Vive La France ! Map Expansion Next Week

Vive La France ! Map Expansion Next Week

We're ready to let everyone know when you will be able to hop into your trucks and start exploring the roads of beautiful France!

"Vive La France !" map expansion for Euro Truck Simulator 2 is going to be released December 5, 2016. To be more specific, we are aiming at 4 pm Prague time (GMT+1) on Monday, that's when the activation keys should be enabled and the DLC will be ready for download and purchase.

We are going to price it the same as Scandinavia map add-on on the channels that are under our control (like Steam - here is the "Vive la France !" coming soon page). There may be small price and timing differences on local markets, in retail, or at places like Amazon, where we do not have the power to enforce strict pricing policy.

Everything is happening very quickly, we were still not sure about the final date a week ago, as we have been thoroughly testing and polishing the DLC pretty much until today. Now we want to give you a chance to play the expanded game as soon as possible. A week of preparations is sufficient to arrange the release on digital channels, but our retail publishing partners will be struggling with manufacturing deadlines, so some sales channels may take longer to stock the add-on.

The Roads of Vive la France !

The Roads of Vive la France !

Next week, we will make an anouncement regarding Vive la France! DLC which we believe will make Euro Truck Simulator 2 fans very happy. Until then, we have a picture to tease you with! :) It may actually answer some of the questions that we get bombarded with...

Em direção à FREEWAY!

Galera, primeiramente peço desculpas por estar meio ausente, mas isso não quer dizer que o mapa foi deixado de lado! Depois de demorar muito, a ''reescala'' do mapa original do ATS (American Truck Simulator) finalmente saiu, e com ela vários outros modelos e recursos que poderemos usar! Aqui a baixo tenho algumas fotos, nada muito extraordinário porém ''é o que tem pra janta''.

ATS World Rescale Open Beta

ATS World Rescale Open Beta

We are ready to show you our progress at the American Truck Simulator map rescale project!

Some places could still benefit from additional love, but the pieces of the puzzle are already in place, and now we would appreciate your feedback. Please keep in mind that our goal was not to completely rebuild the whole world, so set your expectations accordingly. Changing the scale from 1:35 into 1:20 gave us a lot more room for better placement of intersections and interchanges, and a chance to introduce some roads and places for which there was not enough space in the old map. But we've kept in place the parts that were working as expected in our view, so of course you will still recognize most of the destinations.

So, what to expect of the (Open Beta of) ATS version 1.5?

Scale

It's bigger! You will understand it once you start the game.

New chassis options (6x2 & 6x2 Midlift)

There is an option now to choose 6x2 chassis or 6x2 chassis with lift-able axles (lifted axles avoid unnecessary tire wear when the weight distribution stays within legal limits).

Weight stations

We have improved how they operate to better reflect reality. A message will always pop up before you apporach a weight station telling you if you can bypass it (green light) or you have to go get checked (red light).

Parking brake behaviour

Thanks to pneumatic safeguard you have to manually disengage parking brake if you had low air pressure previously.

Map projection

We are now using Lambert conformal conic projection (LCC) instead of Mercator projection so it will more accurately show the area and shape of each state as you are used to from any other source.

(Apart from these four new crucial changes, any new features recently introduced to ETS2 Open Beta are present in the new update of ATS too)

Anyway, time to get behind the wheel and see for yourself! There are so many miles waiting out there for you to explore and enjoy - like steep hill climbs to familiar places (or brake-busting downhills!), a new city and yet more. 

As with any open beta we are looking forward to hearing feedback from our players! Please visit our forum where you can find and participate in relevant discusions under topics like SCS Site discussion and American Truck Simulator Section.

Blender Tools Update

Blender Tools Update

It always makes us feel both proud and humbled when we see that there are so many brave souls out there creating mods for our games. We may not be able to monitor everything that is happening in the modding community, but we have seen a lot of incredible mods over the years.

Most mods require tons of time and hard work to create, and after that, yet more attention and patience is needed to maintain them so that they are compatible with new updates of our games. We keep trying to improve the tools available to modders, and today's topic is about another step in this direction. A new improved version of SCS Blender Tool has just been released. (If you are wondering what this is all about, here is an earlier post about how it all started.)

We've created a short video overview showing some of the changes and new additions in this update:

We've also prepared a more extensive change-log for those who appreciate more detailed knowledge of the changes:

• Added support for one-click setup of environment lighting loaded from sun profiles SII file (eg. /def/climate/default/nice.sii). This enables the best possible preview of a model in game like environment.
• Asynchronous paths initialization on startup, resulting in faster Blender startup and faster blend files opening
• User option to load all libraries and resources from sibling "base" directories also (by default off)
• Ability to reload library on the fly beside the setting where it is used (eg. Hookup Lib can be reloaded in Model Locator Settings)
• Improved material flavors behavior, with implementation of filter for non existing effects combinations (prevents user to create non existing effect)
• Added support for creation of SCS Locators and SCS Root via standard Blender add menu (menu accessible via Shift+A in 3D viewport)
• Normal maps properly visualized in 3D view even if active UV layer on object is not the one used for normal maps calculation.
• Reloading shader presets only when cache is out-dated (again speed-up of opening blend files)
• Updated Prefab Locators flags:
   - added Map Point split lanes setups,
   - added Weight Station CAT Spawn Point type,
   - added Traffic Semaphores types: Traffic Light (virtual), Barrier - Automatic.
• Improvements & Fixes:
    - fixed unpropper UI snapping of TOBJ settings,
    - ensuring same order of bone channels in PIA export (useful when working with VCS),
    - negative add ambient material values supported in export and also visualized in Blender 3D
       viewport (more info here),
    - properly reported python error on screen and in BT log while importing/exporting
    - rejecting wrongly named SCS Root Object on export (more info here),
    - reporting missing UV layer used for normal maps on export,
    - reporting multiple animations with same name overwriting each other on export,
    - properly handling none existing UV mappings aliases on import (most properly produced with ConverterPIX),
    - fixed Blender crash if rapidly enabling/disabling SCS Blender Tools add-on,
    - fixed error on import if no 3D viewport is found or active object is on currently hidden layer      in scene.

Open Beta for ETS 2 Update 1.26

Open Beta for ETS 2 Update 1.26

The next major update for Euro Truck Simulator 2 will pave the way for the release of Vive la France! DLC. The plan is to get the new official game update out simultaneously with the new map expansion.

After internal testing and several iterations in closed beta, we now feel good about where we are. There are still some minor issues to fix and and an extra round of polish to apply in the next few weeks, but we are not aware of any critical or show-stopping issues anymore. But we would like to be sure, and that's what our Open Betas are for!

The tentative changelog for the 1.26 Update can be found below, but first we would like to point out the main features, game changes and general adjustments that are a part of this upcoming game update.

Older Parts of France Reworked

The newly-built regions of France that make up the Vive La France! DLC look gorgeous, and this inspired us to also refresh the regions that were already present in the game from the very start. In the picture above, you can see the area of France which we have retouched - the area that you will already be able to experience in this Open Beta of course. It's not a total rework from scratch, but we believe that you will appreciate some very visible changes in the world; new models, new intersections and use of higher resolution textures in many places.

The main star of this map refresh is the city of Paris, which actually has been completely rebuilt to make it way more elaborate than before!

New Transmissions for all trucks

We have adjusted and added some new options for the transmissions of all the trucks tractors in the game, so now there are more options to choose - from the standard or overdrive style of transmissions or even the Allison 4500. We hope that especially the players who care for more choices and precision of the vehicle simulation will appreciate the new adjustment, now there are new opportunities to play with the ratio between engine and wheels.

Upgrade Shop & Truck Browser Search Tool

A new search line was added into the game's upgrade shop and truck browser screens, so now you will be able to look up for example a specific paintjob or a particular engine upgrade. This new feature will come handy if you own a lot of our minor DLCs or if you happen to have lots of truck tuning mods installed.


A list of features coming with 1.26 Update for ETS2:

MAIN FEATURES

•  Old Parts of France Were Reworked
•  New Transmissions for All Trucks
•  Upgrade Shop & Truck Browser Search Tool

GAME

• Adjustable interior FOV per truck
• Added parking difficulty (preset option included)
• Truck repair/refuel performed by hired driver costs money, included in logs
• Added informational dialog showing when game detects upgrade or downgrade
• Added pounds + short tonnes as weight unit option
• Better trailer air pressure simulation
• Low air warning should only be active with running engine
• Revised rolling resistance computations
• Hired driver use the very same formulas for eco skill as the player

MODDERS

• Changed map parameters (climate_profile, map_data)
• Moddable interior camera zoom parameters. (speed, factor)
• 1 degree rotation on Ctrl + R, 90 degree rotation on Home
• Merged editable sign and sign dialog
• Refresh sign template and its model from content browser
• Added letter-spacing to sign editor
• Store content browser navigation history
• Support for day/nigh effect switching and child hookups for lod_model_hookup_u

You can follow this link to see the whole changelog of this update. Please also check out our modding wiki to get the best advice for modding the game.

If you're so inclined you can find this version in the public_beta branch on Steam. (Steam client → LIBRARY → right click on Euro Truck Simulator 2 → Properties → Betas tab → public_beta - 1.26  public beta). No password is required.

Just like with the previous Open Beta releases - please keep in mind that this is still only a test version of the update: it's perfectly okay if you want to hold off until the final release. But if you're the adventurous sort that doesn't mind a little instability and/or are an active member of the community who wants to assist us in the finalization of the new game version with your feedback, we really appreciate your help. Please report any bugs you find on our forum. Coming soon - Open Beta for the new update of American Truck Simulator!

Peterbilt 389

Peterbilt 389

Have you guessed it? Of course you have!

But let's start with a little teaser. Project Rescale of the American Truck Simulator world is looking great, and it won't take long before you can see it for yourselves. I suggest you get comfortable with what we have for you today so you are ready for the updated map. Because believe me, with the bigger map you will need a comfortable ride to get across it without developing serious back pain. ;)

Speaking of a comfortable ride, I have good news for you! A new addition to the ATS family of trucks is here at last! The title of this post already gave it away - finally our rendition of Pete 389 is coming to American Truck Simulator.

A little disclaimer: The new truck is appearing in the game today, with features as of ATS version 1.4. The video is actually revealing certain features and content that will only be available in the next major update of the game, so you see that there is more to look forward to!

The recent trends in truck design strongly favor streamlined aerodynamic cab shapes, but with 389, we are talking tradition, a real road legend here. For decades, long nosed trucks have been the very definition of "American truck." Conventional cab with tons of chrome, big wheels, prominent exhaust pipes, bold box-like shapes... this beast makes it clear that it's about strength and endurance, a pure expression of free spirit on the road.

And you, our dear player, are the one to drive it at last! Go ahead, claim your well deserved price for your patience, and let the game update itself! We have worked hard to bring this beauty to you, based on reference photos, scans and sounds recordings that we took on our trip to the PACCAR Technical Center earlier this year.

To make things super clear, this game update is free of course!

We thought that at least some of you may appreciate a little walk down the history lane, so let us tell you a bit more about this great piece of engineering and human ingenuity.

Peterbilt 389 is a successor to Peterbilt 379, built until 2007. Peterbilt 379 in turn replaced the iconic 359 in 1987. Peterbilt 359 one was first wide nosed big rigs for Peterbilt, produced since 1967, and achieved extreme popularity. This tradition is still very much alive - while new trucks in the 3x9 line introduced major technical improvements under the hood and greatly enhanced performance, truckers' aesthetics preferences have not changed so much. The outer appearance is still mostly the same after almost five decades on the road! An interesting little fact about the new 389 is that it has the longest nose of all Peterbilt trucks ever. It is 131 inches (332,74 cm) long! One hell of a nose if you ask me! But surely an experienced truck driver will not have any problems maneuvering the vehicle through the challenges waiting for you in American Truck Simulator!