The great guys at our UK publishing partner Excalibur Publishing have come up with a very cool idea to help promote Euro Truck Simulator 2 - a unique competition with a chance to win a Heavy Goods Vehicle driving course. Check it out!
Friday, April 19, 2013
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
New trucks coming to ETS2
We have several new truck models under construction for Euro Truck Simulator 2. Today we'd like to show you a glimpse of another really cool looking model!
New trucks and lots more content will be gradually released in upcoming free patches of the game (though we also plan paid add-ons eventually). We understand that we are pushing your patience with game updates not appearing as quickly as you would like, but rest assured that we are working really hard on overhauling and improving major features of the game and the game engine to make things better. These are major changes, and they take time to implement, but they are necessary for us to be able to evolve the game features and technology properly. We need to lift internal memory constraints, improve our map construction and asset creation pipeline,we need to make the engine run smoother, and last but not least, we need to see how to make the game even more engaging. We are in this for the long run, ETS2 is still getting a lot of our love, and its continued evolution features highly in our plans for world domination ;-). Please have patience with us!
New trucks and lots more content will be gradually released in upcoming free patches of the game (though we also plan paid add-ons eventually). We understand that we are pushing your patience with game updates not appearing as quickly as you would like, but rest assured that we are working really hard on overhauling and improving major features of the game and the game engine to make things better. These are major changes, and they take time to implement, but they are necessary for us to be able to evolve the game features and technology properly. We need to lift internal memory constraints, improve our map construction and asset creation pipeline,we need to make the engine run smoother, and last but not least, we need to see how to make the game even more engaging. We are in this for the long run, ETS2 is still getting a lot of our love, and its continued evolution features highly in our plans for world domination ;-). Please have patience with us!
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Public Linux Beta of Euro Truck Simulator 2
After a few days of limited-group closed beta testing, today we are making the Linux Beta build of ETS2 accessible to general public, exclusively through Steam. This is not a free beta, you can only access it if you have already purchased/activated the full version of the game on Steam.
To test the Linux version of ETS2 you need to do following:
1) Install the game from Steam client. This will install the non-beta version which does not have Linux executables.
2) In the Steam client open the ETS2 properties screen and navigate to the "Betas" tab.
3) Select the linux_testing beta.
4) This will install the Linux binaries.
To provide feedback, please go to http://forum.scssoft.com and participate in the Euro Truck Simulator 2 - Linux Beta Testing discussion group.
The game works reasonably well on native NVidia drivers. There are some reports of flickering artifacts on ATI drivers. Older MESA versions are a problem, freshest MESA looks promising still with some serious artifacts, though.
We'll be happy to provide access to the beta to media for a preview, though there are still some elements in the Linux version that need ironing out.
To test the Linux version of ETS2 you need to do following:
1) Install the game from Steam client. This will install the non-beta version which does not have Linux executables.
2) In the Steam client open the ETS2 properties screen and navigate to the "Betas" tab.
3) Select the linux_testing beta.
4) This will install the Linux binaries.
To provide feedback, please go to http://forum.scssoft.com and participate in the Euro Truck Simulator 2 - Linux Beta Testing discussion group.
The game works reasonably well on native NVidia drivers. There are some reports of flickering artifacts on ATI drivers. Older MESA versions are a problem, freshest MESA looks promising still with some serious artifacts, though.
We'll be happy to provide access to the beta to media for a preview, though there are still some elements in the Linux version that need ironing out.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
The third pillar
Today we are bringing you a few new images from the game that is definitely not losing our love - Euro Truck Simulator 2. Yeah, we have been taking our time producing a new patch, but this is mostly due to the fact that we are working on so many improvements in parallel. We have some cool things coming, and they should appear in patches through the Spring, but tuning and tweaking them all to a stable state takes time.
We are not working just on code and gameplay improvements (and the map DLC), the core game will also get very cool new content. Iveco Stralis Hi-Way is among the first major additions, but there is even more to come...
We are not working just on code and gameplay improvements (and the map DLC), the core game will also get very cool new content. Iveco Stralis Hi-Way is among the first major additions, but there is even more to come...
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Stuff we are working on, too
As we have hinted before, SCS Software is branching into several directions since the release of Euro Truck Simulator 2. (Don't worry ETS2 devotees, more news about evolution of the game in upcoming blog posts)
Here is a couple of images from yet another project we have under construction in our labs:
Disclaimer - any brands appearing in the images are only illustrative and not guaranteed to find their way into any future SCS Software project. It's just an experiment. Though if you happen to be an owner of a major coach bus operator in Europe, we'd love to hear from you and discuss how to make it possible to feature your brand in our game(s) ;-).
Here is a couple of images from yet another project we have under construction in our labs:
Disclaimer - any brands appearing in the images are only illustrative and not guaranteed to find their way into any future SCS Software project. It's just an experiment. Though if you happen to be an owner of a major coach bus operator in Europe, we'd love to hear from you and discuss how to make it possible to feature your brand in our game(s) ;-).
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Stuff we are working on
Our recent blog posts may have concentrated too much on non-development stuff, and you are probably quite tired of links to sales charts, press articles and app stores. Sorry, let's turn the page and start giving you glimpses of things that we are working on again.
Today we have a teaser shot of a new 3D truck model that was built from ground up in recent weeks. This truck tractor is not going to appear in Euro Truck Simulator 2 though, it is created with the plan to use it in a different game ;-).
The good thing about this 3D model is that it uses roughly half the polygon count of our highest-detail ETS2 trucks, yet due to smarter system of shading and rendering and the use of surface normal textures it looks even better, while consuming less video memory.
Today we have a teaser shot of a new 3D truck model that was built from ground up in recent weeks. This truck tractor is not going to appear in Euro Truck Simulator 2 though, it is created with the plan to use it in a different game ;-).
The good thing about this 3D model is that it uses roughly half the polygon count of our highest-detail ETS2 trucks, yet due to smarter system of shading and rendering and the use of surface normal textures it looks even better, while consuming less video memory.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Scania TDS on Mac App Store
It has taken us almost half a year to port our current engine technology to Mac OS, but finally this weekend we have managed to get Scania Truck Driving Simulator released on Mac App Store. It's an important milestone for us on the way to port its bigger brother Euro Truck Simulator 2 to the platform as well. Hopefully this time we won't need half a year again, but there is still a ton of work to do on the port, so it's hard to come up with an estimate yet. And everybody knows how imprecise we can be on such estimates.
We are happy with the results so far, here is an analysis of best selling charts across various countries for the game as available on APPlyzer:
Speaking about failing with time estimates, we are tempted to claim that the Linux version of ETS2 is now less than two weeks away from being ready for release. Didn't we say it was two weeks away from release several months ago already? We are bad at estimates indeed, and we shouldn't give in to temptation yet again. But after overcoming some unexpected difficulties with input controllers code, we are feeling reasonably well about this new estimate.
Changing topic, GamaSutra published an interesting article titled Who's buying all these niche simulation games, anyway? We found out. It's a peek behind the scenes of niche simulators, not just truck sims but also farming and more. The story got picked up by Reddit, too, if you are interested in following this discussion.
We are happy with the results so far, here is an analysis of best selling charts across various countries for the game as available on APPlyzer:
Speaking about failing with time estimates, we are tempted to claim that the Linux version of ETS2 is now less than two weeks away from being ready for release. Didn't we say it was two weeks away from release several months ago already? We are bad at estimates indeed, and we shouldn't give in to temptation yet again. But after overcoming some unexpected difficulties with input controllers code, we are feeling reasonably well about this new estimate.
Changing topic, GamaSutra published an interesting article titled Who's buying all these niche simulation games, anyway? We found out. It's a peek behind the scenes of niche simulators, not just truck sims but also farming and more. The story got picked up by Reddit, too, if you are interested in following this discussion.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Iveco Stralis Hi-Way Sound recording
Time flies so fast! We have had a couple of new 3D models of trucks in development since the start of this year already, but there is still work to do before we are ready to release them as a part of future Euro Truck Simulator 2 updates. As truck manufacturers come up with new or face-lifted vehicles, we'll need to try to keep up with them, but it's going to be a race with no end.
One of the all new 3D truck models coming to the game is the new IVECO Stralis Hi-Way. This is the first truck of ETS2 to be created by a new method, too. Rather than pushing polygon count to the limits (slowing down anything but the best of the best 3D cards), we are going to balance polygon count with higher surface detailed offered by normal mapping techniques. It's a bit of a learning experience for the artists, plus new rendering effects were required to be coded by the programmers to make this happen. The results are going to be well worth it; perceived detail is comparable or higher, while the number of triangles that your 3D card has to chew on is limited, which should have positive implications for framerate.
Part of our research when we are building a new truck for the game is of course spending some time with the vehicle - we need to record engine sounds, we take lots of photos of exterior as well as interior, and try to get a general feel for the truck. The recording session with Stralis Hi-Way took part several weeks ago already, today at last we have managed to prepare the little video from the day...
One of the all new 3D truck models coming to the game is the new IVECO Stralis Hi-Way. This is the first truck of ETS2 to be created by a new method, too. Rather than pushing polygon count to the limits (slowing down anything but the best of the best 3D cards), we are going to balance polygon count with higher surface detailed offered by normal mapping techniques. It's a bit of a learning experience for the artists, plus new rendering effects were required to be coded by the programmers to make this happen. The results are going to be well worth it; perceived detail is comparable or higher, while the number of triangles that your 3D card has to chew on is limited, which should have positive implications for framerate.
Part of our research when we are building a new truck for the game is of course spending some time with the vehicle - we need to record engine sounds, we take lots of photos of exterior as well as interior, and try to get a general feel for the truck. The recording session with Stralis Hi-Way took part several weeks ago already, today at last we have managed to prepare the little video from the day...
Friday, March 8, 2013
Euro Truck Simulator 1 on Steam
Five years late (and five years after we started trying), the original Euro Truck Simulator is finally on Steam as of today, basking in the success of its younger brother ETS2. Here is the Euro Truck Simulator 1 Steam Store page.
Both Windows PC and Mac OS versions are available on the service (note though that the Mac build is a very different codebase from Windows version and due to file format incompatibility does not support mods).
By now the game is of course an old classics in the genre, but it may still be interesting for players just now discovering to the truck sim phenomenon...
Both Windows PC and Mac OS versions are available on the service (note though that the Mac build is a very different codebase from Windows version and due to file format incompatibility does not support mods).
By now the game is of course an old classics in the genre, but it may still be interesting for players just now discovering to the truck sim phenomenon...
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