American Truck Simulator catch-all

This is my first real trucking simulator since Cross Country Canada, and I really enjoy it!

I just grabbed the demo to see if I would be into it, and oh my gosh yes I am. This is exactly the kind of thing that a VR experience would be great for I think.

In lieu of a VR headset, I turned off the lights for night jobs, put on Patsy Cline's Definitive Collection, and hit the highway. I couldn't believe how much FUN this was.

I feel like I've opened a gateway with this game, and I am frankly kind of scared. haha.

TRUCKS!

Ok, my wife surprised me with an early Valentines Day Present.

I am now fully on board and ready to venture into the wild and woolly environs of California.

Anybody have a favorite radio station? I've been listening to flower power radio on the recommendation of one of the review sites.

I so wish they had some kind of simulation of actual geographically based am/fm radio.

gore wrote:

I so wish they had some kind of simulation of actual geographically based am/fm radio.

Don't they? That's what RPS' review said:

A carefully curated selection of genuine, real-time internet radio stations is included (you even get to hear real-world news on the hour, and they will switch to another station on the same frequency when you move out of what would the real-world FM range), and these provide an idealised soundtrack.

Boy, that doesn't happen for me! Maybe I'm doing it wrong?

I like to listen to The Eagle 181.FM "The Eagle (Classic Rock)". Although I've noticed it has a propensity for playing commercials over the start of songs.

A good number of the stations in the default list are 181.fm stations.

gore wrote:

Anybody have a favorite radio station? I've been listening to flower power radio on the recommendation of one of the review sites.

I so wish they had some kind of simulation of actual geographically based am/fm radio.

I've got a subscription to SiriusXM, so I fire up the browser app and listen to that.

brendonsmall wrote:

In lieu of a VR headset, I turned off the lights for night jobs, put on Patsy Cline's Definitive Collection, and hit the highway. I couldn't believe how much FUN this was.

I feel like I've opened a gateway with this game, and I am frankly kind of scared. haha.

That's hilarious.

Somewhere deep in the Euro Truck Simulator 2 thread I have a couple paragraphs dedicated to the elation of finishing an overnight drive along the German countryside in the pouring rain. Just as the first signs of morning glimmer on the horizon, I pull into my destination, Frankfurt. Rain is still pouring down, wipers hypnotically swishing back & forth, the lights of the big city are coming up. And the haunting voice of Patsy Cline rises on the internet station I'm dialed into, singing 'Leavin On Your Mind'.

One of the most sublime gaming memories in years.

gore wrote:

Anybody have a favorite radio station? I've been listening to flower power radio on the recommendation of one of the review sites.

I enjoy some of the classic 70's stations like Flower Power. There was a metal station that was rockin' 80s tracks, deep-cut acts like Exodus, Overkill, etc., the first night I fired the game up. I thought would be my permanent dial-in, but the next night the station was playing scream-growl modern metal (not my bag). Turns out the station was playing an all-80's program Metal Shop.

I hope SCS expands the station playlist for ATS. They did the same for ETS2 as time went on. Either that or I need to figure out 1. where to find internet stations I'd like, and 2. how to incorporate them into the game. I know it's a cut & past deal, but the station file in the game is in a format I'm not familiar with. Don't laugh, but I'd kill for a 70's Yacht Rock station as well.

I already posted this in the tech forum, but I have Windows 10 and a Thrustmaster NASCAR pro force feedback wheel (note: the original pro 1, not pro 2).

I had it working on Windows 8.1 with ETS2, but now I can't get Thrustmapper to recognize it, and every one I plug it into a USB port Windows locks, crashes and reboots.

Anybody had any luck getting this wheel working on Windows 10? I don't really want to buy a new one.

So, route 299 to Eureka. Bit of a switchback or two, or ten.

I bet it's a lovely ride on a sunny day, open top sports car, loved one by your side.

Not as bleedin' lovely when you're in a bottom of the range truck, hauling 42,000lb of sh*t in a bright orange trailer. And it's dark. Just as well there was no one coming the opposite way, else they'd have been in the sh*t, quite literally.

I did have a quiet chuckle when the streaming radio played 'Highway to Hell' though.

Good lord, I just drove through San Francisco and missed seemingly every light. Starting out going up those hills, hauling a trailer, with a manual transmission with one of the basic, non-upgraded trucks is nuts! I stalled out like 4 times, and ended up running a red light because I couldn't get moving fast enough!

It's tough finding the "sweet spot" with the G27 clutch pedal. Unlike a real clutch there's nothing tactile, you have to rely on the sounds and the tach. I need to stick to flatter ground

Jackpot NV. All I can say is, if that's the Jackpot, what was second prize ? A sledgehammer to the kidneys ?

Notwithstanding its 'in-the-middle-of-nowhere-and-why-does-this-place-exist ?' vibe, the place doesn't have a repair shop. Or a petrol station. At all. I had to take a job to Ely (?) to go past a petrol station, which I coasted into with 12 miles of fuel remaining...it was the best part of 80 miles away from Jackpot.

Really ? America is massive, so why are there no petrol stations, and why do the trucks have such small tanks ?

Well, that's because it doesn't actually have a gas station that can service a semi in real life, either.

As for the tank size, there's nothing small about 150 gallons.

Well, considering the trucks have a fuel efficiency around 3 mpg...

I should level up my eco driving skill. Or whatever it's called in ATS.

Also, upgrades! You can buy chassis with larger tanks once you level up.

Going back to the crappy entry level trucks after having a decked out fleet in ETS2 has proven surprisingly challenging. My maxed out Volvo would have crushed those hills in SF.

BadKen wrote:

Well, considering the trucks have a fuel efficiency around 3 mpg...

I should level up my eco driving skill. Or whatever it's called in ATS.

Eh, this isn't exactly true any more though. Modern trucks get up in the 6-7 range, even when hauling.

gore wrote:

Also, upgrades! You can buy chassis with larger tanks once you level up.

So weird that in ETS2, the unlocked chassis give equal or smaller tanks!

I'm largely enjoying ATS - the graphics are gorgeous, the mechanics of driving and delivering and building up the business are fun, but it keeps bugging me. I keep seeing really unrealistic things in the game that kind of take me out of it. Like the stop light interchange on an interstate freeway that I mentioned upthread, and the ridiculous number of classic cars that people have commented on. Also I'm seeing stupid amounts of traffic in deserted areas late at night, which just doesn't make sense. Traffic on the freeways moves way too slow - 15-20 mph below the speed limit a lot of the time in Nevada, when in reality, people almost never drive below the speed limit. And there are way too many cop cars.

It's affecting my enjoyment of the game a bit.

I do think there are several small tweaks like that which would add a lot to the realism.

Another tough thing coming from ETS2 is trying to keep in mind that the game got way better over time. I expect a lot of these things will be tweaked (especially the traffic) after release; traffic in ETS2 had several major revamps.

My biggest complaint with ATS is really the size of the map. It's just too small. The fully upgraded ETS2 map simply dwarfs it. Yes ATS has more detail, but I wish it was bigger.

I really wish traffic enforcement worked differently in the game. The cops seem to be just for show. It's a shame that they don't actually pull you over rather than just having fines appear. I wouldn't mind getting a ticket as much if the simulation of it was better.

I finally got some time with ATS last night. Got my controller set up thanks to AaronD's post (I've given up on getting my ancient Thrustmaster wheel to work on Windows 10) and hit the road for some quick jobs.

Hit my first highway speed trap too. $1000 and I still couldn't tell you where the speed limit was lower because by the time I got the notification the limit was already back to 55.

I'm off to edit my ini file!

doubtingthomas396 wrote:

I'm off to edit my ini file!

I'm sure I will end up doing this. I don't even intend to speed on purpose or anything. It's just too much hassle to deal with, for the same reasons others have mentioned.

http://atsmods.lt/realistic-police-mod/

The police mod linked earlier erased my need to .ini-edit cops out of the game.

Fines are reduced from $1,000 to $150 and you're allowed to go 5+ mph over the speed limit without getting tagged.

I still haven't discovered the upper limit of the grace window but it's definitely more than 5 mph.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/zgouWsp.jpg?1)

Kenworth W900 DLC is now live. (Yea!)

Along with the new truck are some tweaks.

- Fines are now lower.
- More time to adjust speed limit after it changes.
- 'Right on red' tuned up.

Full details.

Aaron D. wrote:

- 'Right on red' tuned up.

Get with the program, Europe!

I just did a 500 mile run with Steely Dan blasting out. Next up...The Smiths. And possibly a large accident as enraged truckers attempt bizarre 'right on red' turns.

The only country that I've lived in where I've actually been aware that this was a thing was Saudi...and given that a normal day on the roads there is highly reminiscent of Mad Max, you can guess the carnage that ensues.

Driving anywhere in the middle east, you're one small mistake away from a blood bath at any given point in time.

AnimeJ wrote:

Driving anywhere in the middle east, you're one small mistake away from a blood bath at any given point in time.

And the general populace will probably go motoring right on by the scene with nary a passing glance, too.

ChipRMonk wrote:
AnimeJ wrote:

Driving anywhere in the middle east, you're one small mistake away from a blood bath at any given point in time.

And the general populace will probably go motoring right on by the scene with nary a passing glance, too.

I think this demands a link to Maciej Ceglowski's piece on visiting Yemen (part 3 of 3, the first two of which are also deeply worthwhile, but it's part 3 that touches on the wondrous experience of driving in Yemen.)

Maciej wrote:

American drivers treat the car horn like a button marked EMERGENCY, to be used only at times of imminent danger or great injustice. A non-Bostonian can drive for weeks without touching the horn. If you disabled the car horns in Yemen, there would be an immediate nationwide car wreck. The horn is an essential part of Yemeni driving, and in skilled hands becomes an instrument of great subtlety. It can mean “I’m coming up behind you”, or “I’m about to turn left across five lanes of traffic”, or “I’m passing on this blind curve on a mountain road while digging with both my hands in a bag full of qat.” Drivers use it to communicate their intentions to the three-year-olds playing unsupervised in the street, and even to dogs and pack animals. Everyone speaks car horn.

(And it just gets better.)

Man, I just had a beautiful drive along I8 between San Diego and El Centro in the early morning hours. It started off in the pre dawn glow and the sun came up over the mountains. It was really spectacular.

From there I went north, past the Salton Sea.

California was a good choice for a starting point. I've only been to a few parts of the state in person but in the game it's amazing how diverse it is, and now I want to see more.

The new patch makes speed limit enforcement way less painful. You're less likely to get a ticket and the fines are way lower. If you disabled ticketing before you might want to turn it back on now and give it another go.

Oh, and the new Kenworth is out. It looks great, but my garage is full and I don't want to take the hit on a trade in. So it'll have to wait...

Dixie_Flatline wrote:
ChipRMonk wrote:
AnimeJ wrote:

Driving anywhere in the middle east, you're one small mistake away from a blood bath at any given point in time.

And the general populace will probably go motoring right on by the scene with nary a passing glance, too.

I think this demands a link to Maciej Ceglowski's piece on visiting Yemen (part 3 of 3, the first two of which are also deeply worthwhile, but it's part 3 that touches on the wondrous experience of driving in Yemen.)

Maciej wrote:

American drivers treat the car horn like a button marked EMERGENCY, to be used only at times of imminent danger or great injustice. A non-Bostonian can drive for weeks without touching the horn. If you disabled the car horns in Yemen, there would be an immediate nationwide car wreck. The horn is an essential part of Yemeni driving, and in skilled hands becomes an instrument of great subtlety. It can mean “I’m coming up behind you”, or “I’m about to turn left across five lanes of traffic”, or “I’m passing on this blind curve on a mountain road while digging with both my hands in a bag full of qat.” Drivers use it to communicate their intentions to the three-year-olds playing unsupervised in the street, and even to dogs and pack animals. Everyone speaks car horn.

(And it just gets better.)

My only experiences are from Afghanistan(there's no counting this) and Doha, Qatar(this counts) and yea, that sounds exactly like Doha was.