September 16th set the tone for the last 2 weeks of September: SCS Software released the state of Arkansas for American Truck Simulator. As usual this came with some achievements and an event to take part in. As usual I felt obliged to take part😅
Prior to the map release, we also had an update to the game which included a new truck – The Mack Pinnacle. This was a much needed addition for those of us who are fans of the Bulldog. For my company, specialising in plant and supplies for farming and construction, this was the truck that we have always wanted – rugged and no thrills! We bought one and put it straight to work…
…Enjoying the clear instrumentation that it shares with the Anthem…
There were 4 Steam Achievements associated with Arkansas, along with a personal goal for the community event. Three of the achievements could be easily done in the normal course of delivering loads. For example, ‘Spa City’ required deliveries to be made to 5 different companies located in the city – pretty straight forward. The only awkward one was ‘Paper Trail’ which required deliveries of logs to wood processing facilities and then deliveries of wood shavings to paper manufacturing plants, all within the state. I had hoped to do this using my own truck and trailer but the first logs delivery failed when I reached the destination. SCS have been working on loading animations so at the collection point, my trailer was loaded by the crane…
..To trigger the loading, you have to park in the area designated by the white markings. They then turn yellow as seen in the shot above. At the destination the opposite should happen – park in the white marked area to trigger the unloading process. But unfortunately I couldn’t get the animation to trigger…
…Despite several attempts, the trigger stayed stubbornly white🙄 Chatting with some fellow drivers it seems that the animation is currently somewhat clunky😅 It is a new addition to the game and there have been issues with other animated loading cargoes – Remember my International LT parked in the fence🤣
In the circumstances I decided to complete these tasks by doing ‘Quick jobs’ – the driver for hire ones where you just hop in someone else’s truck at the start and uncouple the trailer at the destination. That took the animation out of the equation…
…allowing me to complete all the deliveries and finish that outstanding achievement.
With my personal goal for the event completed and all the achievements done I treated the Pinnacle to one of the in-game rewards – A White-Tail Plushy…
…The Pinnacle doesn’t have a name yet, so I’ll have to think of one but I can tell you now, it won’t be Bambi 🤣
The community aspect of the event continues. We’re currently halfway to the required 125 million miles and I’m now helping out with the deliveries for that. I decided to continue the work with Dog…
…seen here on a run from Fort Smith to Little Rock. I want to increase her total miles to around 45000 and then I’ll swap back to the Pinnacle.
Now the pressure is off, I can get back to doing some spotting between the football matches. Friday was a bit wet but I was able to get out and about on the London Underground to try and clear off some of the outstanding units on the Piccadilly, and Central Lines as well as the sub-surface stock units. The day’s spotting provided me with a couple of nice B&W shots. S7 stock unit 21374 approaching Westminster…
…and 1992 stock unit 91325 arriving at Bond Street…
…An enjoyable bounce around the network including a brief above ground trip out to Hornsey and back. In the 4 hours I was out and about I logged 158 units of which I needed 6. I also picked up 4 for haulage. Getting the last few of each London Underground type is going to be a struggle! I still need 12 of the Piccadilly Line’s 1973 stock units – Here’s 203 arriving at Kings Cross St. Pancras…
…Their replacements are in production and expected to begin entering service next year, so time is short if I want to complete the set. Lets see what October will bring on the spotting front.
2e0mca.uk 
Leave a comment