By now you've heard the story old
About a place where you were told
That only few have ever been,
And yet this place you now have seen.

So in your heart, you know it’s true
That there’s a special place for you,
That’s filled with Christmas fun and cheer,
A kind of magic everywhere.

There’s joy and laughter to be had,
And no one there is ever sad,
Especially with the time at hand!
Let’s all Return to Winterland!

So once you’re ready for the ride
And offering your help with pride,
A snowy portal will appear.
Just look around, you’ll find it near.

Then drive to it, and don’t delay
Now park inside, then on your way!
Once you arrive, explore, have fun.
It’s Winterland for everyone.

And last not least, just one more thing,
As well as all the Gifts you bring
There is an unexpected task
That means a lot to those who ask.

In Winterland, before you leave,
Your help is needed to retrieve
Some Gift Packs, that were sadly lost,
In last weeks snow storm, in the frost.

We ask your help to search and find
And load these Gift Packs, if you’re kind,
Then take them also with your haul
So no one misses out at all!

Then once you’re back, with gift packs done,
You’ll help to spread more snowy fun!
But not just fun, a legend grand,
Of magic Christmas Winterland!

So, haul for one and one for haul
And Very Merry Christmas All!

Once again the festive season is upon us, so we are delighted to invite you back to our wonderful Winterland this Christmas. This time we've added a few special updates to make it even more magical than before, we hope you like what you find! So, to our #BestCommunityEver, we give you our Return to Winterland event for Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator!

Get ready for an unforgettable Christmas adventure! Join us as we journey back to Christmas Winterland, where you'll deliver supplies and gift packs across the globe. We’re challenging the community to collect 200 Snowflakes for cities everywhere for each of the 5 tiers—1,000 Snowflakes in total. Each tier unlocks a special cabin item reward, with designs inspired by the five festive depots of Winterland!

This year, the weather in Winterland has changed a bit. You'll experience brighter, sunnier days than before, offering beautiful views with a fresher, crisper feeling. But don’t be fooled—there’s also a good chance you may encounter rougher weather, with snowfall in the forecast. You never quite know what you'll get!

You’ll be able to track the community progress on World of Trucks[www.worldoftrucks.com] or directly in the game using the updated External Contracts interface.

We've designed a new #ReturnToWinterland Desktop Background Theme, and you may notice an elusive blue gift box that pops up every now and then, providing a small clue about something extra that's in store for you. Since the weather in Winterland is a bit different this year, you might be asked to help rescue some gift packs that were lost in a past snowstorm. We trust that you'll rise to the challenge and answer the call for help! Who knows where it may take you in this magical land, perhaps to a place you've never visited before. When the time comes to help, you'll know—just follow the instructions from Winterland and be on your way!

We invite you to join us for a special Christmas stream which is happening today, on the 16th of December, on our Twitch[www.twitch.tv], YouTube, and Facebook[www.facebook.com]. We will show and tell you everything about this wonderful event!


Using External Contracts with a World of Trucks-connected profile in Euro Truck Simulator 2, American Truck Simulator or both, the community is to deliver supplies and gift packs to and from Christmas Winterland using as many cities as possible.
There are 5 different depots in Winterland for all deliveries, to and from, they are:

1. Christmas Market...a town square market
   
2. Marigold's...a chocolate factory
   
3. Northstar...a post office
   
4. Rudolph's Crafts...an art workshop
   
5. Snowy Peaks...a mountain resort market

Your personal goal is to complete 15 deliveries for them including at least 1 delivery to or from each depot, using Euro Truck Simulator 2, American Truck Simulator or both games combined.

Snowflakes are gained for those cities that have delivered to or received from Winterland. For a city to receive 1 Snowflake, the community needs to complete 1000 deliveries between it and Winterland. Each city can receive up to 5 Snowflakes!

The community goal is to reach at least 1000 Snowflakes for cities across all trucking territories. A unique community reward will be unlocked for each tier of 200 Snowflakes accomplished, with 5 tiers in total.


Personal: Your contribution of 15 or more deliveries to or from the 5 Christmas Winterland depots will gain you:

• A special World of Trucks Achievement.
  
• A collection of 6 festive arrays of decorative exterior cab lighting, designed as truck accessory items for each game. This collection is compatible with the top-tier trucks of all truck brands.
  
• A bonus reward, for those that don't already have it, of last year's beautiful Winterland truck paint job

Community: There will be 5 tiers to unlock. Each tier will bring a special cabin item reward for both games, based on the 5 unique depots within Christmas Winterland, so let's haul!


Access to Winterland is available using a portal, which materialises after you've accepted any event cargo. Find it on the map and navigate to it. Look for the sparkles!

When leaving Winterland through a portal, you can either deliver a cargo to its destination or travel to a random city for a new job to Winterland.

Note: In order to qualify for any community reward, you must complete at least your personal goal in Euro Truck Simulator 2, American Truck Simulator or both. Each reward will be a Steam inventory item for both Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator. Once completed, claim your reward in the Events page on your World of Trucks profile.


We can’t wait to hear about your return journey back to Christmas Winterland and we’d be thrilled to see more photos of you as you reach your goals and enjoy the rewards of this wonderful season of giving. Share your screenshots and videos with us using the hashtag #ReturnToWinterland on our Facebook ATS[www.facebook.com] / ETS2[www.facebook.com], X (formerly Twitter)[x.com], and Instagram[www.instagram.com] profiles and we will share our favourite ones.

We also plan on hosting a special live stream in which we will explore more about how this year's Christmas event has been designed and created for all of us in a detailed, nice, and relaxed talk with our colleagues from the World of Trucks team while also playing and contributing towards the community goal. Join us this afternoon from 18:00 CET on Twitch[www.twitch.tv], YouTube, or Facebook[www.facebook.com], and Return to Winterland with us!

An important aspect of creating realistic virtual representations of cities and towns in Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator is not only the road networks and buildings, but also the recreation of important and unique landmarks in those areas. One such common landmark is statues, which are created from scratch by our talented digital sculptors, whom we've had the pleasure to talk to and share more about their work with you today!

We spoke with Martina D and Věra Š, both of whom work in our Asset department and they create many of the statues along with a variety of other custom assets. We will let them introduce themselves!

"My name is Martina D. I joined SCS Software about six years ago as a Map Designer. After three years, I transitioned to the Asset department, where I continue to work today!"

"Hello, My name is Věra Š. but I´m also known as Bee! I work as a 3D Graphic Assets Designer and my specialty is statues. I´ve been working at SCS Software for over 2 years."

A real-life reference of The Homesteaders statue located in Enid, Oklahoma

We're interested to know, how did you get into sculpting? Was it something you learned at school, or did you teach yourself at home? "I always had a strong artistic background," Martina tells us. "Since elementary school, I have been attending art classes twice a week. When I was 14, I discovered the world of digital painting, which made me even more obsessed with creating art. When I started working at SCS, I became interested in the process of creating assets, so I began experimenting with 3D programs. Sculpting quickly caught my eye. It’s like painting, but with a third dimension, and it somehow felt so much more satisfying than painting. I completely fell in love with the process."

Věra also shares her answer "As a lover of figures such as Warhammer, or video games, and classical historical statues, I was mesmerized by such art forms and wanted to create something on my own, so I downloaded Blender and started my journey. Thanks to YouTube I learnt the basics of 3D sculpting and couldn't stop creating."

A 3D Digital Sculpture of The Homesteaders statueWhen creating digital sculptures for ETS2 or ATS, what kinds of tools and software do you use? "For sculpting, we use the ZBrush software from Maxon." Martina shares "It is the leading and the most efficient sculpting software on the market. As for hardware, I use my big non-screen Huion graphic tablet and a short keyboard that will fit next to my tablet and allow me to use shortcuts comfortably".

The process of creating and integrating a digital sculpture or asset into a game is far from quick or simple. It requires multiple steps and the use of specialized software. Věra explains, “First of all, I start with a block-out. In this step, the main goal is to create a simple shape that resembles the general form of the sculpture. After that, we can start sculpting, which is my favourite part since we’re playing with all the details. At this stage, we use ZBrush, which is excellent for sculpting organic forms.”

Martina agrees on the importance of starting with the basics, saying, “Everything starts with good proportions. I use the most basic shapes with the lowest polygon count possible. Each time I feel satisfied with the proportions, I increase the polygon count. It’s always good to work with lower polygon counts initially because I can use the polygon flow to my advantage. Once my sculpture feels finished after a few rounds of detailing, I use a decimation tool to drastically reduce unnecessary polygons while keeping all the details. This version isn’t usable for further sculpting, but it’s perfectly optimized for import into other software.”

The next step is creating a low-poly version of the model, a process called retopology. Věra explains, “If I’m satisfied with the high-resolution sculpture, I move to Maya, where I create a more optimised version of the sculpture. This step is crucial because we have to lower the resolution, or it won’t run in the game.”

Once the lower-poly model is ready, UV mapping comes next. “UV mapping,” Martina explains, “is the process of transferring a 3D model into a 2D space. It tells us which part of the model will be covered with texture and where.” Věra adds a colourful analogy: “I would describe UV mapping as peeling an orange. If we want to draw on a 3D object, we need to flatten it first. So, like peeling an orange, we peel the model and draw on the 2D rind.”

The final steps involve texturing and assembling the model. “I use Adobe Substance Painter,” says Martina. “First, I import the low-poly model and use the ‘baking’ tool to imprint all the details from the high-poly model onto a normal map texture. Then, I can easily apply any material to the model. I’ve created some of my own metal materials, which I modify as needed.” Věra shares a similar approach: “The fun part is adding colours and details in Substance Painter. Sometimes, we need to make adjustments in Photoshop before going back to Maya to assemble everything, create LODs, and add the finishing touches.”

"However, in some unique cases, to save time on more difficult or interesting sculptures, I like to re-use older statues or just parts of them and re-sculpt them to look brand new."

So how long does a sculpture typically take from start to finish? "It depends on the complexity of the sculpture," Martina explains. "Some statues take a few days, while others can take weeks. Realistic statues always require a bit more time and care."

What are some of the more challenging aspects of creating sculptures? "Optimization is always very critical for us," says Martina. "Sometimes, it can limit us or require us to come up with alternate solutions. It can be challenging, but it also makes my job more interesting."

We then went on to ask about their favourite sculpture they had created. "One of my proudest works is the Enid Heritage Center statue." Věra shares "It warmed my heart to see it praised in a Reddit post. Another favourite of mine is the Santa Cruz Clock Tower statue. This wasn’t an ordinary sculpture, it serves as a reminder of the loss and grief that war leaves behind, not just for a specific war. At one point during its creation, the statue depicted more intense pain, but it was eventually changed to avoid being too disturbing."

A real-life reference of the Buffalo Soldier Memorial statue located in Junction City, Kansas

Martina tells us of their favourite sculpture too "There was one really strange statue of a metal lady made out of metal scraps. It was quite challenging to make it look good and optimised at the same time. I usually sculpt statues of riders on the horse. Sculpting animals is my favourite. I worked lately on cows and dogs too." Between the both of them, Martina and Věra have created more than 50 statues for current and upcoming map expansions.

And for those who share similar interests in digital sculpting, do you have any words? Věra shares "There is no such thing as talent, you are going to get better only if you practice, and that applies to any art." Martina also adds "Fight for your dreams. Working in the game industry is more achievable than it seems".

We hope you enjoyed this insight into the world of digital sculpting and what goes into the work you see behind those landmark statues found across Euro Truck Simulator 2 and American Truck Simulator. We'd like to thank both Věra and Martina for taking the time to talk with us and share their work, knowledge and experience with you in this Under the Hood blog! If you have some suggestions for future topics, be sure to let us know in the comments below. Until next time, keep on truckin'!