I've cruised from St Louis to Chicago in American Truck Simulator's Illinois DLC, out today, and visiting the Windy City doesn't disappoint

Alright, archetypal of all, a disclaimer. I can't corroborate whether American Truck Simulator's mentation of Chicago - famously nicknamed the Windy City - is authentically blustery. For one, you can't get retired of your lorry successful ATS. Sure, the flags you tin spot from wrong the cab are fluttering, but that could beryllium immoderate signifier of arcane developer trickery. For two, I've ne'er been to existent satellite Chicago, truthful person nary thought conscionable however windy it is arsenic a constituent of comparison.

What I tin confirm, having hauled immoderate pickups from St Louis to Chicago successful ATS' Illinois DLC - retired today, May 14th - is that driving into the second for the archetypal clip is arsenic memorable an acquisition arsenic the champion of the motortruck sim's different motoring metropolises.

As immoderate travel successful ATS should, excavation started with a speedy regard astatine the landmarks of the metropolis you're astir to depart, successful this lawsuit a glimpse up astatine the Gateway Arch. It's rather big, you know. Picking up my cargo (no puns intended here), I began the trek astatine astir 6 AM connected a Saturday, the prima mildly rising connected the beige skyline arsenic my monstrous Kenworth began to rumble retired of downtown St Louis and up past East St Louis arsenic the road coiled northeast.

From here, arsenic Metallica's Seek and Destroy blasted maine up done the gears, the roadworthy rapidly went from elevated municipality bypass to agrarian spaghetti rimmed by unfastened greenish fields and punctuated by the occasional span implicit a river. This is what a batch of the easternmost states connected connection successful ATS look similar and portion it tin get a spot samey if you spell a portion without heading backmost into the much arid oregon forested climes recovered to the southbound oregon west, it's inactive precise pleasant to ticker alert by arsenic you marque definite you seashore along.

Regrettably, my way was programmed to instrumentality maine up past Illinois authorities superior Springfield alternatively than straight done it, and having noticed excessively precocious to instrumentality a antithetic turn, I lone got a flimsy hint astatine the sights it has to offer. Annoyed by that blunder, I made definite to walk done the metropolis of Bloomington, which fits the mould of your accustomed ATS mediate American halfway location municipality betwixt large cities. A main throughfare flanked with shops and the occasional remainder stop. Though, upon taking a due look around, the likes of the slope and a Bloomington-branded h2o operation offered a spot of unsocial flavour.

With that, it was connected up much delightful farmside asphalt towards the outskirts of Chicago itself. You could reason ATS' representation standard means large metropolises thin to extremity up being rendered astatine an unsatisfying standard (I'd reason tiny cities which deficiency arsenic overmuch imposing verticality tin often endure much starkly successful this department), but Chicago isn't 1 of them. Approaching from the south, its varied and chunky skyline looms intimidatingly successful the distance. Getting adjacent mightiness uncover a web of municipality thoroughfares arsenic slimmed down arsenic always, but overhead sections of gathering and railway squad up with the looming skyscrapers to marque an content arsenic you're starring down towards the Clarence F. Buckingham memorial fountain sitting by the borderline of Lake Michigan.

The obstruction hub connected the city's outskirts, wherever I dropped disconnected my cargo earlier heading downtown to sightsee, is besides location to immoderate grounds of SCS Software getting ever amended and making their worlds consciousness that spot much dynamic. Trains were being loaded furiously by moving cranes arsenic I parked up and past pulled away, the locos themselves shunting on truthful caller containers could beryllium dropped into place. If I'd not had a metropolis to cheque retired portion Pearl Jam crooned away, I mightiness person stuck astir to ticker the industrious activity.

Having had my hands afloat with different unfastened satellite driving crippled lately, that's each I've had clip to illustration of American Truck Simulator's Illinois enlargement truthful far. It's thing world-shifing, but from what I've played it's yet different coagulated summation to the sim's ever expanding representation and large if you're successful the temper for immoderate chill automotive virtual tourism. If that sounds up your alley, you tin wishlist it Steam up of it going unrecorded astatine astir 5:10 PM BST/12:10 PM EDT/9:10 AM PDT today, May 14th. SCS person besides conscionable announced the escaped merchandise of 2 caller trucks, the 2025 Volvo VNL and VNR Electric, neither of which I've fixed a spell yet.