The update from version 1.35 to 1.36 for Euro Truck Simulator 2 (ETS2)

was a major technical milestone, primarily focused on modernizing the game's engine and expanding the map in preparation for new content. Technical Improvements

The most significant change in 1.36 was the transition to DirectX 11.

Engine Upgrade: Support for DirectX 9 was completely removed, allowing for better performance, smoother gameplay, and improved long-range Level of Detail (LOD).

Visual Enhancements: The update introduced improved anti-aliasing (SMAA) and better rendering for complex objects like electric wires.

Input Support: Added support for non-Latin character input (IME), specifically for Chinese and other languages. Map and Content Updates Corsica Expansion: The island of

was added as a free addition for owners of the Vive la France! DLC.

Road to the Black Sea Preparation: The patch prepared the game for the launch of the Road to the Black Sea DLC, which added Romania, Bulgaria, and the Trakya region of Turkey.

New AI Traffic: New AI vehicles were added, and police paint jobs were corrected across different regions. Management and UI Changes

Enhanced Map Management: Drivers, trucks, and trailers became visible directly on the manager map, making fleet management more intuitive.

Avoid Pins: A new feature for GPS navigation allowed players to set "Avoid" pins to bypass specific roads during route planning.

New Loading Screens: Refreshed visuals were added to the game's startup and loading sequences. Modding Impact

Because of the complete shift to DirectX 11, many older mods—particularly those involving shaders or complex textures—required updates to remain compatible.

The transition from Euro Truck Simulator 2 (ETS2) version 1.35 to 1.36 marked a pivotal moment for the game's technical foundation and content depth. While version 1.35 focused on expanding game mechanics, version 1.36 officially ushered in a new era of graphical performance.  Update 1.35: Expanding Foundations 

Released in June 2019, version 1.35 introduced several long-awaited quality-of-life features: 

Renault T Truck: Added as a completely new brand-integrated vehicle.

GPS Voice Navigation: Introduced voice-guided directions for a more immersive driving experience.

Map Expansions: Featured Germany rework (Stage 2), new French roads, and the addition of Sardinia.

New Mechanics: Included emergency refueling services and the ability to use personal trailers for "External Contracts" (World of Trucks).

Experimental DX11 Support: Provided a first look at DirectX 11 for testing before its official adoption.  Update 1.36: The Technical Leap 

Released in December 2019, version 1.36 focused on modernization and "Road to the Black Sea" DLC compatibility: 

Full DirectX 11 Adoption: The headline feature was the shift to DX11, which became the new standard. This allowed for smoother gameplay, increased FPS, and improved long-range Level of Detail (LOD). Removal of DirectX 9

: SCS Software officially retired DX9 support to remove technical limitations, making DX11-compliant hardware a requirement for the latest updates. Corsica Island

: A free map addition for owners of the Vive la France! expansion, accessible via ferry from Marseille or Sassari.

Detours Feature: Introduced unpredictable road closures and police activity, forcing players to improvise routes—a feature first popularized in American Truck Simulator.

Manager Map Visibility: For the first time, players could see their hired drivers, trucks, and trailers active on the Manager Map.  Version Comparison Summary  Feature  Version 1.35 Version 1.36 Graphics API Experimental DX11 Full DX11 (DX9 Removed) Map Additions Sardinia, Germany Rework Corsica (France DLC) New Features GPS Voice Navigation Detours, GPS Avoidance Pins Fleet Management Online garage purchase Drivers visible on Manager Map

If you are a mod user, be aware that the shift to version 1.36's DX11 core frequently requires updates for older truck and trailer mods that rely on legacy DX9 materials. You can review the Official SCS Blog for deep dives into these historical patches.  Euro Truck Simulator 2 Update 1.36

The air in the garage was thick with the smell of stale coffee and ozone. Elias sat in the cabin of his Volvo FH16, his hands resting on the steering wheel, but the world outside the windshield was frozen.

A notification hovered in his vision, a stark white box against the familiar backdrop of a virtual garage.

"Update Available: Euro Truck Simulator 2 - Version 1.36."

"End of the line, old friend," Elias whispered to the truck. He knew what this meant. It wasn’t just a patch; it was a migration. The world of 1.35—the physics he had memorized, the specific way his trailer fishtailed on the rain-slicked highways of France—was about to be archived.

He clicked "Next."

The screen went black. Then came the download bar. It was agonizingly slow, a slow march of megabytes that felt like a countdown to a rocket launch. Elias watched the numbers tick up. He thought about his mods. The traffic density mod, the sound packs that made the Scanias roar like lions, the winter physics he’d installed back in December—most of them were about to break. The 1.35 era was the era of stability; 1.36 was the frontier.

The game restarted. The iconic SCS Software logo spun, but the sound was different—sharper, clearer.

"1.36 Change-log: Implemented DirectX 11 support."

Elias held his breath as the loading screen faded. He wasn’t in the garage anymore. He was spawned on the side of the road near Linz, Austria. The engine was idling. He tapped the W key to accelerate.

The change was immediate and visceral.

In 1.35, the truck had felt heavy, anchored to the road by invisible tethers. Now, as he eased onto the gas, the chassis felt alive. The suspension seemed to breathe. He crept forward, merging onto the Autobahn.

"DirectX 11," he muttered, watching the sun glint off the hood mirror. "I’ll be damned."

The lighting had changed. The gray asphalt of the highway wasn’t just a flat texture anymore; it had depth. The shadows of the trees lining the road weren't jagged patches of darkness but soft, realistic silhouettes that shifted as he drove past. The world felt less like a painted backdrop and more like a place.

He shifted gears. The transmission whined, a distinct, authentic sound. He checked his mirrors—the bane of every trucker’s existence. In 1.35, the mirrors had often been a compromise—low resolution, sometimes lagging, ghosting trails of the cars behind him.

Elias glanced left. A VW Golf was passing him on the fast lane. He could read the license plate. The frame rate was buttery smooth.

"Optimization," Elias grinned. "They actually did it."

He decided to test the limits. He pulled off the highway and aimed for a winding mountain pass, the kind of road that exposed every flaw in a game’s physics engine. As he navigated the hairpin turns, he felt the weight transfer. He watched the trailer tires in the mirror.

There it was—the fix. In 1.35, the fifth wheel (the connection between the truck and trailer) had sometimes felt like a rigid steel bar. If you took a corner too fast, the trailer seemed to pivot from a single point in the center of the rear axle. But now? Now, he could see the trailer pivoting from the actual hook point on the back of his cab. It was subtle, a matter of inches in the virtual space, but to a veteran driver, it changed everything. The trailer pushed him; it argued with him. It felt like a separate entity dragging behind, not just an extension of his truck.

It started to rain.

In the old version, rain was a visual filter. Now, droplets splattered against the windshield with new ferocity. He flicked the wipers on. The sound of the rubber dragging across the glass was rhythmic and satisfying. He looked out the window at the passing vegetation. The grass looked fuller, the trees less like cardboard cutouts.

Elias pulled into a rest stop just south of Salzburg. The sun was beginning to set, casting long, golden beams through the valleys. He parked the truck and killed the engine. The silence of the cab was profound.

He opened the Steam Workshop. The old mods were flagged with red exclamation marks—outdated. It would take weeks for the modders to catch up to the new DirectX 11 standards. For now, he was driving vanilla.

But as he looked out at the sunset, watching the way the light refracted through the remaining rain clouds, he didn't mind. The game had grown up. The era of 1.35 was a comfortable pair of old boots, but 1.36 was a brand new, high-tech rig.

Elias turned the key. The Volvo roared to life, a sound richer than he remembered.

"Alright," he said, putting the truck into gear. "Let's make some deliveries."

The Core Changes: What 1.36 Actually Does

When you apply the ETS2 1.35 to 1.36 patch, you are not just downloading a few bug fixes. You are migrating the game engine itself. Here are the headline features:

What it does:

Bridges the gap between 1.35’s classic weather/sound engine and 1.36’s new features (like FMOD sounds and DX11-only support) by adding smooth, adjustable transitions for legacy mod compatibility.

For modders & players:

• If a mod hasn’t been updated since mid-2019, it likely won’t work on 1.36 or newer.
• Maps made for 1.35 often need conversion to the new format for 1.36+.

Verdict:
1.35 = last of the “classic” era.
1.36 = first step toward current ETS2 graphics & performance standards.

Happy trucking 🚛

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The transition from version 1.35 to 1.36 in Euro Truck Simulator 2 (ETS2)

was a pivotal update that primarily focused on technical modernization and the introduction of regional content. While 1.35 was massive in terms of map expansions and gameplay features, 1.36 is often remembered for its structural shift to DirectX 11. Technical Shift: The End of DirectX 9

The most significant change in 1.36 was the full adoption of DirectX 11 and the complete removal of DirectX 9 support.

Performance Improvements: For many, this allowed for smoother frame rates and better anti-aliasing (SMAA).

Compatibility Issues: Some users with older hardware or operating systems (pre-Windows Vista) were unable to run the game post-patch.

Mod Impact: This change broke many older graphics and weather mods, requiring players to find updated versions compatible with the new DX11 rendering. Major Gameplay Features

Detours: Following its successful trial in American Truck Simulator, the detours system was added to ETS2. This feature introduces random road closures and accidents that force you to reroute your navigation on the fly.

Avoidance Pins: You can now place pins on the GPS map to avoid specific road segments, giving you more control over your route planning.

Management Map Visibility: Drivers, trucks, and trailers are now visible on the manager maps, making it easier to track your fleet's current status and locations. Content Additions

Corsica (Vive la France ! DLC): Owners of the France DLC received the island of Corsica as a free addition, featuring winding roads and scenic Mediterranean landscapes.

New AI Vehicles: The update introduced several new AI vehicles to make the roads feel more varied and realistic.

Black Sea Compatibility: 1.36 served as the foundational patch for the Road to the Black Sea DLC, ensuring the game was ready for the new territories of Romania, Bulgaria, and Turkey.

These videos provide a breakdown of the changelogs and first impressions for both the 1.35 and 1.36 updates: Changelog for ETS2 Update 1.36 412K views · 6 years ago YouTube · SCS Software Changelog for ETS2 Update 1.35 692K views · 6 years ago YouTube · SCS Software I Miss Version 1.36 - Euro Truck Simulator 2 802 views · 3 years ago YouTube · Direct Gaming ETS2 : What's new in update 1.35 ? 571 views · 6 years ago YouTube · RaceMasterDave Player Community Perspectives

“Some [people] cannot play the game anymore, keeps crashing even on a clean profile without mods... I decided to make a backup of all necessary files from 1.35 patch just in case.” SCS Software · 6 years ago

Report: Euro Truck Simulator 2 - Update 1.35 to 1.36 Analysis

Date: October 29, 2019 (Archival Context) Subject: Technical and Gameplay Changes introduced in Patch 1.36

3. Gameplay Features & Content

While 1.36 was less content-heavy than previous DLCs, it introduced specific features requested by the community.

• The MAN TGX Euro 6 Update:
  • SCS updated the older MAN TGX model to bring it in line with modern truck standards. This included a fully modeled interior with new textures, an updated sound bank, and various tuning options that were previously missing.
• Special Transport DLC Expansion:
  • New routes were added for the Special Transport DLC. While usually minor, these additions provided new challenges for players who owned the specific DLC pack.
• UI and Map Changes:
  • Minor tweaks were made to the UI scaling and the default map layout, mostly preparing the interface for future updates regarding navigation and the route advisor.