Support Trucksim!
Hello everyone and welcome to Trucksim blog,
I revived my Patreon early this year and sometimes do extra content there.
I wanted to have an honest conversation with you about Trucksim and its future.
What This Project Is
For over 6 years, I’ve been creating detailed map combo tutorials, hidden road guides, and 100% discovered profiles for both ETS2 and ATS. Every major game update, every DLC release, every map mod version – I’m there documenting it, testing combinations, and making sure you have working setups.
The blog (trucksim.top) and YouTube channel exist because I genuinely love this community and these games. But here’s the reality: this is a hobby that takes significant time and effort.
The Real Numbers
Currently, the YouTube channel generates about $30-40 per month from ads. To put that in perspective:
- Each map combo tutorial takes 6-10 hours (testing, recording, editing, writing)
- 100% map discovery guides take 50-60 hours of gameplay per version
- Hidden roads compilations require meticulous exploration and documentation
- The blog requires constant updates, hosting, and maintenance
I earn more in an hours at my regular job than the channel generates in a month. This has always been about community contribution, not income.
Why I’m Setting Up Patreon
I want to keep creating these guides. The community clearly finds them valuable – you watch them, use the profiles, and follow the tutorials. But as the games grow more complex (70+ map combos, over 350 hidden roads in ATS and ETS2, massive map expansions), the time commitment keeps increasing.
Patreon isn’t about getting rich. It’s about making this sustainable as a hobby without feeling like I’m working for free.
Free Content (Always):
- All YouTube tutorials remain free
- All blog guides remain free
- All profiles and save files remain free
- Nothing changes for people who can’t or don’t want to support
The Bottom Line
If 50 people support at $3/month, that’s $150 – roughly what it costs me in time to maintain this project monthly at a minimum wage equivalent. If 100 people support at $3/month, I can justify dedicating more regular time to this instead of feeling guilty about not working on paid projects.
If you’ve ever:
- Saved hours using one of my profiles
- Successfully set up a complex map combo thanks to a tutorial
- Found all the hidden roads using my guides
- Appreciated having free, detailed documentation
…and you can afford $3-10/month, please consider supporting.
If you can’t afford it – that’s completely fine. Everything stays free. I mean that sincerely.
What Happens If Support Doesn’t Come?
Honest answer: Since the income from Patreon since I re-opened it is still very low I’m keep making content, but less frequently. I reduced count of guides and focus only on major updates (new DLCs, significant map releases) instead of every minor version. Instead of spending 5 hours a day I spend only 1. Also unfortunately I removed from description here all perks for higher tier since no-one subscribe it. And itself content for Patreon only also reduced to minimum.
Thank You
Whether you support financially or just watch/read – thank you for being part of this community. Truck sim modding is a niche, but it’s a passionate one, and I’m proud to contribute to it.
Let’s keep this truck rolling (sorry, had to).
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/punkito YouTube: youtube.com/@trucksim Blog: trucksim.top
— Punkito (Trucksim Top)
SCS Announced Nevada Rework Project
If you’ve spent any time hauling through American Truck Simulator’s Nevada, you know it’s one of those maps that’s been quietly showing its age. Fitting, since it was one of the states that shipped with the base game — and now SCS has confirmed it’s next in line for a ground-up overhaul.
What SCS Announced
SCS Software revealed the Nevada Rework Project, following on from the studio’s recent work reworking Route 66. This next major undertaking will completely overhaul the Silver State. Nevada joins the growing list of original ATS states – after Route 66 – getting brought up to modern mapping standards.
Map designers will rework every existing city and road network in the state to match the quality of SCS’s newest content, and because Nevada was one of the original states released with ATS, the team will be able to rebuild many locations from scratch while keeping the atmosphere that makes the state distinct. In other words: this isn’t a quick texture pass, it’s the same “erase and redraw” treatment we’ve seen with Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and others in past rework waves.
New Ground, Not Just Fresh Paint
The part that’ll actually get people talking is the expansion angle. SCS is also using the rework as a chance to add locations and road connections that were missing from the original Nevada map — including the city of Fallon, east of Carson City, along with the missing stretch of US-95 running north-south through it.
That’s a real gap being filled — anyone who’s driven the current Nevada knows the state feels sparse and disconnected in places compared to newer DLCs. Adding Fallon and completing that US-95 corridor should make the drive between Reno/Carson City and the rest of the state feel a lot less like a shortcut through empty desert.
On top of the road network work, SCS says the state will also get a variety of brand-new custom depots, giving players more diverse delivery destinations and making freight runs across Nevada feel more immersive.
Where This Leaves Things
SCS is framing this as just the start, with more development previews to come as the project progresses. No timeline yet – which tracks, since these state reworks tend to be multi-post journeys before they actually ship. Expect the usual drip of city-by-city previews over the coming months.
For those keeping score, this puts Nevada alongside the current lineup of “originals getting reborn” – following the Route 66 corridor rework – and suggests SCS is committed to slowly bringing the entire original ATS map up to 2026 standards.
Nevada was overdue. Vegas aside, the state always felt like the thin connective tissue between California and Utah rather than a destination in its own right. If Fallon and the US-95 gap get filled in the way SCS is describing, this could turn one of the most-skipped states in the game into one worth detouring through.
Source: SCS Software Blog – Nevada Rework Project: First Overview
Eurafrica Comes Back with New Name and New Expansion
If you’ve been following the Eurafrica map mod for Euro Truck Simulator 2, big changes just landed alongside the 1.60 compatibility update. The map itself is getting a rebrand and a brand-new expansion, and the way you access it is changing too. Here’s everything you need to know.
What Is Eurafrica?
For anyone new to it, Eurafrica is a personal, hand-crafted representation of Africa’s road network for ETS2, focused on the Maghreb region and beyond. It’s built to balance detail with performance, and comes packed with custom garages, companies, models, and genuinely challenging roads. It’s also compatible with major map mods like Promods and Roextended, so it slots into a lot of existing setups without a fight.
There are several video showcases on YouTube if you want to see it in action before diving in.
The Big Change: A New Name and a New Expansion
As of July 2026, the mod has been restructured:
- Eurafrica is now Eurafrica_Maghreb — a rename that also opens the door to a new companion map.
- Eurafrica_West launches as an expansion, extending the Maghreb map further into West Africa.
This isn’t just a cosmetic rename. It’s tied directly to a new access model the creator is rolling out, largely as a response to ongoing piracy and unauthorized redistribution of the mod.
The New Tiered Subscription System
This is the part that matters most for current and future subscribers. Access to Eurafrica_Maghreb now works on a level system tied to consecutive subscription payments:
| Payment # | Level Unlocked |
|---|---|
| 1st payment | Level 1 |
| 2nd payment | Level 2 |
| 3rd payment | Level 3 |
| 4th payment | Level 4 |
| 5th payment | Level 5 |
This applies whether you’re on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual plan — each billing cycle simply counts as one “month” toward your level, in order.
Eurafrica_West Is Locked Behind Level 5
The new West expansion isn’t available on its own. You need to have reached Level 5 on Eurafrica_Maghreb first, and then it’s a one-time payment of €20 on top of that to unlock West. The purchase link for this is sent individually on request once you qualify.
What Happens to Existing Subscribers
If you’ve already been subscribing:
- All your prior consecutive, uninterrupted payments count toward your current level.
- If you’ve been subscribed uninterrupted since before March 2026, you’re automatically bumped to the highest level.
The Fine Print on Interruptions
The system is unforgiving about lapses:
- A gap in payment of 1 to 30 days costs you one level.
- Longer gaps cost you levels proportionally (e.g., a 2-month gap = -2 levels).
- The creator notes case-by-case exceptions may be considered for long-time loyal subscribers, but it’s not guaranteed.
Distribution, sharing, or reselling the mod in any form — even partially — results in immediate, permanent loss of access, regardless of how much you’ve paid or renewed.
Why the Overhaul?
2-tier system serves two purposes:
- Reward loyalty — long-term subscribers get access to more advanced versions of Maghreb and exclusive access to West.
- Deter piracy — a leveled, payment-history-based system is harder to replicate for anyone trying to redistribute the mod illegally.
Access Process Stays the Same
If you’re new to Eurafrica, the download process hasn’t changed: you open a support ticket, fill out the form (which counts as agreeing to the Terms of Conditions and Copyright/Disclaimer notice), and wait for the creator to send a download link. Response isn’t instant — the creator isn’t online 24/7 — so patience is part of the deal. Subscribers get access to the Premium range (map + Road Connection and other add-ons) for as long as the subscription is active, plus community support in English and French.
Bottom Line
If you’re a current Eurafrica subscriber, your existing payment streak now directly determines what you can access — so keeping that subscription uninterrupted is more important than ever if you’re aiming for Level 5 and a shot at Eurafrica_West. For newcomers, it’s business as usual to get started, but climbing the levels will take time and consistency.
As always: play safe, respect the terms, and enjoy the roads. 🚛
North Dakota teased
SCS teased on their social media a next upcoming DLC for ATS (which will be after South Dakota and British Columbia expansions). Gigantic fish monument tells us that it will be North Dakota – World’s Largest Catfish is in Wahpeton, ND – famous for the Red River of the North, a premier fishery for channel catfish, walleye, and northern pike.
After the South Dakota it is quite predictable step in USA and we can assume this DLC will out nor early that 2027-2028.
New Poland Rebuilding 3.0 out now
Version 3.0 is by far the largest and longest-developed update to our map to date. The reworked areas were created by DIESIRAE, who spent many years bringing this project to life. The updated region stretches across central Poland, covering everything from Szczecin through the Tricity, Bydgoszcz, and Warsaw, all the way to Zamość. This update primarily focuses on the complete overhaul of some of the oldest cities on the map, dating back to the era before the Going East DLC was released, as well as many other equally outdated areas that no longer meet today’s quality standards. Version 3.0 also introduces numerous new roads and routes, including expressways, reflecting the extensive infrastructure that has been built or modernized in real life over the years. In addition, the update includes a wide range of smaller improvements and visual enhancements across many locations. While these areas have not been fully rebuilt, they have received significant polishing and refinements to bring them up to modern standards.
TruckersMP Releases Official Coach Bus – You Can Drive Passengers in Multiplayer Now
While we’re all still waiting on SCS Software to confirm anything solid about an official Coaches DLC, TruckersMP just went ahead and gave ETS2 multiplayer its own passenger transport feature. On July 10, 2026, TruckersMP officially released the Heavy Vehicles Turkey Coach Bus, built in partnership with Heavy Vehicles Turkey — and this time it’s a fully integrated, no-mods-required system.
What’s Actually New Here
This isn’t the first time buses have shown up on TruckersMP servers. Some of you may remember DBus World, the third-party tool that let players run bus routes in multiplayer years ago. That project has since been discontinued. This release replaces it entirely with something built and maintained by TruckersMP itself.
The core additions:
- A dedicated coach bus model – high-quality exterior and a detailed interior, purpose-built for long-distance passenger runs.
- An official Bus Job Dispatcher – you create and accept passenger routes directly through TruckersMP’s own system, no external tool needed.
- Animated passengers – NPCs actually wait at bus stations and stops, walk over to your bus, and board one by one as your service starts.
- A performance/reward system – your payout and stats (punctuality, service quality) depend on how well you run the route.
- Automatic delivery – the bus downloads through the TruckersMP Launcher like any other update. No manual mod installs, no compatibility headaches.
How to Start Your First Route
TruckersMP kept the onboarding simple:
- Open the Player Panel (Tab).
- Select the bus icon.
- Choose a route from the TruckersMP Bus Job Dispatcher.
- Drive to the depot, pick up your passengers, and run the service.
Why This Matters More Than It Looks
TruckersMP had already teased this back in their “TruckersMP Introduces Coach Buses” post, where they were upfront that SCS is expected to launch a similar feature as an actual DLC eventually. Their stated position: they’re not trying to copy SCS’s future functionality, they just want to bring the multiplayer angle that only they can deliver — and importantly, none of this will require the eventual official DLC to use.
That’s the real story here. For years, passenger transport in ETS2 multiplayer meant installing DBus World and hoping it stayed compatible with whatever patch you were on. Now it’s a first-party feature — vehicle, dispatcher, passengers, routes, and rewards all built directly into TruckersMP, with zero setup friction.
If you’re burned out on freight jobs and want a change of pace while we all wait for SCS to say literally anything concrete about Coaches DLC, this is a genuinely solid stopgap. It won’t replace an eventual official DLC integration with the base game’s economy and career mode, but for multiplayer it’s already more polished than what we had before.
#TMPCoach
ETS2 Coaches DLC: Every Bit of News So Far
Euro Truck Simulator 2 is about to trade cargo for passengers. SCS Software’s long-teased “Coaches” expansion has been drip-feeding updates since mid-2025, and with a full gameplay preview finally out in July 2026, now’s a good time to round up everything we know. Here’s the complete story, straight from SCS’s official blog, in chronological order.
The Backstory: A 2013 Idea That Almost Became a Different Game
Coaches for ETS2 isn’t a new idea — it’s over a decade old. Back in 2013, SCS first floated the concept of a coach/bus experience, and by May 2015 the studio had even drawn up plans for a standalone spin-off codenamed “Euro Coach Simulator,” with prototype vehicles like the Setra S 431 DT and Irizar i6/i8 in the works. ETS2’s own runaway success pulled development resources away, and the coach project was shelved — though eagle-eyed players have spotted unused bus station prefabs scattered across the map for years since.
May–June 2025: The Tease and the Reveal
The comeback started quietly. On May 31, 2025, SCS teased a mysterious new feature — a bus pulling out from behind a truck at a rest stop — without explanation.
Two weeks later, on June 14, 2025, it became official. SCS published “Project Coaches,” announcing that the team was building a full Coaches expansion for ETS2. Instead of hauling freight, players will step into the role of a coach driver, picking up and dropping off passengers at redesigned bus terminals across the map. The studio was clear that this was a genuine addition, not a replacement: work on trucks, map expansions, and core ETS2 content continues as normal. CEO Pavel Šebor summed up the philosophy: the goal is to expand the driving experience, not transform it.
Technically, the DLC is also a milestone for the engine itself, since it’s the first time ETS2 will properly support multiple vehicle types side by side — which has reignited community speculation about an eventual return of rigid trucks.
July–August 2025: Meet the Team and the Modelling Process
On July 9, 2025, SCS introduced the eight-person Coaches team — a mix of programmers, game designers, 3D artists, and testers, some with real-world bus driving experience they’re using to make the handling and braking behavior authentic.
A month later (August 7, 2025), the spotlight turned to Senior 3D Artist Vitalii, who described going on a business trip to inspect real coaches firsthand for reference, and the unique challenge of building interiors and passenger animations — a completely different discipline from modelling trucks.
September–October 2025: Bus Stations and the Scania Touring
September 5, 2025 brought a deep dive into bus stations. Producer Dominik revealed that when the project began, ETS2 already had 7 prefab station models spread across more than 100 locations — six of those nearly a decade old are getting a full rebuild, while a newer Road to the Black Sea-era prefab gets a lighter refresh. Newer stations will ditch the old fences and walls so they blend more naturally into city surroundings, and the team confirmed that map updates tied to Coaches will be free for everyone who owns the relevant DLC — you won’t need to buy Coaches itself to get the improved stations.
On September 20, 2025, the first vehicle got its own spotlight: the Scania Touring, a long-distance coach originally launched in 2009, carrying up to 50 passengers depending on configuration. A follow-up “SCS On The Road” walkaround episode arrived October 8, 2025, showing the reference-gathering trip in more detail.
November–December 2025: Passenger Satisfaction and the MAN Lion’s Coach
November 23, 2025 introduced one of the DLC’s signature systems: passenger satisfaction. Driving too aggressively — harsh braking, speeding, rough cornering — will reduce the experience and rewards you earn from a route, pushing players toward smoother, more realistic driving.
December brought the second confirmed coach. On December 19, 2025, SCS unveiled the MAN Lion’s Coach, powered by MAN’s D26 engine and built in both 4×2 and 6×2 (standard and extended) configurations, with five interior color variants for seats and curtains. A companion “SCS On The Road” episode (December 27, 2025) documented the team’s visit to the MAN Bus Forum in Munich, where they captured reference photos, video, and audio recordings directly from MAN Truck & Bus SE staff.
January–February 2026: Under the Hood with Dominik, and the Volvo 9700 Double Decker
On January 9, 2026, SCS published an extended “Under the Hood” interview with producer Dominik, tracing his path from Italia DLC map designer to leading the Coaches project. He confirmed the team is already looking beyond launch — including “exploring cooperation with other long-distance coach manufacturers” and building out more tourist-oriented destinations for future updates.
February 8, 2026 brought the third confirmed vehicle: the Volvo 9700 Double Decker, a high-capacity coach that can carry up to 96 passengers in its real-world form. In-game, it’s built on a 6×2 chassis, standing 4 meters tall and measuring 14.3 meters long. Players will get official Volvo paint colors, interior customization, curtain colors, and different passenger seat variants, plus an in-game driver assistance system with collision warning and emergency braking.
April 2026: Coaches Meet the Existing Map
On April 19, 2026, SCS explained how Coaches integrates with ETS2’s existing DLC map. Because expansions like Italia, Road to the Black Sea, and Beyond the Baltic Sea were built long before Coaches existed, fitting large bus terminals into already-dense cities has meant reworking existing layouts — and in some cases expanding city footprints just to make room. The team’s priority order was covering major and capital cities first, then filling in gaps, while trying to recreate real-world landmark coach stations wherever the map scale allows.
July 2026: First Gameplay, MAN Lion’s Coach in Action
The biggest update yet arrived July 5, 2026: a full gameplay preview of the MAN Lion’s Coach running a real route from Duisburg to Rotterdam. This is the first time SCS has shown Coaches actually being played rather than just modeled. The preview highlights the passenger satisfaction system in action, a route summary screen showing passenger mood/satisfaction stats at trip’s end, and a visual parking guide for lining the bus up at stations — similar to the trailer-parking guides truckers already know, adapted for passenger stops. SCS also confirmed that cities are being reworked to add dedicated bus stops and long-term parking to support the new routes.
What We Know So Far
- Three confirmed coaches at launch: Scania Touring, MAN Lion’s Coach, Volvo 9700 Double Decker
- Core gameplay: multi-stop scheduled passenger routes, a passenger satisfaction system tied to driving smoothness, redesigned bus terminals across the existing map
- Map impact: free for all ETS2/DLC owners regardless of whether you buy Coaches, with dozens of stations reworked or newly built
- No release date yet — SCS continues to stress that everything shown remains work in progress
Wishlist It
If you want to follow along as this develops, the Coaches DLC has its own Steam store page you can wishlist now. Given the pace of updates — averaging roughly one blog post a month since mid-2025 — expect more vehicle reveals and gameplay previews before launch.
ETS2 & ATS: 1.61 Experimental Beta
Even though the 1.60 update for both ETS2 and ATS was released just last week, SCS is already working on features for future updates and since developers want to gather as much feedback from the community, they started an experimental beta way in advance of the actual update release, with focus on two upcoming features – the Multi-Function Display and In-Game Menu. To join the beta you should activate it in Steam. Please see details in SCS Software blog.
American Truck Simulator and Euro Truck Simulator 1.60 Release
Today SCS Software released final version of ATS 1.60. And in couple days we will see ETS2 update. It brings no map content but adds very important improvements to the game.
Job Details Widget & GPS Update
First up, the Job Details Widget. It sits on screen while you drive and shows cargo type and weight, your delivery destination, income — color-highlighted based on how well the job pays — and the time remaining to complete the delivery. You enable it through the Widget Options menu, F6.
There’s also a nice addition that wasn’t in the original announcement: the GPS itself now shows your estimated arrival day and time, plus the remaining travel distance, on top of the travel time it already showed. That came directly from community feedback.
Game Radio
The headline feature is still Game Radio — five curated stations, each with its own identity. Rust FM covers rock across five decades. Escape is lo-fi and jazz, and it’s the only stream-safe station at launch, built on the StreamBeats library so content creators avoid copyright claims. PUMP IT! is electronic and dance. Pop Gear is contemporary pop. And Roadio leans into American roots music — folk, country, Americana.
The in-cab widget shows station name, track title, artist, and an animated waveform, and you can mark favorites. Modders will also be able to create and share their own stations.
SCS describes this as just the foundation — more stations and features are planned for future updates.
Improved Material System & Light Tweaks
Next, the Improved Material System overhauls truck interior lighting using dynamic cubemaps, so leather, fabric, plastic, and metal all react to ambient light properly instead of looking flat and dark.
In ETS2, the first trucks to get this are the DAF NGD and MAN TG3 TGX. In ATS, it’s the Mack Anthem and the Western Star 49X. More trucks will follow in later updates. This tech actually originated from Project Road Trip development, though Road Trip vehicles themselves aren’t part of 1.60.
Alongside that, SCS quietly added some global Light Tweaks — minor exposure and contrast adjustments, plus refinements to how bad weather looks. Nothing dramatic, just an overall polish pass.
Expanded Rest Mechanic
The fatigue system has been reworked and split into two values. Rest State — shown with a bed icon — gradually depletes as you drive and triggers microsleeps if it gets too low. Mandatory Break — shown with a “P” icon — tracks how many hours you have left before a required stop, based on real driving-hour limits: 14 hours driving and 10 hours rest in ATS, 10 hours driving and 9 hours rest in ETS2.
The key change: you can now choose exactly how long to sleep and when to wake up, instead of a fixed rest duration. Both systems can be toggled independently in the settings.
New Paint Jobs & Vehicle Additions
A few extras came along with 1.60 release. For ETS2, the Volvo FH Series 6 gets new aerodynamic roof deflectors for the Sleeper Cab, Globetrotter, and Globetrotter XL cabs, plus a new black aero A-pillar trim available across all Aero cabin variants.
For ATS, there’s a new set of Players’ Company Paint Jobs — designs based on the company identities you can pick when creating a driver profile, with each paint job custom-tailored to different trailer types rather than just slapped on.
And as a free addition, the Kenworth T680 2022 and W900 both get a TourAmerica paint job — a red, white, and blue design inspired by the 1990s T600 livery, tied to Kenworth’s Freedom 250 celebration for America’s 250th anniversary.
Changelog
Vehicles
- Players’ Company Paint Jobs
Visual
- Improved Material System
- Light Tweaks
Sound
- Game Radio
UI/UX
- Expanded Rest Mechanic
- Job Details Widget
American Truck Simulator: 1.60 Open Beta
While version 1.59 for both ETS2 and ATS released in May, SCS Software already released beta version of ATS 1.60 and it means that cycle of previous version should be quite short. As always you can read about all changes of the official blog. To try beta go to Steam client → LIBRARY → right-click on American Truck Simulator → Properties → Betas tab → Beta Participation drop-down menu → public_beta. No password is required. Sometimes you will have to restart your Steam client to see the correct branch name there.
Changelog
Vehicles
- Players’ Company Paint Jobs
Visual
- Improved Material System
- Light Tweaks
Sound
- Game Radio
UI/UX
- Expanded Rest Mechanic
- Job Details Widget