#TruckAtHome Event Progress

We really do have the #BestCommunityEver! In less than 24 hours of the #TruckAtHome event starting, drivers in Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator taking part collectively drove 120 million kilometers (about 74 million miles) using our World of Trucks contracts and external market.

60 million of those first kilometers were driven in a 6 hour period (that's 10 million kms reached every hour). At the time of posting this blog, it is over 340 million kilometers (over 211 million miles) and we still have the weekend ahead of us.

As you have been actively reaching milestones by doing your part, we made sure to uphold our part of the deal to undertake positive action to help those who are combating COVID-19. At the time of writing this blog, we have donated over 260,000CZK (around €9,400) to various charities, like Covmask, who create much needed protective gear for medical personnel free of charge, to a team of very skilled and quite famous Czech chefs preparing, cooking and delivering food to paramedics, firefighters or policemen, and ADRA CZ who provide bringing food and medicines to the elderly who are unable to leave their homes. And we plan to support financially even more targets.

We also have made use of one of our SCS On the Road vehicles during this important time. 3 members of our team have been driving to various local hospitals delivering essential and requested items from the staff who are working on the front line every day. So far we have donated several pallets worth of food and liquids to help keep staff energized during this busy time; as well as some much-needed equipment such as two-way radio transmitters which assist doctors & nurses in communicating when working in segregated areas of the hospital.

We also wanted to share a thank you to you our community, who have been actively driving day and night, and sharing your kind and positive words throughout this whole event. You really have been keeping us on our toes when it comes to reaching milestones, as you seem to reach the next one quicker than the last. This was especially evident on the 2nd of April as Euro Truck Simulator 2 broke its all-time player record peaking at 55,322 players, wow!

Behind all these incredible stats and actions, there is an important message to why we have been asking you to #TruckAtHome. Staying home is the most important thing you can do prevent the spread of COVID-19 in your area, and by doing so you are saving lives. If you do need to leave the house, make sure to wash your hands regularly for 30 seconds at a time. You can find more important health advice to follow from the World Health Organization, or your local health services website.

Be sure to continue sharing your photos and videos as you #TruckAtHome with us on Twitter, Facebook and our Instagram using the hashtag. There is still time to join the event, you can find all the details at our blog post or at worldoftrucks.com.

The event will be concluded on Monday the 6th of April at 23:59 UTC.

SCS Home Office Update

About 3 weeks ago, our teams left our main offices in Prague to begin working from home. At that time, there was a lot of uncertainty about how our teams would adapt to working in such a different way, as this had never been done before on such a large scale in the history of SCS Software.

As you can imagine, there were a lot of challenges and questions presented at the start of this move, however, after a few weeks, a majority of our team have made themselves at home (quite literally!) and settled into the new workflow and style of working. We asked members of our team to send in photos of their work at home setups to share with our community. Do you have a favorite?

While a lot of us may enjoy working from home because of the perks that come with it (such as no time spent commuting) it is important to remember the reason why we are. We are doing our part to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, and you can take preventive measures to do the same also.

Following advice from local health services and the World Health Organization, staying at home saves lives and is a key part of preventing the spread of this virus. It is recommended you only travel if you are a key-worker, or if you are going out for essential items such as groceries and medicine. If you do meet with someone, make sure to practice social distancing by standing 1 meter apart. It is also important to remember to wash your hands with soap for a minimum of 20 seconds, especially if you have been outside.

We understand that during this time, not everyone may have the luxury of working from home. So we want to show our appreciation and thanks to all the drivers, hospital staff, public transport employees, emergency services, government workers, carers, supermarket staff and more who continue to work, and keep the world moving during this difficult time. You really are all everyday heroes.

And those who can, please, stay safe and #TruckAtHome!

#TruckAtHome Event

Virtual Truckers of the world, we are all enduring a difficult time, as the world fights against COVID-19. It's time for us to respond in the best way we can.

Heroic drivers and support crew around the world are currently delivering much-needed supplies and providing life-saving services. Their work keeps the world moving and is incredibly challenging and dangerous.

When reflecting on this we might ask the question, what can we do. The scientific advice is clear, the best thing we can do is to stay at home and keep physical interaction to a minimum. So, we are calling on you, our #BestCommunityEver, as a salute to these heroes, to unite and to #TruckAtHome. Let's stand alone together, keep the world safe, and let's participate in a World of Trucks community event!

Our slogan for this event is #TruckAtHome and our goal is simple, to get as many people involved, in any way they can, while remaining at home. Complete as many jobs as you can, there is no special cargo and no minimum distance. Choose the longest jobs possible or do many short jobs, it's up to you because we are going to track the delivery distance required for all jobs completed, then add them up. You can even use your own trailers in the External Market!

We are in the middle of beta testing upcoming updates to our games, and injecting new content into the games is just not possible unless we restart the betas. So, instead of going the usual Steam Inventory route, we have had to improvise. As an incentive to get more players involved, we are providing a free Steam Workshop #TruckAtHome paint job mod for the event. We'll be handing out free Steam keys to get even more people playing. And, we also pledge to undertake positive actions to help those who are combating COVID-19, more details in the rules. The more distance covered during the event, the more keys we will give away and the more pledges we will make. Every kilometer, every mile counts! We feel that it is crucial to send the message now, when it matters most.

Event's paint job MODs can be downloaded here:

• Euro Truck Simulator 2 - #TruckAtHome Paint Job MOD
• American Truck Simulator - #TruckAtHome Paint Job MOD

#TruckAtHome Event Rules: 

Using External Contracts or External Market, with a World of Trucks-connected profile, in Euro Truck Simulator 2, American Truck Simulator or both, the community is to cover as much distance as possible while making deliveries. All completed jobs will have their planned route distance added to the event progress.

For each milestone of 20,000,000 km reached by the community, we will be offering Steam keys in a special social media giveaway campaign. Furthermore, we pledge to undertake a positive action to help those who are combating COVID-19 for each milestone reached, and will announce these on a case by case basis.

A player will reach their personal goal once they have delivered over a combined planned route distance of 2,500 km or more.

Reward:

Personal goal: An individual contribution of completed deliveries reaching a combined planned route distance of 2,500 km (ca. 1,600 miles) or more earns that player a prestigious World of Trucks Achievement. Then, after 1.37 has been released, we will further complement this with a special Steam inventory item reward, yet to be announced.

Community goals: For each milestone of 20,000,000 km (ca. 12,500,000 miles) reached by the community, we will be offering Steam keys in a special social media giveaway campaign. Furthermore, we pledge to undertake a positive action to help those who are combating COVID-19 for each milestone reached and will announce these on a case by case basis.

The event will be concluded on Monday the 6th of April at 23:59 UTC.

Let's get the message out there to #TruckAtHome, and make the world a safer place. Play Euro Truck Simulator 2 or American Truck Simulator during this unprecedented event. Any content under #TruckAtHome along with tagging our profiles on Facebook (SCS, ATS, ETS2), Instagram or Twitter will be in the running for a special reward. Post videos, take screenshots, write reviews, create chat rooms and discuss the event and message, make artwork about it. Do whatever it takes, just stay at home and stay safe. 

Are you an established streamer? Get in touch with us (through this email) to obtain Steam keys to engage your audience during the event. Please make sure your message is written in English.

If you are a modder and would like to enhance your custom paint job mod with our #TruckAtHome logos or use them in a video stream graphic, you can download the source files here.

We have crafted this event really quickly compared to previous events. It may not offer a glorious trailer to haul and we promised a reward only after 1.37, but it was undertaken because we feel it was the right thing to do, because it was the most we can do and because we feel the message needs to be sent out loud and clear, not next week, not tomorrow but now – stay home and stay safe. Thank you for understanding and enjoy the event!

Not to be sniffed at

What could this possibly be about? Who knows, anything is paw-sible....

Any ideas? Let us know in the comments section below or on our social media profiles!

Introducing Colorado

After much guessing and debate, many of you came to the conclusion of which state we showcased in our recent teaser trailer. Today we are putting those theories to rest...

Introducing Colorado for American Truck Simulator

Home to some of the country's tallest mountains, a wide variety of biomes and an array of unique industries; this map expansion will bring beautiful landscapes and new road networks for drivers to explore and deliver to.

But where did the name Colorado originate from? The origin of the word actually comes from the Spanish language, which means 'colored red'. This name was chosen for the territory by U.S congress in 1861, which may be the reason why the state received the nickname of 'Colorful Colorado'. However, many believe it received this nickname because of the magnificent scenery of mountains, rivers and plains you can find across the State.

Colorado is a project that we are currently developing at full capacity in parallel with Idaho DLC; of course, our Euro Truck Simulator 2 fans know that there are yet more projects in production! At the moment, our aim is to complete and release Colorado a few months after Idaho, tentatively towards the end of this year. Please note, however, that due to extraordinary circumstances we face during this time, this timeframe may change.

Be sure to add Colorado to your Steam Wishlist, and to check out our Instagram, Twitter, SCS Software, and ATS Facebook page for more exclusive screenshots.

Idaho: Spud Special

Po-tay-toes! Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a stew. Lovely big golden chips with a nice piece of fried fish, even we couldn't say no to that. It's one of the first things that people think of when it comes to Idaho. In fact, the state is so famous for its potatoes, in 2018 farmers harvested 14.2 billion pounds of potatoes.

So how will potatoes play a part in our upcoming map expansion for American Truck Simulator? Well, you can be sure to be making deliveries to and from the many farms that produce them; as well as seeing trucks being loaded with potatoes from afar, but what else makes Idaho perfect for potatoes?

Idaho’s unique environment provides nearly perfect growing conditions for potatoes. Thanks to a number of natural combinations including rich volcanic soil, meltwater from the mountains, clean air, sunny days, and cool nights; all these elements combine to to allow the growth of consistently high-quality potatoes that have made them famous worldwide.

Sound a-peeling? Be sure to add Idaho to your Steam Wishlist, and to check out our Instagram and Twitter and ATS Facebook page for more exclusive photos.

HS-Schoch Tuning Pack

Today, we are proud to bring you a new tuning pack created in close cooperation with HS-Schoch, a leading truck tuning and accessories brand. While our previous tuning DLC's have been focused specifically on certain truck brands, our partnership with HS-Schoch has allowed us to obtain detailed 3D data references to bring these high quality accessories for a majority of the vehicles in ETS2.

Introducing the HS-Schoch Tuning Pack, Now Available for Euro Truck Simulator 2.

Since 1986, HS-Schoch has been a leading expert in the creation of truck styling and accessories for major truck brands across Europe. The foundations of HS-Schoch's success has been built on a high level of quality awareness, flexibility, and reliability, which we are excited to represent within our virtual trucking world.

The HS-Schoch Tuning Pack contains many accessories including light bars, bump bars, sidebars, side steps, roof bars and much more for the following trucks:

• DAF XF105
• DAF XF
• Iveco Stralis & Iveco Stralis Hi-Way
• Mercedes-Benz Actros & Mercedes-Benz New Actros
• Renault Magnum & Renault Trucks T
• Scania R 2009/Streamline
• Scania R/S
• Volvo FH16 2009 & Volvo FH 2012
• MAN TGX & TGX Euro 6

In this new pack, you will find an array of branded accessories, which can be used in a variety of combinations. Each of these accessories has been made according to HS-Schoch product catalogue, which they provided us for references.

We look forward to seeing how you will further customize your truck with this exciting new addition! Be sure to share your photos with us on our social media channels and with HS-Schoch on Instagram and Facebook with the hashtag #HSSchoch.

Deserts of Iberian Peninsula

A Fistful of Dollars, Winnetou Return and Once Upon a Time in the West; these are all famous movies that are based in wild wild west of America, featuring traditional cowboy shootouts and close-ups of squinting eyes (yee-haw!). But did you know all of these Eurowestern classics were filmed in the hot and dusty deserts of Spain?

Located in the south-east of Iberia and often nicknamed 'mainland Europe's only desert', you will find the Tabernas Desert, a dry but beautiful part of the Spanish mainland. This part of Iberia will also be the first desert climate to ever feature in Euro Truck Simulator 2; and offers a very unique contrast to the lush and green forests that dominate the rest of the continent.

In these desert areas, the sun shines for over 3,000 hours a year and sees as little as 240mm annual rainfall (unless you turn the rain slider up) so make sure to bring plenty of drinking water, and sunscreen on your journey, as temperatures can soar up to 51°C, but as low as -1°C during the winter. These extreme climates make for harsh terrain, in which very little vegetation grows.

So whether you are just traveling through, or taking the scenic route, be sure to look out for the locations of famous movies, tumbleweed, and cowboys... because this town ain't big enough for the two of us, partner.

Remember to check out our Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for more exclusive images not found on this blog!

Adapting to Difficult Times

Following increased and overwhelming concerns regarding the novel coronavirus, we have had to adjust to the new situation.

As of today, all employees of SCS Software's Prague studio have switched to home office. Last week on Wednesday, we trialed a one-day test with the whole company working from home to test the waters; and on Thursday and Friday, we were already packing up computers, hardware and assisting our teams in moving them to their homes if help was required.

We are doing this to protect the health of our staff, but we also see this as our social responsibility. The fewer people there are using public transportation, the fewer opportunities will the virus have available to spread further. We all need to do our part to contain and mitigate it.

This will inevitably affect our productivity, and we have yet to understand what kind of impact it makes on our production schedules. We need to learn a lot of new skills for team communication and planning; there are a lot of junior designers in the teams who will now require training and assistance remotely, putting strain on our seniors.

These worries are, of course, trivial compared to the massive problems that the whole of mankind will be facing in coming weeks and months. We will all need to brace for hard times. But we do understand that our fanbase expects honest communication from us, and any news we can provide on improvements and new features and content we are working on.

Our blog and our social media channels will remain our primary communication platforms, and we will do our best to keep the flow of the news regular, informative and entertaining.

We would also like to provide you with up to date information regarding our attendance of upcoming events.

Owing to the extraordinary circumstances and challenges posed by the current COVID-19 outbreak, the Mid-American Trucking Show has been cancelled; you can find more information on their homepage. Twitchcon EU has also recently released a statement, in which they announced the cancellation of their event. Anyone with bookings to TwitchCon EU or MATS 2020 should reach out directly to the organizers for more information regarding their tickets.

For the safety and well-being of our team and the community, we will be carefully considering our plans for upcoming future events such as Truck World Canada (which has been recently rescheduled) and Truckfest Peterborough. We will post an announcement here on our blog or on our social media channels on any further changes to our travel plans.

Unfortunately we also regret to inform you that the SCS E-Shop will no longer be accepting any new orders and will be closed until further notice. Any orders that have been made and paid up until today (the 16th of March, 2020) will still be processed. If you have any further questions regarding orders, please contact eshop@scssoft.com

We thank you for your understanding, and we apologise to our community who may have made plans to meet us at any of the cancelled events. We will continue to keep you posted in the coming months.