EA SPORTS WRC update adds anti-cheat measures, tweaks VR support

Version 1.9 is now available on PC, PlayStation and Xbox for the official game of the FIA World Rally Championship – EA SPORTS WRC.

Back in April, virtual reality support was added, but in an embryonic beta form. The beta tag remains, although this latest update brings another iteration for headset wearers.

When in VR, the brightness and contrast of road surfaces have been adjusted, certain menus will now be in focus, the Oceania environment should now render correctly in replays and stage-side people at the edge of the screen should no longer be corrupted. Other smaller tweaks to the VR experience have also been made.

For those driving in regular-old two dimensions, numerous shortcuts and areas where rock hit detection was not being activated are exploits that no longer exist. One of the notes is “Performed additional preparatory work on esports WRC” and perhaps these elements are with the upcoming competition in mind.

Other notable revisions include altered AI performance in regularity rally events, a fix for the big that would see a customised livery revert back to default when in a clubs event, enhanced raindrop visual fidelity and a host of moments-mode fixes.

EA anti-cheat enabled

For PC users, Electronic Art’s kernel-level ‘EA Anti-cheat’ system has been enabled in this update.

On the one hand, preventing any cheating, especially for a competitive game with an online leaderboard and a proposed esports competition is a positive.

On the other, kernel-level anti-cheat systems don’t have the best reputation, stemming from privacy concerns, the potential for false positives and historically a possible lack of transparency, access to system-level data and even detrimental game performance.

To this end, EA states that the system deployed for WRC does not change the minimum system requirements, claims that internal testing has seen no notable performance impact and only runs when the specific game is launched.

Purportedly, it will be uninstalled if EA SPORTS WRC is, and can also be manually uninstalled at any time (although, rather obviously, you will not be able to play WRC without it).

“EA anti-cheat will only look at what it needs to for anti-cheat purposes in our games and we have limited the information EA anti-cheat collects,” reads the game’s FAQ.

If you have a process on your PC that is trying to interact with our game, EA anti-cheat could see that and respond. However, everything else is off limits.”

The full update changelog is listed below. Another in-game season of Moments and Rally Pass is expected in August.

EA SPORTS WRC Version 1.9 update changelog

Key Changes

• Added EA anticheat on PC, please read this FAQ for more information. 
• Performed additional preparatory work on esports WRC. Follow us for more information in the future.
• Addressed several minor bugs and issues with VR Beta.

Crash Fixes

• Fixed an issue with Quick Play Multiplayer in which the game would crash while navigating through screens as others are joining the lobby.

Audio

• Fixed an issue in which co-driver calls could be mistakenly heard during transition screens following a stage finish.

Career

• Fixed an issue in which the Budget Impact screen would not display information after the Benefactor’s relationship changed.
• Fixed an issue in which the Test Drive option would no longer be available after using filters in the Vehicle Vendor.
• Improved performance of AI teammates in Regularity Rally events.

Clubs

• Fixed an issue in which the countdown timer for Clubs on the Clubs Hub screen was unlabelled.
• Fixed an issue in which the Find Me command would not highlight the correct player on Leaderboards.
• Fixed an issue in which the player’s customised car would revert to its default livery when resuming an in-progress Club Event.

Graphics & Performance

• Adjusted appearance of raindrops on windshields when driving in interior views.

Input Devices

• Added an indicator on the UI to show when a device binding has been edited by the player.

Locations

• Central Europe – Fixed an issue in which some spectators were floating above the ground.
• Mediterraneo – Asco – Fixed an issue in which the car could pass through some specific rocks without collision.
• Mediterraneo – Ponte – Fixed an issue in which the car could pass through some specific rocks without collision.
• Mediterraneo – Monte Cinto – Fixed an issue in which the car could pass through some specific rocks without collision.
• Mediterraneo – Serra Di Cuzzioli – Fixed an issue in which the car could pass through some specific rocks without collision.
• Mexico – El Chocolate – Resolved a corner-cutting exploit.
• Mexico – Otates – Resolved a corner-cutting exploit.
• Mexico – Ibarrilla – Resolved a corner-cutting exploit.
• Sardinia – Monte Olia – Fixed an issue in which colliding with an invisible object would cause Terminal Damage.
• Sardinia – Mamone – Fixed an issue in which colliding with an invisible object would cause Terminal Damage.
• Sardinia – Monte Acuto – Fixed an issue in which colliding with an invisible object would cause Terminal Damage.

Moments

• Addressed an issue where some Moments did not have Service Areas.
• Adjusted sorting of Moments so that new and in-progress events are at the “front” of the list.
• A Moment to Remember – Corrected errors with localised titles and descriptions.
• Blast Off – Fixed an issue in which the speed requirement would not trigger despite the player achieving the target finishing position.
• Fixed a UI issue in which the player’s filters and position would not be retained after backing out of an archived Moment.
• Fixed an issue in which multiple Moments did not have video previews.
• Historic Success – Corrected errors with localised titles and descriptions.
• Home Hero – Changed classification to Fictional
• Home Hero – Corrected errors with localised titles.
• Icy Podium – Corrected errors with localised titles.
• Long Haul – Changed vehicle to Hyundai i20 N Rally2
• Long Haul 2 – Adjusted all medal difficulties (now easier).
• Pacific Run – Corrected errors with localised titles and descriptions.
• Scandia Blizzard – Corrected errors with localised titles and descriptions.
• Slide Away – Adjusted Gold Medal difficulty (now easier).
• Slippery Conditions – Fixed an issue in which this was not displayed as an EA Play Moment.
• Sustainable Fuel Challenge 3 – Adjusted Gold Medal difficulty (now easier).
• Turbo Time – Corrected errors with localised titles and descriptions.
• Underdog – Changed classification to Fictional

Options & Settings

• Fixed an issue in which the German language descriptions within Advanced Graphics were applied incorrectly.
• Removed DLSS Upscaler Sharpness option as sharpness is identical regardless of setting.

Quick Play

• Fixed a UI issue in which the number of players listed in a Quick Play Multiplayer lobby would not update after receiving an invite.
• Fixed an issue with Quick Play in which the AI difficulty could be set to 0 instead of the minimum (1).
• Fixed an issue with Quick Play Multiplayer in which a new host was unable to start a Championship after the original host left the lobby.

Rally Pass

• Fixed an issue in which multiple item previews within the Rally Pass were rendered out of focus.
• Season 5 – Fixed an issue in which the Lightning Bolt livery was inconsistently applied across all 3 WRC cars.
• Season 5 – Fixed an issue in which the Vibrant Impact livery was inconsistently applied across all 3 WRC cars.

VR Beta

• Adjusted brightness and contrast of road surfaces when driving in interior views.
• Fixed an issue in which certain scenes in frontend menus were incorrectly rendering out of focus.
• Fixed an issue in which certain VR controllers would send invalid inputs while disconnected.
• Fixed an issue in which spectating another opponent would cause the camera to float under the car once said player finishes a stage.
• Fixed an issue in which spectators and race marshals took on a corrupted appearance when at the edge of the screen.
• Fixed an issue in which the environment would not render properly on Oceania stage replays.
• Fixed an issue in which the Virtual Monitor would not reset its view position after using the Reset Options & Extras setting in Save Management.
• Addressed several additional minor bugs and issues with VR Beta.

Miscellaneous

• Fixed an issue in which a car that received a puncture during Shakedown would start further Shakedowns and the Event with that puncture.