Euro Truck Simulator 2 6379

Since the developers at SCS Software are currently hard at work on the next map expansion Euro Truck Simulator 2: Italia, which will introduce a highly detailed territory of Italy to the game, they have not forgotten about the base part of Italy that is available in the game from the start.

In the upcoming ETS 2 update, players will be able to see how the northern part of Italy has changed; surely those who frequently hauled cargo there will immediately notice the differences. The northern part of Italy, in its updated form, will be available to all owners of the base Euro Truck Simulator 2 game, and to drive its roads and enjoy the beautiful scenery, you will not need to purchase the Italia DLC. However, if you want to see all the beauties of the Italian region and drive to the very south of the country, the purchase will be necessary.

Although the base part of Italy already contains several cities and offers the opportunity to drive through the famous Po Valley, the developers decided not to stop there and completely redesigned the city of Milan, which was built entirely from scratch.
We are pleased to announce the upcoming release of the Euro Truck Simulator 2 - Italia expansion. The ETS2 map design team is working on it with sleeves rolled up, and soon you will be able to see beautiful Italy with your own eyes, a country with a rich history and developed industry.

Our map designers fell in love with this region during the material gathering stage — there is so much to see here! High mountains and sea coasts, well-tended farmland and rugged wild areas — from the very beginning, it was clear that we would have to work hard. We strive to make you feel Italy behind the wheel of your favorite truck. For example, driving through the Apennines, where tunnels and bridges alternate with winding switchbacks offering stunning views. And considering Italy’s geography, the new expansion includes quite a few cities and industrial sites.

The first hints of the Special Transport DLC appeared even before last year’s New Year holidays. At that time, the developers thought they would be able to release this expansion within a few months, but unfortunately, the development took much more time and effort. After that, the developers showcased some content from the DLC at various events: at Gamescom 2017 during a closed presentation, they showed a new screenshot from the DLC; at Warsaw Games Week 2017, they brought a small demo of the expansion; then, they decided to announce it on television and invited representatives of the show “DVA3.” The developers have invested a great deal of time and effort into creating the Euro Truck Simulator 2: Special Transport DLC and today they would like to share the details with their fans.

A bit of history:
Some time ago, part of the development team took part in a convoy transporting an oversized load (a huge metal tank) to the Czech city of Mělník. This was a great opportunity for the developers to learn firsthand how the process of transporting such oversized cargo works. Over the following two days, the developers gathered data to make their expansion more realistic.

A lot of time has passed since then. The developers are now testing and polishing all aspects of the DLC. In the 14-minute video below, you can see how the oversized cargo transport currently looks in the Special Transport DLC.

Features of the Special Transport DLC:

- 11 new oversized cargoes (super heavy – up to 70 tons, wide – up to 6 meters, tall – up to 9 meters, long – up to 20 meters);
- 4 new semi-trailers;
- 17 unique routes for transporting oversized cargo (12 on the base game map, 2 for Scandinavia, 2 for Going East!, 1 for Vive la France!). The developers promise to continuously add new routes featuring complex oversized cargo transport.
- Over 80 new special cargo transport jobs;
- Escort vehicles: one escort vehicle will move ahead of the convoy, and the second will accompany the cargo from behind.
- Escort vehicles will be controlled by artificial intelligence.
- Special videos and cutscenes will play along the route.
- New object models, pedestrians, and animations will be placed along the routes.
- Pedestrians, journalists, and transport and special services staff who react to day and night changes as well as bad weather in the game;
- If the player does not follow the rules for transporting such oversized cargo, they risk failing the delivery mission.
- A new system of rest and stop zones so players can periodically save their transport progress;
- New flashing lights;
- New achievements;
- Players will receive increased experience points (XP) and higher payment for completing these types of deliveries.

Ready for this kind of transport? The developers hope to present players with truly interesting and challenging tasks.

There is no release date yet for the Euro Truck Simulator 2: Special Transport DLC, but the developers hope to launch it before the end of this year, roughly around the Christmas holidays (Catholic).

The end of the year promises to be exciting with lots of interesting things ahead, so stay tuned!

I wonder why ETS 2 skips version 1.29 and immediately "jumps" to 1.30?
It's simple: both games (ETS 2 and ATS) were being prepared for the release of new expansions and major updates at the same time, but a few weeks before the start of the open testing of the American Truck Simulator 1.29 update, it was decided to temporarily freeze work on ETS 2 and focus on one of the games (in any case, they share the same base, so this did not set one game back compared to the other). After the release of ATS 1.29, it was finally decided that ETS 2 would skip version 1.29 and immediately update to 1.30, while American Truck Simulator would catch up with it in the near future.

The Euro Truck Simulator 2 1.30 update will bring a lot of exciting content to the game, and most importantly – all of it will be absolutely free!

Main innovations:
- Redesigned northern part of Italy, including a completely newly created city of Milan:
As we mentioned earlier, in this update the developers from SCS Software are releasing a redesigned part of the standard, "base" part of Italy. This is done in anticipation of the release of the Euro Truck Simulator 2: Italia expansion, which will add a full-fledged Italian region to the game.
- Updated navigation algorithm.
The new navigation system has already been used in American Truck Simulator since version 1.29, and now it’s time to add it to ETS 2. This is a large-scale update of the navigation functionality in the game, which required a lot of effort and time to implement, but now this functionality is ready and will surely please the game’s fans.
- Added support for time zones:
Time zone changes have appeared in ETS 2 as well. The addition of a time zone simulation system will allow for a higher quality approach to the further expansion of the Euro Truck Simulator 2 map. For now, time zone changes will only be noticeable when traveling from England to continental Europe and vice versa, since all other countries available in the game, except England, are in the same time zone.
- New SCANIA S and R series trucks:
The ETS 2 1.30 update adds new, long-awaited trucks, which have probably become the most detailed trucks in the game. Thus, you will be able to explore the redesigned northern part of Italy and look for other changes in these new trucks.

Other changes:
- The ZF-16 gearbox has been updated for the upcoming Italia expansion and adapted for all trucks on which it was previously unavailable;
- Improved map projection (more accurate environmental simulation), map panning settings;
- Added support for simulation of new engine types (for example, those installed in the 2017 DAF model range);
- Brief information (tooltip) about the truck will now display information about the installed engine type and gearbox;
- Trailers that are used only in certain countries will no longer appear outside those countries and will be used only in countries where they are legally allowed;
- Developers continued to improve DAF, Volvo, and SCANIA trucks;
- A variety of fixes and corrections on the game map, both in its base part and in regions added by expansions (DLC);
- Added a new trailer for transporting yachts.

Developer tools / modding:
- Added new functionality for lighting and weather settings (part of the Editor);
- Added new functionality for traffic rules settings and monitoring (part of the Editor);
- Added the ability to preview the constructed scene (part of the Editor);
- Added new navigation functionality in map parameters and data;
- Added data from service/support centers (garages) to economic parameters;
- Added data from weigh station prices to economic parameters.
On November 17, the open beta test of the 1.30 update for Euro Truck Simulator 2 was launched.

Anyone interested can participate in the open testing (no password required). To do this, select the test build of the game (public_beta – 1.30 public beta) in the game properties on Steam, under the “BETAS” tab. You can leave information about found bugs and issues on the developers’ forum.

On December 5th, the long-awaited expansion for the Euro Truck Simulator 2 map, Euro Truck Simulator 2: Italia, was released, adding a full-fledged Italian region.

By purchasing the Italia DLC, you will be able to drive a tractor-trailer along roads typical of Italy with beautiful landscapes. Test your skills transporting cargo on Italian roads through the Apennines, where you can see incredible scenery, bridges, and tunnels. When you descend from the mountains, you will encounter plains with various agricultural fields, the seaside coast, or wilder plains with a dry climate.

The shape of the Italian peninsula and its geographical location have greatly influenced the placement of cities, which are located close to each other. Each city has its own industries, including the Carrara marble quarries and the largest metallurgical plant in Europe in Taranto.

Features of the ETS 2 – Italia expansion:
- 11,500 km of new roads;
- 19 new cities, including Rome, Naples, Palermo, and others;
- New unique models and objects;
- Realistic road infrastructure, including bypass roundabouts around major cities;
- New industries and companies;
- Italian toll booths on highways and road signs typical for Italy;
- Famous landmarks;
- Architecture typical of Italy;
- Redesigned vegetation suited to the Mediterranean climate;
- New cargoes;
- New achievements and trophies.

The Euro Truck Simulator 2: Italia expansion is already available to purchase on Steam for 699₽.

At the beginning of February, the developers from SCS Software posted screenshots of the upcoming expansion and invited players to guess in which direction the Euro Truck Simulator 2 game world map would be expanded. There were many different options, but most players leaned towards the idea that the next ETS 2 expansion would extend the map towards the Baltic coast—and they were right! The working title of the expansion is “Beyond the Baltic Sea.”

On March 2, the developers officially announced that the next DLC expanding the Euro Truck Simulator 2 map, which they are currently working hard on, will add the Baltic countries to the game.

After the release of the Euro Truck Simulator 2: Beyond the Baltic Sea expansion, players who purchase it will be able to visit the following countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the southern part of Finland, as well as a small part of Russia, where the country’s second-largest city—Saint Petersburg—will be featured.

This region has a very unique architecture, industry, and transport infrastructure, which gives the developers more opportunities when working on it. By purchasing the Euro Truck Simulator 2: Beyond the Baltic Sea expansion and exploring the new areas, you will surely notice its significant difference from everything the developers have released before.

In the coming weeks, the developers promise to share more details about the upcoming expansion.

Source

The developers have shared one of the features of the upcoming 1.31 update – a system of hoses and cables between the tractor and trailers.

As seen in the video below, the developers managed to implement physics for the simulated cables and hoses for both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator. In fact, developing such a seemingly simple feature turned out to be quite a challenging task. It’s also important to remember that when adding this kind of functionality, the developers have to review all existing tractors and trailers in the games once again to add the new functionality for them as well.

The system of connecting cables and hoses will be available on all tractors and trailers, including double and triple trailers, where this functionality will also be present.

In the game settings, you will be able to choose one of three modes for this functionality:
- Full simulation of connecting cables – selecting this option will show cables and hoses between the tractor and all trailers;
- Simplified simulation – only the cables connecting the tractor and the first trailer will be visible here;
- Complete disabling of the connecting cables system.

Just recently, the open beta testing for American Truck Simulator update 1.31 started, and now it’s time to launch a similar phase for Euro Truck Simulator 2. Although update 1.31 adds many common features to both ETS 2 and ATS, there are also differences, which we will discuss today.

As mentioned earlier, the main innovation of version 1.31 is the functionality of the connecting cables between the tractor and the trailer, and we should not forget the updated mirror reflection rendering, which has become more accurate and realistic.

The ETS 2 1.31 update brings several new features exclusively to the European trucking simulator. The first, probably a very long-awaited feature after the release of similar functionality in ATS, is the system of random events on the roads. Now, dozens of different incidents that affect traffic can also occur on European roads. You will now be able to see everything from minor accidents to more serious incidents — including burned-out vehicles and emergency landings of small private planes right on the roadway. The second feature, which the developers kept secret until the last moment, at least until the announcement of the connecting cables system, is the introduction of Scania R and S tractors with an 8×4 wheel configuration.

Among smaller changes in the Euro Truck Simulator 2 1.31 update are new order search filters, an updated information panel with new order data, and the tractor automatically engaging the parking brake upon game launch after an unexpected crash or computer reboot. In addition to the changes listed above, the update includes other minor fixes, tweaks, and corrections. For example, license plates have been updated for some countries, affecting at least trailers and tractors from the UK.

The developers continue to improve tools for creating mods and addons. Currently, they have only halfway transitioned to a new technological process for working with textures, materials, and vegetation on road segments, which is used not only by the developers themselves but also by mod creators. Previously, developers used a kind of “stamp” with pre-made templates to save memory and disk space, but now they consider this approach outdated and suggest using a “brush” tool to simply “paint” what the designer envisions when creating the environment. This approach is more flexible and allows the game to convey all the landscape features. Introducing this functionality requires all modders to resave their previously released works using the updated editor. The developers hope that authors of popular community maps will update their works as soon as possible. Also, with the release of update 1.31, the developers will drop support for outdated maps (released before the 4.38 format). In other words, if a map was last updated before February 2017, it will no longer be supported by the game. The developers hope this change will not affect most popular mods.

Main changes:
- Added a system of connecting cables between the tractor and trailer;
- Improved mirror visualization (correct field of view (FOV) relative to the driver’s head position, as well as accurate rendering of reflections and curved mirror views);
- Random events system on the roads;
- New Scania R and S tractors with an 8×4 wheel configuration.

Minor changes:
- New filters added to the order search screen;
- UK trailers are no longer independent (autonomous) when assigning license plates;
- Parking brake automatically engages after tractor loading (g_park_brake_init);
- Screenshot filenames will now be based on date and time;
- Increased accuracy of displayed order and trip data on the information panel;
- Faster gear shifting when using new gearboxes (opticruise);
- Fixed/updated vehicle license plates in some countries (Belgium, Norway, Poland, Czech Republic);
- Fixed torque lock issue;
- Fixed tractor damage in dealer centers and when selecting orders through agencies;
- Fixed trailer damage warning messages;
- Fixed HDR interpolation.

Tools and mods:
- New brushes added to the map editor for creating and editing landscapes;
- Old maps are no longer supported by the game (pre-4.38 format, due to brush functionality introduction);
- Mirror_data;
- Trailer parameters can specify whether it is autonomous or not;
- Variable shift length;
- Tractors in dealer centers no longer appear in the general list; the game now reads all data and catalog entries;
- The steering wheel is no longer linked to the wheel model and is an independent object;
- Removed support for deprecated attributes.
On April 21, the open beta test for Euro Truck Simulator 2 update 1.31 was launched.

Anyone interested can participate in the open testing (no password required). To do this, select the test build of the game (public_beta – 1.31 public beta) in the game properties on Steam, under the “BETAS” tab. You can report found bugs and issues on the developers’ forum.