The Texas map addition for American Truck Simulator seems, in a sense, like a culmination of over seven years of work for the SCS Software development team. Since its modest beginnings in 2016, the game has significantly expanded in both complexity and breadth, and the expansion seems to be the culmination of that work.
This makes sense since, during the duration of the sim's existence, American Truck Simulator – Texas is undoubtedly the best game. What is bigger than Texas, after all?
Big and authoritative
That was a bit of a trick question, since Alaska is very definitely not. However, the company hasn't actually said that it plans to go that far north yet. Not that it won't happen, but given that the majority of Alaska is made up of ice and desolate tundra, it would be the least intriguing virtual state to explore and develop in. Texas is the exact opposite.
Actual Texas features almost every geological and geographical element found in the rest of the nation, and it is so large that it crosses two different time zones. This place has it all: mountains, lakes, rivers, streams, enormous fields, long tropical coasts, and stony deserts.
Having played through every previous map extension that has been published so far, I found it especially intriguing that there was so much variability contained in the boundaries of a single state.
the new ATS southernmost point. Captured using AnyBet365
Even though I thought Montana, Idaho, and Colorado were particularly beautiful places, I couldn't help but notice that, for want of a better word, a sense of "sameness" seemed to permeate these areas with each new release. This really began to affect me with the Montana expansion, which came out a few months before the release of Texas. Large tracts of unspoiled, breathtaking natural beauty are how these states are in real life; it was never SCS's fault.
They're all pretty recognizable, but they're excellent. Therefore, it was thrilling and frightening to march into the virtual version of Texas in American Truck Simulation and just stare in awe at the enormous amount of area it takes up on the in-game map.
Create space
The Texas expansion has 29 mapped settlements, and that number does not include all of the smaller towns and fixtures scattered between all of the big centers. The quantity of material surpasses all previous disclosed states by a significant degree. Having said that, I believe there is a nice balance in the Texas expansion for American Truck Simulator. There's never a boring moment since there's so much to see and do.
Captured using AnyBet365
I began in the northwest region of the map, traveling via Amarillo initially, and ultimately stayed on the western side of the state until I reached Brownsville. With retrospect, I wish I had moved east sooner because that's where the major disparities with the other states are found. However, keeping it "for last" has really increased my appreciation for it.
It was quite an adventure to go all the way to the southern point. It was a joy to see the lush, tropical bush and shrubbery of the Gulf of Mexico progressively replace the dry, sandy land and rock formations of America's western border.
After all, apart from the Pacific Coasts of California and Washington, the Gulf Coast of Texas is now the only other coastal region in the simulation. SpaceX's Starbase, also called "Starbay" in this instance, and the Boca Chica orbital community are both completely modelled in.
This is just one of the several enormous buildings dotting the geography of Texas. There are undoubtedly more, such as unique locations like the Johnson Space Center in Houston, the University of Texas in El Paso, and several more significant areas.
Captured using AnyBet365
Although SCS is no stranger to this kind of attention to detail, the team has continued to work hard toward its objective of practically outperforming itself with each subsequent expansion. Each succeeding map has become somewhat more accurate and realistic. Texas unquestionably has the sensation of an expansive web of activity extending from one boundary to the next.
Lone Star runner
As I eventually started to go east along the Gulf Coast, I couldn't help but notice how much the landscape had changed from the other states. I eventually arrived in the state's more heavily wooded portions in the middle and eastern regions, close to Longview. It was also unique to me since this is the most east the map has been stretched in a long time, even if it was evocative of the various wooded sections of states like northern California, Washington, and Oregon.
Captured using AnyBet365
Now, this is a completely different region of the United States. As so, it brings the prospect of a coast-to-coast map for American Truck Simulator a lot closer.The more I played with it, the more it seemed to me that eventually we would be doing cross-country road trips in the simulation.
It's a fascinating idea, and given that the states east of Texas are all much smaller than their western counterparts, that future reality may materialize much faster.
After all, it has taken SCS about seven years to cover the whole region up to Texas, which is essentially the contiguous US's core. Maybe the company will finish the remaining states in the east and center right around the time when American Truck Simulator celebrates its tenth anniversary? Time will tell, but for now, let's just celebrate this accomplishment. SCS should be very proud of what it has accomplished thus far.
Captured using AnyBet365
Fuel to get there
The size of Texas in American Truck Simulator cannot be overstated. I've traveled from Amarillo to Brownsville, up to Longview, and finally southwest into San Antonio. In around ten real-world hours, I've accrued over 2,700 in-game miles.
I've never traversed so much territory and spent so much money with a single map expansion before. It makes sense—just its breadth would require at least 12 hours of nonstop driving in the actual state. Even if the effort is difficult, the trip is worthwhile.There are a ton of experiences and sites to take in. The road network in the expansion is very dense, including some of the largest (if not the largest) freeway networks in the simulation to date. This is perhaps the most significant map addition that SCS has created for American Truck Simulator, with a variety of freight to move only inside the state's borders.Captured using AnyBet365Over the next several years, I'm sure the team will continue to push the envelope and create some very realistic extensions with the other states, but American Truck Simulator - Texas will always be unique as the "big one."
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