We know that many of you are very excited about the changes in the upcoming phase 3 of our ongoing California Rework project for American Truck Simulator, and we are glad to share some more information about it with you today. Get ready to hit the road to Santa Cruz, which will be completely revamped from the ground up!
Santa Cruz is a city with a rich history, founded in 1791 by Spanish explorers. Its unique city layout is in the "European style," with an irregular grid of streets that reflects the city's history. Today, Santa Cruz is a tourist town known for its beautiful beaches and vibrant downtown area. The main city center is located off the coast and is formed by Pacific Ave, which is home to most shops, boutiques, restaurants, and hotels. The most interesting spot in downtown Santa Cruz is the intersection around the Town Clock, where visitors can enjoy the bustling atmosphere of the city.
If you head west along the coast, you'll find the old lighthouse, which now houses the Surfing Museum. Near the lighthouse and the southern tip of the mainland, you'll find Lighthouse Field State Beach Park, where you can check out some beautiful relaxing views.
The city center is located on the ocean coast, with Santa Cruz Wharf's wooden pier and several houses and restaurants. To the east of the pier, on Beach St., is the Santa Cruz Boardwalk promenade with an amusement park and several restaurants. The Boardwalk is a popular spot for visitors to the city, with its iconic Giant Dipper roller coaster and other rides.
Please mind that what you can see in the screenshots is still very much a "work in progress" and you might spot some placeholder depots which will be replaced in the final version. That being said, we sincerely hope this blog post got you excited enough to pay the city a visit once the third phase of California rework will become available in the game. If you are looking forward to finding out what else is coming in this phase, follow our social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) and you will never miss out on any important information. We’ll see you on the (reworked) road!
Oklahoma - Ports of Entry & Weigh Stations
There's no better feeling than hitting the road and traveling to a U.S. State you've never been to; but before you get going, there are a few rules you need to follow. Each state has its own regulations and laws for truck drivers and Oklahoma is no exception.
Ports of Entry are where your journey begins. These gateways ensure that you and your truck are ready for the road ahead. At these checkpoints, you'll undergo inspections to make sure you have all the necessary permits and paperwork and that truck and cargo are in compliance with state and federal regulations. You'll be on your way in no time if you are!
Once you're on your way, you may encounter weigh stations along your route. These play a vital role in keeping the roads safe and secure. Prepare to have your truck's weight measured accurately, as overloading can pose serious risks. Keep an eye on those weight limits to avoid penalties and ensure a smooth journey through the beautiful landscapes of Oklahoma.
So as long as you're in check, we hope you enjoy all the road has to offer in our upcoming Oklahoma DLC for American Truck Simulator. Be sure to add it to your Steam Wishlist if you're looking forward to it. We can't wait to share more with you about its development in the future. Until then, keep on truckin'!
Since you loved our latest Kansas DLC blog post in which we played the "Guess Where We Are" mini-game, we have decided to reach out to our map designers for even more screenshots and they were kind enough to provide us with several more locations. So, here goes round two - can you guess the places?
As before, your hard work will not come to naught, as those who will guess correctly in the comments under the blog or social media posts, will have a chance to eventually receive a free key of the map expansion once it will be released. We were truly amazed by the keen eye of some of you the last time and we wish you the best of luck in this round as well!
Overall, Kansas DLC will offer stunning nature, interesting cities and industries, and a unique atmosphere with new experiences. If you are looking forward to driving across The Sunflower State, add this project to your Steam Wishlist and follow our social media profiles (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) to never miss out on any important updates.
Back in January, we posted a blog sharing some details on some of the Industries that will be featured in our upcoming Oklahoma DLC for American Truck Simulator. Since then, our team has completed a considerable amount of work on the depots and placed them into the world, which we are happy to share with you today!
From Tire Factories to a River Ports, our teams have paid particular attention when creating these industries within the American Truck Simulator economy. This includes designing brand artwork for new and existing depots, which our artists have been tasked with creating. Today we'd love to show you a combination of the both, with a little behind the scenes insight for these upcoming Oklahoma industries.
As we showcased in a previous blogpost, Oklahoma will feature a range of different industries unique to the state. This includes a River Port, Bus Factory, Building Technology Factory, Gas & Chemical Distributions, Tire Factory, Furniture Store and Public Works. With these industries will come some new unique cargo additions too, which we look forward to sharing more about in a future blog post.
Almost as important as the cargo is the companies' image. Our artists have been hard at work updating and creating new brands across the American Truck Simulator world; and Oklahoma is no exception. On your travels, you'll be able to spot an array of new logos and brands, each one going through a process of being changed and refined multiple times to create a design that is recognisable to the industry they represent, which is no easy task!
We spoke with our in-house artist, Annie, about the designs of some of the brands you'll find in Oklahoma, here is what she had to say about them:
Gas & Chemical Factory
Know as ERPO, I designed this logo with a sleek, simple, minimalist design which aims to inspire confidence in the company and its services. I did experiment a lot with this one, especially with the rounded squares (as they were alot of fun to play with!). Even if we end up not using most of the designs, they can be recycled and reused later in production.
Bus Factory
This industry stood out from the rest from the very beginning. Having come with a very unique and exciting new depot, I chose to give Yelco's logo and assets a stylish, modern look - but one that also screamed "reliability". I felt like a diamond and triangular shapes in general fit the theme!
Electrical Appliance Company
Technoma's logo was a fun one to design. Since the company specializes in air conditioning, heating and cooling systems (among other things), I let these concepts inspire the logo creation. As for the assets themselves, I aimed to create a really distinct look that set the company apart from its competitors in ATS, using the "pipe" shape from the logo itself. It was a very fun assignment and I hope our players like the results.
Tire Factory
Dynamix is a manufacturer that isn't at all new to ATS, you may have encountered it in your garage before where it has served as one of our default tire manufacturers for years. It's always exciting to bring an old company closer to fans and letting them interact with it. Dynamix's logo has been given a little "facelift", alongside a brand new depot and modern signs to go with it!
Public Works
Creating a logo for CCW (Central Civil Works) was a fairly challenging task, as we struggled with the artistic direction at first. Ultimately, we chose the more modern take on the logo, in a vibrant dark green colour we considered underrepresented in our game, helping the company stand out.
Furniture Store
Creating the look of our new furniture store, Myroo, was a very fun task. Unlike with most depots, Myroo gave us the opportunity to get extra creative with the building itself. I had fun experimenting with different materials, eventually settling on wooden decorative elements, which we'd use later in the signs designs as well. When it came to the design process behind the logo, the key words in this case were family-friendly, cozy & welcoming.
A couple of months ago we officially announced phase 3 of our ongoing California Rework project and we are really excited to bring you some more news today. Focused mainly on the eastern part of the state, check out the screenshots and information below on what changes you can experience once this phase will be fully ready for you to get your hands on it.
Eastern California is reminiscent of Nevada due to its similar desert landscapes, dry climate, and geology. It’s important to know this as there is a fair amount of work being done in this entire area, which will see changes not only to the environment but also to the US-395 and US-6 roads. Additionally, there will be a brand new road to journey across - the CA-120. We hope these changes will further improve your enjoyment of driving through this area of The Golden State.
You may be familiar with the Agricultural Inspection Stations which we’ve added in the previous phases. This time around even more will be added at the border checks at US-50, US-395, and US-6. These enhanced checks are meant to simulate the real-world agricultural inspections that take place at border crossings and we hope it will add a new level of realism to the game.
As you can see, there’s also a small tease in the last screenshot but that’s a story for another day (feel free to guess what it is though!). For now, let us know how you like our progress so far, and make sure to follow our social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) to stay in touch with more updates and news in the future.
Kansas - Guess Where We Are
It’s time to test your knowledge and attention to detail in another edition of "Guess Where We Are"! Today, we’ll share with you some screenshots from the upcoming Kansas DLC for American Truck Simulator. Will you step up to the challenge and correctly identify these locations?
These images showcase a variety of places, including cities, highways, and more. While this mini-game can turn out to be quite a difficult task, we’re sure those with a keen eye will notice any possible hint in the screenshots and overcome any issues. And since hard work should always be rewarded, we will eventually randomly select a few users from the comments with most places discovered that will receive the DLC for free once it will be available!
There’s no time to lose so turn your "Sherlock mode" on and do your best to guess all the places in the screenshots. However, one more thing before you do that - make sure to add the Kansas DLC to your Steam Wishlist and follow our social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) to always be up to date with any news and updates.
Getting from point A to point B, isn't as simple as it once was. Road networks have changed drastically over the past few decades with the ever increasing demand for more capacity and routes for the growing population. Evidence of this can be found across the highways of the USA, as well as in our upcoming Oklahoma DLC for American Truck Simulator.
Oklahoma has a rich history of transportation, dating back to the 1900s when trails and wagon roads were the primary means of travel. Over time, these routes were replaced by more modern roads and highways, many of which have since become historic landmarks.
One of the most important highways in Oklahoma is the I-35, which runs north-south through the state. This highway is a major route for truckers carrying goods and products between major cities. The I-40 is another major interstate highway, connecting the east and west coasts of the United States. It runs parallel with Route 66, which is a historic highway that was the main route when travelling. You may of even travelled on parts of this route in American Truck Simulator before!
Bridges and interchanges are also prevalent across the state, which our team have accurately recreated as part of the road network in this upcoming DLC.
So no matter where your headed, Oklahoma's roads and highways will take you there! We look forward to sharing more news showcasing its development in the near future. If you like what you see, be sure to add it to your Steam Wishlist!
Steampunk is a fantasy genre that's designed around the style of the industrial era mashed up against futuristic technology. Some of our earliest adopters of American Truck Simulator may already be familiar with this theme, as they were rewarded with the exclusive Steampunk Paint Jobs Pack during a limited time period.
Back in 2016, the initial release of ATS only featured 2 trucks, which made these steampunk paint jobs feel more like exclusive bonus rather than a full-size content package. With more trucks being added over the years, along with countless messages, questions, and suggestions to make this unique pack available for everyone, we think it's the right time to revisit this popular genre.
Today, we're excited to share that not only will all players now have the opportunity to own this unique paint job pack, but our talented team has revisited this DLC to bring new content for all current trucks!
This pack is the perfect way to add some personality and style to your rig, with a single unique paint job for every truck, three common paints for all trucks, and two corresponding variants for ownable trailers. With all the paint jobs you’ll get to show off your love of this crafty subgenre of science fiction and truly stand out, whether you’ll be hauling cargo across the country or just cruising around on the roads
For drivers who already earned this exclusive DLC back in 2016, we are happy to share that you will also receive all of the described content available as a free update! We hope that you'll enjoy all that it has to offer, and we thank you for your continued support since the release of American Truck Simulator.
We can't wait for you to try out these amazing paint jobs and show them off on the roads! Don't forget to tag us on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok) with your screenshots or videos. We love seeing the #BestCommunityEver come together and share their creations. Get the Steampunk Paint Jobs Pack DLC now on Steam and start customizing your ride!
We are happy to announce that the 1.47 update for American Truck Simulator has been released and is now available on Steam. This update features bug fixes, changes and new content, which are featured below, so we recommend taking a read!
We'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated, provided their feedback, and made bug reports during the 1.47 Open Beta. Your valuable input helped us make tweaks, changes and squash some bugs we may have missed the first time around. We hope you can now begin to fully enjoy the fruits of your work.
Ownable Gas Cisterns
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).
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.
World Ambient Sounds
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 Texan plains, hearing the chirping of crickets, but you'll hear them at various distances, some further away, some closer!
Another change we are introducing is a directional 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.
Adaptive Cruise Control & Emergency Braking System
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 and thanks to your feedback, we have made quite a few changes internally. We plan to continue to fine-tune this feature going into the future.
Custom City Intros (Utah & Idaho)
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!
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!
Uneven Surface Simulation
We're excited to introduce Uneven Surface Simulation into 1.47! These small bumps are procedurally generated to give roads and other terrains 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!
Career History UI Redesign
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 Experience 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.
In-Game Update Log
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.
Economy Reset Teleport
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 a free quick travel to any service station of your choice after a game change was detected. We hope this feature helps continue your journey quickly and easily!
Changelog
Map
World Ambient Sounds
Trivision billboards
Vehicles
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
Gameplay
Custom City Intros for Utah and Idaho
Sound Direction Filter
Performance Improvements (night, bad weather, dense traffic)
Uneven Surface Simulation
UI
Career History UI Redesign
In-Game Update Log
Economy Reset Teleport
Oklahoma - Cities and Settlements #2
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.
Woodward
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.
Clinton
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!
Ardmore
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.
McAlester
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.
Settlements
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'.
