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American Truck Simulator News

1.53: California Rework - Los Angeles & San Diego

Another two cities will be getting a brand-new look in our upcoming 1.53 update for American Truck Simulator. The California Rework project just doesn't stop, so let's take a look at how our map designers and assets teams remade Los Angeles and San Diego!


[h3]San Diego[/h3]
"America's Finest City" was rebuilt from the ground up. We managed to use the best areas from the original version while also adding new locations which have been highly requested by our community.


Truckers can look forward to cruising through San Diego on I-5, almost reaching the Mexican border, or taking in the views of the Snapdragon Stadium as they drive along I-8. CA-905 will take you right to the border, passing through a sprawling warehouse district. And for a fresh perspective, you'll now be able to cross the iconic Coronado Bridge, offering stunning views of San Diego from a whole new angle.


[h3]Los Angeles[/h3]
Like San Diego, the City of Angels was completely revamped. Some places from the original L.A. remain (although rebuilt as well) like Santa Monica, the beginning of I-10, and the major intersection of routes I-10, I-5, and US-101.


On top of that, we added some iconic Los Angeles areas such as the L.A. airport, the L.A. River, Port of Long Beach, and one of the busiest roads in the U.S., the I-405, plus many other places. Thanks to the great work of our asset makers and map designers, truckers will discover plenty of landmarks and depots in the reworked city of Los Angeles.


We hope you are excited about the release of the next phase of the California Rework project and to visit the reimagined cities of San Diego and Los Angeles. Stay tuned for more updates on the world in American Truck Simulator on our social media (X/TwitterInstagramFacebookTikTok). We'll see you on the road!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/270880/American_Truck_Simulator/

1.53: California Rework - Phase #4

Over the last few years, our dedicated rework team has been hard at work revitalizing one of the base game areas in American Truck Simulator. We're of course referring to the California Rework project, and today, we're excited to give you a more detailed preview of what they've accomplished in the final phase of this project.


Phase 4 of the California Rework project focuses on the southern region of California and includes 10 cities, 3 of which are entirely new to the ATS economy. As you can imagine, this has been a monumental task for the team. Similar to previous phases, much of the original base map was removed and reworked entirely from the ground up.


Drivers working in this region can look forward to making deliveries to and from the cities of Bakersfield, Santa Maria, Oxnard, Mojave, Barstow, Indio, Blythe, Los Angeles, San Diego, and El Centro. This has been by no means a small feat; our team has meticulously utilized a huge area during this rework phase to incorporate as many details as possible, including accurate city layouts, industries, and road networks, all while working within the limitations of our game engine, map scale and of course, realistic trucking routes.


Road networks are just as important as the cities themselves, ensuring drivers can reach their destinations quickly and safely. Our team focused on reworking key routes, including major coastal highways such as the US-101, CA-1, and I-5. In addition, several other important routes have been revamped, such as the CA-58, CA-14, and CA-99, along with interstates I-10, I-15, I-40, and I-8, which serve as vital connections to neighboring U.S. states.


You'll also encounter numerous rest areas and truck stops, which have been thoroughly reworked as part of this update. Additionally, California's agriculture inspection stations, crucial for protecting the state's crops, wildlife, and produce, have received the same detailed attention. These stations play a vital role in safeguarding California’s agricultural industry.



The final phase of the California Rework is scheduled to arrive with the 1.53 Update, which will be free for all owners of American Truck Simulator. In the meantime, we still have another blog post planned that will highlight a couple of the larger cities that have been reworked, trust us, you won't want to miss it!


Until then, we hope you enjoy the screenshots and work the team have put into California Rework. Be sure to share your comments and initial reactions with us on our official social media channels and our official forums, as we'd love to hear them! Until then, keep on truckin'.

Happy Hauloween Event

Greetings truckers, and welcome to our Happy Hauloween - World of Trucks event! The fun all starts today, Thursday 24th October...

As twilight fades and shadows grow
You realise that it’s time to go
And join the crowd of jolly ghosts
That beckon you, as kindly hosts,
With spooky pumpkins all in hand,
What fun awaits this merry band!
They float and glide with eerie grace,
In search of treats from place to place.
So, start your rig and take the lead,
With all the hungry mouths to feed.
Tonight’s the night, and you’re the one
To bring to all some spectral fun!

For Hauloween is in the air,
And there’s no time to flee nor dare
To hide away from all the treats
That wait for you, but not to eat,
NO, they must be hauled, delivered quick,
Then parked away, now that’s the trick!


To our #BestCommunityEver, we’d love for you all to join us in celebrating Halloween this year by delivering our famously delicious Halloween Treats throughout all trucking territories. This time we have a combined community goal of 1,300,000 deliveries to make. That’s 300,000 more than last year, but we’re sure you can smash it! Our artists have created an extremely cool, ghostly Halloween-themed trailer that will carry your special treats cargo.


This year’s #HappyHauloween also offers a cool new, ghoulishly good, desktop theme that matches our celebrations for the event duration – we sure love it and hope you do too!


Your personal goal is to complete 13 deliveries of our yummy Halloween Treats cargo, and we’re offering some spooktacular event specific rewards, including a World of Trucks Achievement for this. All jobs for the event will be 100Km each (62.1 mile) or more, and be sure to check out the rules below.

[h3]Rules[/h3]

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 achieve 1,300,000 deliveries of Halloween Treats cargo, from any city in any trucking territory.

When a player completes 13 deliveries of Halloween Treats cargo across any trucking territories in either game, it will complete their personal goal.

[h3]Rewards[/h3]

Personal: Players that complete 13 or more deliveries of Halloween Treats cargo will gain a unique World of Trucks Achievement as well as a spooky Booing Ghost cabin item as a Steam inventory item for Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator.

Community: When the community goal of achieving 1,300,000 deliveries of Halloween Treats cargo from any city is met, and if the player has also achieved their personal goal, then they will receive a Grumpy Ghost hanging toy as a Steam inventory item for their cabin.

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 in the Events page on your World of Trucks profile.

The event will be concluded on Sunday, 17th of November at 23:59 UTC.

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But that's not all! This year, we're excited to host a special SCS Hauloween Sale on Steam with big discounts on our base games, map expansions, and other DLCs in celebration of Halloween and our Happy Hauloween WoTr event. Complete your collection of ETS2 and ATS DLCs here!

We've also prepared two special Halloween-themed bundles for you to mark this special occasion! So without further ado, we encourage you to take a look at what's in store in the Euro Truck Simulator 2 Hauloween Special and the American Truck Simulator Hauloween Special.

The bundles and Hauloween Sale will be available on Steam on the 24th of October from 19:00 CEST.


This year’s event is packed with ghostly spectral fun, for both American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2, with deliveries counted in both games. You can even join in with the celebrations across both sides of the Atlantic, so we look forward to seeing all your pics on our Facebook ATS / ETS2, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram profiles and we will share our favourite ones.

Missouri - Poplar Bluff

We have another glimpse for you of the upcoming Missouri map expansion for American Truck Simulator! This time, we will take you to the town of Poplar Bluff which will be included in this DLC. What is awaiting you there? Let's take a look!


Located in southern Missouri, Poplar Bluff is home to around 17,000 people. The town was established in the 19th century and named after an uninhabited bluff on the Black River where it was built and the beautiful poplar trees that grew there. Today, it serves as a regional hub for education, health care, and business.


How did our team recreate this charming town? You can look forward to some beautiful buildings inspired by real ones such as the Poplar Bluff bank, courthouse, sheriff department, theatre, and also a couple of stunning historic churches.


Looking at what the industry has to offer in and around the city, truckers hauling goods from Poplar Bluff will be able to find jobs in six companies. In the city, you will find a warehouse, sawmill, metalwork, and construction site that all need your help with delivering supplies. And if you don't feel like going to the city center, you will surely find a job at the timber harvest site or furniture factory in the suburbs.


We hope you are looking forward to trucking in the Missouri DLC and visiting this town. If you do, make sure to add this map expansion to your Steam Wishlist! And don't forget to follow us on our X/TwitterFacebookInstagram, and YouTube, so you won't miss out on any American Truck Simulator news. Until next time, drive safe!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2730870/American_Truck_Simulator__Missouri/

Driving Academy Release

Today, we are very happy to announce that Driving Academy is now available for American Truck Simulator! A few weeks ago, we announced this new game module in this blog and showed you a preview of it in some of our live streams, and now you can finally try it out for yourself.


As was mentioned in the previous blog we released about Driving Academy, we are venturing into new territory, inspired by years of feedback from players who have told us that our games have helped them grasp the basics of truck driving. Many have used it to get a sense of handling a truck and trailer, learning how to maneuver and reverse. With this in mind, we thought we'd take it a step further with this free update which includes sets of scenarios designed to improve and expand these skills in a fun and captivating way.

We've prepared a short video just for you, explaining everything you need to know about Driving Academy. It also includes a brief yet comprehensive guide on how to get started and make the most out of the game module.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
This new game module will provide you with various scenarios of increasing difficulty inspired by instructions given to real-life students. You will go from basic driving to navigating intricate courses and complex parking maneuvers with a detailed explanation via driving instructions including diagrams, pointers, and directions. We also wanted to allow drivers to analyze their drive so we have implemented a new replay feature into this game module as well.


If we get positive feedback from our community, we would love to continue creating additional scenarios and special challenges in the future that real-life truck drivers may encounter on the road. Our dream is for this game module to offer a deeper understanding of both truck driving and the underlying systems, as well as when to use them. But that is still a long way to go.


We hope you will enjoy this new game module. Make sure to share your videos or photos with us by tagging us on social media (X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube), we are really eager to see those! Also, keep your eyes on our channels so you do not miss out on more upcoming Driving Academy content.