[How To Deal With Accidents And Trolls]

Hello fellow TMP community member,

 

I, Aopin, also known under my previous name, Nicoduivel, have played online on the multiplayer servers for about one year and a month as of this moment. Since many players still have troubles dealing with the aftermath of trolls and accidents I decided to share my tips and ways to deal with these situations in the hope of helping you easily resolve your issues.

 

How to deal with trolls and other players that violate regulations on purpose?
Now let's start of with probably the most common cause of accidents on the multiplayer servers. Trolls and accidents caused on purpose. Unfortunately no countermeasures within the current capabilities of the TMP community can completely eradicate the occurrence of these types of annoyances. It is unrealistic for admins to be available 24/7 to everyone, but luckily for us the TMP admin team is very dedicated to resolving these issues in the game, or afterwards on the report system and forum. Even though how frustrating the things that happened might be, it is important to not get tempted to do the same back to a troll. This might actually cause problems for yourself if they are against the rules. Please realise that chat abuse is one of these things.

 

What can you do yourself?

First of all, in order to report a player for something they did, which is against/in violation of the rules, you need evidence. An easy way for you to always have evidence is to record your sessions. Sort of a digital dashcam, if you will. Software for doing so is readily available all over the internet. Here is a good list of useful screen recorders: https://www.techradar.com/news/the-best-free-screen-recorder

Also do not forget to take the players information. This can easily be done by typing "/pinfo (In game ID, this is the number behind a player's name tag.)"

Now of course video evidence is required for anything that can't be proven with screenshots. Take for example: Ramming, Blocking on purpose for extended time (so players that just got rammed will not be falsely accused), CB radio spamming and wrong way driving.

Other things such as chat abuse or comparable instances won't generally require video evidence, but it still is preferred.

Obviously some players do not have computers capable of recording video while also playing the game. For those players it will not be as easy to prove the things other players have done wrong. In most cases it will simply be impossible to do so. After all innocent until proven guilty is the best way to go in a moderation system. This might not always be in your favour, but at least it keeps lots of innocent players safe from false accusations.

 

How do I report a player?

The first question you should ask yourself though is if the causer of the accident did so on purpose or by accident. If it is clear the player did not mean to do any harm and did not drive recklessly, you could simple decide to not file a report at all. This also will save a moderator some time checking through reports. You are of course always still allowed to report the player if they violated the rules.

 

When you've decided reporting a player is the right thing to do, then this can easily be done in game.

You press tab to open the in game menu. In this menu, all you have to do is press the player's name and then click the report button. Select one or more violations that the player committed.

When the report is sent, an admin will review the report if there is time to do so. Even when reviewed the admin might not always be able to take action against the player.

 

No action was taken against the player, or I wasn't able to report the player in-game on time.

This is where your recorded evidence comes into play. Go to the TruckersMP website: www.truckersmp.com

Here you can login to your account and then select "Account" and then "Reports." Simply click "New Report" to file your report.

All you have to do is fill in the report (requiring the earlier mentioned "/pinfo") and provide the required evidence. When needing to provide screenshots websites like Imgur can be useful. When needing to provide video evidence, I found the easiest way was to provide the relevant piece of your recording by uploading it to YouTube. This video can be hidden or public, as long as it is accessible from the report page.

Then the only thing left to do is wait until an admin reviews the report and decides what would be an appropriate action to take.

Please do not report the same thing again if the action taken was not up to what you expected.

 

What can you do to overcome the problems after the incident? [damage and being stuck]

Of course, the easiest thing to deal with is getting stuck. Most players know the infamous F7+Enter key combination, because most players are familiar with these in game systems. After all, before being able to join MP, you should have played for about 2 hours in SP. In any case for players that do not know about this; pressing F7 followed by enter and agreeing with the terms on the interface makes your truck get "towed" (or just simply teleported) to the nearest service station. Here you will be able to repair any damages to your truck.

 

Unfortunately, as many players know, it is not possible to repair damage done to cargo. There are however a few ways to undo the damage in some cases. When you make use of the local freight market and quick freights it is possible to revert the game back to an earlier auto-save. This should restore your truck's and trailer's damage percentage back to the amount it was at the time of the autosave.

When using the external contract system, it is not possible to use auto-saves. It is however possible to cancel a contract without a fee. Alternatively programs like "CheatEngine" can be used to cheat the amount lost in damages back to your bank account. Watch out though! Programs such as "CheatEngine" can damage game files when used wrong. The program can also be abused to change other game properties, however do mind that you should not change things that would conflict with the TMP rules. Otherwise you could be the one that ends up being taken action against.

 

I hope the information above was useful to you.

Happy Trucking,

Aopin (Nicoduivel)

[Hot topic #2: Rush hour, driving the traffic jams]

I started driving on MP a little over a year ago and started in Rotterdam. I quickly found out that Calais-Duisburg was pure chaos and haven't driven the route ever since. I never take jobs to either city and when GPS directs me through it, I set alternative waypoints avoiding the area. Of course, it's nice to have some traffic around you, but it isn't fun anymore if you can't drive a truck normally. It seems like more distance is done whilst flying instead of driving. 

 

I don't think any rules and/or stronger penalties will solve the issue. In MP players want to drive with other players. So we all think: Where are the other players at? The answer is Calais-Duisburg and the area surrounding it. The further you get away from C-D, the lower the traffic seems to be. The only times when this isn't the case is when there is a new map-DLC or an event that encourages players to drive in a certain part of the map. Like the previous ATS event, which lured all the players to CA. Now after the event, I am lucky to see 200 players online at ATS EU.

 

EU2's C-D road is just known for the crazy traffic, and frankly, it attracts lots of players. Perhaps like mentioned before it is because they all want a cameo on YT? This probably won't change until somewhere else on the map will get a similar reputation. I wonder how players would spread over the map if the devs decided to close of C-D for one week... Where would the mass end up going? or would they just not play altogether? I am pretty sure that changing the rules won't affect it. Maybe if SCS revisits Northern France and Belgium, and C-D would become a separated 2/4 lane freeway, it would lower the number of accidents. But even if it would, I am not sure if that will happen at all. For now, I'll just keep avoiding the route when on EU2, and it'll most likely stay that way until the situation changes for the better.

[Virtual (E/A)TS-MP Truck driving license]

Suggestion Name: Virtual Truck Driving License (VMTL)

Suggestion Description: Wouldn't it be nice to have players that took a basic traffic exam/test before they started playing on the servers? I think so. Don't worry, I am not suggesting to make it obligated to take it successfully in order to play. 

 

How does one get hold of an (E/A)TS-MP Truck Driving License or "VMTL: Virtual Multiplayer Truckers License"

First of all, new players registering get an option to take the VMTL Driving License test right after making a new account. Existing players will get a notification,  button, or a link in the forum to take the test as well. Players in game will get a small Green VMTL sign/logo, indicating to other players that this player has sufficient traffic knowledge to be a safe trucker on the roads. Players that have not taken, or did not pass, the test will get a Danger symbol or a Red VMTL sign/logo.

Losing the VMTL sign:
It would also be possible to lose your VMTL when:

- An admin manually removes it if they think that would be appropriate.

- You get banned.

When a player wants the license back, all they have to do is wait for a (Day/Week/Month) before being allowed to retake the test.

 

Basic uses of the VMTL system:

The signs indicate to admins and other players that this driver does, or might not possess sufficient knowledge of basic traffic rules. This way players can be extra cautious and admins can easily see who to pay more attention too in crowded situations. 

 

Possible other uses:
- Calais-Duisburg is obviously overcrowded and full of inexperienced and or bad truckers (as well as good ones that suffer from this, don't get me wrong). What if, to enter this road, you need to have your VMTL. This way new players, and players that do not know basic traffic rules, can't enter this dangerous situation. This might make it a lot safer, and with that, in my opinion, more fun to drive. I personally avoid this route when driving in an MP server because of the dangers of driving there.

- Higher Penalties: When players have their VMTL it means they have basic traffic knowledge. Now, of course, this doesn't mean they can't get into accidents. Especially when encountering a player that is unfamiliar with the traffic rules. It would be possible to encourage players to learn the rules, and with that, possibly drive safer if they got higher penalties when not having their VMTL.

- Speed restrictions of 90km/h (or 60mph) for players that do not have a VMTL.

 

What would a hypothetical exam/test look like:
- Questions on basic traffic signs that are found in the game like the yield and stop sign. 

- Questions on basic road markings. Like for example: "Are you allowed, and is it safe to overtake the truck in front of you in this situation?"

- Other questions like:

   - "The traffic lights are off, who is allowed to go first in this 4-way crossing?"

   - "Is it safe to take a left in this situation?"

   - "Are you supposed to go first, or are you supposed to yield?"

 

 

Example Images: None
Why should it be added: I think it became clear why it should be added in the description paragraph... In short though: It would make driving in general safer, possibly give admins an easier job, and save players from breaking their keyboard's F7 button...

 

Just to avoid confusion:

The test would obviously not be obligated unless the developers think that would be better of course. It would still be possible for all players to join, it would only mark some of them as a possible hazard and might restrict certain areas. Don't get me wrong, this is not to annoy players, or because I think people who don't know the traffic rules shouldn't be allowed to play. It's just to make the game more playable for everyone. After all, I do not own a (car) drivers license in real life either because I haven't even done my theoretical exam yet. This, of course, doesn't mean that I don't know what I am supposed to do at the "Upside down white triangle with a red border" ;).

 

 

By the way, of course, if something like this were to be implemented, it will need a few changes. Please let me know what could be better/improved, and what do you think of this.

[Players could add Hazard triangle on the minimap?]

I know this is quite an old post but I think I might have a suggestion to this. Players when in heavy traffic or if they had an accident 90% of the time turn on their hazard blinkers. Perhaps if you turn these on, your blue circle changes into a hazard triangle. I don't know if this is possible but I think it might be better than hazard triangle placed on a certain location.

 

For example:
An accident occured and a few players have stopped and turned on hazard blinkers. The next player who's coming of course can't see this from far away, but does notice multiple blinking player icons on his map. Now he/she knows there might be slow traffic or even traffic standing still. This way he/she can slow down in time and won't slam into the back of the other trucks causing more chaos.

 

I know this can be abused a bit as well, by players leaving them on, on purpose. The thing is that you can see that the triangle is moving.

I don't know if I explained this very well, but at least I hope this suggestion was usefull.

[Inform Truck Drivers of Cars (skoda) approaching]

I can't see this being very usefull. I mean you can hear them coming if you haven't got any music on and you can see them in your mirrors from some distance (depending on your graphics settings).
I also agree with Suzylu89, if they intend to ram you, there is not that much you can do about it, except for starting to record (if you have the programs for it) and report them.

[Suggestion (In-game refund system)]

I think it would be nice if they added something like this. I know exactly what it's like to be rammed, then glitch and end up with 100% damage on both your truck and load. I myself use Cheat Engine, and only give myself the exact amount that I lost in damages, nothing more. But it's still annoying to use Cheat Engine because you have to leave full screen (and if you're honest with yourself like me, you'll also have to calculate the exact amount of money you'll get back). I totally agree that something needs to be done about this, but I don't think it will be very easy to implement it. I think so because the server has to decide who caused the accident (so wont get any refunds) and who's the victim (and get all the money back).