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ssb
Feb 16, 2006

WOULD YOU ACCOMPANY ME ON A BRISK WALK? I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK WITH YOU!!


Yeah honestly out of the "free because you found/fixed/etc somewhere in the world" trucks, I only have the Tayga, TUZ :420:, hummer, CAT (I don't know why, it kind of stinks), and Fleetstar left. I sold the Royal, both Westerns, GMC, Kodiak (rebought once I had enough upgrades to make it OK), Pacific, and I think everything else I've run into minus some sort of Offroad truck I got in Pedro Port that I haven't tried yet.

Best very-early-game through early-mid-game truck: Paystar
Best "after you've got locking diff, AWD, and slightly better tires" truck that complements the paystar: Fleetstar
Best mid-late game truck: Tayga (especially when you've got a couple upgrades for it)
Honorable Mention for above: Azoz (the one you can buy early on), Kolob (again the one you can buy early on), CAT CT680 (for highway hauling, it's solid, and its wheelies are cool)
Best Late-Game Truck: Whatever, you have anything you need at this point. I still love the Tayga.

The Fleetstar and Paystar will get you far enough even early on that you'll be in good shape. Scout the hummer is worth getting early in Alaska, and maybe the YAR87 for mud scouting. If you rush the Tayga with the Paystar and some maintenance stuff, that's a solid choice too although it takes some upgrades for the Tayga to really shine.

tl;dr for beginning of the game: Sell anything that isn't the Fleetstar and whatever your best scout is, find as many trucks as you can early on and sell them, and buy a Paystar to get you through the early struggle. Focus on opening road closures (bridges, rockfalls, etc) with your Paystar and Fleetstar and get upgrades/trucks with your scout to sell. Go to Russia and get the Tayga and a YAR87 if you're able to and you'll have a good Offroad and Mud Scout truck, and the Hummer is really good from Alaska as well especially when you get a better engine and a diff lock for it. Don't get attached to any of your trucks - feel free to constantly sell and rebuy them as needed for whatever job you're doing.

That tl;dr got :words: sorry

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robotsinmyhead
Nov 29, 2005

Dude, they oughta call you Piledriver!

Clever Betty
:holymoley: that Derry 4520. One of the final Russia Missions is to take a Drill (5x singular cargo size) from the starting point in Drowned Lands to oil field in Zimnegorsk. Normally, I use the Kolob for stuff like that, but it can't fit a low saddle for the 5x trailer and the ramped towable trailer scares me.

No problem at all. 8 wheels and REAR WHEEL STEERING! It's about the size of a train locomotive and just as unstoppable.

big nipples big life
May 12, 2014

That knock over the barrels mission was cool, definitely got some use out of L- doing that rock crawling in the khan.

ssb
Feb 16, 2006

WOULD YOU ACCOMPANY ME ON A BRISK WALK? I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK WITH YOU!!


robotsinmyhead posted:

:holymoley: that Derry 4520. One of the final Russia Missions is to take a Drill (5x singular cargo size) from the starting point in Drowned Lands to oil field in Zimnegorsk. Normally, I use the Kolob for stuff like that, but it can't fit a low saddle for the 5x trailer and the ramped towable trailer scares me.

No problem at all. 8 wheels and REAR WHEEL STEERING! It's about the size of a train locomotive and just as unstoppable.

On the other hand, the free Derry that you pull out of Alaska, that thing is the most useless truck in the game. It's AWD but it's a bazillion feet long, has an awful turning radius, no diff lock, and is underpowered. It mires in anything and constantly ends up in situations where you can't go forward because some of the drive wheels are off the ground or in really deep mud and spinning while the wheels that would have traction sit still, but there's no diff lock to address that. I tried 4-5 missions with it to find a reason to like that truck and it was absolute poo poo in every situation I tried it in with the exception of something that only involved highway driving with a semi trailer, and anything could have done that. Sold it, bought the CAT CT680 and never looked back. The only "flaw" that thing has for that role is occasionally doing sick wheelies.

bobbilljim
May 29, 2013

this christmas feels like the very first christmas to me
:shittydog::shittydog::shittydog:

shortspecialbus posted:

On the other hand, the free Derry that you pull out of Alaska, that thing is the most useless truck in the game. It's AWD but it's a bazillion feet long, has an awful turning radius, no diff lock, and is underpowered. It mires in anything and constantly ends up in situations where you can't go forward because some of the drive wheels are off the ground or in really deep mud and spinning while the wheels that would have traction sit still, but there's no diff lock to address that. I tried 4-5 missions with it to find a reason to like that truck and it was absolute poo poo in every situation I tried it in with the exception of something that only involved highway driving with a semi trailer, and anything could have done that. Sold it, bought the CAT CT680 and never looked back. The only "flaw" that thing has for that role is occasionally doing sick wheelies.

Weird, I found it to be surprisingly good for island lake at least. Goes fast as hell and doesn't get stuck. Only problem is it doesn't really turn

T1g4h
Aug 6, 2008

I AM THE SCALES OF JUSTICE, CONDUCTOR OF THE CHOIR OF DEATH!

Alright friends, quick question. I recovered the Royal BM17 from Alaska and sold it so i'm sitting on a good chunk of cash. Should I buy the P12 or just save the cash and keep using my Paystar and Fleetstar? I debated on buying the Twinsteer for laughs but I read you can find it for free so I'm holding off on grabbing it :v:

Sarthek
Dec 30, 2002

T1g4h posted:

Alright friends, quick question. I recovered the Royal BM17 from Alaska and sold it so i'm sitting on a good chunk of cash. Should I buy the P12 or just save the cash and keep using my Paystar and Fleetstar? I debated on buying the Twinsteer for laughs but I read you can find it for free so I'm holding off on grabbing it :v:

I didn’t get on with the P12 at all, I have to say. But then I’m odd: I haven’t bothered with the Paystar either. I use the not-Kamaz you can get early on (the red and yellow Azov) for everything, even in Michigan and Alaska.

I guess there’ll be something better later on, but I’m perhaps only just edging towards mid-game.

tjones
May 13, 2005
Wait until you find the free P16 in Michigan, then sell the P16 and buy a P12 with the money. You won't really need it for Michigan unless you're doing something stupid:



Min/maxing the trucks to make the game easy almost feels like cheating. I think the fun part of the game is the challenge.

I'm two missions away from finishing Russia and I've used the White for 80% of the heavy hauling. What it lacks in power it makes up for in style. If you put a highrange transmission in it, it flies as long as the wheels have even the smallest amount of traction.




ssb
Feb 16, 2006

WOULD YOU ACCOMPANY ME ON A BRISK WALK? I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK WITH YOU!!


bobbilljim posted:

Weird, I found it to be surprisingly good for island lake at least. Goes fast as hell and doesn't get stuck. Only problem is it doesn't really turn

Maybe it's OK there. It's completely useless in any amount of mud due to the lack of diff lock.

bobbilljim
May 29, 2013

this christmas feels like the very first christmas to me
:shittydog::shittydog::shittydog:
I've found that if you go slow it makes it worse in the mud if you have no diff lock. If you rev the poo poo out of it you can often get all the wheels going instead of just one.

big nipples big life
May 12, 2014

I know that I've been playing this game too much when I start noticing big trucks on the road and am like "yeah buddy, I can dig it." when before they may as well have not have existed.

Hemish
Jan 25, 2005

Is there a way in game to know if you found all upgrades in a map? Like I played on the first Michigan map and some Alaska and while I found all upgrades on the first Michigan map, the game still tells me I have stuff in Michigan when I want to get upgrades for my Paystar. I know some are hidden but is there a way to know if you still miss them?

I'm 18 hours in and I think I'm missing something because I can't build my trucks so they're better because I have no clue where to look for these upgrades. That Paystar really needs raised suspension for bigger tires...

I'M doing mostly side missions because I keep getting stuck everywhere... It's less dire now with the Paystar but I stuck way too long with that first truck you get and without upgrades I couldn't do poo poo. The early game is frustrating and I wish I read this thread sooner so I knew to sell the crappy first trucks and get the Paystar. But now I feel like I'm missing something since I can't upgrade the Paystar at all and don't know where to start... I don't want to "cheat" and just look up maps online to know exactly where to go to unlock all upgrades.

Edit : Oh god I just discovered after 18 hours that there is more than one Michigan map... Just picked a main mission to deliver stuff to a tunnel but it sent me to a completely new map still called Michigan. Maybe that's what I was missing with the upgrades shown on maps when you activate watch towers (get important ones for the early trucks). I guess there are multiple maps per regions in Alaska and other places too.

Hemish fucked around with this message at 16:57 on May 26, 2020

robotsinmyhead
Nov 29, 2005

Dude, they oughta call you Piledriver!

Clever Betty

Hemish posted:

I'M doing mostly side missions because I keep getting stuck everywhere... It's less dire now with the Paystar but I stuck way too long with that first truck you get and without upgrades I couldn't do poo poo. The early game is frustrating and I wish I read this thread sooner so I knew to sell the crappy first trucks and get the Paystar. But now I feel like I'm missing something since I can't upgrade the Paystar at all and don't know where to start... I don't want to "cheat" and just look up maps online to know exactly where to go to unlock all upgrades.

IMO, you're not meant to do all the missions in a zone in a row. I recommend moving on and knocking out some of the easy missions - opening roads and bridges in other zones.

QuasiQuack
Jun 13, 2010

Ducks hockey baybee

big nipples big life posted:

I know that I've been playing this game too much when I start noticing big trucks on the road and am like "yeah buddy, I can dig it." when before they may as well have not have existed.

Haha, I've been doing the same. I even saw one nearly tip over from turning too tight in a roundabout the other day. :v:

ssb
Feb 16, 2006

WOULD YOU ACCOMPANY ME ON A BRISK WALK? I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK WITH YOU!!


big nipples big life posted:

I know that I've been playing this game too much when I start noticing big trucks on the road and am like "yeah buddy, I can dig it." when before they may as well have not have existed.

My wife and I started crabbing that the neighbors were playing Snowrunner without inviting us when we looked out the window and saw a bunch of farm vehicles doing farm stuff in the field behind our house.

QuasiQuack
Jun 13, 2010

Ducks hockey baybee
Holy hell, Russia is a shithole

bobbilljim
May 29, 2013

this christmas feels like the very first christmas to me
:shittydog::shittydog::shittydog:
It's the tree roots that really gently caress you over

robotsinmyhead
Nov 29, 2005

Dude, they oughta call you Piledriver!

Clever Betty
Tayga don't care.



4x cargo on a trailer + a recovery trailer that flipped over on the trail. Didn't seem to slow it down much.

ssb
Feb 16, 2006

WOULD YOU ACCOMPANY ME ON A BRISK WALK? I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK WITH YOU!!


robotsinmyhead posted:

Tayga don't care.



4x cargo on a trailer + a recovery trailer that flipped over on the trail. Didn't seem to slow it down much.

The only thing that stops the tayga with its special tires are those goddamn stumps.

And the occasional swamps that block you from steering that stop everything except a winch, but we won't count those.

robotsinmyhead
Nov 29, 2005

Dude, they oughta call you Piledriver!

Clever Betty
Oh, so I found a weakness with the Tayga - it can't fit a bed + small crane for all those cargo retrieval missions I put off. I ended up using the Voron Grad and the difference between those 2 trucks is startling.

edit: content: A Cat sleeps in the rocks during the warmer hours of the day:

robotsinmyhead fucked around with this message at 02:00 on May 27, 2020

big nipples big life
May 12, 2014

I'm getting ready to go into my first no garage map (island lake), it looks like there is just no good route for hauling a bunch of heavy stuff like fuel/service trailers and other things I'm going to need for a sort of remote base from smithville dam to there. Time to graduate from apprentice truck wizard to some serious truck fuckling.

namlosh
Feb 11, 2014

I name this haircut "The Sad Rhino".

big nipples big life posted:

I'm getting ready to go into my first no garage map (island lake), it looks like there is just no good route for hauling a bunch of heavy stuff like fuel/service trailers and other things I'm going to need for a sort of remote base from smithville dam to there. Time to graduate from apprentice truck wizard to some serious truck fuckling.

Two things about island lake
1) Stay on the paths, if you think there’s a shortcut you’re wrong
2) no really, stay on the paths. There’s a bug that doesn’t allow your vehicle to turn at all once you’re in the water/marsh

robotsinmyhead
Nov 29, 2005

Dude, they oughta call you Piledriver!

Clever Betty
Once you're in Island Lake, STAY THERE until you finish all the missions you want. Ferry in more trucks as you need them, but leave trucks strewn around the map for rescuing. Getting to IL is loving miserable.

There's also no fuel stop in IL, but there are 3-4 fuel carrier trailers - pull them out onto the main roads and fill up every time you see them.

Abuse the hell out of the Trailer Store - it's your only infinite supply of fuel and repair parts. And like namlosh said, stay on the "roads"

ssb
Feb 16, 2006

WOULD YOU ACCOMPANY ME ON A BRISK WALK? I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK WITH YOU!!


From Smithville Dam, there are 2 decent routes to Island Lake, depending what you're doing.

With something that isn't huge, you can go through the west path of the rightmost "peninsula" just south of the garage. That path isn't too bad at all, and when you get to the end of it, it's two turns to get to Island Lake. There's one or two somewhat narrow odd rock sections but they aren't too bad to go through if you go slow and a Tayga with a normal-size trailer (or anything about that size) can get through them fine. Anything with a semi trailer can do it but it's often gonna take winch fiddling to get through. Still doable though. It clears up and is a fine route with a bit of mud but plenty of trees to winch from if needed after the aforementioned rocks bends. Getting across the river just before those I haven't found to be too much of a problem, but if you get stuck, it's close enough to the garage that it's easy to get a helper truck to pull you over it.

The second route is to take the main road south across the dam and turn east after the dam to take the road that goes across the big swamp. Larger vehicles handle this better than the other route, but if you don't have great mud ability you may need something that does to help pull across the aforementioned swamp, or just be good with the winch. It's not all that bad unless you're early in the game and still only have lousy tire options.

The eastern path that goes down the road past the gas station and looks like the best route is a trap because the terrain turns absolutely nasty shortly and nigh-impassible in a couple of spots, or at least really easy to tip on, and there's no great way across the river there. I would leave that path alone except when you need it specifically for a mission.

You could also go through Drummond Island, but there's a gross mess of a swamp right near the tunnel to Island Lake that is easy to accidentally tip in I've found and it's not my recommended route. On that note, though, Drummond Island is a bit easier of a "My First No-Garage Location" because of the easiness of taking the highway from Smithville Dam right into Drummond Island. Just takes a bit of time since it's winding but is not difficult anywhere.

ssb fucked around with this message at 16:55 on May 27, 2020

BgRdMchne
Oct 31, 2011

shortspecialbus posted:

From Smithville Dam, there are 2 decent routes to Island Lake, depending what you're doing.

With something that isn't huge, you can go through the west path of the rightmost "peninsula" just south of the garage. That path isn't too bad at all, and when you get to the end of it, it's two turns to get to Island Lake. There's one or two somewhat narrow odd rock sections but they aren't too bad to go through if you go slow and a Tayga with a normal-size trailer (or anything about that size) can get through them fine. Anything with a semi trailer can do it but it's often gonna take winch fiddling to get through. Still doable though. It clears up and is a fine route with a bit of mud but plenty of trees to winch from if needed after the aforementioned rocks bends. Getting across the river just before those I haven't found to be too much of a problem, but if you get stuck, it's close enough to the garage that it's easy to get a helper truck to pull you over it.

The second route is to take the main road south across the dam and turn east after the dam to take the road that goes across the big swamp. Larger vehicles handle this better than the other route, but if you don't have great mud ability you may need something that does to help pull across the aforementioned swamp, or just be good with the winch. It's not all that bad unless you're early in the game and still only have lousy tire options.

The eastern path that goes down the road past the gas station and looks like the best route is a trap because the terrain turns absolutely nasty shortly and nigh-impassible in a couple of spots, or at least really easy to tip on, and there's no great way across the river there. I would leave that path alone except when you need it specifically for a mission.

You could also go through Drummond Island, but there's a gross mess of a swamp right near the tunnel to Island Lake that is easy to accidentally tip in I've found and it's not my recommended route. On that note, though, Drummond Island is a bit easier of a "My First No-Garage Location" because of the easiness of taking the highway from Smithville Dam right into Drummond Island. Just takes a bit of time since it's winding but is not difficult anywhere.

I think the bridge to the fuel station in Drummond is only repairable from the Island Lake side

Hub Cat
Aug 3, 2011

Trunk Lover

BgRdMchne posted:

I think the bridge to the fuel station in Drummond is only repairable from the Island Lake side

Yeah, the bridge to the Fuel Station from the Island Lake side of Drummond island is only repairable from the Island Lake side. The other two(?) bridges are repairable from both sides.

big nipples big life
May 12, 2014

99% sure Drummond is locked until after I do some deliveries in island lake anyway. Thanks for the route stuff, I will try those out, got a scout on the way with a fuel trailer to go hit up all the watchtowers first and make not of the particularly nasty spots.

zedprime
Jun 9, 2007

yospos
There is a ford from the Drummond north landmass to the south landmass until you build the bridge that needs built at the south landmass only. I wouldn't run cargo through it necessarily but it exists. You can see the shallows on the map, there ins't really a road so much as a clearing but when should that stop you.

Island Lake is almost boring once you get offroad or mud tires. Just long strips of occasional mud so its not like its hard to ferry the bridge goods into the Drummond.

ssb
Feb 16, 2006

WOULD YOU ACCOMPANY ME ON A BRISK WALK? I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK WITH YOU!!


Hub Cat posted:

Yeah, the bridge to the Fuel Station from the Island Lake side of Drummond island is only repairable from the Island Lake side. The other two(?) bridges are repairable from both sides.

Yeah but you can go around on some paths, they weren't even that bad if I recall. I repaired that bridge without ever going to Island Lake. I am 100% sure Drummond Island is not locked behind Island Lake.

As far as fuel goes, if you aren't able to get to that bridge, there's a convenient trailer store just inside Smithville Dam from Drummond Island so you can grab a fuel trailer (or 3!) and place them around Drummond Island where you want them, same goes for repair trailers.

zedprime posted:

There is a ford from the Drummond north landmass to the south landmass until you build the bridge that needs built at the south landmass only. I wouldn't run cargo through it necessarily but it exists. You can see the shallows on the map, there ins't really a road so much as a clearing but when should that stop you.

Yeah, that ford is how you get there. There's a steep hill on one side so it helps to have a scout over there to pull yourself up if you don't have good tires but it's not necessary a lot of the time. (edit: It does have a road on both sides, it's just not well marked on the map. The ford itself isn't too bad, but the steep hill on the south side can be some trouble)

ssb fucked around with this message at 20:40 on May 27, 2020

tater_salad
Sep 15, 2007


what's the best strat for finding parts early on.. just wander the map. I know where one set is in a river in alaska I'm not going to reach for a bit, I'm back in MI cleaning up some missions and makin some cash. I'll read the start of the thread for gooder ideas on not sucking.

Dr. Garbanzo
Sep 14, 2010
I've honestly still be using the white western star since I dragged it back to the garage in smithville. I find it more useful than the paystar esp once it has better tires, gearbox and the switchable diff. I got rid of the dery that comes for free cause it was useless and also the P16 becase it's less capable on the big hauls than the p12 with similar upgrades to the white. I've only just started working through russia and only have a couple of the trucks that aren't stupid expensive and while I should have done it earlier in the game I got through all of michigan and all of alaska with just the american trucks. I keep the twinsteer and cat around mostly for the laughs because they aren't useful for carrying cargo but the cat 745 is very useful as a heavy recovery vehicle most of the time.

ssb
Feb 16, 2006

WOULD YOU ACCOMPANY ME ON A BRISK WALK? I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK WITH YOU!!


tater_salad posted:

what's the best strat for finding parts early on.. just wander the map. I know where one set is in a river in alaska I'm not going to reach for a bit, I'm back in MI cleaning up some missions and makin some cash. I'll read the start of the thread for gooder ideas on not sucking.

Pretty much - get a scout that can handle mud (the YAR87 I think can be bought early in Russia and does OK in mud) and explore all the maps as best as you can. Some of the best parts are locked behind a chain of missions in Russia, but all the others are accessible right in the beginning of the game.

https://maprunner.info is really useful if you want a map to find things rather than searching for yourself, as there are a number of hidden parts (i.e. not revealed by a tower)

There's a handful of parts that really help early on, mainly diff locks and lift kits and better engines for some of the early/free trucks.

It's still not a poor idea to rush the Tayga, but I'll admit that it's worse without any upgrades or good tires than I thought.

Phobeste
Apr 9, 2006

never, like, count out Touchdown Tom, man
I used the fleet star for essentially all of michigan, it rules. The key is having awd which a lot of heavier trucks don’t, and it’s nice and small but still powerful enough to drag construction trailers around (which in hindsight I regret, I used the p16 for the second one). You can also use it as a glorified scout

grate deceiver
Jul 10, 2009

Just a funny av. Not a redtext or an own ok.

tater_salad posted:

what's the best strat for finding parts early on.. just wander the map. I know where one set is in a river in alaska I'm not going to reach for a bit, I'm back in MI cleaning up some missions and makin some cash. I'll read the start of the thread for gooder ideas on not sucking.

There's an easy to access Hummer in Alaska. Grab that, and then go hog wild unlocking watchowers and upgrades. Remember that free trucks are visible on the map even when they're not marked. Upgrades are usually next to a broken car chassis, you can spot that on the map as well.

ssb
Feb 16, 2006

WOULD YOU ACCOMPANY ME ON A BRISK WALK? I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK WITH YOU!!


Phobeste posted:

I used the fleet star for essentially all of michigan, it rules. The key is having awd which a lot of heavier trucks don’t, and it’s nice and small but still powerful enough to drag construction trailers around (which in hindsight I regret, I used the p16 for the second one). You can also use it as a glorified scout

The fleetstar is shockingly good once you have AWD with diff lock and get some decent tires. It's a truck that is valuable for the entire game.

big nipples big life
May 12, 2014

I love the fleetstar but I just got the diff lock for the western star and that wood dash is just too sexy. Also the body flex that truck has lets it go over stuff that would tip the fleetstar right over on its side.

zedprime
Jun 9, 2007

yospos
White Western Star has better dynamics but you can't attach a trailer when you have a crane and a bed like the Fleetstar.

Fleetstar is the overall US MVP because it's do anything config means less garage visits to rekit for crane missions. With honorable mentions to the WWS and Cat CT680 which are just as good because you don't need a crane most of the time anyway.

big nipples big life
May 12, 2014

zedprime posted:

White Western Star has better dynamics but you can't attach a trailer when you have a crane and a bed like the Fleetstar.

Yeah I found this out last night, definitely a negative for the truck.

Wrr
Aug 8, 2010


Another tip which may or may not be obvious, but you can teleport to any owned vehicle (or the garage) at will from the map screen without recovering the currently driven vehicle. Took me a bit longer than I'd like to admit to figure this one out.

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ssb
Feb 16, 2006

WOULD YOU ACCOMPANY ME ON A BRISK WALK? I WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK WITH YOU!!


Wrr posted:

Another tip which may or may not be obvious, but you can teleport to any owned vehicle (or the garage) at will from the map screen without recovering the currently driven vehicle. Took me a bit longer than I'd like to admit to figure this one out.

Related to that, if you are towing one of your vehicles because it's stuck, you can be in either the towing car or the car being towed and the AI will do its best to help by controlling the other car. In my experience, it's usually better to control the car being towed because you can jog the front tires to help get traction and the AI won't do that. Sometimes I switch between them, and if I have a good winch, I'll do the "go ahead with the tow vehicle, hold brakes, hook up, and winch the rear car forward" cycle that sometimes works better than standard towing.

I didn't realize that you could be in the car being towed and have the lead car get controlled by the AI to help pull it, it works pretty well.

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