ETS and Others. The History of Truck Simulation Games
Simulations are a unique genre of computer and video games. It has been around almost as long as the entire electronic entertainment industry. At first, simulators allowed you to sit at the controls of airplanes or racing cars, and in the following decades, developers came to the conclusion that almost any type of human professional activity could be turned into a video game. Also driving a 40-ton semi-truck.
Today, fans of computer sim games can play as digital versions of car mechanics, policemen, firefighters, construction machinery operators, and even pour fuel at a gas station or clean dirty house walls with a pressure washer. However, two types of simulators are particularly popular among players: farm and semi-truck sims.
One of the most surprising pieces of information about the audience of these games may be that a significant part of the players are people who…are farmers and truck drivers by profession. In other words, after work, they sit in front of computer or TV screens and, for entertainment, do the same thing they did professionally all day long. And –if you believe their comments, e.g. on forums dedicated to these games –it still gives them fun and relaxes them.
The beginnings of computer truck simulators
Before we dive into the history of digital truck simulators, let’s explain what a sim game actually is. Most generally speaking, a simulator is a game that should reflect the experience of driving a vehicle or performing some activity in the most realistic way possible. In other words: in a flight simulation game, the player must, for example, perform the entire pre-takeoff procedure on his own before taking off. In an aviation arcade game, this entire experience will be simplified (e.g. the player’s plane will be immediately in the air).
If we look into the annals of computer entertainment, it turns out that the first game that can –in some respects –be considered a semi-truck driver simulator is “Cross Country USA”from 1985. The player’s task was to traverse the roads of the United States behind the wheel of a powerful eighteen-wheeler and deliver cargo. The game created by Didatech includes elements of the everyday life of an American trucker, such as the need to take rest breaks or refuel the semi-tractor. Interestingly, this title was designed primarily to help school students learn US geography.
In the following years, trucks appeared in computer and console games many times, but very rarely did they allow players to imitate the life of a driver who transports loads from point A to B. Developers focused on the more entertaining aspect of driving a truck, because they allowed players to take part in truck races. (fun fact: “Big Rigs”, in which you can race on tracks with tractor-trailers, takes an inglorious place on the list of the worst games of all time). Two parts of “Big Mutha Truckers”from the Eutechnyx deserve to be remembered. The games released at the beginning of the 21st century were a mix of truck racing with missions focused on delivering goods, but what distinguished them from their competitors was a parodic convention: the creators made fun of the culture of American truck drivers and the redneck community, presenting the US province in an extremely distorted mirror.
Hard Truck
One of such games was “Hard Truck”from the Russian studio Buka. Released in 1998, the title emphasized racing, but also allowed for another form of gameplay: delivering cargo. And it was this aspect of the game that players liked the most. The creators decided to follow suit and two years later they released a sequel titled “Hard Truck 2: King of The Road”. Here, the player’s task was primarily to work as a carrier: delivering cargo from shippers to recipients in an appropriate time frame to earn money. When cash ran dry, the words “Game over”appeared on the screen. The player had to obey traffic regulations and watch out for other road users and the police. What made the title stand out was that it featured licensed DAF, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz semi-trucks.
In 2002, the series was taken over by the Czech studio SCS Software (today the undisputed king of truck simulator games, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves). “Hard Truck: 18 Wheels of Steel”was the open world of the game that allowed the player to freely travel around the USA behind the wheel of an eighteen-wheeler dripping with chrome (this time the tractors were not licensed, but every enthusiast of big rigs could easily recognize their favorite Kenworth or Peterbilt model). “18 Wheels of Steel” did the same thing as its predecessor, but much better. Not only the graphics improved, but also the playability, and the whole experience was more complex. It was a moderate hit. No wonder that SCS Software decided to release another part of the game, this time as a stand-alone title, and not part of the “Hard Truck”series. The latter, in the meantime, turned to more “Mad Max”-like science fiction convention in the two parts of “Hard Truck Apocalypse”. Players were given an armed truck in which they traveled through the post-nuclear wasteland and fought opponents. The reviewers were merciless towards “Apocalypse”, which ultimately ended the “Hard Truck”series. But let’s get back to the “18 Wheels of Steel”brand, which was doing better and better under the wings of the Czech SCS.
Watch “Hard Truck: 18 Wheels of Steel”trailer on YouTube (external)
18 Wheels of Steel
In the years 2002-2011, SCS Software released as many as 8 parts of the “18 Wheels of Steel”series. Each subsequent installment introduced further improvements to the gameplay and better-quality graphics. The core of the game has remained unchanged: players buy their first tractor unit, start working as a carrier, transport various loads between cities in the USA, and earn money that they spend on purchasing more and more modern tractors and trailers. With each subsequent installment of the series, the creators tried to more and more believably reflect the realities of the daily work of an eighteen-wheeler driver. While driving, you must obey the regulations, pay attention to signs, refuel, you can also talk to other drivers via CB radio and even listen to various radio stations. Programmers from SCS Software provided routes in the United States, Canada and Mexico, and two parts entitled “Extreme Trucker”took players to Bolivia, Bangladesh and the Australian Outback –as the title suggests, these installments of 18WoS were about showing what it looks like for drivers to work on the most difficult roads in the world.
If players’opinions are to be believed, the best installment of “18 Wheels of Steel”is the one subtitled “Pedal to the Metal”from 2004. Halfway through the series’life, however, recipients began to complain about a certain stagnation of subsequent installments, where little (apart from constantly improved graphics) had changed. There was also a constant shortage of licensed vehicles. In 2011, the 18WoS series ceased publication. However, three years earlier, SCS Software released a title that –next to farm simulators –became almost synonymous with the hit simulation game. Behold the “European Truck Simulator” or –as fans call it for short –ETS.
Watch “18 Wheels of Steel: Pedal to the Metal”trailer on YouTube (external)
European Truck Simulator
The title probably says it all: this time, programmers from SCS Software allowed players to experience the life of a truck driver traveling around Europe. It was a way of meeting the expectations of the community created around 18Wos –fans of the game created unofficial Eurocentric additions: maps of the Old Continent countries and EU made truck models. Now Czech developers have given players an official game in which they could traverse the routes of as many as 12 European countries: 11 continental ones and Great Britain, which also allowed them to simulate deliveries across the English Channel. Again, the core of the gameplay remains unchanged: the player chooses a starting country, receives his first tractor unit and starts working as a driver. First, it carries out spot loads, and as it earns virtual money, it can expand its machinery with new trucks and semi-trailers, and also receives orders for increasingly longer international routes. In this version, it was still not possible to get licenses for real truck tractor models, so Volvo, DAF and Scania appeared under fictitious names. Later, however, the developers succeeded and in subsequent updates real models were introduced, not their fictional counterparts. Was the first part of ETS a hit? In the world of simulator lovers, absolutely. Following this, the creators released two stand-alone expansions to the game, which focused on routes in Germany and Great Britain. A spin-off called “Scania Truck Driving Simulator”was also released, in which players could learn to maneuver and drive a tractor unit from this Swedish manufacturer.
“European Truck Simulator 2”, released in 2012, is undoubtedly the magnum opus of SCS Software. Players’ goal? Well, basically exactly the same as the previous installment. ETS2 is a typical sequel: more of the same thing, only executed better. This time, the entire map was made available to the player immediately, without the need to unlock it as the game progressed, as was the case in the previous version. A dedicated community of players has been formed around the game and they keep the title alive, even though 12 years have passed since its release. There are several groups among people playing “European Truck Simulator 2”. The first one, professional truck drivers who engage in a digital version of their work in their free time, has already been mentioned. The second group are generally gamers who love all kinds of simulators and look for a huge dose of realism in games. And the third one? Well, these are players who are looking for games that provide a quieter form of relaxation, who want to chill while playing and not get another adrenaline rush. As you can see, spending many hours traveling on European roads behind the wheel of a virtual truck turned out to be a bull’s eye for them.
Watch “European Truck Simulator 2”trailer on YouTube (external)
ETS2 is constantly being improved by developers who release new additions and expansions containing new countries, new routes, new cities, new (licensed) tractors and semi-trailers (in total, the game has received as many as 11 large expansions). The developers also provide graphical improvements, and last year they also announced the preparation of a console release. Meanwhile, from its release to 2021, ETS2 has sold as many as 9 million copies on PC. A hit without any doubt!
Three years after the premiere of ETS2, developers from SCS released a spin-off of the series, which is also the spiritual heir to “18 Wheels of Steel”. In “American Truck Simulator”players returned to the roads of the United States (or rather a condensed version of the southern part of the USA). ATS turned out to be a popular title, but not as much as its predecessor –“only”2 million people bought it.
Although the “Truck Simulator”series enjoys unflagging popularity, even the most ardent players are beginning to criticize the latest moves of Czech developers. They point out that a significant part of the content is added with subsequent paid add-ons, and the Prism3D graphics engine is already technologically behind its competitors, which affects the quality of graphics –despite the improvements, it is clear that it is no longer the world’s best. And the biggest complaint: the lack of the third part, which has not yet been announced. However, considering the scale of ETS2’s success, it can be expected that “Euro Truck Simulator 3”will eventually be released. After all, SCS Software’s game is the undisputed king of truck simulators, and their title has virtually no competitors.