Dakar Desert Rally 2023 Roadmap Finally Complete – Or is it?

Dakar Desert Rally update coming.jpg
It seemed this day would never come. But tomorrow Saber Interactive will complete its Dakar Desert Rally development Roadmap for 2023. For the most part, that is.

Upon release last year, Dakar Desert Rally was a bare bones racing title accompanied by a shockingly long development roadmap. Basic features such as a Livery Editor, Free Roam and several DLC packs all had their place on the plans, some even set for a 2022 release.

Well, at the end of December last year, it was clear that many items were to be delayed. Predictably, a new roadmap launched in January with every feature and piece of content coming in 2023. We are now rapidly approaching the end of the year and, bar a few minor DLC additions, nothing has changed.


But at the end of last week, things started to pick up. A long period of radio silence from the developer Bigmoon Entertainment ended with several teaser posts. These videos and photos plastering the Dakar Desert Rally social feeds all focus on their own DLC packs, featuring of the roadmap. But the most recent social media post confirms a release date for every missing feature and content piece.

Dakar Desert Rally Fall Update​

As part of a major update, dubbed the Fall Update, Dakar Desert Rally will receive a plethora of additions on 28 November. According to the Tweet, this update will bring much-needed Photo and Replay modes to the title. In addition, the highly-requested Roadbook Editor will also be included, allowing players to set up their own rally routes.

Elsewhere, the Fall Update to Dakar Desert Rally will help to complete the 2023 development roadmap for content. The release will come alongside a trio of DLC packs bringing new vehicles to the title.


Earlier in the year, Dakar Desert Rally received its Snowrunner Trucks Pack. Featuring a collection of large vehicles from the off-roading simulator, it was the last major content addition to the game to date. A similar DLC will release on 28 November, dubbed the Snowrunner Cars Pack. In a similar vein, this will add smaller models from the sim such as the many Chevrolet pick-ups and various other Scout class cars. Previous posts indicate that this pack will be free to all players, regardless of their version of the game.

The Snowrunner DLC will be joined by a pair of more official car packs. The Hybrid Vehicle Pack will add many new energy vehicles competing in the current age of Rally Raid competition. The Audi RS Q E-Tron already present in the game, which will now become free to all, helps to provide an early taste of this pack.

Dakar Desert Rally Roadmap.jpg


Finally, the Classic Vehicles Pack 2 will go through past legends of the sport. The first iteration of the DLC released with the Porsche 959 and Tatra 815 truck. The cover of the upcoming pack features what looks to be a Yamaha YZE850T. This 1990’s monster won a total of seven out of eight editions of the race from 1991 to 1998. One will have to wait until release to discover other models in the pack.

Roadmap Not Quite Complete​

One might well notice that the announcement post misses out two sizeable parts of the 2023 Dakar Desert Rally roadmap. In fact, the Team Customisation tool for livery creation and USA Tour DLC do not get a mention.

Whilst the inclusion of these two elements has not been dismissed by the developers, it has not been confirmed either. Therefore, it seems the official Dakar game will go another year without its second map or the ability to create personal liveries.

What do you make of the Dakar Desert Rally Fall Update announcement? Tell us on Twitter at @OverTake_gg or in the comments down below!
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Angus Martin
Motorsport gets my blood pumping more than anything else. Be it physical or virtual, I'm down to bang doors.

Comments

Dakar was supposed to be a fun simcade-style racer with a unique bent and a fairly accurate depiction of rally raid navigation, but was riddled with bugs related to your progress being deleted and CTDs that made it unplayable for many people.

Worse, none of the promised improvements really materialised. Their "hardcore physics" update makes cars understeer more and spin out of control in a straight line with no warning, but does nothing to improve the overall feeling of driving on rough surfaces, rocks etc. A fundamental problem for simulating Dakar is that the maps aren't challenging enough (flat dunes and valleys you can drive through flat out). Plus there's a plethora of other annoyances (jerky FFB, no speed limiter, inconsistent AI, trucks that's can't climb mild inclines, quads with awful physics etc. etc.) that never got fixed.

Sad really as there is a lot of passion behind this studio but their execution was never good enough to satisfy either casual racers or Dakar diehards.
 
Bought it on xbox when it came out, played it a couple of times before I gave up because it ran so badly and haven't touched it since
 
Premium
Honestly if they dont fix the handling being near impossible to control then they can add every car ever driven in dakar, laserscan the entire desert and I just wouldnt care. It is so incredibly infuriating to try to drive with any pace in this game, you cant trust the car you are driving at all, the feedback be it wheel or controller is terrible. Whether its bikes, quads, cars or trucks its the same problem or just random uncontrollable spin outs for no reason.
 
I absolutely LOVE this title! I haven't experienced a single bug. The handling is excellent and gives you a realistic feeling of high performance driving on sand, which I've done in real life, so I know the feel.

The scenery is beautiful, like driving through the landscape of David Lean's epic movie, "Lawrence of Arabia". This title is a masterpiece! I've enjoyed it so much that I just bought Dakar 18, their first release in this category.

If you like this sort of thing, also check out Overpass and Overpass 2, also both excellent. Just remember, setting up your controls is important in these off-road titles if you want to enjoy them. The default settings are always far too conservative.

I'll definitely buy any DLC that they release, and look forward to the free stuff. If they release a Mojave or Baja DLC, I'll die a happy man when I leave this world!
 
I have left when I have founnd the free free roam update is not unlimited, just free roam per region

I believe that choosing a region in free roam is just choosing a starting point. I have my location displayed in the HUD, and I have often started in one region and finally exited in a completely different region, far from where I began. You can just keep going.
 
"much-needed Photo and Replay modes". Really? Features that only a few ever use in any game,are "much needed"? What's "much needed" for this game is a total makeover.
Everybody was expecting at least something close to Snowrunner, and we got something that was closer to Need for Speed or Dirt games. Even the first Dakar game was better than this.
They should have put it out of it's misery and made another one, the way it should be made.
 
I believe that choosing a region in free roam is just choosing a starting point. I have my location displayed in the HUD, and I have often started in one region and finally exited in a completely different region, far from where I began. You can just keep going.
No there is limit, when you reach limit region, you can't pass
 
Everybody was expecting at least something close to Snowrunner, and we got something that was closer to Need for Speed or Dirt games.
Who's everybody? The people who can't tell a log truck from a racing vehicle? No wonder you complain about so many titles.
 

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Angus Martin
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What's needed for simracing in 2024?

  • More games, period

  • Better graphics/visuals

  • Advanced physics and handling

  • More cars and tracks

  • AI improvements

  • AI engineering

  • Cross-platform play

  • New game Modes

  • Other, post your idea


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