Community Stories: The Sim Simma

We’re excited to bring you another edition of our Community Stories series, where we highlight passionate members of our community and their unique journeys. Today, we’re featuring The Sim Simma, a talented content creator, live streamer and simulation enthusiast with a passion for immersive experiences and creative projects!

Born and raised in Romania, The Sim Simma’s early life was shaped by creativity and imagination. Despite growing up with limited access to entertainment and material possessions, his inventive spirit flourished. Painting and drawing became his window to the world, a way to transport himself to amazing places, imagining and creating what reality could not offer.

"My childhood wasn’t very different from that of any other child. I always did my best to have fun, to play, to invent, and to build things! Since we didn’t have a TV while I was growing up, I spent a lot of time painting and drawing. It was my way of imagining and transporting myself to different places. I loved cars and trucks as a kid, and sometimes just drawing them made me feel like I actually owned one."

Later in life, he moved to the United States, where his perspective expanded as he discovered video games. “Every time I played a video game, I felt like I was being transported somewhere else. It wasn’t necessarily the gameplay or objectives that captivated me, it was the feeling of being in a completely different place,” he shares. "I was never drawn to action or first-person shooter games. Instead, I was fascinated by simulations, anything that let me do things I couldn’t do in real life, like driving fast or flying a plane. For me, those were incredible opportunities to explore and imagine."

Art remained a central theme in The Sim Simma’s life, eventually leading him to a career in automotive design and a decade spent teaching industrial design. "This lifelong passion led me to pursue a career in automotive design. I also spent 10 years teaching industrial design at a university, where I helped students learn how to draw and bring cars and products to life from their imagination. For me, art was more than just expression, it was a tool for communicating ideas clearly and effectively."

"Like any hobby that truly draws you in, my focus has been on enhancing the realism of the simulation experience. Whether through software or hardware, everything I do is aimed at adding more real-life immersion to the simulation. It’s true that this kind of game can be equally enjoyed by a beginner with a basic setup or a dedicated enthusiast who has invested thousands of dollars. But if it’s something you're truly passionate about, it feels only natural to pursue the best and most immersive version of the experience."

From this passion, he also started DSS Sim Racing Innovations, a venture born from his desire to enhance his own immersion. “I build gear for my sim rig that enhances my experience. If I enjoy it, I build more of them to list on my website so others can enjoy it too. The fact that it grew into a successful business was never the goal, just a rewarding outcome of doing what I love.”

DSS Sim Racing Innovations creates custom displays and dashboards designed for simmers who demand the best. One of the projects The Sim Simma is most proud of is his Triple Screen Dash, a key piece in many sim rigs within the community. "While I’m not the inventor of the round digital display, I was the first to market with a solution that brought true immersion to a wider audience. Knowing that something I created brings joy and realism to so many users is incredibly rewarding."

"One of my popular products is the Shift Plate, which serves a dual purpose: it blocks off unused shift gates and clearly marks gear positions. This helps new drivers learn how to split gears more accurately. I offer Shift Plates tailored to replicate the most common trucking transmission patterns, making them ideal for serious sim truckers. Another successful product is the HornPad, a simple yet immersive add-on that mounts to any standard 70mm wheel rim. Many sim racers upgrade to real-world truck steering wheels for authenticity, but these often lack a proper center cap. The HornPad completes the look with a modern truck-style 'faux airbag' design, complete with stitching for realism."

For new users checking out The Sim Simma's content or live streams, one standout feature is his incredibly detailed simulation rig. "It all begins with a powerhouse PC, featuring an RTX 4090 GPU and the latest Intel CPU, built to experience every game exactly as intended. I switch between a MOZA and Fanatec direct drive system depending on the mood, full-on racing or a laid-back trucking session. The experience is elevated by a motion simulator from E-Motion Labs and a range of modern accessories to maximize immersion. When off-the-shelf solutions fall short, I create my own, from custom triple-screen gauge clusters to detailed shifter plates that match the exact pattern of the vehicle I’m driving. If it enhances realism, I build it."

The inspiration to create such an elaborate simulation rig came from the game itself, Simma tells us. "Modern sims offer incredible immersion, but no matter how realistic, they remain trapped behind the screen. That’s where the journey begins. By creating custom accessories, I bring that virtual world into my physical space, blurring the lines between digital and reality."

"Through my streams, I've met so many like-minded people, many of whom have become friends. When they return to the streams or videos, it reinforces that we’re all having fun together. The best part is when they end up joining us in convoys regularly. That’s where the real fun happens, and that’s where lasting memories are truly made."

One of the most memorable moments was when his dog, Uno, who usually appears in pre-recorded segments, unexpectedly joined an SCS Software live stream. It was a delightful surprise, reminding him that the community’s support and shared enjoyment make the experience special.

“I always remind my viewers that it’s not about likes or subscriptions, it’s about having fun together. That’s what makes it worth doing.” Through his streams, The Sim Simma has met amazing people, many of whom have become friends, joining convoys and sharing unforgettable experiences. He has also been inspired by others.

"There are a few familiar faces we all follow or aspire to match in terms of simulation quality, but Armstrong Gaming has been a staple in my YouTube journey for years. I suspect he may have influenced just how deep I’ve dived into this hobby. Another creator I truly appreciate is Silent Scotty, known for his amazing attitude and chill vibe. Watching guys like this feels like hanging out with friends, and that’s what makes the experience so special."

Looking ahead, The Sim Simma’s goal is simple, to keep enjoying the hobby, share his passion with others, and inspire fellow sim enthusiasts to dive deeper into the immersive world of simulation. He leaves us with these words of wisdom: "You hear this all the time, so it must be true: FOCUS ON HAVING FUN, JUST BE YOURSELF!"

We’re grateful to The Sim Simma for sharing his story with us and being an inspiration in our #BestCommunityEver. Be sure to check out his content on YouTube, and stay tuned for more Community Stories coming soon! Until next time, keep on truckin'.

SCS On The Road: Bauma 2025 Vlog

Today, we're excited to release a new episode of our SCS On The Road series! This time, we’re taking you along on our recent trip to Bauma 2025, the world’s leading trade fair for construction machinery, building material machines, mining machines, construction vehicles, and construction equipment, held at the Munich Exhibition Center!

This event is renowned as the largest trade fair in the construction industry, attracting over 3,200 exhibitors from more than 60 countries. In addition to exploring the impressive range of vocational vehicles, advanced machinery, and cutting-edge technology on display, our famous 4D motion simulator also made an appearance at Schwarzmüller's booth, while Scania hosted Euro Truck Simulator 2 with their own unique simulator, and Schmitz Cargobull gave away ETS2 Steam Keys to visitors. It was great to see ETS2 having a precense across the show floor!



Join Oscar, Nemiro, and Petr as they give you an inside look at this impressive event and share what we got up to during our visit! It was a fantastic opportunity to connect with so many companies from around the world. We’re proud to have been a part of such a massive event, and we’d like to thank everyone we met for their time, as well as our partners who exhibited at Bauma! We hope to return again for the next edition in 2028.

We hope you enjoyed this episode and appreciate your continued support for this series. If you liked the video, be sure to subscribe, hit the like button, and leave a comment. We’ll see you soon for the next episode. Until then, keep on truckin'!

1.55: FH Tuning Pack Update

We have some exciting news for the upcoming 1.55 update for Euro Truck Simulator 2. Alongside this base game update, new content will be released for owners of the FH Tuning Pack DLC. This will include an upgrade to some current parts as well as the addition of new customization parts for your Volvo FH trucks! The current parts will also be available for the newest Volvo FH Series 6.

This tuning pack was last updated alongside the rework of the Volvo FH Series 4 last year. When the Volvo FH Series 5 and 6 were introduced to Euro Truck Simulator 2 in December, we updated the DLC to support the FH Series 5 at launch. Now, we're bringing full compatibility to the Volvo FH Series 6 as well, so you'll be able to customize every Volvo FH truck with a wide range of tuning parts!

But that's not all - we didn't just make the existing parts work with the latest Volvo model. We are also improving several current components and introducing new customization options, including paintable parts.

You will be able to pick the front badge plate, rear fender top, front mask, and front grille bottom in chrome, while the decal, windshield frame, front badge plate, rear fender, rear fender top, and more are now paintable!

We hope you will be happy to customize your Volvo trucks with even more options when the 1.55 update releases! You can get the FH Tuning Pack for ETS2 on Steam. Stay tuned for more updates by following us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube. We'd also really appreciate it if you could sign up for our newsletter to stay informed. Be safe on the road!

Project Benelux Rework: Port of Rotterdam

Looking forward to trucking in the reworked Benelux in ETS2? Although it is a little early for that, as this project is still a work in progress, we are happy to show you a glimpse of the work our map designers have done so far. Today, we would like to share our work on the Port of Rotterdam!

The port is located in the second-largest city of the Netherlands, and from its beginnings as a fishing port in the 15th century, it turned into the biggest seaport in Europe! The area it covers is impressive in itself - over 40 kilometres long and 10 kilometres wide. The port accommodates around 130,000 river ships and approximately 30,000 oceangoing ships every year.

In 2022, the port handled 467 million tons of freight. And this is where you come in, because you will be tasked with transporting it from there to all over Europe! Truckers will be able to drive to the container port, the refinery, and the general logistics area. And if you're transporting a load from Rotterdam to the UK or vice versa, you'll also find ferry services conveniently available right at the port.

The whole area will captivate you because of its unique infrastructure filled with lifting bridges, tunnels under canals, and a complex road network. Our map designers recreated some of its landmarks such as the Thomassentunnel, Calandbrug bridge, Harmsenbrug bridge, and the ferry terminal at Europort.

"It's a really gigantic area, over 40 kilometres long. So we are hoping that we have managed to capture it sufficiently in our scale," says the lead of the Benelux Rework Project, Honza.

We look forward to sharing more news about this project in the future, but please keep in mind it is still a work in progress, so we dare not give you even an estimate of when it may be released. Until then, be sure to keep up to date with the latest updates by following us on Twitter, Facebook, BlueSky, YouTube, and Instagram, and by subscribing to our newsletter! Until next time, we wish you safe travels.

Project Scandinavia Refresh: Road Network

Earlier this year, we announced our Scandinavia Refresh project for Euro Truck Simulator 2, aiming to bring major improvements to one of our earliest DLCs. Since then, we’ve shared a Meet the Team blog to introduce the workforce behind the project, but today, we’re excited to share with you a look at some of the road networks we’ve been working on!

Before we get into the details, please keep in mind that everything you see here is still very much a work in progress and is subject to change. That said, let’s have a closer look at some of the refreshed road networks, shall we?

When the original Scandinavia DLC was first created, most of its junctions were built using the same prefabs, meaning that many of the intersections players drove through felt very similar. For the Refresh, we decided to take a much more detailed approach; all the old prefabs have been removed, and in their place, we’ve built custom-made junctions based on real-life layouts.

A lot of this incredible work was led by our externist Maarten (known in the community as Mandelsoft), whose expertise and passion for road design made a big difference across the refreshed areas.

First stop: Denmark! Our team has been hard at work refreshing the road network here. One major area of change is the E20 and E45 junction, which has been completely rebuilt. In reality, this junction, located near the city of Kolding, consists of three different junctions spread about 8 km apart. However, to better fit the scale of our map, our team has reimagined it as one large, triangular interchange.

Moving north, drivers can travel on the impressive Nørresund junction near Aalborg, which has been recreated on an almost 1:1 scale! We’ve also included the gas station and truck stop, which is located along the E45 between Aalborg and Aarhus. Whilst we’re still working on in-game branding, we are sure this will become a popular stop for truckers.

Over at the Germany-Denmark border, drivers will find a reworked border crossing that now includes proper border control setups, matching the details of their real life counterparts. We have also created two new inland routes, Road 16 and 26, which connect through the town of Viborg where you can find a new gas station too! Finally, the iconic Oddesund drawbridge has also been fully reworked, including a working bridge lift and detailed surrounding landscape.

Next stop, Sweden! This region has also seen significant improvements, particularly around the city of Gothenburg. This busy hub has undergone a partial rework, with special attention given to the dense network of highways around the E6/E20 corridor. As a result, the connections between the E20 and Road 40 have also been updated to reflect their real-world layout.

Along the E4, one of Sweden’s main arterial routes, four of our already existing truck stops have been reworked. One notable example is a famous truck stop featuring a candy shop shaped like an aircraft. Previously, this landmark could only be seen from the highway in Euro Truck Simulator 2. However, we are now pleased to share that we have reworked it into a fully functioning truck stop with a gas station, much like its real-life counterpart.

In the area of Brahehus, not only has the gas station been improved, but also the nearby castle ruins. This area will not only serve as a landmark and rest point, but also a depot! The truck stop located nearby Nyköping has also received a similar treatment.

And this is just the beginning! There are still lots more we’d love to share with you in the future as development continues, so stay tuned! Be sure to keep up to date with the latest news by subscribing to our newsletter or by following us on our socials on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube. Until next time, keep on truckin’!