I’m back in Euro Truck Simulator 2. Back behind the wheel of a 40-ton lorry hauling whatever it can. That has already ruined my schedule immensely. And somehow I love it.
What has changed?
Before starting Euro Truck Simulator 2 for the first time in a while the other day, I looked at when I really played it last. Sometime in 2021 was the last time Steam found any activity from my side. And I cannot even say if that was the last time I was active or if that was just a missclick on the Launch-button.
In any case, I am back now after multiple years and wow have things changed. While before, my local regions around the area of Linz in Austria were … pretty much not at all realistic compared to the “real streets”, now I drive with my jaw on the floor. I keep saying “oh I know this place”! It all seems so familiar, which is an absolute far cry from what I remembered. Now that was a immediate plus for the comeback.
Additionally, the thing that made it most enjoyable for me back in the day is virtually the same … the building of your company and legacy. I am a sucker for anything economy simulation-y. Being able to build your own company, hire drivers, buy trucks, buy new company HQs and see the profit rake in makes my heart beat high. And just driving around Europe in a lorry hauling is … a relaxing time.
Another new thing: TruckersMP for new online!
What originally brought me to return was the offer from a tracc.eu friend. Basically, “Let’s do a bit of trucking together”. That (and my new sim rig) was all it needed for me to try it out again. And I’m loving it so far.
The big issue here is while Euro Truck Simulator 2’s map is not 1:1 scale, it is still sizeable enough for long hauls to take their time. Just yesterday, we did the longest haul in the game. From Varo in Portugal to Vyborg in Russia. Boy, that was an ordeal.
RIP: sleep schedule
And it took 4 hours to complete. (Slight) Speeding and breaks included! We did end up at the location but it was past 2 am and my regular sleep routine meant slumber kept waiting.
Fast forward to the next day and I wake up 3 hours after my alarm was supposed to wake me up. Being in the lucky position of being able to choose my times, I kept resting. 5 hours later and I sit here, writing. Only having gotten to productivity in the afternoon. And surprisingly, I am completely fine with that.
What makes Euro Truck Simulator 2 so enjoyable?
But what is it about doing something that many other (have to) do as a job? What is so enjoyable about simulating one of the worse jobs for pay and family?
Is it the freedom of the road? Is it the “number go up” mentality of the economic simulation? Is it the escape into a “quasi-real-life” without the big issues plagueing the news?
For me, there is a good mix of these topics and maybe a few more. It is an escape. But it’s different to Gabe Newell’s perspective in the Half-Life: 25th Anniversary Documentary. Maybe to him, realism is not fun. Maybe we have different definitions of “fun”. Maybe we are just talking about different types of fun.
I think what GabeN was talking about is the instant gratification, high-velocity type of fun. Back in the days, that was the abnormal way to enjoy. And that is what made it enjoyable. In a day, you get more boring stuff than fun stuff. More long-windedness than short-fire-bursts. But that has changed dramatically in the meantime.
Social Media and short attention spans
We live in a time in which the attention spans of people have become shorter, mostly due to social media. TikTok, YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, … All those help together to redefine “fun”. Short dopamine highs are what brains are yearning for… Is it? If you are caught in the bubble? Yes. But the brain, at least in my case, yearns for difference. Shutting off and resting.
And that is where Euro Truck Simulator 2 provides such an impressive alternative. It’s slow. It’s seeminlgy uninteresting. Why would I want to do something for fun which other people complain about as a job?
Because my brain needs it. My brain needs to shut off every once in a while.
At my job I have to think about 200 things at once (and the same counts for tracc.eu championship management activities). Adding studying for a master’s degree and my brain is overloaded most of the time.
Euro Truck Simulator 2 provides a niche alternative
Compare that to Euro Truck Simulator 2. The objective is to get from A to B. Which route? The navigational system tells me. Which speed? The speed limit and cruise control. What do I even have to do anymore? Make sure the truck stays between the white lines.
Shut the brain off (compared to usually) and just stay between the white lines.
It’s such an impressively relaxing thing to do for me. Similar to playing minigolf now that I think about it. Don’t think about much. Just hit the ball. You have learned how to hit the ball, I say to myself. So I just need to execute on that.
Just execute on what you know.
Just execute on what you know.
It seems weird how that sentence, to me, seems “not good enough” in a professional context.
You have to always improve. You have to strive for new heights. You have to be better.
Being “good enough” is no longer good enough. Was it ever, though? Was being “good enough” every really good enough?
What if other people try to tell you that you’re good enough but you don’t believe them? Are you really good enough if you don’t think you’re good enough? Who even is to say if someone is good enough, if not the person themselves? You can be good enough for another person but not good enough for someone else. In that sense, can you ever really be 100% good enough?
You cannot be 100% good enough. And that is okay.
You cannot make everyone like you. You cannot be perfect for everyone. You cannot be perfect for everything.
And that is a thought that some people (me included) need to internalise more.
But this weirdly brings me back to Euro Truck Simulator 2. In the game, I am good enough. I do not need to worry about improving too much. It’s relaxing. The aura demanding I become the best I could potentially be … is missing. The pressure is alleviated.
I like Euro Truck Simulator 2.
Tollikontrolli