Hello, Truckers!

Today we want to show you one more magical Alaskan landmark which you can find in our game – the so-called “Into the Wild” Bus or the Magic Bus.

Here it is in a screenshot from Google Maps:



And here is how it looks in the game:



The bus has a fascinating history. It is probably best known from “Into the Wild”, a book and film adaptation about Christopher McCandless, a hitchhiker for whom the bus served as a home for three and a half months before he succumbed to starvation. He was the one to call it the Magic Bus. After the book was released in 1996 and the film in 2007, the bus has become a peculiar pilgrimage destination for those who wanted to retrace McCandless’s steps.

Originally, however, the bus was just Bus 142, a part of the Fairbanks municipal transit system. In 1961, Yutan Construction Company purchased three busses, removed their engines, and towed them with a bulldozer along the Stampede Trail. They served as temporary site accommodation for the company’s workers who were building an access road between the Alaska Railroad and a nearby mine.

When the construction was finished, the other two busses were towed away, however, Bus 142 was abandoned due to its broken axle. As the years passed, the bus has become a shelter for moose hunters and hitchhikers.

In 2020, the Magic Bus has been airlifted and removed from the Alaskan wilderness. It is now being renovated at the Museum of the North in Fairbanks, where it will become an exhibition.

Here comes the great part – in Alaskan Truck Simulator players can still visit the bus in the wild! Will you look for it?

If you’d like to support us, add our game to your Wishlist and tell your friends about it, it will greatly help us out. Thanks for sticking around, and see you next time!

Hi, Truckers!

Today we want to tell you a bit about how we translated the Alaskan landscape into the game.

For one, we’ve made sure that everything you see in the game actually comes from Alaska, meaning the Alaskan flora, architecture etc. But we’ve also created many landmarks inspired by their real counterparts. When playing, you’ll be able to discover many fun facts about these places.

One of such locations is the Igloo Hotel, based on Igloo City, an abandoned hotel from Cantwell that was never opened to customers. Here it is in our game...



And here’s how it looks on Google Maps:



Why the differences? Why not make a 1:1 copy? Actually it’s the same reason why you won’t find the exact same buildings in any games set in the real world. Building designs are copyrighted and it costs a lot of money and effort to get a license to use them. So the best that game designers can do is create something that channels their spirit.

And that’s exactly what we’re doing: we’re trying our best to imbue ATS with the spirit of Alaska.

If you like this post, we can turn it into a series where we’ll show you more examples of the places you can visit in the game. Let us know what you think about this idea!

If you’d like to support us, add our game to your Wishlist. This way you’ll give us an extra boost in visibility on Steam. Thanks for being with us, and until next time!

Greetings, Truckers!

One of the topics you raised recently was the uniqueness of our game. What is it that makes Alaskan Truck Simulator different and worth playing? We’re happy to tell you!

Long story short, it’s what we told you last week: you play as a trucker, not as a truck. But allow us to expound.

Creating a compelling simulation of the trucker’s profession (not just limited to driving!) was the main focus from the start. We wanted to make you feel like you’re an organic part of the world. Thus, you can exit the vehicle, you need to go and get groceries, cook food, eat, sleep, fix the engine, etc., etc. You even have your own headquarters that feels like home when you reach it after an arduous journey, and that serves as your base of operations.

Many of these ideas were implemented after we got your feedback, on Discord or here, on Steam, after our initial showing. The game has changed since then, and you’ve had a strong impact on its evolution. We’ve implemented many ideas from you, and we hope to talk about one of them in our next weekly post.

Also, we’ve put a lot of effort into the weather system. You could already see in our trailer that we have a simulation of the entire yearly seasonal cycle. But this goes deeper, with different intensity of rain or snow--which isn’t just for decoration.



The weather affects the way you play, not only by changing how your truck drives, but also because if you drive more carefully in winter, you’ll need to prepare more thoroughly for the ride. Tire chains will cost you so you’ll need to plan ahead and spend money. Your fuel usage will change, so you have to account for that. It’s like a system of interconnected vessels which we created to add depth.

So, if you were wondering what makes our game stand out, we hope you got your answer! We’re putting a lot of effort into making your digital trucker’s life feel like… life.

See you next week! We’ll make sure to answer your comments to the best of our ability.

If you’d like to support us, add our game to your Steam wishlist, and share the page among your friends.

Also, join our Discord to find more people with similar passions.

Hello everyone!

Our friends over at DRAGO entertainment have been working on a new game that is being released today, September 15th at 7pm CEST.
As we are all part of one big developer family, we would like to spread this exciting news for a really deserving and fun game.

If you ever wanted to restore and run an old gas station on Route 66, that is your chance.
Visit their Steam page below for more information:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1149620/Gas_Station_Simulator/

Happy National Truck Driver Appreciation Week!

This week, we're celebrating the tireless people who pretty much make the world go round.

Can you imagine any business without truck-based logistics? Neither can we.

All the best, Truckers!

Hi, Truckers!

We've read all your comments about our Gamescom presentation, posted here and in other places. You've had some interesting remarks and asked good questions, and we're happy to answer!

Let’s start with what we feel is the most important for our oldest fans. We've seen that you've been wondering what's been going on with the development and with our studio. We did have a pause in our communication with you, and you are rightfully curious about it.



So here's the deal. Some of you know this, but ATS was started by a small team of simulation game maniacs. We wanted to make the game we’ve always wanted to play. We were super passionate about it and we had super talented people, but it was just a handful of us nonetheless.

At the same time, the concept behind ATS grew, also because we heard your feedback and wanted to include it. We can openly say that the game we first envisioned isn't the game that we have today. It's so much richer now. You have your base, dynamic weather across all seasons, CB radio reacting to the situation on the road, tons of facts about Alaska, real places to see etc. etc. We'll be talking about it in the posts to come.



Anyway, we knew we couldn't continue as a tiny team if we wanted to follow this direction. So we shut up and rolled up our sleeves.

We expanded our team. We enrolled new programmers, visual designers, a 2D graphics specialist, a UI designer, a sound designer, and so on. Some of our old guard went their separate ways, but we've finally assembled a tight, specialized team of the right size for the project, with a passion for the subject matter.

We’ve focused on polishing the mechanics because this is what makes ATS stand out. You play as a trucker, not as a truck. You're not glued to your seat. You have a world around you that you interact with. You have a life.



But let’s not delve into this just yet. This is long enough already, and we want to present the game to you properly.

Thanks for reading! If you want to support us in a free and simple way, add ATS to your Steam Wishlist. Consider following us or join our Discord to keep up to date.

See you next time!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/811550/MythBusters_The_Game__Crazy_Experiments_Simulator/

We know you’ve been waiting for that moment for a long time. And here it is! We’ve taken part in Gamescom’s Future Games Show where we’ve shown new and juicy gameplay footage. You can watch the trailer here. Can you feel the cold of Alaska?



We’re excited to show you how far the game has progressed. See you in Q1 2022 on PC, and later on consoles.

Add Alaskan Truck Simulator game to your wishlist, share it with your friends, and join our discord server to meet the like-minded people: https://discord.gg/daaRCy4

Alaskan Truck Simulator will be coming out in 2022, first on PC and then on consoles. See you soon!

Hello Truckers!

Another week comes to an end! Today we want to show you some views straight from the road. Recently, we have focused on other wild areas of these beautiful lands.







All the best,
Westend Studio & Movie Games