ATS Special Transport

[flight50]

The biggest issue that most have to understand, is that even though some truck manufacturers around the world share the same name in other countries, each truck manufacture could be run independent and not even linked. I don't know all the ins and outs but for instance, Volvo USA and Volvo Europe are not the same. Paccar is head quartered in Washington, Daimler in Oregon. I have this speculation that SCS could be going with Oregon dlc vs Utah in order to get Daimler in the game, per request they may have had. If they proceed with Washington next over Utah, I wonder if Paccar wants their headquarter depicted in the game before giving more licenses. The reasons for lack of licenses is definitely anybody's guess. Obviously, SCS will be tight lipped about it all and there is nothing we can do. Some of us are fine with the silence on certain things and some of us are eager to get some details. I can't say that I am content with the lack of details on various topics but it is what it is. Special Transport for ATS was one. I just asked the simple question "is ST for ATS a thought or not" That is a yes or no question. I didn't ask for any other details. Eventually, things will be revealed if they are meant to be so we just have to take things for what they are. There is little we can do with lack of info from SCS. I have wayyy to much love for this game to even consider ditching it. If we can't have our cake and eat it to, I will just take what I can get.

[LuisP8]

That's very true.. there's so much more in stake here that we could begin to imagine.. and like they said in the blog, ATS begin with a 4-man team and now they are over 40 people working on ATS.. clearly they are getting bigger as they develop new stuff and they have done a hell of a job on keeping people interested with innovative updates and DLC's and maybe that's why they are taking one step at the time.. not long ago they release the NM DLC and just a few months later Oregon is right next door.. so I imagine they are working real hard to get things done faster, just because people keep asking for more.. but like you said, things are done the way they want.. so no matter how anxious the crowd becomes, they will take their time to release new stuff.. and well, keeping in the dark new features is kinda annoying but we just have to slow down the horses to get things slowly and wait.. I thinks SCS guys have so much in their hands for this year that I don't think for a second they'll let us down..

[flight50]

I so agree. 2018 will be just as good as 2017 if not better. They gave us doubles and multi pivot last year. That sets up a lot in my opinion. Two features the community has been asking for in past years. It may have taken awhile but its there now. So that is two things off their plate. Same with the rescale for ATS. That is off the plate and states can progress as intended. Moving ahead there will be more features added in due time. New states/countries will come. Until they implement parallel teams, we will get at least 1 new country/state per year if they are announced in Jan or Feb. By years end, we shall have that dlc. Yes the team is growing. Now that they see ATS is marketable, they won't be letting off the brakes. I recall seeing a few blogs in the past in which SCS acknowledges that they need to get content out faster. They are countering that with hiring more staff when the talent presents itself. I don't think money is the issue for them honestly. I think it's about finding the right personnel for the job and training them. They can't just hire anybody. Their needs to be a passion for what they are doing. I am sure SCS don't want to hire people that are just their for a paycheck. They ain't Walmart, lol. NM got the paid dlc ball rolling for ATS. Oregon will come quicker than NM. The tides will turn. Before the year is out, SCS will be working on Utah or Idaho I bet. Two states that don't require dlc so they should come before Washington.

I bet there is soo much brainstorming that goes on at SCS that its crazy. I'd love to hear some of the topics but of course they can not mention that here or in a blog because people will take it into account and hold them for thoughts. What is feasible for the current game engine is what they will give us. I am confident in what they are doing is what they can do. As time goes on, my patience is improving with waiting. With that said, I will still voice my opinion/concern for wanting information. I think minimum, SCS should kick out 2-3 states/country regions per year per game. They are addressing that with hiring for multi teams. Game features are coming in twos and threes per year. Things are coming, its just taking time. I have mentioned this next statement before, something that I was told years back and it is still very valid. If we had things to choose from for gaming content, we can pick speed, quality or quantity. We can only have 2 out of the 3. Not all 3. Having all 3 won't happen and a demand that is not only impossible, but it is unfair. Some of the comments I see on Steam and on the SCS blogs is totally childish and completely ignorant to anything SCS has to deal with.

[LuisP8]

That's very certain.. SCS has deliver up to the task customers had been asking for since the beginning.. more to it is the fact that they are playing catch up every day.. the need for fresh, yet capable, talent is always on but like you said they can't just hire anybody.. the newcomers have to fill in the boots of the job required.. and that's not a piece of cake on SCS.. they do with less than 100 people what EA or Ubisoft make with 400 or 500.. that's something really impressive.. and about your statement, I think everyone agrees to pick quality over anything else.. and quantity of course.. and they are delivering just as promised!

[flight50]

Yep. Most of this forum would go quality and quantity. Quality and Speed = equal less overall content. Speed and Quantity = crappy content. Quality and Quantity= longer development times but the best product. I have only been on board with SCS since summer of 2016. I played ATS pre-rescale. ATS is sooo much more enjoyable now. I have yet to see SCS not deliver something that they said they would since I have been on board. In the past, what ever they said, doesn't matter to me. I judge them from the time I jumped on board. So I concur with you that they have delivered on all that they said once they committed to the task.

Good thing they are tight lipped as they don't promise anything because too many people have twisted their words in the past. So I understand not tell us things but at the same time, I don't on some things if that makes sense, lol. ST for ATS for one. They know it works. They have it in ETS2. It may not be perfect, but they know they can get it to work. They should have been able to tell us if they are working on it or not. On a different note, I am noticing that they like to get underway with content and only give details once they have a lot more to show for it. Understandable but too much silence bugs me, lol. I can't help but log into this site every single day. Every morning at work, I watch people go get coffee and settle in. Me, I jump on here instead. This forum and the blog is my coffee. It wakes me up. Only problem is that when something juicy is on here, I don't work as hard, lol.

I was soo pumped when I saw the ST ATS blog. I am still excited. How long it takes, doesn't matter. I know its in development. I was running late for work on ST announcement day. I had logged on here when I should have been on my way to work. My job is very lenient so I never care about being late. I usually make up my time. We don't have a clock in system so no one ever hounds us. But anyways, I read and commented on the blog for about 20 minutes before I headed off to work that morning. I got to work, and continued my happiness, lol. For me, my expectations for ATS is to complete as much of North America as possible before I leave this earth and give me as much variety in cargo as much much as possible. That cargo includes both mods and SCS provided. SCS provide the base and the modders will take it from there. Features will come about along the way and it will add to the immersion. Trucks I can do with out but mods work for me if I ever want to switch. Don't get me wrong, I would love for SCS to get more licenses. Every now and then I would like to do quick jobs to use various trucks and the also see more variety in traffic. As of now, Jazzycats AI truck traffic works but the sound lacks. The T610 mod that was recently released is nice. No errors and it sits in my garage for a change of pace. Aradeth's VNL, was also cool but I still turn back to my W900. It's kinda like my first love. The first truck I bought in ATS and I'd like to get 1,000,000+ miles out of it.

[GT182]

Special Transport is good. But SCS has to fix the highways in ATS. Head out on I-40, I-10, I-5, or any of the other Interstate highways in game. If you notice the left lane has one hugh problem. That is.... the guard rails and Jersey barriers are too close to the road, That goes also goes for the uprights for the overhaed signs. All of that needs to be moved back so there's a "breakdown lane" like the right side shoulder. Anything that hangs over the side of these new trailers will get caught and rip things apart. Don't take my word for it... get out there and you can see it all for yourself. All the guys that drive the big rigs in real life will see the problems the same as I do, if they haven't already. SCS can raise bridges and move rocks all they want, but that's only a part of the problem that's going to show itself when Special Transport hits the highways.

[LuisP8]

@Flight50

I can't help but log into this site every single day. Every morning at work, I watch people go get coffee and settle in. Me, I jump on here instead. This forum and the blog is my coffee. It wakes me up. Only problem is that when something juicy is on here, I don't work as hard, lol.

I got you there buddy... That's my RedBull too! .. I keep checking every day (and night.. and evening) that's what keeps me up at night.. talking here with people who share your passion.

For me, my expectations for ATS is to complete as much of North America as possible before I leave this earth

Me too.. and i'm just 24 but hell, hopefully you will too.. all of us.. hopefully SCS won't take more than 5 years to deliver the full US map (Including Alaska and Hawaii please in case some senior SCS is reading this )

[flight50]

@GT182. The left lane can definitely be an issue. The remedy to that, is to take both lanes on purpose. Before ST, there were mod oversized loads in which I did this. Traffic will hold back. Plus, this is what truckers do in real life.

@LuisP8. Unfortunately, it will take much much longer than 5 years to give us the entire US. I think anything under 10 years is not feasible. Currently we are getting 1 state per year. Even if they implemented parallel map teams today, there are too many states left. We only have 4 out of 48 contiguous states currently and the game released in Feb 2016. I like your optimism though. I will be 40 this year so you have more years to play than I do, lol. There are players that are older than I am and they may not get to see all 48 themselves. But if I get all the states before I leave Earth, you will get even longer to enjoy them much longer my friend.

There are some pretty good videos within this thread that shows Special Transport on a massive scale. A lot of them are out of the range of what I think this game can handle for the casual user. We have to be reasonable here what the limit should be. I think some of the expectations for ATS ST will only lead to disappointment. At 1:20 scale, there just isn't room to move massive loads. I think if SCS keeps the axles limit to about 9-10 at the most for the loads that spread out the wheel base they will be good in that approach. I think ATS's ST will be okay and sale if majority of the people can handle the loads vs massive loads. Unfortunately, there will be some that buy this dlc just to get new content and then trash talk the SCS for what they provided. When in reality, they just didn't take the time or have the patience to deliver the load. Or lack of skill to maneuver the load. Obviously shorter trailers can have many axles and is excluded from my 9-10 axle statement. I am more or less speaking of long length loads. Too long and it won't be playable. Below are a couple examples that I think ATS can handle.

This pic is the absolute max length that SCS could give us. This is of course if they even go with a length as such. 9 axle trailer with platform rear dolly. 2 pivot points. No dolly operator necessary but with steerable axles. Definitely new trailer.
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Large wooden crate. Makes sense as ETS2 has one. Requires new trailer with longer cargo area or if the existing heavy haul has the ability to extend. 9 axle trailer with 2 pivot points.
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Large whatever this is, lol. Boiler or some sort of machine part. Can use the same trailer as above for wooden crate. 9 axle trailer with 2 pivot points.
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More or less for Washington State (Boeing) but possibly anywhere to a port or train depot that can handle oversized loads. 8 axle with 2 pivot points.
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More plane parts. This could possibly use existing trailers. It's just big but may not require extra axles. 3-4 axle trailer could handle it but depends on state if SCS are looking into State regulations for ST.
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Already part of the game files. There is a current mod on Steam for this. I am sure SCS built this with the intent for ST. The mod is cool but lacks escorts. It can use the existing heavy haul trailer.
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Yacht trailer. Why not, ETS2 has one of these as well, lol. The trailer can come in many configurations. Should not require multiple pivot points but a new trailer to haul it, would be required. Also good for a port or train depot that can handle oversized loads.
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Large industrial part. There are new prefabs that could handle this. Looks like existing heavy haul trailer could haul this. If not use the trailer needed from pic 2 and 3. Multiple pivots needed.
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Bridge beam. Very very common in the U.S. to see when they are building new bridges. Can be concrete or steel. SCS can provide deliveries for these for map expansions. Closed roads can terminate in delivery of bridge beams. Could act as a random event as well as delivery spot. Or side roads/off map construction in which bridge repair in needed or a new bridge period. Show construction in background. Only allow access to the delivery location while seeing the construction off in the background.
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ETS2 has a large boiler type load. This is similar to that. New trailer required. Looks like 2 pivot points. The trailer itself has a pivot point on it along with the 5th wheel on the tractor. Could share a trailer with the Bridge Beam. The rear will just follow. This is about as long as ST can get along with pic one.
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All the above scenarios could be wrapped up in about 4-5 new trailers. Loads of course could be a little taller and/or wider but I just focused on reasonable load lengths. Reusing the heavy haul will give us more variety in trailers for ST. Unfortunately there will be some that argue the use of heavy haul is just another dlc extension for something they paid for in the heavy haul dlc. These people will complain regardless. Despite no one forcing them to buy any dlc, they will still point the finger just to do it. The ATS ST dlc will be similar if not equal to ETS2 ST in regards to price. I can't wait to see what SCS comes up with. I doubt they will cut any corners just to get this dlc out. They are riding on their reputation to bring in more audience with each avenue explored. I think they are doing a great job in adding content. They must kick out dlc to stay in business. We must support this dlc if we want more content across the board.

[GT182]

50, taking both lanes won't do it. What will you do when you happen to come upon one lane due to road work or an accident and have no place to go to get around it? They sure won't move. And no one is going to be there to stop traffic for you on a narrow two lane highway. SCS should have seen this coming if they'd only checked more closely.

I'm not saying I don't want to see this Special Transport. I do want to see it and I think it's a great idea. But let's get real on the problems it can cause if things aren't fixed. They're planning on raising bridges so why not fix the highways too. Doesn't make sense to me to do one and not the other. Too bad you never drove the big rigs like some of us have.

[Anna K]

Gosh, oversized cargo truck(er)s are insane .. I love it!