American Truck Simulator

~Mike~ · 18 Dec 2015 at 15:59

SCS have announced the release date for American Truck Simulator, it will be releasing on the 3rd February 2016.

Get to Drive Kenworth W900 Now!

http://blog.scssoft.com/2016/02/get-to-drive-kenworth-w900-now.html

We are happy to announce that the legendary Kenworth W900 truck is now a part of American Truck Simulator. The truck is a free DLC - the game will be updated automatically through Steam. Please check out the little movie that we have made to celebrate this event

There are also several notable changes coming with this game update, let us preview them for you:

Since ATS release, we have heard plenty of complaints regarding relative large fines in the game. Perhaps our tester group is so much experienced already; playing our games for years, that they did not bring it to our attention that this would be a problem especially for new players. We erred here on the side of trying to make this element of the game too close to reality, catering to the veteran fans who want it tough.

On second thought, it's not really a good idea to intimidate people coming fresh to the game with crippling fines. Fines are now considerably lower in the early stages of the game, they grow larger only as the player's skill/level grows.

We have also made the detection code for speeding more forgiving, giving the player more time to adjust to a new speed limit. We definitely do not want to make players feel like the game is unfair!

More changes in this area are in the pipeline, our map team is hard at work adding more speed limit signs to proper places to explicitly zone the limits. There are also changes to the AI code that are tied to yet more map tweaks, which should further limit the problems with being rammed by overly stupid AI cars and on top of it getting penalized for it. But we will only be able to push out the changes in the map alongside the next major game update, so please have patience with us.

Finally, we have also improved the detection of 'turn on red' feature in the game. For drivers in Europe, it may be a surprise that in the US it's legally allowed to turn right at red traffic light, unless explicitly prohibited. So in the game, if you properly use your indicator to signal that you are turning right, no red light penalty is applied just as expected.

Click to expand...

Kenworth W900 is almost here

The iconic Kenworth W900 truck model should be added to the American Truck Simulator line-up in a few short days; it will be a part of the first small game update that we are finishing now.

This is actually the very first truck we have started creating for the game over two years ago, it has been in an almost-finished state for a long time. We were sure that this classic vehicle would be received very positively by our fans. However, unbeknown to us, it did not turn out to be the best choice for the first vehicle to approach Kenworth with during initial licensing discussions. Truck manufacturers tend to be very careful about their image, and Kenworth, as the pioneer in aerodynamics in cabin design with their T680, had a rather different idea of the ideal truck to have in our game at the moment of release. So it was back to work for us to finish the other truck first before we could hope for the licensing deal to be successfully signed.

Meanwhile, we also owe you news concerning the state of Steampunk DLC. We are gifting it now to loyal Steam followers of American Truck Simulator as promised. Our "robot" code has been processing the gifts for a few days already actually, we are however throttled by some technical issues. So far, we have managed to add the DLC to the Steam library of 53,000 players, there is still some 110,000 more DLCs to issue currently. Please have patience with us, the DLC content will automatically appear in your game shortly. As the execution on our side was not as swift as we had hoped, we are not yet limiting your chances to earn the DLC for free. Anybody following the game on Steam until and as of today will still qualify to receive it. You don't have to worry also if your game was a store pre-order and the box is yet to arrive; so long as you follow the game in time, the DLC will be added to it even if you activate the game a week or two from now.

Click to expand...

http://blog.scssoft.com/2016/02/kenworth-w900-is-almost-here.html

Pictures

American Truck Simulator Releasing Today

We are only hours away from the release of American Truck Simulator!

The official street date is February 3rd, but as we see it, it would be too cruel to let you wait until tomorrow morning.

We were thinking of unleashing the game at midnight Prague time. However, going through all the release process late at night and staying on alert for a while after the game gets out to see if no hot-fixing is needed immediately takes some hours. The release crew would not get to bed before 4 am.

So here is the plan: We will start the release process this evening already (CET time zone), and while we are not sure if we'll need an hour or three to press all the buttons that must be pressed, we expect that the game will unlock a few hours before midnight already. Both the keys sold in digital channels as well as keys in retail boxes will start working at the same time. Looking at the clock now, you should be able to play the game in less than 12 hours!

We'll be updating you on the situation through our communication channels, watch our Twitter for quick updates.

American Truck Simulator Release Clarifications

We are snowed-in by a ton of questions and requests for clarification from fans, and it will be best to respond to them once here in an official statement rather than trying to reply to every e-mail.

American Truck Simulator Price

We cannot dictate the prices for the box edition in retail channels, we can only suggest recommended price (we could get prosecuted for price fixing otherwise), but for your reference, these are the prices that will appear on Steam when the game is cleared for release: $19.99, £14.99, 19,99€, CHF 19.99, 1499 p??., R$ 79,00, ¥ 2,299, 179,00 kr, Rp 249 999, RM84.00, P899.95, S$26.95, ?699.00, ? 24,000, 59,00 TL, 459?, Mex$ 349.99, CDN$ 28.99, A$ 28.99, NZ$ 29.99, ¥ 125, ? 1,249, CLP$ 14.500, S/.64.95, COL$ 62.000, R 325.00, HK$ 149.00, NT$ 649, 74.00 SR, 72.00 AED.

Official Support only for 64-bit Operating Systems

To make sure that we don't have to make compromises down the line, stuck forever with a guarantee to support a build of the game with 32-bit limitations, we have decided to officially only support 64-bit Windows/Linux/Mac. There are some performance benefits too, but most importantly this will allow us to cross the 2 GB barrier for in-game assets when we need to, without worrying about how to work around the limitations of addressable memory on a 32-bit system.

However, we are receiving a lot of requests from players stuck with a 32-bit Windows to give them a chance to play the game now. We do listen to you, and we are also making available an UNSUPPORTED, alternate 32-bit build of the game. You will find it on Steam, in a Beta branch named unsupported_32bit. At the time of release, it will be functionally equivalent with the 64-bit build, and it should work ok so long as you don't push the graphics setting to max. Keep in mind that it's only an unsupported temporary solution, we are explicitly making no guarantees that it will work now or in the future. At some point in time, perhaps in 6 months, perhaps in 12 months, we will no longer be able to update this 32-bit fork of the game to match the feature set of the official version of the game. Hopefully by that time, you will all have migrated to a new 64-bit OS.

Release platforms/DRM

The game is released for Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. It is will require Valve's Steam platform to install and activate. Whether you buy it directly there, or purchase an activation key from the official game website, find it in a box from a bricks-and-mortar store, or get it from any other digital channel, you will always be getting a Steam key.

We know that not everybody is comfortable with the decision, but for us the benefits are very clear. We will be able to concentrate on improving the game itself, and will not have to lose time and focus maintaining an alternate update and account infrastructure. With Steam, pushing out an update of the game is a matter of one button press. We can take advantage of Steam Workshop to have a central repository of mods, and will not have to create and moderate our own alternate solution. We would really have a hard time having to create our own system to sell, deliver and update game DLCs with equal robustness to Steam's proven infrastructure. We hope that you will understand why we are making this choice.

Bonus Paintjob Reminder

Speaking of Steam and the benefits its system allows us to provide... We would like to remind you about an exclusive steam-punk paint-job bonus DLC. It can be yours in exchange for following us on American Truck Simulator Steam page. We are going to give early purchasers of the game a few extra days to allow them a chance to earn this bonus. Next week, the game will auto-magically update itself for all active followers to add these beauties:

http://blog.scssoft.com/2016/02/american-truck-simulator-release.html

American Truck Simulator 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!

http://blog.scssoft.com/2016/01/american-truck-simulator-map-dlc.html

American Truck Simulator Bonus

American Truck Simulator will be released simultaneously in retail and digital channels on February 3, 2016. But that's not "news" any more - hopefully you have the date marked in your calendar already!

To make as big a splash as possible during the release week - to place high in the best-selling chart and to make an impression on games industry press this way - we would like to create a sales spike just after the game starts selling. We will depend on our fan community to achieve this; when we were thinking on how to catalyze things, we came up with an idea of a little bribe bonus.

Here is the deal: Go to the American Truck Simulator Steam page and choose "Follow" to make sure you get all the important announcements through Steam's Friend Activity feed during the period leading to the game's release.

By getting as many people into our dragnet as possible, we hope for a bit of snowball effect in raising the awareness of the game's impending release - not just among the hard-core fans, but also in general gamer population.

In exchange for the "follow," we are ready to give you an exclusive gift: a set of unique Steampunk-themed truck paintjobs. It's perfectly OK if you buy the game in a retail box or any alternate digital channel - so long as you follow the game's official Steam community announcements and activate your game on Steam during the week after its release, you are eligible for this bonus.

Here is a couple images to whet your appetite:

http://blog.scssoft.com/2015/12/american-truck-simulator-bonus.html

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!

http://blog.scssoft.com/2015/12/american-truck-simulator-release-date.html

Squirrel's Trucking School

Videos

Pictures

Website

http://www.americantrucksimulator.com/

FloppyPoppy · 18 Dec 2015 at 16:16

Sorry for not knowing

, Is this the same makers as ETS2? Or is it a different firm

?

Digital X · 18 Dec 2015 at 16:21

Hype! Yes same maker, SCS Software. As far as I know.

~Mike~ · 18 Dec 2015 at 16:22

Yes it's the same as ETS2, SCS software.

FloppyPoppy · 18 Dec 2015 at 16:26

interested for sure then. ETS2 was fun... It really should be a boring game but for some weird reason isn't

Uncle Petey · 18 Dec 2015 at 16:33

I just found out my 8 year old cousin plays ETS2 (with a mouse and keyboard) and is apparently killing it.
Gonna have to get him round here and on the wheel to make me some money

neoboy · 18 Dec 2015 at 16:34

Hope they have more stuff to crash into than last one.

Disco_P · 18 Dec 2015 at 16:39

I wonder if they'll include ice road trucking in the frozen lakes

Game would be a lot more suspenseful if your truck could fall through the ice at any moment.

pcmedicni · 18 Dec 2015 at 18:54

The original with the Oculus DK2 was excellent.

Digital X · 18 Dec 2015 at 19:12

@disco, watching Ice Road Truckers as I read your post

I hope so, that'll be great.

Kosmiche · 18 Dec 2015 at 19:26

...then cue a QTE where you have to steer in the right direction (similar to being interdicted in elite) to avoid death.

sgavan · 18 Dec 2015 at 20:50

Will be getting this, only spent about £5 on ets2 and played for over 150 hours, money well spent.

jakspyder · 18 Dec 2015 at 21:50

As long as they make the road layouts realistic. As in, not GPS realistic, but proper junctions, lanes, run offs etc.

Kutter · 19 Dec 2015 at 02:07

coast to coast run would be fun

Freddie1980 · 19 Dec 2015 at 09:03

Damn as soon as I saw this thread I started thinking about West Bound and Down from Smokey and the Bandit. Time to don your Stetson and break out those steal gituars me thinks!

lurkio · 19 Dec 2015 at 12:31

Wonder if you get to pick-up and strangle hookers ?

~Mike~ · 20 Dec 2015 at 09:15

Disco_P said:
I wonder if they'll include ice road trucking in the frozen lakes

Game would be a lot more suspenseful if your truck could fall through the ice at any moment.

That's a good idea, I hope they do this.

Vidar · 20 Dec 2015 at 12:41

lurkio said:
Wonder if you get to pick-up and strangle hookers ?

And the tone has now been lowered to OCuk standards...

squerble · 20 Dec 2015 at 13:15

Coast-to-coast might come "eventually" but it's starting with only California. It'll be interesting to see the scale they've gone to with it.

Vidar · 20 Dec 2015 at 13:33

Yes I was very dissapointed with the scale of ETS2, still a fun game but too small in my opinion.