ATS Road Trip: Quick Jobs, Dispatch Market and Courier Rating
The last big question about Road Trip has an answer. SCS Software has explained what cars will do for money in American Truck Simulator, and the short version is courier work, judged by customers and tracked by a rating that takes the place of XP.
Quick Jobs: borrowed car, company pays
As with trucks, you do not need your own vehicle for a Quick Job. The company offering the work provides one and covers fuel, repairs and other costs. The jobs themselves are small: packages and documents, plus moving cars between dealerships. What you are offered also depends on the vehicle, so a pickup can get different contracts from a sports car or a classic.
The customer gets a say
Every delivery is reviewed in three areas: Time Management, Vehicle Appearance and Cargo Handling. The review is tied to the job, so damaging valuable documents reads differently from bringing delicate plant seedlings through unharmed. Some customers care most about one of the three. You see that before accepting, it is harder to satisfy, and it pays better.
Time Management is not a simple deadline. The customer expects you at a set time, and arriving early can be as unwelcome as arriving late.
Courier Rating and streaks
Each delivery gets a star rating, and those stars add up to your Courier Rating. That rating controls which jobs you see, how far the routes can go and how much they pay. A high rating opens fragile or valuable cargo and tighter delivery windows, along with a payout bonus. String together five-star runs and you build a Perfect Delivery Streak, which adds more money on top.
Dispatch Market: your own car
Once you own a car, the Dispatch Market opens up. It is Road Trip’s version of the Freight Market: the same idea as Quick Jobs, but in a car from your garage. Pay is slightly higher because fuel and repairs are now your problem. Ratings and reviews work the same way, though the job mix differs. There is no car jockey work here, since, in SCS’s words, “asking you to give away your own car would be a little unfair.”
Money and progression
Earnings go into your existing ATS profile, the same pot as your trucking career. There is no separate XP for this mode: progression comes from Courier Rating, reviews and the streak. SCS says jobs at launch will be about getting yourself and the delivery safely from A to B, with more ideas it hopes to explore later.
Our take
The early-arrival rule is the most interesting idea here. In truck jobs, getting there early is always safe. Here it costs you, so the right way to drive is to pace the trip rather than push. SCS also talks about maintaining a high rating, which suggests it can slip, and that would give every scratch on the paint real weight.
Source: SCS Software blog. Images and video: SCS Software.
