American Truck Simulator News

It's time for Part 2 of showcasing some of the Cities & Settlements that will be featured in our upcoming Oklahoma DLC for American Truck Simulator. Previously, we highlighted the cities of Guymon, Enid, Lawton and Idabel. Today we are happy to share with you 4 more cities and several settlements.



[h3]Woodward[/h3]

First up is the city of Woodward. Established in 1887, it was historically known as a shipping point for both livestock and provisions. Today, Woodward, with a population of over 15,000 continues to serve northwest Oklahoma as a commercial and Livestock hub. Load or not, Woodward is a city with a lot charm, history and work for drivers in the state.



[h3]Clinton[/h3]

Positioned in a large valley surrounded by scenic rolling hills and wide-open spaces, Clinton, Oklahoma is a small community of about 10,000 residents. Located in the heart of the Western Oklahoma on Historic Route 66, Clinton is known as the “Hub City of Western Oklahoma.” and features historic buildings in the heart of its downtown business district. With food and agriculture industries present in the area, truckers can expect to find delivery contracts going daily, so be sure to visit!



[h3]Ardmore[/h3]

Many consider this city a hidden gem in Oklahoma. Located near the famous Adventure Road in Carter County is the historic city of Ardmore. Named after the Irish term Ard Mór, meaning "hills" or "high ground" this is the one place Obi Wan Kenobi hasn't told its resident "Its over". From historic landmarks rich with culture to vibrant businesses, Ardmore has a lot to offer to both residents and visitors alike. Truckers can look forward to picking up contracts to and from the Tire factory, among other industries.



[h3]McAlester[/h3]

Our fourth and final city in this showcase is the city of McAlester. Named after James Jackson McAlester, who started a general store here in 1869. It has since become a bustling city after its rapid expansion, in part thanks to the influx of settlers after the discovery of coal. Since then it has maintained its historic status and is now home to several different industries.



[h3]Settlements[/h3]

That isn't all however! You will also be able to pass through many settlements whilst cruising through Oklahoma. This includes Boise City, which was accidentally bombed during World War 2, Shamrock, which is along Route 66 and Cushing; known as the pipeline crossroads of the world thanks to its major status for trading crude oil.



There's still so much to discover and do in Oklahoma, and we look forward to showing you more in the near future. If you like what you see, be sure to add it your Steam Wishlist! Until next time, keep on truckin'.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2209650/American_Truck_Simulator__Oklahoma/

In addition to the new content that is coming to American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2 in the 1.47 update, we will also be introducing two brand new special transport routes - one for each game. There is an interesting backstory behind the creation of these new routes and we are excited to tell you all about it today.



Special Transport missions have been a fan favorite since their release, providing unique challenges for players. However, revisiting and updating the content of these routes in updates or new expansions can be a significant load and commitment considering it was done by one person alone - Nemiro. But, as our team grows and our know-how is shared across the company, we are excited that more of our colleagues found interest and time to get involved in "servicing" these DLCs.



Over the past few weeks, two new small teams have formed and we have shared the knowledge with them through a few sessions. Both teams have created their first routes for the Special Transport DLCs, and they have turned out so exceptionally well that we have decided to include them in the nearest update for all the players to enjoy. We hope you will all appreciate the new routes and the fact that expanding our internal teams could mean more routes in the future.

The two new routes are:

Barcelona to Vandallos

Truckee to Oakland



To leave on a high note, we would also like to mention that something interesting related to Special Transport is currently shaping up in our vehicle department, but that’s all that we can say for now. For any potential updates and news, follow our social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) and stay in touch with all the latest announcements.

As you might remember, recently we announced Kansas DLC for American Truck Simulator. Before we fully dive in with the classic news from the development, we have decided to sit down with some of the developers and create a blog article that will let you know a little bit about some of the SCS members themselves, but also their thoughts on this DLC. Sit back, relax, and check out what Patrik, Seki, Martin, Ilona, and Anton had to say about who they are and what working on the Sunflower State means for them.



Patrik, Kansas DLC Lead



As the Map DLC Lead for American Truck Simulator, my primary responsibility is to oversee the development of the assigned map expansion, which is currently the Kansas DLC. I have previously led the Washington and Colorado DLCs, and I started as a regular map designer when we were still working on California.

Our goal with the Kansas DLC is to show players that even seemingly empty and monotonous states have their own unique atmosphere and impression. Our biggest challenge in this project is to create large grass areas that are visually appealing, modern, and well-crafted. Kansas has a distinct architecture that differs from the states we've worked on in the past, so we're also facing the challenge of creating new assets such as neglected shops, barracks, houses, and other buildings.

Players can look forward to a dozen new cities, and we will gradually release the list over time. We are also working on improving the economic model, which we will share with our #BestCommunityEver in due course. Moreover, new economic chains will be introduced as part of the Kansas DLC, as we regularly do with every new DLC in ATS.



Seki, DLC Asset Lead



As the DLC Asset Lead and a senior graphic designer, my role at SCS involves collaborating on graphics for ATS and all related projects. I've been with the company for seven years and have contributed to all DLCs for ATS released thus far. While there are others on the team, collaboration is key to our success, and I credit the entire ATS team for our achievements.

As the DLC Asset Lead, I'm responsible for the quality and delivery of all necessary 3D models for the DLC, including everything from generic benches to city and depot areas where trucks move. I consult with Map Designers and ensure that all landmarks are delivered to their cities or settlements. I initially joined SCS as a graphic designer, where I created models for the game, including the last major project, Random Events. I then switched to DLC Lead and completed projects in Idaho, Texas, and am currently working on Kansas.

Our goal is to bring players a new state where they can spend countless hours in their trucks, discovering the beauty of Kansas and its industries. We aim to beat the previous map expansion and give players the best possible experience. We have added many new landmarks to cities and their surroundings, including unique rest areas, truck stops, and industries. We are pushing the limits of our creation with each DLC, and we believe that Kansas will be a great example of this. While we can't reveal everything yet, players can definitely look forward to many new locations and experiences.



Martin, Texas DLC Map Designer



I started at SCS 2 years ago and I have worked on several projects including California Rework, Texas and the city of Emporia, which was my first attempt at designing a city. Currently, I am working on two settlements, roads, and we have received a new palette of terrain materials, which also includes a new set of grasses that I have to include into the map.

One of the most exciting parts of my job so far was designing the city. However, my focus now is on creating a rural-farming atmosphere in Kansas, which is known for its vast grassy plains and farming communities. There will be many farm depots, farm assets, silos, and wind farms to explore, and players will have the opportunity to get up close to the fields with their trucks.

Overall, players can look forward to a truly immersive experience in Kansas, with a focus on the state's farming heritage and beautiful natural landscapes.



Ilona, Texas DLC Map Designer



As a map designer at SCS for four years, I am responsible for designing the layouts of two cities, Colby and Hays, in western Kansas. I also designed depots and generic architectural elements, such as shops and suburban houses, that reflect the state's diverse architectural styles. For example, as part of the new DLC, we've added a brick-and-mortar store and I hope this new store will be a great authentic detail for the town center. Moreover, the generic architecture in Kansas is characterized by great diversity, as it is unique in many ways but it also contains elements of various architectural styles from the surrounding states

Having previously worked on Oregon, Utah, Colorado, and Texas, I am most looking forward to creating an authentic experience that conveys the unique feeling of Kansas. The biggest challenge will be portraying the vastness of the open plains and endless vistas through the use of details. Players can look forward to exploring Kansas's farms, plains, and downtown cities, with unique architecture and details that capture the state's essence.



Anton, Researcher



As a researcher, I deal with a little bit of everything. With every task, our job consists of two components. Firstly, we need to look for more technical kind of information like which variants of the warehouse are more typical for a given state. But also we try to find a deeper meaning behind the raw data we process. For example, while working on the Kansas DLC we took great inspiration from the work of American painters known as the regionalists. They are famous for depicting the American midwest in a really insightful and captivating manner. We used their work a lot, communicating our impressions of the state to our map designers and 3D artists.

Because in our line of work, we need to translate our own vision of a state to the rest of the developing team, each DLC is a surprise for me. I’m really interested to see how 3D artists and map designers are going to implement our comments and ideas regarding Kansas feel. A map expansion is always more than just a mechanical arrangement of assets down the road. It’s the idea of a geographical and economic area that the developers build in their minds as they work on a state. I like to think that we help them in creating that internal image.



We hope you have enjoyed this very early insight into what you can expect to see in the upcoming Kansas DLC. For more news in the future make sure to follow our social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) to never miss any updates. We can’t wait to show you more!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2298430/American_Truck_Simulator__Kansas/

It's been a while since we last spoke about the California Rework project; in which 2 phases were already completed and released as free update in American Truck Simulator. Today, we are excited to share with you some information on Phase 3, the team working on it and some teasers on what will be included this free update.



Phase 3 of the California Rework

Speaking with the map lead of this project, he was quite excited to tell us how much the project has progressed, and how the community has played a big deciding factor in shaping Phase 3. From our official forums to our social media channels, we've been listening to your comments in regard to adjusting layouts and sizes of cities and the balance between highways and smaller roads. In a few cases, the community influenced the shape of our Phase 3 content, even some time into development, adding or adjusting content on the go.



So what is in store for Phase 3 of this project? We have quite a bit up our sleeves, which we won't share all in one go. Without going into too much detail, you can expect the rework of several cities, towns, industries and road networks and so much more; Which includes the introduction of the highly requested city of Modesto, which will replace the currently existing city of Oakdale. This addition was heavily influenced by the community, which we look forward to sharing more about in a future blog post along with another unannounced new city addition.

We are also excited to share that the US-50 between Sacramento and Carson City will be included as a new addition in this rework phase. Featuring mountain passes and ski resorts, this route is incredibly scenic and feels like a completely different region when compared to the rest of California. If you enjoyed Truckee and its surroundings, you know what to expect.



Our team has focused a lot on reworking the layout of existing cities by taking advantage of the space created by the rescale after the release of American Truck Simulator. This means we've been able to utilize more of the map to create more road networks, expand city sizes, introduce new industries in the area, and ultimately, bring the quality of the state up to par with our current DLC quality standards.

We have also invested a lot of time and work into smaller secondary roads, especially around central California where a large part of the Agriculture industry exists. Finding the balance between highway and smaller road networks is always a challenge, but we believe that creating more secondary roads is a good investment of time and provides more options for players to choose a route that escapes the fast-paced highway life and experience a different driving style.



As you can imagine, a rework of this size has required a lot of work, with new assets, updated industries, roads, cities and so much more. The content density of this project is very high, and our aim is to make sure that this rework will stand the test of time; Trust us, it will be worth the wait!

All of this exciting content wouldn't be possible without the team behind the scenes working hard on this project, which brings us to our next topic...

Update on the Team

During the development of Montana and Texas, the number of dedicated members of the California Rework team was only around 1-2 people. This was because of the demand and focus needed on these DLCs at the time. However, thanks to the recent influx of new map designers, we have been able to return to normal stable numbers within all our teams. After Texas was released, we were able to return to 5 stable members of the rework team, which has been boosted by another 5 new map designers from January, so we now have 10 people dedicated to improving California.

With this, we are excited about the future and how the team will be able to progress with the current project at hand, as well as with other tasks in the future! For now, our focus is on Phase 3.



As we mentioned earlier, we still have so much more to share, and as development progresses, we will post our progress and work in future blog posts. We can't wait to showcase them all and ultimately, bring Phase 3 of the California Rework to American Truck Simulator. Until then, keep on truckin'!

Today, we are happy to share with you that the 1.47 Open Beta branch for American Truck Simulator is now available to try and test out. If you plan on participating in this Open Beta, we ask that you please help us by reporting any bugs you may encounter in the appropriate section(s) of our official forums.



Your feedback and reports are extremely valuable to our team and we thank you in advance for taking the time to help us out. So, without further ado, let's take a look at what the 1.47 Open Beta has in store.

[h3]Ownable Gas Cisterns[/h3]

Are you ready to haul your very own Gas Cisterns in American Truck Simulator? As we covered in a previous blog post, Ownable Gas Cisterns are available in this update! These trailers will come in a variety of lengths, chassis and customisation options. These cisterns are designed to transport dangerous and highly flammable gases such as Ethane, Propane and LPG (Liquefied petroleum gas).



However, please keep in mind, that as of now the in-game economy for these trailers and also the list of available cargoes for them are still in a work in progress state and are subject to change.

The Ownable Gas Cistern for American Truck Simulator will be available as a single or B-Double trailer. It will also include 5 chassis types; 32ft, 43ft & 48ft 2-axle, 53ft 3-axle and 4-axle 53ft with a steerable rear axle. Each gas cistern comes with over 50 accessories which include (but are not limited to):

• Paintable/Chrome Boxes
  
• Paintable/Chrome Valve Covers
  
• Customisable Side Lamps
  
• Paintable Wing
  
• A wide variety of hoses
  
• A variety of rear fenders and rear bumper lights
  
• A variety of trailer paintjobs
  
• and so much more!
  

We look forward to seeing you deliver with these new Ownable Gas Cisterns and how you will customize them. Be sure to share your first ride with them on our social media channels.

[h3]World Ambient Sounds[/h3]

As we continue to make sounds more immersive across our truck sim world, one big change we have made for this update is introducing sound scatter technology through FMOD for our virtual environment. So what does this mean for players?

It means you'll now notice a variety of SFX coming from different directions and distances, on top of our base 5.1 sound layer, which has an existing basic environmental loop for a specific place. For example, you may be sitting at a rest area in the quiet Texas plains, hearing the chirping of crickets, but you'll hear them at various distances, some further away, some closer!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Another change we are introducing is a direction filter for trucks. Where applicable, we have included sound engine equalization in the sound system, which works according to your current camera view. For example, if you are using a camera behind the truck, you will hear a change in sound according to that view. The effect is most audible when you are able to watch your truck drive past while the camera remains stationary.

You can read more in detail about this change to our world ambient sounds and more at our previous blogpost on the subject.

[h3]Adaptive Cruise Control & Emergency Braking System [/h3]

Released originally as a hidden experimental feature back in 1.44, we are glad to be able to bring this highly requested addition to the 1.47 update. Adaptive Cruise Control automatically adjusts the distance and speed from the vehicle in front when in cruise control mode. This is especially handy when encountering a busy highway, where you may find traffic often merging into a gap in front of you, or in situations where traffic speed is constantly changing.



Coupled with ACC is the Emergency Braking System, which activates your brakes whenever a collision is imminent with the vehicle in front, to avoid or minimize damage. This technology in the real world has saved countless lives and is found in most modern trucks.

These features have been in the works for a while, but it is still work in progress and we look forward to seeing how they perform during 1.47 Open Beta. Please share with us your feedback and comments on our official forums.

[h3]Custom City Intros (Utah & Idaho)[/h3]

Carrying on from our previous update which introduced custom city intros for Colorado & Wyoming, we have now expanded these cutscenes to the Utah and Idaho DLC's for American Truck Simulator!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

These special cutscenes appear when a player selects a starting city when creating a new profile. We hope that new players (or those restarting a new profile) will enjoy these new additions, showcasing the area where you have chosen to begin!

Let us know your thoughts and any feedback you may have at our official forums.

[h3]Random Road Bumps[/h3]

We're excited to introduce Random Road Bumps into 1.47! These small bumps are procedurally generated to give the roads an imperfect feel to them. While they may not be visible to the driver, you will be able to feel these subtle bumps and in some cases hear them affect your vehicle whilst driving.

We look forward to working on expanding this feature in the future, but for the time being, let us know your thoughts about it! Any comments or feedback can be made over on our official forums.

[h3]Career History UI Redesign[/h3]

This update also includes a refresh for the Career History UI! For those who are unfamiliar with this feature, you can access it via the main menu of American Truck Simulator or Euro Truck Simulator 2. It displays a graph of your experience progress and some statistics.



This new redesign will now feature a much more detailed look into your statistics and previous deliveries. The UI now shows 4 sections which are: Deliveries, Exploration, Driver experiences and Penalties. Each of these sections displays different statistics that give you a more in-depth review of your journey as a truck driver so far including total deliveries, your past delivery ratings, how many of your deliveries were on time, map exploration, companies visited, truck data and discoveries.

We've also included a section that'll show what penalties you have received over the last 2 weeks of your career. We felt that little things such as hitting traffic signs or falling asleep at the wheel don't need to be on your permanent record.



We've also redesigned your delivery log which shows clearly your previous jobs, your cargo, what day you made the delivery on, income, XP, time spent etc. We understand that these statistics are important for drivers to look back on, especially if you are part of a VTC where you may need to log your previous jobs for driver activity.

We really hope you like this redesign, and we hope we can expand on it in the future. Let us know your feedback and comments by heading to our official forums.

[h3]In-Game Update Log[/h3]

We've now added a new UI feature to both American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2 which will show users the changelog of a major update or showcase the featured of a DLC release.

This will appear in the form of a pop-up either when you launch the game after an update or whilst in-game in the main menu if an update was made during your time on the road. Not only that, but you can also access a history of previous changelogs, in-case you missed out on several, and find all our official social media links.

We hope this helps you stays informed no matter where you are on the latest changes and updates made to our titles.

[h3]Economy Reset Teleport[/h3]

Whenever the player's economy is reset during a game load, it was the norm for you to be teleported to your HQ garage. Today we are happy to make a small change that will allow you to make the decision whether you want to teleported to your chosen HQ or a free quick travel to any service station of your choice.



[h3]Changelog[/h3]

[h3]Map[/h3]

• Addition of World Ambient Sounds
  
• Random Road Bumps
  

[h3]Vehicles[/h3]

• Ownable Gas Cisterns
  
• Adaptive Cruise Control & Emergency Braking System
  

Kenworth W900

• DEF-Less fuel tank options returned for certain engine types (150, 220 & 300 gal)
  
• Reinstated Cruise Control speed display on dashboard
  

[h3]Gameplay[/h3]

• Custom City Intros for Utah and Idaho
  
• Addition of Sound Direction Filter
  
• Performance Improvements (night, bad weather, dense traffic)
  

[h3]UI[/h3]

• Career History UI Redesign
  
• In-Game Update Log
  
• Economy Reset Teleport
  

So enjoy all the new additions, but please remember: It's only an open beta, not a stable public version - so you may encounter bugs, instability, 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 of your feedback on our forum and your bug reports in this section.

Please 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 → 1.47. No password required. Sometimes you have to restart your Steam client to see the correct branch name there.