update ran really smooth. The shadows were particularly bad with LOTS of stairstepping, and I usually don't mind about those things.

 

[Ted]

Quite true, I'll post a few!

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Nice.

Thanks. I'll give that a shot.

And loving the screens guys. I'm not playing ATS yet but love seeing what it looks like.

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I've not long started ATS myself, in fact I've just bought EB&D Logistics our first truck:

10-4!

Liking it so far. Nice to see different environments.

In other news, Scandinavia is pretty:

 

[Rhomega]

For those interested, here's a map of New Mexico:

 

[Ted]

For those interested, here's a map of New Mexico

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More roads is always a good thing. I hope they continue to move through the states and we eventually get something akin to the number of locales in ETS2.

The New Mexico environments look very cool:

From the SCS blog.

 

[vacantseas]

I recently got back into ETS2 after purchasing myself a wheel for a different game. It certainly adds to the fun of the game. Makes reversing those trailers a whole lot easier when reaching a destination

That being said, any tips on starting out? I've leveled up to about level 4 now, and can get some intermediate distance trips earning $15k. Is it best to do those, or several short trips to make money quicker?

Also, when is best to buy your own tractor and garage?

Any essential mods I should get? I only have Going East and Scandavia DLC so I can't take advantage of ProMods without having the France DLC

 

[Rhomega]

I recommend getting into the hazardous cargo upgrades (top row). Go for those longer trips. If you want to, get a loan to buy your first truck. Once you do, you can go into the freight market and make more money, but remember, you're responsible for your gas and repairs. Pay back that loan, then upgrade your garage and buy more trucks and workers to drive them. Then you'll be on your way.

 

[Ted]

I recently got back into ETS2 after purchasing myself a wheel for a different game. It certainly adds to the fun of the game. Makes reversing those trailers a whole lot easier when reaching a destination

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I love cruising with the wheel. That and my favourite podcasts makes for a fantastically chilled out way to spend a rainy afternoon. Just me and my Man.

Any essential mods I should get? I only have Going East and Scandavia DLC so I can't take advantage of ProMods without having the France DLC

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I only use the realistic traffic mod but also have the Skoda Superb added for occasional fun. All the graphics mods I have tried feel like they make it look worse to my eye but I've only tried a couple so would be interested in other folks thoughts.

 

[Zepp Twofist]

New blog post about how they have implemented more accurate road signs in the New Mexico DLC. They are also planning to revisit existing states at a later date to make them more realistic.

 

[Raptomex]

Great OT. I need to take out my wheel and get back into these.

 

[Zepp Twofist]

New Mexico is finally released

Steam store
Bundle is cheaper if you own previous DLC

 

[Makikou]

Need to try and have time to check out New Mexico this weekend. The GotY podcasts are coming so it's time to enjoy truck sims again.

 

[Mengy]

Bundle is cheaper if you own previous DLC

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Thanks for the tip! With that bundle I can buy both New Mexico and the Heavy Cargo DLC together for less than the price of New Mexico by itself!

Gonna get to play some today, looking forward to it.

 

[Ted]

Did a little trucking last night and bought EB&D Europe our first truck.

It's little under powered but we'll still get your tractors there on time even if we have to truck right on through to the break of day!

 

[Zepp Twofist]

Thanks for the tip! With that bundle I can buy both New Mexico and the Heavy Cargo DLC together for less than the price of New Mexico by itself!

Gonna get to play some today, looking forward to it.

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Heavy DLC is probably the best DLC they have done in my mind. Adds so much to the base game play.

 

[Mengy]

I'm really liking New Mexico so far, but honestly they've improved a lot of the roads all over the whole map. I'm noticing much more detailing and scenery than before the update, they've done a good job with this. Route 40 west out of Las Vegas and into New Mexico reminds me so much of the actual real life road.

 

[Makikou]

The truck licensing situation is still awful on ATS side.. 4 trucks is a big shade over the game.

 

[Zepp Twofist]

Open beta for ETS2 1.30 is out.

New truck hype

 

[Rhomega]

Coming out "later this year".

 

[Zepp Twofist]

They are hoping to confirm release date next week.

And take a look at that volvo at 0:57. There are some non standard parts strongly hinting of a tuning pack there.

 

[Mengy]

Coming out "later this year".

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Man that looks great!

I wonder which state will be next for ATS though. And man how I wish they'd get more trucks into ATS too.

 

[Rhomega]

Signs are pointing to Oregon being the next state.

 

[Mengy]

Signs are pointing to Oregon being the next state.

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I hope it is Oregon next. It would be a nice reason to start adding greener assets to the game! I hope they also model RT. 140 up out of Winnemucca, the view as you descend into Oregon from Nevada is awesome:

 

[Rhomega]

Italia will be releasing December 5th. $17.99, £13.49, 17,99€

 

[Makikou]

That's sooner than I expected. Nice.

 

[Zepp Twofist]

Update 1.30 for ETS2 is officially out. For anyone wondering how Italy will look, the area around Milan has been redone and it looks pretty fantastic. The new Scania trucks are also very well made. Probably the most high quality truck models they have done.

http://blog.scssoft.com/2017/12/euro-truck-simulator-2-update-130.html

 

[Mengy]

Update 1.30 for ETS2 is officially out. For anyone wondering how Italy will look, the area around Milan has been redone and it looks pretty fantastic. The new Scania trucks are also very well made. Probably the most high quality truck models they have done.

http://blog.scssoft.com/2017/12/euro-truck-simulator-2-update-130.html

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That's great. I honestly haven't played ETS2 in months, I have been just driving in ATS instead. Maybe tonight I'll spend some time across the pond instead, I do miss the plethora of truck customization options which ETS2 has. I really wish they would improve ATS in this regard more.