Can you just... drive?

[BDO]

Hi all,

I like open-world sandbox sim type things. I don't NECESSARILY want to play a business sim and work my way up from a 2-mile route in a hatchback hauling 50 lbs of dog food into a vast Europe-wide trucking empire (although I might have a go at it, of course).

So my question is, if I buy this game, is there any kind of "free flight" equivalent as in most flight sims? Can I just pick a truck without having to save up virtual nickels and dimes to "buy" the thing? Can I just pick a road?

Can I just drive?

Thanks for your time!

[The Space Ferret]

You can do quick jobs in various trucks and drive from here to there so you could call it free roam although you still have to do your delivery. Once you buy a truck though, you can fully free roam.

[MACGUNS]

Well, technically you can free roam when you get your own truck, however you have to keep in mind of all the expenses. i didn't start exploring until i was lvl 14 (around 20 hrs of gameplay). but in my point of view, getting long distant contracts and just driving the route is really fun due to the really detailed landscapes.

[Maia]

pick a quickjob and drive where you want in europe

[BDO]

Thanks for the replies.

Sooo... if I really want, I can just start a job and then drive wherever I want... but at some point I run out of money for fuel, I guess? And the same if I own my own truck?

At which point I suppose I could just start a new game...

I'll probably play it as intended, earning cash and so forth, but I was curious. Thanks again!

[Rumpelcrutchskin]

Once you get your own truck you can drive anywhere on the map. The maintenance and fuel cost are peanuts in later game after about level 10 or so.
Only problem really is that you cant set the GPS yourself without the job but you can still use map to see where you are going.

[Conflict]

Certainly you can go where it will want, to you to choose. The only thing, it is all the same necessary to earn, for fuel and repair at least. Personally I opened couple of garages, bought 8 trucks, the eighth I employed 7 drivers and it is possible to enjoy. ) ) )

[about:blank]

If you start a quick job, all your expenses (like fuel, repair etc) are paid by your employer. You can even park the trailer you are suppose to deliver somewhere and just drive wherever and as long as you want. If you run out of fuel, just stop at the next gas station, you don't even need to pay ;)

[Knottypine]

Originally posted by BDO:

Thanks for the replies.

Sooo... if I really want, I can just start a job and then drive wherever I want... but at some point I run out of money for fuel, I guess? And the same if I own my own truck?

At which point I suppose I could just start a new game...
!

If you give it long enough to have a few drivers working for you.... you won't have to worry about your income since they'll do all the delivering for you. You'll have a steady cash flow, and can just use your own truck to explore all you like and not worry about it.

[jfhopkin]

It lends itself pretty well to open-ended exploration, I think. There's an awful lot to see in the ETS2 world, even allowing for the fact that you're confined to the roads for the most part.

[Jᴧgᴧ]

As others have suggested - do freelance work in trucks provided to you by companies until you have enough cash to hire a few (3+) employees. Keep doing jobs until you have paid off any bank loan, and your employees are competent enough to keep some income rolling in. After that, you can do whatever you want as you'll have sustained cash flow and no agenda.

Up to that point however, you *do* actually have to work for someone else to be able to drive (use their trucks) and to get enough money to buy trucks for yourself and your employees. If you don't have any income coming in from your company, you will quickly run out of cash for gas.

[BDO]

Well, it may be a moot point for me, as they key I purchased on GMG is not working (first time this has happened to me). Says it's already registered. :(

[Maverick]

Originally posted by Rumpelcrutchskin:

Only problem really is that you cant set the GPS yourself without the job but you can still use map to see where you are going.

You can pick a city in the jobs market and "Set GPS destination". You don't actually take the job until you "Take the job" at the yard.

[Jᴧgᴧ]

Originally posted by BDO:

Well, it may be a moot point for me, as they key I purchased on GMG is not working (first time this has happened to me). Says it's already registered. :(

GMG and/or Steam support should be able to address that. I'd try GMG first, since they recently ran out of keys during their weekend sale, and then put up more. They may have something going on there.

[NM_Coot]

I've wondered if it possible to go "off-roading"? There appear to be a number of places where there aren't any barriers etc. One of these days I'll have a go at this...

[iLikeSheep]

Originally posted by NM_Coot:

I've wondered if it possible to go "off-roading"? There appear to be a number of places where there aren't any barriers etc. One of these days I'll have
a go at this...

There are invisible walls which will damage your truck.