American Truck Simulator has launched! (Linux, Mac, Windows)

Huw the Poo · February 06, 2016, 07:30:58 PM

Yeah, ETS2 is definitely more lenient in this regard. There are no cops at all, just speed cameras which are easily anticipated.

For various reasons, ATS is turning out to be a more challenging game.

jomni · February 06, 2016, 08:23:37 PM

Quote from: Huw the Poo on February 06, 2016, 07:30:58 PM
Yeah, ETS2 is definitely more lenient in this regard. There are no cops at all, just speed cameras which are easily anticipated.

For various reasons, ATS is turning out to be a more challenging game.

But really small map. :(

SirAndrewD · February 06, 2016, 09:14:07 PM

Hopefully it'll be as good as this timeless classic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DshAs75Vv_c

glen55 · February 07, 2016, 01:33:15 AM

Quote from: Huw the Poo on February 06, 2016, 07:30:58 PM
Yeah, ETS2 is definitely more lenient in this regard. There are no cops at all, just speed cameras which are easily anticipated.

For various reasons, ATS is turning out to be a more challenging game.

In ETS2, I made my best money taking long runs and putting the petal to the metal the whole way. Slow down enough not to crash. Try to slow down for the speed cameras when I saw them coming, but otherwise just take the occasional ticket as operating expenses.

Sounds like that won't be the ticket in ATS.

The comments in this thread definitely make it sound like an improvement, but I'm still waiting for more content before I dive in. As I mentioned previously, I expect I have a certain number of hours that I can play ATS before I hit the wall, and I want them to be good.

jomni · February 07, 2016, 01:36:52 AM

There are really no speed limits in Europe. At least in Germany. If there are in other countries, then it's way too high for trucks as you can only go so fast.
I also like the performance of European trucks more. I feel the American trucks are too slow to accelerate and has too much gears.

Huw the Poo · February 07, 2016, 04:11:06 AM

Glen55, going by your comments, I think my advice to you would be to hold off. The only serious drawback to ATS right now is the size of the map, it really is quite small albeit very nicely detailed. I've already seen every major city and by the time I was level 3 I'd been to around 20% of it - god knows how much I've seen now. I hope for the developer's sake they get Arizona out quickly because map size is a frequent complaint on the Steam forum too.

I must emphasise though that this really is the only drawback, unless you consider the higher difficulty a problem too. I stand by my earlier comments that ATS is a very, very good game. As someone who put a lot of time into ETS2, I'm satisfied with ATS. It just needs to get bigger. :)

San Francisco discovered:

Driving along a particularly beautiful bit of coastline:

Huw the Poo · February 07, 2016, 09:31:17 AM

The new steampunk paintjobs are in, so I immediately grabbed one:

That was just as I was delivering some mechanical equipment to the arse-end of nowhere.

Huw the Poo · February 07, 2016, 04:57:31 PM

Guess who just found the photo studio!

I took a much better shot of my steampunk skin:

jomni · February 07, 2016, 07:48:57 PM

Took a big loan, bought a truck. Here goes...

BanzaiCat · February 07, 2016, 07:52:27 PM

The reasonable part of my game says there's nothing fun about this, but yet I am intrigued.

Grim.Reaper · February 07, 2016, 08:16:20 PM

I bought it, what the heck:) Might be a nice stress reliever after all my deaths in xcom 2!

Staggerwing · February 07, 2016, 08:34:44 PM

Pick up a Grogheads trucker cap from the cafe press store to get you in the truckdrivin' mood.

Grim.Reaper · February 07, 2016, 08:48:27 PM

First surprise....game is only about a 1gb download....that's a stunner nowadays....but looks pretty so must have some good optimization or something...

jomni · February 07, 2016, 09:09:19 PM

I really hate driving through towns due to the sudden change of speed limit from 55mph to 30mph with out warnings.
Must always check out the GPS for the actual limit.

Huw the Poo · February 08, 2016, 01:46:58 AM

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on February 07, 2016, 07:52:27 PM
The reasonable part of my game says there's nothing fun about this, but yet I am intrigued.

Heh, that's what everyone thinks to begin with, myself included! Try the demo - if ATS doesn't have one yet, ETS2 does. You'll soon see what all the fuss is about. ;)

Grim, yeah, I think it's very well optimised. My mid-range PC can handle it with everything turned right up and doesn't break a sweat.

Jomni, I agree, the speed limits are up and down like a whore's drawers sometimes. When you start getting pulled into weighbridges the limit drops to 20, so be careful of that!