Iowa: Ethanol Plant

As we continue to work on the upcoming Iowa DLC for American Truck Simulator, we’re excited to share more about a new and important industry that will be featured in this upcoming map expansion. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Did you know that Iowa is the largest producer of ethanol in the United States, making around 4.5 billion gallons each year? That’s nearly a quarter of all the ethanol produced in the country! So, what is ethanol used for? A lot more than you might realize, including solvents, perfumes, toiletries, disinfectants, preservatives, and polishes. It’s also used in the manufacturing of plastics, rubber, and pharmaceuticals, and it is increasingly being used as a biofuel.

Ethanol is made from corn, and this industry uses about 40% of Iowa’s corn supply. That’s why trucking is so important here! Drivers bring corn to the plants and then deliver the finished product to many other industries across the states. Also with recent rule changes allowing ethanol-blended fuel to be sold all year in several states, the demand for ethanol, and truck transport keeps growing.

On your travels across Iowa, you’ll be able to deliver to three new large ethanol plants located near the cities of Burlington, Fort Dodge, and Mason City. Each one has been faithfully recreated with buildings, silos and equipment modelled after their real life counterparts. Each has its own layout and style, with tall tanks, pipes, and loading zones.

At the ethanol plant located in Mason City, you’ll find the world’s largest free-span grain bin, it’s huge! Measuring in at over 155 feet tall and 165 feet wide, it can hold a whopping 2 million bushels of corn. It’s so big that you could fit a whole Boeing 767 airplane inside! And recently, they built another one right next to it!

The creation of this new industry was no small feat, either! In fact, 12 new chemical-related assets, such as large tanks, silos, and more, were created just for these locations. That’s the largest number of unique assets made for a depot in this DLC!

This depot will also feature our dynamic unloading feature of bulk corn inside the large unloading shed. Speaking of cargo, the main category delivered here is ADR cargo, followed by large structural parts for the plant, and of course, bulk corn.

Additionally, we’ve taken our depot scenes technology to the next level with these ethanol plants. All the assets at the depot are inserted separately, allowing them to adjust their level of detail (LOD) independently. This greatly helps with optimization and performance and helps our map designers use these assets around the depot to create a more immersive and seamless connection between the plant and its surroundings.

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning about this new industry coming to the Iowa DLC! If you’re excited to hit the road in the Hawkeye State, be sure to add Iowa for American Truck Simulator to your Steam Wishlist. Your support truly means a lot to us. Until next time, keep on truckin'!

Missouri - New Industries & New Cargoes to Haul

Two blogs in one, double the fun! Today, we have some more news from the upcoming Missouri map expansion for American Truck Simulator. The first part is about new industries, and the second part is about new cargo, so let's get into it!

There will be three new industries waiting for truckers in the Show Me State. You will find the first one just outside of St. Joseph, in the northwestern part of the state - the Superstructure Factory. This industry supplies bodywork for pickup trucks. You will deliver the necessary parts for production and then distribute the finished vehicles all over the map.

Your favourite Farmers Barn brand will also have branches in Missouri along with its new type of production plant - the Feedmill. This massive plant is used to produce animal food. Deliver the necessary raw materials and distribute the finished product across the U.S. High silos, conveyors, road scales, a large packing house and a finished goods warehouse - everything a proper Feedmill should have.

Anyone driving through southeast St. Louis on I-55 will notice that there is a historic beverage factory nearby. You will recognize it by its distinctive 19th and early 20th-century buildings which may look like historic castles, but they are still in production today. And its products need to be shipped out into the world. Guess who's job is that going to be?

New Cargoes to Haul

Our vehicle team has prepared new cargo for you to haul when Missouri is released, adding more variety to the haulable loads in our games. It's not just the regular cargo getting new additions - our Heavy Cargo Pack DLC will also feature massive new loads. Let's take a look!

Among the new regular loads you'll be able to haul are Scaffolding, Cattle Barriers, Moving Pods, a Forklift, and Body Crane Trucks.

Now, let's move on to the huge and heavy cargoes! Our Heavy Cargo Pack DLC is getting an upgrade with three new cargoes - a Mobile Screener, a Mobile Crusher, and a Mobile Stacker. 

Enjoy this upcoming map expansion to the fullest and amplify your trucking experience with new loads from the Heavy Cargo Pack DLC which you can get on Steam. 

If you are looking forward to trucking in the Show Me State, make sure to add this map expansion to your Steam Wishlist! Don't forget to follow us on our X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky, and YouTube, so you won't miss out on any American Truck Simulator news. We'd also really appreciate it if you could sign up for our newsletter to stay informed, even when you're not able to check out the blog or our socials. Keep on truckin'!

Greece - Industry & Custom Depots

Καλησπέρα, #BestCommunityEver! We are back with more news from our upcoming Greece map expansion for Euro Truck Simulator 2. Today, we would like to show you some of the new industries and custom depots that our teams have prepared for this DLC.

Our researchers did an amazing job in finding out the kinds of new depots and industries that would be ideal for this southern map expansion. After some deliberation, we decided to add a new food factory, cotton processing factory, olive farm, marble processing factory, and a warehouse facility.

The olive processing industry is very important in Greece with a long tradition dating back thousands of years. This Mediterranean country is in fact the world's third-largest producer of olives, so naturally we could not leave out an opportunity to implement this produce into our game.

Similarly to olives, cotton also plays an important part in Greece's industry. The country is Europe's largest exporter of this commodity with more than 45 thousand cotton farmers working there. Cotton actually takes up around 10% of total agricultural land in Greece.

Marble has been a crucial resource for Greece's architecture in history and holds that place up until now. This beautiful stone is renowned for its distinctive colour and veining patterns. Again, Greece is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of marble, so you will be able to become a part of that chain and deliver in and out of two marble processing factories.

Other than that, we are also implementing a new food factory into the map where truckers will deliver food items in and out – this model will also appear in our upcoming map expansions. Our asset makers also created a small warehouse model specifically for Greece and some of its islands.

Truckers can also look forward to some custom-made depots that will be brand new for Euro Truck Simulator 2! These depots are not the usual prefabricated ones made by our asset makers, which truckers often encounter in some locations. Each depot is individually designed and assembled by our map designers, making them completely unique. The Greece map expansion will feature a variety of custom depots, including quarries, farms, a shipyard, and gas stations, where you can deliver cargo. But that is not all! We have another new and unusual custom depot to reveal, which you'll find on our blog later, so stay tuned.

We hope you are looking forward to this map expansion finally arriving. If you are, make sure to add the Greece DLC to your Steam Wishlist. Remember that the content you see in this blog is still a work in progress and may change until this DLC's release. Don't forget to stay tuned and follow us on our X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok for all the latest updates. Safe travels!