Wreckfest 2’s latest update adds four new tracks, including the return of Deathloop
Three new cars, including two returning models
Custom paint jobs can now be shared online
Two new game modes: Demolition Derby and Chase
Modding tools teased
Wreckfest 2’s latest Early Access has crash-landed on Steam, and it’s a substantial one.
Headlining the ninth Early Access update is a successor to the fan-favourite Deathloop track from the original game, which this time features not one but two consecutive loops for maximum carnage. It’s a welcome addition, as the previous Early Access tracks lacked outlandish layouts.
Alternatively, a separate Double Cross layout removes the loops, replacing them with crossroads and banked corners to contend with.
Deathloop 2 is joined by the new muddy Hogtown location, available in demolition derby or oval configurations.
There are also two new game modes. Traditional demolition derbies are back where players smash into each other in an arena until the last car is standing. There are no respawns, however, so you are eliminated if your car is wrecked.
The new Chase mode, meanwhile, sees you attempt to reach the finish line without getting destroyed by opponents on your tail. In multiplayer, players are divided into two teams of Runners and Chasers, while the single-player fills the grid with bots.
Three new cars also join the roster, including some familiar models. Blade (inspired by a third-generation Chevrolet Camaro IROC) and Hammerhead (a Volvo 240 Estate lookalike) return from the original Wreckfest.
The Hatchback is new to Wreckfest 2, however, and looks like a Ford Focus. While Bugbear describes it as a “hot hatch from the ’90s,” it more closely resembles a 2000s MK2 Focus.
In one of the most requested features, custom paint jobs created in the Crap It tool can now be shared with other players online.
This is only the beginning of Wreckest 2’s customisation, however, as Bugbear teased that proper modding support is “coming soon,” with the trailer previewing tools for creating custom tracks. It looks versatile, with options allowing you to change the terrain or go crazy and litter the circuit with loops.
In addition to the new content, the update introduces a raft of improvements to the car handling, damage modelling, AI behaviour, audio and optimisation. More details can be found in the full patch notes below.
Wreckfest 2 Content Update 9 changelog
HIGHLIGHTS
– Four new tracks.
– Three new cars.
– New “Chase” game mode.
– New “Demolition Derby” game mode.
– Improved handling and tire physics.
– Improved damage and collision physics.
– Improved multiplayer connectivity.
– In-game car design sharing.
CONTENT
– New The Drome track with two layouts, Deahtloop 2 and Double Cross.
– New Hogtown map with small derby arena & small mud oval.
– 6 new challenge events.
– New European 90s hot hatch: Flipper.
– New American 80s muscle car: Blade.
– New European 80s wagon: Hammerhead.
GAMEPLAY
– Improved visual damage with more detail.
– Improved car-to-car collision shapes so they are more precise.
– Reduced the chance of oil disruption in realistic damage mode.
– Cars now take more damage when armor sectors are destroyed (i.e. black).
– Hitting the environment now does less damage in normal damage mode.
– Reworked the chase camera for better responsiveness and precision.
– Added new chase camera options.
– Added a new closer “dashboard” cockpit camera.
– Improved cockpit camera positioning.
GAME MODES
– New “Chase” game mode in which a team of runners race to the finish while chasers try to catch them.
Note: In single-player, the lone player always tries to outrun a horde of bots.
In multiplayer, the players are divided into two teams of Runners and Chasers.
– New “Demolition Derby” game mode in which players are ranked by score with no respawns.
– In derby modes, the opponent that has damaged you the most can now become your rival for extra points.
– Score attribution is now more robust so there’s less chance of missing score or receiving bogus score.
– Points for spinning opponents are now awarded in derby modes too.
DESIGN BROWSER
– Added a browser for published liveries, with search by name and by creator.
– You can publish your liveries for other players to find and download.
– You can choose whether others can modify your published designs.
– You can rate the designs.
CARS AND UPGRADES
– Reworked the drivetrain so power delivery through the differential is more consistent, especially on corner exit.
– Improved clutch logic, also full-throttle standing starts drop the clutch again, so cars launch with wheelspin.
– The automatic gearbox shifts more predictably and no longer slips into neutral when stopped.
– New performance rating system based on estimated acceleration, speed and cornering.
– Added Class C with upgraded Class B engines for cars that default to Class C and downgraded Class C engines for cars that default to Blass B.
– Revised engine torque curve, engine braking and inertia on all cars to better represent the type of engine it is.
– Some engine upgrades now add mostly power instead of torque and power uniformly which maintains drivability with engine upgrades.
– Revised tarmac for better sense of grip, a bit less lateral G in corners.
– Revised gravel tires to allow for more wheelspin and power sliding without the car spinning too easily.
– Revised mud tires to have slightly more grip, but also more wheelspin.
– Fixed slip angle calculation in telemetry: now based on tire’s location instead of car center of mass.
– Reduced steering wheel animation smoothing in cockpit camera (doesn’t apply to wheel controllers: then it’s always direct).
– Steering speed sensitivity now decreases when counter-steering, improving ability to catch big slides.
– Improved brake front balancer logic to increase trail braking oversteer and decrease rear lockups.
– Revised traction control logic over different surfaces to maintain helpful throttle oversteer and wheelspin while not spinning too easily on throttle.
– Improve stability control assist to make it less artificial looking and make Half and Full assist modes more distinct.
– As a result of the various handling & physics changes, we are resetting the leaderboards.
– Added paintable side skirt, front and rear skirt and side mirror slots across much of the car roster.
– Added a painted style font and a large set of new decals.
– Fixed paint and decals being corrupted after a car reloaded.
– The School Bus can actually turn now.
MULTIPLAYER
– Server browser entries are now sorted based on the user’s geographical location. (We don’t use ping for privacy reasons.)
– Other players’ cars now move more smoothly and follow their driver’s inputs more closely.
– Car deform is now synchronized between players, so everyone sees the same deformation.
– Selected track objects can be now synchronized between players.
– The race start is now in sync for all players, and other players’ cars no longer launch late.
– Dedicated servers use less CPU during races, and very little when no players are connected.
– The tuning menu is now disabled in events where tuning is not allowed.
– The garage menu now opens instantly.
– The server now warns the host that connection may be behind CGNAT.
– Clarified some unclear connection error messages.
– Stepping through cars in spectate mode now cycles only through cars alive.
– Changing the opponent set in an online lobby now swaps the bots straight away.
– Player car is now automatically upgraded or downgraded to the correct class.
– The player car now keeps its damage on the post-race standings screen.
– Fixed multiplayer inputs sometimes being skipped or applied twice, and throttle and brake responding differently than in single player.
– Fixed changes to driving assists, upgrades or tuning sometimes not being applied in online races.
– Fixed online races sometimes starting before all players were ready.
– Fixed the lobby countdown restarting when one player was slow to load.
– Fixed dedicated servers eventually refusing new players.
– Fixed false “High packet loss” warnings.
AI
– AI cars now race more naturally as a pack, with faster cars overtaking and others giving way instead of queuing up.
– In Chase Mode, AI drivers can now give a chase and switch to derby-style ramming of other cars when near.
– Improved derby AI pathfinding and attack behavior, with better routes and speed build-up before engaging targets.
– AI opponents now automatically switch to appropriate engine as per the event class restriction.
– AI can now use a wider variety of car models for each class.
– Added American, European, front-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive and muscle car AI Sets.
SYSTEM
– Fixed several crashes and improved game stability.
– Optimized VRAM usage, especially with a varied grid of cars.
– Fixed a range of crashes, including when loading damaged track files and during car customisation.
– Fixed a crash when changing colours in the paint editor.
TRACKS
– Added spectators to tracks.
– Cleaned up duplicated and floating objects across many tracks, including Scrapyard, Speedway, Crash Canyon and Dalsbanen.
– Spinning out on the Speedway outer oval no longer triggers a false “wrong way” warning.
– The maximum scene size is now doubled.
– Trees now fade between detail levels instead of popping as you drive towards them.
– Grass now fades in smoothly instead of popping in, and draws much further on Ultra.
– Trees and plants now show up in reflections.
– Flattened grass and plants no longer flicker back upright when driven over again.
INTERFACE
– Added a new event feed, currently used in Demolition Derby.
– Added on-screen goal (call to action) text element to HUD.
– Derby modes now show a player list too.
– The player list now shows each car’s damage.
– Player list can be now expanded with a configurable button.
– The pause menu now shows the current standings in single player too.
– AI cars and wrecked cars are now ranked properly in the results list.
– Redesigned score popups with new icons.
– Car name tags now move smoothly and only show for the nearest cars to reduce clutter.
– The minimap is now visually smoother and shows a marker where you went offroad.
– A confirmation dialog is now displayed when deleting a decal group.
– Player profile now shows correct progress right after launching the game.
AUDIO
– Car collisions: Fixed issue where rear bumper of player car was affecting collision sound mix levels.
– Car-to-car collisions: Fixed issues where game engine would update incorrect physics impact intensity to collision sound effects.
– Car-to-surface collisions: Implemented detection for transition from impact to contact (scraping sounds).
– Car-to-surface collisions: Added scraping sounds for asphalt, concrete and metal static surfaces.
– Mixdown: Implemented initial set of game state based event support to control audio mix states in a more precise manner across various screens.
– Mixdown: Implemented tech feature to switch mix settings according to audio endpoint channel configuration (stereo, 5.1 etc.).
– Mixdown: Sound attenuation over camera distance is now less steep for npc car engines & collisions.
– Mixdown, cockpit view: Fixed camera state automation issue where excessive filtering was applied to both engine and collision sounds.
– Mixdown, cockpit view: Improved clarity and intensity of bass frequencies below 170 Hz for more consistent levels across parented camera views.
– Spatial audio: Implemented support for both 3D positioned (localized) reverberation zones and ambient sound emitters, as separate components to include on track layouts.
– Spatial audio: Implemented tech support to link custom soundbanks with track layouts.
– Spatial audio, tracks: Added basic reverberation zones to passageways like bridge underpasses.
– Valken & Nami class B: Added turbocharger sound to engines.
– Wheels: Fixed issue that stopped tire slip gravel & pebble kickup textures from playing correctly.
– Wheels: Tightened up physics response of tire contact on asphalt; onset of lateral scrub sound now kicks in more sharp.
– Wheels: Added longitudinal tire contact scrub sounds for asphalt and gravel surfaces, to audibly indicate braking slip threshold (tire not locked up).
– Wheels: Added new version of wake-up strip sounds (f.ex. Mora).
– Wheels: Fixed issue that would sometimes cause excess triggering of suspension activity / bumpstop related sounds (rumbling).
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