Wreckfest 2’s latest Steam Early Access update has arrived, and it’s another substantial one.
Headlining Update 8 is the first version of a progression system. Not to be confused with the first part of the yet-to-be-added career mode, this tracks your actions, whether you want to focus on racing or crashing. As you level up, you’ll earn badges representing your playstyle.
Bugbear says this marks “the beginning of a living system” that will “continue to evolve throughout Early Access and beyond.”
In response to community requests, the update also adds five new Suicide Race routes and a chaotic Random Waypoint Mode. As the name suggests, this mode randomises where the next waypoint appears on the track, but is currently limited to multiplayer r19aces. A minimap has also been added to the HUD to help with navigating the tracks.
Elsewhere, custom paint jobs can now be shared with other players. Currently, designs can only be shared by exchanging files from the savegame folder, but Bugbear notes that this will be “made more convenient in the future.”
Showcased in a typically tongue-in-cheek trailer, two new rear-wheel drive American cars also join the vehicle roster. These include the Bullet, which resembles a 1970s Dodge Charger, and the Jackal, which is inspired by the third-generation Ford Mustang ‘Fox Body.’
Rounding out the update is a host of bug fixes and optimisations detailed in the patch notes below.
More tracks and cars are expected in the next update due to arrive this autumn.
Wreckfest 2 Update 8 patch notes
NEW CONTENT
– New American 60s RWD: Bullet.
– New American 80s RWD: Jackal.
– New Scrapyard Waypoint Race route.
– New Savolax Sandpit Waypoint Race route.
– New Random Waypoint Mode & Free Order Waypoint Mode
Note that AI can’t navigate the Random waypoint order so they’re removed in single player.
– New Suicide Race route for Savolax Sandpit Short Circuit.
– New Suicide Race routes for Speedway Oval and Figure 8.
– New Suicide Race routes for UK Banger Dirt Oval and Figure 8.
– A set of new challenge events.
PLAYER PROGRESS
– Added the first version of player progress tracking playstyles with badges you can level up.
GAMEPLAY
– Reduced Normal Damage intensity.
– Added drifting and airtime score events.
– Scoring is now fairer (you can score as a defender as long as you do damage).
– Fixed wrong way indicator incorrectly triggering on the Speedway Figure 8 track.
– Leaderboards now have separate class based boards too.
TUNING
– New Quick Tune mode to tune any tuning part quickly with just one slider.
– It’s now possible to download anyone’s shared tune from the leaderboards.
– Each tuning modifier now has an accompanying help description.
– Tuning screen now shows simulated performance stats.
– All tuning value ranges now make more sense.
– Correct metric/imperial units are now used for all values.
VEHICLES
– Buffed Half A Crusader to make the tailend feel less heavy.
– Added missing clutch upgrades for Stahlwagen, Valken, and Half A Crusader.
– Revised the School Bus engine to make it a properly turbocharged diesel.
– Tachometer now works more like an authentic “lazy” analog tachometer.
AI
– Fixed AI cars not dodging other cars correctly in multiplayer.
CRAP-IT
– Share Designs with other Players by exchanging the loose files from your savegame location.
Note: Sharing will be made more convenient in the future.
– Added a massive amount of new stickers, sprayed on texts and Banger style number decals.
– Decal manipulation tools now include SKEW tool for skewing single decals.
– Decal manipulation tools now have a FINE-TUNE toggle for finer adjusting.
– It’s now possible to reorder decals and decal groups via the Options menu.
– Improved input handling (on gamepad, press left stick for panning and zooming).
– Improved decal add/copy/paste/mirror robustness so decals appear where intended.
– Various user experience improvements to make editing less of a hassle.
INTERFACE
– Added minimap. Can be toggled on/off in the Settings menu.
You can also adjust the minimap zoom factor in the Settings menu.
– Compass can be now enabled/disabled in the Settings menu.
– Finished cars now show a little checkered flag in the car tag.
– Improved UI for Tuning, Crap-It, Challenge Select and Loading Screens.
– Various other assorted user interface improvements.
ONLINE
– More robust online client synchronization, improving multiplayer collisions.
– Improved client prediction accuracy.
– Cars in the post-race screen no longer appear smoking and in flames.
– Quitting from a lobby now takes back to Server Browser if the server was directly connected to.
INPUT & FORCE-FEEDBACK
– Increased force feedback update frequency.
– Added high frequency road detail to force feedback.
– Added engine, gearbox and road noise effects to force feedback.
– Reduced force feedback jitter.
– Introduced vibration intensity for force feedback, adjusts road detail and effects.
– Increased dynamic damping range from 100% to 200%, old default 40% is now 100%.
– Improved force feedback damping logic, reducing oscillations around center while improving sense of steering rack friction.
– Implemented gyroscopic precession steering forces when driving over bumps and rolling the car.
– Rewrote low force boost logic for gear and belt driven wheels, it now saturates signal much more giving close to full possible cornering effort more often.
– Fixed wheels and controllers with more than 32 buttons; all buttons up to 128 now work.
– Fixed a range of controller binding issues, including bindings that could stop responding.
SYSTEM
– Improved game stability and performance.
– Replay system now writes in smaller chunks, fixing the frame hitch when crossing the finish line.
– Minor optimization of the collision system (car deformation work spread across worker threads).
AUDIO
– Fixed missing ground & rock wall surface collision sounds in desert waypoint race.
– Fixed issue where checkpoint sound effect would not play in online multiplayer waypoint races.
– Added ground surface collision sounds for the Driver ragdoll.
– Added tire impact sounds for wooden ramps.
– Added tire contact sounds for metal crosshatch / grille surfaces.
– Implemented tech support for race track -specific audio content banks.
– Audio mem improvement: Large-sized audio assets are streamed from disk rather than loaded to memory.
– Audio mem improvement: Sounds of animated track objects (crane etc.) are loaded to memory only when any are used on a track.
– Schoolbus: Implemented turbocharger on the stock inline 6 diesel engine.
– In-game audio settings change: Non-diegetic waypoint race checkpoint sound effect is now part of “Other Effects” volume slider group rather than “UI”.
– Cockpit view: Fixed mix config issue where exhaust backfire got attenuated in excess.