Coaches DLC Bus Stations: New Infrastructure Across Europe

Today, the team at SCS Software is excited to share a closer look at another key part of the upcoming Coaches DLC for Euro Truck Simulator 2. Stepping behind the wheel of a coach introduces a brand-new way to experience the road. An equally important part lies in where your journey begins and ends: the coach stations and stops themselves.

Coaches DLC Bus Stations: Reworking Old Prefabs

When development on Project Coaches began, there were already quite a few bus station prefabs placed across the ETS2 map. Many of you may have spotted these throughout the map long before our official announcement. While they served well as scenic placeholders, they were not designed with our Coaches DLC in mind. A significant part of the development has focused on reworking these older assets, refreshing their layouts, and rebuilding them from the ground up. The goal is to better reflect real-world locations and integrate more naturally into their surroundings.

Expanding the Network Across Europe

Expanding coverage across the map became a key priority. The team spoke with Dominik, Producer of Project Coaches, to learn more. “From the very beginning, we faced a significant challenge: expanding the network of bus stations and stops across all of Europe. In some existing DLCs, these locations were scarce or missing entirely. Our primary goal was to cover key cities to ensure players can take on bus jobs even if they own a DLC that is currently disconnected from the rest of the road network. Following that, we focused on covering as many capital cities as possible while identifying new spots where we could realistically fit bus infrastructure into the map.”

Challenges of Adding New Infrastructure

Integrating these new locations into an already established world is far from straightforward. Many map expansions, such as Italia, Road to the Black Sea, and Beyond the Baltic Sea, were originally built without the Coaches’ gameplay in mind. This means that adding new stations required revisiting existing cities and carefully adapting them to fit new infrastructure.

One of the map designers shares, “Most bus terminals require varying degrees of intervention into the existing map. Creating a brand-new station from scratch is a relatively straightforward process, essentially standard map development. However, adding new areas to locations where they weren’t originally planned presents a unique set of challenges, especially in parts of the map that are nearly a decade old. In those cases, we must carefully use older assets and techniques to ensure the new additions don’t feel out of place.”

Space Constraints in Dense Cities

Even in newer map expansions, space is often limited, especially in dense urban environments. “It is quite a puzzle to integrate two hundred meters of road and a large bus terminal into a space where, originally, there was only room for half of that. It’s a constant balancing act between our vision and the technical reality of the existing map.”

In some cases, this has even led to cities being expanded to include parts of their town centres. This allows for more authentic placement of coach stations. Additionally, map designers who have been working on specific DLCs have been implementing their own stations. The Coach Team steps in to provide technical support and ensure that all necessary gameplay functionality is properly implemented. The Coaches DLC bus stations project is a true team effort.

Quality Assurance Perspective

“It’s been great to be part of the Coaches development team as a tester and to have the opportunity to see all of these newly created locations come to life,” says Simon B from the QA team. “The asset and map designers have really outdone themselves on this project, creating vibrant bus stations and once again bringing a large portion of the real world closer through stunning landmarks and scenery.

That said, with so much work to do, there are always some remaining issues or imperfections that can go unnoticed with each new bus station, which is where I come in. Whether it’s a smaller detail or a larger issue, and whether the fix is quick or more involved, everything is resolved smoothly and efficiently thanks to the proactivity of the wider team. I’m excited to continue helping ensure these bus stations are in top condition, and I can’t wait to see the final result of all our work.”

More Than Just a New Vehicle

With the Coaches DLC, the team is not just introducing a new vehicle type. There is so much more. From reworked legacy prefabs to newly built landmark stations and expanded city areas, the goal is to ensure that players can enjoy this upcoming addition across the already established Euro Truck Simulator 2 map. For more on the Coaches DLC, check out our Volvo 9700 Double Decker preview.

Add Coaches DLC to Your Wishlist

Excited for the Coaches DLC bus stations and the new gameplay? Add it to your Steam Wishlist. It really helps support future releases and ensures you will be notified when it launches. Follow SCS Software on official social media channels to stay up to date with the latest development news. Until next time, see you on the road.

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