ATS Road Trip: Cars Are Coming to American Truck Simulator

The “Hear us out” teaser SCS Software put out earlier this month now has its explanation. The studio is working on Road Trip, a project for American Truck Simulator that puts players behind the wheel of something smaller than a Class 8 truck. SCS gives a powerful pickup or a sports car as examples of what that could mean.

It is very early. SCS says Road Trip is in the first stages of development and that some details are still being shaped internally. There are no named vehicles, no release window and no price yet.

More than a new vehicle class

The interesting part of the announcement is not the cars themselves. SCS says it wants to give players a reason to drive them. That could mean new kinds of tasks and jobs, or simply touring the map, finding landmarks and taking in the views. ATS has always been built around cargo and delivery times, and this sounds like a mode where the drive itself is the point.

The studio also hopes the idea will reach people who have never felt drawn to trucks, not only its existing players.

Trucking is not being sidelined

SCS answers the obvious worry straight away. A dedicated team has been set up to work only on Road Trip, and the roadmap for map expansions, trucks, trailers and other updates is unchanged. The studio calls the project “a big experiment” and warns that much of it will change over time.

Watch the dev talk

For the thinking behind the project, SCS has published a vidcast in which Pavel, Nemiro, Mark and Anton talk through the concept and what they want it to become.

First work-in-progress shots

The screenshots that came with the announcement are close-ups rather than full cars: a front grille, a door mirror, a windscreen cowl, a chrome fuel cap on red paintwork, an interior door panel. Several are still untextured grey models. SCS does not say which cars they belong to, though the wood-trimmed dashboard with round gauges points to at least one classic American model.

Our take

Cars in a truck game sound like a simple addition, but SCS is right to put the focus on giving them something to do. Without jobs or destinations designed for smaller vehicles, a car in ATS would be a novelty for an evening. The studio is asking players for ideas and suggestions, so the shape of the mode is still open, and we will be following what the dedicated team shows next.

Source: SCS Software blog. Images and video: SCS Software.