Truck Driving Proficiency / Nerd of the Road achievement

[Izmaragon]

"Time has made some feel lazy..."

So I mean this in a friendly way, since the previous poster mentioned this in aparaphrased sense, but I completely agree with them, that over the course of the past few years, as life has been life, that in game it becomes more expedient to simply use the provided shortcuts for trailer unloading rather than take the time to back the trailer into where ever.

I stopped caring about achievements sometime ago, since steam switched to what could be called a "must be online for achievements to count" type of thing [and I know this doesnt really apply to either game, but it has become such a thing that I dont bother much].

I applaud those to decided to take the time to get those extra stars, because for me, I enjoyed just doing it, usually with external view. Didnt care too much about the stars.

[Adrian Zgripcea]

Same for me, I still have a few achievements that are locked and that I've forgotten about over the years. But I can definitely understand that there are people who want to keep the 100% streak going. There's nothing wrong about being a completionist. On the other hand, a more difficult achievement was bound to be added at some point. It's a very good thing SCS is experimenting with these kinds of things, and besides Driving Academy we'll also have Road Trip for ATS and Coaches for ETS2. It breaks up the monotony.

What we need to keep in mind, however, is that the core aspect of this game is its relaxing nature, and I hope that will remain so for as long as it is in development.

[Drive Safely]

Sometimes the truck you choose can improve your capability to complete the scenario.

The sleeper window in the International LoneStar helped me get all stars in this example for the Advanced Alley Backing within the bonus time limit.

Watch on YouTube

[gagar]

If you somehow interpret this as Driving Academy forcing you to drive recklessly then you missed the point entirely, I'm afraid.

(talking about ETS2 experience, it's just more relevant discussion going on in the ATS section of the forum)

Just finished "Driving in Inclement Weather" with 3 stars. Completed in in 2:55, cannot say it wasn't super hard and not fun, but time limit of 3:00 definitely baits you into reckless driving: I had to do pedal to the metal where possible, drive 50+ kph on uneven dirt road and listen to tires squeaking. Not sure if Driving Academy should teach you to drive that way during such a heavy rain. Not sure if there are any parts of the track where I could save the time to be more careful on more dangerous parts of the road.

Time limit on reverse slalom is kinda OK: it's challenging and after all cones and barriers are designed to hit them while trying over and over.

Parts without time limit and limited direction changes are actually quite pleasant to pass: hope this muscle memory and getting used to mirror view can stay in your head after this training to avoid direction changes during in-game parking exercises.

For now I've passed 12 exercises with 3 stars and not even close to dropping it.

[gagar]

Maybe it'd make sense to allow outside camera only when truck is secured with parking brake. Other alternative criteria for stars may be choosing a harder parking spot when there is a choice or forbidding to pop your head outside side window, forcing you to use mirrors (hope I don't get anyone mad by that suggestion). Forcing you to disable HUD mirrors may also be a good thing.

[Bommelbeanie]

Oh I feel so seen . I'm too only doing this for the steam achievement. 18 3 Stars so far and god knows when I get the last 5. Time at least is no issue for me and stop the truck to use the outside camera is fair. The "scenarios" not so much. Feels like playing Super Mario with trucks, sadly without the fun. But I will get this achievement, I just don't know yet with or without bite marks in the steering wheel .

[gagar]

The team and myself set the time limits based on using default keyboard settings (including steering sensitivity) and "safe and prudent" speeds.

I really doubt using wheel helps, TBH, especially in doing tasks within time limits. You can spend 3-4 seconds on rotating HORI Truck Control System all the way left/right.

[Bommelbeanie]

Ok with the power of youtube I got all the SCS Crash it till you make it school achievements in both games. Took me about 4h yesterday and about an hour today. Now back to the stuff I love the game: Driving 2h on an Interstate while hearing podcasts

[rookie31st]

I am quite disappointed by this discussion. But I probably shouldn't be. Driving Academy brought me back to this game after 2.5-year break. I think it's a masterpiece and the best TRUCKING SIMULATOR addition this game had since release.

Basics section is clearly an educational one for beginners, and Proficiency is supposed to offer advanced knowledge and challenges. It is not as arcade as Trucks & Trailers. That was truly reckless. Driving Academy is not.

While I agree that many scenarios do look like something the real driver wouldn't even attempt (and in some cases wouldn't even recognize the opportunities without bird's eye view), it is still clear that the situations are carefully set up in a controlled environment precisely for the challenge. Everything is done on the Driving Academy premises. In Trucks & Trailers, on the other hand, most courses were presented as real world scenarios, not educational in a closed environment. That was reckless and pure arcade.

So, I praise the Driving Academy and think it is spot on. It makes me sad that it gets so many critical reviews with so little attention. But I'm hardly surprised. The most numerous players enjoy simple driving back and forth. They want more roads, more places to visit, more trucks, more trailers and cargo, and less complications. Problem solving is not wanted. Only worry-free leisure truck driving preventing this game from maturing into better trucking industry simulator.

And with the Driving Academy completed, it looks like I'm going on another break from the game until new gameplay elements are introduced.

[Killer-Of-Night]

So, after struggling with Ch 4 originally when it came out, I went back today and was able to do most of them to 3 stars....

1. Scatterbrained
Honestly, not hard in theory once you figure out how to do it, you just got to make sure you can nail the setup and blindside back before the final pull forward with the trailer.

2. Blind Decisions
Unfortunately for me, blindside backing isn't one of my strong suits, and this scenario still tests me, I was only able to do it with exterior camera so far, so this 3 star still eludes me.....

3. Dirt Rodeo
By far the hardest one for me atm, mainly due to the zig zag chicane with cones before the return to asphalt, I either mess up on the left hand, not set up enough for the 2 right, or the trailer tail swings out and hits a cone.....Still have yet to beat this one cleanly.....

4.Blind Side into a cluttered lot.
This one....surprisingly wasn't hard. I 1st tried it with the exterior camera, to figure out where to position the trailer with the minimal amount of pull ups allowed for 3 stars. Once I did that I tried it the interior, and got it 2nd try, wasn't as clean as possible, but the no time limit allows to you stop and GOAL multiple times to make sure you got it right....

5. Truck Stop Escape
Another one that wasn't too hard either, the hardest part is just setting up properly for the final exit making sure the trailer has enough space to straighten out without hitting the trucks on the inside. Fairly straight forward.

6.Advanced Alley Backing
This was the only 1 I didn't try originally and, by far one of the easier ones once you get the blindside turn into the alley correct, outside of that it was pretty easy for me, as I just back all the way to the blocks in the alley, pulled forward onto the road and backed in driver side.

7.Early Bird
Another one that wasn't too hard to figure out once I found a decent way to do it, just pull forward, alley back, adjust to turn right, go to the end of that space and back in normally, only got 2 stars on this one ATM cause I was 1 second to slow....

8.Twisted
This one wasn't that bad either, hardest part is trying to squeeze the trailer thru either of the gaps after you hooked it up. Again nothing too difficult here, 3 stars.