American Truck Simulator is a truck-driving simulation by SCS Software. You take on transport jobs, drive trucks through accurately scaled regions of the United States, and use your earnings to build a company. Beyond the actual driving, long-term progression includes buying vehicles, maintenance, expanding garages, and managing staff.
At the start you can take Quick Jobs, where the truck and cargo are provided. Later, you buy your own trucks and pick contracts via the Freight Market. With suitable owned trailers, the Cargo Market becomes available as well. Skill points go into Long Distance, Hazardous Materials, High Value Cargo, Fragile Cargo, and Just-in-Time Delivery. This unlocks new job types and better-paying routes.
The driveable world consists of the base game and additional states released as map expansions. Cities, highways, country roads, weigh stations, fuel stations, and depots form a continuous road network. The route itself is often just as important as the delivery, for example with tight entrances, long climbs, or hauls with heavy and oversized cargo.
The official multiplayer mode is called Convoy. In a session, multiple players drive in the same environment, including synchronized AI traffic, weather, and time of day. Groups can pick compatible jobs and run the same route together. There is no shared company with a central group wallet, however. Money, experience, trucks, and garages remain part of each player’s personal profile.
American Truck Simulator also has no dedicated PvP system. The focus is on shared trips, convoys, realistic driving rules, and community-organized events. Agreements on speed, breaks, route, and vehicle classes shape cooperation more than fixed classes or factions.
Convoy sessions were initially limited to eight participants. Larger lobbies with up to 128 players are now possible. Because the server browser does not always surface larger sessions by default, you may need to adjust filters to find American Truck Simulator servers with more than eight players.
A regular Convoy session depends on the player who hosts it in-game. A dedicated server, on the other hand, provides the session independently of an active game client. The group therefore doesn’t have to wait for a specific driver to come online and act as host.
This is especially relevant for established VTCs and public convoys. A server can have a recognizable name, a description, a welcome message, and access control. You can also define the maximum player count and session visibility. For larger public runs, choose the participant limit with regard to network performance, the mods in use, and the stability of individual clients.
The server does not replace a savegame server. Career progress and your fleet are still stored in personal profiles. Its purpose is a permanently available Convoy session with fixed rules and a consistent mod set.
To register a publicly listed dedicated server with Steam services, you need a Game Server Login Token (GSLT). Add this token to the server configuration and do not share it publicly.
Relevant American Truck Simulator server settings include session name, description, password, player limit, and moderators. There are also gameplay rules, such as an enforced speed limiter or no-collision zones at service points. Which rules make sense depends on the session’s purpose. A small private run usually needs fewer interventions than a public convoy with many participants.
Admins or assigned moderators can respond to disruptions in public sessions and remove or ban players. These permissions should be granted deliberately via the intended Steam IDs.
American Truck Simulator supports mods, including via the Steam Workshop. Options range from trucks, trailers, and paint jobs to sound packs, traffic tweaks, and extensive map projects. Convoy supports modded sessions, but all participating players must have a compatible set. Different versions or a different load order can prevent joining.
Official map expansions also play a role in planning. Anyone who wants to run a route through additional states needs the corresponding content. Before a community event, clearly state the required DLCs, the mods, and their load order.
A dedicated American Truck Simulator server from 4Netplayers is ideal for regularly driving groups and organized community convoys. The session remains available without a player host, while participants continue using their personal profiles, trucks, and career progress. Access, player count, moderation, and the mod selection can be tailored to your planned operations.