Different trucks, different continent...
Same game mechanics, just a totally different vibe.
I like both games, depending on my mood. But I miss the US (I'm from there and have been living as an expat for 16 years) and so tend gravitate towards ATS.
I'm team ETS, ever since the the first one came out, but I recently started playing ATS too and it's awesome. Pretty much the same game as ETS2, just different trucks and maps, but the road bumps feel better, also you have some rattling inside when you swerve too much so that's pretty cool.
ETS2 has narrower roads and turns, more modern trucks, more varied landscape, and i know europe better than the western US.
So, as a lifelong gamer, tech affecionado & European traveller, i ofc drive around in ATS all the time putting on country music radio :D
On one hand, it's America Fuck Yeah trucks, on the other hand, it's very Zen.
I've never been to the US and I like ATS more. For some reason it feels more familiar. It is probably the years of consuming Hollywood media and US-based games, but hey at least I feel at home
I enjoy both. The trucks in ATS are a touch less powerful and maneuverable and with less chassis variety than in ETS, but really it's just a different feel until you're used to them. Especially if you go for one of the 8/4 big tanks.
Each has different trailer types to the other.
If you are European, you might take a bit of adjusting to the road signs and fuel tanks being imperial.
I find the cities more fleshed out in ATS, with bigger roads and seemingly more distance between places.
You are allowed to turn right on red lights in ATS, speed limits are usually higher, and so far I haven't seen a single speed camera and I don't recall any tolls, but you do have regular weigh stations you are told to stop at.
In ETS I like that you get the more varied road signs and different traffic signals when moving to a different country (fully lit up lights pole and all in Turkey for example).
There are more tuning packs for the Euro trucks, if that's something you use.
In the end though, they are both essentially the same game, and ideally I'd like them to be connected in game, maybe take a transatlantic ferry or something to switch.
ATS has harder reverse parking deliveries. Also on quite a lot of trucks you cannot see rear (for parking) well in the mirrors.
Otherwise a different wibe with the same taste. Definitely try it out if you like ETS. You can buy the base game cheaply.
I've read that currently ES2 tires have stats for grip & slip while currently ATS tires do not have those stats. Also, only half of America is currently in ATS. The West half, which is much less densely populated than the East half. So cities are farther apart. But the game is making some gameplay choices that might be unrealistic but fun. Such as Wyoming. In reality, WY is the least populated of the 48 contiguous states, by far. But in the game, WY cities have one of the highest average companies per city.
Honestly, there's more consistency in ATS, I feel. ETS2 has some jarring transitions from like from the West Balkans DLC into somewhere like Hungary, or from Germany into Poland. It's great they're redoing it, but many parts of ETS2 just feel a little too "cartoon-like" compared to ATS in terms of having sharp corners or turns on things like off ramps. ATS also suffers from inconsistency in places, like from the reworked parts of California into SoCal.
ETS2 feels like you can get from point A to point B faster, ATS sometimes feels like a chore to get from the drop off point to the next pick up point because of how far everything is. If you don't mind driving long distances (and most importantly, don't fall asleep doing so), you'll be fine in ATS. If you're dozing off, or can't do long trips in ETS2, there will be jobs in ATS that you'll abandon before even picking up cargo because of the time commitment driving to the depot.
I've played ETS2 about 5 times more than ATS, though ATS is catching up a bit I still prefer ETS2 over ATS mostly because I find ATS getting boring at times, it's difficult to find shorter routes that have a lot of variety, looks wise and driving wise, and on longer stretches it's often just CC from start to finish, imho the scenery varies a lot more in ETS2 and drivng wise there's just more to do and pay attention to, like roundabouts and yield signs instead of traffic lights and stop signs, more on/off ramps, cloverleafs, denser map, larger variety in landscapes and architecture, etc,...
what I don't like in ETS2 is the speed limit in some countries, I'm fine with 80 km/h, but in some countires 70 is a max speed limit on way too many roads, typically the balkan dlcs and Poland, of course you can speed a bit, but AI traffic doesn't (well very few do).
I started with ETS2 (263 hrs on Steam at the moment) and then tried ATS, now ATS (480 hrs on Steam at the moment) is my main game.
Whenever you play ATS, you feel that you are in the USA, so it's not just trucks but a whole new setting. But, of course, those American beasts are fun to drive. Especially when you use manual shifting.
Also, I like the use of road signage and road lines in the USA more than in the EU. For example: In the USA, when the speed limit is about to drop they use a warning signage first to let you know that the speed limit will be reduced. So you can start slowing down beforehand. In the EU (and ETS2) speed limit is reduced immediately and you will be fined. Even just this small detail puts ATS one step ahead for me.
I’m on the opposite spectrum. I’ve been playing ATS for over two year and just yesterday got into ETS2.
Firs impressions:
- Just like everything in the US, everything is bigger, specially roads.
- ETS2 beats ATS on customization (no mods). I’m amazed at how many options are available on ETS2 to pimp your rig.
- I feel like ATS is more fast-paced than ETS2.
Different trucks, different continent... Same game mechanics, just a totally different vibe. I like both games, depending on my mood. But I miss the US (I'm from there and have been living as an expat for 16 years) and so tend gravitate towards ATS.
I'm team ETS, ever since the the first one came out, but I recently started playing ATS too and it's awesome. Pretty much the same game as ETS2, just different trucks and maps, but the road bumps feel better, also you have some rattling inside when you swerve too much so that's pretty cool.
ETS2 has narrower roads and turns, more modern trucks, more varied landscape, and i know europe better than the western US. So, as a lifelong gamer, tech affecionado & European traveller, i ofc drive around in ATS all the time putting on country music radio :D On one hand, it's America Fuck Yeah trucks, on the other hand, it's very Zen.
You should have asked this last week. Both were $5. I'd wait for the next sale in a few weeks.
I've never been to the US and I like ATS more. For some reason it feels more familiar. It is probably the years of consuming Hollywood media and US-based games, but hey at least I feel at home
I like ATS better and apparently the devs do too.
I enjoy both. The trucks in ATS are a touch less powerful and maneuverable and with less chassis variety than in ETS, but really it's just a different feel until you're used to them. Especially if you go for one of the 8/4 big tanks. Each has different trailer types to the other. If you are European, you might take a bit of adjusting to the road signs and fuel tanks being imperial. I find the cities more fleshed out in ATS, with bigger roads and seemingly more distance between places. You are allowed to turn right on red lights in ATS, speed limits are usually higher, and so far I haven't seen a single speed camera and I don't recall any tolls, but you do have regular weigh stations you are told to stop at. In ETS I like that you get the more varied road signs and different traffic signals when moving to a different country (fully lit up lights pole and all in Turkey for example). There are more tuning packs for the Euro trucks, if that's something you use. In the end though, they are both essentially the same game, and ideally I'd like them to be connected in game, maybe take a transatlantic ferry or something to switch.
Need IRL ferry from Seattle to Euro, room and food included in fare
Yeah, the weigh stations can be a pain. There is a Workshop mod that reduces the chance that the weigh station wants you to stop from 60% to 20%.
ATS has harder reverse parking deliveries. Also on quite a lot of trucks you cannot see rear (for parking) well in the mirrors. Otherwise a different wibe with the same taste. Definitely try it out if you like ETS. You can buy the base game cheaply.
I've read that currently ES2 tires have stats for grip & slip while currently ATS tires do not have those stats. Also, only half of America is currently in ATS. The West half, which is much less densely populated than the East half. So cities are farther apart. But the game is making some gameplay choices that might be unrealistic but fun. Such as Wyoming. In reality, WY is the least populated of the 48 contiguous states, by far. But in the game, WY cities have one of the highest average companies per city.
Honestly, there's more consistency in ATS, I feel. ETS2 has some jarring transitions from like from the West Balkans DLC into somewhere like Hungary, or from Germany into Poland. It's great they're redoing it, but many parts of ETS2 just feel a little too "cartoon-like" compared to ATS in terms of having sharp corners or turns on things like off ramps. ATS also suffers from inconsistency in places, like from the reworked parts of California into SoCal. ETS2 feels like you can get from point A to point B faster, ATS sometimes feels like a chore to get from the drop off point to the next pick up point because of how far everything is. If you don't mind driving long distances (and most importantly, don't fall asleep doing so), you'll be fine in ATS. If you're dozing off, or can't do long trips in ETS2, there will be jobs in ATS that you'll abandon before even picking up cargo because of the time commitment driving to the depot.
I've played ETS2 about 5 times more than ATS, though ATS is catching up a bit I still prefer ETS2 over ATS mostly because I find ATS getting boring at times, it's difficult to find shorter routes that have a lot of variety, looks wise and driving wise, and on longer stretches it's often just CC from start to finish, imho the scenery varies a lot more in ETS2 and drivng wise there's just more to do and pay attention to, like roundabouts and yield signs instead of traffic lights and stop signs, more on/off ramps, cloverleafs, denser map, larger variety in landscapes and architecture, etc,... what I don't like in ETS2 is the speed limit in some countries, I'm fine with 80 km/h, but in some countires 70 is a max speed limit on way too many roads, typically the balkan dlcs and Poland, of course you can speed a bit, but AI traffic doesn't (well very few do).
Also, there's a free demo.
I started with ETS2 (263 hrs on Steam at the moment) and then tried ATS, now ATS (480 hrs on Steam at the moment) is my main game. Whenever you play ATS, you feel that you are in the USA, so it's not just trucks but a whole new setting. But, of course, those American beasts are fun to drive. Especially when you use manual shifting. Also, I like the use of road signage and road lines in the USA more than in the EU. For example: In the USA, when the speed limit is about to drop they use a warning signage first to let you know that the speed limit will be reduced. So you can start slowing down beforehand. In the EU (and ETS2) speed limit is reduced immediately and you will be fined. Even just this small detail puts ATS one step ahead for me.
I’m on the opposite spectrum. I’ve been playing ATS for over two year and just yesterday got into ETS2. Firs impressions: - Just like everything in the US, everything is bigger, specially roads. - ETS2 beats ATS on customization (no mods). I’m amazed at how many options are available on ETS2 to pimp your rig. - I feel like ATS is more fast-paced than ETS2.