It’s been over a year since we last updated ProMods Canada with new content. We understand and share the sentiment that progress in ProMods Canada has been slow. As a small team with limited resources, we acknowledge that we cannot change this reality overnight. While we’re still a while away from releasing ProMods Canada’s next big update, we can at least share with you what’s been going on behind the scenes.
Improved weather effects
A neat change that will be included in ProMods Canada 1.2.4 is the addition of atmospheric bad weather effects. Now, during times of bad weather, you will notice the mountainous areas of British Columbia become surrounded by low altitude clouds and fog. Places such as the Coquihalla Highway are truly awe-inspiring; winding through majestic mountains and offering breathtaking views that many of our players have come to appreciate. These areas are now even more immersive during poor weather.
These changes are implemented manually as part of the map itself, and as a result the effect will not be affected by graphics mods, nor will they appear outside of areas included in our mod.
Check out the before and after shots below:
Venturing into Alberta
Over the past year, development has been focused in two directions: east and north. Expanding our horizons eastwards beyond British Columbia, we have set our sights on Alberta. Our primary objective is to recreate the Trans Canada Highway 1 (TCH-1) and the Crowsnest Highway (BC-3), extending eastwards. While we have made significant progress in certain areas, there is still much work to be done in others. Take a look at the images below to see the progress we have made so far:
Northern advances: The “Islands” approach
In parallel we are developing more remote areas, such as Prince Rupert. This decision was primarily made for organisational reasons and due to the freedom for our developers to choose where they wish to develop. While these areas are nearly completed, they currently lack road connections to the rest of the road network. Our plan is to ensure that these places are accessible by ferry (most likely via Vancouver Island), allowing people to enjoy the finished areas as we continue working on the road connections.
Looking ahead
While we acknowledge the slow pace of progress and share the frustration it brings, we want to assure you that our commitment to delivering updates for ProMods Canada remains firm. We have numerous plans and ideas, but regrettably, time constraints limit our ability to implement them as quickly as we would like. We hope that these updates provide you with more insight into our progress and what you can expect in the future. We appreciate your support and understanding as we strive to bring our plans to fruition in due time.
Towards the end of 2022 we published a request on our website with a link to a survey. We did this to better understand your experiences with ProMods and what you would like to see for the future.
On the basis of these survey results we have prepared some changes, and some new experiences for the future. It has taken some time to share these survey results because we prioritised the implementation of the new features before sharing the how and why.
Firstly let’s have a look at the results of the survey;
These figures actually surprised us. We really appreciate that we have so many fans and supporters that have been with us from the beginning, or at least the very early days! Later this year we will be celebrating our 10th anniversary since our first release in 2013 and it will be a very special occasion 🙂
It is unsurprising that ProMods Europe is still by far the most popular mod that we produce although it is very good to see that nearly half of you also play with the TCP. We suppose that the 2.5% who do not play ProMods Europe will exclusively play with ProMods Canada in ATS which has a respectable vote as well.
We’re very happy to see that so many people can’t play the game without it and thankfully the percentage of disappointed users is tiny. This means we’re on the right track 😉
Apologies that the first line is difficult to read due to the busy graph, but Scandinavia and Finland are still the top favourite areas in the mod followed closely by Iceland. They were also some of the first areas we started with. It surprises us that Central Europe has ended up third in this poll.
The number one area where improvements are necessary is the former Going East area according to your inputs. This area would cover Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland. We cannot promise that we can change things in this region immediately but there are some projects ongoing. Secondly people seem to never be able to get enough of Scandinavia and Finland which is good because we aren’t done there yet. In third place the UK and Ireland which is understandable as it is the oldest part of the map.
Free download servers
Throughout the years we have had many comments and questions about the free download servers and particularly about the speed. To be completely frank and honest, the free download severs process in excess of 60 TB of data every month and because they were ageing they were not only becoming a hurdle for a smooth and user friendly experience but also a liability from an infrastructure point of view.
Based on this feedback we started exploring alternative solutions for the free download servers and are pleased to say we have retired them as of today.
With the old system, the download speed was capped at 300kB/s and with a maximum of 2 simultaneous files. Using this method the full ProMods download of 9 files would last approximately 58 minutes.
The new system is based on a totally different architecture. You can now download at full speed (as fast as your internet connection allows). But you will have to wait 5 minutes between each download. The total download time to obtain all 9 files is now approximately 45 minutes. We hope you enjoy this improvement.
Paid download and subscriptions
The sentiment about the paid download options is overwhelmingly positive and particularly now we have a new platform alongside the existing Payloadz system, which was restricted to PayPal payments only. Premium downloads are now also possible through the ProMods store – where people can pay with many alternative payments including Apple Pay, Google Pay, Credit Cards, crypto and various local payment systems such as iDeal.
We gauged interest towards optional subscriptions to ProMods. It is very important to realise that this will *not* replace the current options that are available, they will stay in place.
We have laid some foundations towards ProMods subscription tiers, each with benefits based on the amount paid. More details about these subscriptions will be announced in a separate blog post once everything has been finalised. The subscriptions will be named:
ProBooster @ $2/month
ProFan @ $5/month
ProElite @ $7/month
The highest tier will include unlimited premium downloads from the ProMods Store and many other benefits.
We asked what kind of benefits you would have liked to see and most of these requests will become a reality once the subscriptions are live. We are still considering some of the answers we received.
This question in the survey was an “open answer” and so we received quite a lot of interesting (and maybe also some strange) responses. Many of you were grateful and were happy to pay a subscription to support us even if they didn’t get anything in return! 😀 Other comments were mainly about the free and paid download experience although one member suggested shipping ProMods packages on a hard drive.
Merchandise
The ProMods Store has been running for a few years now and many of you have used it to obtain some nice goodies. We were curious to know what the general interest is in non-digital ProMods products.
Nearly half of the people who responded are interested in merchandise so we will keep it running for as long as there is a demand. We also asked about the pricing and it is in line with what we expected. Sadly we are unable to make the products much cheaper than they are today as they are all custom made.
Last but not least we asked what else you wanted to see and the most common answers were extra large T-shirt sizes (4XL and larger), phone cases, miniature models (trucks and trailers with ProMods logos), ProMods posters with the map, key chords and different designs on the shirts and hoodies. We are taking these into consideration and will announce any changes in the future.
Conclusion
We hope you learned just as much as we did going through these responses. We hope that the community appreciates the effectiveness of the new free download system and we hope sincerely that our most loyal fans are getting excited for the ProMods subscriptions that will be available soon 🙂
No more “thermo nuclear” download server messages upon release time, wahoo! 😀
The first version of ProMods: The Great Steppe has been released! But what exactly is The Great Steppe and what does it add? Fear not, for all shall be answered in this blog.
What is The Great Steppe?
The Great Steppe is a map mod first released in 2017 that covers a significant chunk of Kazakhstan and has been a mainstay in many people’s map combos for years. At the end of 2021 the original author, 09_KZ, decided to step down as developer of the mod and offered the map to us to take up ownership. After some consideration to ensure we would have the manpower to take over the project and just over a year of work later, the first version of ProMods: The Great Steppe has arrived!
What’s new in ProMods: The Great Steppe?
Version 1.0.0 includes all the legacy content from 09_KZ as well as the first stage of our project to rebuild the map with the most up-to-date mapping techniques and detail. In 1.0.0, we’ve rebuilt two cities from scratch, Uralsk and Zhimpity, as well as extensively refreshed two more, Shetpe and Sai-Otes.
We’ve also rebuilt 3 roads:
The A-28 between Uralsk and Chapayev
The A-29 between Uralsk and the RU-KZ border crossing
The M-32 between Uralsk and Zhimpity
And refreshed the A-33 between Beyneu and Shetpe.
Within the new map areas are a wide array of brand new 3D models and assets, as well as new AI vehicle skins with new, authentic license plates. There’s also a collection of genuine Kazakh companies and custom prefabs. We’ve also introduced a number of bug fixes to ensure that the legacy area of the map is as stable as possible.
What’s the load order?
The Great Steppe 1.0.0 (TGS) can be loaded both as a ProMods Addon and as a standalone map mod. To use TGS with ProMods, the two files should be placed below the rest of the ProMods files. To use The Great Steppe as a standalone mod, you will also have to activate the FLD Prefab pack, available from the SCS Forums. However, the FLD Prefab Pack is not required if you’re using TGS in conjunction with another mod that already includes the pack within its files. (Map mods like ProMods and RusMap already include the FLD pack)
There’s no road connection?
If you’re only using The Great Steppe with the other ProMods maps, you’ll probably notice that there’s no physical connection between TGS and the rest of the map. This is intentional. While we would have loved to create a connection to the rest of the map, doing so would have required a significant amount of development time.
If we were to hold back the release of 1.0.0 until a connection was finished, the community wouldn’t have had access to an updated version of the map that’s compatible with the latest version of ETS2 for many months, possibly over a year. Instead of holding the map back, we’ve released it without a connection.
The current workaround for accessing the map is as follows: If you’re only using TGS, or you’re just using it in combination with the other ProMods mods, you can access the map by using the ‘quick travel’ feature that’s accessible on the main menu on your in-game profile.
Alternatively, you can use other map mods to create a road connection between Europe and The Great Steppe. See our List of Recommended Compatible Maps.
Please note: When combining large quantities of maps together in one profile, you may find that the game crashes when viewing the in-game world map. This can be resolved by loading a Zoom Crash Fix mod.
Is it compatible with TruckersMP?
Yes! Well, not yet at the time of this blog post’s release. But the TruckersMP team is working on enabling The Great Steppe as an optional mod on the ProMods TruckersMP servers as soon as possible! Keep an eye on TruckersMP’s social media for when its compatibility is announced.
What DLC does it require?
The Great Steppe requires the same DLCs as all our other map mods for ETS2, that is all the currently available map DLC.
How do I download it?
You can download the latest version from our homepage at ProMods.net. Previous versions of the mod can be downloaded from our addons page. (once future versions are available)
ProMods Europe, ProMods Middle East, ProMods Canada, the Trailer & Company Pack and the Cabin Accessories Pack have all been updated to version 1.45 of ETS2 and ATS!
ProMods 2.62 is the first of our new smaller updates, as discussed in the previous blog. It comes with a host of new content as well as a brand new country – Malta!
ProMods Canada 1.2.1 is a compatibility update with critical bug fixes. Work is still being done to expand the map in all directions! You can keep up to date with development here.
Last month you may have seen us appear on SCS Software’s social media. Why were we in Prague? Well, the reason for this was because – after some considerable planning (and travelling) – we had a grand team meetup for the first time since ProMods started in 2012! Smaller sporadic meetups of a few team members have happened before, but this was the first time so many of us have met in person. And where else to hold this meeting but Prague, home of SCS Software. We had a packed couple of days in the Czech capital, enjoying the company of SCS, the sights of the city, the local cuisine and of course the bars!
Thursday (and before)
Some of our team members had to travel quite the distance across the continent (2000+ km by car!) so in order to reach Prague on time they had already left days before. Others came from even further (New Zealand!) so planned a longer stay in Europe. But on Thursday almost everybody embarked on their journey to Prague by train, coach, car and plane (with pretty much everyone suffering from public transport issues at some point!)
Friday
On the first day we were kindly invited along to SCS Software’s offices just outside the city centre. We are incredibly thankful to SCS for offering to invite us for the morning when they heard of our grand meetup. Our founders ScuL and Nico gave a short presentation to some of SCS’s staff, including CEO Pavel Šebor, after which we were all shown around the office. Our team then had a go on the motion rigs, with only a few crashes ensuing! After a fantastic morning at SCS – and some selfies with the CEO – we explored the city sights before meeting for dinner at a delightful restaurant in the centre.
Saturday
Thanks to excellent preparation by ProMods founder ScuL, our second day was packed with activities. We had a fun morning of bowling followed by pool, darts and various other bar games. Moderator Volleybal4life (or should we say Bowling4life) was crowned winner of the inaugural ProMods Bowling Championship! After this we once again explored the sights of the city before many of us reconvened for drinks and dinner. It was another great evening, but all too soon we had to say our goodbyes and most of us headed home the next day.
This is what some of our members had to say about the meetup:
Developer bricksathome said:
“It was great to finally meet some of the team that I’ve been part of for 5 years in person. Getting to tour the SCS offices and chat to some of the people behind the game was a fantastic opportunity and it was weirdly surreal to walk around and see the map editor, a program that I’d spend so much time using as a hobbyist, open on everyone’s screen in a professional setting. Prague is a beautiful city that vastly exceeded my expectations, it was a great time all-round.”
Moderator Volleybal4life said:
“The trip was great, meeting fellow ProModders and SCS peeps was a nice experience. To me, the journey to the meetup proved how good the spirit within ProMods is. Chris94_NOR just waits in Berlin for 3 peeps (MandelSoft, Nico and me) he never met in person before, to take them to Prague, to make sure they are getting there in time too. Furthermore, I’m the winner of the very first ProMods Bowling Championship, so that goes into the history books. ScuL planned it all very well – the meeting at SCS, dinner and bowling.”
Developer ETS2-User said:
“It was fun to recognise the way people text and their humour, which I’ve known for 7 years now, in the actual people I met for the first time. It was a meeting of old friends but took the team spirit to a new level, as we finally got to know each other in person.”
Beta tester AlexBr967 said:
“Honestly, it was great to meet everyone. I thought it would be more awkward but honestly I think because I knew a lot of people from discord it was more like meeting people I already met before. Also having an excuse to visit a city outside England was absolutely amazing.”
While it was a shame the meetup couldn’t go on for longer, there was no question that it had been a great success. Everyone agreed that we shouldn’t wait long before organising the next one!
