Friday, October 25, 2019
Utah: Salt Lake City
A drive through Utah isn't all rocks and desert, driving north of the state you will come across the more populated towns and cities including the bustling metropolis Salt Lake City, which serves as a major hub for industries, businesses, and transport.
Utah's capital city is a crucial point in the state's road infrastructure, as it connects the I-15 & I-80 interstates right next to the city's downtown area. As many of you will drive on these routes, we recommend slowing down just a little to catch a glimpse of the beautiful skyline of the city.
Like many U.S cities, Salt Lake was constructed on a grid system, which creates these beautiful long streets allowing drivers to see right into the heart of the city and beyond. From towering office buildings to the religious Salt Lake City Temple, you will find the city to be very much alive and bustling with traffic.
On your travels, you will also find many different and maybe surprising locations surrounding the city. From water parks to the great salt lakes that gave the capital its name. Be sure to add Utah for American Truck Simulator to your Steam Wishlist to be the first to visit:
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Utah: You Are Welcome
Before the luxury of GPS navigation, making a journey across multiple states was tough work. Opening large paper maps, trying to pinpoint your location and looking for landmarks often made a driver's job very frustrating. However, there was one thing that kept truckers in the know of their location, The Welcome Sign.
However, in some US States, these signs are often found as you enter a new town. Appearing in all different shapes and sizes, they are often designed around the cities slogan and surroundings. They also feature landmarks unique to the town, such as universities and museums.
So you can be sure wherever your journey leads you, Utah and its signs welcome you and the millions of travelers that pass by them every year. Want to visit Utah early? Join us for our stream which will be broadcasted LIVE on Twitch and Steam with SCS team members, Alex (LondonLad), Mrazik and Raven from 15:00 UTC (17:00 CEST) who will be talking about the development and design of Utah.
Don't miss out on visiting this brand new state in American Truck Simulator, add Utah to your wishlist!
Famously found on state borders (and also on Instagram), it is a sure sign that you are entering a new province. Each one decorated with their own unique artwork which often depicts famous landmarks or national parks, and the state's slogan.
Don't miss out on visiting this brand new state in American Truck Simulator, add Utah to your wishlist!
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Seven Years of Euro Truck Simulator 2
Hello friends, Pavel here, this is a somewhat personal blog entry that I decided to write today, it wasn't ever planned in our blog calendar. Let me go back into my old role for a day, I was writing the blog entries all by myself in the early years of this blog. Times are changing, now we have a very capable team handling communication with our fan community.
Seven years ago our game Euro Truck Simulator 2 was released on the official website and in retail box edition in several countries. We have gone a long way since the game's release. Actually, we have been on this road for much longer, with the first truck simulator game developed by SCS Software released way back in 2002! This is a huge part of the lives of the core team still working on our games today.
Seven years after the release, ETS2 is still very relevant, actually it's one of the most played games on Steam, as you can verify here on Steam Stats. An incredible community has come together around our games, possibly the strongest in the driving/racing/sim genre on the PC, as you can see for example on this Steam Charts player numbers comparison graph.
We are very proud of our achievements. But we are also humbled by what's ahead of us - there is still so much work waiting to turn our truck games into the ultimate simulators. And that's what we definitely intend to do. We are immensely grateful to our great community for the continued support in our quest, you are fantastic, thank you.
Our team has been growing over the years. Seven years ago, SCS Software was less than 20 people. Nowadays we are over 170 working in our Prague office, with a network of stable contractors scattered around the globe pushing it over 200! All this talent and dedication is focused squarely on improving and growing our sims, even though it's fair to admit that the never-ceasing growth and the complexity of managing a large team is always a challenge for us to finally hit the peak productivity that we aim for.
Today, we have tweeted a little message mentioning the game's anniversary, and as I have read the often emotional reactions, I got rather sentimental, too, and eventually decided that I simply must go and write some sort of a reaction. (I try to find the time to follow our social media channels every day, I comb through a lot of your input and feedback, workday or weekend.)
I have browsed through many old posts on this blog, recalling so many milestones we have passed along the road; signing up licensing agreements with so many original equipment manufacturers, our very first DLC, the release of American Truck Simulator, hitting fifty employees, then a hundred, moving to a bigger office and then moving again to yet bigger space a few years later, the baby steps with World of Trucks which still has so much promise, our travels to gaming industry and transportation industry shows (our On The Road team is right at this moment at PGA in Poznan, Poland, showing our upcoming DLCs to Polish players), the various events including the still-going Pink Ribbon charity event during which our community has shown so much generosity... it's incredible how much has happened, and we are still here, stronger than ever. Thank you.
Maybe you can join me for a little trip down the memory lane... and click on the following link as I am reading the entries for the month of October 2012, when Euro Truck 2 was released. The preparations, anticipation, the release... First copy ever was sold from www.eurotrucksimulator2.com to a player in New Zealand. We have celebrated selling two thousand digital copies of the game in less than 24 hours after release (the most recent DLC Beyond the Baltic sea did over thirty nine thousand copies on the first day on Steam alone by the way!). We started hearing back from truck manufacturers that were not ready to listen to our pitch until then. Good times.
Our games have been played by tens of millions of people by now, in some cases changing people's life and influencing their career choice, or "just" becoming a hobby for them. Our game's fan community is fantastic, I love seeing it grow.
Today, on a whim, I decided to do something unprecedented, perhaps controversial. I have quickly put together a very sizable Steam bundle containing all the games and DLC in our Steam catalogue, and applied a uniform 77% discount across all of it - you know, 77% for those 7 years ;) - including the very latest releases. The total price may not be that welcoming for a newcomer to the genre, but for long-term players of our games already owning most of the content, it may be a unique chance to complete their library and get all that we have released so far for ETS2 and ATS, including a few still solid earlier games. The bargain is great especially for newest DLCs, such a deal may not happen again for years. I will keep this bundle around only for 24 hours, it's not advertised anywhere else but here, as a thank-you gesture to our most loyal fans.
(Sunday edit: link deactivated)https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/1972/SCS_Software_Bundle/
I hope that you will still have fun with our games seven years from now!
Yours sincerely,
Pavel Sebor, CEO, SCS Software
Seven years ago our game Euro Truck Simulator 2 was released on the official website and in retail box edition in several countries. We have gone a long way since the game's release. Actually, we have been on this road for much longer, with the first truck simulator game developed by SCS Software released way back in 2002! This is a huge part of the lives of the core team still working on our games today.
SCS Software celebrating the release of Euro Truck Simulator 2 in 2012
Seven years after the release, ETS2 is still very relevant, actually it's one of the most played games on Steam, as you can verify here on Steam Stats. An incredible community has come together around our games, possibly the strongest in the driving/racing/sim genre on the PC, as you can see for example on this Steam Charts player numbers comparison graph.
We are very proud of our achievements. But we are also humbled by what's ahead of us - there is still so much work waiting to turn our truck games into the ultimate simulators. And that's what we definitely intend to do. We are immensely grateful to our great community for the continued support in our quest, you are fantastic, thank you.
Our team has been growing over the years. Seven years ago, SCS Software was less than 20 people. Nowadays we are over 170 working in our Prague office, with a network of stable contractors scattered around the globe pushing it over 200! All this talent and dedication is focused squarely on improving and growing our sims, even though it's fair to admit that the never-ceasing growth and the complexity of managing a large team is always a challenge for us to finally hit the peak productivity that we aim for.
SCS Software celebrating 20 years in business in 2017
Today, we have tweeted a little message mentioning the game's anniversary, and as I have read the often emotional reactions, I got rather sentimental, too, and eventually decided that I simply must go and write some sort of a reaction. (I try to find the time to follow our social media channels every day, I comb through a lot of your input and feedback, workday or weekend.)
I have browsed through many old posts on this blog, recalling so many milestones we have passed along the road; signing up licensing agreements with so many original equipment manufacturers, our very first DLC, the release of American Truck Simulator, hitting fifty employees, then a hundred, moving to a bigger office and then moving again to yet bigger space a few years later, the baby steps with World of Trucks which still has so much promise, our travels to gaming industry and transportation industry shows (our On The Road team is right at this moment at PGA in Poznan, Poland, showing our upcoming DLCs to Polish players), the various events including the still-going Pink Ribbon charity event during which our community has shown so much generosity... it's incredible how much has happened, and we are still here, stronger than ever. Thank you.
Euro Truck Simulator 2 was released 7 years ago! 🎉— SCS Software (@SCSsoftware) October 19, 2019
Since that day we've added, together with the amazing support from our #BestCommunityEver, many amazing features, mighty trucks, trailers, map expansions, and other content.😍
Share your best #ETS2Memories with us today! 🍾 pic.twitter.com/1y0Mhu1exw
Our games have been played by tens of millions of people by now, in some cases changing people's life and influencing their career choice, or "just" becoming a hobby for them. Our game's fan community is fantastic, I love seeing it grow.
Today, on a whim, I decided to do something unprecedented, perhaps controversial. I have quickly put together a very sizable Steam bundle containing all the games and DLC in our Steam catalogue, and applied a uniform 77% discount across all of it - you know, 77% for those 7 years ;) - including the very latest releases. The total price may not be that welcoming for a newcomer to the genre, but for long-term players of our games already owning most of the content, it may be a unique chance to complete their library and get all that we have released so far for ETS2 and ATS, including a few still solid earlier games. The bargain is great especially for newest DLCs, such a deal may not happen again for years. I will keep this bundle around only for 24 hours, it's not advertised anywhere else but here, as a thank-you gesture to our most loyal fans.
(Sunday edit: link deactivated)
I hope that you will still have fun with our games seven years from now!
Yours sincerely,
Pavel Sebor, CEO, SCS Software
Friday, October 18, 2019
Utah: Gameplay Preview and Release Month
It's time for us to start our engines and shift into gear for our upcoming release for American Truck Simulator.
We are happy to share with you that Utah will be released in November 2019!
We are also excited to share with you a short amount of gameplay footage from Utah featuring vast landscapes, beautiful historic towns, well-known landmarks and some of the state's famous red rocks.
We hope you enjoyed tagging along for the ride in this beautiful new map expansion. Make sure to keep your eyes here on the blog and across our Social Media channels for a specific release date. Until then, make sure to add Utah to your wishlist on Steam!
We are happy to share with you that Utah will be released in November 2019!
We are also excited to share with you a short amount of gameplay footage from Utah featuring vast landscapes, beautiful historic towns, well-known landmarks and some of the state's famous red rocks.
Thursday, October 17, 2019
Road to the Black Sea: Servicing the cities
In Euro Truck Simulator 2, trucks seldom venture to the historical centers of major cities. Traffic restrictions usually make it impossible, limiting trucks to the industrial perimeters of cities.
Our focus is usually on the industries at the edge of a city. Today we can illustrate it here on a gallery of screenshots taken around Sofia and Bucharest, the capitals of Bulgaria and Romania respectively, as featured in the upcoming Road to the Black Sea map expansion.
We hope that you will enjoy delivering cargoes to and from these locations with a wide range of industries including major airports!
Our focus is usually on the industries at the edge of a city. Today we can illustrate it here on a gallery of screenshots taken around Sofia and Bucharest, the capitals of Bulgaria and Romania respectively, as featured in the upcoming Road to the Black Sea map expansion.
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Euro Truck Simulator 2 Update 1.36 Open Beta
As we were all busy with Pink Ribbon event, some of you may not have anticipated the approaching update. It brings some new treats, but the main reason is DirectX change and preparation for the Road to the Black Sea map expansion. Let's go through the list of Euro Truck Simulator 2 Update 1.36 Open Beta together.
A word of warning first - avoid this Beta if you are planning on completing any more deliveries for the Pink Ribbon Event - it's not supported on 1.36 and you WON'T be able to go back to any older version of the game with a profile modified by the 1.36 version of the game. There are core changes, including a different save version, so back up the profiles that you want to keep (do a manual back up just to be sure) using on 1.35 or older versions.
A big focus of the update is on DirectX 11 (11.1 to be exact). We've decided to drop support for DirectX 9 for the sake of faster and easier development. So from Update 1.36 onwards, our games won't be compatible with systems running on DirectX 9.
However, 1.36 isn't only about system changes as there are some nice treats too. The first piece of major news is the recently announced island of Corsica, which comes as a free addition to the Vive la France! map expansion. It can be reached by ferry from either Marseille in France or Sassari on Sardinia.
The second major addition is the addition of detours to the game. This feature is both loved and hated by players of American Truck Simulator, probably for its unpredictability. Any moment now, your time reserve may disappear by encountering a sign about a road closure, or a cop waving you off the highway. This uncertainty is what we want in our games, as so far, it has proven to be utterly predictable. We want you to have to improvise occasionally (some stress to spice up things, right?), just as real drivers have to. But the main goal is for you to have fun, so for those who dislike this function, there's a slider to increase/ decrease the frequency of detours (with the option to turn it off completely).
And to fulfil more wishes, 1.36 brings you the option to see your drivers, trucks and trailers on the manager map (and this map only). Besides that, you will have avoidance pins at your disposal too, allowing you to set places you don't want to go through on your GPS.
On top of the above, there's a number of smaller additions like some new AI vehicles, Anti-Aliasing improvements, Chinese and other non-Latin character input (known as IME) and some MOD support changes.
We hope you'll enjoy all these new additions, but please remember: It's only an open beta, not a stable public version - so you may encounter bugs, instability, kinks or crashes. It's completely okay if you want to wait for the final release. But if you're interested in helping us to get there faster, we'll appreciate all your feedback on our forum and your bug reports there.
During open betas, we are operating a dedicated alternate site for World of Trucks, which is used to safely test all new features. Please visit World of Trucks Open Beta web for more information. Also, check our modding wiki to get details pertaining to mods for the game.
If you wish to participate in the open beta, you can find this version in the public_beta branch on Steam. The way to access it is as follows: Steam client → LIBRARY → right-click on Euro Truck Simulator 2 → Properties → Betas tab → public_beta → 1.36 public beta. No password is required.
Changelog:
MAP
A word of warning first - avoid this Beta if you are planning on completing any more deliveries for the Pink Ribbon Event - it's not supported on 1.36 and you WON'T be able to go back to any older version of the game with a profile modified by the 1.36 version of the game. There are core changes, including a different save version, so back up the profiles that you want to keep (do a manual back up just to be sure) using on 1.35 or older versions.
A big focus of the update is on DirectX 11 (11.1 to be exact). We've decided to drop support for DirectX 9 for the sake of faster and easier development. So from Update 1.36 onwards, our games won't be compatible with systems running on DirectX 9.
We hope you'll enjoy all these new additions, but please remember: It's only an open beta, not a stable public version - so you may encounter bugs, instability, kinks or crashes. It's completely okay if you want to wait for the final release. But if you're interested in helping us to get there faster, we'll appreciate all your feedback on our forum and your bug reports there.
During open betas, we are operating a dedicated alternate site for World of Trucks, which is used to safely test all new features. Please visit World of Trucks Open Beta web for more information. Also, check our modding wiki to get details pertaining to mods for the game.
If you wish to participate in the open beta, you can find this version in the public_beta branch on Steam. The way to access it is as follows: Steam client → LIBRARY → right-click on Euro Truck Simulator 2 → Properties → Betas tab → public_beta → 1.36 public beta. No password is required.
Don't switch if you plan on completing any more Pink Ribbon deliveries as there is no going back!
OPEN BETA DOESN'T SUPPORT THE PINK RIBBON EVENT!
Changelog:
MAP
- Corsica (Vive la France! DLC)
- Detours
- Avoidance navigation pins
- New AI vehicles
- Drivers / Trucks / Trailer visible on manager maps
- DX11 full support (DX9 removed)
- Chinese and other non-Latin character input (IME)
- Anti-aliasing improvements (SMAA, el. wires item)
- Sun profile changes (HDR)
- LP changes for AI (data-driven types, background texture data)
- Dash display UI elements (digital gauges, fuel consumption bar)
- Map editor history (undo/redo)
- Continuous selection of nodes
Friday, October 11, 2019
Corsica
Surrounded by the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea between France and Italy is the island of Corsica, best known for its stunning scenery and mountainous areas.
We are excited to announce that you will be able to explore this beautiful island for yourself as a free addition for the Vive la France! map expansion in the upcoming 1.36 update.
The Island of Corsica in Euro Truck Simulator 2 features 6 cities (Ajaccio, Calvi, Ile Rousse, Bastia, Porto Vecchio and Bonifacio), a number of landmarks, sleepy villages and an atmosphere similar to regions surrounding. And as with other islands, the biggest road you'll find here is an expressway. So if you like meander climbs on rural roads surrounded by vineyards leading to spectacular coastal viewpoints, Corsica is the place for you!
To get there, you can take a ferry from Marseille to the picturesque town of Porto Vecchio, or - if you're already an islander on Sardinia, you can jump boat in Sassari and get off in Ajaccio, the biggest city on the island, also serving as its capital.
Looking forward to it? Because Corsica is just around the corner!
We are excited to announce that you will be able to explore this beautiful island for yourself as a free addition for the Vive la France! map expansion in the upcoming 1.36 update.
The Island of Corsica in Euro Truck Simulator 2 features 6 cities (Ajaccio, Calvi, Ile Rousse, Bastia, Porto Vecchio and Bonifacio), a number of landmarks, sleepy villages and an atmosphere similar to regions surrounding. And as with other islands, the biggest road you'll find here is an expressway. So if you like meander climbs on rural roads surrounded by vineyards leading to spectacular coastal viewpoints, Corsica is the place for you!
To get there, you can take a ferry from Marseille to the picturesque town of Porto Vecchio, or - if you're already an islander on Sardinia, you can jump boat in Sassari and get off in Ajaccio, the biggest city on the island, also serving as its capital.
Looking forward to it? Because Corsica is just around the corner!
Thursday, October 10, 2019
American Truck Simulator Update 1.36 Open Beta
As we didn't talk much about this update, except on yesterday's stream (you couldn't resist, could you Pavel?), we presume it's a little bit of a mystery to most of you - so let's go through the list before you try out the Open Beta for American Truck Simulator's 1.36 Update!
A word of warning first - avoid this Beta if you are planning on completing any more deliveries in Pink Ribbon Event - it's not supported on 1.36 and you WON'T be able to go back to any older version of the game with a profile modified by the 1.36 version of the game. There are core changes, including a different save version - so back up the profiles that you want to keep (do a manual back up just to be sure) using on 1.35 or older versions.
A big focus of the update is on DirectX 11 (11.1 to be exact). We've decided to drop support for DirectX 9 for the sake of faster and easier development. So from Update 1.36 onwards, our games won't be compatible with systems running on DirectX 9.
While 1.36 isn't exactly "packed" with the new content, - it mainly serves to push the DirectX change and as a "compatibility patch" for the upcoming map DLC - we couldn't help but cram in some new toys too :) These include a Grain hopper trailer and a Bulk feed trailer - both ownable, and a Frac-tank trailer too - which can't be purchased as it's basically the same thing as a road barrier (you take it from place A to place B, no reason to own it).
And to have some "new" ground for driving these, we've revamped two cities in the base game - Flagstaff in Arizona and Santa Cruz in California, which also gets an improvement in posted speed limits. Oregon and New Mexico benefit too from the latter, in addition to other general sign improvements.
There are also quite a few other interesting features! Starting from this update, you will be able to see your drivers, trucks and trailers on the manager map (a perennial item on the wish-list fulfilled, and it's not even Christmas yet!). We're also adding Chinese (and other non-Latin) character input, otherwise known as IME, which should make life easier for a part of our community.
Last but not least, we've improved Anti-aliasing and added avoidance navigational pins, the latter of which will allow you to set places you want to avoid on your GPS route.
We hope you'll enjoy all these new additions, but please remember: It's only an open beta, not a stable public version - so you may encounter bugs, instability, kinks or crashes. It's completely okay if you want to wait for the final release. But if you're interested in helping us to get there faster, we'll appreciate all your feedback on our forum and your bug reports there.
During open betas, we are operating a dedicated alternate site for World of Trucks, which is used to safely test all new features. Please visit World of Trucks Open Beta web for more information. Also, check our modding wiki to get details pertaining to mods for the game.
If you wish to participate in the open beta, you can find this version in the public_beta branch on Steam. The way to access it is as follows: Steam client → LIBRARY → right-click on American Truck Simulator → Properties → Betas tab → public_beta → 1.36 public beta. No password is required.
Changelog:
MAP
VEHICLES
FEATURES
MOD
A word of warning first - avoid this Beta if you are planning on completing any more deliveries in Pink Ribbon Event - it's not supported on 1.36 and you WON'T be able to go back to any older version of the game with a profile modified by the 1.36 version of the game. There are core changes, including a different save version - so back up the profiles that you want to keep (do a manual back up just to be sure) using on 1.35 or older versions.
A big focus of the update is on DirectX 11 (11.1 to be exact). We've decided to drop support for DirectX 9 for the sake of faster and easier development. So from Update 1.36 onwards, our games won't be compatible with systems running on DirectX 9.
While 1.36 isn't exactly "packed" with the new content, - it mainly serves to push the DirectX change and as a "compatibility patch" for the upcoming map DLC - we couldn't help but cram in some new toys too :) These include a Grain hopper trailer and a Bulk feed trailer - both ownable, and a Frac-tank trailer too - which can't be purchased as it's basically the same thing as a road barrier (you take it from place A to place B, no reason to own it).
Last but not least, we've improved Anti-aliasing and added avoidance navigational pins, the latter of which will allow you to set places you want to avoid on your GPS route.
During open betas, we are operating a dedicated alternate site for World of Trucks, which is used to safely test all new features. Please visit World of Trucks Open Beta web for more information. Also, check our modding wiki to get details pertaining to mods for the game.
If you wish to participate in the open beta, you can find this version in the public_beta branch on Steam. The way to access it is as follows: Steam client → LIBRARY → right-click on American Truck Simulator → Properties → Betas tab → public_beta → 1.36 public beta. No password is required.
Don't switch if you plan on completing any more Pink Ribbon deliveries as there is no going back!
OPEN BETA DOESN'T SUPPORT PINK RIBBON EVENT!
Changelog:
MAP
- Santa Cruz (CA) revamp
- Flagstaff (AZ) revamp
- California speed limit improvements
- Oregon and New Mexico speed limit and general sign improvements
VEHICLES
- Grain hopper trailer (ownable)
- Bulk feed trailer (ownable)
- Frac-tank trailer
FEATURES
- Avoid pins for GPS navigation
- New AI vehicles + all police paint jobs corrected
- Drivers / Trucks / Trailer visible on manager map
- DirectX 11 full support (DirectX 9 removed)
- Chinese and other non-Latin character input (IME)
- Anti-aliasing improvements (SMAA, electric-wires)
- New loading screens
MOD
- Sun profile changes (HDR)
- License plate changes for AI (data-driven types, background texture data)
- Dashboard display UI elements (digital gauges, fuel consumption bar)
- Map editor history (undo/redo)
- Continuous selection of nodes
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