What you are about to see here is pure pornography. Quality, undermined art, that will never be short of stunning. An incredible piece of work, which work was started on spontaneously. Welcome to Purno’s Iceland, in Euro Truck Simulator 2 – a world that will make you leave everything behind, and want to play ETS2.
When I first saw plans for Iceland, I was very skeptical. Why start work on a country that is hardly relevant to the trucking network in Europe, when you could expand south, to Slovenia, Croatia and the Balkans? Now I ask myself why I ever asked that question. I am glad that a mapper with just 10 months of experience has proved me so wrong on many levels. I installed Promods 1.90 but never rushed to see Iceland. Perhaps it was down to the inconceivable size of this volcanic wonder, which can wear you out after a 25 minute drive.
I entered Iceland with my head down; it was dark, and I disliked the climb from the ferry into the Icelandic Ring Road, also known as Route 1. No wonder. After a quick Google, I discover it is 1,332 km long. I fire up a good radio station, and settle for a long scenic cruise to Keflavik – my destination. Obviously, you can do the maths and imagine that Iceland will be as large as Ireland, but it’s hard to conceive how really big it is until you are there.
I was up for a pleasant surprise. I took the most pictures I ever took in ETS in a single session (ended up with about 80 shots, usually it ends on 10-15, that’s how much I loved it!). I have never been personally to Iceland, but I can imagine what this pile of volcanic ash looks like in real life. The virtual recreation perfectly compliments its real life counterpart with intelligent mapping and a varied landscape, full of volcanoes, open fields with mountain ranges far in the background, and little villages that remind you where you are… Well beyond the limits of Mainland Europe.
Just outside of Vik, I was still 313km from the destination. I followed a cistern Scania around the ring road, and paused every now and then to capture the sublime surroundings, and saviour the moment. I then found this small village with a lake, and Alps-styled houses. I must have gone wrong; through Faroe Islands, Scotland, England, France, Germany… I have somehow ended up in Austria. It’s just that you’d never imagine that Iceland can be that diverse without being a huge forest.
Selfoss was another small “town” I passed on my way to Keflavik. I was too busy moaning about how long the drive is to fully appreciate the city, but just as I left it, the scenic climb out of it was captivating enough to change my focus for the next 180 seconds. I just had to stop and appreciate the views.
After crossing another single carriageway section, for the first time in Iceland, I saw trees, before reaching a roundabout. Everything had it’s place, and was thought out, and placed where it was for a reason. I’m talking about Iceland in general, but also about Reykjavik. It was obvious as soon as you reached it’s outskirts. I resisted the urge of stopping at McDonalds for a meal, and continued around Reykjavik’s ring road, before catching a glimpse of the jumbo lifting off from Keflavik. Unlike at other airport based locations in the ETS world, this felt real. There was no trees around… you could clearly see the aircraft taking speed and lifting off. Keflavik was just around the corner. I unloaded and I finished my long journey around the ash.
I’m not sure when I will be back in Iceland. It takes a while to drive to locations there. But when I will be back, I might stay there a little longer. If you have an hour to spare in your life, visit Iceland in Promods for ETS2. You will enjoy every single second on there; and you will be left wanting hours more.
Photography of the virtual worlds... 