Systems: Windows, Android, Mac, Linux
Release Date: February 2, 2016
Publisher: SCS Software
Developer: SCS Software
I have talked about American Truck Simulator a few times over the last couple of months and all of this stems from two separate and completely different avenues. The first was from Polygon's Overview video from Justin and Griffen McElroy six years ago, and the second was because The Squire really likes semi trucks, which we refer to as Kammthaar's because of the song/video by Ultra Vomit. Before I started playing, these were my primary reasons for throwing (discounted) money at SCS and Steam. Then I drove my big rig from Sacramento up to Redding and that was when I had a realization.
This is the first dedicated driving sim I have played, although I have done plenty of driving in other games like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, GoldenEye 007, Bayonetta (although that was directing a missile), and the closest was probably The Crew which was a driving/racing sim with very little consequences. Really it has been the enjoyment I got from playing The Crew that I had been chasing in an open-world driving game but I did not know that I could get that from American Truck Simulator. If you have ever stolen a car in GTA and then carefully driven it around, obeying traffic laws and not GTAing your way through crowded intersections, ATS might be up your proverbial alley. There is just something relaxing about driving a 56,000 lb vehicle loaded with two trailers carrying drywall through not-too-crowded interstates and then being given the option at your destination to hand the steering wheel off to someone else to park. Sure I lose out on extra XP, but I have been playing for X.X hours doing nothing but Quick Jobs, so I am not really too concerned about the garage I supposedly bought in Sacramento for the purpose of creating my Truck Driving Empire.
There is a campaign mode in this game. I think. Because you pick an avatar, a preferred truck design (whatever that means), and name your trucking company (or in my case, join a pre-existing company) and acquire a crappy garage when you start and you can only exit your truck to go into first-person exploration mode when you own your own truck, which I think you can only do if you purchase one from wherever your established garage is located, heavily implies that you do not need to do quick jobs your entire life. The way I have been playing ATS is only partially realistic in that I am not fast traveling to different cities to pick up specific jobs. When I started in Sacramento, CA I drove up to Redding, CA. Then the next job I selected to start in Redding, CA, and chose a job that took me north into Klamath Falls, OR. Once in Klamath Falls, I selected a job that took me to Burns. You get the idea. I could just decide to take a job from Ontario, OR to Astoria, OR even if my last job ended in Bakersfield, CA, but I am enjoying selecting jobs based on the city that my last job ended in.
As for the realism in the game, I already briefly touched on the condensed maps or the omitting of entire Interstates (RIP I-205) in other articles, but let us revisit that here. Briefly. While a large part of each available state is here along with various highway systems, they are condensed. You do not have access to all roads and streets as those are blocked off by large floating yellow Xs that I assume act like an indestructible brick wall if you try to drive into them. So a large part of this game is the appeal of driving in real-world locations, otherwise, I could be driving anywhere in any game. But driving from The Dalles to Astoria and driving across the Fremont Bridge and taking the Vaughn Street exit from I-405 to Highway 30 felt very cool because I have taken that exit many times driving out to the Pearl District or up towards Sauvie Island. But when I drove from Sacramento, CA to Redding, CA along I-5, was sad to see that Woodland, CA was committed completely (RIP Woodland); sacrifices were made. There is plenty of talk online requesting that SCS include additional highways, landmarks, or vistas of cities to be included in future updates and DLC.
The other detail that I appreciate is that the sound effect used for the turning signal seems accurate based on my real-world experience driving trucks. And by driving trucks, I mean the U-Haul trucks that I have driven over the last 15+ years. I think the largest truck I have driven was a 20' U-Haul (or equivalent company) 450+ miles up I-5 in California. And now looking at California regulations, I might have not stopped at enough (any?) weigh stations along the way. Although I do not recall there being anything said about needing to stop at weigh stations when we signed the rental paperwork. Oops? Although maybe they were all conveniently closed? But I do stop at weigh stations in-game because I do not want to be fined, which because this is a video game, happens immediately any time you commit a traffic violation (not turning your headlights on, running stop signs or red lights, etc).
I wanted to talk about how ATS plays on the Steam Deck because that is how I have been playing this whole time. The game is rated as "Playable" and that is pretty accurate. There is some ease of functionality that does not quite translate from playing with mouse/keyboard to a controller, even with the customizability of button mappings, but most functions are intuitive. I have noticed though that there is no trackpad functionality even though there is a cursor that you could move around on the menu screens, thankfully I can still use the Steam Deck's touchscreen when needed I did have an issue once where I somehow put on the parking brake and the game prompted me to release the parking brake by pressing Y, but pressing Y decoupled the trailer from the truck and I could not find in the key bindings how to release the parking brake. So I reloaded a save. I have only had to reload a previous save file after tipping over my truck on a rain-slick curved stretch of road because I could not figure out what I needed to do. There was no on-screen prompt to call a tow truck or a popup letting me know that I would be billed for having ruined the truck that I was contracting out to drive along with all associated costs for damaged products (I think I was delivering dumpsters or some other top-heavy load). So I reloaded a previous save file and chalked it up to having a bad dream premonition about my next haul.
My brain is all over the place with this article but I think it really just comes down to that I am able to find some semblance of zen, even when the game gives me a bit of a puzzler in how to navigate a multi-trailer semi-truck around tight curves while avoiding oncoming traffic only a few blocks away from my destination. If I ever get around to playing the campaign mode, I might end up writing a Game EXP article and also figure out how to successfully back up with a trailer attached, because that is not at all intuitive.
~JWfW/JDub/The Faceplantman/Jaconian
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