Hello.

Here we go again with the playtest available to the public.

Despite wanting to make it available by Christmas, it needed more attention than I anticipated.

There were issues that arose in previous playtests, some of which I could address, while others need considerable planning, like FFBB for modern wheels, as well as many other things I decided were needed.

Let me guide you through what to expect in this new build.

In the UI, all the car parameters are now exposed. I implemented the scroll feature so I could pack in as many features as needed. Basically, any player can tweak the parameters with as much freedom as the developer. This is temporarily exposed at the gameplay level. Later on, the tuning features will be moved to a tuning menu, and the modding-tuning features will be available in a vehicle editor tool.

Here is an example of how feature-rich components can be: this is the suspension.

Remember that any changes in the tune can be saved via the Tune Manager. You can overwrite the current tune, save it as new, or even save or load specific parts of the tune. You can even create variations of specific parts within the same tune, let's say, different suspension settings or different grips. The Tune Manager gives you a lot of freedom.

One of the features I needed the most was the visual part of the tire friction setup. Now you can visualize how the lateral, longitudinal, and alignment forces will behave. This massively helps in setting up the tires.

The engine setup also now has a graph aswell as added colum descriptors as could be confused by torque Hp input.

In regards to the input, to support FFBB in modern wheels, I need to upgrade the input system from the ground up. It will be done later this year. What I've done is to add generic steering wheel input support. It is a bit dull without FFBB, but better than nothing.

I noticed a bug where if the steering wheel and gamepad are connected, it would silently interfere with the gamepad's input. To avoid this, you will need to manually choose Joystick 1 or 2 input when you have two devices. This routes the reading for the steering. This is a temporary patch until the input system is rewritten.

When any type of steering input is chosen, the assits are set of and input is passed as is. Works great for onboard cameras but I would suggest to enable assits if you play with chasecam. I've my G-25 on -100/100 deg. Yf you don´t want to change your wheel settings you can adjust the visual rotation on the options.

There are three preset setups. The default is probably the most forgiving one but may lack a bit of sharpness for the narrowest parts of the track. You may try to increase the gamepad sensitivity from 0.85 to something like 0.95 if you find it a bit slow. For the first time, there's a drifty setup. I find it very fun once you master it. It works in auto or manual regardless, but the full control of manual makes it best once you master the tune.

Visually, I'm settling with this style for now, as I think it fits the best.

By the time you read this, I'll be fully into track production, which will occupy me the upcoming months. I'll still be doing coding stuff but mostly tracks since that is much needed. In regards to coding, I'll be building the vehicle editor and rewriting the input system, but expect them towards the second half of the year. The new high-resolution model of the current car is ready, but I will wait to swap it until the editor is ready, as it will help with setting the naming conventions, etc.

NOT YET READY FOR STEAM DECK . This is because there is an issue with memory management on the Steam Deck and it won’t be solved until state-of-the-art data streaming is implemented, which is expected in the second half of the year.

There are some music tracks available; let me know if you like the style.

I hope you have fun and please let me know how it runs, if you like it, if you don't, if anything sucks, etc. All kinds of feedback are welcome!

I created a Discord where we can share our ideas, car setups, bugs etc. You can join the Discord here:
https://discord.gg/gMDA3pfH


I created this Patreon in case you whant to help me out, does not matter how small the ammount, all will go towards development.
http://patreon.com/INITIALDvideogame

Or, if you you could aswell get one of my other games!.
https://store.steampowered.com/search/?developer=Pablo%20Vidaurre%20Sanz

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EDIT

Playtest build is ready! I'm uploading right now.

I'll make public in the incoming days. I'll take a "break" to get back to work in the map creation for few days prior to release, aswell as play Tokyo Xtreme Racer, a moment I've been waiting to happen for about 15 years.

I need to focus first on the next tasks to be full steam by the time the playtest is public.

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From the initial playtest release in June 2023 featuring the short strip of 1.2 km, barebones with just some mesh vegetation, we went to the full track in late 2023, with its 11.7 km featuring scan and mesh vegetation.

2024 was a year of upgrades and optimizations, including the tune manager, UI code, but most importantly, research in the technical topics from the playtest feedback, addressing issues like CPU spikes or memory overflow in hardware like the Steam Deck, point cloud render optimizations, among others.

The track creation process from scan data, and more specifically using the data itself as a graphical element, is a novel approach that requires a lot of research and trial and error. Yet, the good news is that the track production workflow is production-ready, and in fact, already in use for the upcoming new tracks.

In the first half of 2025, at least an extra 20 km will be drivable, adding three new sections.

Additionally, two tracks are already in pre-production, one including a mountain highway for maximum speed lovers.

Mesh virtualization and improved texture streaming will be implemented as well in the first half of the year, potentially solving for good the CPU hiccups that come from parsing big chunks of vegetation meshes. This will also reduce load times substantially, making the game playable again on the Steam Deck.

Updated/fixed support for steering wheel, with support for modern wheels, will come in 2025; I just need to make room for the new hardware.

While I'm happy with the physics, there are moments where the behavior of the car is not as predictable as I would desire. Despite tuning suspensions and anti-rolls, there are moments where the handling seems off. I thought this could be coming from the road mesh itself, but upon adding a new section that features smoother road surface, the handling artifacts show up eventually, which I suspect come from the friction evaluation. Hence, a simplified friction model will be tested, as the current 60-parameter model is hard to tweak, and for modders, in the current model, a single parameter changed slightly can have substantial repercussions, making it a ticking bomb for inexperienced modders.

The second half of the year is planned to be much more code intense, wiring all the content and technologies together, making the game mature into beta stage.

For late 2025 to early 2026, Route 152 from the base of Mt. Fuji up to the road's end will be added. It's an amazing road with high elevation changes and a lot of turns of different nature, with many hairpins. This one should be the last track to be added for release.

Additional tracks will be added after release, but as of now, these are enough to develop the plot and experience different race styles and locations. At most, I would add an extra coastal route, but I can't promise.

Music tracks are already in production.

The script is developing at a good pace and by the second half of 2025 will be submitted for review.

I would like to express appreciation to those who have supported and reported feedback during the playtest, thank you!

I can also see the interest in the steadily growing wishlist. Welcome to all newcomers!

The playtest has been off for a while now. I did not work much on the playtest specifically, yet let me know if you would like to reopen it for Christmas to make some runs.

Best,

Pablo Vidaurre