On this day back in 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted in the largest Volcanic event in U.S. history. The devastating effects of this disaster resulted in the loss of over 150 square miles of forest, homes, railways, and roads.





Located 96 miles south of Seattle, it has since become a National Park and more importantly a world-famous natural laboratory for the study of volcanoes and how nature responds to a catastrophe. Standing at 8,365ft tall after the eruption, the mountain is still a very impressive sight.





Just as magnificent as the view was how our map designer team was able to re-create this landmark. The area was designed in fantastic detail using satellite imagery and land-scans.





In our upcoming Washington State expansion, drivers will be able to drive down to a beautiful viewing spot of Mount St Helens with surrounding forests starting to grow again. This combined with locally adjusted draw distance makes for an impressive sight. It will be hard for you to believe you are only a short journey away from the city.

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

At any given time there are on average over 9,000 commercial aircraft flying above us in the skies, and it's a good chance that one of those aircraft was built in Washington. Located in Everett you can find the states largest aerospace factory, which can produce up to an impressive 20 commercial aircraft a month.




The size of a small city, the buildings real-life counterpart holds the record for the Worlds Largest Building which has enough space to fit 13 Empire State Buildings inside its walls. As you can imagine, it would take a large workforce for everything to run according to schedule in such a huge space, and truck drivers hold a very important role in the operation of this industry.





In the upcoming Washington State expansion for American Truck Simulator, drivers will be able to deliver to and from this impressive factory; transporting aircraft parts as well as driving a new Special Transport route for heavy and unique components. The Everett factory has also been created using unique prefabs based on the real building which makes for an impressive sight for anyone driving past.



We can't wait for you to explore this unique industry for yourself! In the meantime, why not add Washington State to your Steam Wishlist?

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

Since version 1.34 for American Truck Simulator was more of a maintenance update, we understand how eager you all are for the 1.35 Open Beta - which is finally here!



Where to start? This update is yet again larger than any of its predecessors - and when we say "larger", we mean a LOT! There are changes in almost every part of our game, so let's get on it!


American Truck Simulator will receive two new roads, OR-58 and CA-299. OR-140 will also feature the final segment of its length. The Arizona sign system has also been improved along with Traffic lights (coming in later builds of the Open Beta) which have been re-worked for all current states.


Besides the various new trailers listed in the change-log (B-doubles of all types, chip van trailers, container trailers, etc) and new cargoes, vehicles in our game also received some new features. This includes three windscreen wiper settings which will help drivers handle the improved rain, an accessory browser for owned trailers, expandable container trailers and a copy function for your truck and trailer configuration - which will come in handy, as your company continues to grow.

From the list of new general additions, some longtime wishes take first spots. One of those is a highly demanded option to use your own trailers for external contracts (World of Trucks jobs). From now on, you can!

DX11 experimental support. It's exactly as it sounds - most of the work on DX11 support is done, so the majority of its aspects are working quite well in our games and feedback from Experimental Beta promises a nice increase of FPS.  Still - it's not in its final state, so use it only at your own risk. Although we'll be grateful for your feedback.



Now comes a number of "smaller" additions, based mostly on your suggestions. A large amount of new hireable drivers have been added, so as your trucking empire grows you can expand much more than previously. To help with that growth, we've also added an option to purchase garages online (without the need of having to discover the city previously).


Another helpful feature is emergency refuelling, which will be an important option for those loving to drive on the edge (why do so many of you like to go with empty tanks?). And to make your travels a little bit more diverse and interesting, you'll now see STAA doubles in traffic.


Considering all these changes, the UI had to change drastically. Players who helped us by entering the Experimental Beta have reported no serious issues with it, so we hope you'll have no problems as well. And to close the list, there're many new input improvements and official support for external peripheries.

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 move there faster, we'll appreciate all of 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 American Truck Simulator → Properties → Betas tab → public_beta → 1.35 public beta. No password required.


MAP

• New roads: OR-58 (Oregon DLC), CA-299 and another segment of OR-140 + Arizona signs improvement
  https://steamcommunity.com/games/americantrucksimulator/announcements/detail/2603552833093700029
• Traffic lights improvement (all states)
  https://steamcommunity.com/games/americantrucksimulator/announcements/detail/1620644023166552984

VEHICLES

• Ownable container trailers
  https://steamcommunity.com/games/americantrucksimulator/announcements/detail/1819924505115654527
• Regular owned trailer accessory browser
• Trailer run-time adjustment (extendable trailers, sliding tandems)
• Copy truck/trailer configuration across the fleet
• Wiper setting improvements
• Ownable B-double trailers (all types)
• Ownable chip van trailers
• Saddle-mounted truck transport (KW T680)
  https://steamcommunity.com/games/americantrucksimulator/announcements/detail/1648790886583445844
• Specialized boat trailer

FEATURES

• Owned trailers usable in External contracts (WoTR)
• Online garage purchase
• Refuelling service
• Input improvement (Steam controller support, Tobii eye tracker support, controller hotplug support, better FF on Linux)
  https://steamcommunity.com/games/227300/announcements/detail/1648790886611500736
• RAZER RGB support (colour lights)
  https://steamcommunity.com/games/americantrucksimulator/announcements/detail/1620644023173261723
• New options: truck stability, suspension, dual localization names (map)
• Lots of new drivers to hire
• STAA doubles in traffic
• Experimental DX11 support (config only, r_device "dx11")

MOD ALERT

• Modded trucks support (in-game function)
• COG moved from trailer def to trailer chassis (easier edit)
• Wipers delay+speed format
• Removed default trailer bracers sound (now empty default)
• Cargo model randomized (eg container)
• Timezone areas (introduced in 1.34)
• Transmission mode names

Reminder: We are streaming right now on our developer page!

https://steamcommunity.com/games/americantrucksimulator/announcements/detail/1620644023202383962

We would like to thank you all for your massive support on last week's 1.35 Preview Stream for Euro Truck Simulator 2. We are very thrilled to find out that over 25,000 of you have tuned in with us. As promised, we will be doing a similar stream for American Truck Simulator.

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The 1.35 Preview Stream for American Truck Simulator will be held on Thursday, 9 May 2019, from 15:00 CET (17:00 CEST) on Steam and Twitch. We will be showing you some of the new features coming to 1.35 for American Truck Simulator, with a focus on the new additional roads and map improvements made across the entire map. You will also hear one of our lead map designers, Jakub, who will give you an insight on the map creation process. To put the cherry on the cake, we will be giving away another Tobii Eye Tracker 4C, as well as game/DLC keys too! More details on how to enter the giveaway will be announced on the stream.
During last week's giveaway of the Tobii tracker, the hashtag #ETS2Tobii was posted on Instagram and Twitter more than 200 times!



We are happy to announce that the lucky winner of the giveaway is Wesley (@wesmanboy). We will be contacting you soon to help you claim your prize.
For those who have missed our previous stream, or are curious to find out how the Tobii eye tracker works in our games, here's a very short gameplay snippet of reverse-parking while using the device.



We had an amazing time doing last week's stream. Don't forget to mark your calendars and join us for another fun stream later this week, where we will show you the features coming to v1.35 of American Truck Simulator. Another Tobii Eye Tracker 4C is up for grabs!

We're happy to announce the upcoming arrival of the official support for Razer Chroma in both American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2. Starting with the 1.35 Update, our games will support Razer keyboards, mouses and RGB mousemats (headset will use only one colour scheme). Sure, you might think what's the big deal about some "game of lights", but take a look at our video and the list of functions below. Adds a little bit extra to the immersion, doesn't it?

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

• During the tutorial, the keys being currently explained will be distinguished by colours and the "continue" key will be blinking green
• Some keys will be active only when the truck electrics is on
• Steering left/right and throttle/brake keys are distinguished by colour (typically WASD keys)
• Key for the parking brake is lit when active and blinking when the engine is on
• Lights keys show lights state (parking, low beam, high beam)
• Blinker keys are blinking (the same goes for all speeds of flasher and wipers)
• Gear up/ down keys are active only for non-automatic gearbox
• Camera keys are distinguished by colour and the active camera key is different
• Route Advisor pages keys are distinguished by colour and the active page key is different
• Trailer connect key shows state of the trailer: green for available connect, red for connecting in progress, green blinking for job delivery
• Activation key (typically Enter) is blinking when activation possible (eg. gas station, toll etc.)
• When pumping gas, the keyboard shows tank state and there is a falling wave visualizing flowing gas. When full, the keyboard is green
• Key for the differential lock is lit when the differential is locked and it blinks when there is a differential lock warning in Route Advisor
• When the job is finished, a wave goes across the keyboard, mouse and mousepad in colour of the received medal
• Police fine keyboard blinking
• When the truck is damaged a red wave moves across the keyboard
• All keys and other accessories slowly pulse when the job's time is running out
• Mouse and mousepad's left side LEDs show current player speed in green and in red when the player is speeding
• The cruise control key is yellow when CC can be turned on, blue when it is on. Keys for CC speed up and down are lit when CC is on
• Keys for lifting axle and trailer axle are lit only when lifting is available
• Cvar g_color_feedback can be used to disable colour feedback altogether. This cvar can also be set in Options > Controls > Color feedback.

You probably noticed that during the last few patches, traffic lights in the American Truck Simulator have had some considerable tweaks. From last year June, our research department started work on this project, but there were a few issues we would need to overcome. One of the main problems was to find a system for US traffic lights in our game, as there are many differences found in every state, region, and cities. MUTCD defines the guidelines for the whole United States, but since every State can adjust it, you see where the problem lies. We agreed to make a compromise and choose those most commonly used (which means 50%+ coverage) to be made and implemented in our game.





An (un)expected result was that by mass replacement of the old lights, almost every junction and intersection in American Truck Simulator had broken. Lights colliding with other objects, signs and street name signs had also moved to pretty funny places... good times (especially for our map designers who had to fix this mess).





But in the end, we managed to overcome these issues and with update 1.35, every State (CA, NV, AZ, NM, OR and upcoming WA) will have real unique traffic lights. So that means you can now enjoy even more authentic roads, with more options now available for possible future additions, like the Flashing Yellow Arrow.





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

Washington state is home to hundreds of large and well-known industries, amongst which one stands out due to its connection to our game - Kenworth's Truck Plant located in the city of Renton, WA. They have been making trucks in the factory since 1993. With numerous new vehicles rolling off the assembly line each day, it adds a whole new level of immersion to include such an iconic truck-manufacturing facility into our upcoming map expansion for American Truck Simulator.



With courtesy of Kenworth and thanks to their cooperation, we were able to replicate the important parts of the assembly plant. From the goods-receiving section, through to the storage and production halls, and finally to the administrative area - they all come together to form one of the largest depots in both of our truck sims, enhanced with every little detail to be as accurate as possible!




We can't wait for you to visit this area and tell us your thoughts. We're excited to have you experience both the truck plant itself and also the new cargo you'll find here (aside from the more regular loads) - a Saddle-mounted truck transport, also known as a Piggyback transport. But for now, here's a fresh batch of pictures - looks great, doesn't it?






https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0BpUS9MHTds/XMHfosgrzcI/AAAAAAAABjI/j4H6Y647QcgOl0c20CuKb5m9T0BeRHJpwCEwYBhgL/s1600/ats_hq_5cc0792c_16.jpg

Today we'd like to present another appetizer of the approaching update 1.35. Players of both American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 2 can look forward to some (a lot, actually) new tarmac!


Let's start in America. Newly added OR-58 will connect the cities of Eugene and Bend, and there's much to look at! For some time this road tracks Salt Creek river, which will lead you to the Odell Lake. There, far behind it in the shroud of fog, you'll see the majestic Diamond peak, the highest mountain in the region, while on the other side lays the Willamette pass resort Ski area. Pity there's no time to lose when one's working, right?


Next comes the last part of well known and liked OR-140, so you'll be able to drive all the way from Medford to Winnemucca finally! Starting in Klamath Falls, you'll probably notice that the city centre was remade and enlarged. The new road will take you past the great Upper Klamath Lake then and through the deep woods of Fremont-Winema National Forest farther to Medford, Nevada.


Last but not least, there's CA-299 offering the option of driving from Redding directly to Canby, Oregon, adding also a little town of Burney along the road. It's a pretty long drive, which has it all - farmlands, meander climbs, junctions, landmarks, mountains canyons, gorges... you name it!


In addition to the new roads, there are various changes and additions. With CA-299, Redding received another city part around the junction of Interstate 5 and CA-299, a new garage and a truck dealer. Farmington (New Mexico) got also a new garage, while Yuma has a new garage, a truck dealer and a brand new truck stop.


And there's one more considerable improvement - we keep working hard on road signs rework to make it more realistic. If you like to navigate the world "the old way" - turn off the GPS and just watch the signs along the road closely - you should have a much easier time in more regions. The sign system in Arizona, along with several truck stops and the US-95 in California, got a complete overhaul - so the old-school trucking should feel way more natural from now on.


Finally, let's look at the old continent! New additions here are part of our continuous effort to improve the vast road network Europe has already. Let us mention here two new rural roads in France - one for the Viva la France! map expansion, and one for the base game. The first one is connecting highways A10 and A6 and you can find a beautiful city of Montargis near-by, while the second road is connecting A6 with road N44. Since the rural roads in France are very popular, we hope you'll like these too.

Not enough you say? Absolutely right! Revelations are far from over, as some region(s) aren't unveiled at all yet! Remember to check our blog and social media (FB, Twitter) and follow our Steam developer page, as more info is coming soon.

If you have ever had the chance to visit Washington State in the USA, you may have noticed that almost everywhere you go you will see green, even while driving through the city areas. The state is even nicknamed the 'Evergreen State' and has the Green Darner Dragonfly as their state insect mascot.





Our team has been focusing on re-creating these forests and landscapes to bring them as close as possible to their real-world counterparts which you can see from this gallery of screenshots.




From Hemlocks to Firs to Spruces, many trees can be found almost anywhere you turn in Washington State. In fact, the number of trees is so high that Rock Paper Shotgun's Senior Editor Alec Meer mentioned them 20 times in their recent article, which showcased an exclusive early look at our upcoming map expansion.




Just as impressive as the forests are the views you will come across while driving. With new horizon models, we are sure that we will be seeing a lot more drivers using the in-game photo studio to share pictures from their travels.