ETS2: Async Loading Experimental Beta

As we continue to evolve and expand the world of Euro Truck Simulator 2, we're constantly looking for ways to improve performance, stability, and the overall driving experience. One step we’re taking in this direction is a major change happening under the hood, something that affects how the game loads and handles data in real time. To make sure we get it right, we need your help!

Recently, we have been hard at work implementing a major overhaul in the way our game loads and processes data, a new experimental system we call Asynchronous Loading. This system is designed to improve the loading process by ensuring that the game and loading screens remain uninterrupted while assets are loaded in the background. The primary benefit here is the mitigation of stuttering, resulting in a smoother experience overall.

However, due to the complexity and wide-reaching impact of this system on many parts of the game, we need to proceed with caution and ensure everything works as expected across a broad range of setups. This may in turn cause unexpected behaviour such as frame rate drops, unusual loading sequences, or odd issues when using features like fast travel. That’s why it’s important for us to test this change under as many different conditions as possible, including various hardware configurations.

To achieve that, today, we are launching a brand-new Experimental Beta for Euro Truck Simulator 2, which features this new loading system. We would like to invite you, our #BestCommunityEver, to help us during this testing phase. The more of you that participate, the more information we’re able to gather and work with. Whether you're running on a high-end rig or a more modest configuration, your feedback is incredibly valuable to us, as it helps us ensure this major feature is stable, reliable, and ready for future updates.

As you explore the beta, we ask that you please keep an eye out for anything unusual or unexpected. We are especially looking for reports of strange behaviour that could be linked to the loading of in-game elements like terrain, models, assets, trucks, trailers, cargoes, weights, physics, and even the economy system. Any instability or glitch, however small, might help us identify where improvements are needed.

Warning! We do want to stress, however, that because of the depth of the changes in this beta, it could potentially affect your save files. That’s why we strongly recommend creating a brand-new profile specifically for the Experimental Beta. This allows you to explore and test the new content without putting your existing progress and profiles at risk.

If you wish to participate in this Experimental Beta, you can find this version in the Experimental 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 → Beta Participation drop down menu → experimental_beta. No password is required. Sometimes you will have to restart your Steam client to see the correct branch name there.

If you do experience a bug or another issue, we ask that you please submit your feedback at our official forums, along with details about your hardware setup, and ideally, attach your game.log.txt file located in your ETS2 folder. This really helps us a lot when trying to reproduce and diagnose issues.

While this Experimental Beta is primarily focused on testing Asynchronous Loading, you will notice a few other features that are also included in this build. These additions are still in development for the upcoming 1.55 update, so while they’re there, we kindly ask that you don’t focus your feedback on these features until the Open Beta, which we will announce here on our blog. With that said, we do want to share a little bit about some of the other content and changes that are included in this Experimental Beta.

Driving Academy: Truck Driving Proficiency

Those who choose to participate in this Experimental Beta will also have exclusive access to the next chapter of our Driving Academy series: Truck Driving Proficiency. If you've been following our streams and blogs, you’ll know we’ve hinted at this for a while now. This new set of challenges will push your skills behind the wheel to the limit.

Mail Screen Redesign

We’ve also started rolling out a redesign of the Mail Screen, with a cleaner layout and improved usability, especially for those navigating with a controller.

World Map Improvement

Lastly, there’s a handy new shortcut on the World Map, pressing the F key will now instantly center the map on your truck’s current position.

We’ll share more about each of these features soon, along with a closer look of other changes during the full 1.55 Open Beta. For now, we’d really appreciate your focus on helping us test and refine the new loading system.

We want to thank you to everyone who chooses to participate in this Experimental Beta and help us shape the future of Euro Truck Simulator 2. Your time, feedback, and dedication mean the world to us, and it’s thanks to your continued support that we can keep pushing the boundaries of what our game can offer. Until next time, keep on truckin’!