Bumpy Roads

[Unster]

+1. I've been asking for this too. I don't "feel" the roads in this game. It's like the trucks just hover over the surface. To get the wheels-on-road effect, you wouldn't need actual bumps in the road. The driver camera just has to move in a convincing way with some gentle random sway when the truck is moving. I'm surprised after all these years and more trivial features added, this basic feature is still missing from these two games.

Someone compared the driving in this game to flying. And yes, I agree: any kind of movement or vibration to show the effect of speed would be nice.

I want bumps for areas like the joint between two bridge sections, the transition from highway to overpass, a patch on the road or tar seal, obviously potholes, and even areas where two road surface types meet (like concrete to asphalt).

It would do a lot for the driving experience.

I totally agree. I didn't mean to imply in my last post that there should be no bumps added anywhere. I only meant that the right kind of driver camera movement can simulate most of the real-life unevenness in road surfaces. Certainly we'd want some actual physical bumps in roads too in some places. There are a few places like that in ETS2, typically on freeway ramps. Not sure if they're intentional, but I like driving in those places because it adds that real-life feel that's missing in most other places.

[Unster]

BTW, there's another game called Truck & Logistics Simulator. I don't actually like it because it's kind of rough with plenty of physics and sound deficiencies, but one thing that this small developer does better than SCS is the driver camera movement. It actually feels like you're driving on real-life roads there. So if a small developer can accomplish this, there's really no excuse for SCS not to do it. But they might be resisting to change this because not enough people have complained about the artificial smoothness of the roads in ATS & ETS2. And their thinking might be don't fix what ain't broken, sadly.

You should add a poll to this thread.

[The Dude]

You know SCS did start putting in drainage grates and manhole covers in some of the cities that you can feel with a FFB wheel and there's a few bridge prefabs where they're bumpy because the roadway and prefab don't align just right , but I agree SCS needs to add more bumpy roads through out the whole map.
For now I'm using Daniel's ATS Random Events which adds more of SCS's default road infrastructure.

Both make the game better.
ATS viewtopic.php?t=293448

ETS2 viewtopic.php?t=265242

[Optional Features]

BTW, there's another game called Truck & Logistics Simulator. I don't actually like it because it's kind of rough with plenty of physics and sound deficiencies, but one thing that this small developer does better than SCS is the driver camera movement. It actually feels like you're driving on real-life roads there. So if a small developer can accomplish this, there's really no excuse for SCS not to do it. But they might be resisting to change this because not enough people have complained about the artificial smoothness of the roads in ATS & ETS2. And their thinking might be don't fix what ain't broken, sadly.

You should add a poll to this thread.

Poll added: good idea! I recently got Truck and Logistics sim, but have yet to download it. From what I can tell, it's a lot more hands on and offers a lot of features that SCS will not include in their games. I just wish they had some American trailers, but I guess I can use the European trucks (and trailers).

You know SCS did start putting in drainage grates and manhole covers in some of the cities that you can feel with a FFB wheel and there's a few bridge prefabs where they're bumpy because the roadway and prefab don't align just right , but I agree SCS needs to add more bumpy roads through out the whole map.
For now I'm using Daniel's ATS Random Events which adds more of SCS's default road infrastructure.

Both make the game better.
ATS viewtopic.php?t=293448

ETS2 viewtopic.php?t=265242

Yeah, there are a few areas with a couple things, but for the most part, the game's roads are featureless.

Daniel's mods are incredible, but they are only able to add patches, not undulations. Potholes aren't possible with the random events system.

[The Dude]

SCS really has no idea just how bad the roads are in some states.

[Unster]

Regarding what I said earlier about mostly using driver camera movement to simulate uneven roads, upon closer observation it wouldn't be enough. We'd need the truck to move slightly as well, with the driver camera partially following that movement with a delay. But it's all doable, especially in ETS2 that already has cabin suspension built in.

[Unster]

Poll added: good idea! I recently got Truck and Logistics sim, but have yet to download it. From what I can tell, it's a lot more hands on and offers a lot of features that SCS will not include in their games. I just wish they had some American trailers, but I guess I can use the European trucks (and trailers).

I ended up refunding Truck & Logistics as there were too many things I didn't like, such as trucks being too tough in collisions, bad tunnel-like engine sounds, RPM coming down way too slow in neutral, loaded trailers refusing to tip over, and a few other things. But I did like the cabin & driver movement. It felt like driving on real imperfect roads. Traction limits on sharp turns, especially when braking, were also done better. If the game was a little more polished I'd have kept it. Feel free to let me know what you think once you try it.

[Optional Features]

SCS really has no idea just how bad the roads are in some states.

Not a clue, and it'll only get more unrealistic as we go farther east.

I ended up refunding Truck & Logistics as there were too many things I didn't like, such as trucks being too tough in collisions, bad tunnel-like engine sounds, RPM coming down way too slow in neutral, loaded trailers refusing to tip over, and a few other things. But I did like the cabin & driver movement. It felt like driving on real imperfect roads. Traction limits on sharp turns, especially when braking, were also done better. If the game was a little more polished I'd have kept it. Feel free to let me know what you think once you try it.

I'm most curious on what the self loading experience is like. I love that freedom in FS, especially for lowboys. I wish SCS would do something like that, but will seen how this game is.

[Seerman]

I have already raised the issue of camera or cockpit shaking several times on the forum. But for some reason I got ridiculed every time. It seems that many fans and the developers themselves do not ride real trucks. Yes, it’s not even necessary to drive, it’s just enough to watch different videos on YouTube to understand elementary physical things.

[Unster]

Come on SCS. You can now see from the poll the desire for this feature is clearly there. You've added other similar improvements before, like the lock to horizon camera functionality or the adjustable suspension. This would add a huge breath of fresh air into these games, and for those who like the current smooth-as-glass roads, the feature can be optional.

I think this feature should come with an accompanying improvement to the driver seat suspension which needs work as well (I use a mod for that). The stock functionality doesn't behave like a real truck driver's seat at all. It moves much too slow and it gets stuck in low positions for too long. The driver's seat should be more bouncy and responsive.