Welcome to our Online Multiplayer Update Preview! As there's a lot of updates and changes coming with the launch of Online Multiplayer, we thought we'd start by giving you a bit of a look at what you can expect to see.
Online Multiplayer
It wouldn't be the "Online Multiplayer Update" without the addition of Online Multiplayer, now, would it? 😊 Over the past month we've been running a number of multiplayer tests, which some of you have even been a part of! We're now at the point where we are happy that the core of the Online Multiplayer is ready for release, and now we're finishing up things like localisations; the keyboard key rebinding system; and the like.
Creating an Online Multiplayer game will be quite familiar to anyone who's already played the game. Select your tracks, set up your race (and server) settings, start a lobby and wait for your friends (or complete strangers) to join. If you don't want to start a game yourself, you can join an existing game, too.
At launch, we'll have the ability for you to host games, join games, invite your friends, set up championships, configure all of the various race settings, etc. We support admin tools for kicking and blocking users, too!
New Car - GT
This one has been in the pipeline for a while, and has undergone a lot of testing and tweaking, but it's safe to say it's been worth the wait. The GT is fast, grippy and excellent fun racing online with your friends 🏎
Updated Default Tracks
Tuomo has gone through almost all of the default tracks, and has carefully upgraded them with new objects and new features that weren't available when the game originally launched! Only visual changes have been made, so your laptimes are all still valid.
Many thanks to Tuomo for his hard work on these - they look great 🙌
Steam Game Recording Support
Recently, Steam launched Steam Game Recording, which is a great new feature that allows background recording of gameplay footage, and provides easy tools to cut, edit and share clips.
As part of this, games can support adding different features to it, to allow users to find and enjoy their favourite moments. We have added basic initial support for Steam Game Recording's Timeline feature, which means that you'll be able to easily find important race events like race starts, pitstops, and the like - and we'll expand it in upcoming patches with more events.
We look forward to seeing your various clips and interesting moments from online races, in the #pics-and-videos channel on Discord 🎥
Other Features & Fixes
- Added over-car names as an option for single player and multiplayer.
- Added driver flags to the race/championship results UI.
- Added an in-game console - this is currently used only for the Online Multiplayer, but will have other features further down the line.
- Fixed a bug with the menus on Steam Deck.
- A variety of under-the-hood improvements to support Online Multiplayer and future features.
In Conclusion
With all that said, we're really excited to start racing online with you all soon. Stay tuned for the precise release date - and don't forget to join us on Discord to discuss more about the update, and the game's development in general!