We love to bring you new game updates, especially ones that have been highly requested by our community! Today, we are happy to share with you that the 1.42 update is now in Open Beta for both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator and is ready to be tried and tested by you, our #BestCommunityEver.
 


Please keep in mind that this Open Beta is a work-in-progress build. If you plan on participating in this Open Beta, you can contribute by reporting any bugs you may encounter in the appropriate section(s) of our official forums. Your feedback and reports are extremely valuable for our team and we thank you in advance for taking the time to help us out.

Whilst our updates usually feature many new updates and changes, this update is focused more on introducing one new and big feature to our Convoy online multiplayer mode alongside some smaller updates and general fixes. With that in mind, let's take a look at what the 1.42 update has in store!

Convoy MOD Support

Support for third-party modifications in Convoy was a very loud request from our community when we first released our multiplayer mode. Since that time, our teams have made it a high priority on their list to support the use of MODs. 



However, this was not an easy task for our team, especially when it came to the challenge of profile recovery when a crucial MOD is removed or changed, and visualizing what MODs are missing from the Steam Workshop when players join a server that contains modifications. We have done our best to overcome these hurdles, however, there may be a few things that might need tweaking and changing before we are fully satisfied with the results.

We have also created a completely new UI to accommodate MOD support. When you enter the session browser, you will see a new section on the right side listing the MOD compatibility requirements for the server. We have also included new icons for servers to let you know which servers have MODs enabled and which do not.
 



Previously, next to the server session, we indicated if you could or could not join the server using a red or green icon depending on if the session was full or due to problems with map compatibility or even with different game version numbers. We have now introduced an orange icon, which indicates you cannot join the server now, but via the new MOD synchronization UI you can download the missing modifications and join then!



If a modification is missing and it is available via the Steam Workshop, you will be able to download it via the Steam browser which will be overlaid in-game, so you do not need to exit the game to subscribe to it. This will be accessible by a new window that opens when you try to join a session where you have some missing MODs. This window will show you all your currently installed modifications on the left side and all the modifications the server is using on the right side.



If the server is using a modification that is NOT available on the Steam Workshop and downloaded via a third-party site, then you will need to source the modification yourself. Unfortunately, our system will not be able to check what version of the modification the server has or where it is sourced. Once you have everything required by the server, the confirm button will become available and you will be able to join the session.



We expect a majority of popular modifications to work from the get-go with this update, however, there may be some compatibility issues with others. Also, in some rare situations, using MODs in Convoy sessions during Open Beta might lead to corrupted profile saves. It is recommended to backup your profile data before switching to this beta branch. However, may you encounter a situation where your saves or profile gets corrupted or damaged, we really need you to report this to us with as detailed feedback as possible on our forum (ETS2/ATS).

MOD authors please be aware that some modifications will require some adjustments to work properly in Convoy. Sound modifications will be heard locally by the user, but other players will not hear them as remote trucks use a simpler soundbank (or they may just hear default truck sounds) if the modification is not configured to do so. Vehicles, Trailers, and Cargo modifications must also include proper traffic models for other players to see and interact with. 




Our teams will continue working hard throughout the Open Beta and beyond to overcome the difficulties that may come with using third-party modifications in the convoy mode. Your help and contributions during the Open Beta will be extremely valuable to our teams, so please submit your bug reports and feedback on the appropriate sections of our forum (ETS2/ATS). 

We look forward to seeing the many wonderful and creative MODs that will be used whilst convoying together with friends! We also plan to release a new FAQ in the future with more up-to-date information as we continue to work on the Convoy feature. You can find our first Convoy FAQ blog here, which answers the community's most popular questions!

Third-party modifications were used to create illustrative screenshots for this blog article. By choosing these publicly available MODs to make such screenshots we make no claim or endorsement of any kind that these MODs or their authors are officially supported, recognized, preferred, or recommended by SCS Software.

Force Feedback Update

1.42 also brings an update to our Force Feedback profiles for steering wheels and controllers which are compatible with Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator. 

However, our QA doesn't have access to all the various controllers on the market, so during this Open Beta, we ask that you help us by submitting your feedback along with information about the wheel you are using. This will significantly help us make tweaks and changes so that all wheel users can benefit from this update.


Gameplay

• Initial MOD support for Convoy multiplayer

UI

• Convoy session modification UI added for MOD compatibility and downloads.

Other

• Force feedback improved and available for more controller types on more systems (Linux)
• Steering wheel animation range setting

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 of your feedback on our forum and your bug reports in these sections - ETS2/ATS.

Please check our modding wiki to get details pertaining to mods for the game.

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/American Truck Simulator → Properties → Betas tab → public_beta → Public Beta 1.42. No password is required.

From the scorching temperatures of the Tabernas Desert to the bustling city of Madrid, Iberia has been a popular destination for truckers since its release in April. Based on feedback from our community since its launch, our map team thought it'd be good to revisit the map expansion and bring some new additional content.



Their main focus is to bring new country roads alongside the many highways of Iberia for you to use and explore. For those who prefer to take the more scenic routes while trucking, we know how much you'll appreciate it!




So where will be these new roads located? The first new addition can be found north of Madrid, linking together the A-1 and A-2 highways. This new road (N-234) passes alongside the city, which also happens to be located by the River Douro, the mouth of which can be found in Portugal!






The second new road can be found in the south of Portugal, starting near the city of Sines, passing by the city of Beja and ending in Spain, just above Seville! These new roads will not only provide truckers with alternative routes whilst out on delivery, but also more beautiful scenery and areas to explore in Iberia!





This content is being created by our new map designers as a part of their training program. However, we have been impressed by their work so much that we decided to use it and bring it to the Iberia expansion in the future, most probably still this year. We always try our best to have some extra capacity to occasionally revisit/reskin some parts of the older in-game worlds, that's something you already know about us. Maybe you'll start seeing more of these extra additions across our released DLCs from time to time as well.





We hope you'll enjoy this new and free additional content that is coming to the Iberia expansion!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1209460/Euro_Truck_Simulator_2__Iberia/

Volvo Construction Equipment is among the world’s leading manufacturers of articulated haulers and wheel loaders, and one of the world’s foremost manufacturers of excavation equipment, road development machines, and compact construction equipment. With over 180 years in the business, Volvo CE continues to lead in their field and in technology and safety.



Today we are excited to announce the arrival of this premium brand to both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator! The Volvo Construction Equipment DLC (ATS, ETS2) includes 5 different branded construction machinery from Volvo CE's line-up for drivers to haul and deliver across Europe and the USA. This DLC pack will include:

A25G (Articulated Hauler)




The Volvo A25G is a medium-sized articulated Dump Truck, weighing in at over 22 tons and measuring at over 3.3m (11ft) in height and 10m (33ft) in length! This machine is most commonly used in agriculture, mining, construction, and highway maintenance.

SD160B (Soil Compactor)




The SD160B is a Soil Compactor that weighs 16 tons and measuring 3m (10ft) in height and 6m (20ft) in length! This machine is perfect for working on foundations, buildings, pavements, and other structures.

EC220E (Crawler Excavator)




The EC220E Crawler Excavator is the ultimate digging tool. Weighing up to 25 tons, 3m (10ft) in height, and 9.7m (32ft) in length, it is used in mining, road building, civil engineering, general construction, and more!

EW240E Material Handler (Excavator)




The EW240E Material Handler is made for all jobs large and small! At over 9.4m (31ft) in height and weighing 28 tons, it is the ultimate machine for the job at hand.

L250H (Wheel Loader)




The L250H Wheel Loader is a heavy-duty machine weighing 34 tons, 3.6m (12ft) in height, and 7.3m (24ft) in length! It is the perfect machine to dig, move, load, and more at any job site.






We are proud to be working with the Volvo Group to bring you these new additions to both of our trucking titles which also includes 2 new cargoes for drivers to deliver to and from construction sites; a large excavator bucket and large machinery tires.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1704460/Euro_Truck_Simulator_2__Volvo_Construction_Equipment/
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1662380/American_Truck_Simulator__Volvo_Construction_Equipment/

For those who plan on hauling Volvo Construction Equipment in both ETS2 and ATS, be sure to check out our special sale bundle, which will contain the DLC for both games at a special 50% discount (essentially receiving content for both games for the price of one!)



Looking for a show to watch today in the evening? Then join us on our Twitch and YouTube channels where we will host a live stream in which we plan to showcase and haul some of these new mighty machines!



We look forward to seeing your screenshots and videos of you hauling Volvo Construction Equipment with your rigs! Be sure to share them with us on our social media platforms (ETS2 Facebook, ATS Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). Happy Hauling!

As we mentioned in our recent live stream, we have prepared an exclusive and unique giveaway for our #BestCommunityEver. Annie is giving the final touch to her design of the Renault Trucks T Evolution carrying that butterfly paint job she painted on a live stream a few months ago, and we have decided that once everything will be finished, we will host a giveaway for a number of prints.



To be precise, we have 5 copies of this artwork, we'll get them signed by as many SCS people as possible, and then we will give away 3 of these limited edition artwork posters to the community (1 will stay in the office, 1 will be sent over to our friends over at Renault Trucks headquarters in Lyon, France).



To participate, you will have to hop in the Renault Truck T High Evolution vehicles in ETS2 and take a screenshot of your mighty trucks at some of your favorite scenic locations. Then, share it across Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, under the hashtag #RenaultTrucksEvolution with tagging our and Renault Trucks' (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) social media profiles.

After two weeks we will pick the 3 winners whose screenshots stole our hearts the most and ship these exceptional artwork posters to their addresses. Good luck!

We are excited to partner up with Thrustmaster to join the launch of their all-new T248 steering wheel! Being invited as a launch partner is a confirmation of the high status of our truck sim games in the driving simulation genre. In practice, this means that our programmers have had a chance to get their hands on pre-production units before they hit the market, to make sure that our games will support the wheel's new features at launch.

For active members of our #BestCommunityEver, this partnership brings a chance to benefit, too. As a part of a cross-promotion plan, we are to receive a bunch of shiny new steering wheels to give away!



As we are talking cross-promotion, both companies are trying to help each other's products gain more visibility. While Thrustmaster is going to showcase American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2 to their audience, we agreed to try to create a little buzz on our social media too.

Starting today, anyone who logs in to their World of Trucks account will automatically receive a free gift - the Thrustmaster T248 Mini Wheel cabin accessory item.




Decorate your truck cabin with it and take an interior screenshot at a location in #ETS2 or #ATS you like. Then just share your images on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook under the #T248 hashtag along with tagging our and Thrustmaster social media profiles!

Twitter: @TMThrustmaster
Facebook: @ThrustmasterOfficial
Instagram: @TMThrustmaster
Twitch: @TMThrustmaster
Youtube: @Thrustmasterofficial

Later in September, we'll randomly pick 5 lucky winners who'll get one of these new steering wheels when they're publicly available!




We are proud to be joining forces with Thrustmaster to help them bring this new wheel to the market, and that our games have been recognized as launch titles among other notable driving games.

You can join us tonight from 18:00 CEST on our Twitch & YouTube channels, where we will host a special Wyoming & Thrustmaster T248 Live Gameplay Stream. You can bet that our hosts Alex & Nemiro will surely not come empty-handed to this session.



And if you're a fan of Thrustmaster, then you might also want to keep an eye on our communication channels. We are already planning more fun and more content for our #BestCommunityEver together with Thrustmaster coming later this year!

We know our #BestCommunityEver loves to see sneak-peeks behind the scenes and we have something very special for you today. A small team of our vehicle artists went to Germany recently and visited Feldbinder Spezialfahrzeugwerk GmbH to check out their amazing vehicles at two of their facilities at Winsen and Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Let’s take a look at the information our team has managed to gather and the overall experience of this interesting visit!


Our contacts at Feldbinder were so kind that they invited us to their facilities and provided our team with an all-inclusive package of premium care and hospitality. The idea behind this invitation was actually conceived by one of Feldbinder's employees, Leon (in the image below), who is a passionate ETS2 player with over 1500 hours of game time. Not only did our team get the opportunity to meet this passionate fan in person, they were also fortunate enough to meet technical managers at the facilities, who provided us with plenty of information about their trailer configurations.


The topic of configurations brings us to the simple but important mission our team was entrusted with. Apart from simply shaking hands, making contacts and strengthening our relationship right from the start, the goal was also to gather reference data and scans for some of their vehicles which we would like to bring for our players to ETS2 via 3D reconstruction using photogrammetry (as shown in the image below).

Please keep in mind that this is only the start of an extremely interesting and promising cooperation, and we cannot provide any more information on what the future will bring for ETS2. We will, however, do our best to keep you updated as our teams continue in the process of modelling these vehicles.








We are truly grateful to Feldbinder for this opportunity and their efforts to make our team feel at home during the visit, from which we have gathered over 10,000 reference photos totalling over 275GB. Make sure to check them out on their Facebook page and give them some love!

Hey, psst! Something cool seems to be under development by the SCS vehicle team. We have glimpsed some real heavy machinery being valiantly pulled at locations in both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator. Could this be a new DLC in the works? Take a look at these pictures and let us know what you think!




For now, we are unable to confirm nor deny any suggestions regarding the precise date when this "thing" will be ready. Keep your eyes on our social media - Facebook, Twitter, Instagram - and you’ll be instantly informed once something new comes up.

In our latest 1.41 update for Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator, we introduced Convoy! Convoy is a new multiplayer game mode where players can set up and host their own private sessions (password optional) to drive with their friends or other fellow truckers. With synchronized AI traffic, time and weather, and the ability to take the same job as other players, lots of you have been enjoying trucking together.



However, we know that many of you still have questions about Convoy, which is why we are bringing this blog post with answers to the most frequently asked questions across our social media channels.

Will the maximum players limit be increased?

Eventually, yes. Convoy currently allows you to create and host an online session with up to 8 players. We expect to be able to raise the player limit in the future, however, we are keeping it small at this time due to its work-in-progress nature. There are important performance optimizations as well as better moderation tools under development that we would like to have in place first before increasing the limit.

Will there be MOD support in Convoy?

Eventually, yes. We are looking into supporting third-party modifications in Convoy multiplayer sessions. While it's not technically so difficult to connect players with an identical set of mods, there are many potential problems to handle when it comes to coming up with a safe and robust way to synchronize sessions of players joining in with different mods, and then back again when they wish to revert to the previous state to continue playing with their regular player profile.

How do I add someone to my friends that I enjoyed driving with?

You can add someone you played with recently on Convoy via the Steam client or overlay. Just click on the view tab (or view players in the Steam overlay), then on players. This will bring up a list of players you recently played with and a link to their profiles.

Another alternative way of adding them would be to ask for their Steam friend code, which allows you to add them with ease! Simply open your friends list and click on the 'Add Friend' located on the right-hand side of the top bar. This will take you to you a page that will show your unique Friend code and a space to enter another person's code, which will send them a friend request!

I can't see my friend's hosted session.

Make sure you are friends on Steam and that you both have the latest version of the game updated and that you are all set to online on your Steams friend list.

A possible reason you may not see a friend's hosted session is that you can only see sessions that are hosted in the same region as you. This means you may not be able to see a friend's hosted session if they live very far away from you. To join a distant friend's session, you may need to change your Steam download region to match theirs, which will allow you to view hosted sessions in that region. To do this, follow this handy guide!

If you know your friend's sessions name, you can search globally for the session by using the search bar found above the session list. This should bring up your friend's session no matter their region. Make sure to search for the session name exactly as it is written, including any symbols, numbers, punctuation, and abbreviations.

Additionally, you may not be able to see full sessions.

Dedicated servers, can we host them?

There is no option to host a dedicated server yet, however it is something we are looking into providing potentially in the future.

What about map DLCs, do all players need to own the same ones?!

No! Players do not need to own any DLC in order to join the Convoy multiplayer mode. However, just remember that you will not be able to see or drive in DLC map areas if you do not own them yourself.

Can I turn off the nametags of other players?

Yes! You can use the default hotkey of 'Z' to enable and disable nametags in Convoy! If you wish to change this hotkey, you can do so in the options found in your main menu. It even works when using the photo studio to take a group photo together!

Is there a speed limit in Convoy mode?

Convoy sessions have the option of setting a speed limit ON for the entire session by default. However, hosts have the option of turning this off, if they so wish to. In that case, the speed limiter will follow your local settings. Just remember that World of Trucks contracts enforce the speed limit on all jobs, regardless of the option set by the host.

Do I have to download the Convoy update if I am not planning on playing it?

Convoy is a game feature available since version 1.41, it is not a separate update line. Of course, it's totally up to you whether you use the feature or not.

There may be valid reasons for players to stay with an older version of the game, perhaps temporarily until a mod important to them catches up, and for this reason, we are providing branches of important previous updates of our games on Steam. By default, Steam updates the games automatically, so you may consider opting out of these automatic updates if this is a concern. However, please note that all further updates to both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator will contain the Convoy multiplayer feature. This means that if you do not plan on updating, you will not get any further updates, content, and fixes and that version 1.40 will be your final stop.

If you want to use and play on the Convoy multiplayer mode, you MUST be on the latest version of the game (1.41 or higher).

I am constantly having FPS problems in Convoy mode only.

The Convoy multiplayer mode is more demanding than single-player because it renders a higher number of player trucks. Because of this, it is normal to experience a lower frames per second (FPS). However, if your FPS numbers are suspiciously low, reach out to our support email at support@scssoft.com with a detailed description of your problem.

Our programmers are pursuing several lines of optimizations to improve performance overall and also in multiplayer-specific context, but it may take several more game updates until these code improvements are ready.

Does the session have to end if the hosting player leaves?

Yes, as soon as the host of the session leaves, the server will be closed and this will disconnect all players from the server. If this happens unexpectedly, do not panic, as you will be greeted with options to proceed with the progress you've made in the session, or to revert it if you so wish to (for reasons such as the loss of in-game currency, damage, or other progress reasons).

Note that if you accept the progress, you will remain wherever you were when the session ended, effectively finding yourself back in singleplayer mode. From there, you can once again create a new session and continue with either the same or a different group of people if you wish to do so.

How can I unban someone who I banned in the Convoy session?

If you wish to unban players, you need to go into your "profiles" folder in the respective ATS/ETS2 folders in documents, select the exact profile where the ban happened and find a text file called "banlist". Open the file with a text editor and remove the line with the banned user. You will have to restart the Convoy session afterward.

Is Convoy a form of peer-to-peer gaming?

While the Convoy sessions are hosted by the players themselves, one player always works as a server and therefore acts as a junction for other players. Everyone else communicates with this particular server in the end. More specifically it is the usual client-server communication layout with all clients having authority over specific objects.

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We hope this answers the majority of the most frequently asked questions by our community about Convoy! We love seeing you drive and deliver together and we hope to see more of your photos & video content shared with us on our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). Happy Trucking!

Today we are happy to share with you some more screenshots from Heart of Russia, our upcoming DLC expansion for Euro Truck Simulator 2. We know our community are pretty good when it comes to guessing locations from our images, so we are going to let you do just that!









Think you know where these shots were taken from? Let us know in the blog comments or any of our official social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) and you could win a free Steam key for Heart of Russia when it releases! Sounds good? Winners with the correct answers will be randomly chosen and contacted, so keep an eye out on your inboxes or notifications!

Please keep in mind, however, everything you see here is still very much in a 'work in progress' state and may not represent the final product at the time of release. Also, if you like what you see, be sure to add Heart of Russia to your Steam Wishlist! It really helps to support us with releases of our future content.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1536500/Euro_Truck_Simulator_2__Heart_of_Russia/

Back in June, we were honored to team up with DAF Trucks to #StartTheFuture by releasing the New-Generation DAF trucks, the brand-new DAF XG and XG+ in Euro Truck Simulator 2! Our teams worked very hard and under extreme time pressure to bring you these new models just a day after the official reveal. The time constraints meant that we were unfortunately not able to also get the new DAF ready at the same time. We did not forget about this iconic model, and we knew that we had to bring it to ETS2 for you too, just a little bit later.




Today, we are happy to share with you our progress on the creation of the new DAF XF, which focuses on efficiency, driver comfort, and safety. If everything goes according to plan, we look forward to bringing the new DAF XF to the roads of Euro Truck Simulator 2 this Autumn! Whilst this truck model is still being worked on by our teams, we wanted to share with you some development shots of its creation.

We look forward to getting our #BestCommunityEver behind the virtual wheel of the DAF XF! Until then, however, continue to share your journeys in the new generation of DAF trucks using the hashtag #StartTheFuture on our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram). We love seeing your images and videos!

We hope you enjoyed this small preview of one of many additions in the pipeline for ETS2. We look forward to sharing more development news with you in the future and we thank you for your continuous support.