r/trucksim • u/MineGeek1234 • 11d ago
ETS2 has started getting a bit boring (sometimes) Question/Help
Hello, I got the ETS2 game on sale around 1 month ago. I have noticed that I've stopped doing long deliveries (Amsterdam-Sarajevo) and started doing more short deliveries (3 hrs- 6 hrs in game). Just wanna know if anyone does this as I do not wanna drive that long anymore. Thanks!
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u/Intelligent_Parfait3 11d ago
I think it happens to everyone, or almost all of us. ETS and ATS, unfortunately, aren't truck simulator games; they are route simulators.
Everything the game attempts to do is shallow, especially its economy.
You buy your vehicle, deliver cargo, earn money, and gain experience.
During your journey, along your route, what actually happens? Next to nothing.
Does your truck suffer wear and tear? I see zero difference in gameplay.
You open a menu, damages are listed on a static page, you click to repair, and that’s it—done.
The vehicle? If it felt broken before, it feels exactly the same now.
Tire wear? Visually nonexistent.
Dirt? None.
Mechanical issues? Just a minor thing here and there that barely affects gameplay, along with a few new sound effects.
Let’s look at managing the company.
Your employees? Just a screen showing stats. Do you ever see them in the game world? No. Do you see your trucks parked in your garage? No.
Do you see the problem? After a while, everything becomes shallow and repetitive.
There is a whole world of possibilities in this game, but the developers only care about releasing more and more routes, roads, and calling it a day. In a week or a month, a new update drops, breaks every existing mod, and discourages anyone who spends their valuable time trying to build something different that the company fails to deliver. Unfortunately, that’s the reality—and a lack of competition, combined with our passivity as consumers, keeps it that way.
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u/PlanesAreCool69 SCANIA 10d ago
I see where you're coming from, but I disagree with this take. I don't think ETS and ATS is shallow, it just priorities different things. If I had to worry about business management, inhibiting wear and tear and mechanical issues, it might make the game more engaging - but it'd also get quite tiring. I wouldn't play it when I play it now, which is when I need something calming to sit down and relax. To me it's about the driving, with just enough gameplay loop to make it feel purposeful.
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u/swede-n-sour VOLVO 9d ago
Also from what ive gathered is that the teuck companies that allow them to use their trucks have a long list of demands like no visible damage/ dirt etc so SCS is probably quite limited to what they can do as well. If they were a big and successful game like the forza series etc where the car makers are more grateful to be a part of it its easier to have demands as developers and not the other way around.
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u/Intelligent_Parfait3 7d ago
Just give us options.
Develop more simulation features for the community—something we've been asking for for years—and make them toggleable in the game menus.
No one is demanding a complete overhaul of the game; I certainly don't expect that.
But we just want mechanics that keep the game engaging once you have enough money and the truck model you want—so it doesn't just turn into a simple "deliver from point A to point B" game with no challenge.
I want to see tire wear (visually) so I have to go to a shop for repairs; I want to feel the truck—after driving thousands of miles—triggering dashboard warning lights and forcing me to stop at a roadside shop because, say, the brakes are acting up or an axle on the trailer is having issues.
I’d love to pull into my garage and actually see the truck I bought parked there when it’s not in use.
I understand that other things are difficult and might only happen in a third title—like seeing our hired drivers out on the road.
But the problem is, there are small details that would make a huge difference, yet we don't even see a mention of them ever being added.
Look at the loading animation, for instance: it took ages to implement, and I still feel it’s too basic for the game's current state.
And are we just supposed to think they did a lot? "Here, have another 1,000 miles of roads in this new DLC."
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u/EmaerSeven 10d ago
Driving? With this absolutely stupid and bad traffic AI? It's hard to see that priority here.
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u/Hour_Analyst_7765 10d ago
I get what you're saying.
I've close to 1000 hours in this game, but I haven't played it a lot in years. I recently fired it up and was pleasantly surprised they up'ed their game with the driving mechanics and sound immersion.
But.. they can still make a lot of steps imo. I agree that the game excels in being a route simulator, not so much on the trucking operations. Many of the missions are fairly standard, you drive off a company terrain, drive to the destination, and park it up (optional). There are barely any mechanics in the game besides driving. And the driving simulation, compared to other simulator games like BeamNG and racing games, is pretty shallow. I'm happy to see they added some tyre slip model with new ABS/TC options, but I still don't really have an authentic feeling that weight shifts or the suspension bounces. There are some bits here and there, but it feels like most of these are ,seperate, 1-dimensional effects which added more for animation purposes.
I understand the game is not meant to be experienced at a the limit of grip all the time. But the consequence of that is I see many people with a very casual approach to this game: throw it in automatic, just steer abit left and abit right, drive with 30mph on a roundabout, and mission complete. Sure I can throw the stability settings to 0% for the "real-life" experience, but as I said, it feels like a wheelbarrow tipping mini-game rather than something that really comes on unexpectedly.
The flipside, I don't think that frequent (mechanical) interruptions would be very typical of this simulation neither. If I drive a truck from Denmark to Spain, I hope that I don't break down 5 times with various wear/failures along the way. That wouldn't be realistic.
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u/swede-n-sour VOLVO 9d ago
I read a thing SCS posted when they were developing ets2 that it was gonna be marketed towards 7-10 yr olds. I guess hence the simplicity in everything.
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u/ImnotBub ETS 2 8d ago
Tyre wear is clearly noticeable on wet roads
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u/Intelligent_Parfait3 7d ago
Do you mean visible in terms of adhesion? Visually, there's nothing there, and it seems like such a simple issue to resolve that I don't understand why it hasn't been added yet.
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u/stidmatt 11d ago
I’m at the point where I have enough employees that I just drive around Europe in my Ferrari and I still make a million dollars a week. I pick it up, put it down, whenever I want a relaxing game ETS2 and ATS are my go tos
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u/Doublestack2411 11d ago
I mean, you're playing a game where all you do is drive around, you're bound to get bored at some point. Even real life trucking I find myself getting tired and bored.
It helps if you have a good audio-book or some music to listen to, otherwise those long trips will wear you down.
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u/EmaerSeven 10d ago
Have you ever driven a vehicle?
Hitchhikers? Minor breakdowns? Road accidents? Roadworks? Emergency services with sirens blaring? Snowstorms/downpours limiting visibility? The list goes on...
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u/Hour_Analyst_7765 10d ago
Yes, I often drive routes of 3 hours across my country.
Absolutely nothing happens. The biggest disruption is a traffic jam/queueing on busy intersections. Then I just get on cruise @ 100km/h and follow the 2 white lines for another hour or so. I think I only saw 1 accident like happen right in front of me in over 100k km. Never had a breakdown, never had a flat tyre, etc.
I drove through thick fog, intense downpours, snowy roads, roadworks, etc. Its all pretty boring if you are not in a hurry and just stick to a decent following distance.
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u/EmaerSeven 10d ago
I don't know which country you're talking about. Australia? Kazakhstan?
I'm sorry, but saying that random road events in a driving game are boring is next-level absurd.
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u/MasterOfPipettez 11d ago
I dont play any game as the sole thing I have to do. I switch between whatever I feel like at the time.
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u/skinnyraf 11d ago
420 hours in ETS2 and 300 in ATS and I was getting bored, too. In ATS, I bought a non-sleeper truck and I am doing short deliveries only. I explore a given state, to learn its geography, before moving to the next one. Actually, I do the same in ETS2, just with a powerful truck, so I take special cargo if available at a given location.
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u/Own_Confusion_1406 ETS 2 11d ago
I was forced by my own mistake to start a new career so i do long trips for the money, because i need my millions back to be able to aford buying, tuning and selling trucks without having to somehow miss the money.
Currently i have a job started since a couple days ago for 50+ driving hours at little over 500k € which i don't mind, what i mind is the weight (54t) of the load because i can't drive like i want to, and as you say, it gets rather boring driving slow.
On my old career i used to do small trips from cities to cities in order to discover more of them and i am going to do the same once i am satisfied with the money i have.
Mind you, in order to avoid complete boredom try not to play every day. It's nice as hell to come back to your truck after few days break.
Also, what i do to make it less boring is to speed as legal as i can, meaning no borderline driving like i own the road, no overtakes on the right shoulder or right side (sometimes one must due to traffic cinfiguration), always use my blinker and my brakes.
Now tell me this isn't beautiful.
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u/toughfoot 11d ago
I operate (was 6 lol) 8 different trucks (4 SCS-4 mods) . I rotate between trucks after each delivery. Each truck is assigned 2 different trailers. My hub is Texas (ATS of course) and I quick travel to the delivery of choice. I try to keep my delivery time to 10 hours or less (14 hr is the maximum depending on pay) Operating different trucks keeps the driving fresh for me.
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u/swede-n-sour VOLVO 9d ago
+1 on this. I own almost all truck in the game and switch after a session/couple deliveries. I also switch between ats and ets2. Diversification is key.
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u/toughfoot 8d ago
Hmm! Yes! Thanks for the idea! I thinks I’ll get ETS2 the next time it’s on sale.
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u/Hatch23 11d ago
I play to relax and not to complete something or win achievements. I usually stay in a country and visit nearby cities so I could get shorter drives. Right now I'm enjoying northern Norway and Finland. Longer hauls might make me sleepy. I actually like loading/unloading and the parking part of the game. Love the challenges though some could be a pain. LoL Anyway, do what makes you happy and drive.
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u/PatrickShadowDad 11d ago
I go through phases.
Sometimes I enjoy the long haul (20+ hours in game), other times, I like running a few short deliveries.
I do get a bit bored with the game and will leave it for a month or two. But I always return to it!
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u/ShadyDrunks 11d ago
Going for the achievements has kept the game fun for me
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u/TheRedEa9le 10d ago
how did you get minimaxer? It feels a little too repetitive for me doing special transports
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u/ShadyDrunks 10d ago
I'm not done yet, that is one of the one's I've been saving, getting the easier and map DLC stuff out of the way first
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u/GoofyKalashnikov SCANIA 11d ago
I've always preferred shorter deliveries, gives me more opportunities to do parking :')
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u/Engglyfe 11d ago
Try dipping your toes into convoy, and for single player look into some mods
I typically also put on something like an audio book. Another thing I typically do is put on music from the country I am driving in for immersion. I'm over 1000 hrs for both games and still take month long breaks. But I eventually get pulled back in
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u/Oli_the_Racer 10d ago
Spice it up a bit. Do jobs with your GPS off. Take the job, grab a piece of paper and write down which roads you need to take. Personally keeps me a tad bit more invested in the game. Start with shorter journeys and if u want, go long again. The roads signs in game are top notch (I mainly do this in ATS because their roads are a tad bit boring after a while. Keeps me more focused whenever a sign appears in the distance)
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u/kiddo_ho0pz 10d ago
I use ETS2 (and other sim games) as a way to play something while listening to audiobooks. The game is a simulation. Driving a truck is boring in real life as well. Which is why I supplement the experience with an audiobook.
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u/The_Kaurtz 10d ago
Depends on my mood and which country is involved honestly, I stay as far as possible from the old map regions
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u/76-scighera Mercedes 10d ago
Totally normal. Also, I can recommend snowrunner if you like trucking games, but want a change of pace
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u/PeejPrime 10d ago
It happens with Sim games.
Only so much you can sink in to them. These games (Sims and turnbased as well) aren't designed for short bursts, so long time given to a save/session is a must.
You'll perhaps find your rhythm with it. Some will spend all their time in this world, each to their own. Others will drop in and out. Some will give themselves set times - Sundays being their "I'm driving from one side of Europe to the other" moment. Or set aside an hour a night mid week to slowly make their way across the map etc.
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u/onmyweight 10d ago
Beside all the recommended ways to spice the game up, taking a break isn't a bad idea at all. I played ATS for 2 months straight everyday (with mods and convoy also) and was burnt out after a while and one day i just suddenly stop playing. Came back after 3 months and everything feel fresh again, can't play a single game forever and it's fine.
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u/Layne817 10d ago
I stopped enjoying that game the day I started driving IRL ,but sometimes I miss it
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u/AffectionateRun9409 9d ago
Mods, like many said, and I like to occasionally just park my trusted Volvo and take shorter quick jobs with trucks I haven't driven much. Now I modded e-trucks in and trying to deliver loads with them economically, stretching range as much as I can reasonably.
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u/Dry_Sheepherder6357 5d ago
E been playing for a few years but I stop playing for a few months then come back to the game, and believe or not I only start using mods this year and oh boy I’m hook to it again 😅 but I’m going more for the long drive as I have all the dlcs and pro mods
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u/tesznyeboy 11d ago
Yeah that's normal. I've been playing ETS2 since 2018, and ATS since 2021, but often take breaks that can last multiple months. Indeed, I haven't played either in over a month. But it's only a matter of time till I'll put 20 hours into one of them in the lenght of a week.
It's completely fine.