Digging deeper into ETS2 1.11 update

Today we have another dose of info and images from the upcoming Euro Truck Simulator 2 version 1.11 update for you.

There are several additional features simulation fans may enjoy:

Tempomat (Cruise control) received an additional mapping. Now it is possible to map the keys/buttons on the controller of your choice to increase or decrease speed, in addition to just having enable/disable hotkey. This should make cruise control act closer to what the real thing does.

We have also achieved more realistic timing for the air brake sound. Retarder indicator is lit during automatic retarder usage, and you can now configure the maximum steering angle in game options.

With the Seat Adjuster feature, we have paid more attention to side mirrors. While moving your head in the cabin, the side mirrors are now adjusting their perspective of the world rendering. It took us a while to work this out, but in the end effort had paid off with the realistic mirror perception. This should be even more noticeable to the lucky few who are using head tracking gear like TrackIR, or with head-tracking enabled virtual reality sets.

In additional little touch - now you can sell a garage or relocate your headquarters to another city.

Even more about the next BIG update

Let's continue previewing even more items that you can expect to experience in the upcoming Euro Truck Simulator 2 update to ver. 1.11. This update is under extensive testing now, and no, we still don't have a release date to announce, other than when it's done.

Today's post will be illustrated with images captured while testing deliveries around some of the new map areas: close to the city Klagenfurt am Wörthersee and the border between Italy and Austria.

As with all previous updates lumping together several months of continual development, the new update will touch pretty much every aspect of the game: physics, AI, simulation, and gameplay refinements.

Speaking of physics: We have added support for sway bar simulation. Refining the composition of truck suspension has given us more control over truck and trailer stability. We have also recalculated the center of gravity of all cargoes, achieving more individual behavior of the whole rig depending on what is being transported. Now if you apply too much vigor during cornering, flipping the trailer is a more likely possibility, especially for particular loads. At the same time, we still need to keep in mind that the game must be playable for people without a truck driver's license and experience, so it's about finding the right balance between providing simulation fidelity and giving the player assistance during driving.

There was also some work done to improve collisions of player's truck and AI vehicles, or situations when the truck is scrubbing the railing or other surface - vehicles now have more realistic inertia post-crash. Finally, we have re-created all scratch and crash sounds in the game. Remember our Demolition day?

On topic of sounds, while we have much more ambitious plans to improve our sound system in a considerable way in the future, we have finally listened to your feedback concerning imbalance between interior and exterior sounds, and provided a stop gap solution. For this update, where needed, we have altered and equalized the sound volume of in-cabin engine sounds and external engine sounds for all trucks.

More about the next BIG update

In a recent blog post we have shown you a few things which are coming with the next major Euro Truck Simulator 2 update, including three new cities and the Seat Adjustment feature.

Venice driving 

Another feature is worth mentioning - displaying current road speed limit in Route Advisor, similar as it's available in common car GPS devices. Our Route Advisor tries to be even smarter about it - it will show *truck specific* speed limits - our game is about trucks after all. So limits for normal cars must be in some places capped by the country's truck speed maximum allowed. This feature is optional, so you can track speed limits on your own if you prefer, and hide speed limit Route Advisor icon in game options.

                                         
There were also some changes in the game user interface. The UI received a facelift to clean up its look a bit and make it fresher. This is for example what the game's "desktop" UI hub will look like:

During testing we took some more images of the new areas. We'll be showing them all over a series of blog posts. Let us start with the approach to Venice and some shots from inside the city: