An important aspect of creating realistic virtual representations of cities and towns in Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator is not only the road networks and buildings, but also the recreation of important and unique landmarks in those areas. One such common landmark is statues, which are created from scratch by our talented digital sculptors, whom we've had the pleasure to talk to and share more about their work with you today!

We spoke with Martina D and Věra Š, both of whom work in our Asset department and they create many of the statues along with a variety of other custom assets. We will let them introduce themselves!

"My name is Martina D. I joined SCS Software about six years ago as a Map Designer. After three years, I transitioned to the Asset department, where I continue to work today!"

"Hello, My name is Věra Š. but I´m also known as Bee! I work as a 3D Graphic Assets Designer and my specialty is statues. I´ve been working at SCS Software for over 2 years."

A real-life reference of The Homesteaders statue located in Enid, Oklahoma

We're interested to know, how did you get into sculpting? Was it something you learned at school, or did you teach yourself at home? "I always had a strong artistic background," Martina tells us. "Since elementary school, I have been attending art classes twice a week. When I was 14, I discovered the world of digital painting, which made me even more obsessed with creating art. When I started working at SCS, I became interested in the process of creating assets, so I began experimenting with 3D programs. Sculpting quickly caught my eye. It’s like painting, but with a third dimension, and it somehow felt so much more satisfying than painting. I completely fell in love with the process."

Věra also shares her answer "As a lover of figures such as Warhammer, or video games, and classical historical statues, I was mesmerized by such art forms and wanted to create something on my own, so I downloaded Blender and started my journey. Thanks to YouTube I learnt the basics of 3D sculpting and couldn't stop creating."

A 3D Digital Sculpture of The Homesteaders statueWhen creating digital sculptures for ETS2 or ATS, what kinds of tools and software do you use? "For sculpting, we use the ZBrush software from Maxon." Martina shares "It is the leading and the most efficient sculpting software on the market. As for hardware, I use my big non-screen Huion graphic tablet and a short keyboard that will fit next to my tablet and allow me to use shortcuts comfortably".

The process of creating and integrating a digital sculpture or asset into a game is far from quick or simple. It requires multiple steps and the use of specialized software. Věra explains, “First of all, I start with a block-out. In this step, the main goal is to create a simple shape that resembles the general form of the sculpture. After that, we can start sculpting, which is my favourite part since we’re playing with all the details. At this stage, we use ZBrush, which is excellent for sculpting organic forms.”

Martina agrees on the importance of starting with the basics, saying, “Everything starts with good proportions. I use the most basic shapes with the lowest polygon count possible. Each time I feel satisfied with the proportions, I increase the polygon count. It’s always good to work with lower polygon counts initially because I can use the polygon flow to my advantage. Once my sculpture feels finished after a few rounds of detailing, I use a decimation tool to drastically reduce unnecessary polygons while keeping all the details. This version isn’t usable for further sculpting, but it’s perfectly optimized for import into other software.”

The next step is creating a low-poly version of the model, a process called retopology. Věra explains, “If I’m satisfied with the high-resolution sculpture, I move to Maya, where I create a more optimised version of the sculpture. This step is crucial because we have to lower the resolution, or it won’t run in the game.”

Once the lower-poly model is ready, UV mapping comes next. “UV mapping,” Martina explains, “is the process of transferring a 3D model into a 2D space. It tells us which part of the model will be covered with texture and where.” Věra adds a colourful analogy: “I would describe UV mapping as peeling an orange. If we want to draw on a 3D object, we need to flatten it first. So, like peeling an orange, we peel the model and draw on the 2D rind.”

The final steps involve texturing and assembling the model. “I use Adobe Substance Painter,” says Martina. “First, I import the low-poly model and use the ‘baking’ tool to imprint all the details from the high-poly model onto a normal map texture. Then, I can easily apply any material to the model. I’ve created some of my own metal materials, which I modify as needed.” Věra shares a similar approach: “The fun part is adding colours and details in Substance Painter. Sometimes, we need to make adjustments in Photoshop before going back to Maya to assemble everything, create LODs, and add the finishing touches.”

"However, in some unique cases, to save time on more difficult or interesting sculptures, I like to re-use older statues or just parts of them and re-sculpt them to look brand new."

So how long does a sculpture typically take from start to finish? "It depends on the complexity of the sculpture," Martina explains. "Some statues take a few days, while others can take weeks. Realistic statues always require a bit more time and care."

What are some of the more challenging aspects of creating sculptures? "Optimization is always very critical for us," says Martina. "Sometimes, it can limit us or require us to come up with alternate solutions. It can be challenging, but it also makes my job more interesting."

We then went on to ask about their favourite sculpture they had created. "One of my proudest works is the Enid Heritage Center statue." Věra shares "It warmed my heart to see it praised in a Reddit post. Another favourite of mine is the Santa Cruz Clock Tower statue. This wasn’t an ordinary sculpture, it serves as a reminder of the loss and grief that war leaves behind, not just for a specific war. At one point during its creation, the statue depicted more intense pain, but it was eventually changed to avoid being too disturbing."

A real-life reference of the Buffalo Soldier Memorial statue located in Junction City, Kansas

Martina tells us of their favourite sculpture too "There was one really strange statue of a metal lady made out of metal scraps. It was quite challenging to make it look good and optimised at the same time. I usually sculpt statues of riders on the horse. Sculpting animals is my favourite. I worked lately on cows and dogs too." Between the both of them, Martina and Věra have created more than 50 statues for current and upcoming map expansions.

And for those who share similar interests in digital sculpting, do you have any words? Věra shares "There is no such thing as talent, you are going to get better only if you practice, and that applies to any art." Martina also adds "Fight for your dreams. Working in the game industry is more achievable than it seems".

We hope you enjoyed this insight into the world of digital sculpting and what goes into the work you see behind those landmark statues found across Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator. We'd like to thank both Věra and Martina for taking the time to talk with us and share their work, knowledge and experience with you in this Under the Hood blog! If you have some suggestions for future topics, be sure to let us know in the comments below. Until next time, keep on truckin'!

Welcome to Cape Girardeau, Missouri! This city full of history is located on the western bank of the Mississippi River, right on the border with Illinois. So let's take a look at how our map designers recreated it for American Truck Simulator.

Cape Girardeau traces its origins back to the 18th century, starting as a modest trading post. It was officially established as a city in 1793. Today, with a population of approximately 40,000, it stands as the largest city between St. Louis and Memphis, serving as a regional hub for education, commerce, and healthcare.

This city is home to numerous beautiful historic buildings which our teams meticulously recreated for our game. These include landmarks like the Old St. Vincent's Catholic Church, the River Campus, Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge, Fort D, and the Missouri Wall of Fame, as well as other buildings such as the local synagogue, courthouse, or dry dock. We believe our asset and map designers did a great job putting it all together and you will feel like you are really there!

As always, truckers delivering in and out of the city will find plenty of job opportunities in the many depots that this city offers. You can come across a factory for building materials, a yacht builder, a truck and trailer service, a supermarket, a feed mill, a riverport, or even an ongoing construction site of a parking lot that will need your services.

We hope you are excited to visit this town once we release the Missouri DLC. If you want to show us that you are also looking forward to trucking in this map expansion, don't forget to add it to your Steam Wishlist! Remember to follow us on our X/Twitter, Facebook[www.facebook.com], Instagram[www.instagram.com], BlueSky[bsky.app], and YouTube, so you won't miss out on any American Truck Simulator news.

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/2730870/American_Truck_Simulator__Missouri/

We are excited to reveal that the 1.53 Update for American Truck Simulator is now released and available on Steam for you to enjoy! This free update contains some new content that you can read about below.

We want to express our gratitude to everyone who took part in the Open Beta, shared their feedback, and reported bugs. Your contributions were invaluable in helping us fine-tune this update, implement improvements, and address issues that might have slipped through earlier. Thanks to your efforts, we hope you can now fully enjoy the results of your hard work!


Phase 4 of the California Rework project focused on the southern region of California and includes 10 cities, 3 of which are entirely new to the world of American Truck Simulator. Drivers working in this region can make deliveries to and from the cities of Bakersfield, Santa Maria[blog.scssoft.com], Oxnard[blog.scssoft.com], Mojave, Barstow, Indio, Blythe, Los Angeles[blog.scssoft.com], San Diego[blog.scssoft.com], and El Centro. Similar to previous phases, much of the original base map was removed and reworked entirely from the ground up including the cities' surrounding areas.

Our team also focused on reworking key routes, including major coastal highways such as the US-101, CA-1, and I-5. In addition, several other important routes have been revamped, such as the CA-58, CA-14, and CA-99, along with interstates I-10, I-15, I-40, and I-8, which serve as vital connections to neighboring U.S. states. You can read about this phase of the rework project in more detail in a dedicated blog post[blog.scssoft.com].


Since the 1.50 update, we have implemented and then further expanded the dynamic cargo loading and unloading feature. So far, truckers have been able to experience this feature when hauling a grain hopper, a chip van, or a bolster logger. When using the logger, truckers were able to transport logs and enjoy the animated loading and unloading only in Arkansas. With the 1.53 update, this feature is available throughout the whole USA!


In the 1.53 update, The Fifth Generation Cascadia from Freightliner[blog.scssoft.com] was implemented into Driving Academy[blog.scssoft.com], our brand new game module introduced in 1.52. This state-of-the-art truck is the newest addition to the ATS truck roster, and now you can try it out in various challenging scenarios in Driving Academy!


We're happy to introduce a feature that we believe many players will find helpful, especially those who often adjust their settings to fine-tune what is best to their liking and setup. When changing an option with a default value, players now have a visual indication of when a setting has been moved or changed from its default state.

Settings that have been adjusted from their default value now appear with a small visual indicator alongside that setting. We hope this helps users find which settings have been altered from default.


Another new feature that we are happy to include with this update is Smooth and Auto Camera Centering! Players can enable this new option to return their camera to the central position automatically after moving it. When activated by the player or by moving forward, the smooth centering feature becomes noticeable as it gently transitions the camera to the central position.

This addition comes with a range of personal preference options, including three options for speed, which controls how fast or slow the camera returns to the center; as well as the option to set how many seconds of delay there should be before re-centering occurs.

For players who use a third-party head-tracking solution or prefer to adjust the position of the camera manually, there is the option to disable this feature altogether.


We have also updated the Special Transport DLC. As part of the California Rework project, we have added a new route for truckers to haul oversized cargo - between the rebuilt cities of Los Angeles and San Diego via the I-5.

But that's not all. In response to community feedback, we've decided to raise the maximum speed limit for special transport deliveries. Escort vehicles and transport trucks themselves can now travel at speeds of up to 55 mph, an increase from the previous limit of 40 mph.


We have also introduced a new sliding tandems feature. Previously, players could only set trailer axles in a fixed forward or rear position. Now, select trailers come with updated chassis, allowing players to slide the axles freely to optimize the weight distribution for their load.

But be cautious! To make this feature as realistic as possible, if the trailer's rear axle's distance exceeds 40 feet from the kingpin, you risk receiving a fine at Californian weigh stations and, in some cases, directly from the police.


Map

• California Rework - Phase 4 release

Gameplay

• Dynamic cargo loading & unloading of logs available throughout the USA
  
• New Special Transport route from Los Angeles to San Diego
  
• Raised speed limit for Special Transport jobs from 40 mph to 55 mph

Vehicles

• The new Fifth Generation Freightliner Cascadia® added to Driving Academy
  
• Fully functional sliding tandems and fines system

UI

• Visualization of changed options in the settings
  
• Smooth and Auto camera centering

We hope you are excited about the new content! Remember to follow us on our social media (X/Twitter, Instagram[www.instagram.com], Facebook[www.facebook.com], TikTok[www.tiktok.com]) so you won't miss out on any news from the world of American Truck Simulator, and share screenshots and videos with us featuring new content. Drive safe!

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/270880/American_Truck_Simulator/

A map expansion without roads? Now that would be a logistical nightmare for our drivers! Luckily, that's not the case here. In this blog, we bring a preview of the road network that awaits you in our upcoming Missouri map expansion for American Truck Simulator.

Our teams have meticulously recreated some of the big junctions and intersections inspired by real locations in the Show Me State. Here you can see some of them.

One notable spot is a major road junction just outside St. Joseph, where US-36 and I-229 converge. This area also includes the Pony Express Bridge, which spans the Missouri River and connects Missouri to Kansas.

On the opposite side of the state near Jefferson City, you will find a detailed recreation of the intersection where US-54 and US-50 meet. Nearby, the beautiful Jefferson City Bridge offers a scenic route northeast of the city.

In the eastern part of Columbia, there's another complex interchange involving the US-63 and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Highway.

At the heart of Kansas City, you will find two major junctions that are closely connected. They are linked by Interstate 70, which runs through both. These critical intersections serve as connections between I-70 with Interstate 35, and US-71.

We hope you are excited to get in your truck and take it for a ride on some of these roads! If you want to show us that you are also looking forward to trucking in this map expansion, don't forget to add it to your Steam Wishlist! Remember to follow us on our Twitter, Facebook[www.facebook.com], Instagram[www.instagram.com], and YouTube, so you won't miss out on any American Truck Simulator news.

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/2730870/American_Truck_Simulator__Missouri/

On Sunday night, we officially ended two running World of Trucks events. Now, it is time to take a look at how successful they were. Our #BestCommunityEver managed to complete both the #HappyHauloween and #CruisingArkansas events on time and thus earned their community rewards!

We always celebrate the release of a new DLC with a World of Trucks event, and Arkansas could not have been an exemption. The #CruisingArkansas event started on the 16th of September with a community goal of driving 125,000,000 miles (201,168,000 km) while delivering cargo to or from any city in Arkansas. We were happy to see that our #BestCommunityEver reached this impressive number on the 1st of November with more than two weeks to spare!

As you can see in this infographic, you have overcome the goal by more than 22 million miles and completed over 450 thousand deliveries!

Along with this event, we have also hosted the annual #HappyHauloween event which started on the 25th of October - this year's theme being ghosts. The community goal of collectively completing 1,300,000 deliveries of Halloween Treats (which is almost double from two years ago) was completed in just two weeks on the 7th of November so everyone who completed this event can now treat themselves to spooktacular rewards!

The numbers for the Hauloween event are even more impressive. The total job count was overcome by a stunning 469 thousand! And while doing that, you drove over 460 thousand miles. Impressive!

We hope you thoroughly enjoyed both events and are now ready to claim your exclusive rewards! For the #CruisingArkansas event, participants earned the White-tailed Watch ATS truck paint job as a personal reward, while the community unlocked the beautiful Diamond Apple Blossom hanging pendant.

Meanwhile, completing the #HappyHauloween event means you can now decorate your cabin with the spooky Booing Ghost as a personal reward, along with the fun Grumpy Ghost hanging toy as a community reward.

We also appreciate all the photos, videos, and other content you shared with us on social media. It really makes our teams happy to see how much you enjoy participating in these events.

If you couldn't fully complete these events, we hope you still enjoyed taking part! And don't worry, more will come in the future. Make sure not to miss any upcoming event by following us on X/Twitter, Facebook[www.facebook.com], Instagram[www.instagram.com], and YouTube where we always share the latest news and updates. Until then, keep on trucking!

It's been almost a year, and we're excited to bring you another Under the Hood blog about Custom Depots. In the previous blog post[blog.scssoft.com], we discussed the topic more broadly, but today, we're diving deeper to give you an inside look at the detailed work that goes into creating one specific type of custom depot - timber harvest sites!

We first introduced custom depots in the Kansas DLC for American Truck Simulator starting with farming and agricultural sites. The custom timber harvest sites debuted in our newest map expansion for ATS, the Arkansas DLC. In this blog, we interviewed some of our colleagues who have put a lot of effort into bringing these depots to life. One of them is our Depot Producer, Veronika.

Veronika - Depot & Asset Producer

"Not all depots are custom-made by the map design team, but certain types are perfect candidates for something truly unique. You might wonder, 'Why timber harvest sites?' The answer is simple. These depots handle fewer types of cargo but accommodate various trailer types, and, most importantly, they're located far from cities and surrounded by breathtaking natural scenery. Map designers can create beautiful terrain with elevated forest roads, winding streams, and rugged rocks - all of which become part of the depot's core area. Don't believe me? Check out our first timber harvest sites in the latest ATS map expansion Arkansas," Veronika shared with us.

As players may have noticed, we strive to include custom depots in new DLCs for both games. During the development of the Kansas DLC, we were already planning unique timber harvest sites for the forestry-focused state of Arkansas, with input from Eliška, our Map Economy Research Designer. Once we decided to move forward with this, we faced an important question: How do we communicate the specifics of the depot's design so that map designers can accurately create it?

To tackle this, Veronika, Eliška, and the research team collaborated to create a detailed guideline based on both real-world examples and game mechanics.

Eliška - Map Economy Research Designer

As Eliška explains: "The key elements are the loading and unloading spots. Timber harvest sites feature four main areas tailored to trailer types in the game - logs loading, wood chips loading, a fuel unloading area, and spots for loading and unloading machinery and equipment on platform trailers. Additionally, our updated guidelines for future DLCs provides map designers with information on suitable assets, such as machinery from our Forest Machinery DLC or design inspiration from real timber harvesting sites."

Our colleague Jiří from the research department told us about other areas that are important for the immersive effect we wanted to give the players hauling into these depots and thus needed a lot of background information for the map designers to work with.

Jiří - Researcher

"We put great emphasis on the correct use of forestry techniques and realistic representation of trees and ground surfaces. We try to make the players feel as if they have visited the forest in real life. So you can count on finding just the right kind of trees or shrubs in a given location. My colleague Petr and his team have also analyzed the surfaces of forest paths and types of forest structures such as bridges to make the journey to the forest depot interesting. The list of forest equipment in our game is already extensive. However, we try to keep it as close to real life as possible and are constantly adding new machines and upgrading old models. It is essential to teach fellow map designers working on the depot what the machine is used for and how to use it in the map. For each machine, a description including photos and videos from real operations was created," says our colleague Jiří.

The author of the custom depot logic is our programmer Max who also told us a little bit about his work on this project.

Max - Programmer

"The most interesting task was the creation of a custom depot system itself. It is a system that allows using more flexible points and can stand in the game side by side with classical prefab-defined company depots and has its own logic and connection to game economy subsystems. But there will always be some minor tasks to improve and tweak - like adding new specific trailer types or other rules we might need in the future," Max told us.

Map designers create the customs depots with separate models made by our assets team. We spoke with Rown, our 3D Artist, about his work on this project. You can read for yourself just how much effort went into creating the wooden piles alone. Apart from that, Rown also designed the workflow, created the logs' texture designs, produced most of the close-up textures, communicated with the materials department for successful texture completion, and did some bug fixing as well.

Rown - 3D Artist

Paul - 3D Artist

"While we had models from our previous map expansions, the scale of the tree harvesting industry in Arkansas required us to make a completely new set of models. These models are designed for players to drive around, deliver to the depots in their trucks, and watch the dynamic (un)loading feature. In total we've made over 11 unique piles of wood, each accompanied by different looks and variants resulting in over 84 possible combinations that the Map Designers and Animators could use to make our game world feel alive and unique. Since we had to do every model from scratch, it was a great opportunity to increase the visual fidelity of our wood industry-related assets in our effort to reimagine some of the game's more dated-looking assets," says Rown, who collaborated on this task with his colleague Paul. Paul also created single logs for the vehicles, and low-detail log backdrop models seen from a distance, addressed bug fixes, and provided feedback.

The asset department also incorporated the dynamic cargo (un)loading feature by preparing the animated cargo loading space itself, as Lacky who worked on this specific task describes here: "I have prepared a small exported map for the map designers to ensure they don’t overlook any functional details, like maintaining the correct distance between the loader and the parking space. Map designers have placed this exported map directly at the specific parking spot where they want to load the wood, making it appear as a single asset for simplicity. Although it looks straightforward, it actually includes an animated loader, with the wood being loaded highlighted, and linked. This setup clearly indicates that it's an animated loading scene," he says.

As we told you before, map designers then put these pieces together to create the final product. Our colleague Vopi gave us an in-depth description of the final creation of these timber harvest depots on which he had worked.

Vopi - Map Designer

"Designing custom timber harvests is a little different than working on other, more "rigid", custom depots where we usually have stricter rules based on a lot of research. With timber harvests, I could unleash my creativity a bit more, because I was working with natural features, and the sites themselves are not strictly defined. On the other hand, the lack of references about such places can make things difficult sometimes. That's where the guidelines from our economy research department comes in very handy," he says.

"The creation process starts with choosing locations for the sites. I wanted to make each site distinctive and unique to drive through while respecting the local geography. Based on that, some sites are more hilly with challenging switchbacks, while others are more grid-like with long straight sections of dirt roads. A big part of these depots is the road layout, where I tried to implement a lot of elevation changes, switchbacks, and small bridges. The other crucial part is landscaping where I wanted to recreate various natural features like rocks, creeks, rivers, or far distant hills, which in the end make the whole scene unique."

"Meanwhile, there is constant communication with the asset department and other relevant people. There are not many man-made structures in the forest, but these sites required a lot of natural assets, mainly a completely new set of log piles and other wooden debris, which would correspond with our new cargo as well as surrounding vegetation. We also needed a new road set with complementary materials, and quite a bit of harvesting machinery. Without all of this, the depot wouldn't be complete," Vopi shares with us.

As with everything in our games, the last part before release is testing. We asked Michal, our ATS QA Lead about how he perceives this feature.

Michal - ATS QA Lead

"I enjoy working with my colleagues on the difficulty of delivering orders during the prototype phase so that more experienced drivers can enjoy the challenge too. I personally try out and give feedback on every new depot. In my opinion, custom depots is the best feature implemented and maintained in the game recently. Thanks to the very skilled map designers who put these areas together and the detailed information that our research team processes for them, we have managed to greatly enhance the experience of the backbone feature of our game, freight delivery. Custom depots differ from standard depots not only in size and number of load and unload points, but mainly in their uniqueness, which breaks the stereotype of standard depots. I would also like to highlight the excellent work of the asset team who refreshed the old log models to better match both the environment and the loads," says Michal.

No detail is overlooked when planning the new DLC economy. Loading timber marks the start of the forestry industry chain in our game. For the Arkansas DLC, we've also introduced two brand-new depots: a paper mill and a sawmill, each available in multiple locations. Both are enhanced by our dynamic cargo (un)loading feature, supporting chip vans and log trailers for an even more immersive experience.

"I hope players can now see how challenging it is to create even one of these new custom depots. It's hard work, but seeing our players' reactions to the final results and knowing our impact on the game as a whole is incredibly rewarding. Do you enjoy exploring these unique depot sites with us, too?" Veronika asks the community. So let us know below!

We hope you have enjoyed and appreciated this look behind the scenes of our game development. If you like reading our blogs, make sure to stay updated by following us on X/Twitter, Facebook[www.facebook.com], Instagram[www.instagram.com], and YouTube where we always share the latest news and updates. Drive safe!

Since the release of Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator, the processing power of personal computers has made some serious advancements. In turn, we've continually brought updates to both our titles to introduce new technology and techniques, which has allowed us to introduce higher levels of visual fidelity to our content.

One such rework that has been happening over the last couple of years is the 'reimaging of legacy assets', which aims at enhancing the quality and optimization of game models that have started to look outdated and inconsistent with newer additions. The project team consists of two people, Pavel C and Robert P, both of whom we've had the pleasure to talk to about this project to share with you today. We will let them introduce themselves!

"My name is Pavel C. I've been working at SCS Software for about three years as a 3D Graphics Designer, and I am involved in reimagining legacy assets for our title American Truck Simulator and its DLCs."

"My name is Robert P, and I've been working as a 3D Artist at SCS Software for over three years. I've contributed to several DLCs, including Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Arkansas."

So, what is the goal behind this project? "Our goal is to create models that not only look realistic but are also well-optimized," Robert explains. "Many of the assets, although well-made, have started to show their age—especially those in use for nearly a decade. As technology advances, there’s an increasing demand for optimized assets with higher levels of visual fidelity."

Beginning a project like this can be quite challenging, especially on such a large scale, Pavel adds. "Initially, we faced many challenges as we realized we couldn’t rely on our current tools and technology for this project. We therefore had to take a different approach and develop a new workflow, often involving multiple programs and new techniques. Our focus was on finding the shortest path to the best results."

"The initiative to give our older assets a ‘facelift’ began about two years ago. Since then, we’ve organized the project and started creating newer versions of assets commonly used throughout the game world," Robert shares.

So, what is the process behind reworking older assets, and which programs are involved? "We start by analyzing the current models and planning each rework. Each asset needs to be recreated with high visual fidelity while being optimized for performance," Pavel says. "First, we analyze the assets we have and consider what can be reused." Robert adds, "Though most assets need to be remade from scratch."

The next step is gathering references, which we either handle ourselves or, if the task is large, assign to our Research Department. We then design a new logic for the asset, focusing on how it will be used and how convenient it will be for Map Designers to incorporate. Pavel explains further, "We prioritize based on each DLC’s needs and the current state of existing assets, actively collaborating with other teams to ensure consistency across projects."

"We have a list of assets in need of replacement, with priority given to those required for each new DLC. Many custom depots themed for various industries are being created, and during discussions on populating them, we often identify assets in need of a remake. We work with the Map Designers since they are the ones who will place the assets into the game world. They have valuable insights on which assets are effective and easy to use versus those starting to show their age.

We work closely with the Research Department, which helps us gain insights into real-world functionality to enhance the player experience and make it even more immersive," Robert explains. "We also collaborate with external partners, like our friends at 60FPS, to manage the workload of creating numerous new assets for each DLC".

So, what challenges do you often encounter on this project? Pavel responds, "A common challenge is achieving high visual quality while keeping hardware requirements low. We aim to strike a balance between quality and optimization, which involves many iterations and testing various techniques. This is simply part of game development." Robert adds, "Primarily, it’s dealing with outdated technologies. Many workflows that were standard just a few years ago are becoming obsolete, so it's up to us to find an optimal workflow for each asset."

As mentioned earlier, multiple programs are used for this project, and Robert goes on to share more about them. "Our primary software is Autodesk Maya, which we use for most of our modelling, organization, and exporting to the engine. We also use a variety of other tools, such as ZBrush for virtual sculpting, Marmoset Toolbag for mesh baking, and the Adobe Substance suite (Painter and Designer) along with Adobe Photoshop for texturing."

"Modern tools and fewer limitations allow us to make new assets more detailed and varied, avoiding repetition while staying faithful to real-life references. This enhances the overall immersive experience for the player." Pavel adds, "Better quality and optimization mean that players can enjoy a smoother and more visually appealing experience. Details such as refined textures, optimized geometry, and LODs (Levels of Detail) contribute to a more realistic environment."

"It's an interesting learning experience to work with both traditional and up-to-date workflows simultaneously." Robert shares "We compare the strengths and weaknesses of each and leverage the best aspects of both. It’s never the same; each asset feels unique and requires individual attention, bringing new challenges with each DLC. These assets are also used in reskins and redesigns of older areas of the map, so even if you don’t play the newest DLC, there’s a little something for everyone".

So next time you drive by some bales of hay or a stack of pallets, we hope you can appreciate a little more the work behind that asset. We'd like to thank both Robert and Pavel for taking the time to share their work with us, and for providing detailed information for this Under the Hood Blog! If you enjoyed today's blog, be sure to leave a comment in the replies or on our social media channels, we'd love to read about it! Until next time, keep on truckin'.

Howdy, partners! Today, we're celebrating the release of Texas, our largest map DLC for American Truck Simulator, which launched two years ago today. To mark the occasion, we have something special to share with all of you.

The team behind this massive map project came up with the idea to create a special Making of Texas book. This book would contain memories, behind-the-scenes content, and artwork from the DLC, including pictures and notes from the research trip, work-in-progress images of 3D modelling and depot designs, and much more. Today, we're excited to announce that this idea has become a reality!

After putting in so many hours of hard work and passion, we couldn’t let this special book go unseen by our community. So, we’ve decided to release a digital version for everyone to read, browse, or download for your viewing pleasure! You can take a read of it here.[americantrucksimulator.com]

While the physical book was initially meant as a gift for employees and colleagues at SCS Software, we managed to get a few extra copies that we'd love to give away to some lucky members of our #BestCommunityEver.

If you'd like a chance to win one, simply post a screenshot of your truck at your favourite spot in the Texas DLC and share it with us on social media channels (X[x.com], Instagram[www.instagram.com], Facebook[www.facebook.com]) using the hashtag #2YearsOfTexasTrucking. Our team will pick their favourites, and winners will receive a copy of the book! Feel free to include a short message about what you enjoy most about this DLC, we’d love to hear from you.

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/1465750/American_Truck_Simulator__Texas/

We are very excited to welcome you to another SCS On The Road episode. This one is going to be pretty special as we take you behind the scenes of the filming of the American Truck Simulator commercial!

You might have thought we were filming in the heart of an American desert, but in fact, we were located near Malaga in Spain. This episode is hosted by our community manager, Alex, who sat down with special guests involved in shooting the commercial, including SCS Software CEO Pavel Šebor, who makes a brief cameo appearance. Pedro, also known as PUMIZ0 on YouTube, played the main role in the commercial. We are proud to have partnered with him, as we have done so for a couple of years; he has been a dedicated fan of our games for a long time and a key link between SCS and the Portuguese community.

The commercial has already been used for some promotions over social media, and we have some plans with it for the future as well. Now, without further ado, let's take a look at this episode. Make sure to stay until the end as we show you the whole commercial there!

We hope you have enjoyed this SCS On The Road episode and liked the commercial too. Remember to follow us on our X/Twitter, Facebook[www.facebook.com], Instagram[www.instagram.com], and YouTube, so you won't miss out on any upcoming episodes and other American Truck Simulator news.

https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/app/270880/American_Truck_Simulator/