If you’ve been feeling a little trucked out with American Truck Simulator‘s existing 15 states, and have been dreaming of more beatiful tarmac to traverse soon, there’s good news: developer SCS Software has announced its Arkansas expansion will arrive next Monday, 16th September. And ahead of that, there’s a major new patch adding improved controller support and more.
“Located in the south-central region of the United States,” explains SCS in its blurb for American Truck Simulator’s Arkansas expansion, “the state is a nature wonderland with three national forests, many State Parks, nearly 9,000 miles of pristine streams and rivers like the Arkansas and Mississippi, as well as the ever-stretching Ozark and Ouachita mountain ranges.”
As such, truckers hitting the road through SCS’ version of Arkansas can expect ample natural beauty, alongside “large and small towns and cities, where you’ll find industries, landmarks and more.” All of which will bring American Truck Simulator’s current US state tally up to 16, following on from Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
As to what’s next, SCS Software has already confirmed Iowa and Missouri are in development, meaning it’ll need to turn its attention to North and South Dakota, Minnesota, and Louisiana at some point, if it wants to plug up some gaps.
But ahead of all that, and indeed Arkansas’ arrival on Steam next week, SCS has released a major new American Truck Simulator patch – officially known as update 1.51 – introducing a whole bunch of new features. There is, for instance, a brand-new title screen to match SCS’ recent interface overhaul, as well as new realistic shadows for truck interiors. Additionally, the Nebraska DLC’s dynamic loading and unloading feature for grain hopper trailers has now been expanded to Kansas, Arkansas, and other “prefab” depots across the game.
That’s alongside new controller configuration settings intended to offer “more flexibility and control”. SCS says players should now be able to control more game features using a controller – in a way that “resembles driving a vehicle in real life” – which will apparently “pave the way for exciting future projects”. Console ports, perhaps? Time will tell!
Additionally, once 1.51 is installed, owners of American Truck Simulator’s Oklahoma expansion can travel the entirety of Interstate 44, with SCS’ latest update finally connecting its east and west portions by adding the previously missing midsection through Oklahoma City. In other expansion refresh news, Oregon now has its own cinematic custom city intros, and if you’ve got the Texas expansion, you may noticed some vegetation tweaks, with the eastern side of the state now home to loblolly pines, creating a smoother transition into Arkansas.
Full details of American Truck Simulator’s 1.51 update can be found over on Steam.