I know I’ve been extremely critical of Bus Simulator 16 since it was released over two months ago. Since that time (2nd March), I’ve only accumulated 20 hours in the game. If you so desire, you can read the content I’ve written about BS16. However, I would like to direct your attention to the last entry from 7 April which discussed a previous update. Today, I’m actually very pleased to say that StillAlive Studios finally….fixed an issue which should have never been an issue at all in an update which they released on 26 April. You can read all about that here.
You know….I can (and often) overlook little bugs and quirks in a piece of software. As I’ve stated before, I actually work for a large software company. I understand some of the challenges development and support teams face in keeping customers happy and providing some balance between what can and can’t be done technically through software. However, the main reason why I only have 20 hours of time invested in this game is because of one issue which I viewed as a complete showstopper in my ability to balance realism through simulation. Of course, I’m talking about the broken GPS functionality that StillAlive Studios FINALLY fixed with this update.
I’ve said this before, and I’ll go ahead and repeat myself now. The issue with the GPS should have never made it to production. There is no GPS on the face of the planet (that I’m aware of) that doesn’t auto-rotate the map and show the arrow always pointing up. My Garmin, my Magellan and even my smartphone all feature an auto-rotating map so the arrow points up. While SCS Software (the folks behind ATS and ETS2) certainly have some small bugs and quirks with their software…both ATS and ETS2 feature rotating maps. So therefore, Bus Simulator 16 should have never been released. But after two months, on what I believe is the third software update made available to BS16, this issue has been resolved. Finally!
More about the Update
This update (again released on 26 April) is the 3rd update made available to Bus Simulator 16 since it was released on March 2nd. This new update includes the following changes:
New Content: 5 brand new missions and decals Mouse-steering Increase angle limits of in-cockpit camera Adjustable sitting positions Assign camera centering to button GPS auto map rotation Sensitivity adjustments for keyboard steering Changes for Nvidia graphic cards in laptops Ability to rename bus routes (name and number) Turn signal indicator adjustments Curve Look (camera moves and follows as you turn into a curve) Option to disable cashier
Of course, I’m truly most happy about the GPS fix. This being either broken or poorly designed really had a significant impact on my realism through simulation. But the other item I’m almost equally excited about is the option to disable the cashier. I’ve disabled the cashier option and my bus company now requires either exact change, pre-paid bus passes or you can stand on the sidewalk. I really grew bored with making change.
Right now I’m really spending most of my gaming time playing American Truck Simulator (I’ve opened a virtual trucking company) and Farming Simulator 15. But I will (now that the GPS is fixed) spend a little more time with BS16. What about you?
Since the release of American Truck Sim, I’ve been driving the default or in-game trucks. Like many others, I’ve added sound mods to get a better and more true-to-life sound from these trucks. It was quite disappointing the first day I played ATS to sound the horn on my brand new Peterbilt and it sounds like beep-beep instead of the HONK-HONK that it should have. I still tend to switch between my Peterbilt 579 and the Kenworth W900. However, I was out looking at a few of the mod websites and I saw this Freightliner Classic which had been re-worked and had pretty positive feedback in the comment section. So I decided to try it out.
Like the Kenworth W900, it has that classic truck look. The pictures below show the base truck as it comes from the dealership (it can be purchased from any Kenworth dealership). I upgraded the engine and transmission to better suit my needs (more power).
The interior is nice and clean. It features an on-dash SatNav and digital gear indicator just below.
I hauled a load of pipe from Los Angeles, CA to Ely, NV and she handled well.
What is the Featured Mod and what does it do?
This mod is the Freightliner Classic Truck mod for American Truck Simulator. The mod adds this truck to your list of purchasable trucks and can be found at any Kenworth dealership.
How can I get this mod?
The Freightliner Classic Truck mod mod for American Truck Simulator is available here.
You’ve probably heard of virtual airlines, have you heard about virtual trucking companies? With the increasing popularity of American Truck Simulator (ATS) and Euro Truck Simulator 2 (ETS2), groups of likeminded enthusiasts are getting together and forming virtual trucking companies to further enhance the simulation game play.
I’ve formed Grizzly Bear Trucking to provide the virtual trucking experience to those who desire a mature and friendly atmosphere. If you are interested in enhancing your ATS and ETS2 simulation game play and would like to do that as a Grizzly Bear Trucking owner/operator…then please read more about the requirements and submit an application.
Thank you for your time. I look forward to seeing you on the open road.
Our next entry in the Trucker’s Logbook finds us returning to Euro Truck Simulator 2 (ETS2) and departing Russia. We’ve been driving around Russia exploring the RusMap which I’ve very much enjoyed. I recently wrote about my first impressions of this ETS2 mod add-on. While I would have loved to spend more time in Russia and explore more of the RusMap add-on, I’ve been unable to pickup any new jobs which would keep me here. As you can see from the image below, I still have a lot of roads to drive in the RusMap region. But I know they’ll be waiting for me another day.
The job we’ve chosen is to transport pressure tanks from Pskov, Russia to Lahti, Finland. Our route will take us through Estonia and we’ll travel across the channel between Tallinn to Helsinki. Our overall route distance is 497km with an estimated trip time of just under 9 hours. We are fully rested and should not need to rest during the drive.
Our route
We arrived to pickup the trailer and the two pressure tanks just after 5 PM on Friday. Total cargo weight is 12 t, which is not a problem for our Volvo truck. Our trip will consist of 420 km land distance and a short 85 km ferry ride. Again, total trip time is under 9 hours. Let’s roll…..
This seems to be the order of the day, lot’s of road construction as we navigate our way across Estonia for the first time.
Even in real life, I can’t pass up a windmill sunset photo opportunity. (somewhere in Estonia)
We arrive at the Bayer plant in Helsinki, Finland on-time just after 1 AM.
All-in-all this was an uneventful trip. We’ll rest up here in Helsinki and decide which direction we want to proceed from here.
I’ve recently started playing the wonderful Graceland map by NOR3MSTI (same map developer that created the States map). You can download version 4.x from American Eagles Modding. Anyway, much like his States map, Graceland is a large map. It represents your typical mid-west USA type farm operation. It’s BIG on farming and it’s BIG on animals. The map includes your typical chickens, dairy cows and sheep…but also includes the fattening operation for chickens, cows, sheep, pigs AND lamb. Graceland also sets itself apart from other maps I’ve played by including no equipment (other than the in-game pickup). In easy mode you start out with 10 million dollars, in normal 5 million and in hard mode 2.5 million. This blog article is starting to sound like a mod review for Graceland, I’ll do that at a later time.
In my own personal effort of “Realism through Simulation” I strive to do things as accurately as possible. Or at the very least as accurately as both FS15 and my limited knowledge of farming will allow. While I can harvest a field and turn around and direct seed it without taking the necessary time to cultivate it first, my “Realism through Simulation” effort tells me this is a cheap shortcut and not how I play the game. However, in my quest of “Realism through Simulation” I am not interested in using heavily modded equipment which breaks with realism. In other words, the 47.4m cultivator some use will not be seen anywhere near my farms. Finally, my criteria is also not so structured that I’m going to count the number of bolts and/or compare paint swatches. My mod criteria simply needs to be within a range of what would be seen in the real world and function well within the virtual world of FS15.
So in an effort to find a suitable cultivator to help me manage the large fields on the Graceland map, I searched several of the common FS15 mod sites. I began comparing what I could find versus real world data. The cultivator I chose (and the one I’m reviewing for you today) is the Bednar Strom Atlas AM 15m cultivator. Bednar Farm Machinery is a real world company based in the Czech Republic. While I could not find this exact cultivator model in the 15.5 meter width on their website (the largest in the AM class is 12 meters), but plenty of real world cultivators including John Deere, Case etc. are made in the 40-50 foot range.
Note: actually in conducting more research after the purchase and initial use of the Bednar, I have found a nice John Deere 50’ cultivator which I’ll test and possibly review later. If the JD model works as well as the Bednar (or better) then I’ll likely use the JD.
As you can see below, the Bednar can be purchased for $68,200 and costs $15/Day Maintenance. The required power is 257 kW/350 HP and has a working width of 15.5 meters.
At the time I conducted this review, all of my smaller tractors (NH T8’s and Case Magnum’s were busy doing other things) I had this massive NH T9 available so I paired it up with the Bednar cultivator. As you can tell from the image below, the Bednar is brand new and still clean. But that won’t last long.
This is field #2 which is typically planted in wheat. I had finished the harvest and picked up the straw yesterday.
Lots of wonderful dirt and dust animation. Plus the Bednar cultivator gets nice and dirty just as you would expect.
The Bednar cultivator pulls nicely behind the NH T9. But then again I would expect it. The cultivator handles nicely when driven in manual mode and also works well with CoursePlay.
The Bednar cultivator looks great when at work and when in transport back from the fields.
How can I get this mod?
The Bednar Atlas AM 15m cultivator mod is available here. I have personally downloaded, installed and tested this mod. The mod works and I use it on all my maps.
I would truly love to have both the talent and time to do more YouTube and/or Twitch video content. While my time is rather limited, I also find it really difficult to fill the space of 45-60 minutes of excellent content AND most importantly attempt to do something (anything) others may not already be doing. That’s the thing really…just about all the popular maps are being covered by more than one YouTuber and Twitch Streamer. They are planting, they are harvesting, they are tending to the cows and they are washing the vehicles. While some don’t take the same approach and effort in “Realisim through Simulation” they all have their audience. The good news for me is the website visits, the number of RSS subscribers etc. all continue to rise. This tells me there are individuals who enjoy blog style content based on many of the simulation games I play and the discussions I have about them.
At the present time, I’m spending much of my gaming time playing Farming Simulator 15. I’m really enjoying it now that I have both my Logitech G27 and Logitech Joystick configured. I recorded a short video on how I accomplished this.
Anyway, at the present time I’m farming on three different maps (soon to be four). Graceland is getting the most attention, followed by Coldborough Park Farm and finally as I was somewhat late in purchasing the FS15 Gold Expansion…I’m also spending a little bit of time playing Sosnovka. Of the three maps Giants have produced for FS15 (Bjornholm, Westbridge Hills and Sosnovka), the Sosnovka map is by far the most impressive from a vanilla map. This gives me some hope…that FS17 will feature better maps as well. At least I sincerly hope FS17 will include different vanilla maps and not just recycle the same old ones. But I’m getting off track…The fourth map is a brand new release called Smokedown Farm. Much of this map game play will be done in a multiplayer environment.
What I will occassionally do, is release blog posts titled “A Farmer’s Life” documenting through text and images some of the activities I’m doing on the various FS15 maps I’m playing. I’ll share the mods I’m using, why I’m using them and even how I’m using them to improve my game play all while doing my best to preserve “Realism through Simulation”.
Arizona DLC – Worth the Wait. I know many will disagree with me. But based on the images below, the much anticipated Arizona DLC from SCS Software for the awesome American Truck Simulator will be well worth the wait. I have been fortunate in my lifetime to visit the Grand Canyon several times. My first visit was back in the 80’s. As a teenager I realized the Grand Canyon was more than “just a big ditch”. I was inspired by the beauty and from these images, SCS Software have done an outstanding job capturing the “Grand” in Grand Canyon. I’m also pleased to see they have added points of delivery here as I believe it will provide more realism for the game. Anyone can deliver frozen foods to a Walbert in Los Angeles, Las Vegas or even Phoenix (when AZ is released). But moving heavy machinery, goods and other items of interest to this wonderful and very beautiful place will be most incredible.
Seeing what SCS Software has done with the Grand Canyon, truly gives me hope for what I believe they can (and will do) for the state I call home…Colorado. Of course, who knows when Colorado will be released. Perhaps sometime soon after Utah as they continue their move eastward.
Yea…I’ve been critical of SCS Software before and I’ve recently written several blog articles about the new update for ATS and ETS2. But, while I really don’t need to “tune my nuts”…I did put my money where my mouth is an purchased their brand new DLC titled “Wheel Tuning Pack”. It’s available at the Steam Store for $2.99 USD. If you own both ATS and ETS2, then you only need to purchase it once and you’ll get the DLC for both titles. Look…I’ll be the first to say that I feel there are a lot of other things SCS Software should be working on before working on a wheel tuning pack so I can paint my nuts. But….But….like many of you, I truly love ATS and I want to see this franchise be successful and I’m willing to support that success any way I can, and the best way I can do that is to purchase the DLC. So I did.
The end is here…after carefully planting, fertilizing, watching weather forecasts and monitoring soil conditions over the past several days…the day of harvest has finally arrived and I wrap up this five part practical soilmod workflow for Farming Simulator 15.
Did you play along? Were you successful? Did you fail? Regardless…do you think you can improve and do better next time? Or did you realize the soilmod is just too much?
I hope you’ll continue to use this wonderful mod. Remember, while I think there are plenty of lessons to be learned from each crop you plant, fertilize and harvest using the soilmod. I also firmly believe the soilmod provides us that “real life” unpredictability when it comes to harvest yields that regardless just how close you follow any plan the results will always vary. This is what keeps me playing this game over and over and over.
Thank you for watching, liking and subscribing. I appreciate it!
In part four, we once again review our overall soil conditions on the third day after planting our wheat crop on field #2 of the Graceland map for Farming Simulator 15. Just one more day until harvest!
Please return again tomorrow for Practical Soilmod Workflow Part 5.
