After our previous contests, we were sure that you won't let us down when we started the #IDriveDAF competition - and you didn't. There were over 3,000(!) valid contest entries on specified social media, and a lot more posted on the World of Trucks galleries, community sites, FB fan-sites and other places.



Judging this many entries was a very hard task. With the "semifinal" pick counting more than 100 pictures, we felt bad for every single one of those discarded as we moved towards the final selection. Pretty often a dozen of you had the same idea for the shot and having to choose only one was very difficult. Sadder still was to exclude wonderful pictures, where the author forgot to tag SCS Software or DAF trucks and unfortunately didn't qualify. Nevertheless, we had to choose some winners - and here they are!

First place and winner of the DAF miniature truck (large) + SCS hoodie, T-shirt and hat is:




Second place and winner of the DAF jacket + SCS hoodie and T-shirt is:




Third place and winner of the DAF travel bag + SCS T-shirt set and hat is:




Fourth place and winner of the DAF polo shirt + SCS mug set de Luxe or travel mug set and lunchbox is:




Fifth place and winner of the DAF miniature truck (small) + SCS bag and lanyard is:




All the winners above will be contacted shortly via the same platform they entered through;  if you're one of them, do check your messages! They will also receive a Steam key from our catalogue of their choosing.

---

We and DAF Trucks both are very happy that you guys have enjoyed the contest so much - and thus we've decided to reward a few more of you, in addition to the original 5 winners, so here are some honourable mentions picked from the huge number of other wonderful screenshots that didn't make it to the top.

Those who submitted these selected images will receive a Steam key from our catalogue of their choosing. Perhaps you would like to express your love for these pictures too; the names are hyperlinked, so you are welcome to click on their names and give them a like! Some were really creative, especially on the start of the contests, when hunt for the locations from the video was most intensive! :)



So in no particular order, here they are: Vyacheslav88 ; transnet_group ; sendlok_pl ; mrandytf ; NIHONSAKARI ; Evisson Santos ; SimülasyonTÜRK ; Rikard Johansson ; Christopher Stolzke ; n.anderson

Despite the careful pick from both SCS Software and DAF trucks, there are still many more amazing pictures - so if you want to see more, just search for #IDriveDAF!

We would like to express a massive thank you to all participants. Keep on trucking!

With players of our American Truck Simulator busy with Washington and Forest Machinery, it's time to show some more of the next expansion for Euro Truck Simulator 2. This time, Turkey!



Turkey is a pretty big country (783,356 square kilometers) with a population of more than 80 million people. However, Road to the Black Sea will feature only the European part. This part is bordered by Bulgaria and Greece. It says something about the history of this region - from Ancient Greece, through the Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire and Ottoman Empire to the modern Republic of Turkey, this land has seen it all.



Thus, you'll find a solid number of landmarks, historical buildings and remnants of the past. Edirne, for example, one of the first cities you'll encounter upon entering Turkey, was founded by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, on the place of the ancient Thracian settlement and later served as the third capital city of the Ottoman Empire.



Trucking-wise, Turkey is a great country. The profession of a truck driver is one of high esteem there so anything connected with trucking is usually of a high standard - be it truck stops, gas stations or anything else. But that is a theme for future blog posts. For now, we offer these early screenshots, but we can't wait to reveal more!


https://store.steampowered.com/app/1056760/Euro_Truck_Simulator_2__Road_to_the_Black_Sea/

ː1033ː You still have some time to get some great deals on both ATS and ETS2 in our Steam sale! ː1033ː

We are excited to announce the official release of our newest map expansion, Washington for American Truck Simulator!

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

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1015160/American_Truck_Simulator__Washington/

We also have more surprises under the hood today, with the release of the Forest Machinery DLC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjnpFnmp6kA

This brand new trailer pack offers new and unique trailers for drivers to deliver to throughout Oregon's and Washington's logging industries and includes:

Towed Forest Machinery:

• Forwarder
  
• Log Harvester
  
• Log Loader
  
• Log Stacker
  
• Mulcher
  
• Stumper

Specialized Trailers:

• Tub Grinder
  
• Knuckleboom Loader

Truck Accessories:

• Headache Racks (2 versions for each cabin type)
  
• Hanging Chainsaw toy

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1076080/American_Truck_Simulator__Forest_Machinery/

With the release of these new add-ons, we have created a 'West Coast Bundle' which includes The base game of American Truck Simulator, Oregon and our latest releases, Washington and The Forest Machinery DLC. This special bundle offers great value on these products when purchased together.

You can buy this special bundle on Steam by clicking on the image below!

While the news this week has been dominated by the upcoming release of ATS Washington, we have not forgotten our dedicated Euro Truck Simulator 2 fans. Following the release of the 1.35 Update for ETS2, let's keep the ball rolling by talking about the Road to the Black Sea. Next on our list of country profiles; Bulgaria.





Bulgaria is a medium-sized Slavic country (110,994 square kilometers) bordered by the Black Sea to the east, and Turkey to the south. Its location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia has led it to serve as the staging ground for multiple cultural and strategic shifts over the past centuries and millennia. As the birthplace of the Cyrillic alphabet in 9th century AD, it was also part of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, and then the Soviet-led Eastern Bloc, before finally becoming an independent parliamentary republic in 1991. Relics of this amalgamation of cultures can still be seen throughout the country as you drive along its winding country roads, bustling cities, and serene coastal roads.





While we can't wait to show you much more in the coming months, here's a collection of a few work-in-progress screenshots to whet your appetite; this time featuring some rustic localities and Soviet-era architecture.


https://store.steampowered.com/app/1056760/Euro_Truck_Simulator_2__Road_to_the_Black_Sea/

We're happy to announce that after spending some time in internal testing, Experimental Beta and Public Beta, the Euro Truck Simulator 2 Update 1.35 is now ready for all trucking enthusiasts!



As we have said before, this update is really huge so we'd like to thank all those who helped us in testing it. Due to its size, we won't describe all the details here again (read the Public Beta article please).

Instead, we'd like to address some questions regarding a new feature that was added only a few days ago; GPS voice navigation. As with many other features, please do consider this to be the initial phase. For now, you can choose from 9 different language options (English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Russian, Polish, Turkish and Mandarin Chinese), but we do plan to add more in the future, in addition to other improvements. The beta feedback we've received so far has been really positive, but don't be shy about adding your own on our forum. Your opinion is important to us!

And for those who like short recap videos, here's ours for this content-packed update!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0spF3OFQj1U

To enjoy the 1.35 update, make sure to OPT OUT of beta branches and your game will be automatically updated on Steam.

Some mods, however, may have not caught up yet - this update may effectively break them. So remember that you can always stay on 1.34 or an even older branch. The way to access and select them is: Steam client → LIBRARY → right click on Euro Truck Simulator 2 → Properties → Betas tab → select the version you want.


MAP

• Germany improvements, stage 2
• New French roads: A10-A6 (Vive la France! DLC) and A6-N44
• Sardinia island (Italia DLC)
• Scandinavian signage improvements (Scandinavia DLC)
• New special transport routes (various DLCs)

VEHICLES

• Purchased container trailers
• Purchased logging trailers
• Browse purchased trailers & accessories
• Double trailers in Germany and Netherlands
• Krone Boxliner for 40ft or 2x20ft containers (Krone DLC)
• Purchased Schwarzmüller reefer, curtain and log trailers; also traffic (Schwarzmüller DLC)
• Adjust purchased trailers without service visit (extendable trailer, sliding tandem)
• Copy truck/trailer configuration across fleet
• Wiper settings improved

FEATURES

• GPS Voice navigation
• Use your own purchased trailers in External Contracts on World of Trucks
• Online garage purchase
• Emergency refuelling service
• Input improvements (Steam controller support, Tobii eye tracker support, controller hotplug support, better FF on Linux)
• Razer Chroma support
  https://steamcommunity.com/games/227300/announcements/detail/1620644023173261723
• New options: truck stability, truck suspension, cabin suspension, dual localization of names in map
• Faster job generation for hired drivers
• Lots of new drivers to hire
• Experimental DX11 support

MOD

• Curve item (new editor item)
• Walker/mover item improvement
• Multiple LODs for models
• Modded trucks support (in-game function)
• Traffic data improvement
• Vehicle data improvement (COG, wipers, transmission names, bracers sound)
• Randomized cargo model (eg. container color)
• See the modding wiki for details

We have loved sharing with you our progress on Washington, and with the final touches being made to the map, we are now ready to confirm a date...


We hope that this short trailer will give you a small glimpse on what you will be able to experience for yourself very soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfMXLvxqgoI
And as you can see for yourself, Washington will be rich in content for drivers to explore.

• 3,800 miles of dense road network
  
• 16 brand new cities (Vancouver, Longview, Aberdeen, Olympia, Tacoma, Seattle, Everett, Port Angeles, Bellingham, Omak, Wenatchee, Yakima, Kennewick, Grand Coulee, Spokane, Colville)
  
• More than 20 landmark bridges
  
• 10 original truckstops
  
• Keystone-Port Townsend Ferry
  
• Spokane swing bridge
  
• Grand Coulee dam
  
• Washington's iconic mountains (Mount St. Helens and Mt. Rainier)
  
• Challenging logging cliff road
  
• Dynamic speed limits and LED signs
  
• New unique cargoes: aircraft engines, piggy back trucks, boat...
  
• Large and realistic ports (Seattle, Tacoma, Everett)
  
• Many unique junctions
  
• Distinct company docks: yacht builders, vast farms, material storages...
  
• Washington-specific achievements to unlock

With the upcoming release of this map expansion, you will see news, reviews, images, and videos appearing online this coming weekend. With a plan to lift the embargo, the media as well as trusted friends of SCS Software will be able to openly start showing their footage from the map.

Additionally, on Thursday the 6th and Saturday the 8th of June we will be hosting a special Washington stream (on both our Twitch and Steam) featuring gameplay of the new map expansion and special guests who were involved in the making of Washington. They will be guiding you through this new state, hosting giveaways, talking with you in the chats and much more, so make sure to tune in from 4pm UTC on Thursday and 5pm UTC on Saturday!

Related Washington posts: announcement, urban landmarks, prefab building, logging cliff road, farming, landscapes, Kenworth Renton assembly plant, Everett aerospace factory, Mount St. Helens, bridges, Seattle, Grand Coulee Dam

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1015160/American_Truck_Simulator__Washington/

Since you already know what our next map expansion will be, it's time to take a closer look at the countries found on the Road to the Black Sea. This time, Romania.

Romania is a large (238,397 square kilometres) and wonderful country with a unique spirit and cultural tradition. A reason for this lies in the fact that the country is at the crossroad of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Many different influences met in Romania during its rich history, and marks of these can be seen even today - for example in the number of architectural landmarks.


From a driver's point of view, you'll find everything you might desire - high mountains, deep forests, rivers, coastal roads and more! For now, here's a fresh batch of heavily work-in-progress screenshots, but you may look forward to more blog posts about the country's specifics - there's a lot to write about. One example would be the infamous castle which many of you might be interested to see...


https://store.steampowered.com/app/1056760/Euro_Truck_Simulator_2__Road_to_the_Black_Sea/

You may have noticed that we have recently added a new paint-job scheme into Euro Truck Simulator 2. The Pure Excellence paint-job for the DAF XF Euro 6 truck and trailer is now available in both versions of Euro Truck Simulator 2 (1.34 and the 1.35 Open Beta) as free additional content for every owner of the base game.



Here is why! We have been discussing an idea to do a cross-promotional campaign with DAF for a while, and finally, we are ready. We are excited to start a new screenshot competition in cooperation with the wonderful people at DAF trucks!

As a lucky coincidence for this week, we are also participating in the Steam Weekly Sale on a large selection of our content; we are throwing in a special DAF Bundle temporarily with an additional discount on the DAF tuning pack.



The competition starts today (20.5.2019) and will end on the 3rd of June 2019 at 23:59 UTC, with 5 lucky winners taking home some fantastic prizes. There will also be prizes given for Honorable Mentions. So how can you enter?

The conditions are simple:

• Watch the DAF Trucks video carefully
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU05sJMLrOA
• Take an in-game screenshot of your DAF truck (XF 105 or XF Euro 6) at a location similar to that in the video.
• Post your screenshot and make sure to follow and tag DAF Trucks and SCS Software on Twitter or DAF Trucks and SCS Software on Instagram, plus using the hashtag #IDriveDAF
• If you want to enter through Facebook, make sure to like the following pages: DAF and Euro Truck Simulator 2. Post your screenshot under the announcement post on both these pages with the hashtag #IDriveDAF
• Multiple entries are permitted, but each must contain a unique screenshot (on Facebook, you need to post each entry to both the ETS2 and DAF pages). Posting the same screenshot multiple times on Twitter/Instagram will disqualify you from the contest. Cross-posting is allowed.
• Mods are allowed - as long as they are of DAF content or generic branding.
• Editing/post-processing of the photo entry is not allowed. 

What makes this competition unique, is that all 5 winners will receive prizes from e-shops of both DAF Trucks and SCS Software. Take a look at what prizes you could win!

1. DAF miniature truck (large) + SCS hoodie, T-shirt and hat
2. DAF jacket + SCS hoodie and T-shirt
3. DAF travel bag + SCS T-shirt set and hat
4. DAF polo shirt + SCS mug set de Luxe or travel mug set (to be shown in tomorrows stream) and lunchbox
5. DAF miniature truck (small) + SCS bag and lanyard

Additionally, on Tuesday the 21st of May, at 15:00 UTC we will be hosting another live stream (on both Twitch and Steam) with Alex (LondonLad), Carthoo and Nemiro live from the SCS Studio! They will be driving DAF trucks, hosting giveaways, talking with you in the chats and much more, so make sure to tune in!

TL:DR - over the next two weeks, you can look forward to seeing interesting videos and information on DAF Trucks, multiple giveaways, and of course your fantastic photos plus a chance to win some great prizes! #IDriveDAF

With the number of blog posts featuring news from the upcoming update, you could see how big it's probably going to be. And now you can experience it for yourself - in the 1.35 Open Beta!



There's hardly a single part of our game that hasn't received a new addition or feature in this update, so let's go through them, starting with map developments.


Sardinia is one of two big map additions that 1.35 brings. Most of those who helped us by entering the Experimental Beta were thrilled with how much our map designers were able to squeeze into such a small island. Sardinia is, however, the second biggest island of the Mediterranean, so there's enough room for impressive landscapes and coastal roads.


Another huge region that has received a massive overhaul comes as part of our Germany refresh. There are over 2,000 in-game kilometres of new and reconstructed roads, two completely new highways, updated service stations, new landmarks and much more - see our dedicated article!


Furthermore, we have added two more roads in France (one in the base game and one in the Vive La France map expansion), an improved sign system in Scandinavia and a number of Special Transport jobs all over the map, including regions within Beyond the Baltic Sea!

• St. Petersburg to St. Petersburg (Beyond the Baltic Sea)
• Pori to Helsinki (Beyond the Baltic Sea)
• Toulouse to Montpellier (Viva la France!)
• Verona to Parma (Italia)
• Odense to Hirtshals (Scandinavia)
• Krakow to Banska Bystrica (Going East!)
• Plymouth to Dover (base game)

Trailers alone would be sufficient content to make a standalone update, but they are also coming to 1.35. The Krone extendable Box Liner, Schwarzmüller trailers (reefer, curtain and log variants), SCS Container and Logging trailers are now ready to become a part of your fleet! You'll also see Schwarzmüller trailers on AI trucks.

As in American Truck Simulator, new features include trailer adjustments (extendable trailers, sliding tandems), new wiper settings and the option to copy truck/trailer configurations. And to please "Long Vehicle" sign lovers, double trailers are now permitted in the Netherlands and Germany!


Other new general features include the ability to use your own trailers for external contracts (World of Trucks jobs), and the experimental support for DX11. Keep in mind, that while there are discussions about the performance benefits of DX11, it remains an experimental feature. The ambition is currently simply to reach feature/visual parity with DirectX 9 and OpenGL renderers before we can move on with new visual features. It is still a work in progress; so while we are grateful for your feedback, use it only at your own risk.


Other smaller improvements include some of your suggestions on our forum's community wishlist. There's a considerable number of new drivers that you can hire for your company, a localised dual-language map display and the option to buy garages online, without the need to have the city discovered.


Last but not least, there's now a reworked cabin suspension, official support for Razer Chroma and the Tobii Eye Tracker 4C, input improvements and an option for emergency refuelling. Thanks to all this, the UI had to change significantly; but according to the feedback from Experimental Beta, you shouldn't have any problems to orient yourselves quickly again.

So enjoy all the new additions, but please remember: It's only an open beta, not a stable public version - so you may encounter bugs, instability, kinks or crashes. It's completely okay if you want to wait for the final release. But if you're interested in helping us to get there faster, we'll appreciate all your feedback on our forum and your bug reports in this section.
If you wish to participate in the open beta, you can find this version in the public_beta branch on Steam. The way to access it is as follows: Steam client → LIBRARY → right click on Euro Truck Simulator 2 → Properties → Betas tab → public_beta → 1.35 public beta. No password is required.


MAP

• Germany improvements, part 2 (base game)
  https://steamcommunity.com/games/227300/announcements/detail/1651042050431842601
• New French roads: A10-A6 (Viva La France DLC) and A6-N44 (base game)
• Sardinia island (Italia DLC)
  https://steamcommunity.com/games/227300/announcements/detail/1651042050397872022
• Scandinavian signage improvements (Scandinavia DLC)
• New special transport routes (various DLCs)

VEHICLES

• Ownable container trailers
• Regular owned-trailer accessory browser
• Trailer run-time adjustment (extendable trailers, sliding tandems)
• Truck/trailer configurations can be copied across a fleet
• Wiper setting improvements
• Ownable logging trailers
• Double trailers in Germany and Netherlands
• Krone extendable Box Liner for 40ft or 2x20ft containers (Krone DLC)
• Ownable Schwarzmüller reefer, curtain and log trailers including AI variants (Schwarzmüller DLC)

FEATURES

• Owned trailers usable in External contracts (WoTr)
• Online garage purchase
• Emergency refuelling service
• Input improvements (Steam controller support, Tobii eye tracker support, controller hot-swapping support, better force-feedback on Linux)
• Razer Chroma support (RGB)
  https://steamcommunity.com/games/227300/announcements/detail/1620644023173261723
• New options: truck stability, suspension stiffness, dual-localisation names on the map
• Lots of new drivers to hire
• Cabin suspension reworked
• Experimental DX11 support (config only, r_device "dx11")

MOD

• Modded trucks support (in-game function)
• Center-of-gravity moved from trailer defs to trailer chassis defs (for easier modding)
• New wiper delay+speed format
• Removed default sound for trailer legs (now empty by default)
• Cargo models randomized (e.g. container)
• Timezone areas (introduced in 1.34)
• Transmission mode names
• Curve item (map item)
• Mover/walker redesign
• Traffic improvements
• Dynamic Level-of-Detail for models

Where do those new roads lead to? It's the question many of you in the community have been speculating over the past few months, and today we are excited to announce our next Euro Truck Simulator 2 map expansion - Road to the Black Sea.

We are happy to confirm that this new addition will bring the countries of Romania, Bulgaria, and the European part of Turkey (Thrace) to ETS2.

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

From the small villages found in the countryside, to the large bustling city of Istanbul, these three countries are rich with history, unique architecture and landmarks such as "Dracula's"Castle found in Romania. All of these which you will see on your travels on the road to The Black Sea.

Just as impressive as the man-made structures built in these countries are the surrounding natural landscapes. Many of your journeys may lead you through forests, coastal roads or mountain ranges such as the ones found in Transylvania, which create a scenic drive for any traveler.










So, when will you able to explore these new roads for yourself? We expect to release this map expansion towards the end of this year.

We can't wait to share more with you through upcoming blog posts and on our social media channels. In the meantime, why not add Road to the Black Sea to your Steam Wishlist?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1056760/Euro_Truck_Simulator_2__Road_to_the_Black_Sea/