Welcome to the July 2024 Exo Rally update!
As we close in on the demo release, we've now opened up play testing on Steam, so go here and request access. We hope to open up access to a few hundred new people in the coming weeks!
Industrial Planet WIP
I've returned to this planet again this month and started adding dust drifts that form dunes and build up against structures. Also added scattered debris/concrete chunks for more interest/obstacles while racing. This planet is a research base constructed around monoliths that were originally found on the surface. An accident resulted in an explosion that scattered the power plants radioactive core across the map. Drivers will need to avoid prolonged close range exposure to the core and scattered radioactive debris.
Still quite WIP:
Earth's Moon WIP
We quite like the idea of having one or two planets from our solar system, and Earth's moon is one of them! This probably represents the most extreme low gravity rally you'll encounter in the game, and the low gravity makes for a very different experience.
Curious if you have any specific requests for other planets in the solar system!
Tire marks from opponents vehicles
Now other drivers who went before you will lay tracks down in the sand/dirt, giving the rally a more populated/event-like feel, and at the same time, giving you a clue as to a nice line to take through the terrain if you haven't droned the stage.
Steering wheel support-ish?
We've had enough requests that we're going to 'unofficially'(?) try and support them, at least to see what people think as part of a playtest and/or the demo. The reason we're a bit cagey is the potential size of the task, with so many wheels out there, and also the fact that some wheels will be better than others for controlling the rcs thrusters (requires dpads/sticks on the wheel or another separate controller). To help, we will also be including No RCS Daily Stages specifically for wheel owners (and ofc people who love the no-rcs challenge).
Here's Rhys driving:
New tire selection UI with full explanations
Per axis damage scaling on tires and suspension.
Now we take more damage when landing at 'awkward angles' on our wheels. Suspension is designed mostly to cushion vertical landings and up/down movement, and landing hard on the side of your wheels will stress them more and damage them more easily.
Tire physics now allows traction at all angles of contact
This making for better rolling (more likely to land on wheels after a crash/roll/flip) and easier to 'catch' rolls when tilting up on 3 wheels.
Rallies operate now on total points, not total time.
Now points are earned for each stage based on your time then tallied at the end. And if you skip or extract a stage, you aren't permanently out of the rally. This has its pros and cons across the board, so curious to know what people think of this rather large diversion from classic rally rules.
There's multiple reasons for this change!:
1. Stage Hazard Rating: Stages each get rated based on things like visibility/dust/time of day, meteor shower strength, length of stage, rain, etc.
2. Stage Skipping: Teams aren't required to drop for every stage in a rally, so you can pass or skip a stage, forfeiting any potential points. You'll often encounter scenarios where most of the field decides not to drop for a stage, because there might be an enduro length, raining, night + heavy meteor storm scenario. You can of course try to be a hero, but you'll risk the rest of your rally..!
3. Extraction system: Exoplanetary rally is incredibly hazardous and unpredictable. Drivers can extract using the dpad command system and live to fight another day, while also not being forced to limp home slowly (and boringly) on 1 or 2 wheels.
Characters added to radio/comms (WIP)
We will go more into your team mates in future updates, but essentially, Team Lindsay, who we race for, has a Team Principal, Ed Carrington (like a CEO), Race Engineer, Bennet Clark (tactics) and Mechanic, Lisa Torres. They'll help you with priorities and goals for upcoming stages, suggest strategies, steer you away from hazard 5 stages, remind you when you forget to repair, and be in your ear as you race stages.
Removed obstacle and terrain scanners
These systems allowed us to see through dust and darkness so we could see obstacles no matter what, which nullified the challenge and key feature of dusty environs and planets. It's quite a big change, and tough given the time we sunk into these, but we think braving the elements (or choosing not to!) with just your headlights is much more dangerous and exciting.
Dpad command system
For resetting rover, dropship extract, repairing, etc. This enables us to use a common interface for a wide variety of in-stage actions/commands.
New Dhool trees
These are based off prehistoric Earth trees, where they were much simpler, and ofc more alien looking.
Drop ship pickup during stage
You can extract any time due to damage or extreme danger situations, or automatically after stage completion (for service stages) so you can be repaired on the drop ship.
Everything else!
- Story, dialog and next trailer work
- Weather and time now progresses from stage to stage (no longer just pure random)
- Rover engine damage smoke FX
- Physics debugging and damage tuning
- Less damage taken from hard landings in snow and mud
- Zoomed out all replay cameras a bit so its easier to see
- Fixed bug where rock geo wasn't matching visuals perfectly
- Engine audio improvements
- Extreme Dust storm FX + high speed wind weather for Dhool
- adjusted o2 leak and tire puncture leak rates (makes more sense now you can extract from stages)
- Dhool meteor fall rates are now constant regardless of rover speed
- Tire blow out sound added
- RCS Heat generation now affected by planet temperature
- Wobbling Bobblers for antennae and other moving things on the rover
- Fixed 45 deg landings on wheels causing no damage
- More even spread of endurance/mid/sprint distances throughout a rally