On the road, Truck simulator Options

[SubRosa]

That last trailer is really weird looking. It seems like it is about to scrape against the ground at any moment.

[Lopov]

@Renee - since yesterday I'm getting better at cornering. I did some learning online and read that it depends on pressing W (forward) and/or A/D (cornering). Although commands are always the same, it depends on what kind of trailer are you transporting, for longer ones you must slowly press A/D with pauses when cornering, while with lighter, shorter trailers it is advisable to hold the A/D command. I tried it yesterday and noticed a difference.

@Acadian - you noticed good that my Volvo doesn't have a sleeper cabin. Yes, I definitely plan to buy such a truck later, there are lots of different trucks for sale, but they get available as you progress through levels. For instance, my current Volvo can't haul any heavy cargo, it's meant for light-to-medium cargo.

@SubRosa - I know, I thought that at first something went wrong when attaching the cargo.

Yesterday I learned a lesson not to save the game while on an active contract, because if the game auto-updates, the contract is cancelled, and you're put back to you original garage. I spent quite some time and fuel to reach the desired contract location, but it was in vain in the end. Nonetheless, I'm back on the road again, and now I'm heading to Carlsbad in California. The name of the town sounds almost identically as Karlsbad (today Karlovy Vary) from the Czech Republic.

In other news, I have already been involved in a few accidents and although I wasn't always the guilty one, the game regarded me as guilty. Happens in real life too. Once while on a highway, the ambulance car suddenly changed the lane and hit in my Volvo, but I was fined $700. I also got a few speeding tickets, especially in towns, but I haven't yet been "caught" on highways.

[SubRosa]

Then there is Carlsberg, which you should not be drinking if you are driving through Carlsbad.

[ghastley]

Carlsbad in California. The name of the town sounds almost identically as Karlsbad (today Karlovy Vary) from the Czech Republic.

They started off with good intentions, calling places "New Xxxxx" like New Amsterdam (now called New York) but soon they were just using the original names. The Yanks don't always pronounce them the same, either, so Worcester is not pronounced Woostah in the US of A.

And strangely, the really good names, like Ashby-de-la-Zouch or Hetton-le-Hole or Nether Wallop don't seem to have crossed the pond.

[Lopov]

Welcome to New Mexico!

Overturned, but luckily not me

Driving for Bushnell

The last one is always guilty, right?

SACKALL

Overtaking me

New day, new contract

X X X X X - obviously you can't drive to streets / roads where these signs stand

Road work

Peeking at bus passengers

Empty & free

If you've got to travel, by the Nine Divines, don't stop on the tracks! We had sightings, you see...the trains...

Driving on

Seeing see for the first time

Because I rotated the camera around to take the last pic, I immediately after taking the screenshot, crashed into the fence on the right, which almost overturned my truck and I blocked the entire road, so some vehicles behind me and on the other lanes crashed into me. I was fined $2000 altogether and my truck was quite damaged, so I needed to take it to the nearby repair shop. Nonetheless, it was worth taking a screenie.

[Renee]

Nooo Lopov! You can't keep getting into accidents!

That's a good question actually: is there any sort of reload feature if things go wrong? I am guessing probably not. Like, maybe when you're picking up contracts you can try to reload if you don't like what you've been given, or is that wrong?

Ambulances, police, and fire trucks.... we always pull over to the side (if there is a side) and brake to a full stop. That's on a normal, lower-speed road. If we're on a highway, the law probably differs from state to state. In Maryland I think the rule is we don't always have to pull all the over to the side, but obviously we need to get out of their way.

However, what you're describing is the ambulance turned into your truck, which sounds more like a glitch to me.

That seaside picture is lovely. It must almost be as shocking as getting out of a Bethesda tutorial dungeon, after miles and miles of desert.

Isn't that SACKALL lawyer billboard quite ugly? See, you don't have huge, ugly ads like this in Europe, right? All that beautiful landscape... ruined by silly advertisements. New Vegas also has these billboards everywhere, but at least those are humorous (given the circumstances).

This post has been edited by Renee: Jul 16 2020, 08:28 PM

[SubRosa]

Bushnell makes me think of binoculars, not farms.

Oh noes, mad European trucker on the loose!

Roadwork. The orange barrel is the state animal of Michigan

*waves at Decrepit as he goes by in the train*

Got into an accident while taking a selfie. That sounds so like a Millenial!

[Acadian]

Some beautiful scenery shots from the open road in New Mexico.

Overturned. As they say, keep the rubber side down and the shiny side up.

Peeking at bus passengers. Because of their vantage, truckers often see some very amusing things happening in the front seats of cars next to them.

Neat shot of the crossing train.

[Lopov]

@Renee - you can reload anytime you want. But so far I haven't done it yet, I prefer that things happen as they do, even if it involves getting speeding tickets, causing accidents or being late by deliveries. It's more spontaneous this way.

The ambulance didn't have flashing lights on, it merely changed the lane, because it wanted to overtake the car in front, I assume. But I was guilty. Must be because of my name, Lopov = scoundrel.

Oh, we have ads by highways too, sometimes they're "wisely" put right in front of some beautiful trees. Things significantly worsen up before every elections.

@SubRosa - it's mad Lopov behind the wheel!

I prefer delivering heavy cargo, because then my truck can't reach top speed in any case, so I have no choice but to go slow. If I transport some light cargo, my "inner GTA beast" takes over on occasion, so I drive close to or even over the speed limit.

State animal of Michigan!?

@Acadian - yeah, it's quite a view from so high, too bad that nothing 'happens' in ATS.

Apparently you can also witness big accidents taking place, so far I've only seen small ones take place, but apparently trucks can overturn in front of your eyes too.

New DLC Idaho was released yesterday and shrewd developers put it immediately in some bundle to get a discount if bought quick enough. So I bought it and got Utah as well. There's never enough of states.

[Renee]

Got into an accident while taking a selfie. That sounds so like a Millenial!

Lol you nailed it!



This post has been edited by Renee: Jul 17 2020, 02:33 PM

[SubRosa]

Oops, I got confused. the orange barrel is the official state flower of Michigan

[Lopov]

New day, new haul

I wouldn't want to be in that queue

Empty road

Picturesque clouds

Oversize sunset

Stuck on highway - my destination was the gas station & rest area on the right. But something happened up front and we were standing still for a few minutes.

Chemron

The next morning

Lopoved from side

Arriving to the destination

GTA perspective

This post has been edited by Lopov: Jul 19 2020, 10:10 AM

[Acadian]

I'm really enjoying your screenshots. My favorite place to drive in the US is in the southwest - a land of wide open spaces and beautiful views.

[SubRosa]

Great sunset, hope you did not get blinded by it and crash!

Chemron is a disturbing name. That is where the AI that takes over the world comes from.

That is a really cool lakeside/seaside destination.

I was expecting mass murder at the name "GTA perspective"

[Lopov]

@Acadian - maybe you'll recognize some roads from the SW in the future.

@SubRosa - I'm more cautious now when taking screenies.

Chemron reminds me of REPCONN in fact.

Skateboarders behind me

Bakersfield

Time to rest

Paying the fee for passing over the bridge

On the bridge

Still on the bridge

Wrangler on my left

Up the hill - slow and steady

Eureka!

For anyone that'd like to watch a part of a route Page-Bakersfield, I made a semi-long LP, it's around 20 minutes. It shows my drive from Page to one of the rest stations. To make things more appealing, I was often driving in the so called "3rd person", that is outside of the cabin. For a normal gameplay I don't switch views, I drive only from inside the cabin.

There's also part 2, where I drive from Page to Primm, going through Las Vegas, which I'll upload in the future.

EDIT: For some reason the video automatically puts me to 2:50, not sure why. In case the same happens to you, just move the slider back to the start.

This post has been edited by Lopov: Jul 22 2020, 08:55 AM

[Acadian]

More great screenshots and still loving the desert/west coast scenery. The LP vid offered a nice additional perspective on the game. And you even had good music playing! I can certainly appreciate the fun, even addictive pleasure this game looks like it can provide.

[SubRosa]

I'm with the Sk8ter Boi!

I guess no is going to miss that they drove into Bakersfield.

It is cool that you stop in motels and have to go through toll booths.

The bridge is cool.

Eureka! Are the Carson Mansion and the Pink Lady in the game?

[Renee]

That's so crazy! They have skateboarders doing their tricks. What an unimportant detail. Maybe I'd expect to see this in GTA or Sims. Not a truck simulation game.

Lopov gets a motel room. That is one thing I wondered, if you can rent a room for the night or day.

I had a girlfriend from Bakersfield when I lived in California. This was back in the early 1990s. Never been there myself. Believe it or not I was not a gamer back then. Not until the year 2000, matter of fact.

I remember stopping in Eureka back when I moved to Oregon. I had Chinese food for dinner! I think I picked up a hitchhiker somewhere north of Eureka.

That's a question: are there hitchhikers? Can you pick somebody up. Is this common in Europe? I know it was common during the 1970s when we visited / lived there. Hitchhiking has become rare in America, at least on the east coast. When I was a teen it was more common. Like a dummy, I used to occasionally pick people up. Never had any problems, but it can be dangerous, of course, picking up total strangers.

Cool, I'm glad you posted that video, and since I commented heavily during our messages, I can't wait to see the next one.

This post has been edited by Renee: Jul 24 2020, 01:09 PM

[Lopov]

@Acadian - thanks! Today I uploaded the video of the drive through your hometown, maybe you'll recognize some roads or landmarks. Maybe you'll even recognize yourself in some car.

@SubRosa - the only tool booth encountered so far was the one before that bridge. In European TS they're much more common.

I assume that landmarks which you mention, aren't present in the game, because the Wiki states only:
-Mad River
-church
-Humboldt Bay

@Renee - it's nice to see a town named Eureka, considering its original meaning.

There aren't hitchhikers in the game unfortunately. That'd be an interesting addition for sure.

From what I've traveled across Europe, hitchhiking isn't extremely rare but it's not too common either. It used to be more common years ago for sure.

Today's video takes off where the previous one ended, and shows the drive from the weigh station to Primm, going through Las Vegas. I'd say that not much interesting happens in the first half of the video, except me getting shortly stuck around 6:40, because I didn't take an arc wide enough when cornering, but from around 10:00 onwards I was driving through Las Vegas. Around 13:00 a so called unexpected event takes place on the road. The video ends in Primm, which is also featured in Fallout NV, but in ATS it's in a much better state.

Through Las Vegas

This post has been edited by Lopov: Jul 24 2020, 07:11 PM

[Acadian]

Toll roads are very common in the northeast portion of the US. Fairly rare elsewhere.

I couldn't get the vid to come up. You Tube comes up fine but the vid says 'Video Unavailable'. To troubleshoot, I tried the vid from your previous (Bakersfield) vid and that still works just fine.