After the recent release of Montana DLC for American Truck Simulator, we have been flooded with various feedback coming from all sides and lurking behind every corner. We love seeing all the screenshots and videos on various social media, experiences of the content creators, reviews, and both positive opinions and constructive criticism.
Today, we’ll present to you some of this feedback, starting with screenshots and videos which filled out social media channels to the brim. We love reading about the journeys of the members of #BestCommunityEver and we even share your posts with each other across our internal channels. You can continue to send us your screenshots and videos from Montana by tagging us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or TikTok. We have also received an outstanding amount of positive reviews on our Steam Page. We are grateful to everyone who takes the time to leave a review or provide us with constructive criticism about Montana! Here are a few of our favorites. If you would like to add a review yourself, be sure to do so at the Montana Steam Store Page.
Speaking of reviews, our latest DLC has also managed to catch the eye of some official press coverage, such as this wonderful review article from PCInvasion. If you are still unsure whether Montana is a worthy addition to your American Truck Simulator map, we recommend giving the full article a read.
Furthermore, we have decided to reach out to some of your favorite content creators, who have been busier than ever, recording and streaming their trucking journeys in the new map expansion. We would like to thank all these creators for sharing with us their opinions and allowing us to pass them along to our blog readers.
"Montana is easily the best 20+ hours of new roads to hit this game! Starting from the western side, I was immediately taken back by the mountains towering over the road. A back road I found is nothing short of a joy and shows the level of detail they are willing to put into things some people might not even find! I immediately headed up to Glacier National Park and was not disappointed. The views are breathtaking and now I probably have to go there in real life. One thing I have noted is that people that live in Montana from my community are blown away by the accuracy of the towns and roads. Once again another must-buy state." - RyaStream
"Wow.. just wow! Montana is packed with such detail and surprises in each town. SCS have put in such amazing work to make the state look absolutely incredible! The attention to the small details in this map expansion is absolutely breathtaking. I had such a fun time exploring all the new places in Montana but I have to say Great Falls is for sure my favorite place on the map with such great views to look out for. Make sure to stop at all the viewpoints to be even more blown away by Montana's beauty! Great job SCS you did the community proud for sure." - GamingPeach
"Montana is way better than we expected it to be! From the beautiful countryside scenery to the amazing architecture spotted in big cities, Montana is a must-have for anyone in the ATS world! We were amazed to see new cargo options as well! We have spent the last week exploring everything Montana has to offer, and we still have more to discover! Thank you SCS Software for once again blowing it out of the water and making American Truck Simulator even more enjoyable than it already was! 5 Stars from the 517!" - Stream517 (Chris & Laci)
"It’s hard to believe that SCS is able to top their map DLCs in quality every single time! This DLC features the ‘Treasure State’ of Montana where you can explore the famous Glacier & Yellowstone National Parks. The winding roads offer jaw-dropping vistas & stunning backdrops. The most challenging road ever in ATS with scary cliffs & broken bridges is also in the DLC (but is hidden in the map). It’s not just mountains though, as you can also find flat areas towards the eastern part. I must mention the wonderful industries too; they are unique and often huge!" - A. P. 101 Gaming
And finally, we’d like to take a moment to say how blown away we are by the collective force of the #BestCommunityEver. With the release of the DLC, we started a World of Trucks event with a community goal of driving 100,000,000 miles (160,934,400 km) while delivering cargoes to or from any city in Montana, and you have all absolutely smashed it in less than two weeks. Great job! Just don’t forget, you still have until 25th of September at 23:59 UTC to get your personal rewards, which you can learn more about in the dedicated blog post.
To wrap it all up, once again, we appreciate the general feedback so much and we bow before the immense support. All of our developers are always doing their best to transition their passion into game design, and it is encouraging to see it pay off by receiving such incredible feedback. Thank you all very much!
The relationship between trucks and agriculture is something that some people might find trivial, yet it’s important to realize how crucial this cooperation actually is. Gone are now the days of small-scale farming in the backyards since the modern dedicated lands are growing in size rapidly. And what better place to look at as an example of this development than the state of Texas, which has 127 million acres of agricultural land?
It is said that grain elevators are such massive and complex structures that even the employees who operate within them can get lost from time to time. While that might possibly be true, we assure you if you will see a high frequency of these buildings on your journey through the Lone Star State, you are most likely (but don’t bet on it) located in the northern area, as this part of the country features most of them.
This facility is designed to stockpile or store grain, and with over 248,000 real-life farms, you can imagine why it was necessary to feature several of these complexes in the upcoming DLC.
While vineyards are a bit less common, Texas ranks fifth in the US wine production, and the history of this particular industry dates back to 1650. After so many years, there are currently over 400 local wineries with several of these locations being the destinations of the so-called "wine tourism". And even though in our game you can only head out to these areas on a business trip, they are still a worthy sight to behold.
You will also be able to haul to and from areas dedicated to the cattle industry, which contributes billions of dollars to market products sold every year, and the cotton industry (more in our previous article). Additionally, there will also be farms growing watermelons, since Texas ranks 3rd in US production and this fruit state’s largest annual horticultural crop.
As always, make sure to add the Texas DLC to your Steam Wishlist to show us how excited you are to contribute to the local in-game economy with your hard work. Also, to never miss out on anything important, you can follow our social media profiles (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok), subscribe to our newsletter, or check out our microsite dedicated to this project.
Dear #BestCommunityEver, the day is finally here! We are excited to let you know that the final preparations to release the Montana DLC for American Truck Simulator are quickly approaching the finish line.
Montana DLC is going to be released today at 19:00 CEST time!
So what exactly does our Montana DLC have to offer for truckers? These are just a few of the things we think you will love:
Deliver to and from 15 cities and discover 17 settlements
Discover and deliver to Montana's important industries like Sugar Plants, Talc Factory, Silane Gas, Electric Network Service, and more!
Drive on the Going-to-the-sun road.
See landmarks unique to Montana
Visit Glacier National Park and part of the Yellowstone National Park and get bird's-eye views with many new viewpoints.
Admire accurate representations of cities like Helena, Bozeman, Missoula, Kalispell, and more!
Visit and take a rest at famous Montana rest stops & gas stations.
Unlock Montana-specific Steam Achievements
...and much more!
We will also have a World of Trucks event for those who will set out on a journey across The Treasure State, with unique rewards to be earned once you complete delivery to or from 12 different Montana cities and drive a certain amount of miles. You can learn more about the rules in yesterday’s blog post and take part in #CruisingMontana at WorldofTrucks.com, where you can register an account for free. We can’t wait to see your photos and clips across our Social Media channels using the hashtag (feel free to tag our official accounts - Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok)!
The event will be concluded on Sunday the 25th of September at 23:59 UTC. Since we don’t want anyone to feel pressure to rush through the DLC as fast as possible, we hope this time frame will give everyone enough freedom to drive through this wonderful state at their own pace and still get rewarded for being an early adopter of the map expansion.
Oh, and we also have one more special reward for you. If you will take any External Contract or External Market job to or from the city of Kalispell, you will earn a Mountain Goat plush toy as a cabin accessory! While not listed as a state symbol, these "climbers" are quite often seen in the elevated rocky areas above the roads and we figured since Kalispell is the closest to the mountains you might feel like taking of these interesting fellas on a trip all around the US in your mighty truck.
We would also like to invite you to a special Montana release live stream on our official Twitch channel starting at 17:00 CEST. Don't miss out on this broadcast as we talk with Davido (DLC Lead) PLUS a special guest appearance from Pavel Šebor CEO of SCS Software! We will be answering questions from the community, talking in-depth about the DLC, giving away free Montana Steam keys and of course, releasing the highly anticipated map expansion LIVE on stream!
We hope you’ll enjoy exploring what Montana has to offer! We will see you on the roads!
Cruising Montana Event
Join us tomorrow, August 4th, as we celebrate the release of our new Montana DLC by taking part in our World Of Trucks event - Cruising Montana! From majestic mountains to crystal clear lakes, Montana will take your breath away with its unspoiled nature as you deliver to various farms, ranches and new industries.
We are asking our #BestCommunityEver to achieve the community goal of driving 100,000,000 miles (160,934,400 km) while delivering cargoes to or from any city in Montana.
While #CruisingMontana you'll experience an untamed wilderness due to its large open lands and small population. Drive with us from the prairies in the east to mountain ranges in the west. Be delighted by views of the Rocky Mountains, home to mountain goats and the endangered grizzly bears. This Treasure State is not only known for its gold and silver mines, but it also enjoys a rich agricultural heritage, with ranching and farming bringing forth economies like livestock, sugar and grain production. So, you truckers play an important part in Montana's industry.
In Montana we offer plenty of viewing platforms, allowing you to take in spectacular views and highlights of this Big Sky Country:
Glacier National Park, a large wilderness area of glacier-carved peaks and valleys.
Great Falls, a series of five waterfalls located on the Missouri River.
Flathead Lake, the largest natural freshwater lake west of the Mississippi.
Yellowstone National park, a large wilderness area with volcano and oldest national park in the world.
And, as before, you can experience all this in the external market with your own trailer!
Montana DLC is offering 15 charming new cities to explore, and we are offering a special reward for completing your personal goal, which will require you to deliver a job to or from at least 12 of them. All jobs for the event need to be 100 miles each (161 km) or more, and don't forget to check out the rules.
Get ready for our latest addition to American Truck Simulator and share your adventures with us, as you discover a wide variety of farms and industries across the state, while enjoying the unspoiled nature, charming small towns, and spectacular views of Montana.
Rules
Using External Contracts or External Market, with a World of Trucks-connected profile in American Truck Simulator, the community goal is to drive 100,000,000 miles (160,934,400 km) while delivering cargoes to or from any city in Montana.
When a player completes a delivery to or from 12 different Montana cities, they will achieve their personal goal.
All jobs for the event need to be at least 100 miles each (161 km), or more.
You can check if your recent deliveries met these conditions using your Log Book in your World of Trucks profile.
Rewards
Community goal: When the community goal of driving 100,000,000 miles (160,934,400 km) during deliveries to or from any city in Montana is met, and if the player has also achieved their personal goal, then they will receive a hanging Sapphire Meadowlark ornament Steam inventory item.
Personal goal: Players that deliver cargo to or from 12 of the 15 Montana cities will gain a personal World of Trucks Achievement and a majestic Montana Grizzly themed ATS truck paint job Steam inventory item.
The event will be concluded on Sunday the 25th of September at 23:59 UTC.
We can't wait to read about your inspiring journeys through Montana, from its prairies to the mountain ranges of this Treasure State, or even somewhere in-between, and we are really looking forward to viewing your latest photos from cruising this amazing new map! Share your screenshots and videos with us using the hashtag #CruisingMontana on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram profiles and we will share our favourite ones (we may even feature some of them in a future blog post!).
Western Star 57X Coming to American Truck Simulator
Today, we are excited to reveal a secret project that we've been working on very closely with Western Star®. Shortly after its real-world premiere, we are very excited to announce the arrival of the Western Star 57X, which is now available at your nearest Western Star Trucks® dealership in American Truck Simulator!
The Western Star® 57X combines the best of two worlds – taking the X-Series DNA with bold design & rugged durability, combining it with the best of Daimler Truck North America’s on-highway platform, tested over millions of miles, bringing you the most advanced and innovative Western Star highway truck. Ever!
The Western Star® 57X arrives with a select choice of configurations and customizations. This includes a day cab and a 72" sleeper cab, 3 short chassis options and 2 longer chassis options, 5 interior trim designs, exclusively Detroit® powertrain options, and so many more customizations and accessories to make your flagship truck stand out!
Be sure to also check out the unique Phoenix Rising paint job for this truck (and your trailer), which many of you may already be familiar from the pre-launch teasers.
A massive thank you to our friends over at Western Star® for allowing us to once again work with them so closely to bring this truck to American Truck Simulator shortly after its real-life premiere! We are sure that there is more to come from our cooperation with Daimler Truck North America. Be sure to share your first virtual journey with the 57X with us (@SCSSoftware) and Western Star (@WstrnStarTrucks) on our Twitter with the hashtag #BreakNewGround
Did you know that one of the nicknames for Montana is "Big Sky Country"? While the state has earned this name for the seemingly infinite and unobstructed local skyline, we also have some BIG news for you today, which might just turn things upside down for a moment while driving through the roads of this upcoming DLC.
As is often the case with the release of the new expansions, we will be introducing brand new Special Transport missions with the Montana DLC. These jobs were designed with the intention of providing you with an additional challenge and enhancing your trucking experience. Our team has managed to create these four routes that you can look forward to taking head-on:
Havre to Lewiston Thompson Falls to Kalispell Laurel to Glendive Butte to Bozeman
Also, we know that since the release of Wyoming DLC you’ve probably been wondering if we’re eventually going to further extend any road leading through this amazing national park. We are glad to inform you that after the addition of US-14 in the 1.45 game update, in Montana DLC we are extending the US-191 road which will lead from Wyoming through West Yellowstone village to Bozeman, and it will further open up the possibility of one day having the entire Yellowstone area fully represented within our game.
And even though the Glacier National Park is still most likely the main local natural attraction, we hope our representation of this part of the Yellowstone National Park will still give you plenty of opportunities to look around and enjoy the wonderful nature.
What do you think? Will you set out on a journey from Wyoming to Montana, or vice versa, through this lovely park? We sure hope so! And if you haven’t done so yet, make sure to add the Montana DLC to your Steam Wishlist, and if you don’t want to risk missing out on any new information about the map expansion, follow our social media profiles (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok), subscribe to our newsletter, or check out our Montana microsite.
We are happy to share with you that the 1.45 update has now been released for American Truck Simulator. This update features quite a few changes, so we recommend reading through them all!
We'd like to thank everyone who participated, provided their feedback, and made bug reports during the Open Beta of 1.45. Your valuable input helped us make tweaks, and changes and smash some bugs we may have missed the first time around. We hope you can now begin to fully enjoy the various new features which are included in this update.
Cody + US-14 Wyoming DLC Addition
A much-requested update to the Wyoming DLC from our community has arrived with 1.45, which includes the additions of the city of Cody and the US-14!
Self-proclaimed as the “Rodeo Capital of the World”, Cody offers drivers the chance to see famous landmarks and attractions such as the Buffalo Bills visitor center and the Rodeo Stadium; and that's not all! Drivers will also be able to discover and deliver to new industries in Cody, a Truck Trailer service, and a Waste Transfer Station too, which are a small taste of what you can expect to find in the upcoming Montana DLC.
Cody is also known for being the gateway to the Yellowstone National Park, located 52 miles from the east entrance to the country's first national park, which also brings us onto the US-14. Beginning at the east entrance to the Yellowstone National Park is U.S Route 14, one of the original United States highways of 1926.
Drivers will have plenty to see on their drive on US-14, including the Buffalo Bill Reservoir and Dam, Pahashka Teepee, and of course, the stunning scenery and natural beauty that Yellowstone offers its millions of visitors every year.
We can't wait for you to explore it for yourselves. The Cody + US 14 update comes free for current and future owners of the Wyoming DLC for American Truck Simulator as part of the 1.45 update.
Ownable Tank Trailers
We are also happy to share with you another long-awaited addition coming to the selection of purchasable trailers - ownable trailers!
For now, we will be adding two different types of tank trailers into our games - Fuel Tanks and Silos (Dry Bulk trailer). Both types will have different customization options and uses. And don’t worry, we plan on bringing more versions of this trailer to you in the future!
The fuel tanks in American Truck Simulator will be used for the transportation of combustible liquids. They will feature 6 connection types (Single, Double, B-double, Rocky Mountain Double, Turnpike Double, Triple) and 2 different customizable body types (Single drain pipe, 4-way drain pipes)
Silos will also be an addition to ATS and you will be able to deliver a number of bulk materials with them, for example, sand, concrete, or grain. Apart from having 5 connection types (Single, Double, B-double, Rocky mountain double, turnpike double) and a single body type (Classic), it will have plenty of customization options as well.
Gas & Truck Stops Rebranding
We've revisited 6 of the brands which we've used for in-game truck stops and gas stations which have been present since the game's release in 2016. Originally our resources for the environment and brand creation were much more limited compared to our current amazing team of dedicated 2D artists and talent at our disposal, which now allows us to add so much more detail to the game world.
As many of you might have seen originally from our concept art from the Texas and Montana DLC microsites, these new designs bring a fresh, modern, and more realistic look to gas stations and truck stops, wouldn't you agree?
We hope you enjoy seeing these newly rebranded areas on your travels throughout American Truck Simulator. Let us know which one is your favourite via our Social Media Channels!
Optional Mods Support for Convoy
One feature our teams have been working on for Convoy, our in-game multiplayer, is support for missing modifications. We recognise that many players do play with third party modifications created by our talented community, but we also understand that not everyone would like to download all the required modifications to join a friend's convoy session.
Thus, our team have come up with a solution to allow you to join Convoy sessions without the need to have all of the required modifications of the host's session. There will be options to opt-in, both on the server's and client's side to enable this if you choose to use this. In most cases, the session will not display the modification that is missing, however in some cases, such as if a player is using a vehicle that you do not have, it will show as a coloured placeholder box instead that replicates its size.
If you are a modder in our community, please note that your modification must be tagged as "mp_mod_optional" to be recognised as a MOD that can be ignored by a convoy server that allow for missing optional MODs.
Rain Sensor
When you are out travelling on the road for a while, you are bound to come across a bit of rain at times. Whether it's just a short passing rain shower or a full-on storm, it's important for drivers to stay safe while driving on the road during variable weather conditions.
One of the more common safety features found on vehicles today are Rain Sensors! This nifty piece of technology does exactly what it says on the box, it detects the density of the rain and in turn, adjusts the speed of the wipers for you. This feature is active when you set the wipers of your vehicle to the first position.
This new feature will be available as an option that you can choose to enable on the settings page. So next time you are driving towards some liquid sunshine, you won't have to worry about adjusting your wipers.
Option to hide inaccessible road markers
Another new UI option that we are introducing in this update is the ability to show or hide the X markers which mark inaccessible/undriveable roads for the player. This new option may make the game feel more immersive for some drivers, however, we do urge players to take care and follow the correct route, as the invisible barriers which stop you from driving down these areas will still exist and appear for a short time if you hit them!
We hope that you will enjoy this small addition which we know many of you from our community have been requesting for a long time!
Changelog
Map Cody + US-14 Addition to Wyoming DLC Gas & Truck Stops Rebranding
Gameplay Optional MOD Support for Convoys Rain Sensor Option Option to hide inaccessible road markers
Vehicles Ownable Cistern Trailers (Dry Bulk and Fuel Tank)
Montana Release Date Announced
With the final touches and tests being made to the Montana DLC, we are excited to announce a release date for this highly anticipated addition to American Truck Simulator.
Montana is due to be released on August 4th, 2022
We know for many of you, that date cannot come soon enough! To keep the hype train rolling, we hope our official DLC trailer for Montana which features the natural beauty and prominent industries of the state, will keep you content until then.
We can't wait for you to explore Montana for yourselves in the near future. Our teams involved in the production process have worked hard to create this DLC and are still in the final stages of ironing out any bugs and placing final additions into the map. During this critical time, it is important for us to make sure the DLC is ready for release. If we do happen to come across a major issue, it might be that we have to change the planned release date. We will be sure to keep you in the know if this does happen.
So, are you ready to go cruising in Montana? If so, be sure to add Montana for American Truck Simulator to your Steam Wishlist! It really helps supports our work and notifies you of its release. We thank you for your support and we look forward to welcoming you across the state border very soon.
They say that picture is worth a thousand words, but we feel putting frames together and creating a first gameplay video of an upcoming map expansion is something that is simply invaluable. Especially since, as some of you may have already noticed, we are slowly approaching the finish line with the development of this project.
Our team is currently busy polishing and optimizing the Montana DLC and that is why today we are able to show you this short ride, just please keep in mind that everything you will see is still in a work-in-progress phase. So, sit back, relax, grab some good snacks or a drink, and enjoy the journey!
We hope you have loved this peek so much that you will now add the Montana DLC to your Steam Wishlist if you haven’t done so yet! Also, we still have some news up our sleeves, and if you want to avoid the risk of missing out on any information about the map expansion, follow our social media profiles (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok), subscribe to our newsletter, or check out our Montana microsite.
While trucking and exploring the vast state of Texas in the upcoming DLC for American Truck Simulator, you might end up picking up a job or two from a couple of large car manufacturing plants. Today we will take a closer look at these two car factories and their impact on the local economy and industry.
One of the car factories is located in Arlington, a part of the Dallas-Fort Worth region, and it has been producing vehicles for over 60 years. Built in 1954, the size of the facility is currently over 4 million square feet (about 371 thousand square meters) and we have done our best to transition this size as close to reality as possible in the game. It’s safe to say that an area producing over 1,300 vehicles per day certainly doesn’t deserve anything less. Especially since its production seems to have no intention of slowing down any time soon, considering over a billion dollars were invested into the plant since 2015.
The other factory can be found south of San Antonio and in real life, it belongs to one of the top car manufacturers in the world. It is said that a new vehicle rolls off the line every 60 seconds, which paints a clear picture of the high level of production. In addition to the 2.2 million square feet (about 204 thousand square meters) facility, there is also a railway in the nearby area, on which the produced vehicles are transported all over the country by trains.
As you can see, Texas DLC will feature some interesting areas with rich facts and backstories behind them. If you cannot wait to visit these famous and important factories in-game, make sure to add the expansion to your Steam Wishlist to show us how excited you truly are. Also, to never miss out on anything important, you can follow our social media profiles (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok), subscribe to our newsletter, or check out our microsite dedicated to this project.
