Euro Truck Simulator 2's Isle of Ireland DLC hits the road

SCS Software's Euro Truck Simulator 2 map team spent June crossing Ireland on a research trip for the upcoming Isle of Ireland DLC, and the studio has shared what the journey taught them about bringing the Emerald Isle to life in the game. The expansion is available to wishlist on Steam now.

The seven-person group included project lead Honza, map designers Kristián and Libor, road-department representative Josef, and world map design QA lead Ivan, plus community manager Alex and videomaker Cenda, who joined to document the trip. They started in Dublin and made a loop through Rosslare Harbour, Waterford, Cork, Killarney, Limerick, Galway, Westport, Sligo, Benbulbin, Londonderry, Bushmills, Giant's Causeway and Belfast before returning to Dublin.

The crew covered thousands of kilometres in two Škoda Octavias supplied by Škoda Ireland. The Czech Embassy in Ireland, led by JUDr. Pavel Vošalík, also helped arrange visits, including a tour of a cement plant in Limerick that gave the team insight into how truck drivers load, unload and transport materials.

• Honza says being on the ground confirmed that vegetation needs special attention — "grass really is very green in Ireland" — and turned up details like public art on walls and electrical boxes that should make the map feel authentic. His highlights included the Caha Mountains, Killarney National Park, Connemara, the Antrim coast and Galway.
• Kristián, working on his first DLC, scouted the Waterford-to-Rosslare Harbour area and found roads recently renovated in ways that aren't yet visible on Google Maps. He also visited the Custom Depot at a Belfast film studio.
• Libor focused on the N71 through Killarney National Park, using sunny weather to capture the correct colours, mountain scale and vegetation variety.
• Josef gathered references for the right-hand drive prefabs used in both the Isle of Ireland DLC and the UK rework, covering road features such as cats' eyes, box junctions, roundabouts (sometimes with traffic lights) and left-side driving.
• Ivan said the first-hand memories now help him judge authenticity during QA reviews, from busy cities to quiet countryside roads.

A future SCS On The Road episode will show more of the journey on the SCS Software YouTube channel. You can also add the Isle of Ireland DLC to your Steam wishlist.