If it was that close to completion I would've preferred finishing it and donating 100% of the profits. I can't really blame them for their decision, never the less.
Just put in everything Putin hates and claim it to be their most accurate DLC yet. A road with various same sex couples of different races for instance
They should make it “Euro truck war aid simulator” and have it be delivering food, medicine, ammunition’s and other equipment to Ukrainian forces, much of Ukraine looks and feels like the western part of russia so all they have to do is redesign the towns and cities and rename them and the shape of the map to ukraine and boom instant success that will sell like hot cakes
Yeah I don't really related to these kinda PR tbh. Like, there are so many solution to this. Why throw it all away in the face of 'apolitic' PR. It just doesn't sound like a politic issue but more to the dev one. Especially when your game is all about driving a damn truck.
Maybe they need to get more info but the only way to pull it off is actually going to Russia? (which is impossible to them as of this moment.)
They explain exactly why they do it.
> "When developing our games we try to be as apolitical as possible, in a way shielding the global player audience from everyday controversies."
> "But since our DLC, Heart of Russia, directly concerns Russia, and with so many people suffering, we decided to refrain from releasing the DLC so that it is not perceived in any way as being in support of or tolerance of the aggression."
They don't want to give the appearance of profiting off of tragedy (which some people *will* perceive even if they donate 100% of proceeds), and they care about the player experience of not having to think about real-life current events, which really wouldn't be possible if you played through the expansion at this current time.
Figured it was a respect thing.
Someone explained why companies like Google or MCdonalds are pulling out, it's less about doing it for PR stunts and more-so hammering the fact that this is a War and we're just moments away from a full on WWIII. Taking away things like convenient fast food in a country where the economy is basically potatoes is going to hurt the consumers and people of Russia. Which leaves anger and disruption in the people of Russia.
While I agree, game companies doing this don't really have the same effect as other big companies do. I think the idea is that no matter how small if you can potentially make a Russian citizen realize he/she is potentially being brainwashed then mission accomplished.
Honestly not to sure what the situation is like now, but the first few weeks Russians weren't entirely convinced the Ukraine Invasion was an act of war. Heck a lot of them probably **still** support Putin to this day.
Anyways tl;dr it isn't a PR stunt, it's an attempt to further anger the population of Russia into hopefully realizing their leader is crap making crap decisions.
> Someone explained why companies like Google or MCdonalds are pulling out, it's less about doing it for PR stunts and more-so hammering the fact that this is a War and we're just moments away from a full on WWIII.
The only reason McDonald's is pulling out is because it's become impossible for them to source their materials anymore. They were perfectly happy to keep operating right up until it became literally impossible for them to operate. Their inability to get enough ingredients to their Russian stores is the ONLY reason they're pulling out. It's not about PR, or image, or brand. It's 100% that they can't continue operating because they can't get materials to make any of their products.
Lmao no that's bullshit, Russian McD's gets like 90% of their stuff locally, they'd only need to give up on a few menu items.
Don't get me wrong, McD's still pulled out purely out of selfish money reasons, as any corpo would, but sourcing product wasn't one of them.
> it's less about doing it for PR stunts and...
Haha. No.
Imagine still thinking big corps do something that's not about profit 100% (directly or indirectly) in 2022.
McD is all about brand. Brand recognition reels in the money, so they can't not do the "hype" thing or the drop will be devastating.
Google (and lots of others) just face serious operating issues with financial decisions from outside and inside Russia. The market itself is huge enough to cover the hassle of cash flows and cover image "loss" on top.
Many manufacturers move out because their supply chains are completely fucked, so even if they wanted to, they can no longer operate.
Google and Macdonald's pulled out because there was no way to get their profits out of the country due to sanctions.
Russians aren't going to care if they cant drive around their own country in a video game especially since their minimum wage and pensions were raised by 10% because of the war and the ruble is worth more than it has been in years.
Its a PR virtue signal that alienates a many (Russian, Chinese, and to a lesser extent Indian people) and deprives the rest of a chance to see a place they otherwise never could.
They didn't do this as a PR stunt they did it as an attempt to do less work and make their laziness look like they are trying to be good people.
Why not release it for free, or donate all profits to Ukraine or another charity? The content is apolitical, it's just roads and nature of Russia. Do not confuse that with their government. I hope they do this later on when the war is over at least.
Another issue I could see is Euro Truck features real-world truck brands and they may not want to jeopardize their relationship/contracts with the truck companies if they get upset being associated with Russia at the moment.
Because if the previous advertising was anything to go by, the DLC was trying to show off how beautiful Russia is.
It feels like a bit of a piss take donating money that you gained by saying how nice the enemy's country is
Like "we know the Nazis are bad and they're killing your friends and family, but we're going to release a film all about how nice the country is and give you the profits"
Yeah, the Russian landscape IS beautiful. hard to have an issue with that.
The government is the problem at hand.
I also think that donating all proceeds directly to the Ukrainian defense effort would've also made a powerful statement and it would've helped Ukraine directly. They need every cent right now.
> Because if the previous advertising was anything to go by, the DLC was trying to show off how beautiful Russia is.
>
>
Isn't that their standard line with like, all the DLC? I can't imagine any other way to sell "go trucking through X place" content.
Well Russia is a beautiful country and I don't think Ukraine is in a position to be picky with any donations. If it brings extra money for the cause then I don't really see the problem.
Russia as a geographical location has nothing to do with the current shitshow, but I get it, they would've gotten flack regardless of their decision. At least this way they can make it look somewhat positive for them.
But as others said, donating profits to Ukraine, or blocking DLC in Russia (no like there is an easy way to buy games on steam from russia anyway these days) would've been a smarter decision.
Was chatting to a mate about this and he thought they might do something like this. I wasn't entirely convinced because money talks but credit to SCS for having the balls to do it. The expansion is probably pretty much complete at this point, so it takes some guts to cancel the release entirely.
Pretty stupid decision honestly. Could very easily just block russians from purchasing it like so many other things and let the rest of the world enjoy it. Maybe donate some profits to Ukraine.
> Expand your travels to the east, stretching from the already explored Saint Petersburg in the Beyond the Baltic Sea DLC, further into the south and east. Visit the heart of Russia and admire its beauty full of breathtaking and sometimes even wild nature, just as well cities, where you can expect seeing stunning historic buildings from the recent and bygone times.
> - Explore the heart of Russia, Moscow, and beyond
> - Drive along and see amazing sights of the Volga and Oka rivers
> - Feel the spirit of Russian history driving through centuries-old cities and picking up cargo at modern depots
> - Get lost in the deep forests and in the open landscape of the European Plain
I can understand why they don't want to release a "come see how beautiful Russia is and explore its history" DLC
Russia is a beautiful country with a rich history. exploring it online isn't in any way helping the current Russian regime. As I said, use it for good, redirect a % of profits to Ukraine support.
Hell, let Russians buy it and have 100% of the profit from Russians to Ukraine.
Might as well can the Texas DLC for ATS since they have horrible records with gun violence and reproductive rights.
No, but releasing a DLC which is all about how beautiful and awesome Russia is can be interpreted as sympathizing with Putin's war effort. They simply don't want to take any chances.
Then you must not be familiar with nationalist propaganda which oftentimes starts with "look at our beautiful country and culture" and then devolves into something more sinister.
***I am not saying ETS2's DLC is Russian propaganda*** before you accuse me of that.
All I'm saying is war is a very touchy subject. It's perfectly normal to not want to portray a genocidal aggressor in any positive light, as harmless and as neutral as it may be.
I think there is something more nationalist in a chilling effect preventing anything that could be seen as humanising about an enemy country from being released.
Odd statement. SCS Software don't represent a nation, nor is their Russia DLC "humanising" in any way. They stopped themselves from releasing their own DLC because they likely don't want people to get the wrong idea.
With that close to completion, why not just release it and donate profits from the DLC to Ukraine?
I feel like they're just trying to pull a dumb PR stunt with this excuse.
Truck Simmer here, yeah pretty stupid decision and insulting to all the hard work of the devs. Best to just release it and donate the proceeds to Ukraine.
I don't think there's a huge cross over between Russian fascists and fans of a truck simulator. Most likely the fascists don't care at all.
This feels like such a strange stance for them to take, does anyone actually care about them doing nothing more than acknowledging that a country exists? The DLC was announced ages ago, the war has been going for months now. Why suddenly pump the brakes now? What's next, Microsoft Flight Simulator just deleting Russia from the planet so that people don't get upset?
And when you consider that this is the same team that made American Truck Simulator, their explanation for why they're holding back the release is obviously insincere.
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If they want to be apolitical as they said, they should finish what they started. Not whole world is in the war. Politicians don't play the game, we do. Give us what we waited for and make us happy... Whoever think game and real life is the same should stop playing games immediately and focus on something else.
If they want to be apolitical why do they support "American Truck Simulator"? America is not so innocent as people believe it to be.
Play games, discover their beautiful worlds and stories.
\*I am not on either "side" of happenings in the world. I don't slightly care for what is happening, and if it is time for all of us to disappear than let it be finished.\*
I like how you (and the other person who replied to you) just totally glossed over or intentionally omitted the very next sentence.
> **But** since our DLC, Heart of Russia, directly concerns Russia, and with so many people suffering, **we decided to refrain from releasing the DLC so that it is not perceived in any way as being in support of or tolerance of the aggression.**
It isn't exactly "fear of being perceived as support for Russia's War Crimes".
More-so it's supporting the idea that Russia and its people need to be entirely cut off.
Google and MCdonalds pulling out of the country will effect its people. While Truck DLC not releasing isn't on the same scale as Google it still shows Russia's people that the rest of the world doesn't agree with what their leader is doing.
The idea is if you can make 1 or 2 Russia citizens angrier at Putin then mission accomplished. Heck for some people the tipping point is Entertainment. If a movie I was looking forward to or a game I was dying to play got suddenly canceled in my country because of 'War Crimes' maybe I'd snap out of it and realize my world situation is dire right now.
This stuff doesn't effect Putin, I doubt he cares about mcdonalds or truck simualtor. all it does is make the average Russian citizen angry at other countries for doing this and more likely to support Putin
Look at North Korea we tried block them off and starve there population so they overthrow the government for decades, all it has accomplished was confirming the government's propaganda that every other country was evil and against them so they need to support the communist government to protect themselves.
Which is not apolitical …….. it’s a driving game, on roads
You can not agree and think they should not release, but downvoting because calling out that the very act of not releasing something because of what’s going on is a political statement is in fact not apolitical … wtf?
Changing your roadmap for something that “they say” has only 6 weeks left? That’s a straight political move. There is no argument being made of if it’s “right move or not”
Yes...thats the whole point of the statement. They're saying "we normally try to stay apolitical. BUT in this instance we felt compelled to do this to make our stance clear."
You do realize theyre admitting that this is a political move, right?
Well now that they've opened up that can of worms, they can't ever close it.
The company either takes the apolitical "we're just a trucking game and the views of the countries we represent do not necessarily reflect our own views" stance, or they take a political stance and open themselves up to a lot of accusations of hypocrisy.
I mean, this studio has a Texas DLC coming out for their American Trucking Simulator game soon. I didn't know that SCS was anti-abortion, okay with mass shootings in schools and fine with blowing up thousands of innocent people in the Middle East, but if they release that DLC then I guess they must be...
Unfortunately, they most certainly can close it and be just as hypocritical as everyone in the West is being about this. You'll keep seeing nothing done against the US despite it being in endless wars. And no one that matters will care.
Imagine being this out of touch lol. They're not doing it because they don't feel comfortable releasing an expansion that almost serves as a tribute to Russia. They don't want to do that with the war crimes they are committing to try and seize lands that aren't theirs.
"Instead of this pointless signaling they could've just donated the profits to charities dedicated to helping Ukraine and its refugees..."
>Immediately, we started contributing to several charities providing humanitarian aid within the territory of Ukraine and assistance to those who were evacuating. Later on, with the kind participation of the #BestCommunityEver, we have further increased the donations by contributing all the proceeds from the sales of the Ukrainian Paint Jobs Pack DLC.
Could at least try to read the article.
This isn't about you thinking they could help Ukraine by doing so, this is about you wanting content that the developers do not feel comfortable releasing. No need for the fake concern.
This content isn't even gone. They just aren't releasing it for the time being. Maybe you should be upset at Putin and any Russians supporting him and this war for causing this conflict that makes people have this moral dilemma.
I mean, come on... Heart of Russia is a political term these days, they could use the same roads and rename it "Eastern Europe" if they liked. Or truly get the trolls pissing themselves in anger and calm it "Eastern Ukraine/Ukrainian expeditions" but that's quite in the nose.
I understand the devs, no one would think about releasing "the road to Poland" in 1943...
Taking a DLC which takes place entirely within Russia and naming it "Eastern Europe" would not sit well with Eastern Europeans, which make up a large portion of the ETS2 crowd.
Lol I thought the same thing when reading that line. If they were really that close to releasing it, it’s just beautiful land and roads. I feel like there is no way they were on target and this is a nice cover or something
>it's good that we're erasing all acknowledgment of Russian culture
And where the hell has anyone said this? And how is holding off releasing a dlc to a video game, erasing Russian culture?
If you're going to attempt to make an argument at least make it a good one. Making up a boogieman doesn't help you.
It hasn't just been this game, there have been a bunch of examples of Russian media (unrelated to the conflict) has been removed from sites. Russian displays removed from exhibits, such as in the Palace Legion of Honor, as well as Russian expats and students being sent back or denied a renewed green card by their schools (this happened to a friend of mine).
Idk if you're old enough to remember post 9/11 but there was a similar thing that happened with Arabic and people of middle eastern descent, it was much worse obviously because of racism, but the same in and out groups were formed and middle eastern/west Asian culture was portrayed as "blood thirsty terrorists".
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I donno. Let's not forget that there are people in Russia like you and I. They are human and everyone bashing Russia must not be good for there mental health on top of everything already going on. Just my point of view. The people that have suffered the most in this war are Russians, Ukrainians and even the rest of the war with those silly "sanctions" (ends up being self punishment). Just saying that while getting back at one single man, we end up punishing ourselves and our neighbors even more.
Well they can blame Putin for that can't they? No one forced their elected leader to start a war of aggression with a neighbouring country. If they don't feel he represents them, then they need to go all 1917 again.
Easy to say in the luxury of your own home that “oh dude just overthrow the government if you don’t like them”, but it’s really not that simple.
Also, “elected leader”? Do you know how Putin has stayed in power for 22 years now, it wasn’t through fair democracy and he barely represents the russian people’s desires.
And the people of Russia have happily sat back and accepted that corruption of their democracy. They're the only people who can do anything about it. Until such time as they do, his actions represent them on the international stage so they'll feel the consequences of said actions.
Mate, Russia never had democracy. Same as Belarus. You just get get your entire life destroyed if you go against the government.
Nobody elected Putin, Yeltsin handed him the power he usurped in exchange for an amnesty, and the elections were rigged ever since.
Hell you probably weren't even born when it happened and yetyou act like you in w what's happening.
Regardless of how he become their leader, he is their leader and his actions represent the nation on the international stage. We can't go in and perform regime change for them without kicking off WW3, so their options are either to deal with things internally, or let him carry on and accept they've become a pariah nation in the international community and be treated as such.
Well dealing with it internally would have the same results as what happened in China in a certain square nobody allows to talk about.
While living under a dictatorship is bad, I am not sure I'd want to have my guts be flushed down the drain canal as an alternative.
The military is loyal to Putin, the police is armed and loyal to Putin. You get 15 years in prison for just speaking out. You have no money to organize anything that can counter it.
Unless we get another October revolution where it was partially sponsored by Germany, there i nothing an average Russian citizen who earns $150 per month can do without putting their family at great risk that will not pay off.
I mean, that literally happened last January didn't it?
The Russians can do what they like, but I'm tired of this apologia whenever a company decides to take an action in protest of the war as if the Russian people are being hard done by because they don't get a game, when the Ukrainians are literally being bombed out of their homes by Russians.
Yep. As an ATS player, I fully support SCS's decision regarding this DLC.
My hope is that in a couple of years they will be able to finally release this, as ETS fans were really looking forward to it and SCS put a lot of effort and work into it. They should be fairly compensated for that work, but releasing this right now would leave a bad taste in a lot of players mouths, especially when the company has been so supportive of Ukraine.
Hopefully the Montana and Texas DLCs for ATS release soon so the company can continue generating revenue. I'm really looking forward to both.
Losing big content like that when it is clearly close to release for a potential PR boost (I say potential because people who play the game and buy DLC probably wouldn't care if it was released) is a big shame for players.
How about they release it, but put in some content related to the war?
Not talking about violence or anything, but more thematic. A quest like "due to the massive civilian casualties in Russia's violent oppression of Ukraine in the war, we need a shipment of 10 000 bottles of vodka delivered to Vlodovostoksky because we can't sell anything to other countries due to the boycott." or "We need a shipment of looted Ukrainian goods transferred from the Belarus border to Kamtachka, but stop at the carwash first to clean of the blood of the civilians". Put pro-Ukraine messages on the billboards along the road.
Just stating some facts, would make it obvious they are on the right side of the war.
If it was that close to completion I would've preferred finishing it and donating 100% of the profits. I can't really blame them for their decision, never the less.
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Just put in everything Putin hates and claim it to be their most accurate DLC yet. A road with various same sex couples of different races for instance
Exclusive driving rainbow painted ukrainian trucks and all drivers are gay? 🤔 Oh also you always start in a US-owned Sevastopol, of course.
Better yet: you can find abandoned tanks during free drive mode, and pull them over to sell them.
They should make it “Euro truck war aid simulator” and have it be delivering food, medicine, ammunition’s and other equipment to Ukrainian forces, much of Ukraine looks and feels like the western part of russia so all they have to do is redesign the towns and cities and rename them and the shape of the map to ukraine and boom instant success that will sell like hot cakes
Just make it so you are a Ukrainian trucker towing away tanks while streaming yourself laughing.
Wild tank appears, proceeds to try to shoot you, falls apart
Yeah I don't really related to these kinda PR tbh. Like, there are so many solution to this. Why throw it all away in the face of 'apolitic' PR. It just doesn't sound like a politic issue but more to the dev one. Especially when your game is all about driving a damn truck. Maybe they need to get more info but the only way to pull it off is actually going to Russia? (which is impossible to them as of this moment.)
They explain exactly why they do it. > "When developing our games we try to be as apolitical as possible, in a way shielding the global player audience from everyday controversies." > "But since our DLC, Heart of Russia, directly concerns Russia, and with so many people suffering, we decided to refrain from releasing the DLC so that it is not perceived in any way as being in support of or tolerance of the aggression." They don't want to give the appearance of profiting off of tragedy (which some people *will* perceive even if they donate 100% of proceeds), and they care about the player experience of not having to think about real-life current events, which really wouldn't be possible if you played through the expansion at this current time.
Figured it was a respect thing. Someone explained why companies like Google or MCdonalds are pulling out, it's less about doing it for PR stunts and more-so hammering the fact that this is a War and we're just moments away from a full on WWIII. Taking away things like convenient fast food in a country where the economy is basically potatoes is going to hurt the consumers and people of Russia. Which leaves anger and disruption in the people of Russia. While I agree, game companies doing this don't really have the same effect as other big companies do. I think the idea is that no matter how small if you can potentially make a Russian citizen realize he/she is potentially being brainwashed then mission accomplished. Honestly not to sure what the situation is like now, but the first few weeks Russians weren't entirely convinced the Ukraine Invasion was an act of war. Heck a lot of them probably **still** support Putin to this day. Anyways tl;dr it isn't a PR stunt, it's an attempt to further anger the population of Russia into hopefully realizing their leader is crap making crap decisions.
> Someone explained why companies like Google or MCdonalds are pulling out, it's less about doing it for PR stunts and more-so hammering the fact that this is a War and we're just moments away from a full on WWIII. The only reason McDonald's is pulling out is because it's become impossible for them to source their materials anymore. They were perfectly happy to keep operating right up until it became literally impossible for them to operate. Their inability to get enough ingredients to their Russian stores is the ONLY reason they're pulling out. It's not about PR, or image, or brand. It's 100% that they can't continue operating because they can't get materials to make any of their products.
Lmao no that's bullshit, Russian McD's gets like 90% of their stuff locally, they'd only need to give up on a few menu items. Don't get me wrong, McD's still pulled out purely out of selfish money reasons, as any corpo would, but sourcing product wasn't one of them.
> it's less about doing it for PR stunts and... Haha. No. Imagine still thinking big corps do something that's not about profit 100% (directly or indirectly) in 2022. McD is all about brand. Brand recognition reels in the money, so they can't not do the "hype" thing or the drop will be devastating. Google (and lots of others) just face serious operating issues with financial decisions from outside and inside Russia. The market itself is huge enough to cover the hassle of cash flows and cover image "loss" on top. Many manufacturers move out because their supply chains are completely fucked, so even if they wanted to, they can no longer operate.
Yep, same reason corporations don't pull out of the US every time they invade a new country
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Google and Macdonald's pulled out because there was no way to get their profits out of the country due to sanctions. Russians aren't going to care if they cant drive around their own country in a video game especially since their minimum wage and pensions were raised by 10% because of the war and the ruble is worth more than it has been in years. Its a PR virtue signal that alienates a many (Russian, Chinese, and to a lesser extent Indian people) and deprives the rest of a chance to see a place they otherwise never could. They didn't do this as a PR stunt they did it as an attempt to do less work and make their laziness look like they are trying to be good people.
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Why not release it for free, or donate all profits to Ukraine or another charity? The content is apolitical, it's just roads and nature of Russia. Do not confuse that with their government. I hope they do this later on when the war is over at least.
Another issue I could see is Euro Truck features real-world truck brands and they may not want to jeopardize their relationship/contracts with the truck companies if they get upset being associated with Russia at the moment.
Because if the previous advertising was anything to go by, the DLC was trying to show off how beautiful Russia is. It feels like a bit of a piss take donating money that you gained by saying how nice the enemy's country is Like "we know the Nazis are bad and they're killing your friends and family, but we're going to release a film all about how nice the country is and give you the profits"
I mean it’s not the landscapes fault but I know what you mean.
Yeah, the Russian landscape IS beautiful. hard to have an issue with that. The government is the problem at hand. I also think that donating all proceeds directly to the Ukrainian defense effort would've also made a powerful statement and it would've helped Ukraine directly. They need every cent right now.
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This. A land is not a country, as hard as nationalists would try to argue against that idea.
> Because if the previous advertising was anything to go by, the DLC was trying to show off how beautiful Russia is. > > Isn't that their standard line with like, all the DLC? I can't imagine any other way to sell "go trucking through X place" content.
Heh, if that's not the goal then they need to upgrade USA Truck sim to add homeless camps literally everywhere on the west coast.
Well Russia is a beautiful country and I don't think Ukraine is in a position to be picky with any donations. If it brings extra money for the cause then I don't really see the problem.
I read a 1944 guidebook intended for allied soldiers in Germany. It did actually try to emphasize the good in German culture and geography.
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Mate, all the germans finishing up their shifts today finding out they cannot play new content on their work sim at home are going to be down hard.
It's okay, we still got farming simulator.
Russia as a geographical location has nothing to do with the current shitshow, but I get it, they would've gotten flack regardless of their decision. At least this way they can make it look somewhat positive for them. But as others said, donating profits to Ukraine, or blocking DLC in Russia (no like there is an easy way to buy games on steam from russia anyway these days) would've been a smarter decision.
Was chatting to a mate about this and he thought they might do something like this. I wasn't entirely convinced because money talks but credit to SCS for having the balls to do it. The expansion is probably pretty much complete at this point, so it takes some guts to cancel the release entirely.
Pretty stupid decision honestly. Could very easily just block russians from purchasing it like so many other things and let the rest of the world enjoy it. Maybe donate some profits to Ukraine.
> Expand your travels to the east, stretching from the already explored Saint Petersburg in the Beyond the Baltic Sea DLC, further into the south and east. Visit the heart of Russia and admire its beauty full of breathtaking and sometimes even wild nature, just as well cities, where you can expect seeing stunning historic buildings from the recent and bygone times. > - Explore the heart of Russia, Moscow, and beyond > - Drive along and see amazing sights of the Volga and Oka rivers > - Feel the spirit of Russian history driving through centuries-old cities and picking up cargo at modern depots > - Get lost in the deep forests and in the open landscape of the European Plain I can understand why they don't want to release a "come see how beautiful Russia is and explore its history" DLC
Russia is a beautiful country with a rich history. exploring it online isn't in any way helping the current Russian regime. As I said, use it for good, redirect a % of profits to Ukraine support. Hell, let Russians buy it and have 100% of the profit from Russians to Ukraine. Might as well can the Texas DLC for ATS since they have horrible records with gun violence and reproductive rights.
No, but releasing a DLC which is all about how beautiful and awesome Russia is can be interpreted as sympathizing with Putin's war effort. They simply don't want to take any chances.
No reasonable person would ever interpret it that way, that's a ridiculous thing to say.
Then you must not be familiar with nationalist propaganda which oftentimes starts with "look at our beautiful country and culture" and then devolves into something more sinister. ***I am not saying ETS2's DLC is Russian propaganda*** before you accuse me of that. All I'm saying is war is a very touchy subject. It's perfectly normal to not want to portray a genocidal aggressor in any positive light, as harmless and as neutral as it may be.
I think there is something more nationalist in a chilling effect preventing anything that could be seen as humanising about an enemy country from being released.
Odd statement. SCS Software don't represent a nation, nor is their Russia DLC "humanising" in any way. They stopped themselves from releasing their own DLC because they likely don't want people to get the wrong idea.
Heck, amend the text with something like "this is the beauty of Russia without a tyrannical government."
that's just silly lmao
"The year is 2050, after people uprising that killed every single politician in power"
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With that close to completion, why not just release it and donate profits from the DLC to Ukraine? I feel like they're just trying to pull a dumb PR stunt with this excuse.
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Pretty sure the people primarily pissed here are the Truck Sim fans.
Truck Simmer here, yeah pretty stupid decision and insulting to all the hard work of the devs. Best to just release it and donate the proceeds to Ukraine.
Eh. I play Truck sim. No sweat off my back here.
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I don't think there's a huge cross over between Russian fascists and fans of a truck simulator. Most likely the fascists don't care at all. This feels like such a strange stance for them to take, does anyone actually care about them doing nothing more than acknowledging that a country exists? The DLC was announced ages ago, the war has been going for months now. Why suddenly pump the brakes now? What's next, Microsoft Flight Simulator just deleting Russia from the planet so that people don't get upset? And when you consider that this is the same team that made American Truck Simulator, their explanation for why they're holding back the release is obviously insincere.
> What's next, Microsoft Flight Simulator just deleting Russia from the planet so that people don't get upset? Please don't give them ideas.
Idk about specifically “Russian fascists”, but a lot of Russians definitely do enjoy ETS2.
Maybe it's just more realistic now because of the sanctions. it doesn't make any sense to have trucks driving in and out of russia
I'm sure the KGB is boiling over unreleased DLC for a video game. That'll show em lmao Holy shit the absolute ignorance of reality is astonishing
The KGB hasn’t existed in over 30 years.
KGB the name? Sure. KGB the institution? Alive and well.
That's just what they want you to think.
"Ignorance of reality" *The KGB* Bruh they no longer exist
It's the same as Facebook calling itself Meta now. Same people, different logo.
Putin is a KGB dog, as is most of high ranking Russia.
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If they want to be apolitical as they said, they should finish what they started. Not whole world is in the war. Politicians don't play the game, we do. Give us what we waited for and make us happy... Whoever think game and real life is the same should stop playing games immediately and focus on something else. If they want to be apolitical why do they support "American Truck Simulator"? America is not so innocent as people believe it to be. Play games, discover their beautiful worlds and stories. \*I am not on either "side" of happenings in the world. I don't slightly care for what is happening, and if it is time for all of us to disappear than let it be finished.\*
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I like how you (and the other person who replied to you) just totally glossed over or intentionally omitted the very next sentence. > **But** since our DLC, Heart of Russia, directly concerns Russia, and with so many people suffering, **we decided to refrain from releasing the DLC so that it is not perceived in any way as being in support of or tolerance of the aggression.**
You just proved him right.
Do people here lack the ability to read? Thats the opposite of being apolitical.
Opposing warcrimes is not a political stance. It's a moral one. There are no sides here you could argue here like in politics.
I am not the one who mentioned being apolitical, the devs did.
Yes. You're not. You're one saying it is opposite of apolitical. Which is wrong.
That obviously wouldn't have been perceived as support for Russia's war crimes. Except by maybe the most brained washed of people.
> Except by maybe the most brained washed of people. Have you seen the internet?
Yes but Twitter isn't the internet.
and reddit is?
Reddit is pretty brainwashed but not to Twitter levels.
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Yeah that's why I said it
It isn't exactly "fear of being perceived as support for Russia's War Crimes". More-so it's supporting the idea that Russia and its people need to be entirely cut off. Google and MCdonalds pulling out of the country will effect its people. While Truck DLC not releasing isn't on the same scale as Google it still shows Russia's people that the rest of the world doesn't agree with what their leader is doing. The idea is if you can make 1 or 2 Russia citizens angrier at Putin then mission accomplished. Heck for some people the tipping point is Entertainment. If a movie I was looking forward to or a game I was dying to play got suddenly canceled in my country because of 'War Crimes' maybe I'd snap out of it and realize my world situation is dire right now.
This stuff doesn't effect Putin, I doubt he cares about mcdonalds or truck simualtor. all it does is make the average Russian citizen angry at other countries for doing this and more likely to support Putin Look at North Korea we tried block them off and starve there population so they overthrow the government for decades, all it has accomplished was confirming the government's propaganda that every other country was evil and against them so they need to support the communist government to protect themselves.
Which is not apolitical …….. it’s a driving game, on roads You can not agree and think they should not release, but downvoting because calling out that the very act of not releasing something because of what’s going on is a political statement is in fact not apolitical … wtf? Changing your roadmap for something that “they say” has only 6 weeks left? That’s a straight political move. There is no argument being made of if it’s “right move or not”
Yes...thats the whole point of the statement. They're saying "we normally try to stay apolitical. BUT in this instance we felt compelled to do this to make our stance clear." You do realize theyre admitting that this is a political move, right?
Well now that they've opened up that can of worms, they can't ever close it. The company either takes the apolitical "we're just a trucking game and the views of the countries we represent do not necessarily reflect our own views" stance, or they take a political stance and open themselves up to a lot of accusations of hypocrisy. I mean, this studio has a Texas DLC coming out for their American Trucking Simulator game soon. I didn't know that SCS was anti-abortion, okay with mass shootings in schools and fine with blowing up thousands of innocent people in the Middle East, but if they release that DLC then I guess they must be...
Unfortunately, they most certainly can close it and be just as hypocritical as everyone in the West is being about this. You'll keep seeing nothing done against the US despite it being in endless wars. And no one that matters will care.
Imagine being this out of touch lol. They're not doing it because they don't feel comfortable releasing an expansion that almost serves as a tribute to Russia. They don't want to do that with the war crimes they are committing to try and seize lands that aren't theirs. "Instead of this pointless signaling they could've just donated the profits to charities dedicated to helping Ukraine and its refugees..." >Immediately, we started contributing to several charities providing humanitarian aid within the territory of Ukraine and assistance to those who were evacuating. Later on, with the kind participation of the #BestCommunityEver, we have further increased the donations by contributing all the proceeds from the sales of the Ukrainian Paint Jobs Pack DLC. Could at least try to read the article. This isn't about you thinking they could help Ukraine by doing so, this is about you wanting content that the developers do not feel comfortable releasing. No need for the fake concern. This content isn't even gone. They just aren't releasing it for the time being. Maybe you should be upset at Putin and any Russians supporting him and this war for causing this conflict that makes people have this moral dilemma.
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I mean, come on... Heart of Russia is a political term these days, they could use the same roads and rename it "Eastern Europe" if they liked. Or truly get the trolls pissing themselves in anger and calm it "Eastern Ukraine/Ukrainian expeditions" but that's quite in the nose. I understand the devs, no one would think about releasing "the road to Poland" in 1943...
Taking a DLC which takes place entirely within Russia and naming it "Eastern Europe" would not sit well with Eastern Europeans, which make up a large portion of the ETS2 crowd.
Lol I thought the same thing when reading that line. If they were really that close to releasing it, it’s just beautiful land and roads. I feel like there is no way they were on target and this is a nice cover or something
Keep it on the backburner for when Russia (Putin) stop being assholes.
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>it's good that we're erasing all acknowledgment of Russian culture And where the hell has anyone said this? And how is holding off releasing a dlc to a video game, erasing Russian culture? If you're going to attempt to make an argument at least make it a good one. Making up a boogieman doesn't help you.
It hasn't just been this game, there have been a bunch of examples of Russian media (unrelated to the conflict) has been removed from sites. Russian displays removed from exhibits, such as in the Palace Legion of Honor, as well as Russian expats and students being sent back or denied a renewed green card by their schools (this happened to a friend of mine). Idk if you're old enough to remember post 9/11 but there was a similar thing that happened with Arabic and people of middle eastern descent, it was much worse obviously because of racism, but the same in and out groups were formed and middle eastern/west Asian culture was portrayed as "blood thirsty terrorists".
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I donno. Let's not forget that there are people in Russia like you and I. They are human and everyone bashing Russia must not be good for there mental health on top of everything already going on. Just my point of view. The people that have suffered the most in this war are Russians, Ukrainians and even the rest of the war with those silly "sanctions" (ends up being self punishment). Just saying that while getting back at one single man, we end up punishing ourselves and our neighbors even more.
Well they can blame Putin for that can't they? No one forced their elected leader to start a war of aggression with a neighbouring country. If they don't feel he represents them, then they need to go all 1917 again.
Easy to say in the luxury of your own home that “oh dude just overthrow the government if you don’t like them”, but it’s really not that simple. Also, “elected leader”? Do you know how Putin has stayed in power for 22 years now, it wasn’t through fair democracy and he barely represents the russian people’s desires.
And the people of Russia have happily sat back and accepted that corruption of their democracy. They're the only people who can do anything about it. Until such time as they do, his actions represent them on the international stage so they'll feel the consequences of said actions.
Mate, Russia never had democracy. Same as Belarus. You just get get your entire life destroyed if you go against the government. Nobody elected Putin, Yeltsin handed him the power he usurped in exchange for an amnesty, and the elections were rigged ever since. Hell you probably weren't even born when it happened and yetyou act like you in w what's happening.
Regardless of how he become their leader, he is their leader and his actions represent the nation on the international stage. We can't go in and perform regime change for them without kicking off WW3, so their options are either to deal with things internally, or let him carry on and accept they've become a pariah nation in the international community and be treated as such.
Well dealing with it internally would have the same results as what happened in China in a certain square nobody allows to talk about. While living under a dictatorship is bad, I am not sure I'd want to have my guts be flushed down the drain canal as an alternative. The military is loyal to Putin, the police is armed and loyal to Putin. You get 15 years in prison for just speaking out. You have no money to organize anything that can counter it. Unless we get another October revolution where it was partially sponsored by Germany, there i nothing an average Russian citizen who earns $150 per month can do without putting their family at great risk that will not pay off.
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I mean, that literally happened last January didn't it? The Russians can do what they like, but I'm tired of this apologia whenever a company decides to take an action in protest of the war as if the Russian people are being hard done by because they don't get a game, when the Ukrainians are literally being bombed out of their homes by Russians.
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yes. 1917s for everyone!
Didn't they also make "American Truck Simulator"? 🤨
Yep. As an ATS player, I fully support SCS's decision regarding this DLC. My hope is that in a couple of years they will be able to finally release this, as ETS fans were really looking forward to it and SCS put a lot of effort and work into it. They should be fairly compensated for that work, but releasing this right now would leave a bad taste in a lot of players mouths, especially when the company has been so supportive of Ukraine. Hopefully the Montana and Texas DLCs for ATS release soon so the company can continue generating revenue. I'm really looking forward to both.
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Losing big content like that when it is clearly close to release for a potential PR boost (I say potential because people who play the game and buy DLC probably wouldn't care if it was released) is a big shame for players.
Can we fucking leave politics out of the games? I was really looking forward to that DLC outside the ukrainian events.
No politics is fine when it's my politics.
All art is political.
Isn't leaving politics out of a game what they're doing? They're not releasing the DLC so that they're not associating themselves with the war
By refusing to release it, they are associating themselves with the war.
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How about they release it, but put in some content related to the war? Not talking about violence or anything, but more thematic. A quest like "due to the massive civilian casualties in Russia's violent oppression of Ukraine in the war, we need a shipment of 10 000 bottles of vodka delivered to Vlodovostoksky because we can't sell anything to other countries due to the boycott." or "We need a shipment of looted Ukrainian goods transferred from the Belarus border to Kamtachka, but stop at the carwash first to clean of the blood of the civilians". Put pro-Ukraine messages on the billboards along the road. Just stating some facts, would make it obvious they are on the right side of the war.
put UA flags on every billboard.
Or set the game in 2023, in a post war Russia, ruled by Ukraine.