Truck Driving Proficiency Tips/Guidance

[agiar2000]

I REALLY want to get triple stars on all of the new Driving Proficiency scenarios, and I am committed to spending many hours to do so, but I think I need more guidance in addition to more practice.

In particular, I have been working on Chapter 3 "Wheels in Motion" Scenario "Industrial Delivery" for the last three hours or so of gameplay. A couple of days ago, in my second session, I managed to pass with 2 bonus stars, excluding the Interior camera star, by using only 3 direction changes. So far, however, I have been unable to pass with the interior camera star, due to collisions. I have still not gotten consistent at making the first turn. In the last hour of practice, I made it to the fourth waypoint only four or five times. That always involved reversing for a couple of seconds at a time, coming to a complete stop, checking external cameras to get some clue whether or not I might be on the right track, and switching back to an internal camera before moving again.

I hope that in my next hour I can get more consistent at that first turn. When I get to that last turn, I have a really hard time figuring out how to approach it, seeing whether or not I am on the right path, and if I am not, figuring out where I went wrong or how to correct it.

I HAVE managed to find a couple of videos of other players accomplishing this goal, so I do watch those from time to time:

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

I would love to get other people's ideas on how to approach these challenges and any guidance on how to get better.

[Ansaaaaaaaaa]

For the "Industrial Delivery" in particular, you can just do a U-turn at the alley so you don't have to turn into the alley via the blind side. For the final turn you should place the trailer in particular relatively close to the wall to your left so you can do a sharp turn around the corner. Then it's just driving carefully and regularly stop the truck so you can switch to outside cameras to assess your position (switching to a different camera while the truck is stopped will not make you lose the star for the interior camera requirement).

[agiar2000]

Thank you very much! I took your U-turn advice, and I stuck to the left wall as you suggested to get that last turn as sharp as possible, and I managed to do it!

After that, it took me about 40 minutes of practice to get triple stars on the final Chapter 3 scenario, "Turning on a Dime". On to The Home Stretch for me next time!

[agiar2000]

I am now up to two hours on Chapter 4, "The Home Stretch", scenario "Scatterbrained". I managed to clear it with 2 stars (external camera). Now, on internal camera, that blind side reverse turn with the trailer is what kills me almost every time. I have managed to clear it exactly once with internal camera, but then I just nicked a barrier on approach to the 2nd waypoint, and I barely missed passing with 3 stars (2:50;↪10;Interior;No collisions ). It is so hard to know if I am turned sharply enough, not sharply enough, or too sharply at various points during that blindside turn. If I am too focused on the rear-right side of my trailer in my right-side mirrors, I usually miss by hitting the barrier on the left front side of the tractor. Even if I risk losing the time bonus by stopping to check external cameras from time to time before proceeding, I still sometimes find that I have already gotten myself in a situation from which I cannot emerge without adding more time and direction changes to try that turn again.

One thing that I have tried is, if I get a collision on that turn, I sometimes just pull forward again and keep trying that same turn over and over until I get it, trying to get practice on that turn, but I am not sure that really works, because sometimes after I pull forward into that turnaround area again, my trailer is angled quite differently from how it was when I first pulled into it, so the reverse turn is very different from how it would need to be on a real, successful run.

[agiar2000]

Success! I managed to get triple stars on "Scatterbrained"! Strangely enough, I guess I just got a "feel for" that blind-side reverse turn with the trailer from the internal camera today, because I managed to make that turn several times in the 20 or so remaining minutes it took me to finish that scenario with all of the bonus objectives.

Moving on, I found a pretty detailed tutorial for the next scenario: "Blind Decisions":
(I have no idea why it is age-restricted. To me, it looks perfectly acceptable for all ages.)

Watch on YouTube

So far, I am up to 2 stars (external camera) on this scenario. As always, I save the internal camera challenge for last, and it is especially hard here. I am surprised that I even managed to make it with the external camera within my first hour! It is such a tight turn. Also, I do not see how parking in either of the two outer parking spaces is even possible. Only the middle one seems to have nearly enough space in front of it to maneuver.

[agiar2000]

In hour 2 of my attempts at "Blind Decisions", using only internal cameras while moving, I managed to slip into that middle space exactly once, but I was too far to one side, so I could not finish the scenario. It seems that the make-or-break point for me has usually been the initial approach while backing up. I suspect that, even before I start jacking the trailer, I am already usually too far to one side or another, and I am struggling to figure out how to see that as I am approaching and to correct it. I will keep at it!

[agiar2000]

I just finished getting triple stars on "Dirt Rodeo". This may be obvious, but I think a big thing that helped me was to get methodical and experimental about it. For example, I would make careful mental notes of exactly where and how I was approaching a particularly tricky turn, like I would make a note of something like "I am heading straight until I just see that particular cone disappear behind my passenger side window, then I stop and turn all the way to the right." And then I see if that was far enough or too far or whatever. Then I find another visual cue to which to adjust for next time. It can be really difficult sometimes to know how my approach was wrong, but testing things out like that can sometimes give me a clue or, if I am already really close, help me zero in on the precise movements I need. Starting off by watching someone accomplish it on YouTube, such as BaB, Oldman Vampire, or SabreCat, can be extremely helpful in getting me in the generally right space from which I just need those fine adjustments.
Anyway, at the very end of my third hour-long session with Dirt Rodeo, my results:
4:51
0
Interior

[rookie31st]

Anyway, at the very end of my third hour-long session with Dirt Rodeo, my results:
4:51
0
Interior

Not bad. Congratulations! Dirt Rodeo is a fun course, and for me, the toughest part was the zig-zagging around the cones right before getting back on tarmac closer to the end.
Other turns require precision with the approach and turning radius, but most still have 2-3 feet of safety if needed.

[gagar]

For the "Industrial Delivery" in particular, you can just do a U-turn at the alley so you don't have to turn into the alley via the blind side.

Wonder if it works for every truck. For Peterbilt 389 it was easier for me to master blind-side reversing there rather than make a U-turn. Though now I'm stuck with the last turn: I keep hitting stuff with long Pete's cab.

[Drive Safely]

@gagar - While it is possible to not collide with anything, the last turn with the Peterbilt 389 is very difficult and I had to make corrections in my attempt at it, which you can watch below.

I would recommend the International LoneStar if you want to get all stars in the scenario

Watch on YouTube