Farm Machinery DLC was released in tandem with the Kansas map expansion DLC. The Farm Machinery DLC adds heavy loads of farming machinery.
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Saddle up drivers, because the Farm Machinery DLC for American Truck Simulator has arrived! Transport everything from trusty tractors to forage harvesters and mobile silos across scenic virtual highways and roads. Featuring 2 in-game brands, OWL & Greenler, you'll be able to deliver a variety of unique cargoes on Lowboy, Dropdeck or Flatbed trailers to a number of agriculture-related industries large and small across the country.
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~ Store Description
Content
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The Farm Machinery DLC doesn't feature any achievements.
History
November 29th, 2023: SCS livestreamed a DLC preview of the Farm Machinery DLC.
November 28th, 2023: SCS shared a tweet informing the community about a new DLC. The image featured on the tweet features farming cargo. [1]
November 25th, 2023: Discord user Tails discovered Farming cargo in the files.
Development
Interview with Stanislav L, 2D/3D Graphics Designer at SCS Software.
As we continued to work our way across the USA from the coast, past the Rocky Mountains with its snowy peaks, wild valleys and snake like roads; we arrived into a totally different area, The Great Plains. Stanislav explains "It’s an area of agriculture and the backbone of the country. The fields appear to go on endlessly for miles, with golden crops ready for harvest. We felt that it'd only be right to represent farming more in our games and highlight the importance of the agriculture industry. After all, it provides nourishment to millions of Americans every day".
Q: So what was Stanislav's role in creating the Farm Machinery DLC? We asked him to find out!
A: "I believe I was a good fit for the Farming DLC. Aside from the design language and looks of the machines, there are a lot of mechanisms and functional parts. There is a heavy practical side behind all the fancy bodywork which is seen on first sight.". Stanislav tells us "I think that I can say that I understand how these machines work, because I have 12 years of experience in the agriculture industry. I studied at the Technical Faculty (ČZU), which is the main university for Agricultural Education & Research here in Prague. I then continued my studies and work at the Research Institute of Agricultural Engineering (I was a scientist!). I then went on to work at one of the biggest companies which designs and produces its own machines here in Czech Republic. My positions included working in the Design Engineering department, which included assisting the team to administer their CAD data and models. I also programmed a bunch of standalone and integrated tools in Java, optimized their workflows with custom classes in their CMS etc. I then went on to switch from IT to graphics (because this was the subject I loved always the most) and became the head of graphic design in the Marketing Department. Having this background and previous work experience would prove to be incredibly useful when it came to the creation of the Farm Machinery DLC. Stanislav explains "As a concept artist at SCS Software, I transform ideas from words or paragraphs into the visual form; I help design how the DLC will look". I created the concept designs for all the machines which we wanted to depict in the DLC. We created two in-game brands, Owl and Greenler, which are entirely fictional. I also designed nine machines (with some variations in-between the brands). Our aim was to make them as realistic as possible, so that you (the player) are immersed by the realistic cargo that is used in the agriculture industry".
Q: So how many people were involved in the creation of this DLC?
A: "Actually many people were part of this project (and helped us to successfully release it and deliver to players)." Stanislav tells us "Dominik (3D Graphics Designer/Technical Supervisor) was responsible for the Technical/Modelling side and I was more on the artistic/Design end. I also must mention the Research department, who provided us with plenty of resources and information about US farming machinery. They assisted us in choosing the categories and types of machines which were ultimately selected for this DLC. During the production stage, we had several 3D Graphic Designers working on the DLC. We had nine machines to create, so each of them made one or two models. It was great to have such a big team because we were able to work on many models simultaneously and shorten the production time".
Q: So how long did it take to create this DLC, and which cargoes were the most fun and/or most challenging to create? Stanislav shares his answer with us.
A: "I think it took around a year. From the idea stage through preproduction, production, implementation into the economy, testing, bugfixing, etc. It is quite hard to remember when we specifically started talking about it though. As for the cargoes question... The Crawler tractor was really fun, it's the field’s powerhouse! It always has great aesthetics and is the manufacturer’s flagship. The most challenging aspect of this DLC was probably the Seeding unit, not from a design but a technical side point of view. This is because there are not a lot of bodies which can hide the inner parts, you pretty much see it all. Nothing is indicated, every single part is there on the machine, visible for all to see. So it was a challenge to be able to depict it and stylize it within the borders of our polygon limit. Luboš (3D Graphic Designer) did a great job on it." Read more here.
This page is in the middle of an expansion or major revamping. You are welcome to assist in its construction by editing it as well. If this article has not been edited in several days, please remove this template.
