Ossu!
Oh boy, this is definitely the biggest update we have introduced to the game so far. A lot of smaller and bigger changes, a multitude of community requests coming to life and new features that we promised in our roadmap. And bug fixes, a lot of bug fixes.
Hopefully everyone will find something that they were waiting for here. Let’s Drift!
Patch Notes
New Content
Nissan GTR R35 EBA
Introducing the R35 EBA, a car considered by many as the ‘final form’ of the GTR series. It comes with six bodykits available to be unlocked and costs 4,900,000Y to buy at the dealer. The stock version expands the roster of our grip cars.
New Racing Tracks
Hakome Stadium - a sports arena made into an ultimate race challenge; Takekaze Tōge - a racing track located at the foot of the volcano, hidden within a bamboo forest. You will find both by looking for a trophy cup marker on the map - for the former it’s Ichikara East, for the latter - northern-west side of the volcano. Available from the open world or the Challenge Mode in the Main Menu.
Side Story Campaign - Tiger
Following the path set by the “Rise of the Scorpion” update, which expands the plotline through opponents’ backstories, a new side story campaign is introduced to the game. The Tiger’s campaign follows the tale of Naoto Date - one of the players’ major opponents in JDM, from his childhood dream, through tragedy to a second chance at life. The campaign consists of 9 events, summing to 11 completely new races. After completing Chapter 02, Mission 01 the first part of his campaign will be marked on the map. Completing the whole campaign will reward you with Tiger’s boss car (known from the main campaign).
Wheel and Rims modification
An expanded feature for the already existing Car Setup in the game, allowing for the modification of wheels and rims. This feature will allow players to further visually tune their cars to their hearts’ content. There are up to 7 new settings, depending on the wheel selection, available to modify. The options include rim diameter and width adjustments, as well as offset options. You will be able to change the tire profile between low, medium and high, change the tires’ width and modify spacers. Finally, you will be able to alter the rim lip type. The changes are cosmetic only, so feel free to experiment!
Optimization and graphical settings
XeSS 2.0 support
JDM is now running XeSS 2.1.1.1, including Frame Generation and Low Latency technology. Its implementation vastly improves performance on Intel and AMD cards and has been set as default for the owners of said GPUs.
Multi Frame Generation for DLSS
The game now supports Multi Frame Generation times 2 and times 3 for Nvidia RTX 5xxx owners. This feature can be turned off (default) and on from the game’s graphics options menu.
Decreased Loading Times
We are still exploring ways to further decrease the loading times across the entire game but today we have a first batch of changes. Through various optimization processes done across the entire game the loading times should be a little shorter. We have completely removed loading screens when accessing Shops available from the Main Menu of the game - Change Car, Tuning Shop, Car Setup.
With the amount of changes made to the graphics engine the game may want to redo the Automatic Graphics Settings Configuration on launch.
Handheld Devices Support
We improved the general performance on handheld devices; we improved the UI positioning; we added dedicated graphical presets and balanced the visual optimization. Handheld users, please let us know how the changes improved your performance.
Other
Mesh optimization for improved performance.
Level streaming improvements.
Reduced the memory usage in the most demanding areas of the open world.
A side note here, for all players - please remember to always have the latest drivers for your GPUs !
Side Missions
Underground Races
You will now see the weather conditions for the race ahead of you. It’s communicated through the pop-up screen when driving into the side mission’s marker in the open world.
We’ve balanced the races in rainy conditions.
Sushi Delivery
We have removed the Delivery Laurel from side missions (you will still use it in campaign missions), you will now deliver the packages in the car you were driving when interacting with the side mission marker in the open world.
Landmarks
We have fixed the issues with the infamous Kaguchi Valley and Inadani Village landmarks. They should now properly register when taking a photo in their respective spots.
Physics
Balanced the Arcade physics model.
Improved FWD (Front Wheel Drive) car physics.
Improved AWD (All Wheel Drive) car physics.
Improved collision and force compensation physics.
Resolved physics issues causing undesirable outcomes and unbalanced forces acting on the cars.
Other Changes
[audio] Added a new sound effect when the car lands on the ground after a jump.
[level design] Added a new, short road towards the volcano, which leads to the Takekaze Tōge race track.
[UI] Fixed two items in the smartphone.
[Gameplay] Car telemetry now displays proper values.
Bug Fixes
[cars] fixed A LOT of bugs connected with car models and car parts. Mentioning every single change here would bore you to death, so please, after the update if you see an issue connected to a car or one of its modifications that has not been fixed, give us a holler. We’ll make one single exception here, as it was a very commonly requested fix: issues connected with the Yotsuhoshi Revolution have been solved.
[gameplay] Fixed an issue where, in some instances, resetting the car back on the road would blast the car away.
[system] Fixed issues, which were causing the game to crash. Minimised the probability of such issues to reappear.
[UX] Fixed an issue where the smartphone would react to the default input press, even if the key was rebound.
[UX] The navigation will no longer readjust its path to the Tuner Shop after the “New parts are available” prompt on the screen.
[UI] The UI will no longer disappear, if the player opens the map right before a race starts.
[UI] Some on-screen text and notifications have been fixed or adjusted to better reflect the situation in the game.
This wraps-up the patch notes for September.
We hope these changes will drastically improve your experience while playing JDM.
As always, if you encounter any new bugs and issues, please report them to us through our customer service tickets, which can be accessed HERE.
We’re continuing to work on promised features. The next big thing ahead is the Car Livery system.
If you have any questions or just want to chat about cars and games, you can find us, and other like-minded people, on our Discord server.
See you in the Stadium! Let’s Drift!
The Gaming Factory Team
GAMING FACTORY - UPCOMING RELEASES
We're not only a developer but also a publisher. If you like JDM, take a look at what other titles we have gearing up for launch. Who knows, maybe you'll come to love them, as much as we do!
Thanks!
Pizza Slice will receive a free playable demo on October 3rd! We highly encourage everyone to check their restaurant management skills in action!