ETS2 and ATS Mode Switch Explained

SCS Software has detailed the Mode Switch system, a new feature designed for the upcoming Coaches DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2 and Road Trip for American Truck Simulator. This system allows players to move between their established trucking careers and new gameplay experiences behind the wheel of cars or coaches. The update addresses the need to clearly separate distinct gameplay experiences as both titles expand beyond traditional trucking.

Three Distinct Career Modes

The developers have divided the game into three specific modes: Truck Mode, Car Mode, and Coach Mode. Each mode operates with its own unique gameplay loop, progression structure, and career systems. This separation ensures that the core mechanics of each vehicle type remain distinct and focused.

Truck Mode remains centered on transporting cargo and building a trucking business, preserving the traditional core of the franchise. Car Mode, which was introduced with the Road Trip update, shifts the focus toward exploration and building reputation with customers. In this mode, progression relies on reputation rather than the traditional experience points used in trucking. Coach Mode, associated with the new Coaches DLC, focuses on operating passenger routes. The primary objective in this mode is providing passengers with a smooth journey and keeping them satisfied throughout the trip.

Shared Profile Data

While the career progressions are separate, certain critical parts of the player profile remain shared across all modes. Money and map exploration carry over between Truck, Car, and Coach modes. This means that roads discovered while driving a car will remain explored when the player returns to their truck, and vice versa. This shared map data ensures that exploration in one mode benefits the player in others, maintaining a cohesive world state despite the separate career tracks.

The separation of modes also organizes mode-specific information. Vehicles, progression statistics, and other career-related data are kept together within their respective modes. This design choice aims to keep the interface relevant to the player’s current activity, reducing clutter by hiding information that does not apply to the selected vehicle type.

Switching Between Modes

Switching between modes is designed to be straightforward. Players can enter another mode while they are not driving to manage that specific career. However, there is a strict limitation: a player cannot have more than one active job across all modes at the same time. This restriction ensures that the player’s attention is focused on a single active task at any given moment.

The full transition between modes occurs when the player presses the Drive button. Until that action is taken, the player is in a management state for the selected mode. Once the Drive button is pressed, the correct navigation and gameplay systems for that specific mode activate. This ensures that the driving experience matches the rules and mechanics of the selected vehicle type.

Navigation Limitations

There is a current limitation regarding navigation when switching modes. As of now, the navigation system remains tied to the mode the player last drove in. This means that if a player switches from Truck Mode to Car Mode, they will not be able to set or adjust a route for the newly selected mode until they have actually driven in that mode. The navigation interface reflects the last active driving session, not the currently selected management mode.

SCS Software has acknowledged this friction point. The developers stated they are looking at ways to make navigation between modes feel smoother in future updates. This indicates that the current navigation behavior is a temporary state that may be refined in subsequent patches or updates to the Coaches DLC and Road Trip content.

Implications for Simulation Users

For simulation users, this update signifies a structural shift in how ETS2 and ATS handle player progression. The introduction of distinct modes with separate progression systems requires players to manage multiple career tracks. The shared money and map data provide a link between these tracks, but the separate progression systems mean that reputation in Car Mode does not directly translate to experience in Truck Mode.

The inability to have multiple active jobs simultaneously simplifies the management aspect but requires players to plan their sessions carefully. If a player has an active trucking job, they must complete or cancel it before accepting a job in Car or Coach Mode. This constraint prevents multitasking across vehicle types but ensures that each job is completed with focus.

The upcoming Coaches DLC and Road Trip update will introduce these mechanics to the player base. The Mode Switch system is a foundational element for these new content types, ensuring that the distinct gameplay styles of trucking, car driving, and coach operation do not interfere with each other. Players should expect to see this system in action as the new DLCs become available, with the navigation limitations potentially being addressed in future updates.