Promods 2.0.1 was released last night and I'm looking forward to trying it out later. I had a CTD yesterday when driving through Poland but apparently this bug has been fixed  :smile: . Combined with RUMap, this map is insanely huge.

I must say I am slightly disappointed at the size of the world. It feels tiny in comparison to ETS2, 

 

Quite an anachronism for a simulated from of America, isn't it?

Just noticed that Promods requires to have both ETS2 DLC regions installed (Scandinavia and Going East). Which I don't own yet. Bummer... I am in doubt if I should upgrade ETS2 (27 euro if you buy the DLC as a pack) or if I should get ATS (20 euro) instead...

At this point I would recommend the update instead of ATS. Because in the end you will have a much bigger map in ETS2 than in ATS.

Agreed, at the moment, you'll get so much more out of ETS (with the DLC and Promods) than ATS. Promods is also continually being updated. Give it a few months and ATS will also become huge

I have a few questions for for you guys who are moderators at PROMODS.

 

I am new to this so read that I am a NEWBIE w/ No past experience w/ ETS2 or ATS (which I own).

Further, I am a SW Developer by profession but sadly only posses basic graphic artistic skills.

 

I am interested in creating a mod or DLC for the Entire State of PA (I know its quite a grand project).

I would like to do it at the same scale and level of detail that currently exists for CA & NV.

 

I registered w/ PROMODS and even posted my interest in becoming an ATS dev team member.

However when I browse the PROMODs Academy topic its IMHO unorganized (for a NEWBIE) and I don't know where start.

 

So what I'm looking for is a little guidance and mentoring in how to proceed.

This is how I'm thinking of approaching this (may not be in correct order):

 

• Understand how mods work and how they are installed
• Understand what the tools are and when/how to use them
• Create a map area the correct size and shape of PA (at the same scale of CA & NV)
• Overlay scaled Google map of entire state
• Add terrain elevation contour
• Add water features
• Add US HWYs
• Add PA HWYs
• Add road signage (information & speed limit), traffic lights & stop signs
• Add road specific POIs, (bridges, weigh stations, toll booths, rest areas, gas stations overpasses, etc)
• Add railway lines, rail bridges, trains, train scheduling
• Add cities, towns, landmarks
• Add POIs  (recruiting agencies, dealerships, garages, rest areas not on HWYS, gas stations not on HWYs)
• Add "Hauling Job" start & end points

 

Can anyone suggest where I can find info on how to perform any of the above tasks or perhaps provide contact info of someone willing to mentor/oversee my learning development and project?

I know this topic says it's for ATS, but a lot of talk has also been about ETS. So, I hope it's ok to ask, in ETS, with promods or whatever else is out there, how close to reality are the cities? Are you driving on real streets that exist in real life? Do you see real places in their correct locations? How about the terrain? do they use real elevation data similar to what we see in the FS world? Also, for either one, do they use real weather? From what I'm gathering here too, there isn't really a "PMDG level" simulation of a truck and/or driving characteristics, is there?

Weather in both ETS2 and ATS is entirely random, there is a fixed "season", and only a very narrow "strip" of terrain is created. Everything past a certain distance is represented by flat "backdrops" pretty much like stage props.

 

Because there are two different scales co-existing, only very small portions of towns and cities can be created. I don't know what the scale used in ATS for towns or cities, but in ETS2 the scales are 1:19 everywhere except towns and cities where the scale is 1:3.

 

The editor for both ETS2 and ATS is actually built into the sim engine, so the only other tools that are required might be a paint program such as Photoshop or PS Pro. At this juncture, SCS has not yet released their promised "Blender Toolset," so buildings and other scenery objects, as well as "prefab road objects" which provide the "AI traffic guidelines" may only be created using ZModeler*, a payware program that has a recurring license fee.

 

As for learning how to use the editor and the actual process of design and deployment, it is a bit of a dog's breakfast. I strongly urge anyone interested to start at the very beginning and take very small baby steps. Quite honestly I spent a few days trying to wrap my ancient brain around the process but ran away quickly before I started screaming and throwing things around...

 

...taking a monk's vow to simply relegate myself to being a mod and beta tester and enjoy watching the "pros work."

 

If nothing else, it caused me to respect the terrific ProMods team all the more! After all the years using Max I'm pretty comfortable with the program, but I just couldn't handle the (to my eyes at least) primitive and often confusing design engine that SCS has created.

 

As for topography that is pretty much made up based very loosely on Google maps and Google Street Views. The towns and cities usually have one or two "real streets" and one of the hallmarks of the guys at ProMods is that they try very hard to have a recognizable landmark or two visible in the distance that will give some degree of verisimilitude to the scene. Once again, due to the compression scale, accuracy is never going to be 1:1.

 

*See: http://www.zmodeler2.com/

I know this topic says it's for ATS, but a lot of talk has also been about ETS. So, I hope it's ok to ask, in ETS, with promods or whatever else is out there, how close to reality are the cities? Are you driving on real streets that exist in real life? Do you see real places in their correct locations? How about the terrain? do they use real elevation data similar to what we see in the FS world? Also, for either one, do they use real weather? From what I'm gathering here too, there isn't really a "PMDG level" simulation of a truck and/or driving characteristics, is there?

You seem to think ETS is some sort of FSX for trucks. It's not. Not even close. Nothing is as it is in real life apart from a few landmarks which usually can only be seen in the distance (unless Promods does this differently?). To get an impression of what this game is like you simply have to try the demo. Only that will make clear what it is all about.

 

 

I know this topic says it's for ATS, but a lot of talk has also been about ETS. So, I hope it's ok to ask, in ETS, with promods or whatever else is out there, how close to reality are the cities?

 

I'd say it isn't very realistic, cities are quite generic looking and not recognisable except for the skybox in the distance which may contain landmarks. The major motorways and trunk roads have the correct names/numbers and if you know the roads in real-life, you could probably drive using them, but the junctions along the roads are simply wrong.

 

Promods certainly improves the situation, it adds more variety to the scenery along the routes and uses more realistic road layouts and road signs, but if you're looking for a 1x1 simulation of real-life roads and streets then you will be disappointed. I wouldn't use ETS without promods now, and I still find things interesting and new to see along the very long routes

What about ATS? Are the cities in that more realistic than those in ETS2? I am not expecting 1:1 accuracy, but "background images of landmarks" (as opposed to 3D objects) sounds a bit crap to me.

Yes, the cities in ATS are far far better than the ones in ETS and look more like the real ones.

Just downloaded and played ATS demo, I really like the new scenery in this game. When driving in the city, I can really feel the living/breathing world, with a lot of human activities around.

How do I set reverse gear with the Simple Automatic transmission type? And before someone chimes in with "why aren't you using a H Shifter", the reason is that I can't get the damn thing to work properly! It won't let me change gear with manual transmission selected, although to be honest the setup utility does not appear to be recognising any of the gear positions on my Logitech G27 H shifter.

 

Any help appreciated.

 

By the way, this is the DEMO version.

Have  you  assigned   the  keys  for  fwd  and  reverse    once  you have  stopped  you need  to press  the reverse    and  visa  versa