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Research Trips: British Columbia & Alberta

Welcome to the second post in our revived blog series! This time, we’re tagging along with one of our developers who recently visited British Columbia and Alberta, bringing back not just scenic photos, but valuable research material for the future of ProMods Canada.

Visiting Canada for the First Time… as a Developer

In July 2025, our developer, “bricksathome” had the chance to travel across British Columbia and part of Alberta. While the trip was primarily a vacation with his parents, he didn’t miss the opportunity to gather real-world reference material for the ProMods Canada project; “I’ve been a developer on the team since the project began, but as someone who lives in the UK, I’d never actually visited Canada. So, flying into a country I’ve spent years studying through Google Maps and Street View felt surreal, like walking into a world I’d only helped recreate virtually…”

After a few days in Vancouver, we picked up a Cruise Canada motorhome and headed for Vancouver Island by ferry — where we coincidentally passed the very same ferry I had modeled just a few months earlier! (Though it’s clearly had a fresh coat of paint since the reference images I used.)

Over the course of three weeks, we covered a lot of ground: Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, the Sea to Sky Highway, Pemberton, Lillooet, Cache Creek, Kamloops, the Canadian Rockies, Alberta’s Icefields Parkway to Jasper, then back to Vancouver via Clearwater and the Coquihalla Highway.

Street View to Driver’s Seat

Years of developing ProMods Canada meant I already had a mental map of towns and highways — and actually driving into places I’d only seen digitally was a strange but amazing experience. I often found myself knowing which turns to take and what to expect before we’d even parked!

Thanks to years of ETS2/ATS muscle memory, driving a right-hand-drive vehicle in Canada felt oddly natural. On top of that, being familiar with Canadian road signs and traffic rules (thanks to development work) helped reduce the stress of navigating unfamiliar terrain.

Landmarks & Regional Details

Beyond general sightseeing, I spent time capturing high-resolution reference photos of regional details that are tough to find online — things like signs, structures, and unique landmarks that help add realism and local flair to the map.

For example, the Rogers Pass Memorial features several remembrance and informational plaques, and just down the path, the Visitor Centre has a few beautifully designed benches. With full reference images now collected, both of these will be recreated in-game with much greater accuracy.

These specialized bins are found across British Columbia, especially in bear country, and are designed to prevent animals from accessing waste. They’re currently missing in-game, but not for long!

Elsewhere, I grabbed plenty of useful material from smaller towns and parks — from signage in Field and Revelstoke, to park service vehicles and trailhead features. It’s these little touches that help our maps feel grounded in the real world.

Fresh Perspective & Future Improvements

Seeing these places in person gave me something Google Maps never could, a true sense of scale and atmosphere. It helped spark new ideas and has inspired several improvements to existing areas in the map, such as the terrain around Green Lake in Whistler.

The trip also reminded me how important little details are in creating a believable world. Every small road sign, mountain silhouette, or regional quirk helps bring the map to life, and I can’t wait to implement what I’ve learned.

ProMods Canada 1.4.1 is Out Now!

We’ve just released ProMods Canada 1.4.1, bringing compatibility with the latest American Truck Simulator version.
This is predominantly a maintenance release only, no new content just yet, but it includes important bug fixes and ensures full functionality on the current game build.

We know it’s been a while since the last major expansion, and we feel the same as you, we want to see the map grow just as much as you do! A lot of progress is happening behind the scenes as we have shared, but there’s still more work to be done before we’re ready to release the next big update.

In the meantime, you can catch sneak peeks of our in-progress work on Vancouver Island, exclusively in our Discord Server.

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ProMods visits SCS Software in Prague

This past week marked a very special chapter in the history of ProMods.

For the second time ever, members of the ProMods team met up in person, but this time, it was something truly special: our first visit to the new SCS Software headquarters in Prague.

A total of 25 ProMods team members made the journey from across Europe (and beyond) to visit the creators of Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator, take part in collaborative discussions, experience their studio firsthand, and strengthen the connections that make this project what it is.

Inside the New SCS HQ

We were incredibly honored to be hosted by SCS Software at their brand-new headquarters: a purpose-built space designed for creative collaboration and the continued evolution of ETS2 and ATS.

During the visit, we had the opportunity to:

  • Tour their stunning new offices and meet members of the SCS team.
  • Test drive their 4D motion simulator (an unforgettable experience!).
  • Sit down with members of SCS’s team for multiple collaborative discussions.
  • Exchange feedback, insights, and ideas on mapping, game scale, and design philosophy.

“It was a surreal experience to sit in the same room with the people behind ETS2, share what we’ve built, and learn from each other. This is the kind of creative exchange that pushes all of us forward.”

Who Was There

The meetup brought together a wide cross-section of 25 of the key members of the ProMods team: developers, founders, beta testers, marketers, and longtime contributors; many of whom were meeting face to face for the very first time.

Bringing together this many contributors in one place created the perfect opportunity to talk shop, align on future plans, and share the energy that’s sometimes hard to capture over text or voice chat.

Team Bonding in Prague

While the SCS visit was the highlight, the weekend in Prague was packed with unforgettable team-building experiences:

  • Escape rooms
  • Bowling nights
  • Sightseeing, and sharing a love for Prague
  • Team dinners and informal hangouts
  • Countless conversations, laughs, and shared moments that will carry into our future work!

“After years of collaborating online, it was incredible to finally sit across the table from teammates we’ve worked with for so long. The personal connection made everything feel even more meaningful.”

An update on the Release of ProMods 2.75:

With such a large portion of the team away from their workstations, this meetup has caused a slight delay in the next ProMods update, and as always, it’s ready when it’s ready.

We appreciate your patience and understanding. The knowledge, clarity, and renewed motivation gained from this visit are already proving invaluable, and will have a lasting positive impact on our future updates for ProMods.

We want to give a sincere thank you to SCS Software for welcoming us into your new home and making us feel like partners in the journey. Seeing your new HQ, and the passion behind it, was inspiring, and we’re proud to build our work on top of yours.

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Research Trips: Azerbaijan Edition

At ProMods, research is at the heart of everything we create. Every road layout, architectural detail, or industry depot begins with questions: What makes this place feel real? How can we represent it in-game without losing its identity?

In this first entry of our new “Research Trips” series, we’re heading to Baku, Azerbaijan, where our developer Tedesco recently visited to gather real-world reference material for upcoming expansions both for ProMods and The Great Steppe (TGS).

“Who says ProMods doesn’t do field trips?”

Our developer Tedesco is currently exploring Central Asia, gathering firsthand insights on how we can recreate specific regions that will be featured in upcoming updates to ProMods Europe and ProMods The Great Steppe.

Tedesco’s journey included a detailed stop in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, a city where east meets west, and where ancient architecture sits beside towering glass high-rises. His visit wasn’t just for sightseeing; it was an opportunity to collect on-the-ground references for road layouts, signage, infrastructure, industries, and city ambiance.

“Being physically present in a city like Baku gives us a totally different perspective,” Tedesco notes. “It’s not just about what the streets look like… it’s how the city moves, what it sounds like, how traffic flows, and what kind of logistics facilities actually exist.”

What we looked for.

During his visit, Tedesco focused on several research areas:

  • Main transport arteries – ring roads, highways, and access routes to the port
  • Road infrastructure – traffic signs, street lighting, and pavement types
  • Cultural identifiers – language on signage, local architecture, and vegetation
  • Depots & industry – oil facilities, truck yards, warehouses, and customs zones

Some of this information is hard to gather accurately through satellite imagery or online photos alone — especially in industrial zones or areas with limited coverage. Being there in person helps fill in the blanks.

Tedesco’s field trip wasn’t just about facts — it was also about atmosphere. What does it feel like to drive through Baku? What distinguishes it from any other capital city in the region?

Next Destinations?

After Azerbaijan, the research trip is set to continue across Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, especially focusing on regions relevant to The Great Steppe map. These visits will help us create even more authentic road networks and industries across Central Asia.

This is just the beginning of our Research Trips blog series. Whether it’s the Caucasus, Central Asia, or beyond, we’re committed to capturing the real-world details that make your journeys in ProMods feel like real trucking adventures.

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Introducing ProMods Classic

As our 10th anniversary year draws to a close, we’ve got one last treat in store. ProMods Classic marks the nostalgic return of all our best old & lost content from over the years, all updated to work on the latest version for ETS2!

What is ProMods Classic?
ProMods Classic is a map add-on for ProMods Europe that brings a host of ProMods content that has been updated or replaced as SCS has expanded and reworked the ETS2 map. From complex German cities, pre-Iberia DLC Spain or our old Italy expansion, to our very first version of Scandinavia all the way back from 2013, there’s a whole host of areas waiting to be explored once again.

All the re-introduced areas have been painstakingly updated to ETS2 v1.49 one game version at a time thanks to developers scan720 and Dawid2849 with help from others along the way.

How to install ProMods Classic
ProMods Classic is an addon for the ProMods Europe map, however it is not loaded the same way as our other addons for ETS2.

Downloading and extracting the ProMods Classic files follows the same procedure as ProMods Europe, minus the need to generate a definitions file. See our tutorial for more information on this.

Once the ProMods Classic files are in your mod folder, it’s time to activate them in game. When activating the mods, the following load order should be used:

Whilst ProMods Classic can be activated on an existing profile running PM:Europe, we recommend that a new profile is used due to the significant changes on the map.

What DLCs does it require?
ProMods Classic has the same DLC dependencies as ProMods Europe, see the compatibility page.

Can it be used on TruckersMP?
There is currently. no compatibility planned with TruckersMP. However it can be used in Convoy Mode.

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