How is map scale represented? I mean, how much real time does it take to drive a 100 miles for instance?
Never measured it, but I reckon it's something like 100 miles in five minutes. It's heavily scaled down, of course. You can cross the entire state in about 20 minutes. (Less if you floor it on the highway)
By and large, jobs take between ten minutes and half an hour (unless you're taking really long hauls, the jobs are usually betwen 200 and 800 miles). Plus of course there can be traffic, parking a difficult trailer (Heavy machinery fladbeds in particular can be a real PITA), etc.
So it's not that demanding when comes to your gaming time. Plus you can save anywhere on the route as well.
Of course you always have a lot of jobs to chose from, but for me, somewhere arounf 500-700 miles is the sweetspot between money earned and time spent on a job. Plus you can get money bonuses in other ways like transporting dangerous/overweight/fragile cargo, etc.
By and large, jobs take between ten minutes and half an hour (unless you're taking really long hauls, the jobs are usually betwen 200 and 800 miles). Plus of course there can be traffic, parking a difficult trailer (Heavy machinery fladbeds in particular can be a real PITA), etc.
So it's not that demanding when comes to your gaming time. Plus you can save anywhere on the route as well.
Of course you always have a lot of jobs to chose from, but for me, somewhere arounf 500-700 miles is the sweetspot between money earned and time spent on a job. Plus you can get money bonuses in other ways like transporting dangerous/overweight/fragile cargo, etc.
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No numbers here, and not quite what you're asking but iirc, in addition to the scale, there is a dynamic "time compression". Stopped at your garage in the city, the clock ticks every second. While cruising on the motorway, in-game time will flow faster (while not changing anything to your driving, it's not time compression as you're used to in sims, just the clock running faster). That means that while a long trip is still play-session short, it can take multiple days with rest in-game.
I think, not completely sure because its been a while.. But.. scale: 19-1 europe, 15-1 uk, 20-1 usa. However that scale may adjust on open runs, ie no towns (long roads), so not sure on those, could be quite large perhaps. But overall think 19 or 20-1 scale for ets2 and ats.
But don't hold me to those figures..
Edit: there are a few mod maps that are 1:1 scale.
Thinking it may have been over 30:1 ats and they rescaled it to 20:1
But don't hold me to those figures..
Edit: there are a few mod maps that are 1:1 scale.
Thinking it may have been over 30:1 ats and they rescaled it to 20:1
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Oh yeah, but let me tell you - The steerable trailers in ETS 2 were nothing in comparison to what they use in USA.I wish they'd make the unloading yards a bit bigger...and I hate steerable trailers
I hated them when I was playing ETS 2 but I was quite proud I was able to park anything, anywhere. Even if it sometimes took me a while. But now in ATS I just don't bother with the heavy trailers. They are virtually impossible to reverse steer. They don't have steerable axles but rather both their front and back wheel assemblies are on a separate swivel so it's really easy to lock them up and damage the trailer. Those couple of extra XP aren't worth the effort.
So a special weekly sale promo for ETS is up on Steam again:
I'm sorely tempted to cash in on the steeply discounted $2.41 I'd get buying this bundle LoL. But besides the base game, the only DLC of true replay value for me are the Eastern and Scandinavian maps. The high powered cargo pack and accessories appear to be superfluous vanity items with no added functional value at best. Given the great number and variety of mods in the Steam Workshop, is it really necessary to get the cargo and dash accessories DLC?
Because I'd rather buy the base separately and put the money towards more replay content. Like several map DLC which is separate from this weekly discounted promo bundle:
I was hoping to for a single, map bundled package with the base game. But seems unlikely Steam would repackage them in one tidy DLC (most likel for profit making reasons). At least until the upcoming Black Friday or Christmas holiday seasons). So now I'm debating which of these map DLCs would be the best value to get with the Scandanavian and . For those truckers who've played these maps which is the better/more challenging of these maps
Or should I discipline myself and wait for a whale Black Friday sale where all the DLC are offered in one convenient, nice tidy discount with the base game? Has Steam ever done a special discount like that like they've done for Tropico etc?
I'm sorely tempted to cash in on the steeply discounted $2.41 I'd get buying this bundle LoL. But besides the base game, the only DLC of true replay value for me are the Eastern and Scandinavian maps. The high powered cargo pack and accessories appear to be superfluous vanity items with no added functional value at best. Given the great number and variety of mods in the Steam Workshop, is it really necessary to get the cargo and dash accessories DLC?
Because I'd rather buy the base separately and put the money towards more replay content. Like several map DLC which is separate from this weekly discounted promo bundle:
I was hoping to for a single, map bundled package with the base game. But seems unlikely Steam would repackage them in one tidy DLC (most likel for profit making reasons). At least until the upcoming Black Friday or Christmas holiday seasons). So now I'm debating which of these map DLCs would be the best value to get with the Scandanavian and . For those truckers who've played these maps which is the better/more challenging of these maps
- Italian
- Eastern Slavic countries
- Scandinavia <--how much more challenging is the winter/snow weather? do you need to buy special tires/snow/arctic equipment etc
- Black Sea
- Beyond Baltic
- France
Or should I discipline myself and wait for a whale Black Friday sale where all the DLC are offered in one convenient, nice tidy discount with the base game? Has Steam ever done a special discount like that like they've done for Tropico etc?
Most of the extra cosmetic content is only worth it if you're amused by the content and feel like throwing them a bit of cash every now and then. Some paint job packs have magnificent skins, some (country ones) range from abysmal to pure cringe. The cargo pack is different however as they add new trailers, some wider/heavier loads, some of them to destinations where you don't usually go, etc. I really like them. I think it's the Heavy Cargo pack that comes with the extra contract type with serious extra-wide heavy stuff that you get to drive as part of a convoy, with cars leading and following, and where you'll end up stuck on the first ramp if you take the job with an underpowered truck.
Considering how cheap the various cosmetic packs are and that they routinely go on sale, I tend to pick one every now and then from the wallet money I slowly accumulate from selling the Steam trading cards (still at a loss to understand why people would actually spend money on them, but ah, not my problem).
Also for anyone new to the game, if/when you create a World of Trucks account and link your Steam account to it, you get a free cosmetic pack (chrome paints iirc). WoT is the game's portal to track your stats and give you access to an extra job panel, and these jobs are tracked and can be displayed in a public profile, etc. Your standard low-level social stuff. You'll want one if you intend to take part in the events they run every now and then for football world cup, xmas, etc, and where fulfilling a number of WoT jobs gets you an event-themed paint or cabin accessory.
On snow, because I'm a sucker for that, it's not included in-game, so Scandinavia doesn't include any winter driving. Thankfully, there are mods doing just that: some mods do the cosmetic change, some mods add the winter physics, with different levels of snow/ice simulated. This one is my personal recommendation: https://grimesmods.wordpress.com/2017/05/18/frosty-winter-weather-mod/
Considering how cheap the various cosmetic packs are and that they routinely go on sale, I tend to pick one every now and then from the wallet money I slowly accumulate from selling the Steam trading cards (still at a loss to understand why people would actually spend money on them, but ah, not my problem).
Also for anyone new to the game, if/when you create a World of Trucks account and link your Steam account to it, you get a free cosmetic pack (chrome paints iirc). WoT is the game's portal to track your stats and give you access to an extra job panel, and these jobs are tracked and can be displayed in a public profile, etc. Your standard low-level social stuff. You'll want one if you intend to take part in the events they run every now and then for football world cup, xmas, etc, and where fulfilling a number of WoT jobs gets you an event-themed paint or cabin accessory.
On snow, because I'm a sucker for that, it's not included in-game, so Scandinavia doesn't include any winter driving. Thankfully, there are mods doing just that: some mods do the cosmetic change, some mods add the winter physics, with different levels of snow/ice simulated. This one is my personal recommendation: https://grimesmods.wordpress.com/2017/05/18/frosty-winter-weather-mod/
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Must resist.... must resist...
Schmexy.Gratuitous winter-modded xmas event present delivery screenshot, somewhere in Eastern Europe, with sexy winter paint, name plate, and 100% shiny plastic snowflake hanging inside the cabin:
'Renault T' range has been added to the vanilla game and looks very nice indeed..
This is a mod version, but it looks the same (more or less)..
This is a mod version, but it looks the same (more or less)..
'Road To The Black Sea' has been released, not looked at it yet, but got it ready.
'Road To The Black Sea' has been released, not looked at it yet, but got it ready.
It's excellent, achievements are a PITA though. I really don't like those that require a specific destination because you're at the mercy of the games job RNG.
New truck coming to ATS as well for free!
anyone hit 1,000,000km in the WOT acheivement section yet? I'm on 620,000km
'Road To The Black Sea' has been released, not looked at it yet, but got it ready.
I've been driving around on it since it first came out.
Romania looking pretty. Lots of small towns to drive through, as well as the larger destinations.
Not sure if this is Romania or Bulgaria. Both have twisty back roads, along with the usual highways.
Istanbul. We only get the European bit of Turkey, unfortunately. Don't get to cross the Bosporus.
You get to ride a ferry on one of the Romanian routes.
On the whole I'd rate the new addition as about the same as their recent Baltic one. A few minor bugs (I've collided with invisible objects at least twice), and rather lacking in parking places, which can be awkward. Nice and varied though, as long as you don't mind the original late delivery due to being stuck behind traffic (ETS buses seem to be powered by moped engines), complex multi-stop border crossings (which I'm sure are a lot worse in real life) and the occasional wrong turn due to mostly incomprehensible road signs.
The recently-released Utah DLC for ATS doesn't seem to have been mentioned yet. Has some nice scenery, if you are a fan of rocky desert geography. Towns look a little too squeaky clean to me, but I expect that's the Mormon influence. Also features a lighthouse in about the least likely place you'd expect: I had to Google it to confirm it was really there. A useful addition to existing DLC as it means you can now get from Washington state and Oregon to Arizona or New Mexico without having to go through Las Vegas.
Given the consistently positive uptick in the latest Steam users per PC gaming here
Steam now has a dedicated 45 million daily and 90 million monthly dedicated PC gamers. That's before accounting for potentially other PC gamer bases like GOG and retail, and especially the significantly higher player base on XBX1 and PS4.
And as of right now at 08:30 EST, ETS is ranking at 17 of 100. Retaining its position in the top 20 of 100 most popular Steam games Steam PC gamers play to date:
This rank is a bit skewed though. Both NMS and Space Engineers typically rank above ED on a daily basis. But currently NMS (which usually ranks higher than SE) is now at the very bottom of the list at 100 of 100. ED typically ranks in the bottom 3rd of this list below these two space titles. But this is most likely because the majority of Steam's player base (west of the Greenwich Meridian) are at the start of our working/school day. Unlike me the lazy slacker who's happily enjoying a day off playing a combo of ED, RDR 2 and SE So ED and all other space themed games typically on this list won't be updating until later this afternoon/evening. When the US/Canadian/South & North American player base gets back from school and work.
Regardless, this leaves one to speculate just how much the ED player base could profit from ETS truckers broadening their Sol bound entrepreneurial horizons into the Milky Way. Just imagine the uptick in ED's player base! If only ETS truckers could be convinced to brave space sickness and venture beyond the boundaries of Sol into humanity's final frontier. And contract themselves out to the amazing HO Truckers Co-Op!
Would be great if ETS could add more Asian centric maps and DLC. Add opportunities to sightsee super metropolises like Beijing and challenges of navigating traffic in these cities i.e. experiencing the insanity of California rush hour traffic on steroids all hours of the day. And being able to drive across China tour/sight see the country.
Steam now has a dedicated 45 million daily and 90 million monthly dedicated PC gamers. That's before accounting for potentially other PC gamer bases like GOG and retail, and especially the significantly higher player base on XBX1 and PS4.
And as of right now at 08:30 EST, ETS is ranking at 17 of 100. Retaining its position in the top 20 of 100 most popular Steam games Steam PC gamers play to date:
This rank is a bit skewed though. Both NMS and Space Engineers typically rank above ED on a daily basis. But currently NMS (which usually ranks higher than SE) is now at the very bottom of the list at 100 of 100. ED typically ranks in the bottom 3rd of this list below these two space titles. But this is most likely because the majority of Steam's player base (west of the Greenwich Meridian) are at the start of our working/school day. Unlike me the lazy slacker who's happily enjoying a day off playing a combo of ED, RDR 2 and SE
So ED and all other space themed games typically on this list won't be updating until later this afternoon/evening. When the US/Canadian/South & North American player base gets back from school and work.Regardless, this leaves one to speculate just how much the ED player base could profit from ETS truckers broadening their Sol bound entrepreneurial horizons into the Milky Way. Just imagine the uptick in ED's player base! If only ETS truckers could be convinced to brave space sickness and venture beyond the boundaries of Sol into humanity's final frontier. And contract themselves out to the amazing HO Truckers Co-Op!
Would be great if ETS could add more Asian centric maps and DLC. Add opportunities to sightsee super metropolises like Beijing and challenges of navigating traffic in these cities i.e. experiencing the insanity of California rush hour traffic on steroids all hours of the day. And being able to drive across China tour/sight see the country.
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Given the consistently positive uptick in the latest Steam users per PC gaming here
Steam now has a dedicated 45 million daily and 90 million monthly dedicated PC gamers. That's before accounting for potentially other PC gamer bases like GOG and retail, and especially the significantly higher player base on XBX1 and PS4.
And as of right now at 08:30 EST, ETS is ranking at 17 of 100. Retaining its position in the top 20 of 100 most popular Steam games Steam PC gamers play to date:
View attachment 155053
This rank is a bit skewed though. Both NMS and Space Engineers typically rank above ED on a daily basis. But currently NMS (which usually ranks higher than SE) is now at the very bottom of the list at 100 of 100. ED typically ranks in the bottom 3rd of this list below these two space titles. But this is most likely because the majority of Steam's player base (west of the Greenwich Meridian) are at the start of our working/school day. Unlike me the lazy slacker who's happily enjoying a day off playing a combo of ED, RDR 2 and SE
Regardless, this leaves one to speculate just how much the ED player base could profit from ETS truckers broadening their Sol bound entrepreneurial horizons into the Milky Way. Just imagine the uptick in ED's player base! If only ETS truckers could be convinced to brave space sickness and venture beyond the boundaries of Sol into humanity's final frontier. And contract themselves out to the amazing HO Truckers Co-Op!
Saying ETS players might like to play ED for trucking is like saying PUBG players might like to play ED for the pew-pew.
Trucking in ETS and ED are like chalk and cheese, and those who say ED is ETS in space are frankly speaking, not right in the head. There is no comparison, both from a positive and a negative point of view.
I play both ETS and ATS, and the experience is very different from Elite. People play ETS to relax, its a driving game to zen out with, listening to the integrated internet radio or even podcasts while enjoying the awesome scenery. It's also got a lot of business management appeal due to the truck empire building aspect of it.
Elite has nothing to offer like this. Jump from star to star, get attacked by pirates over and over again, no business to build at all, it's not a comparable experience really.
That said, I do think a space trucking game similar to ETS in space could have some real potential in today's market. Include beautiful nebula and planets to fly through and to, have a light empire building apect to it where you can hire pilots and buy more ships, and don't have anyone shooting at you or trying to steal your stuff. Strictly a money making challenge balancing costs v profits. While Elite has trading its more of a minor feature, the game isn't focused on that experience, and the combat and constant pirate harrassment makes Elite more of a combat sim than a space trucking game. Good for pew pew fans, but not appealing to the large ETS crowd.
Elite has nothing to offer like this. Jump from star to star, get attacked by pirates over and over again, no business to build at all, it's not a comparable experience really.
That said, I do think a space trucking game similar to ETS in space could have some real potential in today's market. Include beautiful nebula and planets to fly through and to, have a light empire building apect to it where you can hire pilots and buy more ships, and don't have anyone shooting at you or trying to steal your stuff. Strictly a money making challenge balancing costs v profits. While Elite has trading its more of a minor feature, the game isn't focused on that experience, and the combat and constant pirate harrassment makes Elite more of a combat sim than a space trucking game. Good for pew pew fans, but not appealing to the large ETS crowd.
Welcome back from DS9 to Terra Firma
WRONG. As in your hyperbole for comparison is several light years away off target wrong. At least stick to similar genres for analogy like NMS, SE for crying out loud.
Actually they're a lot more similar than you're insinuating. Being a Hutton Orbital trucker and ETS trucker is a similar experience if playing in Solo or PG modes. Player in both games are fundamentally traders. Players in both games haul material and cargo for profit and career progression. With various challenges in transit ranging from negligible low risk hauling (eg sandbox trading in ED). To higher risk scenario/mission driven challenges the likes fragile cargo/time suspense in ETS or time sensitive/high value cargo with potential interdiction risks in ED.
It's almost as though I hit a nerve about ED's apparent stagnation in fan base growth. And where contemporary gamer focus happens to be on non space themed popular titles (at least for Steam PC gamers) to date. If you can't check your intolerant views towards what you may perceive as criticisms about ED based on a simple comment (that was intended as a joke btw), then at least grow a thicker skin. Jeezus H. Christ.
WRONG. As in your hyperbole for comparison is several light years away off target wrong. At least stick to similar genres for analogy like NMS, SE for crying out loud.
Actually they're a lot more similar than you're insinuating. Being a Hutton Orbital trucker and ETS trucker is a similar experience if playing in Solo or PG modes. Player in both games are fundamentally traders. Players in both games haul material and cargo for profit and career progression. With various challenges in transit ranging from negligible low risk hauling (eg sandbox trading in ED). To higher risk scenario/mission driven challenges the likes fragile cargo/time suspense in ETS or time sensitive/high value cargo with potential interdiction risks in ED.
It's almost as though I hit a nerve about ED's apparent stagnation in fan base growth. And where contemporary gamer focus happens to be on non space themed popular titles (at least for Steam PC gamers) to date. If you can't check your intolerant views towards what you may perceive as criticisms about ED based on a simple comment (that was intended as a joke btw), then at least grow a thicker skin. Jeezus H. Christ.
Actually i think you totally missed my point.
Im saying the experience is so different that you might as well go completely off the rails with the comparisons.
ETS is all about the skill of driving from A to B. In ED there is no real such comparison. Apart from the risk of getting attacked by a pirate (which doesn't exist at all in ETS) there is no skill in A to B hauling. Its just about doing the job in a direct line.
Not at all, i didn't even notice you say anything like that, although maybe you did. I was simply commenting on the comparison, and i don't understand how people can even compare the activities. For a game of getting stuff from A to B, ETS is fantastic. Its all about the journey and evey second on the road requires your attention. In ED you can just keep half an eye on your screen while travelling and its more about the results rather than the journey.
ED's "apparent" stagnation or otherwise doesn't even come into this.
It has nothing to do with growing a thicker skin, since i wasn't in the slightest offended by your post.