Next ATS truck speculation

[JoeAlex23]

I agree, SCS has to give outsourcing for the vehicle team a try at some point, they had a bad experience outsourcing with a map but that doesn't mean it will be the same with vehicles, SCS has a very specific way of making their maps and keeping that under their roof at all times is understandable and should always be like that, but for trucks that have been on the roads for years it shouldn't be a problem to outsource help from outside, there are a lot of great 3d modelers out there that would love to work for SCS, it will become necessary at some point and the sooner they give it a try, the sooner they will find out if it's viable, which i believe could be.

Current production vehicles and anything under NDA should stay under SCS's roof, but out of production trucks could be made by anyone else following SCS standards to make the trucks look good and accurate to real life without unnecessary details, SCS shouldn't be afraid of giving that a try just because of past experiences, something very good could come from that and would benefit ETS2 and ATS players alike.

[flight50]

Follow SCS standards is all it really takes. I'm sure if SCS tried it, they can have a SCS employee thoroughly check out any model to see if it fits the criteria. If it doesn't, give people the chance to fix it. Teach them what SCS needs.....heck start somewhere. Mappers are given a chance and don't know anything before working at SCS. But not giving a modeler a chance that wants to help SCS makes no sense. SCS has created an academy to teach anyone that wants to learn SCS ways. Sometimes you just have to grow help if you can't find it. On my job we are currently growing one. My current career started 10 years ago because someone taught me from scratch. Any modelers that can produce a truck already has modeling experience as is. Otherwise they would not be be trying to be part of the vehicle team to begin with.

The world is quite large but Pavel is making it very very small for SCS. The vehicle team could be doing a lot more for SCS but are not because of capacity. 2022 with no HoR could have been a perfect year to lean on the vehicle team for paid content. ATS doesn't have the player base of ETS2 so lean on others to bring in income. There are plenty of trucks in this poll that internal SCS can work that is NDA material. There are 3-4x times that amount that are out of production that people could do. Heck even if people don't want to work for SCS like lets say overfloater, contract them and just let them work until they complete a project. Its still better than what we have now......waiting and wishing for (x) older model. There's a lot of interest in all trucks for SCS games and it would be great to get more than just current day OTR trucks.

[harishw8r]

I don’t think SCS would (or better, should) outsource truck modelling. Sure there are modders and other 3d modelers out there, but it’s very hard to find someone using MAYA - SCS’ go-to tool for vehicle modeling. The issue might not even have to do completely with NDA or confidentiality. That said, the best option is to upsize (and upskill) the team within.

AI vehicles can be outsourced, but I assume they do serve a training purpose.

[flight50]

^You you know its hard to find Maya user how? Have you done a global search for Maya modelers? I just mentioned the huge network of schools that I graduated from that teaches the program in the US. The Art Institutes. Look them up if you may. There are several other school that teach as well. I came out in 2000 and they started teaching Maya shortly after I graduated. Its not hard if you know where to look. Now its probably hard to find them in Prague but that is the problem..........SCS is only looking in Prague.

Upsize and upskill? That is not the best option. That still puts them at square one. They need bodies to do multiple projects. They can train all they want but they still have to hire people to train. They need talent for trucks. You can't just take an average person off the street and expect a truck modeler. You have to want to do such as skill you need a resume to back that up. Its nothing like a mapper.

[JoeAlex23]

Maya and Blender have been gaining a lot of popularity in the past few years, i can assure you there are a lot of people out there that can use Maya in a professional level and would love to work for a game developer, we are not talking about hiring random people, it has to be people with a resume and at least a few years of experience who can follow the standards for the 3D model SCS sets with basic training (like directing an episode for a TV show, where they always have different directors per episodes but those directors have to follow hard written rules by the production team to keep consistency), they don't even have to learn to put them in-game if they don't want or if SCS doesn't want to let outsiders use their proprietary game conversion tools (Blenders tools are a thing for modders but SCS has their own proprietary tools for Maya), they can just make the 3D models and let someone inside SCS be in charge of inspecting those models, tell them to fix anything necessary and then let someone else to put them in game, that's the easy part, but making the 3D models is the hardest part and having some help will speed up the process of getting new trucks (or "old/out of production" trucks to be more specific) in the games quite a lot.

A quick example, Forza devs outsource most of 3d models for their vehicles from another company, they just get the 3D model and then the Forza vehicle team is in charge of texturing, mapping and porting them into the game, it's very common in the racing game industry to outsource 3D models like that and do the final touches in-house.

[Wolfi]

A quick example, Forza devs outsource most of 3d models for their vehicles from another company, they just get the 3D model and then the Forza vehicle team is in charge of texturing, mapping and porting them into the game, it's very common in the racing game industry to outsource 3D models like that and do the final touches in-house.

Yeah, maybe. But I can assure you, there's a lot more companies and even individuals who produce high quality, accurate 3D models of cars then there are people making accurate trucks. And yet, somehow, still half of the older cars in Forza games are way off.
The problem becomes a lot more complex with trucks. Because there's not really that many modelers (let alone companies) who make them. And if you look at their quality it leaves much to be desired.

Additional problem with SCS is the fact they force people to move to Prague. It's kinda understandable, as it provides real time communication and feedback. But it does push away many people, who otherwise would be willing to work for/with SCS. Well, at least that was the main pushback for me when I was offered a "chance" at SCS.

[Tekashi]

I think a better example would Polyphony Digital, I found 2 articles that talk about them outsourcing work.
Polyphony Digital May (Finally) Be Outsourcing 3D Modeling Work
Gran Turismo Car Models Now Made in Three Months, Outsourced to India

[STEVOLVO]

Maya, 3DS MAX, Blender, Rhino they are all the same, more or less. If you know to work in one of these environemenst, you'll know them all.
Anyone who did at least one job in these softwares knows that. They just copy one another with features and processes.

3D artist who do mainly human/animal figures and other can't be good vehicle creator. Basically it can but he is a one in a million.
He or she must be completely technically - mechanically oriented, not to say real engineer. I am doing this job, but in different type of softwares (mainly solidworks), so I know what I am talking about.

[flight50]

^I can agree with that. The principles are the same. Each software just has a few differences. I learned in 3d Studio Max and I noticed a few similar things in Blender. But I am so use to 3d Studio layout that Blender was a challenge so I stopped. Things are way more detailed now than 22 years ago with I got into it.

@Wolfi maybe the time is now to try again. You have the knowledge and the experience working with SCS. They know you and hopefully listen sometimes. Pavel can be convinced imho. Seems like he is somewhat entertaining ideas now.p and changing course sometimes. He is massively limiting potential across the world imho. He needs to open up if he expects to reach the next step. There are more remote people that work at SCS than ever I bet. Different job titles yes but hey, that’s what Teams, Go To and Zoom are for. They work great for what they do for distance. One can share screens and talk. It doesn’t make sense to limit the vehicle depart when the world can be SCS’s oyster.

[Wolfi]

Try what again?
Rejecting SCS' offer again? (that would be the 4th time now )
Ages ago I rejected 2 SCS offers due to the requirement of moving to Prague. Right now, I don't even care if that's a requirement anymore. I'm at a stage in my current job, where SCS can't offer me anything to beat it, to make it viable for me to work for them. (dreams tend to die quite fast, when reality hits )
And I do believe SCS does allow some workers to work from abroad Natvander is the best example, I may be wrong, but I think he never really came to Prague, he still sits in Australia. Not 100% sure about Oscar and LondonLad. Although, they don't really work on complex 3D models, like trucks, so there's that.