Euro Truck Simulator 2 - 1.50 Update Experimental Beta

We have some news for our #BestCommunityEver! Today, we're rolling out the Experimental Beta for the upcoming 1.50 update for Euro Truck Simulator 2. Why do we call our upcoming beta experimental? We need to manage expectations right from the start. We are starting the beta cycle this time from a rather early stage. The level of polish and stability is not the same as for our usual Open Betas. We believe in transparency with our community, and we also need to gather a lot of feedback early this time, to understand how well the features perform. That's why we're offering this Experimental Beta as a precursor to the Open Beta, giving you a glimpse of what's to come while acknowledging that it's still very much a work in progress.

Behind the scenes, our team is working hard on internal projects and releases, all scheduled for version 1.50 of our games. Despite our best efforts, certain aspects of the update are still undergoing refinement. However, we know how important it is to involve our community in the development process, which is why we're making this content available to you in its current state. Your feedback at this stage is invaluable as we strive to deliver the optimal experience.

With the Experimental Beta, we invite our dedicated players to join us in fine-tuning, testing, and providing feedback. Your input will assist us in identifying and addressing any issues or imperfections before the Open Beta and ultimately the full version 1.50 release. It's worth noting that this beta may cause instability in certain areas of the game. For those seeking a more polished experience, we recommend awaiting the subsequent Open Beta or the full version's release.

We are very committed to delivering high-quality updates. In the days to come, we'll continue to debug and finalize everything that's coming to ETS2 with the 1.50 update. Your patience and support during this phase are deeply appreciated as we work towards a seamless transition to the next chapter of Euro Truck Simulator 2. Without further ado, let's delve into what you can anticipate from version 1.50.

Renderer Changes - (still based on DirectX 11 API for now)

We're consistently working on improving our rendering system. It's been a key focus lately, though it'll take some time to complete. Until then, you can expect additional content and enhancements in version 1.50, including:

• A new feature was added - TAA, or Temporal Anti-Aliasing, which sets itself apart from other anti-aliasing techniques, that aim to smooth images to reduce jagged edges or flickering through higher resolution rendering. Instead, TAA harnesses the timeline, particularly previous frames, to calculate color values as if from a higher resolution, providing a smoother result.

• Cascaded shadow changes: Smooth transition when blending between cascades, smoother and better-stabilized shadow edges.

• Soft particles: Particles and light flares smoothly fade out when near geometry, eliminating harsh intersections for a more seamless visual experience.

• Lit/shadowed smoke: Smoke particles with enhanced volume perception and shading from sunlight, providing a more realistic and immersive atmosphere.

• Far shadows: Ever-present shadows from distant large objects like factory halls, skyscrapers, and road overpasses, with the option to toggle them off in the Options menu.

• Optimized light computation: Dynamic lights are evaluated in a single pass, known as clustered lighting, improving performance in night scenes.

User Interface Rework

We are introducing substantial UI updates to enhance player interaction and accommodate more features. The redesign adopts a flatter, minimalistic design with tooltips and layered navigation, ensuring easier accessibility. For most