Euro Truck Simulator 2 News

Today, we'd like to share with you more news about the Germany reskin project. As mentioned in our recent 'Good News & the Mixed News' blog post, the team behind the reworking of Germany in Euro Truck Simulator 2 has made good progress and today, we'd like to share with you some screenshots from their work, which is planned to be released with the next 1.40 update.



For those who are new to our game, the revisiting Germany project consists of a small dedicated map team, who has been working hard to update one of the oldest map sections of the base game with a more realistic and up-to-date look.



We are also happy to share that these screenshots were taken with the new light system that is being implemented into our game engine. However, bringing new and updated lighting into the virtual world isn't an easy task. A majority of our in-game assets and objects have had to be optimized and updated to work with the new visual style that is being actively developed. The hard work and effort our teams are putting into this update are really beginning to shine and we can't wait to share more with you about it in the future.



So what changes can you expect from this update? We won't share all the nitty-gritty details in this blog post, however, we can share that the city of Stuttgart will include a new area for the airport (which you may have spotted in the previous blog post image) and the city of Dortmund has been relocated to the correct side of the Autobahn; but that isn't all!



The biggest change that will come with this update is a complete reskin and rework of all the highways and roads in this part of our in-game world, which haven't been reskinned in previous updates. Additionally, the area around the cities of Dortmund, Köln, Dusseldorf, and Duisburg has not only benefitted from a complete road network redesign but a few new intersections and roads as well! The southern part of the Bundesautobahn 7 will also be available in this update.



We hope this upcoming Germany update will keep you content until our next big release. Please keep in mind that these screenshots were taken in the new visual light implantation which is still under heavy development and is subject to change. We look forward to sharing with you more development news in the future!

When we were making our plans for 2020, the world was a very different place. Our internal goals were very ambitious; we wanted to get through one of the most extensive technology changes in our engine since the release of Euro Truck Simulator 2, all the while not interrupting production work on map DLCs, new vehicles, and new game features. But then reality intervened. We have spent some three months working from home in the spring, shutting down our office for health concerns. After a couple of months during the summer that seemed to pass too quickly, we have once again switched to working from our homes in early September, and it looks like we may not make it back to our offices until spring 2021.



We have managed to keep our spirits high, we have managed to continue production and even hire new colleagues during these difficult times. But switching the teamwork to a distributed model was not without a price to pay - some of the projects are taking longer than we anticipated. We are doing our best to remotely coordinate and synchronize the effort of over 200 developers contributing to our projects, but you can imagine that managing the creative process in such a way is very demanding.

(screenshot taken at around 9 AM, at approx 43 deg latitude)

The good news is that we are on the verge of very visible improvements in how our games look. Working remotely, chatting over Discord, some of us using kitchen tables for lack of alternatives with the kids home-schooling for months as well, the team is pulling off incredible things. The second stage of changes to our lighting system is a massive project. Intensities of all the light sources in the games are now representative of real-world values, with the appropriate difference of orders of magnitude between the sun and the lightbulb. All internal rendering is fully taking place in HDR, with a series of post-processing steps during the camera exposure stage making sure that the result is crisp and believable. Whether you are under full sunlight, or in a dark tunnel, at sunset, or in heavy rain, the new unified system always makes sure to produce consistent visuals. As part of the rework, we have to touch up pretty much all game assets that we have created over the years, all the skyboxes, vegetation, rocks, buildings, all the vehicles, every texture, and of course, any related light hookup for that lamp on a loading ramp need to be manually adjusted for the new system. It's an incredible amount of changes to the art, and man-years of work of our programmers to change the graphics pipeline, shaders, and tools, using all the tricks in the book so that we do not drastically increase the games' technical requirements.

(both screenshots taken at around 6 PM, at approx 43 deg latitude)

The not so good news is that we will not be able to wrap it all up before the end of the year. We have already committed to a particular trajectory, and now we have to stay the course until we reach the destination. And it's time to go ahead and rip the band-aid off - Iberia DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2 will not be out this year. Our fans have no doubt got used to the pattern that we have managed to keep in recent years, and you can bet that we have tried as hard as possible to stick to it once again, and get you a new map expansion in December. The scope and scale of Iberia production were challenging even for a normal year, but even with over 20 map designers working full-time on the DLC, this year proved to be too much. We have found ourselves with the timelines of Iberia and the new light project colliding and realized that there was only one proper way to sort it all out. We had to base Iberia on the new light system to minimize long-term complications for future game updates and production.

(screenshot taken at around 6 AM, at approx 39 deg latitude)

We have managed to release Colorado DLC with the current light, and there are some not-so-small additions about to be unleashed from our production pipeline soon, still based on version 1.39. However, both ATS and ETS2 teams are now full steam ahead in reworking and retooling all the models and textures of both games, with no chance to release more updates on legacy code and assets. Iberia will be our first major release to benefit from the new light at launch. Before that happens, Update 1.40 will actually bring new light to both our games, changing the way they look thoroughly; base game content as well as any DLCs.

(both screenshots taken at around 9 AM, at approx 42 deg latitude)

Iberia was not the only internal project affected by the need to unify the development cycle. The team reworking Germany is reporting major progress as well, but they too have to wait until we stabilize the changes in 1.40. See the images below.

(screenshot taken at around 10 AM, at approx 49 deg latitude) (screenshot taken at around 3 PM, at approx 49 deg latitude) (screenshot taken at around 4 PM, at approx 49 deg latitude)

Inevitably, we have to brace ourselves now for the big question - when are we going to be ready to release Update 1.40, when is Iberia coming? As has been our mantra for years, we are going to make sure things are solid before we get a new update out. Our best current estimate is that we should reach a closed beta of 1.40 in January. Closed beta takes a while to iron out any problems that we manage to catch ourselves. We will definitely need to spend some weeks in open beta after that, to make sure all potential issues are spotted and addressed, and to give a chance to mod makers to catch up. We do not like to commit to a particular date until we are pretty much sure we can make it, but if you do the math, we are looking at a late-Winter timeframe, hopefully still in the first quarter of 2021.

(screenshot taken at around 8 AM, at approx 38 deg latitude)

We were very careful not to communicate any promises of when Iberia would ship, but we understand that some of you may be sad or disappointed not to see a new ETS2 map expansion to pass the winter with. We apologize for the long wait that we are asking you to endure. But ultimately, we are sure that this is a healthy decision for the long term viability of our games. There are map teams working on yet another generation of map DLCs for both ATS and ETS2 already, and they too need to be sure to work on a well-defined code base and asset base. Everybody will benefit after we reach the new stable build, we just need to push through to reach it.

(both screenshots taken at around 7 AM, at approx 38 deg latitude) (both screenshots taken at around 9 AM, at approx 43 deg latitude)

We are going to keep showing you more of the changes that are on the horizon with the new light, there will be more screenshots, we actually plan to show you some moving picture of Iberia with new light enabled very soon. It may be a bit buggy yet, we are not through with the process by far, but we feel that we need to communicate how promising it is already.

(screenshot taken at around 5 PM, at approx 39 deg latitude)

Hopefully, the screenshots we are sharing with you today are proving that the changes are really worth it, that the new looks, and the new content and map updates, are really something to look forward to. Rebasing all lighting on the new system is a crucial step. Among other things, it will allow us to present a wider variety of weather conditions and more epic HDR skyboxes. But it's not the end of the road, it's only a milestone. Our programmers have more internal projects underway for additional engine optimizations and speedups, and we expect to see more improvements over the next year. Reaching the new stable point of version 1.40 will allow the art department to pursue their vision of a fully PBR-enabled pipeline in the future, so the visual quality should and will keep on improving further.

It's been a hard time for both us and the community, and we are not yet through. Your continued support over the years gives us the motivation to keep pushing the game to the new frontiers with each update and DLC. We would not be here if not for all of our fans. Thank you for your patience.

Pavel Sebor, CEO, SCS Software

Today, the nominations for the annual Steam Awards are opening, along with the start of the Steam Autumn Sale. You may still remember that back in 2016, our incredible #BestCommunityEver was so active during the first year of Steam Awards, that our Euro Truck Simulator 2 managed to claim victory in two categories.



However, time flies, a lot of fantastic games have been added to the Steam library over the years, and many of them have rightfully accumulated massive fan-bases as well. Meanwhile, Valve adjusted the rules such that titles launched before 2019 can now be nominated in only one category - The Labour of Love, a category that reflects that a game still gets new updates and active support years after launch. This category will surely be very crowded! But still, we may give it a collective try, what do you think? 



If you feel that either Euro Truck Simulator 2 or American Truck Simulator deserves the Labour of Love award, or possibly at least some buzz and visibility for being nominated and in the category, we will appreciate your vote and support. You can cast your vote by heading to this year's Steam Awards Nomination Page.

With over 3,000 km of coastline, a majority of Iberia's largest cities and population are located near or next to the sea. With temperatures soaring into the 40's during the height of summer, the coastal breeze is nature's air-conditioning, keeping residents cool during the hottest months. 



Today, we are happy to share with you a selection of images from some of the coastal cities that will be featured in our upcoming Iberia DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2. We won't be naming all the locations of the screenshots shown below, so we encourage you to work together and comment below if you can guess the other locations featured in this blog.



Malaga

Located on the Mediterranean coastline, Malaga is Spain's fifth-largest city. It is best known internationally for its sunny weather, attractive beaches, and the cultural city center with towering apartment blocks. The city also features a large seaport, Puerto de Malaga, which is the oldest continuously-operated port in Spain, and one of the oldest in the Mediterranean region. From visiting cruise ships to freighters, this port works around the clock to send and receive shipments from around the world.



Algeciras

On the subject of ports, Algeciras is home to one of the largest ports in Europe and in the world in three main categories: container, cargo, and transshipment. It also serves as an important gateway for industries shipping to mainland Europe from North Africa. This beautiful coastal city offers drivers a spectacular view of the coast and even the famous 'The Rock of Gibraltar' located on the other side of the bay. 



Olhão

If you are looking to get away from the hustle and bustle of a large city, then Olhão may be the destination for you. Titled as one of one the calmest destinations in Portugal, it is one of the few coastal towns within the Algarve region where the primary focus of the economy is not tourism. Just like many of the coastal towns and cities across Iberia, fishing is one of the main industries of the town. 



Bilbao

Bilbao is the capital of Biscay and the economic, social and cultural centre of the Basque region. Combining a stylish vintage district, industrial heritage, and modern architecture, it is one of the largest cities in northern Spain. This may just be one of your first destinations on a drive when crossing the border into Iberia.



These are just a few of the highlighted coastal towns and cities that you will be able to explore and deliver to and from around the Iberian peninsula. If you like what you sea, don't forget to take a moment to add Iberia for Euro Truck Simulator 2 to your Steam Wishlist, which really helps supports us and our upcoming releases. Gracias/Obrigado!



https://store.steampowered.com/app/1209460/Euro_Truck_Simulator_2__Iberia/