Upgrades of Hired Drivers

[danielreader]

Is it worthwhile (beyond cosmetics) to upgrade your hired drivers' trucks? I understand that upgrades like the engine and chassis might affect performance (do they?), but is it worthwhile to update their lights?

In my opinion there should be some incremental payoff to spend money on your drivers - for example, you could get a boost in profitability to reflect their happiness with the premium equipment you buy for them.

For that matter, is there a resource that tells what the various upgrades do for you? For example, do the upgraded tires make your rig more fuel efficient?

[WhatsOnTV?]

I haven't noticed a difference in the performance of drivers with different trucks at all but eco driving sure helps alot as the cost of fuel comes from the money you get from them, so I have made sure they have 1 point in each skill to help them find jobs and have been just training the eco skill the money went from £1200 avg to somtimes £1800.
I have been firing staff out of a cannon as alot of them are just a bit rubbish.
as for accessories on trucks I don't think it makes a difference at all if you buy them shiny door handles.

[FattyMooMooMan]

Train a few levels in long distance first then whatever you want (I just put them on balanced after long distance 3).

The distance driven is one of the biggest modifiers for job payout and makes more jobs available, ADR can up the payments a lot as well if relevant jobs come up.

Eco driving will cut costs a bit but is not crucial training for the npc drivers until later (lets say you get £20,000 per long haul job, increasing payout by 5% will net £1000 cash more a run but decreasing fuel costs has a lesser effect - a decent truck will manage 2 of these hauls and cost maybe £1000 to fill up - saving 5% will only net you a saving of £50 for those 2 jobs, even taking the lower consumption bonus into account eco driving will not increase income as fast as some of the other bonuses).

From all the previous testing on the forums the truck upgrades appear to have no bearing on the pay for NPC drivers. However if you have a lot of cash increasing engine size doesnt cause any harm and if the devs do change the way the trucks work for NPC this should have an instant effect.

[danielreader]

This definitely goes to the top of the list for updating, then. There should be a point to updating all of your trucks, at least for the functional items. Here are some suggestions:

- Cab/Console: Reduces driver fatigue/rest requirements
- Chassis: Allows hauling the heavier loads
- Engine: Allows hauling the heavier loads/reduces trip time
- Tires: Increases fuel efficiency
- Mirror: Marginally reduces trip time (more efficient merging/driving)

[Leigh]

chassis/engine = more fuel consumption?

[Knottypine]

Първоначално публикувано от Fuse:

chassis/engine = more fuel consumption?

Nope, fuel is static. I tested before and after upgrades and fuel consumtion is identical.

[Knottypine]

Is the max level of hired drivers 30?

[DarkSaber2k]

I'm pretty sure the fatigue/rest requirements are the way they are because that is what European law says they have to be. It IS a simulator of trucking in Europe, after all. A fancier cabin wouldn't change the legal obligation of the driver to take breaks.

[danielreader]

Първоначално публикувано от Enyaw:

I'm pretty sure the fatigue/rest requirements are the way they are because that is what European law says they have to be. It IS a simulator of trucking in Europe, after all. A fancier cabin wouldn't change the legal obligation of the driver to take breaks.

They aren't absolutely following EU law, so adding this feature shouldn't be objectionable. There should be a payoff to upgrading the functional parts of your truck fleet.

[cailean_556]

Първоначално публикувано от danielreader:

Първоначално публикувано от Enyaw:

I'm pretty sure the fatigue/rest requirements are the way they are because that is what European law says they have to be. It IS a simulator of trucking in Europe, after all. A fancier cabin wouldn't change the legal obligation of the driver to take breaks.

They aren't absolutely following EU law, so adding this feature shouldn't be objectionable. There should be a payoff to upgrading the functional parts of your truck fleet.

I agree with you there. We're (the players) still bound by the 11 hour sleep rule but having the cab slightly reduce rest requirements of our hired drivers (and them only) isn't going to damage our immersion and it allows us to have a reason to upgrade their trucks instead of just buying a cheap base model and that's it for them.

If the devs make it so that we can see our drivers while we're out on jobs (if we happen to be going the same way or passing them as they go in the opposite direction) it even give meaning to painting them differently, making them unique from other trucks on the road.