Wreckfest 2 updates AI, adds new cars, telemetry and familiar track

The third content update is here for the early access version of Wreckfest 2, and the carnage is set to continue.

A new track, more layouts, two new cars and significant quality of life changes are available right now for PC players.

New Cannonhill track

Developer Bugbear may call this Cannonhill, presumably for licensing reasons, but this latest track looks awfully like Finland’s Kouvola Circuit to us. Used in the real-world for rallycross, the mixture of gravel, asphalt and slightly banked corners should be an ideal fit for this smash-a-thon.

Here’s some muddy rallycross action from a ‘similar’ venue…

Alongside the ‘Cannonhill’ (which can be driven forward or backwards), there are three more layouts for the existing Scrapyard location, while Savolax, New Speedway and New European Rallycross 1 also receive additional configurations.

Fresh cars

As is a theme with these Wreckfest 2 early access patches, there are two new cars. One is small, and reminds us of an old Fiat 500 – the Popper, while the Switchback is an amalgam of 1970s American muscle.

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger…. AI

Your offline opponents are said to have upskilled over the past month or two – although it wasn’t like they couldn’t race and smash you off the track already.

The creators claim they are more aware of other cars, can now give up during collisions and are ‘smarter’ around corners.

Telemetry support, first stage

The beginning of telemetry support has been added, with the stated goal of being about to run motion cockpits in the near future. Data can be visualised through SimHub.

Elsewhere, further tweaks to the audio, online performance and crash physics have been implemented. The full change log is for your enjoyment below, and we expect a livery editor and modding tools, shown in the recent trailer, to be part of the mix soon.

Wreckfest 2 early access content update #3 patch notes

CARS

– New American muscle car Switchback

– New European folk racing car Popper.

TRACKS

– New folk racing track Cannonhill with forward and reverse layouts.

– New Scrapyard Speedbowl layout.

– New Scrapyard Figure 8 layout.

– New Scrapyard Main Circuit reverse layout.

– New Savolax Short Circuit with both forward and reverse layouts.

– New Speedway inner (small) oval.

– New European Rallycross 1 reverse layout.

GAMEPLAY

– Gameplay damage is now consistent irrespective of framerate.

HUD

– Damage caused is now shown in the opponent car tag in red.

AI

– Added AI difficulty setting (Novice, Amateur and Expert).

– AI is smarter at turning and faster.

– AI is better at driving with other cars.

– AI can now give up during collisions.

SYSTEM

– Fixed a number of crashes.

– Improved track loading times.

– Reduced input lag in multiplayer and when framerate is under 60fps.

– Added initial telemetry support for data visualization and motion rigs.

We’ve partnered with SimHub to make telemetry support ready from day one! Please refer below on how to get started.

ONLINE

– Player list is now displayed in the Pause Menu.

– Chat is now available in the Pause menu, Post-Race screen and Spectator view.

– Chat log is now displayed for a moment in-game whenever a new message is displayed.

– There’s now a delay before switching to a new track to ensure sufficient time to see the results.

– It’s now possible to report a player for misconduct via the Player List.

LEADERBOARDS

– Leaderboards will be reset shortly after update due to the top times being unattainable now.

AUDIO

– New operating sound effects for ‘The Claw’ (Scrapyard derby track).

– New wind-on-car effect in cockpit view.

– New generic ambisonics surround ambience texture in cockpit view.

– New asphalt surface sfx for target car: Roll, low intensity lateral slip (scrub), forward slip.

– New gravel surface sfx for target car: Roll, launch slip, forward slip, lock slip, pebble kickup.

– Existing extra material for gravel split to ‘Spill’ and ‘Cover’ variations; latter for surfaces where base material has gravel carryover on top of it.

– Existing rumble strip material split to low & high intensity versions, to support alternate rumble types for telemetry. Low intensity = tire bump sound on initial contact, high intensity = wakeup strip style tonal sound.

– Added missing sfx for the ‘Hammer’ machine (‘Testing Grounds’ track).

– Tweaks to camera azimuth and distance based attenuation of machinery (‘Testing Grounds’ track).

– Lowered level of shared rev limiter one-shot effects for npc cars.

– Mixdown level tweaks: Npc tire sfx, handbrake in cockpit view, car pool loudness balancing, cockpit reverb EQ settings, cockpit surround ambience, camera angle based settings of new asphalt/gravel sfx.