World of Trucks start is almost here. After two re-starts, we have finally got the project to a state (alpha state!) that we are eager to show you and to test drive it with you.
To begin with - World of Trucks is not a whole new game. Well not now anyway. Think about it as an evolution of Euro Truck Simulator 2, an extra optional service complementing the game and building on top of the game.
Certain future DLCs and certain features in upcoming game updates will take advantage of the additional World of Trucks layer, in fact some goals we will be pursuing will be tightly connected with World of Trucks, as we expect it to be more and more strategic in the grand scheme of things.
With World of Trucks, we are taking a shortcut building it on and around an existing game. The route should allow us to iterate faster, to deliver features and content more often, at least compared to a building a game from scratch. You may remember that it took us almost three years in case of ETS2 after all! We sure don't want to let you wait so long for some of the cool stuff we are planning.
We will be continually plugging-in new features into the service as they get implemented, so you will be able to witness the progress and if you choose to, become an integral part of its development and evolution. Such approach requires an overhaul and adaptation of our own development processes, which is still an on-going effort (you have been the judges of that while waiting for such a long time for the mid-summer patch). We hope the further it goes into 2014, the better will be be at it.
So, finally, this week the www.worldoftrucks.com portal will start working. Using your ETS2 key (or via provided Steam link), you will be able to register at the website and begin using some new features of ETS2. Let's have a closer look at "v0.01 stage" features:
1. Custom license plates
Using a selection of templates from countries featured in ETS2, you would be able to design your own plate. This new plate, after setting in up on the website, will automagically appear on your truck in the game.
2. Game avatar
You will be able to upload custom image serving as your in-game avatar. This avatar image will also be your representative on the World of Trucks portal.
3. Photomode
We have a new more advanced tool available if you want to grab cool screenshots from the game. You can pan the camera freely in the vicinity of the truck, play with DOF and change FOV. There is a also a management screen to work with your screenshots collection.
4. Publish the best shots using Screenshot Manager on your WoTr profile
Would you like to share your truck design with others, or maybe you want to share a particularly interesting route? Now you will be able to publish up to six screenshots using the built-in Screenshot Manager and share them with the others through your Profile screen.
5. User gallery
The place where your shots are visible for everybody. The other drivers can rate or share the images. The gallery will be accessible for unregistered users as well.
You can see that with the initial set of features, we do not yet attempt to add any gameplay depth. The goal is to start carefully, getting the infrastructure up and running first.
We hope to see you soon in the World of Trucks! It will be a quite a journey, we will be taking it step by step. Stay tuned for more!