Wreckfest: Massive PC Update - Now Available on Console

[Paul Jeffrey]

Wreckfest has been given yet more love recently with a big PC update and the long awaited console release.

That's right folks, after many months of eager anticipation, gamers on Xbox One and PS4 can now finally get their hands on the rather excellent Wreckfest videogame from Bugbear Entertainment.

Having undertaken a lengthy development process since being acquired by THQ Nordic, Wreckfest has finally made it over to the world of console gaming!

Although a big news story in its own right, Wreckfest fans on PC can also rejoice as a major new build release has been deployed to the PC version of the game. New cars, new tracks, new features and plenty of improvements, check out the update notes below:

4 NEW RACING TRACKS + 1 NEW DERBY ARENA

• Clayridge Circuit
  
• Deathloop
  
• Northfolk Ring (two routes)
  
• Dirt Devil Stadium (Speedway)
  
• Dirt Devil Stadium (Derby Arena)

5 NEW VEHICLES

• Venom (career reward)
  
• Stretch Limousine
  
• Couch Car
  
• Motorhome
  
• Big Rig

CAREER ENHANCEMENTS

• Several new career events and challenges featuring new tracks and vehicles. Check each Championship for new events – for example the first championship Regional Juniors now has the Couch Craze challenge to unlock this vehicle.
  
• There's now more variation in the computer-controlled AI cars, and they will also make use of the upgrade parts to make your life so much more miserable.
  
• Many events have been changed and tweaked to offer more engaging, balanced gameplay experience.
  
• Also, achieved bonus targets are no longer reset when restarting a career series.

GAME IMPROVEMENTS

• Polished and more detailed environments.
  
• Animated objects such as flags and balloons.
  
• New paint jobs for most vehicles.
  
• Collision improvements: the cars no longer clip each other.
  
• Quick match functinality for multiplayer.
  
• Streamlined server browser.
  
• Overhauled server lobby user interface and improved usability.
  
• Improved car and upgrade selection in the garage/pit.
  
• New daytimes for many tracks.
  
• Improved career menu screens.
  
• Multiplayer: Bots now get auto-kicked also during races if a human player joins and takes their slot.
  
• Multiplayer: At event start, players not ready won't be kicked as long as they have a valid car.
  
• New track and event specific loading screens.
  
• A save data backup is created automatically whenever the game is updated.
  
• Minimap (can be disabled in the Settings menu).

PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATIONS

• Overall game performance increased especially for older PCs.
  
• Multiplayer better optimized for poor connections and PCs.
  
• Drastically reduced loading times for all tracks.
  
• Server side: hardware and bandwidth demands reduced.

BUGFIXES

• Numerous bugfixes, tweaks and improvements, many based on the feedback we've received from you. As always, thanks for your continuing support and keep those suggestions coming!

Happy days for fans of crashing!

Wreckfest is available for PC now, with console release to follow August 27th.

For more smashing fun, head over to the RaceDepartment Wreckfest sub forum, and don't forget to check out the awesome RD Wreckfest Racing Club for some contact filled and laugh out loud online racing activity!

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[EIF]

I only play this game with a pad but the handling feels very different post-patch. Cars feel weightless and gutless now. Crashes feel weak and dulled down.

In other words the graphics have been degraded for consoles

This is very true also. Skyboxes look strange and on dirt tracks especially there's very little dust kicked up anymore.

 

[Lesley Buurlage]

https://steamcommunity.com/games/228380/announcements/detail/1601514507813047655
just released a hotfix

 

[ShredatorFIN]

Nice, they fixed most things that bothered me. Nothing about driving physics though

Although I kinda liked the new driver names. The backer names seem kind of random to anyone who doesn't know what those are (which is probably most players)

 

[Paul Bennett]

Posted on Steam about FFB now with a bit too much centre spring , Jannes the Dev will review it.

 

[Chobonator]

From Next Car Game, to Wreckfest, to Need for Speed Off-Road.

 

[Marc Collins]

Posted on Steam about FFB now with a bit too much centre spring , Jannes the Dev will review it.

Why do devs constantly update things that are working perfectly and leave things that are a mess? Regardless of what people thought about the rest of the game, the FFB, steering and handling were almost universally praised as being surprisingly superior to typical arcade/console-type games. Should have left it alone while they addressed other issues that lots of people thought were problematic.

 

[Emery]

8.1 GB for the massive update and 1.1 GB more for this one. Man, they're really clobbering my monthly bandwidth allotment!

 

[Marc Collins]

Steering and FFB are pretty much back to normal for me after today's update. Can't say about all the other stuff. No time to test.

 

[Urlauber]

hadn't played it for a while, saw the update and gave it a proper shot. I had a blast like in the rest of my ~200 hours playtime (being there since early access)! It's the place to go to have just... you know, mindless fun!

 

[Aki Korhonen]

bad update. this is now arcade game. make adult edition where kids just cant drive because they dont know how the car handles on real life!!!!!trash

 

[Rot Teufel]

the fix has bring back the fun
The relaiant robin even is finally passable without rubberbander AI and old physis (seriously, with summer 2019 was undrivable; with summer 2018 one, the challange was kinda fun).
The old damage model on Big Rigs races bring tons of destruction, chaos and wheels off. Next try, the caravan madness

 

[M D Gourley]

The latest 1.1GB fix is nearly there for me, still just a bit to much 'center spring' for my liking compared to what I remember from a few updates back on my TS XW Racer where my wheel turned a lot free'er, which makes me think the FFB profile is still geared towards the hand controller stick thingy ma'gigs'...but definitely better than this threads massive update which had very hard center spring force...did not concentrate on any thing else though..
TS XW controller settings below, having no 'center spring = 0%, Damper = 100% seems to remove the in game center spring a bit.

 

[Metla]

And again...

 

[Metla]

Also, FFB isn't tied into nor shaped to suit gamepads or gamepad users, its a separate protocol,at least according to the developer.

 

[ShredatorFIN]

There was physics changes indeed.

This guy is a Wreckfest modder, and he made comparisons between old and new car files. Spring and Damper rates are different, and there's been chassis changes to some. Brake bias is generally moved notably forward.

Forward brake bias will result in understeer on braking (would suit a gamepad?), and not being able to flick the car rally style, like before (by using same setup, at least). Probably what people are feeling.

One of comparisons he linked:

So that's probably what people are experiencing as "worse handling". I would understand editing some problem cars, like Mud Digger or Killerbee, which had unfair advantage in MP.

But why touch the others? Even when change is small on paper, it might not feel that with a wheel and assists off. Which is how probably many of the more loyal, long time Wreckfest fans are driving. People are used to them handling certain way.

I wish they would rollback everything, except the tweaks to few OP cars like Muddigger.

 

[MarcG]

It's funny how people are getting bent over backwards about physics changes to what is essentially an Arcade Racing Game, not once did the Devs state that Wreckfest is a proper "Sim" and they even came here to clarify that in a post a while back!

This thread shows to me that people are expecting way too much and not looking at the game as it's supposed to be, that is a FUN title that can be easily played with or without "proper" sim racing gear.

Not every game on RD is equal to AMS/RF2/ACC etc etc, play Wrestfest for what it is, not what you want it to be

 

[Metla]

I'm going to go with it being mostly in peoples imagination.

The fact that people claimed there were changes, and now they have been reverted to the old build when the devs have explicitly stated this isn't the case make no sense.

Nor do I believe those tweaks would have resulted in the changes people are claiming to be experiencing.

After the big update I set up my wheel and the car and I drove the same lines, in the same style as before the patch.

The only difference I can see since the hotfix is you can get more in sync with the driving now 23 other cars aren't trying to smash you off every corner.

 

[ShredatorFIN]

The fact that people claimed there were changes, and now they have been reverted to the old build when the devs have explicitly stated this isn't the case make no sense.

No they aren't reverted (the various changes to car physics files). Did you even read my last post, with screenshots? Just the AI rubberbanding and Realistic damage got reverted, nothing else.

Not imagination.

And if Wreckfest is full-on sim (it's not), doesn't matter. Changing the handling into worse, even more arcade direction, will still annoy people who enjoyed it how it was before @MarcG

 

[Metla]

I was refereeing to comments, (Not necessarily yours) that claimed the physics were improved or rolled since the hotfix.

And yes, I saw the screen shots, without some expert input into the significance of those numbers it looks to be someone grasping at straws to back up a spurious claim. It certainly doesn't make the devs liars or incorrect about their own game, The code of which they wrote and clearly know in detail.

Again, Not directed at you. You're not the centre of the phenomenon, Just like me, You're just some random having a convo on the internet.

 

[ShredatorFIN]

And yes, I saw the screen shots, without some expert input into the significance of those numbers it looks to be someone grasping at straws to back up a spurious claim.

Expert input? Those comments are from an experienced car modder, he knows what the values do....

He wasn't trying to prove or "back up" anything, just showed what has changed. Because some didn't even believe that anything has changed. You can see the whole conversation in official Discord, he wasn't pushing a point at all... He didn't even have a point. Just talking facts

And devs admitted they tweaked the cars. Which seems pretty much all of them. No, physics engine didn't change, but the physics values of many of the cars did.

To Bugbear it was "minor changes, only felt with a wheel". Like what you feel with a wheel, wouldn't be so important. Community seems to feel differently about how "minor" these changes were

Seems this "You're not a dev, you know nothing" attitude coming from fanboys in official Discord too:

The modders reply: