[SCS Blog] American Truck Simulator: 1.49 Update Release

[SCS Blog]

We are happy to announce that the 1.49 update for American Truck Simulator has been released and is now available on Steam. This update contains bug fixes, changes and new content, which are featured below, so we recommend having a read! 

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who participated, provided their feedback, and made bug reports during the Open Beta period. Your valuable input helped us make tweaks, changes and squash some bugs that we may have missed the first time around. We hope you can now begin to fully enjoy the fruits of your work.

HDR Skyboxes, Moon and New Weather Effects

First and foremost, after many requests, we've added the Moon (back) to our night sky! It's a subtle but remarkable touch that adds an extra layer of realism and wonder to your virtual trucking adventures. Curiously, it's worth mentioning that what might appear as a simple addition – the Moon – has posed some significant challenges for some time. Integrating the Moon into the night sky has required casting, rendering and calculating lunar light, proper phases, managing reflections in water bodies, dealing with wet roads, and addressing mirror effects, among other things.

In addition to that, we've also reimagined the night sky, introducing dynamic stars that gently twinkle, enhancing the overall authenticity of the night-time experience. 

We are also happy to share that skyboxes will now be in High Dynamic Range (HDR), which means that there will be richer, more vibrant colors in the skies and our weather visual effects have also received an upgrade. Thunderstorms now include visible lightning, offering a more immersive experience. And make sure to keep an eye on the night sky in certain regions, you might be pleasantly surprised by what you will notice.

To sum it all up, we’ve also prepared a special video for you showcasing all of these changes. It’s definitely worth checking it out along with the dedicated blog post we published previously!

PACCAR Technical Center 

Hidden within the vast landscape of Washington, a realistic recreation of the PACCAR Technical Center awaits your discovery.

Drivers will now have the opportunity to experience the PACCAR Technical Center firsthand. This realistic 1:1 recreation will offer a glimpse into the world of truck development. For years, the PACCAR Technical Center has been the epicenter of innovation and development for renowned truck manufacturers, Kenworth and Peterbilt.

This facility has been instrumental in testing trucks, powertrains, technologies, and more, and it's where the giants of the trucking industry push the boundaries of what's possible, creating the next generation of iconic trucks.

Even though the area won't be readily visible on the in-game map and UI, it will be waiting for curious players to discover with plenty of interesting bits to explore. We’ve also added an extra layer of excitement, a small Easter egg will be parked within the PACCAR Technical Center itself. We challenge you to keep your eyes peeled and see if you can spot this surprise. 

We hope you enjoy checking out this new and unique addition in American Truck Simulator!

Used Truck Dealers

We're also happy to introduce another highly requested feature. Used Trucks will be now available immediately in the main menu taking you to a selection of trucks that are more budget-friendly compared to brand new vehicles. However, these used trucks come with some mileage and wear, which is indicated by their star rating and a separate window that provides a detailed breakdown of the damage to various parts.

One of the most significant changes coming along with this feature is the enhanced damage and repair system. In the past, our approach was very simplistic - individual parts would accumulate damage, represented as a percentage, and you could repair them, resetting the percentage to zero. However, with the 1.49 update, parts will accumulate three types of damage

• Damage: This type of damage can be fixed by standard repairs, just as before.
• Parts Wear: When components accumulate significant wear and tear, you'll want to replace them.
• Permanent Wear: The permanent wear represents systemic aging and wear across the whole vehicle. It can only be nullified by Total Restoration of the entire vehicle. This is a more expensive procedure, but it's the only way to bring your truck and trailer back to pristine condition.

With the improved damage system comes enhanced control over vehicle maintenance. You can now make informed choices about which parts to repair or replace based on your judgment. Alternatively, you have the option to seek professional advice for the best repair strategy for your truck or trailer.

Happy (used) trucking! 

Mountains Rework - Utah DLC

Four years ago, the Utah DLC was released for American Truck Simulator. Back then, we were still learning a lot about our tools and techniques, especially when it came to the creation of mountains. Today, we are pleased to be at a level where we have improved on creating mountains in-game, especially when it comes to scale and details. 

Today, we're happy to release with the 1.49 update a small rework of a number of mountains located in Salt Lake City, Utah. We'd like to thank those from our community who passed on their feedback in regards to the representation of the mountains found in this beautiful state. 

You'll find that in most cases, the mountains have been reworked entirely from scratch, replacing the older models that once stood there. We really hope that you see a difference from this rework! We hope to continue to rework certain aspects of our DLCs as our tools and options continue to develop over time. 

Be sure to share with us your trucking adventures through Utah in 1.49 on our social media channels, we'd love to see them!

Keybind Modifiers 

Another highly requested feature coming with 1.49 is the introduction of Keybind Modifiers! When previously creating a new bind in the menu, you could only assign a single key for an action. With the 1.49 update, you will now have the option to use a combination of the key and modifiers to bind an action. For example, you can now assign Shift + L to turn your lights if you so wish! 

This opens up a whole new world of key bind combinations for you to use, allowing for more binding options, but that's not all! You will also now have the options to bind short press and long press key. Holding the key down will be recognised as a long press, and pressing a button as normal will be seen as a short press. 

Keyboards aren't the only peripherals taking advantage of this change. Controllers will also be able use this new feature!

Special Transport DLC Update

With the arrival of the Kansas DLC for American Truck Simulator on November 30th, we have taken the opportunity to bring an exciting update to the Special Transport DLC. Today we are happy to announce the arrival of 2 new oversized cargoes!

Introducing the new Wind Blade & Articulated Hauler cargoes, as part of the 1.49 update! Think you got what it takes to haul these new oversized loads? You can find these new cargo routes across some of the already existing routes in various DLCs and base game. We've also introduced two completely new routes, both which start from Pueblo in Colorado, where wind blades are often found being transported in the real world! 

However, that's not all! The Kansas DLC will also receive several new routes of its own when it is released. You can read more about these routes, plus the addition of a new Special Transport feature for long haul routes at our recent blog post. Check it out here!

Automatic Headlights

Another new feature which we are happy to introduce to this update is the option of Automatic Headlights. It is a relatively straightforward feature, that turns on your headlights when the ambient light around the truck falls bellow a certain threshold.

If the option is toggled, your light switch position for parking lights is replaced by automatic lights, so you can still turn your lights off or force your headlights on with the other switch positions.

We have also introduced the addition of Automatic High Beams. This feature will temporally disable your high beams when there is a vehicle in front of you (both in your lane or oncoming) and turns them back on when the vehicle is far enough away.

These automatic high beams are enabled if you flip the high beam switch and when either your automatic headlights are turned on, or you turned your headlights on manually (in case of automatic headlights option toggled off, high beams only work when headlights are manually enabled). We hope you enjoy this simple, yet useful feature for when you are travelling on the road!

Changelog 

Map

• PACCAR Technical Centre added to Washington State
• Mountains reworked around Salt Lake City (Utah DLC)

Visual

• HDR Skyboxes, Moon and New Weather Effects

Vehicle

• New Special Transport DLC Cargoes & Kansas Routes
• Automatic Headlights and High Beam

Other

• Used Truck Dealers
• Keybind Modifiers

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