Next American Journey

As always, a few weeks after a DLC release, it is time to announce the next state we are heading to. Today is not the day yet but we have just a little teaser for you which may help you guess our next journey in American Truck Simulator.

While we would love to share more about this project, its early stages of development mean we are unable to even provide an estimate of when this state may be on the horizon for truckers. If you couldn't guess from the first screenshot, maybe this short video will help you.

Got an idea now? Well, let us know in the comments below where you think our steps will lead to next in American Truck Simulator. Still no clue? Well, there are a few more screenshots you can take a look at and guess.

When the time is right, we look forward to sharing more news on what you can expect when traveling to this part of the US. So make sure to follow this blog and also our X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. Until then, keep on truckin'!

SCS On The Road: KRONE Revolutionary eTrailer Walk-Around and Interview

Today, we're excited to release a new episode in our SCS On The Road series. Join us in Aachen, Germany as we are given the special opportunity to get up close and have a walk-around KRONE's Revolutionary eTrailer, which was recently added as a free update to the Krone Trailer Pack DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2!

Join Nemiro, our PR & Marketing Manager at SCS Software and Abdullah Jaber, CEO & Managing Director of Trailer Dynamics, as they take you on a guided walk-around of the KRONE eTrailer, and discuss its development, design, features and specifications. We guarantee that you will learn some new and interesting facts about the future of trailers from this episode! 

We are very grateful to the team at KRONE and Trailer Dynamics for allowing us to film and share this video with you, and for their hospitality during our visit. We hope you'll enjoy watching this episode, and we thank you for your support for this series. If you like the video, be sure to subscribe, like, and leave a reply, as we'd love to hear your comments. We will see you soon for the next episode, until then, keep on truckin'!

Missouri - New Assets to Build the World With

We have another preview of the Missouri map expansion for our #BestCommunityEver! This time, we would like to show you some of the new models our asset makers are working on which you will find scattered across the map in this upcoming DLC. You will also read about how they prepare the models from scratch for their final design.

Keep in mind that these models showcased here are not the only new assets we have been working on, and that this DLC is still a work in progress. Among many other models, we are proud to show you these beauties inspired by the real-world locations in various parts of Missouri such as the Jefferson Performing Arts Center, the Joplin church, the statue in Kirksville, St. Joseph's water building or the pedestrian bridge in Rolla. But that's not all, in total, we have put together over 350 new models just for this map expansion!

Are you interested to know how these models are put together? Our talented asset makers work on them in Autodesk Maya from the first draft to the final design. As you can see in the first image below, first they put together a basic model with no details and textures, serving as a placeholder for more adjustments.

Once they have that done, they proceed to modify the geometry and add details. In this step, it is important to have an overview of the model structure, which allows them to modify the shape and detailed elements. In the image below, you can see the model in Shade mode without textures, with the wireframe view added. This shows how the model is structured and how the different parts of the model relate to each other.

The last step is to apply the textures and make final adjustments. Now, you can see the final look of the model, ready to be used in a variety of applications. On the very first picture of this blog, you can also see this model's final look in the game.

We hope you are looking forward to trucking in the Missouri DLC. If you do, make sure to add it to your Steam Wishlist! And don't forget to follow us on our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, so you won't miss out on any American Truck Simulator news. Until next time, happy travels!

Star Nation Experience 2024 Update

Earlier this year, we announced that we have teamed up with Western Star Trucks for the Star Nation Experience 2024 in this blog. Along with us, Western Star Trucks, and members of the Star Nation community, two lucky American Truck Simulator players had the chance to win an all-expenses-paid trip to Bend, Oregon, and take part in this unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime experience. 

Unfortunately, the original date for the Star Nation Experience 2024 had to be cancelled due to the wildfires spreading in the area. As a result, Western Star, in cooperation with local authorities, firefighters, and sheriffs, made the decision to postpone the event to ensure everyone's safety. The new date has now been announced: the event will take place from September 27 to September 30! And today, we are excited to introduce the two participants from our ATS community, so let's meet them.

But first, we shall remind you of what this amazing event is all about. In the heart of Oregon's untamed wilderness, Western Star Trucks hosted the first Star Nation Experience last year for eight lucky winners of their raffle, marking the first of its kind in the trucking industry. 

It is a wild, adrenaline-fueled experience filled with trucking, fly fishing, ATV fun, and more adventures celebrating everything that makes Western Star and the Star Nation community special. The highlight of the event is undoubtedly the behind-the-scenes tour of Daimler Truck High Desert Proving Grounds in Madras, where they took on the ultimate driver challenge last year, pushing Western Star X-Series trucks to their limits. And this year will be no different.

As we already mentioned above, for the Star Nation Experience 2024, Western Star has invited us to participate but also dedicated two slots of the team of eight lucky winners to members of our American Truck Simulator community. Our friends at Western Star received plenty of applications and a few weeks ago, they selected the winners. We are very excited to meet with all of them, especially with the two from our community - Connor and Brendan.

Brendan

Brendan's passion for trucking traces all the way back to his childhood. "I’ve been obsessed ever since I was a kid. I would always play with toy trucks and pull wagons around in my yard," he says. This early fascination grew into a full-blown obsession with trucks, leading him to discover the world of ATS and a career as a driver.

Since 2019, Brendan has been an avid player, drawn to the game's meticulous detail and immersive environments, which realistically replicated real trucking experiences. In ATS, Brendan's vehicle of choice is the Western Star 4900EX, inspired by his fond memories of riding in his father's truck as a child. Captivated by its iconic design and reliability, Brendan enthusiastically recreated his favorite truck in-game, using mods to enhance his virtual trucking adventures.

Outside of ATS, Brendan's dedication to trucking extends into his professional life, where he spends most of his time on the road, logging miles as a professional truck driver.

Connor

Connor’s passion for ATS began with the original Euro Truck Simulator when he was just 12 years old. "There was something about the open road and the sounds of the truck engine that always pulled me into playing more," Connor recalled.

In the virtual realm of ATS, Connor drives his favourite truck, the Western Star 57X, relishing its smooth rides and long-haul comfort. The truck's iconic logo holds a special place in Conor’s heart; it resonates with him - something he identifies with. Beyond gaming, Connor values ATS for its ability to offer a temporary escape from the humdrum of everyday life as well as the opportunity for him to immerse himself in the role of an owner-operator, participating in virtual convoys and engaging with a community of fellow trucking enthusiasts.

We would like to thank Western Star Truck for this wonderful opportunity to be a part of this adventure along with the members of our American Truck Simulator community. Keep a close eye on Western Star's Facebook and Instagram, and our X/Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook so you don't miss out on any news from the Star Nation Experience 2024 which Nemiro and Mark from our team will also attend. Get ready to embark on this unforgettable adventure with us!

Greece - Churches and Shrines

We are happy to share another piece of the puzzle from the upcoming Greece map expansion for Euro Truck Simulator 2. Today, we would like to show you some beautiful churches and shrines that are an inseparable part of the country's ancient history.

Our teams did an excellent job modelling these amazing architectural gems for the Greece DLC while taking inspiration from real-world locations like the Pantocrator Cathedral in Lixouri, the Church of Panagia and the Church of Saint Dionysius in Argostolion. Not only are the churches an incredible part of the country's architecture but they also have a long tradition and is actively in use as almost the entire Greek population is religious.

Apart from churches, there will also be plenty of shrines that can be found scattered along the roads across all of Greece. These little boxes, sometimes designed as a miniature chapel or church, usually have a burning lamp inside them, as well as images of saints and some flowers. These shrines have multiple purposes such as to commemorate victims of road accidents or invite passersbys for a prayer.

We hope you are looking forward to seeing these churches and shrines on your travels through this Mediterranean gem when it releases.

Remember that the content captured in the screenshots you see here is still a work in progress and may change before the final release. If you're excited about this map expansion, add the Greece DLC to your Steam Wishlist. Don't forget to stay tuned and follow us on our Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok for all the latest updates. Safe travels!

1.52 Update: Driving Academy

We are excited to share with you that a new game module for both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator will be introduced with the 1.52 update - Driving Academy. This free update will include sets of scenarios which we hope will teach our players a thing or two about driving and maneuvering a truck in a fun and captivating way.

We are venturing into new territory, inspired by years of feedback from players who have told us that our games have helped them grasp the basics of truck driving. Many have used it to get a sense of handling a truck and trailer, learning how to maneuver and reverse. With this in mind, we thought we'd take it a step further by introducing a series of challenges specifically designed to improve and expand these skills.

Driving Academy will help players learn to drive a truck, from basic driving to navigating intricate courses and complex parking maneuvers with a detailed explanation via driving instructions including diagrams, pointers, and directions. This new game module will provide you with various scenarios of increasing difficulty inspired by instructions given to real-life students. We also wanted to enable drivers to analyze their drive so we have also implemented a new replay feature into this game module as well.

As we mentioned above, we are testing the waters with Driving Academy, but if we get positive feedback from our community, we would love to continue creating additional scenarios and special challenges in the future that real-life truck drivers may encounter on the road. Our dream is for this game module to offer a deeper understanding of both truck driving and the underlying systems, as well as when to use them. But that is still a long way to go.

We also plan to explore this new game module in our live streams, create a special explanatory video, and the topic may also be explored in an Under the Hood blog post, explaining our thought process and production challenges. So you will want to be on the lookout on our channels so you do not miss out on this exclusive content that will also take you behind the scenes. Remember to follow us on our social media channels X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

We hope you will appreciate this new feature, enjoy it when it is released and maybe even learn something new about trucking. Until then, happy travels!