In this thread I'll occasionally be posting screenshots from the American Truck Simulator. As the name suggests, you're put in a role of a truck driver and must drive cargo between various cities / states. The game is based on the European Truck Simulator - if comparing the maps, the ETS is much, much bigger than ATS, but new stuff (states for ATS or countries for ETS) are still being added. Roads / highways are based on real ones, except that they're significantly scaled down of course, nonetheless it can take a long time to get from point A to point B. I started with ETS first, but I'm so familiar with European highways, so for the time being I enjoy driving across the USA more.
In the beginning you must accept contracts from various different companies, when you earn enough
caps septims dollars, you can start your own company, buy your own truck etc. The game is quite realistic, that's why it's been a commercial success all over the world, maneuvering the truck is quite difficult, especially in towns, when streets get narrow and you must reverse (a nightmare for now, but it'll get better), but even apart of driving, you must watch out for regular refuel, getting enough rest, obey traffic rules (or try your luck and not get caught). Various unexpected events can happen on the road, like accidents, traffic jams, flat tires, random police controls, road work, traffic re-routing, more or less anything that can happen in real life.
I forgot the name of the town in Arizona where I started (I think it was Tucson), but I remember that the final destination of my first contract was a town named Show Low. Although I was used to trucking from ETS, this route was more challenging, because it involved a double trailer. I managed to get to Show Low without any % of damage - the more the truck or cargo damaged, the less you get paid.
Behind the wheel of Peterbilt"Ahoy pal!" - sometimes I flash my headlights when another truck is driving in my direction, as a sort of greeting. Some drivers greet me back.
Turning left - it took a while to turn left obviously. I'm in the truck with the Wallbert logo, the second trailer isn't visible in this pic.
In a traffic jam - by default the traffic is more sparse but then roads feel too empty, so I increased the density in the game's .ini settings.
Nice scenery on the leftI don't recognize the car in front of meNow both trailers are visibleRidin' on to Show LowArrival at sunsetLopoved