Louisiana: Building Louisiana with Lukas

Today, we have a special blog for you! We interviewed Lukáš, our DLC Asset Producer, who is currently working on the Louisiana map expansion for this American Truck Simulator state. Let's jump straight in!

"Louisiana is one of the most interesting projects I've been a part of. Its architecture stands out for its rich blend of cultural influences, vibrant history, and distinctive styles. From the elegant French Quarter in New Orleans to the charming Creole cottages and plantation homes along the Mississippi River, the state showcases a fascinating mix of French, Spanish, African, and Caribbean elements. One of the most notable architectural features of Louisiana is its impressive bridges. Louisiana is also home to several unique technical landmarks related to water management, including the flood barriers around New Orleans," Lukáš told us about the Pelican State.

Truckers driving through Louisiana will find that the classical and modern architecture in this southern state blend perfectly together, creating its unique atmosphere. "New Orleans and Baton Rouge have also embraced modern architectural styles, including striking skyscrapers and contemporary buildings that define their urban landscapes. Louisiana, therefore, is not just home to historical architectural gems but also a space for innovative modern constructions that address the challenges posed by its natural environment. And this is exactly the feel we would like to bring to our players. Finding the right balance between an optimized asset and a visually appealing one is never easy, and it has been especially challenging in the case of large bridges within cities featuring prominent skylines and complex surroundings," he says.

Lukáš has been working in SCS Software for six years now, and he explains why he likes it here: "I have been playing video games since my childhood, so when I needed a change in my life, SCS seemed to be a perfect place to go. Now I can say that was the best decision. I've not only been given the opportunity to work on interesting projects, but I've also met cool people. Although the company has grown a lot since I joined, I can still feel that SCS preserves its unique atmosphere, and I probably won't find another place like this. This atmosphere allows great freedom in personal time management, which helps me reduce stress. This autonomy allows for better focus, more effective work, and a healthier balance between professional and personal life."

Since his first days in our company, he has worked on multiple projects, as he shares here: "I started with larger industrial areas for the Iberia DLC. Later, I was asked to take care of our externally produced procedural rocks and the rework of our huge deposit of ground textures. I've contributed to many projects, including map reworks, Colorado, Iberia, Montana, Nebraska, the West Balkans, Wyoming, and Texas, and I have always had a drive to improve things and move things forward. Nebraska was the first DLC for which my role changed, and instead of rocks and ground textures, I've been asked to manage the production of landmark assets while overseeing deadlines for other types of assets like generics and depots. Currently, I'm responsible for assets for four simultaneously running projects - Iowa, Louisiana, and two other, not yet announced projects."

And what are his tasks now? "My main responsibility is the on-time delivery of all assets. During the initial project phase, this includes asset list finalization and processing of new tasks, which means that I have to approve every single task for production, and subsequently, to distribute tasks internally and externally. During the production phase, I'm constantly in contact with all the teams involved in the DLC production, solving any issues that may arise, coordinating technical solutions if needed, and identifying any possible risks that could endanger deadlines. During the later stages of every project, I have to check every single asset from both the asset and map perspectives, and provide feedback on anything that doesn't meet our standard or has not been fixed during the production phase," Lukáš says, and continues:

"Due to the fact that every project needs hundreds of new assets and the vast majority of our assets are being produced externally, I have to closely cooperate with our outsourcing department led by Václav P. and his growing team, currently composed of Andrej, Inga, Kevin, Marek, Radek, Tomáš, and Veronika. They do an astounding job controlling and giving feedback to all the externally produced assets from landmarks and generics to vehicles and depots. Without them, it wouldn't be possible for us to run so many projects simultaneously," he says about our outsourcing department.

Creating assets can be a challenge as we are not only trying to recreate real places, but we are also limited by the map scale, which allows us to choose only a limited number of places and a limited number of landmark assets. "Our responsibility is to choose assets that will make every place recognizable by players who are familiar with the area and visually interesting for every player. Before a final asset list is approved for every DLC, in cooperation with our map and research teams, we have to spend hundreds of hours researching the whole area and considering what will be possible within our limitations. This is not easy, as we do our best to recreate the feel of every region and make it as interesting for our players as possible," Lukáš has told us.

It makes sense that he also collaborates with Davido, our map DLC lead for Louisiana, as they have to coordinate assets and map production. "Not only due to the necessity to meet deadlines, but also in order to support our marketing team. Marketing presentations are one of the most important parts of every DLC production, as they allow us to show all the love and care we put into the projects, and it's one of the keys to success. Davido is a true professional, and I always look forward to collaborating with him and his great team on new projects," Lukáš says. You can read about Davido and his team in a separate blog post.

As we near the end of today's blog, Lukáš has a short message for our #BestCommunityEver. "We truly enjoy working on the project, giving it our maximum effort and passion. We believe that with the same energy and dedication we put in, players will enjoy it just as much as we do."

And that's it for today! Remember to add the Louisiana DLC to your Steam Wishlist and don't forget to give our X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, and TikTok a follow as you'll receive updates about our games straight to your feed! We look forward to sharing more with you down the road.