MANUAL

Contents:

Getting Started .........................................................................2 System requirements ...........................................................2 Installing Game ...................................................................2 Launching Game ..................................................................3 Controls .....................................................................................4 Menus ........................................................................................9 Main Menu ............................................................................9 Options .................................................................................9 Pause Menu ........................................................................10 Game Interface .......................................................................11 Status Bar ..........................................................................11 Job Info Panel ....................................................................11 Gauges ...............................................................................12 Guide Map ..........................................................................12 Wing Mirrors ......................................................................13 On-Screen Messages ..........................................................13 Gameplay ................................................................................14 Cargo Transportation .........................................................14 Day-To-Day Life .................................................................17 Improving Your Truck ........................................................19 Running Your Own Company .............................................20 Notebook ............................................................................24 Contacts ..................................................................................26

MANUAL

German Truck Simulator

Introduction
Drive your truck across Germany, visit its beautiful cities, haul cargo for various companies, and make money so your business can grow and expand. As you advance through your career obtain access to new trucks, companies and much more to become the master of your profession.

Getting Started
System requirements Minimum System Requirements: Operating system: Windows XP or Windows Vista Processor 2.2 GHz 1 GB RAM (2 GB on Windows Vista or Windows 7) 256 MB graphics accelerator (GeForce FX or better class, ATI 9600 class or better) DirectX 9 compatible sound card DirectX 9.0 900 MB of free hard drive space Recommended System Requirements: Dual or Quad Core Processor 2.2+ GHz 2 GB RAM 512 MB video card: GeForce 6 or better, ATI Radeon 9800 or better

Installing Game To install German Truck Simulator, insert the German Truck Simulator CD into your CD-ROM drive. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup process. If installation fails to start automatically, proceed by following these steps: 1. Open My Computer 2. Select and open your CD-ROM drive 3. Find setup.exe and execute it 4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup process

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Getting Started Launching Game

1. Start by: a. Clicking on the "German Truck Simulator" icon on your desktop, or b. Going to your programs menu and selecting to play German Truck Simulator, the default path should be "Start" -> "Programs" -> "German Truck Simulator" -> "Play German Truck Simulator". 2. A configuration window should appear. Just click on the "Start!" button to continue. 3. German Truck Simulator now starts and the main menu appears, select "New Game". 4. Enter your name to the dialog that just appeared and click the "Continue" button below. 5. Select the company where you like to start in and click the "Begin your career!" button. Then wait until game is loaded. 6. You will find yourself in a loading dock where you can see the highlighted trailer you will need to deliver. The on-screen instructions will help you in the beginning. Godspeed, driver!

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German Truck Simulator

Controls Controls
Note: You can completely reassign the control keys through "Options" -> "Keyboard" menu. The supported game controllers are: Keyboard Keyboard Keyboard Keyboard Keyboard (only) + Mouse + Joystick + Steering Wheel + Gamepad

Select the desired controller combination in the selection box at the top and make sure to configure your controller properly before playing! These control actions are available with their default settings for keyboard (remember, you can reassign the keys any time): Main Vehicle Controls:

Throttle

Brake / Reverse

applies brakes if the truck is moving forward, otherwise reverse gear is engaged

Steering Left

Steering Right

Shift Up

Left Shift Left Ctrl

Right Shift Right Ctrl

if you switch to manual transmission

Shift Down

if you switch to manual transmission

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Controls

Note: Some of the above keyboard actions (such as Steering Left or Steering Right) may be overridden by additional controllers (joystick, gamepad, wheel etc.) and may no longer function. Additional Vehicle Controls:

Start / Stop Engine

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Parking Brake

Space

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Motor Brake

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Left-Turn Indicator

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Right-Turn Indicator

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Hazard Warning

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Headlights

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Horn

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Wipers

--

you need to be using Inside view to see the wipers working toggle on when you reach the speed you want to maintain, toggle off or simply accelerate or decelerate to return to normal

Cruise Control

--

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On-Screen Dashboard:

Show / Hide Wing mirrors Show / Hide OnScreen Dashboard

F2

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toggle wing mirrors

F3

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toggle the dashboard display and gauges toggle on-screen map (steps through two levels of zoom)

Show / Hide Map

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Notebook:

Show / Hide Notebook Show Map Notebook Page Show Cargo Notebook Page Show Management Notebook Page Show Mail Notebook Page

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F5

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F6

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F7

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F8

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Cameras:

Inside Camera

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Free Rotate Camera

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Top Camera

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Cabin Camera

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Bumper Camera

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On-Wheel Camera

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Drive-By Camera

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Next Camera

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cycle between cameras

Special Actions:

Look Left

Num pad / Num pad * Enter

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Look Right

- activate special locations such as resting spots, petrol pumps, services or job offers attach or detach trailer

Activate

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Trailer Attach

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Controls
enables mouse free look (when held) if the current controller is Keyboard + Mouse, otherwise it has no function take a screenshot (automatically stored in "My Documents\German Truck Simulator\screenshot\" )

Rotate Camera

Left Alt

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Screenshot

F10

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Menus Menus
Main Menu New Game Start a new game. Load Game Continue with a previously saved game. Options Change graphics, sounds, controls or gameplay settings. Credits See the names of the German Truck Simulator's development team. Quit Game Exit the German Truck Simulator. Options Display: Here you can change resolution, tweak brightness and set your own balance between looks and performance of the game. Keyboard: Here you can reassign the keys to match your controller better. Just click on the action you wish to remap and type the new key (or press Esc to cancel). Controller: Here you can select the desired game controller. The default is keyboard only, but you may add alternate game controlling devices, including steering wheel, joystick, or gamepad. Just plug it in, start the game, go to the controller options and then choose it in the combo box at the top. Caution, certain keyboard controls (especially related to steering) may become disabled when an additional controller is activated as they are overridden by the controller. Audio: Here you can adjust the volume of music and sound effects or reverse stereo. Gameplay: Language Choose the language in which you would like to play the game. Transmission Set whether you want to shift gears manually, or use game-assisted shifting. Clock-notation Select between 12 or 24 clock notation. Interior Mirrors Disable real reflection in the wing mirrors if you experience frame rate slow downs.

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Pause Menu Back Return back to game. Load Game Leave the current game and continue with a previously saved game. Save Game Save the current game progress. Options Change graphics, sounds, controls or gameplay settings. Quit Game Leave the current game to the main menu. Unsaved progress will be lost.

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Game Interface Game Interface

Status Bar The status bar provides essential information about your truck, fatigue, time and money. The total amount of money you have, in euros . Indicates how tired you are. If the eye is nearly closed, you need to get some rest as soon as you can. The condition of your truck and your cargo. The more red you see, the more your truck or cargo is damaged. Note that the damage will influence the truck's performance! And cargo damage will affect your reputation and income. The current game time (different from the real world time or your system time).

Job Info Panel The job info panel provides details about your current delivery. It is only displayed when you are on a job. The name of the city where you need to deliver the cargo. The company to which you are delivering your cargo. The type of cargo you are transporting. The delivery time when the cargo must be delivered. The progress bar which indicates the remaining time left for finishing your delivery in time. In this example you are delivering furniture to the Transinet company in Dortmund. The cargo must be delivered before 22:49.

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Game Interface
Gauges

The gauges reflect the current state of your vehicle. In Inside (default) view they are integrated into the cabin's interior they are a part of the fully functional dashboard. In the remaining views the gauges are emulated in the lower right corner of the screen, as it shows below. Guide Map The guide map shows your closest neighbourhood, your truck is always in the centre. You can toggle it (the default key M) between two zoom levels high and low, or you can switch it off completely. The high zoom level is most useful for cities as the streets are shown in detail. The low zoom level allows you to see further ahead, which may be helpful when you hit the motorways again.

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Game Interface
The markers on the map: "You are here" marker this is your current position. Destination marker very useful as it shows where in the city the cargo should be delivered. Services (cities only) here you can rest, repair or tune your truck. Cargo depot (cities only) here you may find new jobs and deliver your goods. Petrol station here you can refill the fuel or rest. Road designation. Truck dealer here you can buy new trucks. Garage available for purchase. A small garage you own. A big (upgraded) garage you own. Recruitment agency here you can hire a new driver for your fleet. Wing Mirrors You can toggle the on-screen wing mirrors on or off as you wish (with F2 key by default). Warning: On less powerful computers driving with the wing mirrors on could result in a considerable slow down. If your system barely meets the minimal system requirements consider turning the mirrors off when you don't need them. On-Screen Messages While driving, you will receive various important messages. They will provide you with helpful information including all sorts of notifications and helpful hints.

any company logo

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Gameplay Gameplay
You will start the game as an employee of the cargo transportation company of your choice. You will be assigned a truck and you will be given instructions on what to do next. Every time you finish your delivery your employer will automatically plan and assign a new job to you, just like in the real life. Later in the game you may get opportunities to change your employer, which may improve your working terms a little, but generally you will be still following orders. While the employment certainly has its advantages - paid expenses, no need for burdening yourself with delivery planning, free truck at your disposal - it's only a starting point, so you could earn an initial capital and buy yourself your own truck. After a time you will probably realize that your professional development froze you will not be getting any more reputation, you will be driving around pretty much the same places and the reward for the work you'll be doing could have been a little higher - and that you could do better working on your own. At that point, once you buy yourself a truck, you will become an independent driver who will be making his own fortune in the trucking world. It will take some courage to stand up on your feet, but it will be well worth it! Going independent will open up a whole new dimension of possibilities to you. You will be able to buy garages across the country, fill them with trucks and even start up your own transporting company! As you will grow and expand, you will attract more and more logistics companies, which will want to work with you. With time you may build the biggest transporting company in the Germany, or you may go bankrupt. That will be up to you. Cargo Transportation

You will earn money by transporting cargo. A single delivery is simply called a job. When you decide to take on a job, find a cargo terminal with the Job offer marker, drive over the marker and stop. An offer to negotiate a delivery will then appear. As an employee you will not be able to choose which job to take. You will be always assigned one automatically. The cargo terminals may in turn be either a starting point, where you can accept new jobs, or the final destination, to which you will deliver your cargo. Each depot belongs to a single logistics company. Some companies may only receive goods (e.g. Kaarfor, SellPlan), others are both a supplier as well as a receiver of goods. No company is purely a supplier. This means that you will be able to eventually deliver to every cargo terminal in the game, but you will only be able to accept jobs at some of them.

Job Offer

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Gameplay
Accepting A Job When you become an independent driver, you will be able to select a job from the available offers.

Once you reach the negotiation table - the job offer screen - you will need to select a cargo from the list on the right half of the screen. The prices of the offers are fixed, you cannot bargain for them, but they are based on the distance you will have to drive. Each job has a different urgency condition, which tells how much on time you will need to arrive. The urgency condition determines the duration of the job's delivery window, i.e. the time span for which the destination warehouse will be expecting you. Basically, the longer the window, the more time you will be allowed to spend on the delivery. The urgency is represented by these icons: Normal two hours delivery window Challenging one hour delivery window Hard half an hour delivery window

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Gameplay
As an employee, you will face only the jobs with the Normal urgency. As an independent driver, you will get the chance to take on more difficult deliveries. Weigh your abilities carefully though, you might want to upgrade your truck before you'll face harder challenges. Cargo is also classified into several ADR classes (European Agreement concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road). The game uses a simplified system to classify how dangerous the cargo is: Non-dangerous goods Class 3 Substances presenting low danger (e.g. diesel, petrol) Class 2 Substances presenting medium danger (e.g. acids, chemicals) Class 1 Substances presenting high danger (e.g. hot chemicals) The transportation of more dangerous goods calls for a more experienced driver and offers a better payout. However, you will have to first obtain an expensive ADR certificate to be allowed to transport such goods there is a different certificate for each different ADR class. An icon by each cargo indicates which ADR class it belongs to. If you do not own the proper certificate, you will be able to obtain it by clicking on the restricted goods and confirming the dialogue that appears. After accepting a job by pressing the "Accept Cargo" button, it will be time to attach the trailer. Usually, it will be placed just in front of you and it will be marked by animated arrow pointing at it from above. To attach it you will need to reverse the back of your truck under the trailer's front. A message should appear with an offer to attach. Note: This can prove to be a difficult task. Try to experiment with the various available camera views to find a suitable one - top-down view is the easiest, while the in-cabin view using only wing mirrors is the most realistic. Cargo Delivery By taking the job you will commit to deliver the trailer to its destination in time. Consult the Job info panel to see where you will be supposed to take it to if you forget. For convenience the destination will be also marked with a red circle on your map. Don't forget to check the Job info panel for how much time will have remained until your deadline, as well. If the progress bar reaches the end, you will be late and you will be penalized by lowering your pay up to 50 % and by major reputation loss.

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Gameplay

Once you've reached the unloading depot, you will need to reverse your trailer into the transparent red box. When you have parked successfully a message should appear with an offer to detach your trailer. Unloading Dock Having completed your job you will receive your reward and some reputation points. As an employee, you will be paid only the profit share - a modest percentage of the total amount of money your employer will receive for completing the job. However, your expenses on fuel, damage repairs and emergency calls will be fully covered. As an independent driver, you will get the whole sum, but any costs associated with your journey will need to be paid from your pocket. The reputation increase will be based on the distance you've driven. Damaging your cargo or coming after deadline will lower your financial and reputation reward. Traffic offences will lower your reputation even further. Canceling A Job If you are an independent driver, you may choose to take a new job before your current job is properly delivered. In this case, you will be considered to have abandoned the current job, which will come at a price - you will be required to pay a compensation and your reputation will be damaged severely. There's no option to cancel your current job during an employment.

Day-To-Day Life

Game Time German Truck Simulator has its own time cycle which runs considerably faster than real time. Also, the time compression ratio will be different depending on whether you will be driving outside or inside the cities. When the notion of time is mentioned in this manual, the accelerated (fictional) game time is meant. The only case when the real time is considered is when speaking of the duration of playing.

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Gameplay
Traffic Rules You should obey all the traffic rules: 1. Do not crash into other vehicles; moving or parked. 2. Respect the red lights. 3. Do not drive in the wrong direction. 4. Mind the speed limit especially 50 km/h in the cities and 90 km/h on the motorways. 5. Keep your headlights on at night, just as other vehicles do. 6. Rest when you are tired. You are allowed to drive no more than 11 hours in a row without rest. Breaking traffic laws will be penalized by fines. They will be reported immediately if you get a fine, an on-screen message will appear. The traffic offences will also result in penalization by negative reputation points, which could slower your progress significantly. The reputation penalties will stack up and will be paid automatically upon completing your next job. So be careful. Resting

You should rest after every 11 hours (of game time) of driving. Otherwise you will experience nasty dozing-off effects and you might get fined for breaking regulations. Just check your sleep meter from time to time, you will be warned in advance to find a place to rest. Such places can be found at any petrol station, hotel, service, or loading dock. Resting Place Fuel Refilling As you will drive, eating up those kilometres with your truck, you will need to stop and refuel. Keep an eye on your fuel gauge and when it drops too low, refill at the nearest petrol station. Be warned that although the petrol stations are quite numerous, if you do not plan your stops carefully, you might end up stranded with an empty tank in the middle of nowhere. If such a situation should happen, the only way out is to call the SOS service from your notebook.

Filling Pump

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Gameplay
Damage Repairs If you crash into something, your truck will get damaged and your cargo might be damaged as well. While you will not be able to do anything for the cargo, you will be still able to repair your truck. Look for a Service marker, drive to it and activate it to initiate the repair dialogue. Remember, your employer will cover your expenses, but once you are on your own, you'll pay for it yourself. If your truck gets damaged too badly and you do not get it repaired, your truck's performance will be severely affected - it will become slower and more difficult to handle.

Service Game Over

The game can be played indefinitely; there is no grand finale where you will be able to claim to have won, there is no singular victory condition. Unless you will bankrupt your business to lose the game, you will be free to roam throughout the game world indefinitely. However, there are several criteria that will indicate your progress through the game - your progress through reputation levels, expanding your company to all German cities, or gaining access to all logistics companies in the game. Each of them can be considered a victory in its own right.

Improving Your Truck

When you become independent, you will be able to buy yourself new trucks and upgrade them. As an employee, you will be driving an assigned company truck, which you will not be allowed to upgrade. Buying A New Truck To buy a new truck you will need to go to the Truck dealer and see what he has to offer. However, you will need to discover its location first. In the beginning of the game you won't know where any of the truck dealers are located, though almost every city will have one. On your travels look for the animated marker with the question mark. If you see it, drive over it and the marker will change to the truck shape. From that moment you will be able to buy trucks at that place, which will be now marked on your map. This way you will be able to discover all the truck dealers in the game.

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Gameplay
By activating the marker you will be able to preview the trucks available for purchase. Make sure to come during the opening hours - on working days between 8:00 and 18:00 otherwise you will not be let in. The offered selection will be rather limited, because different truck dealers in different cities specialize in various truck brands and truck classes, and they will never offer you more than a few vehicles at once. Also, the price of trucks may differ greatly based on the truck class - at first, only the lowest grade C class vehicles will be affordable to you, but later you will probably prefer more powerful, luxurious and much more expensive A class trucks. Before you start buying, you ought to know that unless you have a garage, you will be able to own only one truck at a time. You may, of course, exchange your current vehicle for a new one if you can afford it; you will even get a trade-in value for your used truck. Later, when you have acquired one or more garages, you will be able to buy additional trucks up to your garage capacity and send them to park there, or better yet, have them make money for you on the road by hiring drivers to operate them. Upgrading You may also upgrade your truck on several levels at the Service garage, which you will be able to find in every city. Upgrades include: increasing the power of your engine, tuning the engine to decrease fuel consumption, improving truck handling or even changing the colour of your cabin. Note that you will not be allowed to upgrade the company truck you will be driving in your employment!

Truck Dealer

Running Your Own Company Once you've become independent, you will be able to start your own transporting company. Buy a garage that will serve as your office and headquarters, hire drivers that will work for you, and buy them trucks so they will have something to drive with and make you money. You won't need much to begin with, but it will take a lot to build the greatest, prosperous company in Germany. To be successful you will need to expand to other cities by establishing more branch offices, and to constantly grow and upgrade your driver fleet, so it will be able to be even more efficient and profitable.

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Gameplay
Buying Garages

Garage For Sale

Every company needs an office - a place where its employees can gather and where it can store its property. Since you will be working in the truck driving business in this game, your offices will serve also as garages for the trucks you own. To buy a garage come to any city and find the marker with animated pile of coins, it will designate that the building is for sale. Drive over the marker to initiate the purchase dialogue.

Once you've bought at least one garage, you will be able to start filling it with trucks and hired drivers. A newly bought garage will become your small branch office that will fit only two employees and two trucks. You will have to come to your office and drive inside it to be able to check on your drivers' progress, or to give them further instructions. This is not very practical if you are planning on growing a busy, big company, so you should upgrade your small office to a bigger one at the first opportunity. In your garage you will be able to refuel and repair your trucks. It will give you a big advantage and save you some money, since it's cheaper by 20 % having your company's mechanics to look after your equipment rather than using public services.

Your Office

To upgrade your office either visit it or open the company management interface in your notebook. Click on the garage in question on the map on the management screen and select "Upgrade" from the context menu that will appear. After paying the cost, your small office will become your headquarters that will be able to accommodate up to five employees and trucks. Establishing the headquarters will also enable you to manage your company remotely from the notebook. You will be able to hire drivers, buy trucks, or relocate them to your other offices directly from your management screen. You may upgrade all of your small offices in such fashion.

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Gameplay
Buying Company Trucks Before you hire any drivers, you should make sure you will have enough trucks for them in your garage, so they will not sit idle. A driver without a truck will not work, but he will still take the pay! You can buy trucks for your company the same way you would buy a truck for yourself - at the truck dealer; you will just need to send it to your garage afterwards. You will need to have a free space in your garage to do so, of course, otherwise you will have to trade in one of your trucks you've bought earlier. Later, when you have established the headquarters, you will have an option to buy the trucks online through the management interface in your notebook or from your headquarters. Hiring Drivers If you have acquired a company office and a few company trucks, it will be time to hire some drivers who would start earning you money. You can find employees through the Recruitment agencies that are located in the majority of the cities. At first, they will be unknown to you, so you can find them only by looking for the animated markers with the question mark along the road and driving over them. It is similar to the discovering of the truck dealers. If the marker's shape changes to the globe with the looking glass, you will have discovered a Recruitment agency, which will be now marked on your map. The recruitment agency will offer you a selection of drivers of various skill. A one star driver will ask for a small pay, but he will also generate only small income and damage the equipment often. On the other hand, a five star driver will want much higher wage, but he will drive more carefully and efficiently. In the beginning you will encounter mostly the drivers with the lower trucking skill. With time, as your reputation will grow, you will attract more and more skilled employees.

Recruitment Agency

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Gameplay
After you take your pick from the selection, you will need to assign the driver to a garage. Select a free slot in the garage of your choice and press "Hire". The driver will travel to the assigned garage by himself, and if there's an available truck in the slot directly above him, he will occupy it and begin working right away. If you want to assign a different truck to the driver, just swap the slots so the assigned truck will be placed directly above the driver. A driver will be always associated with the truck on the slot that will have the same position in the row as the driver has. Later, when you have established the headquarters, you will have an option to hire the drivers online through the management interface in your notebook or from your headquarters. Managing Your Company Your drivers will find work themselves if they have trucks assigned. You won't need to point them to every job. It is still worth keeping an eye on overall garage efficiency from time to time though, as improving the truck fleet and employing more skilled drivers can significantly boost your revenues.

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Gameplay
Notebook The notebook is an indispensable aid on your travels and it also presents a convenient way to check on your business status. It contains navigation map, cargo planner, your company status, mail box, and it keeps track of your career as well as your overall game progress. From here, if you find yourself in trouble, you can also call the SOS emergency service.

Note that the cargo planner and the interface through which you can manage your company are not accessible while you are an employee. Navigation Map The navigation map represents your driving atlas with three different levels of detail. Zoom in or out using the icons in the lower right corner of the screen or the scroll wheel on your mouse. If you are on a job, a thick red line shows you the shortest route between your current position and your destination.

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Cargo Planner The cargo planner allows you to plan your jobs better. On this screen you can view and compare all the job offers available to you in the entire country at the moment. It is not available while you are an employee, since your employer plans for you instead. Company Management Your company management interface allows you to manage your garages, trucks and hired drivers remotely. It is available only if you own at least one upgraded garage, which may serve as your headquarters, and that means you have to be independent. Mail Box Into your mail box you receive emails from your friends, employers and various companies. They might be some simple pieces of information or important offers with discounts, so read them carefully. You will recognize new, read, accepted and expired mails by these icons: New, unread message. Read message. Accepted offer. Expired offer.

Statistics On the statistics page of your notebook you may follow your progress through the game, main statistics information and driving log. Emergency Service If you run out of fuel on the road, damage the truck so badly that it can hardly move, get your truck overturned or stuck in a place that you cannot free yourself from, your only option is to call the SOS emergency service from your notebook. When you work as an employee, the SOS emergency service is covered by your employer. Later, when you get independent, you need to pay for it yourself. The service is expensive and provide you with only basic first aid, just enough to get you moving again so you can drive to a proper service station. So before you call, think twice about whether you really need it.

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Contacts Contacts

Official web site: http://www.germantrucksimulator.com/

SCS Software web site: http://www.scssoft.com/

2009 SCS Software. All rights reserved.

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