18 Wheels of Steel
Encyclopedia
18 Wheels of Steel is a series of trucking
simulators published by ValuSoft and developed by SCS Software
. The series currently has 8 installments. Despite being released as budget games, the series has surprisingly high production values.
Hard Truck 18 Wheels Of Steel was a game developed by SoftLab and SCS Software in 2002. Hard Truck 18 Wheels Of Steel is similar to a game called Hard Truck 2: King of the Road. Rig 'N Roll is sometimes [ or not ] known as Hard Truck 3: Rig'N'Roll.
Hard Truck also has three maps but no eastern. Midwest, West, and Rockies are the maps in the game. There are 15 towns and each of the three maps and five towns in them and the game has only 6 trucks.
Midwest has Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Louisville, and Cincinnati.
West has San Francisco, Reno, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.
Rockies has Denver, Helena, Boise, Cheyenne, and Salt Lake City.
In Hard Truck, at least half of the trucks can go over 100 mph.
Also, you are racing against the load time and the driver energy time.
Example: time from San Francisco to Reno for one load is 9:45 but you have 9:43 driving energy time left. Note: that will be a challenge and some thinking to do.
were updated, more trucks and cargo
were added, and a new map was created that enables users to travel across the entire continental U.S.
, through 30 cities. In this version, players can choose from 30 trucks and 40+ trailers. Time is made up of a total of 24 minutes in a day in the clock, and goes by rather quickly. You will also battle 5 AI drivers.
This game focuses on the delivery of cargo. Unlike in Hard Truck: 18 Wheels of Steel, the sleep timer was removed from the simulation. There is an improved traffic model as well as plane
s, helicopter
s, and train
s with authentic sounds. This game has also the fastest fuel consumption.
, and also through northern Mexico
and southern Canada
, through 30 cities. The sleep timer was brought back in this version. It has an improved traffic model. 18 Wheels of Steel: Pedal to the Metal requires OpenGL
This installment is thought to be the 2nd most popular game in the series, with 18 Wheels Of Steel: Haulin' being the most popular. There is also a map editor but it has bugs but also the game comes with a new map with new cities like Sacramento and a couple new mexican cities but it looks a lot more different than the original. It also has the fastest map to date besides Haulin'.
(also known as Road of Death), Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road
, and the Australian Outback. All three maps are "extreme" in their ways: Driving on the icy and snowy roads of northern Canada can be a tough challenge no matter what you deliver. The Australian long distance routes will let you drive "road trains", up to 5 multiple trailers attached. The South American area is known for its narrow roads, a moment of lack of caution and you find yourself dropping off the edge of a cliff.
This game is quite different from the previous installments and the whole concept is changed. You can no longer drive around in free roam unless you decide to go around the map during a delivery, but you can only pick a job offer from the selection menu only if users have met its requirements of having multiple new trucks and accomplished deliveries. The trucks and cars are this time made after real brands, although you can't own any vehicles through the game, and you are simply a truck driver seeking for various jobs.
Still, today's low to mediocre range computer will be able to run the game without getting low FPS (1.9 GHz CPU,1 GB RAM,256 MB graphics accelerator).
and Bangladesh
and a few new types of cargo.
the game, there are several communities and sites dedicated to that purpose.
Truck driver
A truck driver , is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck.Truck drivers provide an essential service to...
simulators published by ValuSoft and developed by SCS Software
SCS Software
SCS Software is a Czech software development company. It produces various computer games for the PC including the 18 Wheels of Steel series, Hunting Unlimited series, OceanDive, Deer Drive, Bus Driver and Euro Truck Simulator.- 18 Wheels of Steel series :...
. The series currently has 8 installments. Despite being released as budget games, the series has surprisingly high production values.
Hard Truck: 18 Wheels of Steel [Aug 22, 2002]
Hard Truck also has three maps but no eastern. Midwest, West, and Rockies are the maps in the game. There are 15 towns and each of the three maps and five towns in them and the game has only 6 trucks.
Midwest has Detroit, Chicago, Indianapolis, Louisville, and Cincinnati.
West has San Francisco, Reno, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Phoenix.
Rockies has Denver, Helena, Boise, Cheyenne, and Salt Lake City.
In Hard Truck, at least half of the trucks can go over 100 mph.
Also, you are racing against the load time and the driver energy time.
Example: time from San Francisco to Reno for one load is 9:45 but you have 9:43 driving energy time left. Note: that will be a challenge and some thinking to do.
18 Wheels of Steel: Across America [2003]
This installment is very similar to Hard Truck: 18 Wheels of Steel except that the graphicsGraphics
Graphics are visual presentations on some surface, such as a wall, canvas, computer screen, paper, or stone to brand, inform, illustrate, or entertain. Examples are photographs, drawings, Line Art, graphs, diagrams, typography, numbers, symbols, geometric designs, maps, engineering drawings,or...
were updated, more trucks and cargo
Cargo
Cargo is goods or produce transported, generally for commercial gain, by ship, aircraft, train, van or truck. In modern times, containers are used in most intermodal long-haul cargo transport.-Marine:...
were added, and a new map was created that enables users to travel across the entire continental U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, through 30 cities. In this version, players can choose from 30 trucks and 40+ trailers. Time is made up of a total of 24 minutes in a day in the clock, and goes by rather quickly. You will also battle 5 AI drivers.
This game focuses on the delivery of cargo. Unlike in Hard Truck: 18 Wheels of Steel, the sleep timer was removed from the simulation. There is an improved traffic model as well as plane
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
s, helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
s, and train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
s with authentic sounds. This game has also the fastest fuel consumption.
18 Wheels of Steel: Pedal to the Metal [Aug 30, 2004]
In this installment, released in 2004, the user can travel across the entire continental USUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and also through northern Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and southern Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, through 30 cities. The sleep timer was brought back in this version. It has an improved traffic model. 18 Wheels of Steel: Pedal to the Metal requires OpenGL
OpenGL
OpenGL is a standard specification defining a cross-language, cross-platform API for writing applications that produce 2D and 3D computer graphics. The interface consists of over 250 different function calls which can be used to draw complex three-dimensional scenes from simple primitives. OpenGL...
This installment is thought to be the 2nd most popular game in the series, with 18 Wheels Of Steel: Haulin' being the most popular. There is also a map editor but it has bugs but also the game comes with a new map with new cities like Sacramento and a couple new mexican cities but it looks a lot more different than the original. It also has the fastest map to date besides Haulin'.
18 Wheels of Steel: Convoy [Sep 1, 2005]
In this updated installment, you can travel through the United States, as well as southern Canada, though it differs from 18 Wheels of Steel: Pedal to the Metal in that Mexican cities are not present, this might be considered as the bad part of the series since it didn't improve much from its predecessor except for minor additions. You can travel through 30+ cities and choose from 35+ rigs, 45+ cargoes and 47+ trailers. You have to use your mouse to look outside of the cab for your mirrors. The graphics are also much improved in this version, and you can see drivers in other vehicles. However, other graphical features such as dynamic dashboard gauges were replaced with simple inanimate textures, although this and minor bugs were fixed with a patch released by SCS Software in 2008. You can also buy things to protect yourself. This version is considered the worst in the 18 WoS series because of lack of improvement and several glitches. Also, you cannot save the game during a delivery. Only before the delivery or after the delivery.18 Wheels of Steel: Haulin' [Dec 8, 2006]
This installment adds more cities and has more realistic graphics, but Mexico is gone from this installment, as in Convoy. The ability to use custom soundtracks and save games during deliveries was added also. Users can choose from 32 rigs, 45+ cargoes and 47+ trailers in the game, including double trailers.The game doesn't require a very powerful computer to operate properly since it can run on most older PC-s(RAM 256MB, processor 1.4 GHz,64MB video card).Prism 3D may not respond on older graphic cards resulting in a game crash on the game's startup.18 Wheels of Steel: American Long Haul [Dec 3, 2007]
This installment of the game is very similar to and has the same game play as Haulin' but with re-named companies, 2 new trucks, and 3 cities in Mexico were added.18 Wheels Of Steel: Extreme Trucker [Sep 23, 2009]
Extreme Trucker lets you be the brave trucker and deliver cargos in any of the three main areas of the game: Yungas RoadYungas Road
The North Yungas Road is a or road leading from La Paz to Coroico, northeast of La Paz in the Yungas region of Bolivia. It is legendary for its extreme danger and in 1995 the Inter-American Development Bank christened it as the "world's most dangerous road"...
(also known as Road of Death), Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road
Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road
The Tuktoyaktuk Winter Road is an ice road on frozen Mackenzie River delta channels and the frozen Arctic Ocean between the Northwest Territories communities of Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk, in Canada. It exists in the winter only...
, and the Australian Outback. All three maps are "extreme" in their ways: Driving on the icy and snowy roads of northern Canada can be a tough challenge no matter what you deliver. The Australian long distance routes will let you drive "road trains", up to 5 multiple trailers attached. The South American area is known for its narrow roads, a moment of lack of caution and you find yourself dropping off the edge of a cliff.
This game is quite different from the previous installments and the whole concept is changed. You can no longer drive around in free roam unless you decide to go around the map during a delivery, but you can only pick a job offer from the selection menu only if users have met its requirements of having multiple new trucks and accomplished deliveries. The trucks and cars are this time made after real brands, although you can't own any vehicles through the game, and you are simply a truck driver seeking for various jobs.
Still, today's low to mediocre range computer will be able to run the game without getting low FPS (1.9 GHz CPU,1 GB RAM,256 MB graphics accelerator).
18 Wheels Of Steel: Extreme Trucker 2 [Jan 6, 2011]
Extreme Trucker 2 is a further development of the 18 Wheels of Steel: Extreme Trucker, which has two additional locations: MontanaMontana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
and Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
and a few new types of cargo.
Modification
Much of the game's data is in a file named "base.scs". This file can be extracted with most zip compression software. Within the new folders are most of the game textures, including terrain, truck skins, backgrounds, and others, a well as code for cities, trucks, and other in-game objects. While the game's publisher, ValuSoft, does not provide support on exactly how to "mod"Mod (computer gaming)
Mod or modification is a term generally applied to personal computer games , especially first-person shooters, role-playing games and real-time strategy games. Mods are made by the general public or a developer, and can be entirely new games in themselves, but mods are not standalone software and...
the game, there are several communities and sites dedicated to that purpose.