18 Wheels of Steel

18 Wheels of Steel (sometimes abbreviated as 18WoS) is a series of trucking simulators developed by SCS Software and published by ValuSoft from 2002 to 2011. The series currently has 8 installments.

The first installment in the series, released in 2002.

This installment is very similar to Hard Truck: 18 Wheels of Steel except that the graphics were updated, more trucks and cargo were added, and a new map was created that enables users to travel across the entire continental U.S., through 30 cities. In this version, players can choose from 30 trucks and 40+ trailers. Time is made up of a total of 24 minutes in a day in the clock. This game focuses on the delivery of cargo. Players will also battle 3 AI drivers. Unlike in Hard Truck: 18 Wheels of Steel, the sleep timer was removed from the simulation. There is an improved traffic model as well as airplanes, helicopters, and trains with authentic sounds.

In this installment, released in 2004, the user can travel across the entire continental US, and also through northern Mexico and southern Canada, through 30 cities. The sleep timer was brought back in this version. It has an improved traffic model. 18 Wheels of Steel: Pedal to the Metal requires OpenGL. It also has the fastest map to date besides Haulin' and is the first trucking game to feature more than one country.

In this updated installment, you can travel through the United States, as well as southern Canada, though it differs from 18 Wheels of Steel: Pedal to the Metal in that Mexican cities are not present, this might be considered as the bad part of the series since it did not improve much from its predecessor except for minor additions. You can travel through 30+ cities and choose from 35+ rigs, 45+ cargoes and 47+ trailers. The player has to use the mouse to look outside of the cab at the mirrors. The graphics are also much improved in this version, and users can see drivers in other vehicles and when the trucks are "lugged" under 1500 RPM, they emit black exhaust much like older non-computerized trucks do. However, other graphical features such as dynamic dashboard gauges were replaced with simple inanimate textures, although this and minor bugs were fixed with a patch released by SCS Software in 2008. Players can also buy things to protect themselves.

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