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American Truck Simulator

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American Truck Simulator
Cover art
Developer(s)SCS Software
Publisher(s)SCS Software
SeriesTruck Simulator
Platform(s)
Release2 February 2016[1]
Genre(s)Vehicle simulation
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer[2]

American Truck Simulator is a truck simulator game developed and published by SCS Software. It was announced as being in development in September 2013[3] and unveiled at the E3 2015. It was released on 2 February 2016 for Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS.[4] The game is the parallel sequel to Euro Truck Simulator 2, the spiritual successor of 18 Wheels of Steel, and the fifth installment in the Truck Simulator series. The game is set in a condensed depiction of the United States, featuring American conventional semi-trucks and various locations across the U.S., where players pick up a variety of cargos and deliver them to their destinations.

Since its release, the game has sold over 2 million copies on Steam.

Gameplay

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American Truck Simulator is a truck driving simulator with business management elements. A beginning player will be directed to found a truck driving business and select a home city from which to operate that business. Upon selection of the home city, the player will own the pre-placed truck garage located in that city, which will operate as the player's home base.

Driver's view from a Western Star 49X during gameplay

During gameplay, the player will select from a menu of currently available goods delivery routes to drive one of several models of trailer-hooked truck and deliver the selected load to a designated location within a fixed amount of time. By making such deliveries, the player earns money for the player's company and experience points for the player themself. By delivering the selected cargo to its designation within the allotted time and with the least damage to the goods, the player will maximize the amount of money and experience points earned. Late deliveries or deliveries with damage will result in the player earning reduced cash and experience points. The amount of money and experience points earned are commensurate to the length of the delivery in distance traveled and type of goods being transported.

A beginning player will own a garage, but no trucks or trailers. The player will begin by completing "quick jobs," which are goods deliveries that utilize an in-game company's trucks and trailers. Once the player has earned enough money, they may then begin purchasing one or more trucks, but they may continue making "quick job" deliveries if desired. After purchasing a truck, the player may elect to use the purchased truck for deliveries, or go back to performing quick job deliveries.

As the player completes deliveries, they will unlock skills by spending experience points to purchase particular skills upgrades. These upgrade categories include fuel efficiency, route delivery distance, carrying heavy cargo, carrying dangerous goods, carrying fragile cargoes, or making urgent deliveries. The money earned by the player's company will automatically be used to pay back any company loans they obtains for their company or to pay any fines incurred in the course of their gameplay. The money is also needed to pay for fuel and maintenance on any vehicles or trailers owned by the player's company. When performing quick job deliveries using an in-game company's truck, repairs and other costs are paid by that in-game company and not from the funds of the player's company. The player may also use the company's money to purchase additional trucks and trailers which are held in designated slots in the garage.

The player may use company funds to hire NPC drivers (and pay their associated expenses), who are placed in additional driver slots in the garage. Once the player has earned sufficient money, the player may also purchase garages in other cities and hire NPC drivers to drive from those garages, as well. The longer an NPC driver is employed by the company, the more experience points they will earn, thus increasing the amount of money that driver earns from each delivery. Much like the player's experience points, the player may direct the focus of each hired driver's experience points, thereby ensuring that particular hired drivers become experts in particular skill areas, such as hauling dangerous goods or performing long-haul deliveries. Company money may be used to upgrade garages, which will allow the garages to hold additional trucks, trailers, and NPC drivers, as well as place a reduced-cost fueling station at the garage. The company money may be used to upgrade the company's trucks and trailers, specifically by upgrading their associated aesthetic, mechanical, and structural upgrades.

While driving routes, the game will direct the player to stop at designated weigh stations to determine the weight of the cargo before being permitted to proceed (though the game may occasionally allow the driver to bypass such station). When crossing the border into the state of California (currently only in the northern part of the state), the player is similarly obliged to stop at California Border Protection Stations to have their vehicle inspected. Avoiding a weigh station or border protection station will result the player being fined.

The game is set in a condensed 1:20-scaled version of the entire Western Contiguous and part of the South Central and Midwestern regions in the United States, expanded periodically by the developer through downloadable content. It currently features depictions of the U.S. states of California, Nevada, and Arizona, with New Mexico, Oregon, Washington, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, and Arkansas available as DLCs.[5] The game features 214 visitable cities, including most state capitals and major cities, as well as many thousands of miles worth of in-game roads.[5] Currently, the player may travel as far north as Bellingham, Washington, as far south as Brownsville, Texas, as far west as Eureka, California, and as far east as Jonesboro, Arkansas, assuming the player has all the states available to them. SCS have stated that most future map expansions, if not all, will be at additional cost.[5]

At launch, the game started off with the U.S. states of California and Nevada. Arizona was released in June 2016 as a free update to all players.[6] A number of other states have now been added as paid downloadable content.

Development

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SCS Software announced the game on 6 September 2013.[7] It was revealed at E3 in 2015.[8]

On 11 April 2014, SCS Software announced that there will be 100+ cities in the game once completed (not initially), and SCS released screenshots of the game. Truck brands included on American Truck Simulator so far are Kenworth, Peterbilt, Volvo, International Trucks, Western Star, Mack and Freightliner. More will follow; the only setback remains the licensing of trucks from their manufacturers. SCS plans to eventually include the entire contiguous United States, as long as the game continues to do well. On 26 January 2015, SCS Software published a one-hour video to YouTube of footage from early alpha of the game. On 18 December 2015, SCS Software announced the official release date for American Truck Simulator, 3 February 2016, on their blog. The game was released one day earlier instead.[9]

The game was released for PC-DVD on 14 December 2017.[10][11][better source needed]

Reception

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American Truck Simulator has received mostly positive reviews from critics, scoring 76/100 on Metacritic.[12]

James Cunningham of Hardcore Gamer gave the game a 4 out of 5 saying, "While a little more realism would make American Truck Simulator more fun, paradoxical as that may sound, there’s no escaping how fantastically playable it is."[17] Laura Dale from Polygon rated the game a 8/10 saying, "As someone who sunk countless hours into Euro Truck Simulator 2, a fresh coat of paint, an unfamiliar set of sights and the challenge of driving on the wrong opposite side of the road left me confident that I'll be sinking just as many hours into American Truck Simulator."[16]

Andy Kelly of PC Gamer commended the game and noted that it shared the strengths and shortcomings of its predecessor due to the two games' similarities, though advised that it was not finished on launch and urged more cautious gamers to wait until it was more completed before purchasing the game.[18]

American Truck Simulator won Best technological solution at the 2016 Czech Game of the Year Awards, and was also nominated for Best Game, Best PC/Console Game, and Best Audio.[19]

See also

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  • TruckersFM, an online radio station created by the game's community

References

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  1. ^ Jacques, John (2 February 2016). "American Truck Simulator Releases Today". GameRant. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  2. ^ Chalk, Andy (14 July 2021). "Hit the open road with your friends in American Truck Simulator's new 'Convoy' mode". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  3. ^ "American Truck Simulator Details - Excalibur Publishing". Excalibur Publishing. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2015.
  4. ^ "American Truck Simulator Releasing Today". 2 February 2016. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  5. ^ a b c "American Truck Simulator Map DLC Clarifications". SCS Software Blog. SCS Software. 15 January 2016. Archived from the original on 17 January 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2016.
  6. ^ Meer, Alec (25 May 2016). "American Truck Simulator's Free Arizona DLC Makes The Game The Size It Always Should Have Been". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Gamer Network. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  7. ^ "Change of Topic (and Continent!)". SCS Software. 6 September 2013. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2014.
  8. ^ Dyer, Mitch (16 June 2015). "E3 2015: American Truck Simulator Announced". IGN. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  9. ^ "American Truck Simulator Release Date". SCS Software's Blog. SCS Software. Archived from the original on 7 May 2017. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  10. ^ "American Truck Simulator". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  11. ^ s.r.o, web revolution. "American Truck Simulator Enchanted Edition - SCS SOFTWARE". eshop.scssoft.com. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  12. ^ a b "American Truck Simulator". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  13. ^ "Review: American Truck Simulator". 29 January 2016. Archived from the original on 14 February 2019. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  14. ^ "American Truck Simulator - Recenzja". Eurogamer.pl. 6 February 2016. Archived from the original on 26 December 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  15. ^ "American Truck Simulator - Recension". Archived from the original on 3 January 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2017.
  16. ^ a b Laura Dale (4 February 2016). "American Truck Simulator Review". Polygon. Archived from the original on 18 February 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  17. ^ a b Cunningham, James (21 February 2016). "Review: American Truck Simulator". Hardcore Gamer. Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  18. ^ a b Kelly, Andy (20 January 2016). "American Truck Simulator Review". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 30 May 2016.
  19. ^ "Nominace - ČESKÁ HRA ROKU 2016". ČESKÁ HRA ROKU 2016 (in Czech). Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
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