ATS 1.44: Ownable Drop Deck Trailers

Howdy, truckers! We have some interesting news for those who fancy hauling heavy loads in the American Truck Simulator. In addition to the hidden roads feature mentioned on our blog a couple of weeks ago, in the 1.44 update, you can look forward to a brand new ownable trailer type as well - the drop deck trailer!

What makes this trailer special is the fact that it has a lower center of gravity, and it combines the advantages of flatbed and lowboy, which results in a flat surface and a high weight-bearing capacity. It is perfect for hauling items and materials such as aircraft engines, backhoe loaders, forklifts, hay, lumber, metal coils, mooring buoys, pressure tanks, road rollers, and ventilation shafts. Also, because drop decks are low, we had to design new small tires, rims, nuts, and hubs, specifically for this trailer type.

In addition to having 3 customizable body types (wood floor, aluminum floor, sliding tarp) and 2 different chassis lengths (48ft or 53ft) with a choice of two, three, or four axles, here is a detailed list of everything you will be able to customize:

• Front walls
• Wind deflector
• Warning flags
• Aluminum boxes
• Chrome boxes
• Side markers
• Rear banners (long load, oversize load, wide load)
• Rear bumpers
• Mudflaps

Let us know if you are looking forward to this sturdy, reliable, and practical trailer type coming with the 1.44 update for American Truck Simulator. Once you will head out on the road, make sure to take a screenshot with your new drop deck trailer and share it with us on social media by tagging our official accounts (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter).

Austria Rework - Salzburg

Salzburg, Austria, is a city best known as the beautiful backdrop to Academy Award winning musical, “The Sound of Music” and as the birthplace of one of the greatest composers in history, Mozart.  As a city steeped in tradition and surrounded by nature, it is a modern cultural centre in the heart of Europe.

While this city at the foot of the Alps does offer lots in the way musical history, visitors will find there's a lot to discover; and the same goes for drivers in Euro Truck Simulator 2 too. As part of the Austria rework being undertaken by our team, we are excited to share with you a variety of screenshots and details in regards to the rework of this historic city and what changes you expect to see in a future update.

The layout of Salzburg and its surrounding road network has changed quite a bit, when compared with the current version in ETS2. While this city was one of the more challenging reworks for our team, especially due to scale limitations, they have managed to bring many new details into this area. From a brand new industry area featuring a beverage factory, to the Knoten Salzburg motorway junction; which is an important addition to Salzburg!

We are happy to bring updates on this rework project and we know many of you are itching at the wheel to travel to Austria again; and we will be sure to let you know closer to the time when it is ready! Until then however, keep on trucking and we will see you for the next exciting blog topic. 

International Women's Day

Today is International Women’s Day and we’d like to dedicate this day to recognizing and celebrating the contributions and achievements of our female staff, gamers, and women in general.

We at SCS Software appreciate the hard work of all the girls and women out there, especially the ones who are closest to us. This means that we recognize the importance and key role that women have in the success of the gaming industry as a whole, which we are directly able to see by the effort of our colleagues here within the company itself.

Additionally, the talent is further proven by all the female truckers, who are tirelessly delivering cargo whether it is night or day. And to all the virtual truckers who are part of our #BestCommunityEver, we are delighted with your support of our games and we hope we will be able to reach out to even more girls with ETS2 and ATS in the future.

We have also taken the time to sit down with some of our amazing and talented women at work and ask them a couple of questions about what it means for them personally to be a part of the gaming industry while representing our company. Maybe it will give the most aspiring some motivation to make the final step and give a career in the gaming industry a try!

"Building maps is an ideal combination of creative use, game design, and a reasonable portion of technicalities. A world is literally growing in front of you and you can see the fruits of your work right away, which is really motivating." - Denisa (Map Designer)

"I am really fond of graphic arts and it has always been my dream to be a graphic designer. I think this company is ideal for creative and hard-working people who want to work in game design." - Adel (2D Graphic Designer)

"I tried my luck, got through the interviews, and now, I´ve been working for SCS for more than a year. I would definitely recommend the job. The people are just great and everybody's talents come to use." - Mary (Researcher)

"To put it simply, I saw a dream workplace, I managed to become a part of the team and advance my career, which I am very grateful for. I keep recommending the company to all my acquaintances. There are plenty of opportunities for people who would like to work in game design but don't have enough experience or are good at something else." - Maruška (Communications Specialist/Recruiter)

"I decided to apply because I´ve always been interested in computer games and art. Before I came across the SCS job offer, I never thought I could make a living this way and that was the point when I gathered the courage to try. I don't regret my decision at all." - Eliška (Map Designer)

"I finished my Master's degree (totally out of the game industry) and I saw the research position on the Internet. I’m a videogames player, but I would never say that I could work in this industry with no programming or graphic design skills. I just took my chances. Getting a job advancement and with future possibilities, I definitely do not regret the decision I made back then." - Verča (Map Asset Specialist)

"I was looking for a job as an assistant. There were a lot of job offers but the SCS one was very well composed and caught my eye. When I was selected, I was really happy. Company culture and fine colleagues above all are very important factors for me." - Anet (HR Administration)

"I decided on this position because I wanted to challenge myself with more complex tasks, having to communicate more with colleagues and because organization and planning skills are needed, too." - Maggie (Game Designer for WOTR)

We hope we have managed to brighten up the day of every single woman reading this blog post and you will face the rest of the day with a big smile. Happy International Women's Day to you all around the entire world. You are the sun in our days! 

California Rework - Get to the Other Side

California has some of the most iconic bridges in history and known around the world; from the Golden Gate Bridge to the The Bay Bridge. But, did you know that the state has over 25,000 road bridges? 

In our California Rework project for American Truck Simulator, bridges will be receiving a rework, to bring them up to a more realistic standard when compared to their real-life counterparts. Let's take a look at some pictures, shall we? The suspension is killing me.

One major addition to the California rework is the introduction of the Carquinez bridge. Constructed in 1958, it is an important link that connects the Bay area to Sacramento and northern cali and one that we could not miss in adding into the rework. Previously, we had thought it would not fit due to the scale of the map, however thanks to the hard work of the team (and the remaking an entire part of California) players will have the pleasure of driving on this essential connection of the states road network. 

Another major bridge landmark that has been reworked in this phase of the project is the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. When it opened in 1956, it was one of the world's longest bridges; today however, another bridge holds that title! Officially named the John F. McCarthy Memorial Bridge, it crosses the San Francisco Bay along Interstate 580. 

But that is not all, Truckstops and Tollgates will also be receiving a rework along some new additions too! Previously, tollgates in the state were generic when compared to their real life counterparts. In this phase of the rework, drivers will see the addition of 1 new tollgate along with 1 reworked tollgate, both which come new assets and made to match their real life counterparts on a 1:1 scale. While these tollgates come at a cost to the drivers, California is only state in ATS that features them!

So whether you are going over them or just taking a selfie with them, we are sure you will enjoy going over these important connections over and over again. 

Ukrainian Paint Jobs Pack

Today, we'd like to announce the release of the Ukrainian Paint Jobs Pack. A DLC featuring several Ukraine-themed paint jobs of which 100% of the income made from the sales will be donated to the People in Need (Člověk v tísni) charity involved directly in helping people affected by the war. 

This paint job pack features 4 designs including various designs of the country's flag and the coat of arms (officially known as the Princely State Symbol of Volodymyr the Great). 

The timing of the release of the DLC is not arbitrary, of course. Last week, Europeans have woken up to a new sad reality of a major war on their continent. A sovereign country was attacked by its much bigger neighbor. Something that we held as unthinkable in the 21st century, while the loss of millions of lives in World War 2 is still a living memory. The world is responding, showing resolve as well as compassion to those in need.

With so much human suffering, our mission of providing a sandbox for a relaxing driving simulation hobby seems suddenly so unimportant and vain. We can hardly claim that equipping a truck with yellow and blue colors and driving it around inside a computer simulation can alter the course of history. But as we are all looking for ways to express our concern and support, we are humbly offering another means. 

We believe that our games should provide an idealized world that is friendly and open to the global community of our fans of all ages, where countries coexist in harmony. And this has always been our vision, we do not want the content of our games to communicate global politics. Our creations should not be seen as divisive or controversial.

At the same time, as creators, as real human beings with genuine feelings, we have a voice that we should be allowed to use. And our voice should be loud and clear – we consider the attack on Ukraine to be unjust and inexcusable.

If you decide to purchase the DLC, you can rest assured that all proceeds will be donated to charity. It's a tiny drop in an ocean that's needed currently with millions of people displaced and refugees pouring into neighboring countries, but drops are what an ocean is made of. Today, ahead of the release of the DLC, SCS Software has donated another 20,000 Euro to the same charity.

We feel that it would be unthinkable for our Ukrainian player base to have to pay for this DLC at this time. Therefore, we are also making it possible to get a key to unlock the DLC for free. You can use the widget below to request it.

We believe that on a personal level, we would easily get along with anybody in our fan base, no matter which part of the planet they come from. We would share good stories about the peculiarities of driving on the roads of our respective countries, offer some tips on how best to maneuver the semi-trailer in confined spaces, and generally have a good time. Would we expect many war-mongers among them? Not really. Universally, kids want to grow up and do something interesting with their lives, while mothers and fathers want their families to prosper and see their kids grow in peace.

War is a terrible thing. Any war. It always brings unimaginable suffering to the common, innocent people. We wish, from the bottom of our hearts, that the world can be a place of peace where everyone can live safely and without fear.

Ukrainian Paint Jobs Pack DLC Giveaway

Seeing the screenshots of your trucks driven while wearing the Ukrainian colors would make us proud. If you want to share them through social media, we kindly propose to include the hashtag #TruckingForPeace. This way, the world can see our convoy for Peace in Ukraine clearly.