Euro Truck Simulator 2 now officially on Mac OS X!

We are happy to announce the availability of Euro Truck Simulator 2 on Mac OS X via the Steam platform.

Making our game engine work on Mac was quite challenging, as the engine and game code for both ETS2 and ATS is constantly evolving. This process took us longer than we originally anticipated, we have been hinting that the Mac version is coming for longer than we are comfortable to admit, but finally we have achieved the important milestone of supporting Windows, Linux as well as Mac. Reaching this point means that we will be able to maintain and update all editions based on shared codebase, making the probability of American Truck Simulator appearing on all three platforms simultaneously very high.

We are launching the Mac edition of the game on Steam for now, and honestly we are not quite sure yet when or if we will offer it through the Mac App Store. Steam allows us to release updates anytime we feel they are ready, the current DLC system will "just work" there as well, and with a bit of fiddling, people should be able to use any mods that are out there already for the Windows version. Applications from Mac App Store operate in a sandbox, making it more challenging to make mods work. Another obstacle is the QA process, it would tend to delay update releases for unknown periods of time, making it difficult to keep our game in sync on all supported platforms. With planned features on World of Trucks, keeping the client and the server in sync through protocol changes will be critical.

Just like the Windows and Linux version, the OS X version is available on the Steam Store starting today. Check out our step-by-step guide if you are unsure how to activate your game or if you have no idea what the entire Steam thing is! If you have already activated the game on Steam and have been running it under Linux or Windows, of course there is no need to re-purchase it. Any product key that we have issued in the past will activate the game on Steam, so even if you already own or are about to buy any boxed retail Windows edition of the game, you can access the Mac and Linux versions immediately.

Euro Truck Simulator 2 goes 64-bit: 1.16 update now live

After a short open beta, the latest update for Euro Truck Simulator 2 is now ready for public release. As per usual Steam users will receive the update automatically, while the patch for retail version of the game will be available within a few days.

We would like to thank all of our testers and contributors again - your constant help and support allows us to quickly pinpoint any outstanding issues and bring updates to all players on a such short turnaround!

We've talked extensively about the 64-bit change we're making available to the players in our previous blog post, so please check out the post linked above for more information. Full change-list for this update is available in this Steam discussion.

Inside SCS Software and 1 hour with American Truck Simulator

Some weeks ago we welcomed a very special guest in our office - the one YouTuber and Twitch streamer who is the most dedicated to our truck simulation games of them all: Paul a.k.a. Squirrel!

Paul has finally managed to process the footage he has recorded during his visit in Prague, and started posting it to his YouTube channel in daily installments a few days ago.

The wealth of information in Paul's movies about what is happening at SCS Software, what we are doing and where we are headed with our projects, what is the vision for years to come, is really unprecedented. We were very open in explaining what we do - no question went unanswered. The movies and interviews reveal more than what we have shown you here on our blog so far during the past year. If you are interested in what we are doing, you cannot afford to miss them:

In addition to Squirrel's videos, today we also present you with an exclusive sneak peek at the alpha version of American Truck Simulator. Don't forget that American Truck Simulator is still very much under development and features and environments may change prior to the official release.

Beta: Euro Truck Simulator 2 update 1.16 - Going 64-bit!

Update highlights:

• 64-bit version of the game is now available via Steam launcher
• Large truck dealers have been updated to match the new style of dealerships

The focus of the upcoming official 1.16 game update is to ship engine changes and other behind the scenes elements in preparation for our big future content updates.

64-bit version of the game is currently accessible in beta on Steam, it will be available as a regular game update for all users soon.

Full update notes can be found in Steam discussions.

We have prepared a short set of questions and answers about this change:

How will 64-bit executable affect your game?

64-bit executable is a purely under-the-hood technical change and should have no negative effect on how your game ecosystem works - all your saves, modifications, trucks, and input methods will work just as they used to before.

Why are you releasing the 64-bit executable?

Memory footprint of our game has been increasing over time with our expanding game world, new features and countless modifications for the players to choose from. The 64-bit executable will allow the game to access the entire physical memory of your computer and avoid out-of-memory crashes related to 32-bit memory limitations. Most modern PCs these days ship with considerably more memory, often 6-8 GB or more, and this memory could not be used with a 32-bit binary, where the limit was only 4 GB or even 2GB in case of 32-bit systems. The 32-bit game has been essentially starving for memory while several spare Gigs of memory were idling in the operating system.

What are the benefits of this change?

Using the new executable should alleviate memory related issues you may have experienced in the past - many users have already reported problems with memory limitations after installing large collections of modifications. Even for a game with no mods installed, with more textures and 3D assets cached in memory, the framerate should stay more stable during long play sessions.

Map creators will have a smoother experience in the map editor as you'll have way more memory at your disposal.

I have a 32-bit OS. Can I somehow use the 64-bit executable?

Unfortunately not - 64-bit executable can only be used on 64-bit operating system. If you are serious about playing ETS2 extensively, we highly recommend you to consider upgrading your 32-bit operating system to 64-bit version at this point.

Are you planning to keep supporting 32-bit executable after this update?

Yes. We are are not dropping it suddenly, both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the game will be maintained and kept in sync for a considerable period of time. We've actually included several engine changes into 1.16 that are focused on improving memory management also for the 32-bit version so that all of our users can enjoy Euro Truck Simulator 2.

The 1.16 update also features minor map changes as we continue to update truck dealer locations to match the dealership revamp we have shipped in our previous update. Please note that this change may affect game modifications, so if you are experiencing crashes first try disabling any map modifications you have installed.

Everybody loves new stuff and we are aware that our fans are impatiently waiting for the release of the goodies that we have been covering on this blog. Admittedly, from this point of view ETS2 1.16 doesn't bring much to the table. This update mostly serves as a wide-scale stress-test for the new tech to come. Meanwhile though, our ETS2 mapping team is putting finishing touches to DLC Scandinavia, while the vehicle team is doing solid progress on the long-awaited Mercedes-Benz New Actros truck model. Cool stuff is on the way! We cannot yet predict which will come out first, but both teams are racing each other to finish their task as soon as possible. And that's just Euro Truck 2, and you know that's not the only project we are working on.

How can I join the beta?

• Right-click on Euro Truck Simulator 2 in your Steam library and select properties.
• Switch to the BETAS tab.
• Select public_beta in the dropdown.

Holiday Event Round Up and Peek into Sweden

Greetings, and Happy New Year 2015 to all of you!

Looks like Euro Truck Simulator 2 was played a lot during the festive season. Over 34,000 people managed to complete our Holiday Event! We are astounded by such activity and eager to provide more cool stuff on World of Trucks in 2015.

Holiday Event will come to an end on Wednesday, January 14th 2015. If you are still in progress of trying to earn your exclusive Raven Truck Design DLC by completing it -  hurry up!

Another good news is that DLC Scandinavia is in the final production stages now. We sure still need to test it properly, tweak it, and optimize it - with such a big project that's a ton of work on its own - but we have considerably better testing capacity and process available to us now compared to previous project releases. Let's hope all will go smoothly.

Let us show you some screenshots around the Swedish city of Kalmar: