Truck World: Australia

[rookie31st]

Apparently they are releasing a driving school as a free test of sorts for the game.

I guess they want to use it for marketing and testing, like a demo, but I would readily pay a few bucks for this

[Optional Features]

Apparently they are releasing a driving school as a free test of sorts for the game.

I guess they want to use it for marketing and testing, like a demo, but I would readily pay a few bucks for this

Yeah, I'm eager to see how the game is. It looks interesting, but details are sparse.

[angrybirdseller]

It will be flop like Alaska Truck Simulator or On the Road as need more than two people developing it, and adding glimmicky features that annoy users.

[Ch_R0me]

It will be flop like Alaska Truck Simulator or On the Road as need more than two people developing it, and adding glimmicky features that annoy users.

The game isn't finished and you're already judging. Take it easy.

[Optional Features]

People like that want alternative games to fail because they cannot possibly see why anyone would want to do anything other than be chained to a wheel, hauling invisible cargo on smooth, freshly paved roads in light traffic on a sunny day.

To them, even the thought of a broader player experience than the narrow band SCS has chosen for itself is preposterous.

I don't know if TW:A will succeed or not, but I can tell you I am hopeful it will. SCS badly needs gameplay-centric competition.

[Wolfi]

hauling invisible cargo

Flatbeds, lowbeds, dumpers - all display the cargo you haul.

smooth, freshly paved roads

Most roads are indeed smooth, but off-road sections do exist and especially in ATS, they are actually quite common.

light traffic

I'd say light traffic is still better than almost no traffic offered by competition

on a sunny day

SCS games do have a dynamic weather system, which you can customize up to a point where it's almost never sunny. And wet roads actually do affect physics.
At this point I seriously wonder if you ever played any of the SCS trucking games for more than 5 minutes... seriously...

And as for your point, no, we don't want alternative games to fail, most of us realizes that competition could be a good kick for SCS. We just know those games will fail. Because you can't build a good game based only on gimmicks, to which the Alaskan game is a perfect proof. And I honestly don't expect TWA to be any different, because they again seem to concentrate on gimmicks, rather than the main point of the game, the actual driving experience.
I do hope I'm wrong though and underneath that elaborate cookie clicker is actually a decent trucking game with good driving to make it fun for more than 5 minutes.

[Optional Features]

@Wolfi SCS dump trailers display cargo? How? The tarps are permanently closed on the ownable ones, and there is no cargo plane underneath. The original trailer (and the one the AI hauls around) did show a cargo plane, but that was developed a long time ago. Lowboys and flatbeds do show cargo, although the number of options is still just a few more than the number of years SCS has developing these games.

Most SCS cargo is invisible and nearly weightless: something like 75%, and maybe more. It has no effect on vehicle appearance (like tires, suspension height, etc) and minimal effect on vehicle performance without weight mods.

As for roads, not sure where you drive, but where I'm from, there are a number of rough, paved roads. And no road, even a freshly paved one is as smooth, wide, and lifeless as what is presented in SCS games. Only runways are that smooth, and that doesn't count the taxiways.

Light traffic is better than nothing, but not when it operates on a physics system not possible on Earth. No bus, fire truck, or semi on the planet can stop instantly like what is shown in game.

And the weather: it is nearly always sunny, or partly cloudy, or a very light rain. There are no blinding whiteouts, no terrible downpours, no howling wind. I'm exaggerating by saying it is always sunny, but it is always mild weather in game. And the weather that we do have often makes the game look worse due to 2012 particles systems, nearly nonexistent reflections, and a lightening of shadows when bright sunlight isn't present.

I have more than 1200 hours playing ATS: the weather isn't a feature I would promote this game on.

I wasn't referring to you, though, in that comment about wanting these alternative games to fail. But since you have looped yourself in with my statement, fair.

First, the word gimmicks. Features or things to do beyond driving are not gimmicks. Getting out of the cab isn't a gimmick. Strapping cargo down or manually connecting air lines isn't a gimmick. Fueling manually isn't a gimmick. Interactive dashboards aren't a gimmick. A gimmick is producing map dlcs that are 90% decorative space while your fans beg and plead for more places to deliver. A gimmick is when you introduce adjustable air suspensions to a series of vehicles and forget that the airbags are the reason such a thing is possible and not animating them means the whole thing is essentially a joke. A gimmick is releasing a pack of hopper trailers that have no cargo animations, no opening tarps, no cargo planes, and no functionality other than looking pretty while being towed between a grocery store and a dock at a farm. A gimmick is repeating "best community ever" over and over again rather than listening to this community and delivering the simple things people want. That is a gimmick.

All of these devs may not have their act together, but they are trying. Trying to make a game experience that is more than a character being chained to the wheel with unblinking eyes in a truck with no visible transmission and the physics of a soapbox derby car. Whether they succeed or fail, they are proving that with smaller teams, much smaller budgets, and much shorter development times, they can deliver interactivity and gameplay that is more complicated than a mobile game. For that, they should be celebrated, not mocked.

[plykkegaard]

... and a lightening of shadows when bright sunlight isn't present.

One of many side effects of the new lighting system, I do whish SCS at least had waited these issues was ironed out

[Optional Features]

plyk, I'm not sure why you bother mentioning me any more lol: I put you on the ignore list a long time ago. All I get now is an annoying notification leading to a hidden message.

[Wolfi]

As for roads, not sure where you drive, but where I'm from, there are a number of rough, paved roads. And no road, even a freshly paved one is as smooth, wide, and lifeless as what is presented in SCS games. Only runways are that smooth, and that doesn't count the taxiways.

I actually agreed that ATS roads are mostly smooth - the paved ones, but I also mentioned off-road sections - did you even bother to read what I wrote?

Light traffic is better than nothing, but not when it operates on a physics system not possible on Earth. No bus, fire truck, or semi on the planet can stop instantly like what is shown in game.

I'm yet to find a game that has more sensible and realistic AI than SCS ones. Sad but true, but in most games AI cars are dumber than bricks.

And the weather: it is nearly always sunny, or partly cloudy, or a very light rain. There are no blinding whiteouts, no terrible downpours, no howling wind. I'm exaggerating by saying it is always sunny, but it is always mild weather in game. And the weather that we do have often makes the game look worse due to 2012 particles systems, nearly nonexistent reflections, and a lightening of shadows when bright sunlight isn't present.

As I said - you can ramp up rain probability up to a point where it's almost never sunny. And while yes - most rain is fairly tame, you can stumble upon quite heavy rainstorms paired with dense fogs.
I'm not saying it's perfect, but it's still better than most vehicle-focused games offer. And you still get options to make it more severe with mods.

I agree, some realistic features, like getting out of the truck, refueling, checking cargo, attaching trailer don't have to be gimmicks. BUT, they become gimmicks when you don't actually do those things right, instead you just click air and stuff magically happens on it's own - that IS a definition of a gimmick, whether you like it or not.

Whether they succeed or fail, they are proving that with smaller teams, much smaller budgets, and much shorter development times, they can deliver interactivity and gameplay that is more complicated than a mobile game

Can they though? So far the only thing that SCS "competitors" have shown are base-level "half-products" trying to monetize on the SCS community by pulling out most requested features from the SCS forum and gluing them together in a barely playable experience. And for this they deserve to be mocked. Because no, they don't even try to make a good game, they do their best to get some money off someone's back. That's why a lot of people here have this attitude towards them.
As I said in my previous post (which, again, you probably didn't read) I would love to see a good competitor game that would force SCS to wake up. But developing such a game takes time and dedication and it should be done from the right side, which means such a game would be a clone of SCS at the start and only at a later stage additional features should be added. Yes, they may be planned from the start, but core gameplay should be the main focus. And so far, every single competitor here, doesn't give a duck about core gameplay.

You mention that those teams do more stuff with smaller teams in shorter time and I ask - do they? If they are so efficient at making good stuff, then why there's no real competition to SCS yet?
Because again - they don't do it right.
There's a reason why current generation of SCS truck sims is in development for over 10 years. Quality takes time. Especially on a market with barely any experience to pull from.
So to sum it up, we don't mock those companies because they are trying their best and fail. No, we're mocking them, because they don't even try to be good.