Last week we moved our largest update from the beta branch to main. This update is the result of about 8 months of development. After a few more tweaks over the last week, we are ready to do an announcement post. If you haven’t been following our work on the beta branch, this update is huge and is by far the largest update to Wrench since our launch. The game flow, progression, and player goals are totally different and as a result old save games from the main branch are no longer applicable.
There are far too many changes to the game to list them here but these are some of the highlights:
- Totally new game flow: Introduction of money, XP progression, and content unlock progression.
- New introductory training room (work in progress).
- Gameplay centered around a new job board app where players accept customer car jobs, sign up for races, or book showrooms.
- Customer car repairs bonus players based on assembly quality and speed. Job speed and accurate assembly quality need to be balanced for maximum bonus. Most jobs won't allow players to maximize both speed and accuracy.
- Auto fastener no longer perfectly torques bolts. This rewards players who manually torque bolts with wrenches.
- Tablet UI redesign
- New location: Race track pit area (work in progress)
- New location: Showrooms
- Racing pit repairs: Bring necessary spares with you to the track, when needed, fix your car during the race and send it back out to finish.
- New shop equipment: Engine stand, gantry crane, shop lights, and Castrol ePODS.
- Support for multiple lifts in the garage
- Cars are now able to be run as incomplete assemblies. Many parts are no longer strictly required and will not be specifically called out as missing. Instead, these parts will generate a symptom when missing from the assembly.
- New part inspection system and redesigned logbook functionality. Parts can now be inspected to show true condition. Logbook now auto sorts parts based on age, known condition, and probable time to failure.
- Changes to desktop mode grab interaction. Initial part grab is a stationary grab where parts don’t move or come toward you. This allows for better control when manipulating parts on crowded worksurfaces. Press F to recenter the part in your view.
- Changes to VR inputs and grab interactions. Better prioritization of what parts can be grabbed. This reduces missed grabs. Addition of new grabbing concepts: Pinch grab is a high precision grab for small parts using the trigger. Place your hand close to an object and use the small grab sphere with the trigger to pick up parts. Palm grab provides a broader grab area for large parts, uses the grip button.
- VR inputs have been adjusted to allow vive users better locomotion control. Context menu is now accessed by holding the trigger button. This enters that hand into action mode, signified by the blue finger. Toggle back to grab mode with the grip button.
- New parts: Trackspeed engineering turbo kit Catfish CFR carbon fiber panels Nine Lives Racing wing kit V8 Roadsters tubular control arms Driveshaft and PPF Hood extractor ducting Soft compound racing slicks
- New shop radio. Comes preloaded with multiple stations but can also be configured to play local folders of user music.
- Many bug fixes