Welcome to the first update of the year for 2025! Here's what we've been working on since the demo released at the end of last year (plus some other stuff given the demo update was a bit short!):
Multi-Planet Series
You'll be able to run a multi-planet series (Rally class only), individual rally events using one of 4 classes, daily online leaderboards using all classes, training and free-roam. All coming for Exo Rally Early Access.
We're now racing on The Moon and Tensei
These two planets are now fully playable within individual events and the series, with any of the below classes and have setups to cater for the different gravity levels and atmospheres.
Rover Classes
Early access will feature 4 classes. Here's some thumbnails for now, and we'll share full 3d renders and descriptions in the next update:
Rally Class (the existing demo vehicle): the most powerful 6-wheel drive, a custom designed racing rover.
Rover Class: a heavy but powerful 4WD rover.
UTV Class: a very small and lightweight front wheel drive vehicle.
Mining Class: an extremely heavy, 6WD, large mining rover.
Each class challenges your driving skills in different ways and requires unique skills to master.
New portraits and voice for NPCS
We're almost finished replacing all the AI art and voice with human created. Here's the engineer Bennet and the Mechanic Lisa by Vladimir Matyukhin.
Tensei Rework
Given what we learned from Dhool (dust build-up isn't super fun), we've mostly removed the salt/rust aspect from Tensei. The rework now presents Tensei as an abandoned salt mining planet, with strip mined terraces used as roads, and the poor over-mined planet suffering constant earthquakes that cause temporary loss of traction. We'll likely also prototype some rock falls caused by the quakes that you'll have to dodge.
The lighting has been changed up a bit too, with pockets of light scattering across the planet, caused by extensive stellar dust and rock in the system.
Here's some making-of shots using Gaea 2.0 for height-stamp creation and Microverse/Microsplat within Unity:
Jimmy Hunt (Discord bot)
Jimmy announces, in real-time, the current daily stage leaders and who's beaten who by how much:
List of other stuff that happened!
- Various supporting features/UI/art added for multi-class/setups/events
- Weight-based, slip-angle based drag for 'deep' or sinking ground materials like sand
- Slow motion replays
- DLSS support (WIP): We've now got DLSS and FXR(?) in which can help boost frame rates at 4k res quite substantially.
- Multiple systems failure alerts instead of potentially 5-10 individual damage alerts
- Daily Stages - Choose other player's times to race against, receive splits vs their times
- Added a gyro stabilizer part - helps keep the rover level over bumps but also makes it less nimble, harder to change directions
- Steering wheel improvements
- Endless demo patches, balancing and tweaks!
We're also on Redbull.com
"Redbull's racing game highlights 2025: The top 10 racers"
Check it:
https://www.redbull.com/au-en/best-racing-games-2025