Kylotonn released their third monthly newsletter about their upcoming open world MMO racing game, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown. This time, the focus is the Solar Hotel, which will act as a global hub for all the players.
The Solar Hotel is a fictionnal building created specifically for the game to host the player character's suite, garage, and most of the RPG features one could expect from a TDU game: clothing shops, hairdressers, surgeons (because you know you'll want to perfect that Habsburg jaw...) as well as things more directly related to the driving experience, like a list of activities, leaderboards, and the possibility to throw a challenge to a random person you just met while walking in the hotel lobby. And maybe the reason why you decided to challenge that person is because they were bragging about having their car displayed in one of the four slots that showcase the best performers of the day.
One of those spots seems to be reserved to whoever earned the most FRIM. This confirms the return of a feature from the previous games, which encouraged you to perform various stunts such as drifting, near missing traffic cars or just zooming at sustained high speeds while free roaming to fill up your FRIM bar. Doing this was a way to earn money in the past few games, under the condition you banked it manually before crashing or stopping, or you'd lose it all. There is nothing to confirm or deny that FRIM will still work in the same way of be reworked, but there is definitely some room to expand that feature further from what it had to offer previously in the TDU series.
Your living quarters will be upgraded as you climb up the ranks both figuratively and literally: As you progress in the game, you will gain access to better apartments in the upper floors of the tower. Old TDU fans may be disappointed to hear they'll be forced to stay in the same building, but that could be just a temporary limitation, as Alain Jarniou states individual houses are "part of a long list of features we have already researched for future content in the medium and long term" - hinting at potential DLCs already being planned during TDU:SC's lifespan.
The newsletter also gives a bit of lore: the Solar Crown competition is hosted by a mysterious organisation named Radiant - which doesn't hint at anything from the past games so far - which has commissioned the building of the Solar Hotel. A new character is mentioned as well, Vivian, President of the Solar Crown Organization Committee, which raises another question: is Tess Wintory still in top form in the TDU universe?
On a more serious note, the letter ends with the following: "reservations and the first tours will open soon." A cheeky hint at a closed beta?
The Solar Hotel is a fictionnal building created specifically for the game to host the player character's suite, garage, and most of the RPG features one could expect from a TDU game: clothing shops, hairdressers, surgeons (because you know you'll want to perfect that Habsburg jaw...) as well as things more directly related to the driving experience, like a list of activities, leaderboards, and the possibility to throw a challenge to a random person you just met while walking in the hotel lobby. And maybe the reason why you decided to challenge that person is because they were bragging about having their car displayed in one of the four slots that showcase the best performers of the day.
One of those spots seems to be reserved to whoever earned the most FRIM. This confirms the return of a feature from the previous games, which encouraged you to perform various stunts such as drifting, near missing traffic cars or just zooming at sustained high speeds while free roaming to fill up your FRIM bar. Doing this was a way to earn money in the past few games, under the condition you banked it manually before crashing or stopping, or you'd lose it all. There is nothing to confirm or deny that FRIM will still work in the same way of be reworked, but there is definitely some room to expand that feature further from what it had to offer previously in the TDU series.
Your living quarters will be upgraded as you climb up the ranks both figuratively and literally: As you progress in the game, you will gain access to better apartments in the upper floors of the tower. Old TDU fans may be disappointed to hear they'll be forced to stay in the same building, but that could be just a temporary limitation, as Alain Jarniou states individual houses are "part of a long list of features we have already researched for future content in the medium and long term" - hinting at potential DLCs already being planned during TDU:SC's lifespan.
The newsletter also gives a bit of lore: the Solar Crown competition is hosted by a mysterious organisation named Radiant - which doesn't hint at anything from the past games so far - which has commissioned the building of the Solar Hotel. A new character is mentioned as well, Vivian, President of the Solar Crown Organization Committee, which raises another question: is Tess Wintory still in top form in the TDU universe?
On a more serious note, the letter ends with the following: "reservations and the first tours will open soon." A cheeky hint at a closed beta?
