American Truck Simulator

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 10:11 am

At last, we are ready to commit to an official release date of the first edition of American Truck Simulator; the game will hit digital and retail stores on February 3, 2016.

As the readers of our blog will no doubt know by now, this release will be just the first step on the road. A couple of trucks and the state of California that we are bringing you with the base game release is only a fraction of our grand vision - to cover all of North America eventually and to chase every relevant truck manufacturer for a license to allow us to include their trucks into the game.

Well, we have to set on the way, and this is where we start. Hold on tight!

Frnk55 · Post by **Frnk55** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 11:31 am

That is flippin fantastic!

persself · Post by **persself** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 1:34 pm

Since I'm an over-the-road (OTR) owner operator, I might have to try this to see how it compares to real world. Is/will there be a demo ? Demo, because not sure I really want to spend time doing same things I do in real life.

Rip · Post by **Rip** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 1:35 pm

persself wrote:Since I'm an over-the-road (OTR) owner operator, I might have to try this to see how it compares to real world. Is/will there be a demo ? Demo, because not sure I really want to spend time doing same things I do in real life.

Just play ETS2 and pretend you are in the US. Can't imagine the mechanics will be any different just new trucks/scenery.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 2:21 pm

And this coming out two days before XCOM 2. It's going to be a pretty long January...

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 2:25 pm

And by the way, in case folks missed this part, as mentioned in the article California Dreaming: American Truck Simulator

There’s plenty of trucking news to catch up on though. The most significant slice of information is a stealth renaming. The latest news post from the devs refers to it as American Truck Simulator: California. We always knew that the initial release wouldn’t contain every state and I’m glad that’s not the case – there’d be no way to craft them to the scale or level of detail I’m hoping for if the whole lot, with all their beautiful variety, were going to be mashed together in a single release. I knew California was likely, given that we’ve seen screenshots of landmarks thereabouts, but it seems that the decision has been made to release a base game encompassing The Golden State. That’s a lot of land.

persself · Post by **persself** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 2:46 pm

Rip wrote:
persself wrote:Since I'm an over-the-road (OTR) owner operator, I might have to try this to see how it compares to real world. Is/will there be a demo ? Demo, because not sure I really want to spend time doing same things I do in real life.
Just play ETS2 and pretend you are in the US. Can't imagine the mechanics will be any different just new trucks/scenery.

US trucks have longer wheel base, with longer nose. Notice how driver sits over the steer tires in EU, but not in USA. So, turns should be tighter, if modeled accurately. Don't know how hardcore the game plans to be; just sayin'.

KDH · Post by **KDH** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 8:57 pm

re: California ... If you look at SCS's desire to add-on to the base game in a contiguous manner .. which is, of course, logical .. this leaves some lackluster future add-ons in store ..

Nevada and its plethora of ranches (bunny, mustang, et-al) .. driving thru Nevada, you occasionally see a mobile-home parked on some scrub-brush plot of land that must have been given away on some radio call-in show .. because nobody would buy it, or accept it as an inheritance from the old-money side of the family.

Utah .. while known for a couple canyons and a lake, is devoid of population centers apart from Salt Lake City ... Bonnieville Salt Flats, made famous for land-speed records, isn't much to look at once you get used to seeing earth-moving equipment driving around on piles of salt destined for your dinner table

Arizona ... See above

Hawaii .. I vote for this, brah

The East Coasties will have quite a wait .. perhaps dividing the USA into quarters, and trying to flesh out the townships and connectivity with regular patches. Otherwise they'll have to do magic tunnels that begin in Colorado and exit in Pennsylvania, similar to wormhole travel in a space-trucker game, just to satisfy the folks that want to see their neck of the woods.

who was it that said? ... "Ich bin ein Brooklyner" ...

KDH · Post by **KDH** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 9:12 pm

persself wrote: ... Demo, because not sure I really want to spend time doing same things I do in real life.

on the off-chance you didn't know ... there is a demo of euro-truck2

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 10:23 pm

Would this game allow me to play as the truck driver from Steven Spielberg's Duel?

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 10:58 pm

There's only one truck I want in this game:

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 11:09 pm

Can I be your Wang?

persself · Post by **persself** » Fri Dec 18, 2015 11:33 pm

KDH wrote:
persself wrote: ... Demo, because not sure I really want to spend time doing same things I do in real life.
on the off-chance you didn't know ... there is a demo of euro-truck2

Yeah, I know...I meant a demo for American, but that probably won't happen til after/near release.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Sat Dec 19, 2015 1:50 am

KDH wrote:who was it that said? ... "Ich bin ein Brooklyner" ...

As someone who's parents both came from Brooklyn, I approve of this message

I'm a, well, bit concerned over the apparent planned piecemeal release of ATS. If the first release is just California and a couple of trucks, I would be expecting that the price would be commensurately low, with a big discount for those who already have ETS2. And I would like to see the roadmap for future releases so I'd know whether I want to get invested in the game.

Anyone who got into DiRT Rally early knows what a great job the developers did in showing what your initial, up front purchase was getting you down the road. It would be very nice if the SCS folks did the same thing; if so, I might consider paying more up front. If not, well, I don't know that I'm going to even put down money until I see the first DLC and a couple of the inevitable patches.

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Sat Dec 19, 2015 2:55 pm

persself wrote:
Rip wrote:
persself wrote:Since I'm an over-the-road (OTR) owner operator, I might have to try this to see how it compares to real world. Is/will there be a demo ? Demo, because not sure I really want to spend time doing same things I do in real life.
Just play ETS2 and pretend you are in the US. Can't imagine the mechanics will be any different just new trucks/scenery.
US trucks have longer wheel base, with longer nose. Notice how driver sits over the steer tires in EU, but not in USA. So, turns should be tighter, if modeled accurately. Don't know how hardcore the game plans to be; just sayin'.

I'd be surprised if that wasn't modeled in detail. You can change the feel of your ride by changing your chassis in ETS2.

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Sat Dec 19, 2015 3:48 pm

They've been saying that they're making it more detailed this time around. Cities will be also bigger, hence why they decided to go in the direction of installments.

KDH · Post by **KDH** » Thu Jan 14, 2016 3:49 pm

Squirrel's giving away a copy of the game and, what sounds like, USED kit .. but, hey, I don't speak English as well as the originators of the language do .. I could be wrong

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Thu Jan 14, 2016 7:36 pm

I'm pretty excited about ATS. I've never played a driving game, and I don't have a controller, but I've heard that the trucksim games are fine with a mouse and keyboard. The management/economic aspect actually looks more interesting than pure racing.

It's supposed to be out in a couple of weeks, right?

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Thu Jan 14, 2016 7:45 pm

Holman wrote:I'm pretty excited about ATS. I've never played a driving game, and I don't have a controller, but I've heard that the trucksim games are fine with a mouse and keyboard. The management/economic aspect actually looks more interesting than pure racing.

It's supposed to be out in a couple of weeks, right?

It's planned to be out February 3rd. I've been playing the Euro Truck Simulator 2 with an Xbox 360 controller and it works fine, but folks report that keyboard and mouse are ok too.

By the way, you do know it's not about racing, right?

KDH · Post by **KDH** » Thu Jan 14, 2016 8:42 pm

one of the first things you have to get used to is NOT muscling the civilian traffic off the road in corners .. and .. slow-&-easy becomes your mantra

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Thu Jan 14, 2016 8:54 pm

jztemple2 wrote:
Holman wrote:I'm pretty excited about ATS. I've never played a driving game, and I don't have a controller, but I've heard that the trucksim games are fine with a mouse and keyboard. The management/economic aspect actually looks more interesting than pure racing.

It's supposed to be out in a couple of weeks, right?
It's planned to be out February 3rd. I've been playing the Euro Truck Simulator 2 with an Xbox 360 controller and it works fine, but folks report that keyboard and mouse are ok too.

By the way, you do know it's not about racing, right?

Oh, I know. I was saying that this would be my first driving game, and it seems more interesting than the racing games I'm not buying.

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Thu Jan 14, 2016 11:44 pm

Holman wrote:I'm pretty excited about ATS. I've never played a driving game, and I don't have a controller, but I've heard that the trucksim games are fine with a mouse and keyboard. The management/economic aspect actually looks more interesting than pure racing.

It's supposed to be out in a couple of weeks, right?

I've tried both and actually prefer mouse and keyboard for this one.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Fri Jan 15, 2016 1:42 pm

More info on the whole question of initial game release and DLC, in this update from SCS called Map DLC clarifications

It's time to respond to the avalanche of questions coming our way concerning our plans for the initial edition of American Truck Simulator and its post-release future.

The day one release will contain the state of California. That was always the plan.

We are happy to confirm that on February 3rd, we will also have the state of Nevada fully ready for release. We were still not sure about Nevada's finish-line when the game box packaging design was being finalized, so the boxes sitting on retail shelves will put the spotlight on California, but there is actually more coming your way right out of the gate. In short, DLC Nevada will be a free game update for everyone, no matter where or when you will have bought the game, available immediately on official release date.

It is also public knowledge by now that we are hard at work on the state of Arizona. On the packaging of the retail box, there is actually an explicit statement that DLC Arizona will unlock for owners of this game edition when it's eventually finished. We are delighted to confirm that Arizona DLC will also be a free game update for everybody. You will just have to wait for it a little bit longer, this part of the world is still under development.

You do not really have to worry about the particular channel where to purchase the game, whether it's on Steam, in any other digital store, or in a bricks-and-mortar shop, the playable content will be the same for everybody.

Actually, we should also mention that next to this base release, several retail publishers have decided to also offer a richer (and more expensive) edition of the game on release, calling it Collector's Edition. These bigger cardboard boxes are surely nicer, they contain a cool selection of additional merchandise items, so it would be for example a very cool birthday gift with extra value. But when it comes to the game itself, the installation media is the same, and the same set of DLCs will be unlocked for those buying this special edition of the game as will for people with the regular edition of the game.

Recommended price of the game is going to be $20/€20, though it is to be expected that for alternate currencies, some local market specifics and the need to display a nice round figure may cause slight variations.

We surely do not plan to stop working on American Truck Simulator world with Arizona. However, please be aware that the road ahead of us is long, and it will take us years to cover the continent. We will continue to add features to the game with regular free updates, but most further map expansion DLCs, if not all, will be paid. We have had to pick a business model allowing us to build more than ten times the amount of content compared to what we are launching with. If you are looking forward to drive coast to coast, you will not be able to do that now, and it will cost you more eventually than the price of the initial purchase.

It would be great to get the chance to reach the East Coast, it would be fabulous to be able to push north towards at least 60 degs latitude and south towards the Equatorial. But ultimately, it is up to you, our fans, if this happen - you will vote with your wallets. We expect to get the right guidance from you on future growth of our team to handle the new opportunities and challenges.

Thank you for your patience and support!

And the map:

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 12:54 am

Hope they go north before they go too far east.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 1:43 am

Alefroth wrote:Hope they go north before they go too far east.

My gut feeling is that they will try to establish each DLC as a connection from the existing to the next planned. So Arizona (which is already in work) come next as a free DLC. And if you have California and Nevada connecting to Arizona, my guess is that you sell another $20 DLC with Utah, New Mexico and Colorado, as shown below.

Then you sell another pack with Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, which now gives you a nice solid block:

Or I could be completely wrong...

Alefroth · Post by **Alefroth** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 3:31 am

I'd be satisfied with that. That's going to be a lot of $20 chunks.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 10:17 am

I would guess they're in a hurry to get the East Coast out sooner than later. In terms of varied scenery, traffic, and economic activity for a game like this, the coasts are where it's at.

It would also be easier to sell the Great Plains if they're the final piece that links all the others. People might not buy for the experience of days-long drives through flatland, but they'll buy for the opportunity to finally make the whole run from NYC to SF.

Frnk55 · Post by **Frnk55** » Sat Jan 16, 2016 2:38 pm

Holman wrote:I'm pretty excited about ATS. I've never played a driving game, and I don't have a controller, but I've heard that the trucksim games are fine with a mouse and keyboard. The management/economic aspect actually looks more interesting than pure racing.

It's supposed to be out in a couple of weeks, right?

I'm a old school k/m guy and ETS2 is the only game I use a controller for. U can bind any button to what ever so it really works well. Just lean back, put some tunes on and drive.

KDH · Post by **KDH** » Fri Jan 22, 2016 9:44 am

... Squirrel has a short preview showing the map of California & Nevada .. and some dates for additional previews before the February 3rd release

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Fri Jan 22, 2016 12:51 pm

KDH wrote: ... Squirrel has a short preview showing the map of California & Nevada .. and some dates for additional previews before the February 3rd release

Yeah, a definite day one purchase for me. Which I'll play to death for the two days before XCOM 2 comes out

Rumpy · Post by **Rumpy** » Fri Jan 22, 2016 3:08 pm

Yep, day one here too. I like ETS2, but ATS promises to have more overall detail and bigger cities. The overall issue I've had with ETS2 was sameness. There wasn't really much to distinguish from one area to the next, but ATS right off the bat looks to have more environmental changes.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Fri Jan 22, 2016 3:16 pm

Ah, some more on that subject from Rock, Paper, Shotgun: Nine Observations About American Truck Simulator

From the start of the article...

American Truck Simulator [official site] has quietly been one of RPS’ most-anticipated games of 2016. Its predecessor, Euro Truck Simulator 2, has been an office favourite for a while – what, at a passing glance, might seem to be incomprehensible HGV nerdery is instead a therapeutic indulgence. The open road. The refreshing lack of urgency. The sky. Choosing only the jobs that take you where you wanna go. The tranquil click-click-click of the indicators. Freedom.

Transpose that to California and Nevada – small towns, big cities, bigger deserts and even bigger skies – and the promise is irresistible. The quintessential truck driver fantasy. Can it be true? I spent a few hours on the freeway to find out.

Bear in mind I’m not much of a sim-player, so please don’t expect much in the way of technical detail here. It’s all about the escapism for me: the mundanity of driving lifted into lifestyle choice, the message of Lynyrd Skynyrd with none of the actual risk to health and home. And it’s doing that well. Here are a few reasons why, as well as a couple of not-whys.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Fri Jan 22, 2016 3:18 pm

I've been avoiding buying games this year, but this may have to be an exception. I kind of compartmentalize games like this that aren't really AAA titles or stuff you "beat" - I can justify it as a fun time waster that I'll play off and on throughout the year.

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Fri Jan 22, 2016 3:45 pm

Yeah, I really enjoyed ETS2 as a way to unwind late in the evening. I lost interest in playing because EKR Rock Radio in the UK went off the air... I loved their late night (err, early morning) stuff. But I'll find a new station for ATS I'm sure, I just have to find someone who streams 1960's classic rock

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Fri Jan 22, 2016 7:46 pm

I'm excited about this one. I've never played a driving game, but I've was just starting to be attracted by ETS2 when ATS was announced.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Fri Jan 22, 2016 8:15 pm

I want to work in my own area...Like Chattanooga to Atlanta or Chattanooga to Nashville or Knoxville and out to Memphis. There better be BBQ stands to eat at along the way.

baelthazar · Post by **baelthazar** » Sat Jan 23, 2016 12:13 pm

Holman wrote:I'm excited about this one. I've never played a driving game, but I've was just starting to be attracted by ETS2 when ATS was announced.

I loved playing this with my Logitech driving wheel, but the problem was that the wheel was so bulky and needed too much desk space to set up that it prevented me from booting up the game (I would look at the effort needed and boot something else up instead). But this is a driving game where controllers and mouse and keyboard works well. That being said, if you have the space, money, and desire, these games are absolutely amazing with a driving wheel. If this is your first foray into driving games, you will not be disappointed no matter what you do.

For extra fun, I used to set the radio to French talk radio to help me continue to improve my French while driving/playing the game. I couldn't understand about 2/3rds of what they were saying (the station I picked was something like a French "Bob and Tom" and so they used a lot of idioms and colloquialisms). Still, it made me feel like I was self-improving while having fun!

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sat Jan 23, 2016 12:34 pm

That's funny. I make the same calculation every time I want to boot up a flight sim: do I have it in me to set up my stick and throttle?

I'd love to have a decent wheel, but I already know I love flying more than driving. The next time I have money for hardware, I believe I'm going to put it into a TrackIR setup (which could be good for driving too).

jztemple2 · Post by **jztemple2** » Mon Jan 25, 2016 2:23 pm

Another update from the developers: Truck Licensing Situation Update

We still owe you clarification on the initial set of trucks shipping as part of the first release of American Truck Simulator. We have been postponing this post until the last minute, as the situation could - and still can - always change (and for the better only now), but we need to be clear at last on where we are.

Over the past year, we have been publishing quite a lot of screenshots and videos showing several in-development truck models. Our fans have quite sharp eyes and take note of all the details, so people are naturally speculating on what's coming based on those shots.

Until recently, we were planning to include at least four trucks at launch, and our screenshots shown over time reflected this optimism. Unfortunately, finalizing the licensing talks and getting all the vehicles past the approval clearance is taking longer than anticipated, and you may have noticed some of those trucks no longer showing in the most recent batches of pictures from the game.

The result is that out of the gate, the game will ship with just two trucks.

Thanks to kind support of PACCAR group, we are happy to confirm the presence of Kenworth T 680 and Peterbilt 579 as part of the launch line-up.

There's a lot more to the article, but the above sums it up. I'm fine with the situation, back in early ETS there were a number of trucks that weren't added till after release. And the developers confirmed that any additional trucks would be added free as an update.

Suitably Ironic Moniker · Mon Jan 25, 2016 5:25 pm

I was always planning to wait for a while to pick this up, and this is one big reason why. I'd like to buy it after it's had a fair amount of DLCs released, so that it's a little more fleshed out.