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Sensible Traffic Mod for 1.53

For v1.53 of ATS (newest version).

Any older version can be found here: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1907960769

This mod increases the amount of traffic encountered on the roads.

It also lowers patience, and increases risk taking of AI drivers, making them merge lanes a little more speedily.

It also adds a time sensitive variance: Night times are quiet and lonely. Busiest times are the hours leading up to, and immediately after, 9am and 5pm

"Why did you create this mod? Aren't there enough traffic mods?"

I created this mod because I've tried other popular traffic mods and there was always something that didn't feel right, so I made my own mod. Some issues that made me create this were:

• One mod had good traffic amount, but made some cars too slow. Traffic then piles up too much because they create a rolling roadblock.
  
• One mod had good speed, but increased traffic flow too much. Overtaking someone became difficult because oncoming cars were extremely consistent - no gaps.
  
• One mod had good traffic amount, but not much variance. Lots of traffic even at night.

Etc, etc...

This mod is not meant to be 'realistic' but more sensible. Overtaking should still be possible, but traffic numbers aren't being bumped up into the thousands (only 70% more than the vanilla base value). It is simply supposed to be more traffic than vanilla, without impacting the gameplay too heavily.

P.S. This mod simply changes the maximum amount, and frequency at which traffic spawns - it does not change where it spawns. Some roads will always be empty because they are designed like that in the vanilla game - it is not this mod causing that. Eg. Las Vegas' smaller side streets are rather empty for some reason, but its main roads will always be populated. Some sections of the freeways will also be more populated in some areas of the map, even at midnight and later.

Feedback and ratings welcome!


Exact changes:

I have listed these here if you don't like this traffic mod and want to try and create your own:

From inside the def.scs file in the main game directory

*** The way this mod works has drastically changed since the 1.29 patch. The way the game determines road traffic volume has been significantly changed and this mod was remade from scratch as the old edits no longer have any effect. ***

traffic_data.sii

max_vehicle_count: 50 -> 160
The total vehicle count can no longer be affected by hourly values. The max global was determined via the old 70% increase in 1.28 plus the highest multiplier factor. 50 (vanilla max vehicle count) * 1.7 (old increase in the 1.28 patch version of this mod) * 1.85 (old mod's highest multiplier at rush hours) = 157.25 (changed to 160 in the file)

Removed the 'mark out' before these parameters and changed:

ai_safety_modifier: 0.3 -> -0.15
AI will be less inclined to keep perfect spacing and will do manoeuvres quicker.

ai_patience_modifier: 0.0 -> -0.8
AI will be more eager to overtake slow drivers and will wait less for various actions such as flashing lights/honking/yielding.

ai_yield_max_speed: (18.0, 26.0) unchanged
ai_yield_wait_time: (20.0, 30.0) unchanged
ai_yield_timeout: (3.0, 5.0) unchanged

traffic_rules_spawn.sui (found in /def/world/ folder)

The variables changed are too numerous to list. However, in this version of the patch, spawn frequency has a greater effect than total vehicle count. Previously in the 1.28 patch version of this mod, total vehicle count had a greater effect on traffic volume than spawn frequency. The roles are seemingly reversed in this patch.


Sorry for rarely updating this, but I just don't play the game anymore. Here's how to update the mod if I go AWOL again:

1. Download the SCS Extractor from here: https://modding.scssoft.com/wiki/Documentation/Tools/Game_Archive_Extractor
   
2. Go to your ATS install folder located at '.../steam/steamapps/common/American Truck Simulator'. You can also right click your game in your steam library and select 'Manage -> Browse Local Files' if you can't find it.
   
3. Copy and paste the def.scs inside this folder into a new folder somewhere else on your PC to keep things tidy.
   
4. Copy and paste the scs_extractor.exe you downloaded into this new folder too.
   
5. Drag and drop the def.scs onto the scs_extractor.exe and let the files extract.
   
6. Find the traffic_rules_spawn.sui file inside the '/def/world/ folder you just extracted.
   
7. Now find this mod's version of the traffic_rules_spawn.sui file inside '/steam/steamapps/workshop/content/270880/1127826231/universal/'
   
8. Now compare the two by opening them up in notepad side-by-side. You can also use notepad++ (google's first result).
   
9. Copy and paste any missing sections from the newly extracted file into the mod version of the of the traffic_rules_spawn.sui file . The headers usually look like this for example: 'traffic_rule_data : traffic_rule.s_car_uh'. The modded file will have far more spawn rules per header - ignore those differences. What's important is that the whole part of any missing section/category is copied over (this is what causes the crashes, since new patches add new traffic sets, e.g. tourist vehicles or trams).
   
10. There is also a traffic_data.sii file that might need comparing, but it hasn't been touched in years. This can also be found inside the '/def/ folder you extracted.
    
11. Save the updated mod files and now highlight all the rest of the files in the /steam/steamapps/workshop/content/270880/1127826231/universal/ folder. You will have selected four items: the 'def' folder, description.txt, manifest.sii and trafficmodimage.jpg (it's up to you if you want to update these description and manifest files too, they dictate the info shown in the in-game mod manager like version number, etc).
    
12. Once all are selected, right click and choose 'add to .zip' or 'compress to zip file' (wording depends on the version of your operating system). Try installing 7-Zip if you don't have any options to do this (google's first result).
    
13. Find the new zip folder you just created and rename it to a .scs file (so basically, replace the .zip extension into a .scs extension. You need file extensions visible in your file browser (check google for this).
    
14. Place the .scs file you created in your 'My Documents/American Truck Simulator/mod/' folder (create it if it doesn't exist).
    
15. Active the mod in-game.