America: The Godfather of Game Development

Chapter 311 Labor Day should be spent working in the game!

Although the PV was released in mid-August, the project is obviously not progressing as fast as filming.

Fortunately, after adjustments, the entire project did not require modeling everything.

The initial release only includes essential elements such as some prefabricated road components, the Golden Gate Bridge, and the Hollywood sign.

The rest of the content is presented in 3D-to-2D rendering and pre-rendered formats.

For the past two weeks, GAMENOVA has been in a state of complete frenzy.

Especially Lin Lixin, who is so energetic and never gets tired, is working almost 24/7.

Today I came to the software company to work out the basic algorithms and optimizations, and tomorrow I'll be going to Industrial Light & Magic to guide the model polishing.

It was fortunate that Sam was in charge of negotiating with the radio station and truck dealers; otherwise, even Lin Lixin probably wouldn't have been able to withstand such a ordeal.

"Oh my God!"

Will, with dark circles under his eyes that were completely swollen, struggled to type the last line of code, then slammed it onto the table with a "thud" and remained motionless.

Good heavens, who said GAMENOVA has great perks?

Yes, the salary is definitely top-tier in the industry, and the various benefits are also unparalleled, not to mention the reputation of being a core employee of World First Games, which is enough to scare many people.

But the work during peak season is truly inhuman!

Will hasn't been home for a week.

These past few days he's practically lived at the company, working himself to the bone every day, then waking up to make a cup of coffee and continue burning the midnight oil.

The behavior logic of NPC vehicles, the design of road traffic rules, and how to dynamically generate a grade-separated interchange system that conforms to reality using road data —

As a developer who started out working on urban dynamics, Lin Lixin naturally entrusted this part of the work to him.

On the contrary, Sid has been much more relaxed these past two days, but he has also been busy dealing with the development of the business operations.

Will struggled to lift his eyelids, turned sideways, and stuck out his big buttocks to look across.

Carmack pushed up his glasses, his eyes completely fixed on the screen, seemingly already in a state of flow.

Beside him, Lin Lixin was in the same state, except that he was clearly much more energetic than all of them.

"call----"

Lin Lixin exhaled a breath of stale air and casually picked up his coffee cup.

But when I came to my senses, I realized that the cup was empty.

Noticing Will's half-dead look, Lin Lixin smiled helplessly.

"If you're tired, take a rest. I've taken care of things here, leave the rest to me."

Lin Lixin was in an exceptionally good mood today, having finally reached the final stages of the project.

In the past, Lin Lixin would not have been in such a rush.

After all, the time slots are usually booked in advance, allowing for work arrangements well in advance.

But this time, I really can't make it through the schedule.

Because next Monday is Labor Day.

The first Monday in September is a public holiday in the United States and also marks the end of summer.

If you had to pick a suitable release date for American Truck Simulator, this day couldn't be more perfect.

Fortunately, they didn't actually need to cram 3D California into the game, so the workload wasn't as overwhelming as one might imagine.

That's the biggest advantage of procedural generation.

The real waste of time in collecting road data was actually solved long ago, right from the start.

This money was really well spent.

September 5th, 7:00 AM.

Detroit, Michigan, at a highway service area.

Carlos slowly awoke from his dream.

The blanket on my body had somehow slipped under the seat.

They are always the first to feel the tail end of summer in these high-latitude cities.

However, Carlos was unusually energetic today.

He slept in the car all night, and his back was starting to give way.

Driving a big truck sounds so poetic, but the hardships on the road are something only those who have actually driven it know.

High risk, reversed day and night —

It's only because the salary for driving a big truck in the US is relatively good; otherwise, it would definitely be a tough job.

Ultimately, I'm just actively seeking some enjoyment in this kind of life.

However, everything will definitely be different after today.

I just finished my last shipping order for Kellogg's, transporting a batch of frozen food from headquarters to Detroit.

Of course, this does not mean that Carlos was fired by the Kellogg's.

Instead, he was promoted ahead of schedule to become a Kellogg's sales representative because of his previous performance.

Today happens to be Labor Day, so I can finally drive home empty and reunite with my family.

He reached into his pocket, touched the membership card, and smiled.

Hopefully, Erica and the others have received their gifts.

7 a.m.

Erica got out of bed early.

As soon as I entered the living room, I saw a large package piled up on the table.

-

The GAMENOVA logo is printed on the side of the package.

"Are you up?"

Edilia, wearing an apron and holding a frying pan, was frying eggs.

Seeing that Erica's attention was focused on the package, she smiled and explained, "It was sent by your father. The recipient was you, so I didn't open it."

"Sent to me?"

Erica frowned slightly in confusion.

But upon seeing the GAMENOVA logo on the cardboard box, she immediately opened it.

In fact, Erica already had expectations before even opening the box.

At this point in time, what else could be in a large package from GAMENOVA?

Sure enough, as soon as the cover was lifted, a small part of the suede steering wheel was revealed.

This is the complete GAMENOVA V99 fully realistic steering wheel kit, which was just released.

It's even the full-fledged version, including the pedals, gear shifter, and radio.

Of course, the disc of "American Truck Simulator" is also included.

"Oh my god!"

Erica's mouth dropped open in surprise.

Keep in mind that these items were only released today.

Even players who pre-ordered early on will have to wait until early afternoon to receive their discs.

Not to mention this extravagant steering wheel kit.

"What is this? A souvenir taken from the car?"

When Edilia saw what was in the box, she was just as surprised as Erica.

But she was simply confused.

After all, what kind soul would send a steering wheel over by special means?

"No!"

Erica exclaimed in surprise, and without bothering to explain anything to her mother, she grabbed the cardboard box and ran quickly toward the television.

Install and power on.

A loud roar of a heavy truck engine filled the air, and the GAMENOVA logo flashed across the screen.

In the darkness, the front of a Volvo truck suddenly appeared.

Although Lin Lixin and his team found it difficult to create highly detailed models in the game and could only use mosaic to represent them.

But if it's just a close-up of the title screen, then they can use the previous pre-rendering technique to get it done.

However, Erica is a knowledgeable player and naturally wouldn't be fooled by such a deceptive cover design.

What she's really curious about now is how GAMENOVA plans to make driving a big car interesting.

[Control Settings Guide]

Choose your control method

【handle】

[Steering Wheel] (Controller detected)

Now that I've acquired a steering wheel, there's no need to keep using a lever.

It's obvious to anyone with a brain that driving simulation games are much more fun with these realistic peripherals.

"What? Choose the transmission type??"

I thought that once I finished adjusting this, the process would begin, but I didn't expect the setup to be far from over.

"Simplified automatic transmission, true automatic transmission, sequential transmission, H gear —"

Honestly, Erica really wanted to go straight to H mode, which would make perfect use of the peripheral she had.

But she won't actually choose the H setting.

The reason is simple—I don't have a driver's license!

Judging from GAMENOVA's track record, this H-gear mode is probably based on real-life gear settings.

If it's your skill level, you'll have to stall and stay put right at the start.

However, Erica still had her stubborn streak and ultimately chose a real automatic transmission.

Surely no one can't drive an automatic car?

As for the starting city, Erica knew even less.

California, that's a place on the other side of the United States.

Like many others, she has rarely left her state in her entire life, and she has never even explored all of Michigan.

but----

Erica's gaze lingered on San Francisco.

Her father had once told her about the magnificent scenery of the Golden Gate Bridge.

If I go to San Francisco, will I be able to see the legendary Golden Gate Bridge?

I randomly picked a Kenworth that looked pretty good, and the game officially began.

Meanwhile, Carlos, far away in Detroit, started his engine and embarked on his journey home.

On one side is San Francisco to Marin, and on the other side is Detroit to Battle Creek.

"A truckload of cereal, from the Kellogg's branch in San Francisco to a supermarket warehouse in Marin County."

Erica blinked, surprised that her first order was from Kellogg's.

It was exactly like what my father usually did.

"sun----"

She saw the sun hanging at the edge of the horizon.

The car's dashboard showed it was 7 a.m.

The sky in California is very different from that in Michigan.

The biggest difference is that the clouds are much sparser here because of the dryness.

A clear, cloudless blue sky with only a single, round sun hanging at the edge of the horizon.

Erica stared blankly at the scenery on the horizon.

How long has it been since I last gazed into the distance like this?

"Crackling sound—the engine started, and Erica could clearly feel the steering wheel in her hands vibrating slightly but rhythmically."

It was as if she were actually sitting in the cab of a truck.

Compared to the magnificent distant view, the basket in the foreground is much larger.

At first glance, it looks a bit like Sega's "Outrun," with a strong mosaic texture, but it is definitely 3D.

Release the handbrake and gently press the accelerator.

"laugh-

The sound of the air brakes coming from the television made Erica momentarily dazed.

She remembered the voice.

When she was little, her father would take her to sit in the front of that mountain-like car, and she would often hear such sounds.