Grossly over-hyped!

[Sharza]

Hello everyone who has found their way to this thread. I know I am probably barking up the wrong tree when I make a post like this on the ETS 2 forums but in my opinion a few things should be made clear.

I have tried this game for 2-3 hours so I know a fair bit of this game to be able to talk about it. I understand that many of the players of ETS 2 love the game and it is their good right to do so. But I also feel some facts about the game get ignored. I feel that the reason for this is that there barely are any alternatives in the "genre" of Truck Simulators so people jump on this title, here, and love it to death. Currently the game leads in the user score on metacritic before titles like Torchlight 2, Natural Selection 2 and Far Cry 3 as well as Dishonored (to just name a few titles). And I don't think it deserves this position.

Yes, the game does quite some things right but do people not see or do they ignore the flaws this game has?
The graphics are mediocre at best. In addition to this, for the way it looks the performance of the engine is fairly poor. Jagged edges, low-res textures and in places weird lighting effects is that something you want to ignore? The soundquality is poor as well. In a truck, I would imagine, you hear a lot of driving noises, yet the trucks in this game sound like hair dryers with shifting gears, not like the several ton heavy vehicles they are. I'll have to admit that driving as one of the most important features of the game feels fairly "right", the controls are fairly good.

Apart from the graphical and sound flaws the game has, it just isn't very well made in the sense of level design too. We get the option to drive from one place to another - across repetitive landscapes and cities that basically all look the same (with a few exceptions). If this game were as great as many of the users seem to make it out to be, it would feature recognizable cities and original layouts of the places we visit. If that were asked to much it should at least have a bigger variety in cities and landscapes and highways.
The gameplay lacks in other places as well: traffic does not react to your signals. There aren't crashes or random events that confront the player with unexpected and new challenges. When the player breaks traffic laws often enough you are not being punished.

Apart from that I - personally (yes this is VERY subjective and you are allowed to feel very different :P ) - found it mind-numbingly repetitive and boring.

Why did I write all this? Well the game probably isn't bad but don't expect the community or metacritic to be all accurate in their judgement of this game, is what I wanted to get across to all those who consider buying the game. Try it first, see if you like the demo.

TL;DR:
- Flaws of ETS2 are being ignored across the community and metacritic
- I AM NOT SAYING THIS IS A BAD GAME (even though I find it boring as hell)
- try the demo before buying

[Vahkn]

Agreed, it's definitely not for everyone. Personally I'm sick of shooting/fantasy/zombie etc games which have overloaded the market in the last few years. Truck diriving is one of the most mind numbing jobs imaginable, but the experience is different enough to be entertaining just because it's so different.

With that said, I think at $35 it is over-hyped. I'd class it as an enjoyable indie title, but it's not in the AAA league that the price point expects.

[Sharza]

Nice post Vahkn :) Thank you.

[Maia]

doesnt have farcry 3 repetitive landscapes?
doesnt have dishonored trully ♥♥♥♥ graphics?
doesnt have torchlight 2 boring combat?
this is the best game in this category and its awesome. if there are dumbs out there that rely on metacritic, its their problem

[Big Ram]

TL;DR:
- You're butthurt that people have found enjoyment in a game that you couldn't.

Kudos, though, for a well-disguised trolling, rather than the usual "wai is top seller? lolz". And I do agree in regards to the traffic. The AI isn't "flawed", but it could use some strengthening.

[Knottypine]

I did read your whole post Sharza. It was well written, and had a lot of facts.

It is definitely more geared towards a niche market, and you're right about alternatives. In saying that, not ignoring but overlooking a few flaws, I think SCS did very well with the game. I've been having a lot of fun with it.

You mentioned about engine sounds, there are some fantastic mods being created that change how things sound, from engine and shifting noises, rain, etc. And it's the abundance of mods that make the game more enjoyable.

Good to hear you gave it a fair chance with the demo, and I'd definitely encourage anyone considering the purchase to try the demo first.

(Steam forums are acting up bad today!)

[Big Ram]

Also, if you don't mind suggestions, I would recommend not going by Metacritic user scores... for anything. Metacritic users are complete and utter morons.

For example, look at Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing, arguably the worst video game ever released - look at all the perfect-tens Metacritic users have given it, pushing it to a 4.0 rating. Now look at Modern Warfare 3... call-of-duty-hating memes aside, one of the top first-person shooters out right now. Look at all the 0s Metacritic users have given it, putting it at a 3.0 rating.

In the end, if you look at Metacritic user scores, you'll be duped into thinking Modern Warfare 3 is worse than Big Rigs (again, call-of-duty-hating memes aside), or that Big Rigs is better than Modern Warfare 3. Or in this case, that Euro Truck Sim is a whopping 8.9. Go by the professional instead - they gave ETS 2 a 78, which is spot-on for a good, low budget, niche game like this; Its target audience will enjoy it, others will not.

[The Space Ferret]

Everyone is entitled to his/her opinions, but you shouldn't trust metacritic scores (I never use other people's opinions as a basis in whether I should buy a game or not since it's just that, opinions), and also, I don't care about graphics. There are lots of good games with crap graphics, just as there are lots of crappy games with good graphics. My opinion of course, but this has really good graphics for this type of game. Usually they're pretty bad.

To call it grossly over-hyped isn't really fair though as it'ss just not a game that you enjoy. Everyone has different tastes after all. That doesn't make it a bad/boring game at all. This is actually one of the best games of its kind. It does a lot of things right compared to previous games and is a good step forward.

[iLikeSheep]

If you find it boring then simulators are not from you. People reviewing simulators like simulators. That's why it has a high Metacritic score which it totally deserves. And the graphics are perfectly fine...

[Demache92]

I do think you have some good points. Unless you like the core gameplay concept (ie, driving big trucks cross country) there isn't much else going for it. Its not steller in the graphics department (for a niche simulator game though, they are definitely very good, there is some effort). Sounds...are eh, but that is easily fixed with mods. I don't think the engine performs necessary bad though. I'm running it near maxed out and still getting 60 fps. My system isn't exactly top of the line (i5 2500k, 8 GB RAM, 1 GB 6850).

Though I don't really agree on the map variation. This is coming from a non-European so I have no idea what each region looks like in real life, so I can't say its a necessarily accurate representation of Europe. But I haven't driven through an area and said "this area looks just like X". I did do it once, but I realized that because I was going back the same way I came. I can definitely say its far more varied than it is in real life South Dakota (at least there is more than corn fields). And about the cities, its probably because in the real world, you don't spend much time in cities, and trucking and shipping areas are strategically placed near major transportation like highways. I'm sure they decided the amount of effort it would take to model several detailed cities wasn't worth it. Plus, getting in traffic jams isn't exactly fun for anyone.

I'm also not so sure on the AI not responding to signals. They probably don't, but they are aware of your existence and if they see you coming out of an intersection, will behave appropriately and sometimes do motion you to go ahead. There are crashes though. They are rare, but the are not perfect angels. They do make mistakes. They will merge and cut you off sometimes. Whether or not from bugs or they did it on purpose I can't tell, but I can tell you stupid stuff does happen. I once saw an overtaking car collide with oncoming traffic which was relatively amusing.

I can honestly say though, you do get punished for breaking the law. Its quite limited in scope, but you do. Speeding (only around speed cameras mind you), running red lights, colliding with traffic, driving on the wrong side of the road, driving too many hours in a day...etc. If anything, its weird that there is an omnicient eye watching you at all times, except for speeding. Which is weird considering there is no physical police (if anything, that is definitely a flaw right there).

[ein]

Originally posted by Lolozaur:

if there are dumbs out there that rely on metacritic, its their problem

My goodness.

It is obvious on its face that in a modern, full-priced game there is no excuse for low resolution textures or repeating world design. Repeating textures, of course. Small maps? Fine. But there is absolutely NO REASON to repeat world geometry except to save time and money. If your goal is to save time and money, you should be in a business where the quality of your work doesn't impact the quality of other people's leisure time.

If I want to roam around an undetailed and repetitive countryside, I can do that in a 5 year old 18 Wheels of Steel game for the price of a hamburger.

Thank you, OP, for the warning.

[Knightingale]

That's kind of like reviewing Skyrim for the first 3 hours of gameplay. Which sucks until you gain a few levels.
Or X3 series because you can't figure out the keys and only get 3 hours into it. Which is about enough time to dock if you don't know how to use time dilation. You can imagine that guys review, "This game takes too long! And all you do is fly from dock to dock."
Completely missing the point.

Try reviewing it after you gain some drivers to work for you, buy a few trucks, and grown some cash. It turns from driving to management. You could just sit there in your cabin and rake in money.

I would agree I'd like there to be more to it. But it works for what it is.
Not to mention the mods.

[ein]

Originally posted by Mason:

That's kind of like reviewing Skyrim for the first 3 hours of gameplay. Which sucks imo.

You really think a person can't get a fair read on a casual driving game in a few hours?

The first 3 hours of Skyrim include a nice scripted opening, a bit of exploring, charming characrers in a nicely made town, a fight or two, some treasure, discovery of a big beautiful city, and a mysterious goal far away in the unknown mountain expanses. You really find fault with this? How's your contribution coming along?

[Knightingale]

Originally posted by einexile:

Originally posted by Mason:

That's kind of like reviewing Skyrim for the first 3 hours of gameplay. Which sucks imo.

You really think a person can't get a fair read on a casual driving game in a few hours?

The first 3 hours of Skyrim include a nice scripted opening, a bit of exploring, charming characrers in a nicely made town, a fight or two, some treasure, discovery of a big beautiful city, and a mysterious goal far away in the unknown mountain expanses. You really find fault with this? How's your contribution coming along?

Skyrim is more sandbox to me.
If I want a drawn out story I'll play Witcher.

And besides this isn't just a driving sim.
Anyone who spends enough time to grow their garadge would know that.

[The Space Ferret]

@einexile, never once in my 30+ hours of game time did I say to myself, "Hey, this place looks the exact same as this other place." I don't believe it's repetitive scenery I'm driving though.

[FattyMooMooMan]

There is a lot of variety in the scenery of this game, more so in fact than on many other games boasting as much game world to visit. Yes there are some elements you will see repeated from time to time but overall you dont get the feeling you are always driving the same roads (unless you always pick jobs between the same two cities.

The visitable city maps themselves are small as modelling every city in the game fully would be a mammoth task but the way the maps are designed you feel as if you are driving to the edge of a city, to an area where the businesses you require are located. For example, while the Paris map is small there are models of building beyond where you can drive (including the eiffel tower of course) and a skyline which makes the city appear far larger - you are just boxed into a small area of Paris.

After playing the game for some time you will notice lots of attention to detail and variety - a large jet coming in to land, trains and other traffic passing by on overpasses, even a roadworks where the road is being resurfaced and you bump up and down as you drive over the section that has been cut out. Drive in the right parts of europe and there are large bridges, tunnels, long snaking hillside roads, tollbooths, etc.

The further you explore the more you will see. A couple of hours will show you very little of what is in the game.

When starting out you should get yourself a truck asap and take jobs between as many different cities across europe as possible just to get a feel for all of the different things to see out there.