American Truck Simulator News

It's time for us to start our engines and shift into gear for our upcoming release for American Truck Simulator.





We are also excited to share with you a short amount of gameplay footage from Utah featuring vast landscapes, beautiful historic towns, well-known landmarks and some of the state's famous red rocks.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

We hope you enjoyed tagging along for the ride in this beautiful new map expansion. Make sure to keep your eyes here on the Blog and across our Social Media channels for a specific release date. Until then, make sure to add Utah to your wishlist on Steam!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1104880/American_Truck_Simulator__Utah/

As we didn't talk much about this update, except on yesterday's stream (you couldn't resist, could you Pavel?), we presume it's a little bit of a mystery to most of you - so let's go through the list before you try out the Open Beta for American Truck Simulator's 1.36 Update!



A word of warning first - avoid this Beta if you are planning on completing any more deliveries in Pink Ribbon Event - it's not supported on 1.36 and you WON'T be able to go back to any older version of the game with a profile modified by the 1.36 version of the game. There are core changes, including a different save version - so back up the profiles that you want to keep (do a manual back up just to be sure) using on 1.35 or older versions.

A big focus of the update is on DirectX 11 (11.1 to be exact). We've decided to drop support for DirectX 9 for the sake of faster and easier development. So from Update 1.36 onwards, our games won't be compatible with systems running on DirectX 9.



While 1.36 isn't exactly "packed" with the new content, it mainly serves to push the DirectX change and as a "compatibility patch" for the upcoming Utah map DLC - we couldn't help but cram in some new toys too :) These include a Grain hopper trailer and a Bulk feed trailer - both ownable, and a Frac-tank trailer too - which can't be purchased as it's basically the same thing as a road barrier (you take it from place A to place B, no reason to own it).



And to have some "new" ground for driving these, we've revamped two cities in the base game - Flagstaff in Arizona and Santa Cruz in California, which also gets an improvement in posted speed limits. Oregon and New Mexico benefit too from the latter, in addition to other general sign improvements.



There are also quite a few other interesting features! Starting from this update, you will be able to see your drivers, trucks and trailers on the manager map (a perennial item on the wish-list fulfilled, and it's not even Christmas yet!). We're also adding Chinese (and other non-Latin) character input, otherwise known as IME, which should make life easier for a part of our community.

Last but not least, we've improved Anti-aliasing and added avoidance navigational pins, the latter of which will allow you to set places you want to avoid on your GPS route.



We hope you'll enjoy all these new additions, but please remember: It's only an open beta, not a stable public version - so you may encounter bugs, instability, kinks or crashes. It's completely okay if you want to wait for the final release. But if you're interested in helping us to get there faster, we'll appreciate all your feedback on our forum and your bug reports there.

During open betas, we are operating a dedicated alternate site for World of Trucks, which is used to safely test all new features. Please visit World of Trucks Open Beta web for more information. Also, check our modding wiki to get details pertaining to mods for the game.

If you wish to participate in the open beta, you can find this version in the public_beta branch on Steam. The way to access it is as follows: Steam client → LIBRARY → right-click on American Truck Simulator → Properties → Betas tab → public_beta → 1.36 public beta. No password is required.

Don't switch if you plan on completing any more Pink Ribbon deliveries as there is no going back!

OPEN BETA DOESN'T SUPPORT PINK RIBBON EVENT!

MAP

• Santa Cruz (CA) revamp
  
• Flagstaff (AZ) revamp
  
• California speed limit improvements
  
• Oregon and New Mexico speed limit and general sign improvements
  

VEHICLES

• Grain hopper trailer (ownable)
  
• Bulk feed trailer (ownable)
  
• Frac-tank trailer
  

FEATURES

• Avoid pins for GPS navigation
  
• Drivers / Trucks / Trailer visible on manager map
  
• DirectX 11 full support (DirectX 9 removed)
  
• Chinese and other non-Latin character input (IME)
  
• Anti-aliasing improvements (SMAA, electric-wires)
  
• New loading screens
  

MOD

• Sun profile changes (HDR)
  
• License plate changes for AI (data-driven types, background texture data)
  
• Dashboard display UI elements (digital gauges, fuel consumption bar)
  
• Map editor history (undo/redo)
  
• Continuous selection of nodes
  

We are only one week in with the World of Trucks Pink Ribbon Charity event and the community response has simply blown us away. So far we’ve reached over 730,000 deliveries of Pink Ribbon goods and there’s still 12 more days to go.

https://steamcommunity.com/games/227300/announcements/detail/1604895289728391993

Our #PinkMyTruck hashtag has been used for more than 2200 tweets and 420 Instagram posts, and hundreds of hours of the video has been uploaded to YouTube and Twitch with hundreds of posts on Facebook. We’ve also seen some really cool Pink Ribbon Charity paint jobs made by the community of modders, and have been inspired by the impressive online multiplayer convoy events, organised by the online Virtual Trucking Companies, in support of the Pink Ribbon Charity event – you guys rock! And some of you even gifted the Pink Ribbon Charity Pack to fellow players! What a fantastic contribution and a good deed with a direct impact on both sides!



The event is far from over, yet we are already delighted and very proud to report that we’ve so far managed to secure more than $20,000 from the Pink Ribbon Charity Pack DLC sales and we will be sending out the first cheques to the designated Breast Cancer charities very soon.

We would like to take this opportunity to state again how much we support breast cancer awareness, research and patient support. We'd like to emphasize how important regular doctor visits and self-examinations are in fighting this terrible disease. By organising this event we have discovered many support groups around the world that all state the same message, which is to not be shy about checking yourself. Early diagnosis is the best defence.



We're proud to be part of this campaign alongside many other advocates who're bringing awareness to this important cause - such as NHS England, MetLife, Renault Trucks, MAN Trucks & Bus, DAF Trucks, Chevrolet, Mack Trucks and many others. And of course, a big thank you to every single person who have joined in and shared a screenshot or video under the #PinkMyTruck hashtag!

We hope you will join us tomorrow, Wednesday the 9th October, for our 2nd special charity stream which will be broadcast LIVE on Twitch and Steam with SCS team members, Alex (LondonLad), Nemiro, and Pavel Sebor himself from 15:00 UTC (17:00 CEST). They'll be updating you on the progress, participating with jobs from the ongoing event, and handing out some more giveaways including Steam keys and one Tobii Eye Tracker 4C device!



Last but not least, if you weren't already aware of it, our e-shop is also doing its part in the fight against breast cancer. 100% of any income from selling the "TO TRUCKERS WITH LOVE" T-shirts will also be donated to the selected Charities, starting with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Alliance of Women with Breast Cancer. We will be adding to that list soon!


https://store.steampowered.com/app/1068290/Euro_Truck_Simulator_2__Pink_Ribbon_Charity_Pack/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1162160/American_Truck_Simulator__Pink_Ribbon_Charity_Pack/

So what’s the story behind the spectacular hues and rock formations for which Utah is so famous for? Formed as a result of the area’s unique geology and millions of years of erosion, these incredible rock structures can be found mostly around the South of Utah.



Famously seen as a backdrop to many western films and even a cartoon roadrunner, they have become some of the most recognizable and photographed rocks in the world. Many of them have become protected monuments, reservations and national parks.



Fortunately, recreating these famous natural landmarks in our upcoming American Truck Simulator map expansion hasn't taken our artists & designers millions of years to create (unlike their real life counterparts). However, creating them was no easy challenge for our team, with extensive research, prototyping and employing a brand new software to learn; the creating process took some time.



As you can see from the gallery of pictures above, we've had a lot to learn about the creation, design and texture of each of these formations. You could say that we've set a rock-solid foundation for upcoming projects that may include similar types of areas.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1104880/American_Truck_Simulator__Utah/

Pink ribbons, and the colour pink in general, are most commonly seen during the (International) Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual health campaign organised by major breast cancer charities every October to increase awareness and raise funds to fight the disease.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Inspired by truck manufacturers and truckers from around the world, this October we are proud to be joining the Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Awareness campaign! We’re asking the community to join us in supporting this great cause by delivering Pink Ribbon goods across Europe and the USA in our international Pink Ribbon Charity World of Trucks event.



To further help spread the word, we've created our very own Pink Ribbon Charity Pack DLC for this event. We will be donating 100% of the Pink Ribbon Pack DLC proceeds to reputable Breast Cancer research and awareness charities, starting with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Alliance of Women with Breast Cancer. We hope that the list of charities we contribute to will grow as we collect more money over time.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1068290/Euro_Truck_Simulator_2__Pink_Ribbon_Charity_Pack/

We look forward to seeing your screenshots and videos of you supporting this special charity event. In whatever way you are participating, make sure to tag us and use the hashtag #PinkMyTruck across our social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook)



You can also join us for a very special charity stream which will be broadcasted LIVE on Twitch and Steam with SCS team members, Alex (LondonLad) and Gavin from 15:00 UTC (17:00 CEST) who will be participating with jobs from the event!



Using external contracts, in Euro Truck Simulator 2, American Truck Simulator or both games, using a World of Trucks-connected profile, the community is to complete a combined total of 1,000,000 deliveries of Pink Ribbon goods using the provided Pink Ribbon trailer.

When a player contributes a combined total 12 or more deliveries of Pink Ribbon goods, drivers will complete their personal goal.

The event will be concluded on Sunday the 20th of October at 23:59 UTC.



Personal goal: Individual player contributions of 12 or more deliveries of Pink Ribbon goods will reward you with a personal World of Trucks Achievement and a unique pair of Pink-Ribbon embossed hanging Boxing Gloves as a Steam inventory item for Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator.

Community goal: Once the community goal of 1,000,000 deliveries of Pink Ribbon goods is met, and if you have also achieved your Personal goal, you will also will receive an attractive pair of Pink-Ribbon-styled hanging Winning Dice as a Steam inventory item for Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator.

Let's work together and support breast cancer awareness in the virtual world, just as it has already been and will continue to be done in the real world, as truckers everywhere, as one!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1162160/American_Truck_Simulator__Pink_Ribbon_Charity_Pack/