This Saturday, (June 18th) a small team from our SCS On The Road crew along with one of our 4D Motion Sim will participate in an event hosted by DAF Trucks CZ at the Brno Circuit near the city of Brno, Czechia.
This event is going to be very interesting, as DAF Trucks CZ and DAF Trucks SK are going to discover the best CZ/SK professional truck driver from the 15 finalists that made it to the final round of the DAF Trucks International Driver Challenge. To determine a winner, these talented truck drivers will be tested in multiple challenges created by DAF Trucks at a local racing circuit near Brno.
We have been invited as honourable guests to join this amazing event and to bring fun for the public audience who are attending this special competition. We'll have a small booth there, along with one of our motion rigs which will be manned by mr.cenda and Nemiro, both who are very excited and ready to meet with all our local fans.
Other than the main competition to find the best of the best truck drivers and our booth, you can also look forward to having lots of great food and drinks, the opportunity to check out and drive in the newest DAF Trucks vehicles and so much more!
If you do find yourself near the Brno Circuit this Saturday, please come and say hi to us as we'll be there the whole day. Entry is free of charge and no doubt it will be a day full of fun and amazing trucking things to witness. We hope to see some of the familiar faces from our local fanbase there too!
It has been almost two weeks now since the first element of our crew bound for Canada returned back to our offices in Prague. After we interviewed them internally about their trip, we thought it may be interesting to let you know what they got up to! We hope this will be a nice article providing you with more proof that our community is really the #BestCommunityEver!
Our trip to North America had multiple purposes. First of all, we were honored to be invited to participate at the Daimler Truck North America booth at one of the largest Canadian truck shows, the famous Truck World expo. It was a great pleasure for us to be able to have our small gaming station at the very center of the joint Freightliner Trucks and Western Star Trucks booth. Initially, our plans were to ship one of our 4D Motion Sims there, however, due to multiple logistic issues, mostly caused by heavy congestion in the ports of Hamburg and Montreal, our simulator never made it to the destination in time for the expo.
Our crew found a quick workaround to the problem, which they immediately executed by building a gaming station there from products readily available at local stores. On the shopping list was a gaming PC, a chair, a wheel stand with pedals, a big flat screen, and voila - an improvised gaming station was made.
Not as fancy as our motion sim, but it still did the trick. Local visitors at the event were happy to be able to play our game, and our friends from Daimler Truck North America were satisfied with the result. What a save! A massive thanks to everyone from both the Western Star Trucks and Freightliner Trucks teams who helped us with all these unexpected issues, and who made our crew feel welcome. It was great to hear from the truck manufacturer representatives how much they love the ATS community! Check their messages for you here and here. BTW, we are already working on some new content for you together with DTNA, so stay tuned!
During the opening days of the show, we were lucky enough to meet with quite a lot of fans too. We enjoyed every minute of our long chats and deep discussion about pretty much everything with you, thanks for taking the time to stop by the booth!
However, meeting with the game fans was not the only reason for our presence at this exhibition. Our Industry Partnerships Manager Oscar was with us, too, and that means he was bouncing around, shaking hands, and having promising meetings with representatives from multiple truck OEMs. This may or may not bring some new content for our games in the future. No spoilers for now though!
The other big reason for our trip to Canada was related to our game on a deeper level. We've been lucky enough to get in touch with two amazing guys from our #BestCommunityEver, Daniel and Mark, who helped us by getting three different trucks with different engines, trailers, and mileage so our SFX guys could record truck sounds with them. Our friends really went the extra mile to help us make our games more realistic and we are very grateful and honored to have done these sound recording sessions with them. Mark, Dan, if you're reading this - thank you so much!
Both guys have a great life story too. It turns out that they found and developed their passion and love for trucking through our games! They went on to become professional truck drivers and even owner-operators (a trucker taking on jobs with their own truck) for many years now. It was really cool hanging out with them, chatting about the profession in general and how tough a truck driver's life can be. They provided us with a lot of insights about the automotive industry, trucking, road network, and traffic rules in not just Canada, but in the US as well, and we are going to pass all this along with contacts to them to our other departments for sure! We have prepared a short video for you all and you can check it out and hit the like on it below!
No matter the issues we had to deal with during our trip to Canada, we can say that all the reasons for our stay there, our presence at Truck World, our sound recording sessions, and our licensing talks were a big success and that we had a great time as well. All this would not have been possible without our great, awesome community! We really love you all!
If you're watching our social media channels closely, then you probably know a couple of guys from our crew actually haven't come back to Prague with us - they keep on going across the US. We'll be probably covering their journey here later. They still have some more tasks to do, meetings to attend, and ambient and truck sounds to record around a few places throughout the US. We wish them luck that everything goes smoothly and that they'll return back home safe and sound, with a lot of reference material gathered!
Over the past weekend, we put out a teaser video hinting at a new and upcoming truck that will arrive for American Truck Simulator. Many of our avid fans have immediately identified the make and model of the truck. The hype is real; with the awesome support from Daimler Trucks North America, you will soon get to drive the most popular truck on US' roads!
Introducing the Freightliner Cascadia® for American Truck Simulator
To quote Freightliner's sales literature, "The Cascadia® is the most advanced on-highway truck Freightliner has ever offered. With more than one million hours of R&D and millions of miles of real-world testing, the Cascadia® is the result of sustained, concentrated investment in the future of trucking. Advanced aerodynamics help it slice through the air and boost fuel efficiency. Freightliner reimagined the Cascadia® interior, starting with the dashboard, which features an all-new instrument cluster and automotive-style steering wheel controls and switch placement, to meet driver needs. The Cascadia® is offered with the Integrated Detroit™ Powertrain, which integrates the most fuel-efficient DD15® and DD13® engines ever designed with the technologically advanced DT12™ On-Highway Series transmissions and specifically engineered Detroit™ steer and high-speed ratio tandem axles for optimal, efficient performance."
You will soon be able to experience the Freightliner Cascadia® for yourself from one of your local in-game dealerships!
Some of our hyper-perceptive fans have also noticed the DD15® engine note in our teaser too. If you were curious about how we managed to find a Cascadia® for a sound-recording session, despite the ongoing COVID restrictions, wonder no more! On the tightest of deadlines, our Licensing Manager was able to find and contact Transportbotschafter in Germany, who provided us with the opportunity to rent an imported Freightliner Cascadia® for a day. Have a look at some of the photos they took of the session 3 weeks ago!
If a picture speaks a thousand words, how about a video too?
Be sure to follow our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) for more screenshots and content before the release.
Freightliner® is a trademark of Daimler Trucks North America LLC and is used under license to SCS Software s.r.o.
We are always excited and humbled at the same time when we hear that our games have profoundly and positively affected the lives of our fans. Marcus Armstrong sent us his story:
To everyone at SCS Software, especially those dealing with Euro Truck Simulator and American Truck Simulator. I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone involved, even though you have kind of lost a player. I use to be an avid fan of the series playing Euro Truck Simulator, UK Truck Simulator and then both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator, investing in steering wheels, Track IR and gear sticks for my PC. Two years ago the company I worked for had been turning in a direction I was not overly comfortable with. I felt that it was moving away from its core values and what defined it as unique and I started considering an exit strategy. This exit strategy becomes more important when, out of a team of three, one of us had to take voluntary redundancy. As the youngest team member in my mid-thirties, I decided that I would be in the best position to get started a new career, a career in different industry as I was a little burnt out doing what I was doing. I needed to be able to get into an industry where I could retrain quickly and earn what I was earning before, or more. I ended up, within a two month period, passing both HGV Class 2 and then Class 1 license. By the third month, I had a job with R.T. Keedwell which I have been doing for the last couple of years, driving a Mercedes Actros MP4 (which I am currently writing this from a truck stop for the night, good ol' Hotel Mercedes).
So why am I thanking you guys and gals at SCS? Well out of several industries I had been trained in; Web Dev, 3D Animation, Administration and Finance, it was ETS2 and ATS which I had enjoyed playing so much that I decided to take out a loan to cover the training costs and then base not just my career on, but my lifestyle as well, I am a Trucker (even grew the beard). I'm currently racking up 2500km a week driving all over the UK where no two days are quite the same and I meet countless people from the companies we haul for and other drivers. SCS, you gave me the inspiration to venture out into a career I had never would have thought of and now love doing. So again, a huge heartfelt thank you and keep up the good work! Marcus A. Trucker nameplate "4 1/2 Days"
Thank you, Marcus, we are so happy for you! We wish you all the best and safe returns from your hauls.
Marcus is actually an Actros driver as you could notice from the text and photo. What a lucky coincidence - conveniently, we happen to have a very related project in the very final stages of development. More information will be available really soon.
The FIA ETRC event at Nürburgring was a blast and we're sending a virtual high-five to everyone who visited us at the fan village with the company GRAMMER. While our crew is still full of the German Grand Prix event's atmosphere, there is no time to waste as we set our GPS to another destination. This time - the famous Truckstar Festival in Assen, Netherlands which takes place this weekend on the 27-28th of July!
And we'll be there with our full parade! That means if you're going to visit this amazing event full of show trucks, delicious food, cold drinks and all-day entertainment for the whole family, you'll have the opportunity to witness and enjoy the hospitality of our SCS Sim Trailer, its crew and two of our 4D Motion Seats.
So make a note in your calendar for this weekend and stop by our place, it's an experience you'll never forget. And who knows, maybe you'll be lucky enough to walk away with a T-shirt or other piece of our merchandise for free.
And if you can't make to this event but would like to stay with us, at least through the online realm, then make sure you'll keep an eye on our social media channels of Twitter and Instagram as our onsite crew will keep you in touch.
Often we receive emails from our community who share their gratitude and stories of how our sim-games brought not only great fun but also in some cases, something extra. Our creations have become so inspiring that we have even influenced players real lives. In the past, we have shared one of these stories with you. Driver Dustin Kochara shared with us his story of how American Truck Simulator helped him to graduate in driving school.
Today we would like to mention Colin Taylor and how his path playing Euro Truck Simulator 2 led to much more. Colin sent us an email which we'd like to share with you:
Hi there. I just felt the need to let you know this. Your games ETS2 and ATS made me get my Artic license and start lorry driving. 2 years ago I have had a screenshot of your Steam page, with your 10/10 rating and a mate said: “Dare you to get this and try it”. He was joking. A lorry simulator did seem kinda silly (sorry). But I took the challenge and got ETS2. Played it one night with a few rum and cokes. Then played it another night. Then added mods, and my own tunes etc. Then I got a steering wheel, which took it to another level. After maybe 20 sessions playing I had the crazy thought - Jeez, I could do this as I reckon. At the time I was a taxi driver, 20 years at the job. I wasn't unhappy at it, but having a drunk / smelly / cheeky / ignorant stranger beside you all day long had become very tiresome. Mentioned my funny thought about my wife, and she said: “Why don’t you go for it?”
Got my license Last August. Subbed via an agency for a freight company in Northern Ireland (I live close to Belfast) past 6 months, and just last week I got a full-time job with them. All because of your game. Complete career and life change. I didn't realize I was unhappy where I was in life until I discovered how happy I am with life now. My only gripe with the whole thing? I very rarely play your games anymore, cause, well, it is much like taking work home with me lol. So anyway, a massive thanks to you from me, my wife, and my kids (they see more of me now). And massive well done on your fantastic creations. You deserve all the plaudits you get. Keep up the good work.
Thank you, Colin, for sharing of your real-life story with us and congratulations on your success. We wish you thousands of safe kilometers on the road!
That's right - our sim trailer is repaired and ready to roll out again! And the first destination we're going to is Truck Event Austria, which is happening at Wels, this Saturday, on June 29, 2019.
Just a reminder if you haven't seen our previous post - you can look forward to an area of 27,500 m² with more than 500 polished show trucks with their proud owners from Austria, Germany and Switzerland, plus lots of different attractions and activities for everyone, be it for a kid or a seasoned trucker. Just check out last year's video! This year they are planning to go even bigger than what you can see here! Are you going to be there?
If you can't make it to this event, check out our calendar below for other opportunities to meet us. See you soon!
After a two-week break, it's time to hit the road again! Our next destination is the famous Hungaroring in Hungary.
If you plan to be attending this round of the races on the 22nd and 23rd of June, be sure to stop by at the Fan Village to take a ride on our 4D Motion Seat, which is a must-try experience! You also may find yourself lucky enough to be walking away with a piece of our merchandise for free.
You can find us under one roof with our partnered company GRAMMER, with whom we are teaming up with for all of the FIA ETRC 2019 events. Be sure to look out for the ETS2/GRAMMER themed container.
Also, if you've missed out on some of our posts from our Instagram or Twitter profiles, on-location from events we've participated in recently, you can catch up with our photo albums on the SCS Software Facebook page, or you can watch this short recap below. We hope that this video will inspire you to meet with our On The Road team at future events.
We also had the exciting opportunity to be able to be a part of the Scania Driver Competitions Finals in Sodertalje in Sweden! It was a lot of fun to be among all the visitors and finalists of this amazing trucking event.
We also had the opportunity to meet with some of the most skilled truck drivers found in Europe, who also enjoyed trying out our simulator. Our congratulations go out to the winner of the event, Andreas who was representing Norway! Your skills and pace were unmatched!
With many more exciting events planned this year, you can find a list of where we will be attending on our SCS Calendar. Be sure to check if we are visiting near you soon!
Our 'On the Road' crew is currently in full preparations for the upcoming Truckfest Peterborough event but we'd like to already inform you about the next event we'll be participating in right after our return from the United Kingdom. And that's going to be the local, Prague-based event of Legendy 2019.
When we were thinking about which events should be our destinations for 2019 we wanted to try something new for our local fans. This event is quite popular in our country for all those who love cars, trucks, bikes and other wheeled machines. For this year the organizers create a special and dedicated section to the "Made in the USA" theme in which we'll take our part as well.
You'll be able to see some legendary American nose trucks, shiny chopper bikes, American muscle cars, crazy stunts and surely much more. And our SCS Sim Trailer, along with our crew and 4D Motion Seats, will be placed among all this. This time designed more into the ATS style to fit in perfectly. But who knows, maybe we have another good but not so obvious reason for this as well? ;-)
This event will be held from 17th to 19th of May, 2019 and located in Prague, Czech Republic. It's the same weekend during which our office will participate in the Open House Prague festival. So if you plan to visit our home you can easily combine these two events together and see also our Sim Trailer with its crew! We'd love to see you at both of these places!
A few weeks ago a very interesting inquiry came from our friendly contact who works for Scania. Their team was about to open a dedicated booth in the 'Teknikens Hus', which is Sweden's northernmost nonprofit science center, or as they put it, a world of technology and an exciting place for the curious of all ages.
The science center sees around 100,000 visitors from around the world each year! Featured among the many exhibits is a Scania exhibition which is focused on the components of the truck, such as the rear axles and similar, which are manufactured in the city of Luleå. To represent the final finished product, they have also used a full-size real Scania truck!
Because the center receives a lot of visitors, including children of all ages, an amazing idea was conceived: to implement a special version of Euro Truck Simulator 2 into the cabin of the truck, and let the visitors experience what it is like to drive the vehicle on the road.
We're always open for such challenges and potential cooperation and even more so when it's for the good cause of children's education! We are happy to be able to configure a special build of our game according to their needs. And from the looks of things, it looks like the event was a great success and the visitors truly enjoyed the opportunity to try this unique combination of an actual Scania truck and our game.
Check out a few photos their team has sent to us. By the way, their booth is planned to be there for at least four years - so if you are around the area in the future, be sure to stop by.
