Wreckfest Major December Update Released

[Paul Jeffrey]

The major new Wreckfest update is here!

Available immediately via Steam, the new build brings with it a whole host of exciting new content and feature improvements to one of the most under rated racing games available today.

New build highlights will undoubtedly centre around the eight new vehicles coming to the racing title, adding some much needed variety to the game as the developers focus on some of the more traditional models found in folk racing and banger style sport seen nationally around the world. From big estate versions of cars not dissimilar in looks to a Volvo to smaller (sort of) classic American machines, the new cars added to the game today are something much needed in recent months and should make a considerable difference to the playing experience.

Other highlights that stand out against the packed new update include a significant improvement to range tracks previously featured in Wreckfest. Gone are the 'work in progress' builds in place of what can only be described as some very impressive and immersive locations, and all are pretty much fully deformable too!!!

Ok enough of the chitter chatter, check out the changelog post from Bugbear below...

IMPORTANT!
If the game is not launching after updating and instead crashes to "FATAL DISK ERROR", please try these steps:

- First of all, please verify the integrity of the game cache to make sure the game is correctly installed. Also, please remove the user data generated by the previous game versions by navigating to [STEAM INSTALLATION FOLDER]/userdata/[USER ID]/228380/local and removing the folder labeled 'wreckfest early access'. The default Steam installation folder is 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam'.

- Right click Wreckfest in your Steam Library > Properties > General > Set launch options, input "-disable_mods" without quotes.

- If that doesn't help, remove c:\Program Files\Steam\userdata\[User ID]\228380\local\wreckfest early access\modlist.mods file and try again.

Dear Wreckers,

We're excited to let you know that the highly-anticipated December Update for Wreckfest is available on Steam!

This update represents a significant step towards the final release of the game, and what that means in practice is that this update contains a plenty of new as well as polished content and features in addition to a host of other improvements, the highlights being:

EIGHT NEW CARS
That's right – eight completely new cars, including our first ever front-wheel-drive cars, classic bangers, demolition derby heavy-hitters as well as something pretty unique! In addition to the new cars, many old cars have been refreshed.

PREVIEW OF THE CAREER
Two championships with many themed series – battle for championship points and earn experience, increase your rank and unlock new parts and cars! This preview is just a taste of things to come, with more varied series and challenges being introduced later on.

PERFORMANCE OPTIMIZATIONS
Better performance thanks to the new LOD (Level of Detail) models for all vehicles, optimized grass performance and collisions with dynamic objects, improved V-Sync for smoother framerate.

POLISHED TRACKS
Say goodbye to the old work-in-progress tracks.

PAINT CUSTOMIZATION
Customize your car with a variety of paints and liveries, also supported over multiplayer.

MECHANICAL DAMAGE
Engine, gearbox, suspension, brakes and wheels can get damaged in crashes, resulting in performance degradation. And yes, wheels now get torn off too!

VEHICLE TUNING
Adjust suspension stiffness, differential type, brake bias and gear ratio to suit your style or the track, even between every race – also in multiplayer lobby.

GAME MUSIC
Songs from the Audiodraft game music contest that you voted for are in!

AUDIO IMPROVEMENTS
Unique engine sounds for all cars, most completely new, as well as better situational audio, new spatial effects and improved countdown behaviour.

NEW, ENHANCED HUD AND USER INTERFACE IMPROVEMENTS
All-new, more modern HUD. New main menu and some cool neat functionality such as car icons that update automatically.

BETTER AI WITH ADJUSTABLE DIFFICULTY
Increased awareness and more variation in the driver profiles with some racing cleaner and some being more prone to making mistakes, as well as a difficulty setting that can be adjusted to your preference – try beating it on hard difficulty!

RIVALS
New work-in-progress feature: someone can become your rival by crashing into you, and you can earn bonus score by showing them who's the boss.

IMPROVED CRASHES
Crashes feel more vigorous than ever, and visual damage is improved.

ENHANCED VEHICLE PHYSICS AND CONTROLLER
Improved tire model as well as suspension physics and updated controller implementation for better handling and easier playing with a gamepad or a keyboard. Don't forget to test different assist combinations to find something you like - with no assists the game is meant to be more authentic experience especially with a steering wheel, while with full helpers you can simply pick up the pad and let it rip!

MANUAL CLUTCH
For the ultimate immersion – you asked for it, and here it is!

And those are only the highlights: the update contains plenty of other goodies, some more significant and some more minor, but we invite you to take a look yourself. These couple of last months have been hectic for us, and we hope you'll enjoy the update. There are still many little bits and pieces missing as you'll no doubt notice, but we were hell-bent on getting this update out so that you can already have a chance to check out what we've been working on and give us feedback that we can then use to fine-tune whatever you feel is wrong or off. In other words, don't forget to let us know what you think!

Wreckfest is available for PC with console versions due to release during 2018.

Check out the Wreckfest Sub Forum here at RaceDepartment for the latest news and discussions regarding the sim. For added excitement we have a very interesting sounding racing club on its way... check out the info here.

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Have you tried the new update yet? What are your impressions? Enjoying the game so far? Looking for some "smashing" fun in our online racing club? Let us know in the comments section below!

 

[Dirk Steffen]

i have no issues on the RD server



Just been on the RD server its stable,
have you tried other servers..
maybe lower your graphic settings and go from there,

Thanks for the response Rupe.
When on the server my framerate showed smooth and consistent 60+ FPS (same as offline) but online it was choppy.

It did not look like anything performance related. Both GPUs were cool, CPU load was somewhere in the high teens.

If I would guess it was related to relatively high ping times (at which I have on RD AC club race servers buttery smooth experience).

 

[ShredatorFIN]

Hi guys, just reinstalled. Can't enter the settings menu, just keeps on flicking back to the main menu, any ideas?

Had same issue when trying to navigate with wheel or mouse. Flicks around weirdly, usually to main menu screen, or the settings tab. With keyboard was able to navigate (somehow)

VR would be nice for those who have VR, but TrackIR support would be great too. Because in this type of racer, being aware of surroundings is even more important. Also SimVibe support would be epic, while I doubt it will happen

 

[DriverJay]

Good update
But still unfortunately cant use MSAA on my RX 480, hope they fix that issue one day

 

[Rupe Wilson]

Thanks for the response Rupe.
When on the server my framerate showed smooth and consistent 60+ FPS (same as offline) but online it was choppy.

It did not look like anything performance related. Both GPUs were cool, CPU load was somewhere in the high teens.

If I would guess it was related to relatively high ping times (at which I have on RD AC club race servers buttery smooth experience).

im no expert on these matter but bobby from the USA was able to race and seemed to have a very stable connection and i was able to run and rub with no adverse effects apart form the odd tree that got in the way..

just tag me if you want to try again on the server i can maybe look from my side how you car looks on track ect..

 

[Ian Cameron]

Better triple screen and FOV settings please, along with seat adjustment.

 

[delpinsky]

@jannesBB
First of all, thank you (guys) for implementing the clutch; also, thanks and props for allowing configuration of so many different controllers. (even if doing so is still a bit messy and confusing)
Love how smooth everything is running now; the cars and tracks look great!

Wants/Needs:
Better replay controls. Not being able to jump back and forth anywhere in the replay timeline is bad enough, not having even a rewind button at all is......not good at all.

FFB that at least has an option to feel through the wheel impacts with other cars, fences, tire stacks, etc...
(the current ffb does do a really good job of conveying what the car is doing, so major props for that)

I've noticed that in replay my windshield will be cracked yet from in car it looks undamaged. Have also seen in replays that I had a piece of fence, or a tire, or other debris riding on my hood while I never saw it from the in car camera while driving.
-----------------
Thanks again guys, great to see this project actually turning into a quite nice and very enjoyable game after initially backing it years ago.

It seems like the tyres on the track are "ghost" objects. The car doesn't react at all while you pass over them. A standing still tyre in the middle of the track just disappear under the car instead of flying away ahead, while the car is hitting it.

 

[Dirk Steffen]

Hi guys, just reinstalled. Can't enter the settings menu, just keeps on flicking back to the main menu, any ideas?

Had same issue when trying to navigate with wheel or mouse. Flicks around weirdly, usually to main menu screen, or the settings tab. With keyboard was able to navigate (somehow)

VR would be nice for those who have VR, but TrackIR support would be great too. Because in this type of racer, being aware of surroundings is even more important. Also SimVibe support would be epic, while I doubt it will happen

The cause of this issue is that upon starting the game will recognize ALL attached controllers it can recognize and some of their functions (including analog axis) will be arbitrarily mapped automatically to some game and menu functions.

The easiest way to solve this issue is to:

- DISCONNECT ALL CONTROLLERS upon first start
- then (only the keyboard should be shown as an available controller in the menu now) delete ALL mappings
- only map all important game functions (ESPECIALLY menu navigation functions) to keys on the keyboard
- reconnect ONE BY ONE of the other controllers (like pedals, wheel, shifter, button boxes, …) and do the same for each of them

Even if the game should be shifting through the menus by itself you will have much better control of the messy situation as you have a clean keyboard mapping to navigate the menu and fix problematic controller mappings.

One major issue I have found upon first start was that the clutch pedal axis (Fanatec CSPv3 connected by USB) was automatically mapped in the game to LEFT / RIGHT (both in the menu and in the session as view left / right) - you can imagine that was messy ;-)

Another quirk is that you can actually double map controls to certain different functions - DOUBLE CHECK your mappings for each available controller in the menu and make sure no funny functions are mapped to the controllers.

im no expert on these matter but bobby from the USA was able to race and seemed to have a very stable connection and i was able to run and rub with no adverse effects apart form the odd tree that got in the way..

just tag me if you want to try again on the server i can maybe look from my side how you car looks on track ect..

Hey Rupe, thanks, I will do towards next weekend probably. I had a talk with Bobby already and squeezed all the info out of him I could ;-)
I will follow this up when there is some more time to test.

 

[MarcG]

Finally got around to trying the Update out and it's great, the Career mode is pretty cool, the new cars looks fab and the tracks are also very decent. Yet to properly delve right into it but first impressions are very good and only some minor areas need fixing; slight Audio issues at Race Starts, the Countdown is a bit weak and then there's a delay from Green to actually moving your vehicle.

I have always viewed this as a Game and not a Sim in direct competition with AC/RF2/AMS/etc, it does what it set out to do and that's embrace the fun element of smashing cars about the track, whilst relaxing with a cold beer in your underpants on the Sofa whilst the bin lids & wench are out shopping...it's PROPER gaming this!

 

[Rupe Wilson]

The cause of this issue is that upon starting the game will recognize ALL attached controllers it can recognize and some of their functions (including analog axis) will be arbitrarily mapped automatically to some game and menu functions.

The easiest way to solve this issue is to:

- DISCONNECT ALL CONTROLLERS upon first start
- then (only the keyboard should be shown as an available controller in the menu now) delete ALL mappings
- only map all important game functions (ESPECIALLY menu navigation functions) to keys on the keyboard
- reconnect ONE BY ONE of the other controllers (like pedals, wheel, shifter, button boxes, …) and do the same for each of them

Even if the game should be shifting through the menus by itself you will have much better control of the messy situation as you have a clean keyboard mapping to navigate the menu and fix problematic controller mappings.

One major issue I have found upon first start was that the clutch pedal axis (Fanatec CSPv3 connected by USB) was automatically mapped in the game to LEFT / RIGHT (both in the menu and in the session as view left / right) - you can imagine that was messy ;-)

Another quirk is that you can actually double map controls to certain different functions - DOUBLE CHECK your mappings for each available controller in the menu and make sure no funny functions are mapped to the controllers.



Hey Rupe, thanks, I will do towards next weekend probably. I had a talk with Bobby already and squeezed all the info out of him I could ;-)
I will follow this up when there is some more time to test.

super stuff really helpful
looks like i did the same to set mine up and did not fully realise the significance of my action..

 

[Paul Bennett]

Hot fix due this week hopefully snagging issues can be sorted

 

[Paddler]

I have perfect ffb with my t500rs

 

[kamackeris]

How the hell do you start a career? I can't seem to enter any?

 

[Michael Stead]

How the hell do you start a career? I can't seem to enter any?

You need an eligible car. I think i started with the Tristar.

 

[ricerracer]

Does anyone know if it works with OSW and HE pedals? If so I am buying it!

 

[Emery]

She of the female persuasion has left and won't be back until tomorrow, so... having fun getting used to the update.

Fonts & mouse are a little wonky, yet it works. Hmm, I guess one more race tonight will be about right.

P.S. Yay, now the AI are tougher!

 

[Rupe Wilson]

How the hell do you start a career? I can't seem to enter any?

did you get it going

 

[Rupe Wilson]

Does anyone know if it works with OSW and HE pedals? If so I am buying it!

well i have four different inputs working and recognised, so that side of it is ok, but i dont know if the wheel is recognised, im sure i read all wheels were catered for but don't quote me on that.

 

[Paul Bennett]

@racingenthusiast
There is a guy on the WreckFest forum using this combo, so I would say your good to go
"SW20" SimuCUBE OSW | CSR Elite Pedals

 

[ricerracer]

@racingenthusiast
There is a guy on the WreckFest forum using this combo, so I would say your good to go
"SW20" SimuCUBE OSW | CSR Elite Pedals

Alllllllllllrighty! Guess I will give it a try, this Wednesday! Can not wait, seems like a fun game!!

 

[ricerracer]

well i have four different inputs working and recognised, so that side of it is ok, but i dont know if the wheel is recognised, im sure i read all wheels were catered for but don't quote me on that.

Cool decided to buy it this Wednesday I'll get back to you and let you know