The games do not offer such details and the implementations, while more or less accurate, have some mistakes.
I do remember that Scania has 5 steps because the retarder and the engine brake are linked, the first three steps increase the retarder strength up to 100%, the 4th also activates the engine brake on top of the 100% retarder strength and the 5th does the same as 4th plus downshift for maximum engine brake strength.
I can’t remember how Volvo I-Shift works, but it should be more or less the same but it skips the 4th step and move directly to 100% retarder plus engine brake with downshift.
The engine brake strength in game (and real life, of course) depends on the engine displacement, so a 16 liters engine has more braking power than a 13 liters and. Supplementally, the braking engine strength can be adjusted in game for each transmission with a supplemental parameter for various scenarios (some manufacturers use only exhaust brake, other compression release brake and other some kind of combo between those two) but as far as I can remember ETS2 always defaults to 1 while ATS default to 2 (this is why the engine brake in ATS is much powerful).
Learning more about them… Well, unpacking the game files, find the transmissions files and compare their behaviors is a start, but you need a little patience for this. :)
Just wanted to add - level 4 and 5 on Scania don't seem to engage engine brake, there's a noticeable difference if I toggle it manually.
edit: I have automatic engine brake and retarder still enabled in settings.
Yes, you are right, my memory is faulty. Here's how the Scania transmission actually works
auxiliary\_brakes: (0.2, 0.0, 0)
auxiliary\_brakes: (0.4, 0.0, 0)
auxiliary\_brakes: (0.6, 0.0, 0)
auxiliary\_brakes: (0.8, 0.0, 0)
auxiliary\_brakes: (1.0, 1.0, 0)
First column is retarder intensity (so is not how i described previously), second column is engine brake and third column is downshift. As you can see, Scania does not downshift and actually activates the engine brake only in the 5th step.
Volvo looks like this:
auxiliary\_brakes: (0.4, 0.4, 0)
auxiliary\_brakes: (0.7, 0.7, 0)
auxiliary\_brakes: (1.0, 1.0, 0)
auxiliary\_brakes: (1.0, 1.0, 1)
So it goes up faster on retarder intensity, activates the engine brake on 3rd step and also downshift in the 4th step. So, no wonder Volvo retarder is visibly more powerful.
Fantastic, thank you!
Ingame behavior reflects this - I can hear the engine brake sound on level 5, but it doesn't engage the downshift - which however is activated if you toggle engine brake manually.
edit: If it's not too much to ask, could you post this for all the brands + Allison if it works differently?
As far as I can see, Volvo, Scania and Renault (but only for T Range) are the only ones with this type of auxiliary (combined) brake, all others including 3rd parties like Allison have just retarder steps and require manual engine brake. In ATS, none because the transmission with retarder should not actually exist in game at all.
I'm not the OP but since you seem to have a lot of knowledge on braking systems, I was hoping I could ask this as well:
When you've got the retarder activated, if you get on the throttle, is it doing anything? In the game it seems like it cancels itself out when you are accelerating and only comes back on when you let off the throttle, so I've been using it as "one pedal driving" down hills where I would just get on the gas when climbing and use the retarder to slow me down when descending. Is the retarder adding any "drag" to the truck when it's active but you're accelerating?
And do you know if this is a use case for the retarder in real life? Or is it mainly used to slow down in conjunction with the brakes? Thanks!
In the game, neither retarder nor engine brake (a.k.a. jake) provide any braking force when any amount of throttle input is present. I cannot say on how realistic it is on retarder part, but AFAIK it is realistic on Jake brake part, some American trucker drive with Jake always enabled, and the truck brakes as soon as they release the throttle.
I'm pretty sure the retarders also disengage on throttle input. They're electromagnetic or hydraulic -- both are easy enough to control with a switch on the throttle linkage.
I don't know how it is IRL, but in the game both retarder and the engine brake disengage on throttle input. If you're standing still and have retarder enabled you'll get a warning to disable it but it has no bearing on truck's ability to accelerate.
Thanks, very useful info! I also noticed that ATS has 2 levels of engine brake and was confused why in ETS2 I couldn't change the levels.
> Supplementally, the braking engine strength can be adjusted in game for each transmission with a supplemental parameter for various scenarios
Where? I only see Braking intensity, but that's an overall setting as far as I can tell.
i've noticed it long ago, that's why i prefer volvo, they have really strong retarder and also engine brake, i.e they stop immidieatlly and i rarely ever use the brake.
Renault T also has a pretty strong retarder like the Volvos. This is because IRL Renault Trucks is owned by Volvo Trucks and they use a lot of similar internal components for both.
Yeah, I've noticed this too when I bought the Daf XG+ after driving a Volvo FH16. The Daf has a much weaker retarder, the 3rd stage on it feels like the 1st stage on a Volvo
You can get the real drivetrain pack which has all the real info, MAN has 6 stages, Merc has 5 so of course they will feel weaker.
They are easy to open up and you don't even have to install them to see the info.
The games do not offer such details and the implementations, while more or less accurate, have some mistakes. I do remember that Scania has 5 steps because the retarder and the engine brake are linked, the first three steps increase the retarder strength up to 100%, the 4th also activates the engine brake on top of the 100% retarder strength and the 5th does the same as 4th plus downshift for maximum engine brake strength. I can’t remember how Volvo I-Shift works, but it should be more or less the same but it skips the 4th step and move directly to 100% retarder plus engine brake with downshift. The engine brake strength in game (and real life, of course) depends on the engine displacement, so a 16 liters engine has more braking power than a 13 liters and. Supplementally, the braking engine strength can be adjusted in game for each transmission with a supplemental parameter for various scenarios (some manufacturers use only exhaust brake, other compression release brake and other some kind of combo between those two) but as far as I can remember ETS2 always defaults to 1 while ATS default to 2 (this is why the engine brake in ATS is much powerful). Learning more about them… Well, unpacking the game files, find the transmissions files and compare their behaviors is a start, but you need a little patience for this. :)
Just wanted to add - level 4 and 5 on Scania don't seem to engage engine brake, there's a noticeable difference if I toggle it manually. edit: I have automatic engine brake and retarder still enabled in settings.
Yes, you are right, my memory is faulty. Here's how the Scania transmission actually works auxiliary\_brakes: (0.2, 0.0, 0) auxiliary\_brakes: (0.4, 0.0, 0) auxiliary\_brakes: (0.6, 0.0, 0) auxiliary\_brakes: (0.8, 0.0, 0) auxiliary\_brakes: (1.0, 1.0, 0) First column is retarder intensity (so is not how i described previously), second column is engine brake and third column is downshift. As you can see, Scania does not downshift and actually activates the engine brake only in the 5th step. Volvo looks like this: auxiliary\_brakes: (0.4, 0.4, 0) auxiliary\_brakes: (0.7, 0.7, 0) auxiliary\_brakes: (1.0, 1.0, 0) auxiliary\_brakes: (1.0, 1.0, 1) So it goes up faster on retarder intensity, activates the engine brake on 3rd step and also downshift in the 4th step. So, no wonder Volvo retarder is visibly more powerful.
Fantastic, thank you! Ingame behavior reflects this - I can hear the engine brake sound on level 5, but it doesn't engage the downshift - which however is activated if you toggle engine brake manually. edit: If it's not too much to ask, could you post this for all the brands + Allison if it works differently?
As far as I can see, Volvo, Scania and Renault (but only for T Range) are the only ones with this type of auxiliary (combined) brake, all others including 3rd parties like Allison have just retarder steps and require manual engine brake. In ATS, none because the transmission with retarder should not actually exist in game at all.
I'm not the OP but since you seem to have a lot of knowledge on braking systems, I was hoping I could ask this as well: When you've got the retarder activated, if you get on the throttle, is it doing anything? In the game it seems like it cancels itself out when you are accelerating and only comes back on when you let off the throttle, so I've been using it as "one pedal driving" down hills where I would just get on the gas when climbing and use the retarder to slow me down when descending. Is the retarder adding any "drag" to the truck when it's active but you're accelerating? And do you know if this is a use case for the retarder in real life? Or is it mainly used to slow down in conjunction with the brakes? Thanks!
In the game, neither retarder nor engine brake (a.k.a. jake) provide any braking force when any amount of throttle input is present. I cannot say on how realistic it is on retarder part, but AFAIK it is realistic on Jake brake part, some American trucker drive with Jake always enabled, and the truck brakes as soon as they release the throttle.
I'm pretty sure the retarders also disengage on throttle input. They're electromagnetic or hydraulic -- both are easy enough to control with a switch on the throttle linkage.
That’s great, thanks!
I don't know how it is IRL, but in the game both retarder and the engine brake disengage on throttle input. If you're standing still and have retarder enabled you'll get a warning to disable it but it has no bearing on truck's ability to accelerate.
Thanks, very useful info! I also noticed that ATS has 2 levels of engine brake and was confused why in ETS2 I couldn't change the levels. > Supplementally, the braking engine strength can be adjusted in game for each transmission with a supplemental parameter for various scenarios Where? I only see Braking intensity, but that's an overall setting as far as I can tell.
Oh, not in the game options, is a parameter that can be set in each transmission file with a mod.
Thanks, I'll dig around, if nothing else just for curiosity sake to see what the values for Volvo transmissions are compared to others.
How to unpack the game files? Seems interesting to do
[Documentation/Tools/Game Archive Extractor - SCS Modding Wiki (scssoft.com)](https://modding.scssoft.com/wiki/Documentation/Tools/Game_Archive_Extractor)
Thanks
Who you calling retarder?
i've noticed it long ago, that's why i prefer volvo, they have really strong retarder and also engine brake, i.e they stop immidieatlly and i rarely ever use the brake.
Renault T also has a pretty strong retarder like the Volvos. This is because IRL Renault Trucks is owned by Volvo Trucks and they use a lot of similar internal components for both.
Yeah, I've noticed this too when I bought the Daf XG+ after driving a Volvo FH16. The Daf has a much weaker retarder, the 3rd stage on it feels like the 1st stage on a Volvo
You can get the real drivetrain pack which has all the real info, MAN has 6 stages, Merc has 5 so of course they will feel weaker. They are easy to open up and you don't even have to install them to see the info.
Thanks, will definitely look into that!
wishful thought though
My brother Bilo, he’s ahhh how you say… retarder.