Ossu!
Drifters, we’ve got some good news for all of you and especially the people who play on a steering wheel. In the upcoming patch expect to see major changes done to the overall driving experience. We’re overhauling some of our physics systems, focusing a lot of our attention towards the tire and suspension physics. These changes will be felt across all input devices - gamepad, keyboard and, most importantly, steering wheels.
The changes are targeted at drastically improving the grip racing experience, but also to enhance the overall feel and control of the cars you are driving.
We’re also expanding our support for Force Feedback, which will significantly improve car behaviour when playing on a wheel. There’s a lot of additional configuration options happening under the hood for FFB that will not only make it easier to just plug and play using a wheel but will also make the driving experience feel smoother and more realistic.
The above introduced changes will influence both the arcade and simcade physics models, where the arcade physics will now feel more ‘arcade’y’ and simcade will feel a little more realistic.
We’ve been following your feedback since launch day and this patch means to resolve the most pressing issues reported by you. Here are a few examples of what to expect:
Force Feedback - we’ve made a deep dive into our systems and reworked the support for FFB from the ground up. We are also upgrading our in-game setup - you will find more settings to fiddle with and tailor the driving experience just the way you want. This is a major step forward but not the end of the road - we’ve circled back to available steering wheel presets and are modifying them accordingly to changes made in the engine. We will also be adding FFB presets to those setups per wheel. This process will probably take until the end of summer, but the first batch of supported wheels will come alongside the upcoming update. More on that on patch day.
Oversteering - with the overhaul of the physics in our engine and improvements made to tire and suspension behaviour you should no longer experience uncontrollable oversteering while playing on a wheel. The changes done to Force Feedback will also improve the general feeling of control you have over your car. The above modifications, alongside the automatic car setup system we’ve recently introduced, should drastically enhance the overall experience of driving in JDM.
Arcade vs Simcade physics models - we’ve made a deep dive into both of our physics models and both were overhauled to better represent their target player bases.
Arcade will now feel more… well arcade :) The overall driving experience will be easier with more overall grip for all cars, as well as it will be more effortless to maintain a drift.
Simcade will feel a little bit more realistic now, especially in the handling department: turning will feel smoother and the overall driving experience more enjoyable.
All in all, the difference between the two models will now be more tangible, separating both models further apart and as such better representing the driving experience you can expect from both of them.
Gravity - we’ve revamped some of our gravity settings, to improve car behaviour while in air - both big and small jumps will now feel more impactful and you will be able to feel the proper weight of the car. These changes will also influence the car’s behaviour during collisions, adding more weight to the cars and reacting more realistically during crashes.
Braking - changes done to the game’s physics will also impact braking. At low speeds braking will be significantly faster and more reactive. At fast speeds, braking will be more impactful in general. With the suspension physics adjustments you will also see how your car works on the road, improving the feel for the car.
To reiterate - our goal for this update is to greatly improve the driving experience, especially for our steering wheel drivers. If you’ve played the game previously and were discouraged by car handling, the upcoming patch will be a great moment to jump back in and check the new additions.
We will continue working on further improvements, so your feedback will be of utmost importance. When the changes go live, feel free to share your comments in the Discussion Forums, our Discord Server or through Customer Support - we want to build the best simcade racing game out there and we cannot do it without your help.
These are by no means the only changes coming to the next major patch. We’ve already shared a sneak peek for some of them - check our previous devlog for more information HERE.
The update is coming very soon, so be on the lookout for more news.
If you haven’t done so already, join our Discord server and keep in touch with us directly.
Let’s Drift
The Gaming Factory Team
GAMING FACTORY - UPCOMING RELEASES
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