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The Beginner’s Guide to ETS2/ATS Mapping
Tutorials and documentation for the SCS Software map editor, used to create mods for the SCS simulator games Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator. I hope one day to add similar tute/doco for basic and advanced non-mapping mods (i.e. object property changes, object modifications, new objects). Those however are separate topics, not currently covered here.
Overview
The SCS map editor is an inbuilt feature of the ATS and ETS2 game engines (Windows version only). It is a highly specialised 3d modelling tool oriented specifically to the construction of roads & terrain, and placement of all the set dressing, for an open-world driving sim. “Set dressing” in this case means vegetation, guard rails, traffic signs and lights, buildings, trains, street lighting, fuel stations, pedestrians, bridges, etc. – all the stuff that makes the virtual world convincing and attractive.
The Map Editor is not a generic 3d modelling tool such as Blender. Blender and other 3D editors can be used to model objects (vehicles, props) for ETS2 and ATS, using appropriate plugins from SCS. If you want to build your own truck, castle, or pedestrian, you will need to study SCS Blender Tools and read other guides. This topic is not currently covered here.
The Map Editor is a higher-level tool, which allows you to build the 3d open world and place pre-existing models and other objects within it. Using the Map Editor you can build your own standalone map, or create a mod that extends an existing map. You can lay out cities, towns, business locations, fuel stations, border crossings, toll gates, highways, freeways, rural roads and more.
The fundamental building block of the SCS world map editor is a segment of roadway. These segments are strung together to make a road map, with intersections, overpasses, cloverleafs, Y junctions etc. as desired. The world is designed to be viewed from the roadways, with higher resolution objects near the road and lower resolution objects in the distance. On each side of your roadway you create scenery, placing suitable objects (trees, rocks, buildings etc) to create a desired effect. More advanced options allow you to create credible topography (hills, banks, mountainsides, rivers, ponds etc). Potentially tricky road connections are made easier by objects called “prefabs” (intersections, turn lanes, junctions, driveways, bridges etc).
The fundamental coordinate system of the SCS world map editor is an XYZ system with origin at (??? where is 0,0 anyway). Y indicates height above “sea level” and X/Z are the terrain coordinate axes. The game world consists of “sectors” defined by X and Z, containing terrain, road segments, and game objects with varying XYZ coords. Some objects are “special” and have rules for interacting with the player during gameplay. Some areas of the map are “special” and also have rules. The Map Editor makes it relatively easy (note “relatively”) to create these complex objects and rule sets.
Your completed map project can be saved, converted to a mod package, and loaded into the game: this is how “map mods” are created.
This Documentation Project
There is not a whole lot of information available to help beginners learn the map editor or understand the game internals. Documentation is patchy, often available in only one language or out of date. Most people learn map modding by trial and error.
That is why this project was started by Jack Kelly – heartfelt thanks to Jack for his excellent “Fundamentals” and “Background Map” tutorials.
Jack’s no longer maintaining the project, so I (being myself an SCS mapping n00b in need of doco) am volunteering to keep it going and (I hope) extend it significantly. Critical readers are very welcome. Contributions even more so. Comments, critique, complaints, contributions (especially that last one!) c/o RootlessAgrarian at either the SCS or ProMods forum, or (specific issues) in Issues here.
License
Thes files and documents contained within this guide are licensed under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license