American Truck Simulator 1.41 Open Beta

We love to bring you new game updates, especially when they contain features that have been requested for a long time! Those who are familiar with our forum probably already heard about our quietly released Experimental Open Beta for 1.41 update, which we have decided to release without extra promotion so we could closely and carefully monitor the first wave of community feedback. Convoy is, for sure, the most anticipated content coming to ATS with this update. Today, we are happy to share with you that Update 1.41 Open Beta for American Truck Simulator is now ready to be tested fully and publicly by our community!

However, please keep in mind that this is still an open beta, which remains in a very much work-in-progress state. If you want to take it for a spin, you can help contribute by reporting any bugs you may encounter in the appropriate section of our official forum. Your feedback and reports are extremely valuable for our team and we thank you in advance for taking the time to help us out.

Please bear in mind that this update will likely render many community MODs incompatible. MOD authors may need to adjust and update their mods to work with this update. We strongly recommend that you use a profile without any third-party modifications if you wish to participate in the 1.41 Open Beta. 

So, let's take a look at what the 1.41 update has in store!

Convoy Multiplayer Open Beta

Convoy is a new multiplayer game mode, where players can set up and host their own private sessions (password optional) to drive with their friends or other fellow truckers. There is currently support for synchronized AI traffic, time and weather, and the ability to take the same job as other players.

During this open beta phase, Convoy will allow you to create and host an online session with up to 8 players. We plan to eventually raise the player limit in the future, however, we are keeping it small at this time due to its work-in-progress nature. Session hosts will automatically be made admins of these sessions, allowing them to ultimately control what kind of environment they want to have online, as well as having the ability to kick any trouble-makers from the session. 

You can also see, filter, browse and eventually join any of the available sessions that have been already created by your friends or other truckers.

So what options and features will players be able to use and experience in the open beta of Convoy? 

• Any player can host and create their own private sessions for up to 8 people
• Ability to haul the same contracts/jobs together from the same company and to the same destination
• Synchronized AI traffic
• Synchronized time and weather
• Synchronized paint jobs, truck accessories, cabin accessories, cargoes, and more
• Ability to communicate with other drivers via CB radio broadcast (X key), quick replies (Q key), or text chat (Y key)

We know how many players are eager to try out this new feature; however, there are some things you will need to know before joining your friends on the road! Convoy is in a beta phase, which means you may potentially run into some bugs, imperfections, or unexpected problems whilst driving. 

Notable issues / not yet implemented:

• Mods in Convoy mode are not supported in the initial release.
• AI vehicles might disappear when a player disconnects.
• Lifting bridges are not synchronized. They will be stationary for the initial release of Convoy.
• When using an owned trailer, there might be a company trailer spawned in the same location you are supposed to go to to load your cargo.
• Steam invites work only through the Steam overlay.
• CB radio broadcast (hotkey "X") interferes with the text input line.
• The on-screen map in Convoy "M" zooms out together with chat scrolling in the Route Advisor.

Worried about your profile progress? In case of trouble-makers or other circumstances out of your control, players will have the option to revert their save to one made previously before joining the session. From friends to VTC's, we are excited to see how you will enjoy Convoy and we look forward to hearing your constructive feedback on this new online feature.

California Reskin

During our special Christmas 2020 live stream, we announced that we would be revisiting California in American Truck Simulator to give our starting state a reskin! Today, we bring the first iteration of this reskin, carrying a major road layout rework, agriculture stations, and more!

One of the most noticeable changes drivers will experience when arriving in California are the new agriculture border control stations! All drivers hauling goods into the state will have to undergo special checks from the control station where vehicles are inspected for commodities that may be infested with invasive species, and for the correct documentation. In-game, we will mimic these scenarios with a new feature, which will work very similarly to the current weigh stations. Upon your arrival at the border, depending on what you are hauling, drivers will be notified to pull over for an inspection at one of the control stations before they are given the green light to enter the state. 

Our world design tools have been considerably improved during the years since ATS was released as well, and we plan to take advantage of the new power. For example, our map designers can now pay attention to details like the proper roll of the road surface in a curve. We are also trying to make sure we get our research right when it comes to unique road signage elements, proper road markings, or the use of cat's eyes. We hope to achieve a completely new look and feel when driving across the State. Read more here.

Photo Mode: Time & Weather options

We know how much our players love to take photos in-game and spend a lot of time creating that perfect shot, and for many, this also includes finding the right lighting conditions and weather. So to help create that perfect trucking memory, we have implemented a new feature that may save you quite a bit of time when it comes to using console commands! 

Introducing the new Time and Weather options! Players will now be able to choose the conditions of their liking, to create the perfect trucking snap just by simply adjusting a new slider to change the time, or clicking on two buttons to control the lighting/weather, all of which will appear in the updated in-game photo studio. We can't wait to see how drivers will use this new feature in the future and we look forward to seeing your snaps! 

Changelog:

Gameplay:

• Convoy Multiplayer 
• Time and weather adjustments in photo mode
• Quick Travel

Map 

• California Reskin part 1 including 7 Agricultural Stations and a road layout rework 

UI

• New icons in the map legend

So enjoy all the new additions, but please remember: It's only an open beta, not a stable public version - so you may encounter bugs, instability, 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 of your feedback on our forum and your bug reports in this section.

Please 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 → 1.41. No password required. Somtimes you have to restart your Steam client to see the correct branch name there.