Wreckfest Finally Out of Steam Early Access!

Paul Jeffrey

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Wreckfest has finally been fully released, leaving Steam Early Access today following over four years of development by Bugbear Games...

It would be fair to say many people never really expected to see this day come to light.. and now finally it is here! Steam Early Access has been a long road to travel by Bugbear Games, and finally after over four long years of development this outstanding title has reached a full, complete and final release build version!! Roll out the trumpets, hang the banners from the rafters, the time has come!

Wreckfest is a unique title, a mix of arcade and simulation that focuses on racing and crashing in equal measure. Superbly moddable, highly entertaining and with believable physics, this game offers up a wonderful opportunity to try something a bit different when the mood to go full on hardcore sim racing doesn't quite take hold.

As always racing online with real people is where a lot of the fun can be had, and in Wreckfest that sentiment holds very true indeed. Ok so the offline career mode is impressive in its own right, but if you really want to explore what the game has to offer, then getting into an online environment and racing against other real people is something that you should most certainly give a try...

We have a great little Racing Club for Wreckfest here at RaceDepartment, but for reasons outside of our control that area of the site has gone a little quiet in recent weeks. Fear not folks! We are getting out the spanners, gaffer taping panels back on, oiling the cogs and smoking roll up cigarettes near combustible liquids, all in the name of reviving this potentially epic racing events! So hold on to your hats, keep checking the Wreckfest Racing Club forum for new events (starting with the first one to be advertised tomorrow), and let the good times roll on once again!

Anyway, back on topic, Wreckfest is here, it has a new build, and you can read all about it below...

Wreckfest Release.png


Wreckfest full launch update notes:

CONTENT
  • Added special challenge vehicles: School Bus, Harvester, Supervan and Double-Decker.
  • Added the exclusive Deluxe Edition car (backer car). The car is automatically placed into your garage.
  • Added new fun parts such as coffins, saw blades, large axes, skulls, baby prams, hot dogs, sharks, boxing gloves to decorate the vehicles with in style.
  • Added new paint jobs for vehicles and improved old ones.
  • Adjusted visual camber angles and ride heights of many vehicles to improve their appearance.
  • Adjusted performance ranges of vehicles to differentiate them from each other.
  • Adjusted names, prices and properties of many armor upgrades.
  • Added new Countryside Crop Field derby arena.
  • Resurrected the classic Speedway 2 Demolition Stadium.
  • Optimized the performance of Tarmac 2, Speedway 2 tracks.
  • Polished many of the tracks by fixing seams and holes, improving UV mapping and so forth.
  • Added color-themed curbs and barriers to a number of tracks.
  • Improved Big Stadium Figure 8 environment art.
  • Implemented backer names as AI names.
  • Adjusted a number of time-of-days to not be as dark.
  • Implemented credits.
TECHNICAL
  • Fixed particle blending glitch when hardware antialiasing is enabled on AMD GPUs.
  • MP: Host can now adjust Car Restriction in the Lobby, Options tab to choose between Max Class A/B/C/D, Host’s Car.
  • MP: Setting a specific car restriction using the Dedicated Server console now works properly.
  • MP: Special vehicles can now be disabled and enabled by host in the Lobby, Options tab.
  • MP: Event settings are no longer reset when the host switches to the Lobby, Options tab.
  • MP: Event settings that require reloading of the event are now marked with an * and accompanying help text.
  • MP: Cars no longer appear falling through the ground plane when the event is changing.
  • MP: The server’s current settings for Damage and Special Vehicles is now included in the lobby server info.
  • Implemented asynchronous vehicle loading to improve loading time when changing a car in the garage.
  • In Replay, Photo Mode, it’s no longer possible to use the free camera to fly outside the level boundaries.
  • Game is now automatically paused after it’s minimized.
  • In Replay, the timer now displays time correctly.
  • Game now detects up to 12 input devices to prevent the user from having to disconnect unnecessary controllers.
  • Fanatec ClubSport Wheel Base V2.5 and CLS Elite Racing Wheel no longer lose input mappings.
  • Controllers are now longer detected automatically when entering the Settings menu;
    instead the user needs to click the Detect Controllers button on Settings, Advanced tab.
GAMEPLAY
  • Added a new Chase 3 camera that is further up and back to make it easier to see the surroundings.
  • Wrecking an opponent now registers correctly even when the victim has more speed than the attacker.
  • Limited the opening angle of hoods to prevent them from making it impossible to drive in the in-car camera once unlocked.
  • Depending the car(s), performing a PIT maneuver is somewhat more challenging than previously.
  • AI is now less inclined to ram the player in slow corners.
  • Reduced the delay at race start.
  • Expert AI is slightly faster now.
CAREER
  • Added all-new challenge events with special vehicles, for example Harvester Deathmatch.
  • Added unlock gates to career championships, i.e. some of the events are only unlocked after the player has earned enough championship points.
  • Adjusted bonus targets for many events to make them more engaging and remove impossible or very difficult targets.
  • Improved difficulty curve, added new unlocks and vehicle rewards, separated performance upgrades to classes.
  • Changed multi-heat demolition derby events to single heat format.
  • Adjusted performance ranges of AI vehicles to have more performance variation in events.
  • Added descriptions for career series.
  • Added a reward for completing the career.
USER INTERFACE
  • Added loading tips.
  • Changed over to new fonts.
  • Added a new outside garage scene to the main menu.
  • Added a new pit garage scene to the Pre-Race screen.
  • Improved a new Series Selection screen user interface.
  • Implemented a new Paint Shop user interface with a possibility to use three layers for the livery colors and resetting the colors.
  • Added a new user interface for Career Event Info and Pre-Race screens.
  • Getting wrecked mid-race now results in “WRECKED” text instead of misleading “FINISHED” text.
  • For ease of use, performance, visual and armor upgrades are now combined into a single Upgrades menu with tabs.
  • For quick access, Garage is now accessible directly from the Career Event Info screen.
  • Newly acquired parts and cars are now displayed with a “NEW” text to make them easier to find.
  • Owned parts are now marked with a little garage icon instead of “OWNED” text.
  • Damage log notifications are now longer displayed in the beginning of the new event when player restarts while taking damage.
  • Acceleration, Top Speed, Cornering and Strength stats no longer appears as 0 for Lawn Mower and other special vehicles.
  • In Market, Upgrades, items that the player cannot afford are now accompanied with “Insufficient Credits” text.
  • A purchased car is now automatically made active.
  • In Replay, the game now correctly defaults to Trackside Camera view.
  • Tab selection now loops when pressing the key or button repeatedly.
  • Select button is no longer grayed out in the main menu.
  • Mud Pit and Grass Field are now their own environments in the track selection view.
AUDIO
  • Added new licensed songs.
  • In-game music can now be enabled in the Settings, Audio menu.
  • Audio no longer suddenly goes silent on certain cars.
  • Adjusted audio balance.
LOCALIZATION
  • Added localized text for Brazilian-Portuguese, Chinese, Finnish, Japanese, Korean, Polish and Russian.
  • Updated localized text for French, Italian, German and Spanish.

Wreckfest is out now on PC, with Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions to launch November 20th 2018.

Check out the Wreckfest Sub Forum here at RaceDepartment for the latest news and discussions regarding the sim. For added excitement we have an already immensely popular and exciting Racing Club, details of which can be found here.

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Tell us what you think of Wreckfest! Does the move out of Early Access make a purchase more appealing to those of you who are still on the fence? Let us know your thoughts below!
 
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As I drive these for a living, I briefly got excited about the idea of smashing one up in Wreckfest, but alas it's not what I was hoping!! Lol :) View attachment 255954
Sry to disappoint, but it's not what you think mate :D

beamng can handle a race and few ai :whistling:
As much as I love BeamNG, it's not optimized nor polished for having that much quality races out of the box.

This is the #1 title when my friends sit in my rig now. Fairly realistic and intuitive handling while not being punishing like the proper sims.
Altho I'd love a realistic Jokkis Simulator, with all the rules in carreer mode, realistic handling and damage. Would be more boring than Wreckfest at first perhaps, but might be catchy in the long run.
Not saying Wreckfest isn't a long player though.
 
There were already more people playing the Early Access than play Automobilista… :confused:
Yeah 2,289 peak yesterday. AMS has 391 peak.

Pretty sad for AMS, one of greatest sims. Too hardcore for general audience. And saw a survey showing 75% of Wreckfest EA players didn't use a wheel, way more mainstream (even when the wheel support is great). On AMS probably pretty much everyone has a wheel.
 
Yeah 2,289 peak yesterday. AMS has 391 peak.

Pretty sad for AMS, one of greatest sims. Too hardcore for general audience. And saw a survey showing 75% of Wreckfest EA players didn't use a wheel, way more mainstream (even when the wheel support is great). On AMS probably pretty much everyone has a wheel.

When I first got Wreckfest, I was playing with the gamepad, and it scratched an itch for an arcade-y fun racer. Then I realized how good the FFB was and I had to witch over! I like the polish they applied. Two things missing: a track map, and a rear view mirror. Are these really that hard to implement?
 
The FFB in Wreckfest tbh is so so for my G27. Often the wheel oscillates from left to right when driving straight, and there's no feel of weight transfer when the car's going to snap, that makes this title the hardest to catch snap oversteer. If you don't think ahead, you're always late to catch.
 
Small hotfix tonight,

- Added two new songs to the soundtrack.
- The game now detects more than 4 controllers correctly.
- Fixed an issue where the game might have crashed when entering market.
- Fixed an issue where the menu buttons would get stacked together.
- Fixed an issue with the huge ad board not collapsing properly.
- The game no longer crashes when installing a fully cut fender on Rammer RS or Killerbee S with a front spoiler installed.
Bandit no longer has duplicate front fenders available.
- Reward vehicles are now received correctly in career.
- Reduced point requirement for unlocking events in the National Amateurs career championship.
- Sandpit 1 Alternative Loop now has correct minimap.
- Launcher now displays the correct game logo screen.
- Updated launcher image and game shortcut icon.
- AI names can be modded again.
 
The FFB in Wreckfest tbh is so so for my G27. Often the wheel oscillates from left to right when driving straight, and there's no feel of weight transfer when the car's going to snap, that makes this title the hardest to catch snap oversteer. If you don't think ahead, you're always late to catch.

I asked the dev a few times on FFB tweaks to no avail, they didn't really prioritize due a small player base with wheels.
 
Yeah 2,289 peak yesterday. AMS has 391 peak.

Pretty sad for AMS, one of greatest sims. Too hardcore for general audience. And saw a survey showing 75% of Wreckfest EA players didn't use a wheel, way more mainstream (even when the wheel support is great). On AMS probably pretty much everyone has a wheel.

Can you please explain what you mean by "more hardcore" ?

I have AMS and don't think it is more 'hardcore" than any other sim...they all have seemed to work out that racing cars are not like driving on ice with glass wheels (apart from Forza), even RF2 worked it out...
If found AMS was the first to really work this out in a sim.....
 
Can you please explain what you mean by "more hardcore" ?
Well perhaps hardcore is poor word. But graphics aren't quite on Wreckfests level. The theme of wrecking cars appeals to also people who don't care for motorsports, and it's easy to make flashy trailers for Wreckfest due to soft body physics. Internal physics are much harder to sell in trailers.

And somehow doubt 75% of AMS players use a gamepad or keyboard, I could be wrong though but I have a feeling it's mainly wheel users. Originally AA couldn't be selected in-game, required fiddling with NVidia control panel, stuff like that...
 
Well perhaps hardcore is poor word. But graphics aren't quite on Wreckfests level. The theme of wrecking cars appeals to also people who don't care for motorsports, and it's easy to make flashy trailers for Wreckfest due to soft body physics. Internal physics are much harder to sell in trailers.

And somehow doubt 75% of AMS players use a gamepad or keyboard, I could be wrong though but I have a feeling it's mainly wheel users. Originally AA couldn't be selected in-game, required fiddling with NVidia control panel, stuff like that...
I dont think i have AA still since after the fudging Win10 big update... Tried with AMS launcher to set the different AA options - no dice. Tried Nvidia CPL - no dice. Really annoying cause its so ugly now without AA. :(
 
I dont think i have AA still since after the fudging Win10 big update... Tried with AMS launcher to set the different AA options - no dice. Tried Nvidia CPL - no dice. Really annoying cause its so ugly now without AA. :(
Fix: Open file properties of AMS.exe, and disable "Fullscreen optimizations". AA is back.

But yeah, stuff like this... wouldn't cut it in AAA game. Sim racers have often a mindset, that is prepared to do some tweaking
 
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