[Post] Pejindo Project : 10 Years - It’s a Long Story (English Version) ~ Pejindo Project

INFO: This post is specially made to recap the history of the author's lifetime modding and mapping activities. "Pj Indo" was changed to "Pejindo Project" in 2021.

Updated: August 2025

Evolving for 10 Years - It’s a Long Story

Greetings! Septian_MR here!

Time has a way of moving forward, with every moment coming and going, but not all memories simply disappear.

Maybe not many people know this. I’ve been involved in the modding community since 2015. Yes, 10 years ago. That’s a really long time, isn't it? Or, you’d think a lot of people out there would recognize me. Is that really true? I don’t feel that famous in the community. I also don’t feel like I was a “veteran” or an “senior”. Of course, there are some others who are far more senior than me, who have been releasing mods for much longer, who have so many contributions, are now considered legendary, and are even known by the staff of the game’s developer—some have even become part of the company itself.

I have to admit, I’m not as great as them. Ten years have passed, but I’m still not that well-known. Maybe it’s my own fault for keeping a low profile, feeling less comfortable connecting with any people in the community over time.

Anyway, for those of you who are just getting to know me these days... nice to meet you!

There have been so many ups and downs in my modding journey over the years. I’ve written a similar post before HERE. At least there, you could get a sense of my feelings when I made that post, even if it's indirectly. And now, maybe the same feelings will come back again here. Please bear with me.

The Beginning

I’m not sure if I’ve told this part before. If I remember correctly, I first discovered Euro Truck Simulator 2 (ETS2) in late 2014 after seeing it in a friend’s game collection back in high school. Yes, that was when I was still in my first year. And no… I didn’t just buy it right away (that time, the game was still sold on CD, but a digital demo was available on the official website), because I didn’t have enough money and wasn’t familiar with how to buy games like that. Still, I got hooked because I enjoy driving games where you can freely explore (not racing games, though).

In early 2015, I first got to know about mods—especially Indonesian map mods, which were getting attention even internationally at the time (one was a fictional "Jalur Selatan" map and the other was the ICRF). That’s when I became curious about how something like that could be made. At that time, I only knew about the old, confusing map editor program. On top of that, its assets were very limited, and the models looked extremely outdated.

source: SCS Forum

Luckily, that didn’t last long because around May 2015, the Scandinavia DLC was released. And at the same time, the map editor’s interface changed completely, becoming the foundation for the more modern map editor we know today. This made it easier for me to learn how to create a map mod, even though I still faced the same issues—mainly the limited assets, especially roads and prefabs for left-hand traffic. Many things in the map editor were still unfamiliar to me, so it took a few months to get used to it.

In the end, all that effort led to a new milestone: I released my first map mod, called Panjelajers Indo Map, later known as Pj Indo Map, on August 16th, 2015.

Early Development of Pj Indo Map (2015–2020)

You still can’t believe my first mod was from 2015? Here’s the proof: a mod site post of my very first map, “Panjelajers.”

Back then—unlike now—people published/uploaded their mods on various mod websites, just like the one I linked above (yes, that one’s really uploaded by me). In 2015, those mod sites were buzzing with activity. If I remember correctly, just two days after release, my first fictional map mod already had 400 downloads. A few days later, other mod sites also published the same mod with the same description (copy-pasted from the first site I linked earlier), but...with different download links—which, even now, is actually a weakness since it’s vulnerable to unauthorized reuploads.

I have to admit, that first mod was… kind of... ridiculous. One reason was that it was fictional. But… could it really represent Indonesia when the map used right-hand traffic? Yet the place/city names were based on locations in Indonesia (and sometimes Malaysia). It probably should have been a map of… I don’t know… the Philippines, Laos, or Vietnam? Or maybe an Alternate Universe of Latin America?

As I mentioned before, I still struggled with the lack of assets for left-hand traffic roads. Also, the map didn’t need any DLC assets released at the time, because—well—why would I use assets designed for right-hand traffic, with subtropical to Arctic climates, in this map?

There was another thing: when the first version of the mod came out, the map module type was standalone, meaning it wasn’t connected to ETS2’s Europe map at all. Yeah, my first year of modding was that troublesome.

Around the second update release (still in the same year), the mod was finally turned into an add-on and merged with the Europe map. At first, it was placed in the Atlantic Ocean west of the UK or France. But in later updates, its position was moved to the south of Europe (in the middle of the African continent) just to make the day-night cycle faster—like in typical equatorial countries.

So, how did I connect the two areas? At first, I didn’t even know how to make those dotted “ferry routes” on the World Map. Only in a later update did I manage to add them.

By the end of 2015, the name “Panjelajers” was dropped after realizing many foreigners had trouble pronouncing it. That’s when the name “Pj Indo Map” was adopted permanently. Fun trivia: if you read “Pj Indo” in Indonesian, it sounds like “Pe-je-in-do,” which eventually inspired the name “Pejindo.” Around that time, I also added a new “island” expansion with left-hand traffic—finally (at least) making it represent Indonesia.

In total, there were four updates in 2015 alone. At the end of that year, I also took the bold (or maybe reckless) step of posting this fictional map on the official SCS forum. Proof HERE.

In 2016, Pj Indo Map kept expanding. Surprisingly, there were quite a lot of players using the map. The update frequency was unexpectedly high without I had realized—about six updates that year—even though I had also started another map project as my modding skills slowly improved.

By 2017, update frequency dropped sharply to just three times. This was partly because I prioritized other map projects and also because I focused on my education, since that was the year I graduated from high school.

In 2018, Pj Indo Map updates usually came alongside ETS2’s own version updates, which meant only two releases that year. In 2019, it was even worse—just one update. Then, in October 2020, the mod’s last version, v2.71, was released. After that, it went completely silent for years, left untouched.

So… Is Pj Indo Map Really Not Coming Back?

If you’ve read my similar blog posts in past years, the answer was usually the same: abandoned, uncertain fate, untouched. But what about this year?

Let me break the “curse” with a new answer below.

Pj Indo Map v2.75: Back on Track (2025)

Rubbing eyes… blinking… stare… this isn’t a mistake, right?

Yes, it’s not a mistake. I’ve decided to bring back my very first map mod so it can be played again. Impossible? Yeah. You must go a little crazy this time? Well, maybe I feel that way.

But the truth is—nothing is impossible. This fictional map that was once called “silly” or "ridiculous" is really coming back. Seriously. If you’ve known me for a long time, you’d already know this: when I give information or something convincing—whether it’s a planned mod project, new content to be added, or an update release schedule—it will happen. Maybe you won’t know exactly when, but it will happen someday.

Remember, the key word is convincing. If I say something vague, then you don’t have to take it seriously.

Back to the topic—will this new version of Pj Indo Map have new content? For now… not yet. The most important priority is to adapt the map assets/models from the old ETS2 version so they can work on the latest version of the game. That way, you can enjoy the existing map content but in the newest game version. The number of cities will stay the same, and the routes will remain unchanged. When the next ETS2 version is released, this map mod will also be updated. So this isn’t exactly the end.

One question you might have: considering the map’s position in the previous version, can it still work if brought back now—especially for map combos? Since there are now many Africa map mods, it’s time to move it to another part of the world.

Yes—into the middle of the Indian Ocean, not far west of Indonesia. At least it won’t overlap with map mods for the Maldives or Cocos Islands. In short, Pj Indo Map (even if fictional) can still be included in map combos.

Let’s take a moment to be nostalgic—especially for me, going back to the times when I felt like I was going crazy. This is also a reminder of how much my map modding quality has changed—from zero to… well, much higher, of course.

You can DOWNLOAD Pj Indo Map v2.75 HERE

Pejindo Map Assets: DLC Indo (2018–Present)

From the start, I didn’t give this project a specific name. It developed alongside the map mods I was already making. While learning mapping, I also started learning how to create assets for map mods after finding out that SCS, the developer of ETS2, allowed modders to modify models using their Blender Tools add-on (which was actually released the same year I began making my first map mod).

Around 2018, I became really interested in trying this new thing. I started with something simple: Indonesian road signs. At first, I just imported assets from the base ETS2 game, changed the textures, and slightly modified the shapes. The important thing was to save them as new files—not just overwrite textures like many beginners do. Over time, I learned how to modify road models, prefabs, and even animated flags, though these were still made by importing base game assets.

I had planned to try creating a truly Indonesian map mod (not a fictional one), which I’ll talk about later in a separate section.

That said, at the beginning I still didn’t fully understand 3D model creation. Just like when learning mapping, I often struggled with setting the right material shaders and applying textures directly in Blender without manually editing them in a separate graphics editor. It took years for me to fully grasp it all. Looking back, this was when I had already started university, and I used my free time to make mods.

Now, I have hundreds collection of self-modified map assets—various item types like Models (static), Roads, Prefabs, Movers, Signs, Buildings/Curves, and more. Originally, my goal was to make these assets for Indonesian map mods in general. But they can also be used for maps of neighboring Southeast and South Asian countries that also drive on the left side of the road—like India, Thailand, Malaysia, and maybe even Japan (though the road markings are different).

You can see the full collection under this special tag/label: DLC Indo.

JRR (Java Road Revolution) Map (2021–present)

This is my other map mod project after the first one was released. As the name suggests, this map focuses on content in the island of Java in general, although right now (as I’m writing this blog post) development is still concentrated around the Jabodetabek area (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi) and the north coast of Banten. The map was first released on January 15, 2021.

Before starting this project, I was still collecting new map assets that I had been learning to make since 2018. There’s one thing I remember: right after the last release of Pj Indo Map at the end of 2020, a background map creator, the late BenganJ, offered to make me a background for the Indonesia add-on map that would be positioned perfectly according to the background he made. I was a bit hesitant, because the position of the new map sectors would be placed far away from other European maps, and the angle would be tilted extremely to follow a specific world map projection. Feeling like I’d been given an unusual challenge, I decided to take it.

That was also the time when I started interacting more closely with the Indonesian community. Wait—so during the making of the first mod, Pj Indo Map, you weren’t close to any (local) Indonesian mod creators or the community? Well… my apologies, I had actually entered the modding world by joining foreign communities first. You could say only a handful of Indonesians knew me as the creator of Pj Indo Map. But in 2020, I finally started getting involved in the Indonesian community after interacting with a paid map mod creator who used my DLC Indo assets.

When the first version of JRR Map was released, I felt like I had become hot topic in two different sides. For the global community in general, JRR Map became one of the new gateways to inspire many other mod map creators that it’s actually possible to expand mod content far beyond Europe, which had always been the main focus of ETS2 content. Yeah, before JRR there were already some add-on maps of various parts of inland Russia, several Central Asian countries, Sri Lanka, and at the farthest point at that time, South Korea — all released earlier.

Also, JRR Map followed the same path as my first mod: it didn’t require any DLC maps. Yes, the first version of Pj Indo Map came out when ETS2 already had two map DLCs, but even after new DLCs were released, that mod still didn’t require them. The same goes for JRR Map — even though there were already six DLC maps released at the time, my mod didn’t need any of them. The reason is the same as I explained in the Pj Indo Map section above: why would I use assets that are mostly made for right-hand traffic, with climates ranging from subtropical to polar, for these mod? At least this fact made JRR Map stand out as one of the “unusual” maps for the global community, since almost all other maps (whether add-on or standalone) require players to have the full map DLC set.

For the Indonesian community itself, the release of JRR Map set a new standard for making high-quality map mods. True to its last name, Road Revolution, it brought a new kind of revolution that made a wide impact for the local community. JRR became one of the most unique mods, but at the same time… a bit confusing. Many Indonesian players were not used to the way this mod was meant to be played.

First, they struggled to find the location of the first city when starting a new profile. This is because the JRR Map is placed far away from ETS2’s central zero point (which is between Munich in Germany and Prague in Czechia on the Europe map), while they were already used to standalone maps (most Indonesian mods) that are placed right at that zero point from the start.

Second, many felt that JRR Map was “too small,” making trips feel very short. The reason is that from the beginning, the map was designed as an add-on, where one of the main rules is that the scale must be 1:19. This scale can’t be changed, because it had already been fixed by the late background map creator I mentioned in several previous paragraphs.

Third, there were quite a few who complained that JRR Map has many stuterring, or was too heavy to run in game (graphically). That’s because JRR has its own quality standard, already on par with ETS2’s newest map content (Austria reworked, Germany reworked, Switzerland reworked, new Greece DLC, and so on). Still, I don’t think many people realize that other mods they use (especially bus mods, truck mods, or traffic mods) can actually make the game heavier to run than the map mod itself. I’ll admit, sometimes I get annoyed when I receive this kind of feedback so often. Maybe they’ve never even tried playing new reworked base map or new map DLCs, so expecting them to understand feels pointless.

It’s been more than four years since the first release. Even though many say that JRR Map’s development has stucked “in the same place,” I believe this mod offers a special impression that no other mod has. Unique map assets, complex road layouts, the lively atmosphere of big cities — all of these are still rare to find in other mods.

You can DOWNLOAD JRR (Java Road Revolution) map mod HERE

NIR (Northern Ireland Rebuilding) Map (2022–2023)

This might be a little trivia. It’s actually not one of the main mod projects for “Pejindo” itself, but since I still made it myself, it can be considered a sub-project.

You could say this was my third project after JRR, starting on November 20, 2022. The initial inspiration came from wanting to make a side map mod — maybe because I was feeling lost, or because of the uncertain enthusiasm of the Indonesian community toward JRR at the time. That way, I wouldn’t have to depend too much on the local Indonesian community.

The problem was, even though Northern Ireland (part of the UK) uses left-hand traffic like Indonesia, it doesn’t share the same road signs, markings, buildings, and so on. That’s why, when it was first released, this map’s assets depended on a large map mod that already had content for the UK and Ireland: ProMods. Yeah… before this, they already had their own version of Northern Ireland. But that was several years ago, and its quality standard was very different from what’s expected today. That’s why I made this new map.

Compared to my other map projects, NIR Map was the shortest one in development. It only focused on rebuilding around central Belfast and adding connecting routes to nearby cities. In the end, I gave up exactly one year after its initial release. I even “voluntarily" handed over NIR Map to be integrated into ProMods in early 2024. One of the reasons was that ETS2 would soon have new official map content in the same area (although at the time this blog topic was written, it was still considered a rumor).

So, will I return to making content for (Northern) Ireland? Hopefully there’s a way. I’d rather wait for SCS, the game developer of ETS2, to release new content for the UK and Ireland first. So let’s wait and see.

WBPD (West Balkans Path-breaker's Direction) Map (2024–present)

This one is also a sub-project of mine, not under the "Pejindo Project" banner. Marking my fourth project, this map mod is based on the new West Balkans DLC map content officially released by SCS at the end of 2023. The main reason I started this project was because I still wasn’t satisfied with the routes the game developer created, even though the DLC had a higher level of complexity compared to other DLC map content. Just like the NIR map project, WBPD is also a side project to reach new users/players from other countries. It’s also the point where I feel I’ve reached my highest level so far in terms of mapping skill and quality.

The name of this mod is… let’s just say it’s not the most “common.” I could’ve gone with something simple like “New Balkan Rebuilding” or “West Balkans Reworking.” But I knew there was a good chance many people would make their own map mods for the West Balkans DLC. That’s why I thought about taking the abbreviation “West Balkans” (WB) and adding other letters to make it stand out—something unique that wouldn’t get mixed up with others (even if it’s just the name). Eventually, I went with WB-PD (which, honestly, already sounds like a US police department name, huh...).

That’s where another challenge came up: finding the right words for the “P” and “D.” I even had to get help from AI until I finally landed on “Path-breaker’s Direction.” I felt it fit perfectly with my main goal for the WBPD mod: one meaning could be “pioneering new routes” that SCS didn’t make in the original DLC (and maybe no one else could make the same routes as me), while another meaning could be “breaking direction”—in other words, creating new routes no one else had ever thought of.

Hmm… sounds like you're being heavy ambitious this time. Does it mean you're in strong competition with other map creators? Oh no... Please don’t think of it that way. I’m still a nobody in the ETS2 modding community. I am completely aware that I’m still far behind those who have been in the community for over a decade—and some of them even work at SCS now.

Back to the main topic: WBPD map also had an “unusual” release process. Many thought the mod came out in December 2024 via Truckymods.io, but… it actually had a “hidden” release back on September 19, 2024 (three months earlier). And it was released under a different name: Another5_Mrd1. What? But why? Because I used that new name to release WBPD on another mod site (the same one I used for the first release of the Pj Indo Map), which nowadays most people consider unsafe because of mod piracy. It was also a way to reach other users/players who might show up unexpectedly. Sure, it didn’t really have a big impact compared to uploading it directly to Truckymods.io—but hey, the impossible can happen anywhere, right?

So far, the released content covers the northern region of Bosnia and the far eastern part of Croatia—specifically, the land between two major rivers: the Sava and the Drava. There’s also one city that was rumored to be official DLC West Balkans content but ended up only half-finished: Vukovar. In the end, I completed the rest of the map content for that city in WBPD. Of course, there will be more expansions to other cities—ones that are, without a doubt, places no one would expect (just like I said earlier). But I can’t name them yet because… well, it’s not time for that.

You can downlod the latest version of WBPD (West Balkans Path-breaker's Direction) Map mod HERE

Final Words

Looking back, my journey with modding since 2015 has been full of... struggles. Every project I worked on carried its own set of challenges, and somehow, little victories. There were moments when things felt so exciting—especially when someone enjoyed my work—and there were times when it felt so frustrating and almost impossible to keep going. Yet, I have learned so many things, not only about modding itself but also about patience, creativity, and persistence.

From late nights fixing errors and bugs, to the joy of seeing screenshots and video previews from players using my mods, these experiences have become a big part of my life. It feels like I am building memories, learning from mistakes and dramas, and understanding that passion often grows stronger after surviving the hard parts.

And so, that’s the story of my ten years in the ETS2 modding community. I know that even with all this experience, I’m still not what you’d call a "popular" figure, a respected senior, or some extraordinary person. I haven't even been noticed by the CEO and higher-ups at the SCS company, a fact that stings even more because I'm still unable to visit their headquarters, let alone travel abroad from my home country. If there were such a ranking among the most recognized ETS2/ATS mod creators in the world, I’m pretty sure I’d be somewhere below the top fifty. Add to that the fact that I'm from a somewhat unpopular country in Southeast Asia, with my own background and beliefs—well, okay it's too much so let’s just stop there.

Despite I’m still really “nobody” in the wider community, I’m happy knowing there are still some of you who look forward to my next map project. That alone is enough reason for me to keep going. Hope you’ll still be able to see me here for the 11th anniversary next year, then the 12th, and beyond. But if one day you no longer need me—whether because you’ve moved on to better mods, or you probably decide to boycott me over some scandal or a controversial statement—then I can simply disappear as if I was never here in the first place. In the end, whether I stay or fade away depends entirely on all of you.

So, with that, thank you for taking the time to read this blog. I know not everyone enjoys reading long posts like this, especially those who aren’t into reading at all. I just hope all the messages and feelings I wanted to share have reached you well.

See you again.

[Post] Pejindo Project : 10 Years - It’s a Long Story (English Version)