Glaring gameplay issues after 10 years

[Jin Mack]

10 years old, and the AI drivers are still one of the worst ive seen in any driving game. Worst part is, they justify terrible AI under the guise of "Realistically simulating bad drivers" which is the most cringe excuse ive ever heard for poor AI coding. Everytime i mention this subject, and i mean EVERY TIME, mods find a way to lock the thread, and the discussion, saying its a rant. Anything can be called a rant, even an opinion.

Im not buying DLC anymore, SCS has proven time and time again that they just dont care about customers. Their creed seems to be, "just keep pouring out those DLC maps and leave the other stuff to the modders" Since that whats makes them sweet $$$$$ and fixing old roads doesn't put cash in your bank, does it SCS?

Cant even get real weather without a mod, after 10 years, its laughable. No economic changes, no additions to the business management part of the game, no change to the damage model, never a blown tire or cracked window, and cmon, sudden speed changes STILL an issue? I could go on forever. This game would be nothing without the fantastic modding community, we all know thats true. But i refuse to back this company financially anymore.

[Wolfgang]

So you are posting from the year 2026? How are things in 4 years?

And SCS surely will say "anyone could have stopped buying stuff but Steam user Jin Maq!" /s

Ever tried to report issues on their official forum? And no, this is not the one. It is this one:
http://forum.scssoft.com

[Qrazy]

OP. since you're from the future, can I get the Powerball numbers for the drawing tonight?

That way I won't have to drive trucks for real anymore.

[gallagher4005]

It's ETS2 that is 10 years old.
Not ATS.
Maybe wrong forum.

[Sandhill]

Originally posted by Jin Maq:

10 years old, and the AI drivers are still one of the worst ive seen in any driving game. Worst part is, they justify terrible AI under the guise of "Realistically simulating bad drivers"

I don't know that "they" (SCS) have ever justified the AI at all. Got a reference on that?
Some players explain the AI as being similar to real drivers, but I don't know that SCS ever considered that. This is a GAME and game design requires challenges, of which there are almost none in ATS, and some degree of unpredictability, again largely absent in the game.
I see the AI behavior as purposefully added to make the pass time of driving in ATS more game like, that is more enjoyable. Certainly a skilled driver has almost no problems with the AI, it just gives you something to pay attention to.

"Cant even get real weather without a mod, after 10 years, its laughable."
I think that you have no clue of how much effort that would entail, probably requiring as much developer time as has been invested in total so far in the game.

"No economic changes, no additions to the business management part of the game"
I think you do not understand what this game is. There are tons of games out there for you if you want to play business management. In ATS we get to pretend that we are driving trucks. That is the game. If they removed hired drivers entirely it would be no great loss.

"no change to the damage model, never a blown tire or cracked window"
Do you have a clue why that is, like maybe there is a reason?

"This game would be nothing without the fantastic modding community, we all know thats true. But i refuse to back this company financially anymore."
For you, maybe, but there seems to be a large group of players (the majority maybe) that never use a single mod and are very happy at that.
I think you generally have a shallow tunnel vision of SCS's products, if they don't suit you that is too bad but to expect them to care about your vision of the games is pretty unrealistic. They do have a place for suggestions, perhaps they would welcome your ideas there. Ranting on to us, just players, is certainly going to accomplish nothing.

[MONGOKANSAS67]

I'm hoping 4 years from now we've crossed the mighty Mississippi

[BlackJakSchelack]

I am glad the development team put out basic foundations for weather, A.I., sounds, physics and many other things that the modding community help to enhance. We need additional states (DLC) to be their main focus. Jazzycat and trafficmaniac for example, have done a great job on traffic variety and A.I. There are many MODS I am not mentioning that are very helpful to the game experience. In my opinion, SCS has done an excellent job at making each area feel fresh and unique. I have not noticed much copy and pasting of objects aside from business signs,. traffic lights, things that make sense to copy and paste. I just got this game a couple months ago and I went full in, getting the TrackIR 5, an 18 speed eaton shifter and V.2 signal light from atsaccessories.com. I also grabbed the SIMdashboard app for my tablet for multiple live readouts on mine and my truck's status. Personally I do not want flat tires, cracked windshields, washroom breaks. I am very happy with the direction they chose. Team Reforma has done an excellent job with Mexico. ProMODS has done a great job on B.C. Canada but I would like to see a better representation of the rest of the country. I am from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and the MODS I have seen representing Northern Ontario do not convey the elevation changes or just how beautriful that area is. There will never be a game that is liked by everyone.

[VanZan_75]

Drive long enough ( IRL ) , and you'll find the AI are pretty realistic !!

[ttower]

Originally posted by Jin Maq:

Their creed seems to be, "just keep pouring out those DLC maps and leave the other stuff to the modders" Since that whats makes them sweet $$$$$ and fixing old roads doesn't put cash in your bank, does it SCS?

I just want to comment on this specifically. SCS are always going back and reworking old areas and features with improvements, or to make them meet the modern standards. Parts of California have been redone again, making this the Third time they have rebuilt California to update it, for free. They could have just left it alone, but they made it better when it started to look outdated.

[luZk]

You should join a public convoy session and see how actual people drive.

[Catratio]

I agree the AI needs an update. I was doing the Halloween hauls in ETS2 and the cars in the traffic circles crash into me like I'm not even there. I'm just going around the circle like I'm supposed to and the AI decides it wants to get out and just smashes through my trailer. Not to mention all the issues of cars just stopping while trying to merge on to freeways...

[Jin Mack]

Look im not the best with words, but this guys is, its a long review but it speaks exactly what i feel, from a player with over 800 hours, ill leave out his name incase he doesnt want it to be shown. This review has multiple awards and almost 100 likes. Im not the only one who feels this way.......

POSTED: 10 SEPTEMBER, 2020
Here's my HONEST review after 850+ hours in ATS and 350+ hours in ETS2.

What's to like: 1) It's a brilliant truck simulator. The level of detail is amazing. With a small investment in a wheel (Thrustmaster TMX Pro) and a 18-spd USB shift knob coupled with Thrustmaster's TH8A shifter, you get a 100% legit experience driving a big rig - as real as you can without actually getting your CDL and being out on the road in the meat world. This game...is *THAT* good. It's the thing that kept me coming back for hundreds of hours.

2) The modding community. It is vast, like the prairies and deep like the ocean. If it weren't for the modding community making up for many of the shortfalls of the vanilla game I'd have never put in all the hundreds of hours that I did. There are some seriously dedicated modelers who upkeep certain truck models (such as the Freightliner FLBB - my all time favorite).

3) It's easy to lose yourself in the sim - you can pick it up for 15min at a time or play it for hours on end.4) Head Tracking and VR supported brings game this to a whole new level (I'd argue buying VR just for this game is a monumental waste of money however).And now, for the hard part. While I absolutely loved this game...

What's not to like:
1) The modding community. It is vast, like the prairies and deep like the ocean. I often feel like SCS has relied on the benevolence of the community that so loves this game to make up for the many shortcomings this game has from cosmetics, to truck models, desperately needed negine/transmission variations, freight variation, playable maps (THANK YOU PROMODS) to OWNABLE TRAILER TYPES FFS. The list literally goes on and on an on. I feel like SCS just makes maps, collects money, makes more maps, collects money, releases a new model every once in a while, but never any functional improvements. ALWAYS it is the modding community making the game better than the base game. and it has been this way since ETS2, and has carried over into ATS.

2) Little has changed in the years since it was created. Jobs are still pickup freight from Point A and drop off at Point B. There are no LTL (less than load) deliveries, or delivering to multiple customers out of one cargo haul. No contract jobs (haul x amount of freight fot a customer within a certain period of time), no such thing as freight lanes you can reliably plan on. How, in all these years, do we not have this yet??? Freight variety is also SEVERELY lacking. This isn't such a big deal in the Reefer/Dry Van because you don't see it, but on the flatbeds I get tired of hauling the same 4 or 5 loads.

3) You can't sleep in your sleeper cab in parking lots that aren't designated as specific resting areas. In the real world, drivers often sleep at their shippers/receivers if truck stops or rest areas are full. Again, this is an easy thing to implement, yet here we are, years into development without this option. I can't even pull into a hotel parking lot and take a snooze for a couple hours - it has to be a FULL sleep cycle. This became such a PITA that I turned off the sleep requirement because it was so poorly executed.

4) Fleet management/building a trucking empire is quite honestly a joke. Once you've learned the game and how to get a solid start, you can quickly amass a fortune in the hundreds of millions of dollars with no way to spend it. Stop lights? Pfft, who cares if you run them. Weigh stations? I just roll right on by because there are zero tangible consequences. Money becomes monopoly money at that point and the only way to make things a challenge again is - you guessed it - an unofficial mod from the community that drastically changes the money you earn for jobs. This is all a symptom of a larger issue in the game - ATS/ETS2 is purely a ***driving*** simulator and not a ***trucking/business*** simulator. Just imagine the possibilities here folks, and then realize what we're missing and feel that deep regret.

5) Let me take a moment to talk about the severe, and utter lack, of ownable trailers. Yes, we get a new trailer once in a while but it's bad. It's really, really bad how slow the implementation of this has been to date. We need someone at SCS devoted to this singular task of making new ownable trailers and freight to go with it. Otherwise this game gets boring fast. And i mean FAST.

6) The traffic AI in the game is T*E*R*R*I*B*L*E* in so many ways. From coming to complete stops before entering an empty freeway to stopping in the middle of the roads for no reason at all, complete inabilities to merge with other traffic, etc, etc. It's laughable.

7) Weather. It does not exist in this game (unless of course, you use one of the community mods!). While their *is* rain, it has no functional purpose other than to obscure your driving vision - it does not affect road physics or driving dynamics at all. A real lost opportunity.

8) Truck maintenance/upkeep. Not really a thing here. There's no fear of blowing an engine if you accidentally downshift into the wrong gear. No fear of overheating and blowing a block from overworking an engine. You can cook a trans from running it too hard up hill. no blown tires for driving off road. No maintenance schedule even to follow and/or consequences for not doing an in-frame rebuild within a certain mileage - absolutely nothing. Look at a game like IL-2 Sturmovik that has real consequences if you push your machinery too hard for too long. These trucks have all these fancy dials and gauges that do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Yet another lost opportunity.

Let me be clear - I have over 850 hours in ATS and over 350 in ETS2, and I continue to play them when I get bored of everything else in my library. The likes and dislikes listed above apply to both. And while I have loved this game tremendously, genuine development of the game has basically never been a priority and fallen upon the community of dedicated modders to keep the game fresh and interesting for someone like me. This game *could* truly be an amazing game worth any price tag. As it stands right now, I'd only buy it when it's on sale 75% off or more. Without the mods, I'd maybe have a hundred hours in the games. Combined.

[Sandhill]

That wall of text boils down to just one persons opinion and I disagree with it just as much as I do with the OP, repeating your points does not make them more valid. See my comments above

[Dark & Realistic™ Nessie]

What is funny about this topic? In order to rant about traffic bahavior (again), you bring a review of 2020 to prove your point, which the negative list can be divided into things that are already fixed by now (even traffic itself could be added here), and things that they won't make and explained why (visual damage for example).

Ok that about economy they could at least make it harder to make money. But complaining that because the game is called Truck Simulator you just drive a truck, and there's no management, is kind of too much picky.

Using another genre of games as example, there's a reason a game you can play soccer and a game you manage a team are 2 separate games.

[Clasher]

honestly the only thing about traffic that is still glaringly inaccurate is their tendency to stop rather than swerve, especially when it comes to the trucks which seem to have way more stopping power than they should and realistically most truck drivers would much prefer to change lanes than have to slow so much down. not that their aren't drivers who like to hold their ground but it would be nice if traffic wasn't always driving like they are railroaded to the center of the lane all the time cuz it can be kind of uncanny

[AimlessArrow]

Originally posted by Clasher:

honestly the only thing about traffic that is still glaringly inaccurate is their tendency to stop rather than swerve...

Nah, the whole thing is blatantly inaccurate, most likely on purpose as somebody said above.
They just there to have something to pay attention to, before you falling asleep halfway...

To OP:
You can use mod or tweak the config-file to decrease their number and/or spawn-rate.
You can even turn them off completely, but I dont recommend this, because you'll falling asleep halfway...