Trucking Simulator Games Discussion

[Silverwing]

Wow, perfect timing for ATS to  release Montana!  The Montana level in Extreme Trucker 2 was actually my favorite level in that game.  I pretended to have a cabin and work around there.   Simplier times.  The game looks good after all these years. Good enough that I might turn on Extreme Trucker 2 again and see what it's like after all these years.  It will be wild driving the same roads as that game then, in the new DLC. 

This might sound weird, but in some ways, the older game looks better.  Especially the trees on nearby hills and mountains.  Don't tell SCS I said that.

The old map was actually pretty accurate of the Thompson Falls areas too!  Check it out. Map

[timmelon]

This might sound weird, but in some ways, the older game looks better.  Especially the trees on nearby hills and mountains.

Nothing weird . Some graphic styles may look more eye-pleasing despite the lower level of detail. If compare the system requirements, Extreme Trucker is way way better .

Don't tell SCS I said that.

I remember how every big discussion about ATS on various forums was ending on opinion that how much content was in WoS:Haulin, and how poor is ATS in comparison — literally on every page in a thread was «Haulin this, Haulin that» . After an update with buyable trailers these talks have mostly disappeared. I didn’t read every official SCS forums but I believe that their workers have read enough of comparisons like that.

[MasterXtreme]

I personally have no issue with the older graphics in games.  I think around 2008-2014 was a good medium.  In most cases I can't really even see much diff. 

This is cool to see SCS 20 years on.  I never really thought of ATS as being a successor to 18 Wheels of Steel.  If that is the case, technically, ATS is the oldest IP SCS has.  Interesting. 

[Grapefoot]

This is very cool!  It's like going back full circle for SCS, especially the original employees recreating this same area!

I haven't played 18WOS in ages!  I need to go back and play it.  I remember the cities and roads were all pretty generic.

[timmelon]

I need to go back and play it. I remember the cities and roads were all pretty generic.

And low-end trucks were not very dynamic .

[Grapefoot]

True, true.  It was cool how in some of their old games we could drive into Mexico and Canada... even if they looked the same as the USA in that game, lol. 

I did like the variety in trucks, but they all felt the same.  Since I've posted earlier, I reinstalled my old SCS games and plan to play them again. 

[Captain Ridiculous]

The old games had their charm.  A lot of the city photos in the Trucking Simulator Wiki of cities are from me, especially of the older games.  Here were some I quickly found.  Clearly they look nothing like they do in real life or even close to what they look like in ATS.  This is Spokane in 18WOS.  I do appreciate the mountains though.



And here were some of Seattle. They at least attempted to make the Space Needle in the final pic.... and when I say attempted, I really mean it.  It couldn't be worse.





These photos are making me nostalgic to want to go play again.  I uploaded the Seattle photos because it's the only city with any landmark in the game, lol.  All the other cities in 18WOS that are in ATS are just generic. 

[MasterXtreme]

Even though it isn't accurate in anyway, it's still neat how games used to be.  To the new player, it was awe inspiring just the fact you could travel the entire country and see approximations of real places! Good photos @Captain Ridiculous!

[timmelon]

All the other cities in 18WOS that are in ATS are just generic. 

Well, there was something like SF-Oakland bridge with cool mountains on the background .

I see I can set up any screen resolution in this game, but there is no Ultrawide support — the picture just stretches, so 21:9 monitor is useless . Worms Armageddon wins here — the game from 1999 works normally on any monitor .
Also, the upgrade from the bottom to the top truck in first WoS game is vital for more or less successful gameplay, when you are required to deliver the cargo from SF to Reno in 8 minutes . In ATS you can easily handle any task with basic vehicle.

[RainySunshine]

Las Vegas just had base buildings with the word "CASINO" plastered all over them too.

I love the old Worms game.  My friend and I used to play it together while sharing one computer to each play it.  I remember you could set up keys so one would play on one side of the keyboard while the other played on the other side, lol!

[timmelon]

Also, SF had the restaurant named «PRAGUE» as a reminder about the origin of game developers .
And the cafe with that name exists IRL.

I remember you could set up keys so one would play on one side of the keyboard while the other played on the other side, lol!

Good-looking, but very slow strategy named Settlers 2 allowed to play in split-sreen, but you needed to connect two mice. I imagine how two gamers were playing on one tiny 15" monitor back in 1996 .

[MasterXtreme]

Cafe Prague is located in downtown and quite expensive.  I haven't eaten there, but I've walked by it[/url].

[MasterXtreme]

My friend and I used to play it together while sharing one computer to each play it.  I remember you could set up keys so one would play on one side of the keyboard while the other played on the other side, lol!

Good-looking, but very slow strategy named Settlers 2 allowed to play in split-sreen, but you needed to connect two mice. I imagine how two gamers were playing on one tiny 15" monitor back in 1996 .

These are the good kind of memories of playing in the old days!  I remember my friend had a computer and his Dad had a computer.  They were both located in the Dad's home office.  We would play Age of Empires and Age of Mythology via LAN online.  Such good memories and so much fun!

[timmelon]

So, I played the first 18WoS game (last time it was 18-19 years ago ), and I can confirm that the first thing you want to do is to get rid of the basic truck .
I remember how ridiculously long was the way to buying of the third truck in the list when I played this game first time, but today I have earned the right amount of money for 4-5 hours (there was a lot of save-loads, that’s why the number is not so specific ). This truck is also not very dynamic, but at least it can hold a decent speed on the freeway.

The next buy will be a hazardous cargo certificate, which allows to take more expensive cargoes, and after that, there are four more trucks .
It’s fun to compare how different details the old and current trucking games have . Even the secondary features differ — in *TS you can only start or stop the song in the jukebox, and in 18WoS you have the progress bar and can scroll to any point, but if you want to adjust the volume, you need to quit to the main menu, and then load the game again. Old game has a lot of random invisible bumps — you can suddenly stop on the road and damage your truck without any contact with nearby vehicle, and when you drive at this place next time, everything is normal. Near Reno, there is a road sign which says there is a filling station on the truck stop, but there is only a service station there . Taking any order to LA requires to have the fastest truck or else you will just lose a lot of time before you get to a base which can be very far from city limit sign. For unexperienced drivers, there is an easy way to grind a money by taking orders from Phoenix to LV and back — the route is easy, also, there are no weigh stations between these cities, so taking an overweight cargo don’t give you additional risk.

[Silverwing]

It looks beautiful! 

I'm going to play 18WOS tonight.  Got it loaded up and set aside about two hours to play!