Hello all,

It's no secret that Chaos Ride has been taking a beating in terms of both reviews and sales since it launched. In the interests of preventing this, I have rolled out a massive overhaul of the game. Fundamental aspects of the graphics, audio, presentation, and gameplay have been modified in this new release, all based on user feedback.

If you are a Steam or Desura user (who has already bought the game) you can get the update for free by re-downloading it.

Anyone who buys the game from now on will get the update automatically.

Anyone who pirated the game from bittorrent won't get the update ;)

Here is the full list of changes in the new update...

Gameplay:

• Every corner is now marked with chevrons on the road surface, for easier navigation at speed.
  
• The in-game tutorial is gone, replaced with a selection of static screens at the beginning of the game.
  
• VR mode is unlocked from the start.
  
• The "practice events" have been separated into their own "time attack" mode, which unlocks after the training level. While later tracks remain locked as part of the main progression, all the tracks are unlocked in time attack mode from the outset. That way, you can play any level at any time, but you have to play through the main progression to actually race in them.
  
• The bikes gain more momentum on corners and hills, but lose more momentum if they are navigated incorrectly. As a result, the game is still fast, but now you have to earn the speed. This also helps new players as the game won't suddenly go too fast unless they are playing really well.
  
• Centrifugal force has much more of an impact as you drive around corners. Depending on your trajectory and speed, you won't always be able to easily roll into a corner without boosting or rolling into it from a different angle.
  
• The AI racers are far less formidable overall (and especially in the first ten events), to improve the difficulty curve.
  
• The options screen no longer pauses when you change resolution.
  
• AI players no longer smash into you from behind (except in multiplayer and marathon events). These two exceptions remain because the AI are intentionally more aggressive in the marathon events, and giving humans the ability to grief each other in multiplayer keeps it fun!

Audio:

• The "selection" audio effects on the menu screen are less annoying.
  
• The in-game music volume has been balanced so that the commentator can always be heard. Also, the game is generally not as loud as before.
  
• Rather than each track having its own specific theme music, the background music is set to shuffle at the start of each event.
  
• There is a new tune in the selection of background music - "Procrastinating in the Sun" by the Spin Wires.

Graphics:

• Switched to forward rendering and removed the FXAA in favour of MSAA, as it was making the textures look blurrier than they are.
  
• The amount of anti-aliasing can be controlled from the options menu.
  
• Aniso filtering has been enabled on all textures.
  
• Revised post effects treatment on all the tracks.
  
• New HUD.
  
• Higher-resolution logo graphic.
  
• Resolutions other than 16:9 are supported. In theory, the game can now support a multiple monitor setup (though I haven't tested it because I only have one monitor).
  
• The in-game camera is placed higher than before, preventing the player's bike from obscuring the racing line.
  
• The start/finish areas of each track have been improved visually. Screaming crowds cheer you on as you complete each lap.
  
• All manner of CPU optimisations. The frame rate is now generally better on lower spec PCs.

Bug Fixes:

• The game is now capped to 60fps, preventing the previous problems of the game running at crazy-fast speeds on monitors with fast refresh rates.
  
• Victories in the survival events are now correctly counted during multiplayer.
  
• The motion blur is now correctly displayed during multiplayer.

The screenshots on the store page have been updated to show what the game looks like with the new update. Enjoy.