Christmas Reflections Event 2022

It's Christmas time, the stars are bright
You turn the key and with delight
The engine roars to set you free.
There’s no place you would rather be.

For Christmas is that time of year
We come together with good cheer,
To give, receive, and cherish all.
So, haul for one and one for haul.

And as you’re driving down the road,
Your truck and trailer Christmas load
Reminds you what it’s all about,
It’s not to buy the shops all out.

No! Haul for one and one for haul.
Your Christmas trailer says it all!

It shows we can perhaps reflect
On days gone by and self respect,
On Peace and Love and all those things,
Not only on what Santa brings!
There’s Hope to gain from seeing where
Your efforts have been made with Care
And lifted those who saw the light
Of you with your truck shining bright.

So, haul for one and one for haul.
Peace, Love and Hope with Care for all

Then light the way for all around
And bring to those what you have found.
Not only gifts but so much more
To leave upon their snow swept door.
For Peace and Love belongs to all,
And Hope and Care will stay the fall
Of those who are in need of you.
It may just be one thing you do.

Yes, haul for one and one for haul.
Christmas Reflections big and small!

And when it all is said and done,
Take comfort in your knowledge won
That all of this is free to you.
You only have to think it through,
And act on what you know is best
To bring about the Christmas fest!

So, haul for one and one for haul
And Very Merry Christmas All!

 

 

Our #BestCommunityEver, we present to you our Christmas Reflections event for Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator! We invite you to join us to reflect on four important things - Love, Peace, Hope, and Care, as we believe that the positivity that can come from sharing them with those you hold dear or those in need is worth reflecting on.

This Christmas we are asking you to deliver Gifts cargo to and from all cities, we will then be awarding Gifts to those cities, based on the number of deliveries it gives or receives. We challenge the community to get 400 Gifts awarded to cities across all trucking territories for each of five tiers

 

You’ll be able to track the community progress on World of Trucks or directly in the game using the updated External Contracts interface.

As tier rewards, players will receive beautifully crafted cabin items, each representing one of the four thoughts and Christmas reflections, as well as a stunning trailer paint job the combines them all creating a legendary combination!

 

Not only that, on Tuesday the 20th of December, from 18:00 CET we also have our annual Christmas Stream featuring Pavel Šebor! Who knows exactly what will be revealed during the show, but one thing for sure is that there will be plenty of fun and good cheer with Steam key giveaways, and 2 awesome Thrustmaster® T248s to give away, thanks to our friends over at Thrustmaster. The stream will take place on our Twitch channel, so don't miss it!

 

 

Your #Christmas Reflections event has also a new Desktop Background Theme this year, following on from the success of our Happy Hauloween event desktop theme. We thought we'd give it another go for everyone and this time we think we've created something really peaceful and calming for your Christmas gaming experience. It will be there for the duration of the event to help boost the Christmas spirit for you!

Christmas Reflections Event Rules:

 

Using External Contracts with a World of Trucks-connected profile in Euro Truck Simulator 2, American Truck Simulator, or both, the community goal is to award at least 2,000 Gifts to as many cities as possible across all trucking territories.

For a city to receive 1 Gift the community needs to complete 1000 deliveries to or from it, using the provided Gifts cargo. Every city can receive up to 10 Gifts!

A unique community reward will be unlocked for each tier of 400 Gifts awarded, with 5 tiers in total.

Your personal goal is to complete at least 15 deliveries of Gifts cargo in either Euro Truck Simulator 2 or American Truck Simulator or both games combined.

Rewards

• Personal: Your contribution of 15 or more deliveries of Gifts cargo will gain you:
• A special World of Trucks Achievement.
• A very cool, neon-themed, truck paint job "Lines of Reflection".

• Community: There will be 5 tiers to unlock. Each tier will bring a special cabin item reward for both games, based on the themes of love, peace, hope, and care, with the final tier offering a beautiful matching trailer paint job "Lines of Reflection", so let's haul!

Track the community progress within the game using the External Contracts UI or view a full breakdown of the Event Community Goal status here.

Note: In order to qualify for any community reward, you must complete at least your personal goal in Euro Truck Simulator 2, American Truck Simulator, or both. Each reward will be a Steam inventory item for both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator. Once completed, claim your reward on the Events page on your World of Trucks profile.

The event will be concluded on Sunday the 15th of January 2023, at 23:59 UTC.

 

As always, we really look forward to hearing about your thoughtful Christmas Reflections road trip this year, and we would love to see more photos from you while you are achieving your goals and receiving your well-earned rewards this special season of giving. Share your screenshots and videos with us using the hashtag #ChristmasReflections on our Facebook ATS / ETS2, Twitter, and Instagram profiles and we will share our favorite ones.

Switzerland Rework: Bern

Today we are excited to announce and confirm that we are in the process of completely reworking the country of Switzerland in Euro Truck Simulator 2. As one of our older base game areas, it will be receiving a complete overhaul as part of a free update for players. Today, we wanted to highlight just one of the cities being worked in this project, the city of Bern.

Located in the heart of Switzerland, Bern is the gateway to the Alps which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year. To better represent this historic part of the region, our team has reconstructed the whole city from the ground up to bring it up to our current quality standards. 

Previously, Bern featured 2 logistic depots and 1 farm industry which players could deliver to and from. In this rework, our team has added 5 brand new depots and reworked 2 of the existing industries. These include a chocolate factory, a supermarket and a railway depot. Outside of the city, players can find a farm industry, a sawmill and a quarry. Drivers can also find their usual garage and mechanic services, as well as a MAN Trucks dealership! 

The entire road network has also been reworked to better represent it's real life counterpart, including road junctions that lead into the city. Landmarks have also been reworked in the area and better reflect their real life locations. Some of the Landmarks that will be featured include Bern Palace, The Cathedral of Bern, a local church and a popular shopping mall. 

Surrounding highway networks have also been repositioned and reworked at a more realistic standard, which will allow for easier navigation when passing by or visiting Bern!

We hope you enjoyed this look into our development into reworking Switzerland. We have quite a bit more to show in the future, so keep an eye on our blogs for more showcases and updates in the future. Until then, keep on truckin'! 

West Balkans - Border Crossing

With 8 countries included in the upcoming West Balkans DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2, something drivers will be doing a lot of is crossing border controls. With 30 of them in total, we recommend having your paperwork and documentation always in reach and ready. 

Each border control requires documentation checks and in some cases, the border agents or police may be required to conduct a deep inspection of your truck. This could be carried out by taking an X-Ray of your vehicle and trailer in a special building or by manual inspection. The reason behind these checks is for the security and safety of both the driver and the country, as there are many different rules and laws when it comes to what can and cannot be imported into a country. 

As you can imagine when creating a DLC on this scale, border controls vary in size and complexity depending on their location. From small border crossings found high in the mountains between Bulgaria and Serbia to large scaled crossings in Horgoš; each border crossing is unique in its own way. Our map and asset teams have constructed these crossings as realistically as possible. From researching how the border was constructed to recreating each lane and route, a lot of work has gone into them. 

In order to create these border crossings to the best detail possible, our teams had to create a huge number of new and unique prefabs and models. Over 130 unique assets were created for this project alone! This includes new vehicle models and animated characters who patrol and work at the border controls. 

Thanks to the locations of some of these border crossings, you will find some really interesting border crossings. Such as a border crossing found between Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina which is divided by a bridge over a river! 

Part of this project also includes the creation of 10 border crossings between existing countries in Euro Truck Simulator 2 which are Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Austria and Italy. Three of these borders are part of the Schengen area and do not require stopping. 

We are really looking forward to you visiting all these wonderful and unique countries in the future. Until then, make sure your documents are up to date and correct and keep on trucking.

Convoy: Dedicated Servers Support

Since the release of Convoy, our native multiplayer mode for Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator, we have been making small updates to further improve the players' experience. Today we are excited to share that a much-requested addition has arrived and that is the option to host a dedicated server! 

So what are the main differences between hosting a dedicated server and just creating a convoy session through the main menu? One of the biggest advantages of hosting a dedicated server is that your session will always be running, even without any players online (unlike a convoy that needs a host). This means players are free to join the session to continue their job and leave again freely when they need to without worry. You can also run a dedicated server without having any ownership of the game or the DLCs. 

Another advantage is that you don't have to run the server on your own machine. You can run the server standalone outside of the Steam client with no user interface on a rented or paid-for server that a hosting company owns. Alternatively, it is also possible to download the tool via the Steam Console Client (or SteamCMD) which is a command-line version of the Steam client. Its primary use is to install and update various dedicated servers available on Steam using a command-line interface.

It is also possible to host multiple instances if you so wish, however, keep in mind your server or system specs when doing this. Another important note we would like to include is that dedicated servers do not handle NAT punching. However, sessions hidden behind NAT can still be found via the direct search function. 

If this is your first time setting up or using a dedicated server, we understand things may seem a bit complicated or overwhelming. That's why we've included some documentation (a readme file) in the dedicated server package, which includes information on how to get started and important commands that'll help you get the content you want on your server. We hope that this helps you when it comes to setting up for the first time.

When setting up a dedicated ETS2 or ATS server, it is also important to create a list of 'known players' in the config file, this will give the listed player admin controls, which will provide them with the option to moderate players on the server. 

Ready to get going? The Dedicated Server tool is now available for both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator, which you can download for free from the Steam Client. If you don't own the game then the Dedicated Server app will not be displayed in the list of available tools. In this situation, you need to use SteamCMD for installation with the Steam IDs below.

• Euro Truck Simulator 2 Dedicated Server ID = 1948160
• American Truck Simulator Dedicated Server ID = 2239530

We look forward to seeing how you get creative with your dedicated servers and wish you many miles of happy trucking together. 

However, please keep in mind that this is the first iteration and that there may be a few bugs or things that need tweaking. We also plan to bring you more extensive tools and moderation features in future updates. However, for now, all the features of a standard dedicated server should be available. If you have any feedback, we'd love to hear from you on our official forums. 

Germany Rework - Stuttgart

A while ago, at the end of our blog post dedicated to the rework of the city of Hannover, we teased you with a potential new look coming to other cities in Germany as well. Today, we are excited to let you know that our work continues with a brand-new rework of Stuttgart!

In order to represent the wonderful city of Stuttgart as best as possible, we had to tear down virtually the entire city with an exception of the recently reworked areas (airport, city circle) and build it anew. The overall layout is now larger and, in addition to exploring the industrial areas, you can look forward to taking a drive through some parts of the city as well.

The city has a rich history with discovered local settlements dating back all the way to antiquity and there are several landmarks from different eras that deserved to be featured in this project. Neues Schloss, the Staatstheater Stuttgart, and a castle in the distance are just a few examples of the amazing real-life structures that you will be able to check out. 

At the moment we are unable to say which city is going to be next on our path of bringing German cities up to the current standards, but keep an eye out on the blog and our social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) to never miss anything important!

Texas - Community Spotlight

The Texas DLC for American Truck Simulator was released about two weeks ago and ever since then, we have been swamped with monitoring an incredible amount of feedback. Our developers are still working hard to keep track of everything on multiple platforms and we figured we might send some love back to the #BestCommunityEver by showcasing several experiences with the latest map expansion in different forms.

Let’s start off with screenshots and videos, which filled our social media to the brim. We love reading about your journeys across this massive state and, as always, we’re making sure to share the most amazing posts with everyone in the company in our internal channels. We strongly encourage you to keep tagging us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, and we’ll do our best to check everything out!

However, the sea of community feedback is wide, and we were also amazed by hundreds of positive reviews on Steam. We appreciate everyone who put out the effort to let us know about the best parts of the DLC along with providing us with constructive criticism. Following are some of our favorite reviews. If you would like to write a review yourself, you can do so on the Texas Steam Store Page.

And speaking of which, the latest map DLC managed to get the attention of multiple internet video game journals, resulting in awesome reviews, such as this one by PC Invasion. If you are unsure what to expect before purchase, you might want to check the full article out.

We have also reached out to some of your favorite content creators (a couple of them are actually from Texas!) and they were kind enough to write us short reviews about their experience. Check out what they had to say about this massive addition to the world of American Truck Simulator.

Texas was by far the most anticipated state since Colorado, at least for myself and I am sure a lot of others as well. We all knew it was going to be a huge undertaking but I do not think anyone expected the amount of content that was included in this DLC! So many huge cities, small towns, open roads, flat ranch lands, and everything in between. I kept saying it is going to take me a long time to explore all of it. As a space nerd, seeing the Johnson Space Center and Launch center near Brownsville was very exciting! My favorite part that maybe some won't notice is the vast distances you can see in some areas. That adds to the immersion of an already very detailed state! And the truck stops are extremely accurate which is a great addition! Once again one of the best states in the game so far! - RyaStream

Texas! Being a Lone Star State resident I feel right at home. I've been looking forward to this DLC for a long time now, and let me tell you it did not disappoint. From Dalhart to El Paso or Brownsville to Longview the scenery and landscape are true to Texas. The new cargo and companies really add to the size of this DLC making it the biggest and best from SCS Software for American Truck Simulator. From big details to small SCS represented Texas very well. Catch you all on the open roads! - TruckinCowboy

Let me start off by saying “WOW”!!! I knew that this DLC was going to be amazing but it is much more than that. With Texas being my neighboring state, it feels amazing to just drive through there whenever I feel. I was blown away at how most of the POI’s in the state were absolutely spot on. Being able to drive past known locations and share with my community stories of what my experience was like while I was there was the best thing ever. I was even able to share a picture comparison while in Galveston, Texas. Absolutely beautiful. Thank you SCS Software for trusting me with early access and allowing me to share the experience #BestCommunityEver! - ThatGirlNisha

It's great to see a game developer take the time to recreate landmarks and cities in a game to make it seem realistic.  As a native Texan, it has been nice to be a tour guide to the community and show where I am from.  This DLC has added hours of new gameplay and roads to explore with friends or solo.  From landmarks such as Route 66 to the Corpus Christi Bridge, there is plenty to see and great opportunities for group photos and screenshots. “Everything is bigger in Texas.” - MoDoze

To say that we were blown away by the power of the #BestCommunityEver once again is an understatement. With the release of the DLC, we also started the #CruisingTexas World of Trucks event and it only took a bit over two weeks for you to smash the community goal of 125,000,000 miles (201,168,000 km). Absolutely outstanding! But no need to panic, you still have time until the 15th of January, at 23:59 UTC to get your personal rewards, which you can find out more about in the dedicated blog post.

In the end, as you can see, we have truly just been flooded with a lot of feedback ever since the release. The Lone Star state presented a true challenge to our developers and we are glad the project managed to receive so much attention. Thank you all very much!