American Truck Simulator

[tonywob 4,769]

Thanks for the heads up. 

 

I also gave the multiplayer a try on Windows. It was pretty much unplayable, there are so many trolls and idiots driving around, that I'd rather use the AI  :smile: . Someone tried to ram me of the road, lots of people driving on the wrong side of the road, and others deliberately blocking the roads (Almost like real driving in Poland)

[pete_auau 1,159]

Abit like  flying  on Vatsim

[Christopher Low 5,354]

Those graphics do look very nice. How realistic is the driving model? Are California and Nevada rendered "full size"? If so, that's a heck of a lot of data considering the quality level exhibited by the screenshots and videos.

[warbirds 555]

Dang,,,can't get the new Kenworth for the demo.

[ErichB 3,643]

 

 

How realistic is the driving model? Are California and Nevada rendered "full size"?

 

It does look spectacularly good.  I think they have given exceptional attention to detail.   But sometimes I watch Paul's videos and some of the cornering and stops seem highly unrealistic to me.  Not totally convinced on the driving physics, - in much the same way as ETS2.  I think the states have been scaled down quite significantly.  It's a smaller scale than Europe from having read previous threads here.

[tonywob 4,769]

It's definitely not full size and if it's anything like Europe, it's probably pretty inaccurate (i.e. Missing highways and roads). I can drive along the express road near to my house in ETS and the road signs and scenery make me cringe. With ETS, there is a lot of copy & paste between areas unless you use promods or the expansion packs. ATS is much better in this regard, the scenery is much more varied, nicer and more interesting to look at, but I'm guessing it's also pretty inaccurate and it's more compressed than Europe. I've only had the game around 2 weeks and I've already covered the entire map, so it's pretty small and is now just too repetitive, but I'm really looking forward to getting the new states when they come out.

 

Physics wise, I've never driven a truck, but it doesn't seem very realistic to me, but it's not bad either and doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the simulator. When I tried the multiplayer plugin, there were trolls flying all over the place and dropping off bridges and toppling over, etc and the physics looked pretty bad then. 

[Christopher Low 5,354]

 

When I tried the multiplayer plugin, there were trolls flying all over the place and dropping off bridges and toppling over, etc and the physics looked pretty bad then.

 

LOL! That reminds me of the handful of cretins that try to wreck races in Assetto Corsa. I call them "clowns", since it is probably rather difficult to drive anything properly with those large boots

[ErichB 3,643]

I call them "clowns"

 

You're too British about it. :smile:

[Jimmy RFR 406]

Those graphics do look very nice. How realistic is the driving model? Are California and Nevada rendered "full size"? If so, that's a heck of a lot of data considering the quality level exhibited by the screenshots and videos.

 

I'd peg the driving model somewhere between 'fun' and 'casual'.  It's not a bad thing at all, since I'd likely think that a hardcore driving model would result in a massive drop in audience, but it's not (nor is it trying to be) exceedingly realistic.

 

(Although, on a related note - growing up on a farm, the first 'big' truck I learned to drive on was a late 50's International V-Liner with a 5 & 4 transmission. Two sticks.  When you had to shift both gears, you slung one arm through the steering wheel to keep the truck on the road.  If you could replicate that in a game... that would be AWESOME.) 

 

I've read somewhere that the scale is something like 1:30. To be honest, it could of been a bit more stretched out, since I actually enjoy cruising down the highways, with the radio in the background, enjoying the scenery and the drive, and right now it feels like just when you get in the groove, you're at another city. But a positive side effect is that the scenery transitions nicely from place to place. Going from N to S California, or from Redding over to Reno (a highway I've actually been on once) has a nice feel.  I also think that if they would of stretched it out to 1:15 or so, they would of had to copy & paste / repeat a lot more of the assets, so perhaps it's a good compromise.

[warbirds 555]

One thing of note is the steering. In most games of this type the steering is horrible, twitchy and touchy (read GTA 5) but this game has great steering and you can actually feel like your driving a big rig when you turn that wheel lock to lock.

[Christopher Low 5,354]

It would be nice to drive from San Francisco to Oakhurst (through the Altamont Pass, and across the Central Valley; a drive I enjoyed way back in October 1995), but a scale of 1:30 would cover that in around seven miles!!

[pete_auau 1,159]

The  good thing  about  been short  scaled is  you get  to complete  the jobs  quicker  imagine  doing  the real  time  it  would  take  forever  to complete  just 1  job

[Guest]

Yes, as stated above ATS already has 'airliners' and 'GA' flying in fixed tracks. With the amount of compression used, the runways are ridiculously short. Don't look at them too closely though and it does provide some amusement. :He He:

 

Just discovered this topic. Interesting. Not when it comes to ATS but when it comes to Promods for ETS2. The thing is: I bought ETS2 the day it was released, it was my first truck game, and although I liked it, I hated the compression (roads being ridiculously shorter than in real life). I understand ATS is even more compressed so I won't even think about getting it. Anyway, I stopped playing ETS2 because of this. To me it felt like Prepar3D in a shoebox: imagine flying from ENGM to ENBR and you are done in 3 minutes: stupid. Uninstalled it and haven't played it for a few years already.

 

Now correct me if I am wrong but does Promods remedy this compression problem? I understand it at least makes the roads a bit 'longer'? Is this ONE download that will enhance everything or do I need multiple files? I am VERY interested in getting ETS2 closer to Prepar3D when it comes to distances! I had a quick look at the site, which is only a forum (?) and instantly got very confused with everything I saw so I was hoping you could enlighten me a little here.

The  good thing  about  been short  scaled is  you get  to complete  the jobs  quicker  imagine  doing  the real  time  it  would  take  forever  to complete  just 1  job

 

To me this is the bad thing. As I said, imagine they would do this with FSX/Prepar3D: doesn't make sense to me.

[Christopher Low 5,354]

So, does anyone know the ATS size of California? For example, what is the "length" from top to bottom? The problem I have with a 1:30 compression is that it would essentially ruin an iconic area of the USA like San Francisco Bay. Can you imagine driving through San Jose, and then crossing the Golden Gate Bridge a couple of minutes later?!! :huh:

[pete_auau 1,159]

To me this is the bad thing. As I said, imagine they would do this with FSX/Prepar3D: doesn't make sense to me.

 

I can see your  point but  cant think of  driving  for   11  hours or  so  just to completed  one  job,   cant imagine  how  long  it  would  to take  to  reach level  5  maybe  a year  or   so, least this  way  you get  to see  the country side  and  get  to complete  one  job  to start another  job and  work you way up.  Also you mentioned  it being  implement  in fsx  etc    well its  kind  of  is  its called  time  acceleration:)