Great Mods to start with

[Thrakazog]

ETS2 caught my attention in the recent summer sale, and after reading some reviews around the net, I ended up getting it. I then started searching for articles / forum posts / videos on what the best mods to start with were and discovered no such thing existed. I had hoped to find a top 10 list of mods or such, not unlike what you can find for games like Crysis, Skyrim, Fallout 3, etc.

Since I couldn't find anything, I decided to research what mods were out there myself. I sifted through all mod sites for ETS2, grabbed all the mods that could do what I was looking for, and proceeded to test them all to see what I liked. After about 30 hours of game time trying them all out, I thought I would post what I found to be the better mods to help anyone else interested in modding.

As an added bonus, I'll be placing links to DL a zip of all the mods at the end. Most of the ETS2 mod sites I found made you jump though 50 hoops to DL any of the mods (giant pain in the ...)

How to mod ETS2 / Mods can affect profile and saved games !

I recommend watching the following video by DaSquirrelsNuts on modding, backing up, and risks. He also has a bunch of other great ETS2 videos. I've watched more than a few =P

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDpsDcDyECk

Mods to improve the look, feel, and sound of the game

All of the mods I'll be suggesting are to improve the original ETS2 game. None of them add / change content, rules, etc. The game will play just like stock. I figure once you've played a bit, you'll know when you want to add things like new trucks, maps, "cheats" and such.

Improving the look

Graphics enhancement - The game itself already looks pretty darned good. If your computer can handle it, turn up graphics settings as high as you can in game. There are no major texture packs or that sort made, so the mods available mostly deal with HDR adjustment. The major ones available currently are Real Dimension Environment (RED), Project Realism, HDR Fix, and SweetFX. Project Realism is a compilation, including more than just graphical enhancement. I prefer the "best mod for the job" over most compilations. RED is another popular one, but I found it had problems with the latest 1.48s version from steam. In the end, I went with SweetFX. It simply gets rid of the washed out look, and makes everything a little more vibrant. Also, it doesn't install in the mods folder, so it causes no problems with save game profiles. Even better, you can instantly turn it on and off in game with the f12 key. You can check it out and DL it at the following link....

SweetFX[gsngaming.com]

Making things a little more "real" - There's a mod called ETS2 Essentials Mod by ND4SPD Racer that contains multiple compilations. Some of them change how stuff works, when you can get things in game, and such. A few of them can cause some save game problems. But the real logos mod certainly earns the title essential. It adds real logos to the game, including car and truck logos, real tire brands (Bridgestone instead of Gestone, etc.), real heavy machinery names (CAT, etc.), real gas stations, etc. Just this one simple mod made the entire ETS2 world a little more real.

Improving the feel

Realistic Physics Mod v7.0 by KacaK is the mod that should be standard in the game. If I could only have one mod, this would be it. It makes the trucks drive, handle, and respond like trucks instead of like a hovercraft / maglev. You can almost feel the shocks when you go over bumps and sidewalks, or when you slam the breaks to avoid hitting the idiot that pulled in front of you.....

.....which brings us to Realistic AI Traffic Mod ver2 (edited for new update released) by Scanreg. Vanilla ETS2, there were times I felt like the last trucker of the Zombie Apocalypse. I wondered if there were any other humans still alive. This mod fixed that, and so much more. It takes the game from 27 different traffic cars to 59, and 7 different traffic trucks to 189. It doesn't add extra vehicles, but allows for all possible combinations of vehicles already in the game. This includes different engine power factors, so that you have slow pokes, speed demons, "normal" drivers and also allows all trailers in the game to be used by NPC trucks on the road. It creates a variety of cars and drivers on the road that feels so real, I've found myself yelling at some of the NPC idiots driving =P

Improving the sound

Realistic Weather Sound v1.3.1 by nIGhT-SoN simply makes it sound better when it rains, both outside and inside the cab. Sitting in your truck with the engine off in rain sounds great. A simple mod that improves the immersion of the sim.

I wasn't thrilled with how the trucks sounded. It felt like riding a Harley that sounded like an electric scooter. Hearing and feeling the engine rumble is half the fun. There is a sound compilation mod available for all trucks, but I really wanted the best sounds. So I ended up removing the "all trucks" mod and trying out all the individual ones available. I ended up with the following 4 truck sound mods, which cover every truck in the game except the Iveco/Renault Premium trucks. It seems no one is making any sound mods for them, most likely because they are the least popular trucks. You'll know once you drive them up an incline. If I find one for them, I will add it later. The Renault Magnum (and all other standard trucks) are covered by the mods.

1. Volvo Interior Sound Louder & New Horn for_v1.4.8 by Nabeta 2. DAF open pipe sound by Volidas 3. Scania V8 Sound and Horn by kevintom 4. Mercedes V8 Sound and Horn by kevintom

The DAF and Volvo are my favorite. I'll probably buy a DAF for my garage just for the sound. Next would be the Scania, and then the Merc sound is my least favorite (but it's still much better than the default, or anything else I found). The horn improvements are really nice too, although the DAF mod didn't include horn, so it still sounds a bit "weeny".

That's it. 8 mods and a graphics enhancement take a great game, and make it just a little more enjoyable. Again, these mods enhance the original game. There's no added content (non-standard trucks, additional maps, game play changes, etc.) I'll let you research and decide if you want to change the game in those ways. I hope this helps anyone who needed a place to start. Have fun, and keep on truckin' =P

Get all the mods listed at one of the following:

Dropbox[www.dropbox.com]

4shared[www.4shared.com]

GoogleDocs[docs.google.com]

Link for new version 2 release of Realistic AI Traffic Mod ver2 until I add it to mod pack and upload to the above DL sites. You should use it instead of the one that comes with the pack. DO NOT USE BOTH !

ETS2 141 Realistic AI Traffic Mod ver2 by Scanreg[ets2.lt]

[Thrakazog]

I've been testing the Trailer pack with Realistic Textures tonight, and so far it's been solid. Yes, it's a big file. However, they not only added trailer skins, but high quality textures as well. As my first "content" addon, I'm very happy with it. I don't like to load up on a bunch of crap addons, and this is certainly not crap. It also seems to be well supported, with ongoing updates. This is my recommended compilation trailer package mod at the moment.

Vaarduar's Trailer pack with Realistic Textures[ets2.lt]

I'm getting ready to test my first truck addon. I wasn't planning on adding trucks to the game for awhile, but this mod really caught my eye. I'll be posting later on what it is, and how it performed. I also checked out info on the TSMap 3.5 mod. It looks like "the" map mod to have, but it's also very new (the latest version). I've read quite a few reports of bugs and crashes, but thats to be expected for such a large, awesome mod project. Since I've yet to tire of the original game maps, or explore every inch of them, I'll be holding off. I think by the time I'm ready for TSMap 3.5, all the bugs will be worked out, and I'll very happy with it. Or who knows, maybe a new contender will step into the ring for map addon champ. Keep on truckin' =)

[Thrakazog]

Update: I ended up dropping my beloved Scania R1000 for a couple reasons. As much as I loved the truck mod, having the 1000HP felt too much like cheating. I could accelerate like a porsche 911 with a 25 ton trailer......just didn't feel right. Also, as gorgeous as the truck model was, having every Scania in the game replaced with it was too much. The truck was every where you turned. For anyone who doesn't mind those downfalls, it's an awesome mod.

Ever since I started playing ETS2, I knew I was going to buy a Volvo for my first truck. After putting many hours on the road, I still knew I was going to buy a Volvo for my first truck. A few days ago, I finally bought my first truck. It wasn't a Volvo. It ended up being the first truck mod I've added to my game. I saw it, fell in love with it, and hoped to heck the mod would work without problems. So I now own a Scania R1000 concept truck. The mod has it's bad points, but I'm still loving every minute of it.

Let's start with the bad. The mod replaces ALL Scania trucks in the game. That's it's biggest downfall. I wish it only replaced one of the trucks at the shop, like many other mods do. But that's not the case. It does at least have a different version of the R1000 for each truck at the shop, so on the road, you will at least see different colors and customization of it in AI traffic. Another problem it has is that the concept mirror design doesn't display images correctly in the game. This was fixed by a contributing modder. Although the outside of the truck can display either the default plastic mirrors, or the painted/chrome R1000 concept mirrors, they will appear as the default game mirrors from inside the cab.

Now to the good. It looks AWESOME. At least I think it does. Good enough that I was willing to have all Scania trucks in game replaced by it. It comes with the R1000 1000 HP engine. You will see other engines listed when putting it together, but if you scroll down, you will find the 1000 HP model, and it's available at whatever level you buy the truck. The truck is a speed / power demon, and at first is hard to control. You may find it a bit of a pain to drive.....untill you get a trailer hitched up. That's when having that R1000 engine shines. It makes hauling some of the heavier in game loads a joy. Many of the custom shop features are also available when buying / upgrading the truck, but not all of them look right. I put a light rack on mine, but many of the chrome bumper guards clipped into the front end design (which is to be expected, they were made for the default trucks). From what I've seen so far, it will only accept solid paint jobs as well, no custom designs.

I honestly didn't expect to add content mods to my game this soon, but with the quality of the realistic texture trailer pack, and now the Scania R1000, I'm certainly glad I did. Keep on truckin'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6xFi4-JI10

Scania R1000 Reworked Version 3.5[ets2.lt]

By the way, I didn't like the Scania V8 open straight pipe sound with my new concept truck, so I went with this sound mod. The DL link is in the video description.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWaR7oLEI58

[Czinger]

This dudes trailer skins are amazing.

http://millsbguitar.wix.com/ets2skinsbymillsyb#!trailer-skins/c1n0f

[Thrakazog]

Hey Czinger,

That site looks to have some awesome stuff. Looks like I have a bunch of new stuff to test and review. Thanks =)

[Czinger]

Your welcome. Enjoy.

Just found that today.

[Thrakazog]

So I took a look at the skin packages offered by Millsyb, and I have to say that I am impressed. It's beautiful work. Having packages that do the trailers, trucks, and companies to match is an awesome deal. But I noticed that the trailers seemed very similar to what I already had with Vaarduars Trailer Package with Realistic Textures, and I found out why.

Millsyb is a contributing author to the Vaarduars Trailer Pack, so all of his skins are in the pack. His truck skins are not included, but you can get the truck pack separately from his site. Vaarduar's package with textures only does trailers, but it redoes the trailer textures to make them all look better, and includes 175 trailer skins. Together with Custom AI realistic traffic mod, that makes for an amazing amount of variety in trailers on the road.

So if you want a total trailer package, and you like Millsyb trailer textures, Vaarduar's trailer pack is still my #1 recommendation. You get all of the Millsyb skins, and also skins by 4 other designers, in one awesome mod package. You can get the Vaarduar mod at the following link, and also see Millsyb skins, and get his truck skin packs at the link after.

DO NOT use both trailer packs at the same time. They will cause a conflict. All of the Millsyb trailers are in the Vaarduar pack, so just get it and then the truck packs from the Millsyb site (if you wanted them also).

Vaarduar Trailer Pack with Realistic Textures[ets2.freevar.com]

ETS2 Skins By Millsyb[millsbguitar.wix.com]

[Thrakazog]

I've been testing Truck Skin Pack v1.2 by satan19990 the past couple nights, and the results are in. It rocks. It adds 365 new paint job skins divided among the default trucks in ETS2. They are all available for their respective trucks in the paint shop. If you wanted a lot more variety in painting your chosen truck, this is a great mod to start with. I have some shots of my Mercedes Actros in a few of the skins.

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=166851272

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=166851370

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=166851670

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=166851512

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=166851622

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=166851706

You can get it at the following link...

{COLLEGAMENTO RIMOSSO}Truck Skin Pack v1.2

[OneZero44]

I need help with Mods...How do i add them on Steam ???...Hope someone can tell me in the easiest way possible... Thank You :-)

[Redronn]

Mods go into: C:\Users\x\Documents\Euro Truck Simulator 2\mod
Then you select to edit your profile when you launch the game, and enable them.

I suggest having an unmodded backup save, just in case things go really wrong.

[Gabriel]

Thanks Redronn!

[Headshot Guy]

Nice list man I will definately check these out.