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Next Car Game: Update! Euro coup, new track, MULTIPLAYER. Wreck friends and strangers.

DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
edited October 2014 in Games and Technology
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Racing games are fun, aren't they? Crashing is pretty great, too, isn't it? Making other people crash headfirst in a shower of shredded metal and concrete rails is the best, yeah? Bugbear (the minds behind Flatout, Ridge Racer Unbound, and other over the top racers) thought so as well. This great demand is about to be supplied with the oddly straightforward title Next Car Game (Name subject to change, hopefully).

ss_a6c2b1cb60f8dbbb7b6b3aba47b1cca4c4e2e381.1920x1080.jpg?t=1390225489
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How about some non promotional pictures?
Okay, how about some of these?

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Still lookin' pretty good, eh?

Giant Bomb even inaugurated their Unfinished Quick Looks with it. Check it out here.


The game has had Early Access options open for a while, and showed up on Steam a week or so ago. Buying in gets you a rough version Bugbear calls prealpha on the loading screen. It consists of a destruction derby, a gravel race, tarmac race, along with an American muscle car, or European...something, I don't know, but its got character.

There are plans to include lots of modifications for the vehicles, but as of right now, there are simply tire options (standard, gravel, tarmac) and varying engine sizes. Purchasing and selling these upgrades is planned to use the classified ads of a newspaper, but it's not implemented.
The current state is singleplayer only, however multi is a bulletpoint in their feature list and something that would absolutely make this game, so expect it at some point. Expected 'feature complete' date is 2014, exact date to be determined later.

Buying into the Early Access also gives you the Sneak Peak 2.0. A completely separate download, this is a playground with various objects to drive along, run into, or park next to and let damage your vehicle into the ground to see the wonderful body damage and physics that give this game real potential.
Here is the entirety of my car after a round in just one of these gizmos.
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I'm not kidding, that is all of my vehicle, condensed. Magneto would be hard pressed to do better.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kUZfKfib7SM
That video consists of the Technology Demo, which appears to be a free download if you sign up for the newsletter here. It is largely the Sneak Peek 2.0 but with fewer toys. There is a giant stomping spider in 2.0 for instance.

Regularly priced at $30, it is $25 until the 29th. The sneak peek arena and few cars and races they give you now are tons of fun, and enough to decide if you will like the game or not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0TUYv5nrXE&feature=youtu.be

Docshifty on

Posts

  • Sangheili91Sangheili91 Registered User regular
    It's a ton of fun right now. I can't wait till they add more cars, tracks, and multiplayer.

  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    It really is. Once they get multi in, the amount of sheer awesome is going to be amazing. They were talking about doing full 24man multi if they can handle it, but might need to drop it to 12. I'll take either one.

  • VothVoth Registered User regular
    I bought it through early access but don't plan on playing until it's further along. I really love the Flatout series, faults and all, and want to give them my support.

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  • CapsaicinCapsaicin I asked my 2 y/o son to draw a pic of my German mom, and thats what we got. Registered User regular
    I nearly lost my shit when that guy turned the car into a 'motorcycle'.

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  • Sangheili91Sangheili91 Registered User regular
    Buuuuuuuump

    There's not much interest in this game right now and that's understandable. But it's my go-to "I got five minutes let's goooooooo" game right now. And even when I have more time, I find myself throwing on some tunes and just doing round after round of the demolition derby, or perfecting the gravel and tarmac tracks. I've actually stopped playing Sneak Peak 2.0 entirely, because the actual game is so much fun.

    I fear for my life when multiplayer is added.. I might not be able to do anything else. Ever.

  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    UPDATE NEXT WEEK

    http://nextcargame.com/weekly-report-7-2-2014/
    First of all, we’re sorry that we’ve been more or less flying under the radar since our first update in January. The response to our Early Access launch on Steam was tremendous, and to be honest we’ve had our hands full with answering all the feedback and figuring out a roadmap for the remainder of the development according to your feedback.

    However, that’s not to say we’ve been just kicking our heels. The second update is incoming next week, and it will contain some great new content as well as significant gameplay improvements. The highlights include a completely new cinematic camera mode for taking great screenshots, highly customizable races with both lap and opponent count settings, rotating steering wheels, a plenty of new upgrade parts such as different types of differentials, another chase camera higher and further back, more precise gameplay damage, as well as a hefty amount of small but important improvements and tweaks. More about the details next week!

    One thing that we know many of you are anxiously waiting for are new cars, and we’re happy to let you know that the update will see an addition of a typical 80s style American sedan. It has more weight to it than either of the cars that are now included while it’s perhaps not as maneuverable. We’re pretty confident that it will offer a great new race and derby experience. Naturally the car comes with a set of upgrade parts.

    And that’s not all. A figure 8 style track is probably something that many players will consider as *the* derby track, so we thought we’d put one in! That’s right, the next update will contain a modified version of the derby arena with a figure 8 track built inside it. The space is pretty confined so speeds never get that high, but imagine the chaos and destruction with all 24 cars going after each other in such a small space!

  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    Real life figure eight derby track, for reference.

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  • TeeManTeeMan BrainSpoon Registered User regular
    I wonder if they could add some ramps on that map somewhere, I love me some vertical takedowns

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  • Sangheili91Sangheili91 Registered User regular
    Sounds great, keep the updates coming!

  • TOGSolidTOGSolid Drunk sailor Seattle, WashingtonRegistered User regular
    Docshifty wrote: »
    Real life figure eight derby track, for reference.

    sportsdrome_zoom.jpg

    I remember playing this track in Flatout and it is the most drunken fun you will ever have in your entire fucking life.

    Get hype.

    I'm totes looking forward to drinking and driving in NCG PA multiplayer.

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  • AnakinOUAnakinOU Registered User regular
    This game is shaping up to be quite awesome. Interestingly enough...

    1) My 8-year-old loves the racing and demolition derby side.
    2) My 5-year-old loves tech demo 2.0, shooting marble boulders all over the place.

  • Big DookieBig Dookie Smells great! Houston, TXRegistered User regular
    Docshifty wrote: »
    Real life figure eight derby track, for reference.

    sportsdrome_zoom.jpg

    Oh my god, if they included school buses so we could have figure-8 school bus races at some point, my life would be complete.

    Still though, either way this sounds like a fun update. I need multiplayer so bad for this...

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  • VedicIntentVedicIntent Registered User regular
    How do they plan to work internal damage modeling? I played the (super awesome) tech demo and they obviously let you smush the car for as long as you can still steer with your remaining wheel(s). Does the engine/transmission die from getting wrecked in the proper game right now?

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  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    How do they plan to work internal damage modeling? I played the (super awesome) tech demo and they obviously let you smush the car for as long as you can still steer with your remaining wheel(s). Does the engine/transmission die from getting wrecked in the proper game right now?


    The engine has 'health' or something. Look at my ingame shots in the op, you'll see a white undamaged engine on the paper doll. It takes damage and goes to yellow, orange, red, pitch black, before being completely wrecked and you're dead on the track.

  • Toxic PickleToxic Pickle Thash grape! Registered User regular
    I usually look past racing games... it's not as though I don't enjoy them, I just tend not to enjoy them for very long before fatigue of driving around the same tracks begins to set in.

    Still, when I saw this on Steam, I was caught immediately by the promise of the damage modeling and destruction derby stuff combined with racing. I haven't bought in or anything yet, but I'm keeping an eye on this to see how it develops. I'll be real interested to see where it goes.

  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    Think of it less about racing, and more of a survivor car game. An automotive Hunger Games. The four wheeled Wizard Cup. Blood Sport, but with oil.

  • TOGSolidTOGSolid Drunk sailor Seattle, WashingtonRegistered User regular
    Docshifty wrote: »
    Think of it less about racing, and more of a survivor car game. An automotive Hunger Games. The four wheeled Wizard Cup. Blood Sport, but with oil.

    A racing game for people who drive like assholes!

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  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    Patch was intended for yesterday, but last minute issues pushed it to today.

  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    UPDATE OUT

    New customization options and American Sedan
    5902D1D6A634E651FA1E6CE266DF3CE78F91B15D

    Rather than on or off, Traction control, ABS, and Antispin are now Full, Half, or None

    FIGURE EIGHT
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    There is also a new camera mode that can be selected from the pause menu. It allows you to freelook at the entire track in that moment, adjusting focal point and blur options for some bitchin' screenshots. For instance, that cool figure eight track shot is from my race in the game.
    A861893DC9C18D825F44A836101116DF204E71A9


    61B7584C4311D6B872F125F22853446956AE1E2C

  • Sangheili91Sangheili91 Registered User regular
    Sadly, I'm finding the figure eight course to be pretty boring.. With a full 24 car field, all the opponents wreck each other within three laps, leaving me to finish the race alone. Maybe it'd be better with human players, but the AI is pretty bad.

  • Mr_GrinchMr_Grinch Registered User regular
    How well does this game run? My gaming machine is a (relatively puny) i3, 4gb ram with a 560ti in it.

    I'm really curious to give this a go.

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  • BasilBasil Registered User regular
    It ran surprisingly well on my entry level lenovo laptop, but it doesn't help that I can't remember its specs.

    Now that I've got a new rig I'm laughing and laughing at all the carnage.

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  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    My Sedan didn't fair too well in the Derby
    010A3905B1646D68C81E24CD5B8EFB01FC07EC11

    Wrecked on gravel
    CBDA3E0B95A2AB3301BEED1ED19F6A767707949F

    Not even across the starting line and people were already inverted
    28D57C40C96D5EB29D674B3B240AB2FD1CE2FD2F

    The first turn didn't go much better
    4018005503CEE0CEF36F2EE410D56469C373A195

    Billboards are for squares
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    Car wins, but barely
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  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    Another report about just what they're working on.
    Another busy week down! The development of the title is rolling on at a steady pace on many fronts. A majority of our coding team has been concentrating on developing our engine, while the level and art teams have been creating – you guessed it – new cars and tracks. We’re going to give you a teaser of those when we have a bit more to show, but this time we’re going to talk a bit about the forthcoming replay feature as well as a few common issues our community has encountered with the game.

    Like said, the first iteration of our replay feature is now almost completed. Jani has been working on it for some weeks now, and he’s managed to pack in some pretty neat features. The way it works is that it will record the whole event, and afterwards you can simply let the replay roll and watch the whole barrage of twisted metal again in different camera perspectives or even in your custom one by using the free camera functionality. It will also feature time controls (slowing down and speeding up for those cool slow-motion shots), camera lock to target car (follow), target switching, pause and resume, as well as depth-of-field and field-of-view settings. In short, all the tools you might need to create your perfect cinematic video!

    We also have some great news to those using multiple controllers to play the game, for example separate wheels and pedals. Currently the game only supports single controller at a time, and while that is of course not a problem if you use a wheel and pedals from the same set by plugging the pedals directly to the wheel, it makes it impossible plug both the wheel and the pedals directly to the system via an USB connection. Thanks to Tapio all that will change with the next update, after which the game will support multiple simultaneous controllers. The next update will contain quite a few other controller support improvements as well; complete details when the update is out.
    Speaking of controllers, quite a few of you have voiced your concern that the handling is currently too sluggish with a gamepad, taking away much of the fun. We’re glad to let you know that we agree with you, and we’ve been working this week to improve the situation. The reason why we introduced slower steering rate in the first place was to make the cars easier to control without any driving assists by preventing the player from making too drastic countersteering measures to combat fishtailing, but now in retrospect it does seem like we jumped the gun and made a too hasty decision on how to improve the situation. We’re of course still working on the handling (probably will be all the way until the end!), but we’re confident that we’ll be back on track with the next update, and we’re already really looking forward to hearing your feedback.

    Oh, and before we forget: we’ve also received quite a lot of feedback that the AI controlled cars have too little mass in player vs. AI collisions, making it possible for the player to plow through scores of AI opponents without too much difficulty. We’ve heard you, and there’s an improvement coming for that too in the next build.

  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    Another Update! A decent one, as well.
    It's time for a SANDPIT SHAKEDOWN! The latest update of NEXT CAR GAME is here, and it will see you transported right back to where it all started from: a good, old-fashioned sandpit! That's right folks, the update contains a new sandpit race track very much like the ones you've all learned to love from our previous games. The classic sandpit environment with its sweeping corners, hefty hillocks and treacherous sand banks is admittedly one of the greatest fan-favorites, and the latest incarnation, albeit still very much work-in-progress, is guaranteed to make a perfect setting for some serious, no-holds-barred racing.

    The update also contains a new replay mode that makes it possible to watch the whole glorious race again from every imaginable perspective. Naturally we've also included all the usual goodies such as depth-of-field, slow motion and fast forward, target locking, selectable field-of-view, and so on. The user interface will see a complete rework later down the road, but even now there's no reason to make the best crashtastic video ever and share it with the whole world!

    Other than that the update features two new derby stadiums as well as a number of improvements, many of which were done based on community feedback. One of the most significant additions is the support for more than one simultaneous controller, so now you can finally drive like a boss with separate wheels and pedals. Also, the suspension and tire physics have been enhanced, and as a result the handling feels more natural than ever. We've also increased the responsiveness of the gamepad controls, as requested by many.

    Needless to say, the update also contains an ample amount of other improvements and fixes. Please see below for the most significant changes:

    Tracks:

    New sandpit race track featuring both normal and reverse layouts, work-in-progress.
    New mudpit derby stadium, work-in-progress.
    New small derby stadium, work-in-progress.


    Environment Art:

    Smoothed out track-sides and improved gravel race track readability.
    New work-in-progress spectator models - some previous ones remain.
    New concrete barriers, used in various derby stadiums.


    Weathers:

    Two new weathers: stormy evening and misty evening.
    Weather can be now specified in the event setup.


    Vehicles and Handling:

    New driver model, as of now simply static.
    Improved suspension and tire physics.
    More responsive handling with a game pad.
    Improved player vs. AI collision physics.


    Damage:

    Improved deformation physics so that visual car damage is more accurate.
    Improved gameplay damage to prevent cars from getting too torn up and still going.
    Fixed a case where cars would get damaged and eventually destroyed from rubbing against a static barrier.


    Replay:

    New replay mode with slow motion and fast forward time controls (-16.0x ... 4.0x), a number of different cameras, target locking & switching, depth-of-field and field-of-view settings.



    User Interface:

    Race timer now correctly displays hundredths as well instead of random numbers.
    Game is no longer unpaused when exiting Steam overlay if the game was paused.


    Input:

    Implemented multicontroller support (e.g. wheel and pedals in separate USB ports).
    Sensitivity & deadzone adjustments now take effect without a restart.
    Added saturation, sensitivity and dead zone settings for XInput controllers.
    Game now defaults to DirectInput for wheels, hopefully making some wheels behave better.
    The game now detects more than one XInput controllers that are connected simultaneously.
    Force feedback is disabled for Microsoft Sidewinder FF wheel in an attempt to work around buggy driver causing lag.


    Audio:

    Increased AI engine volume.
    General improvements.


    IMPORTANT: If you're experiencing controller issues such as being unable to correctly assign controls, please remove the user data generated by the previous build by navigating to [STEAM INSTALLATION FOLDER]/userdata/[USER ID]/228380/local and removing the folder labeled 'next car game pre-alpha'.

    Long and short of it: 3 tracks, replay mode, improved control, damage, and physics models, and replay mode.

  • Sangheili91Sangheili91 Registered User regular
    edited October 2014
    SUPER BUMP

    A new car and a new track have been added, along with improvements to the handling and the damage engine. This game is fun again!

    EDIT: It seems multiplayer has been added! I haven't got a chance to try it yet but HYYYYPE

    Sangheili91 on
  • Toxic PickleToxic Pickle Thash grape! Registered User regular
    I will definitely be keeping an eye on this game when Steam does its Black Friday / Winter sales. Looks amazing and it's still a work in progress.

  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    Yeah I was just coming to post, but Multiplayer is officially available!

  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    I can't actually do anything because my game just locks up when I attempt to do a damn thing. Checking the Steam downloads, it shows complete with 0/0 bytes, so maybe something went goofy there. Full reinstall in progress so we'll see if that fixes it for me.

  • Big DookieBig Dookie Smells great! Houston, TXRegistered User regular
    I'll have to try the multiplayer once it updates. Add me on Steam if you haven't already!

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  • TeeManTeeMan BrainSpoon Registered User regular
    Very keen to get this in the winter sale!

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  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
  • Big DookieBig Dookie Smells great! Houston, TXRegistered User regular
    So I guess this is called Wreckfest now?

    Eh, it's okay I guess. I would have been okay with it just staying as Next Car Game. There was something whimsical and fun about that name.

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  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    Wreckfest sounds like the name of a game on CSI, where they aren't allowed to mention real games and have to use "Super Auto Crime" or "Realm of Battle Style".

  • cooljammer00cooljammer00 Hey Small Christmas-Man!Registered User regular
    I mean, they weren't going to be able to keep the Next Car Game name. Wreckfest is fine.

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  • Sangheili91Sangheili91 Registered User regular
    Multiplayer appears to be working now, and I gotta say - Team Demolition Derby is fantastic. That seems like it would be awesome for one of the Steam thread's Friday Night Games.

  • DocshiftyDocshifty Registered User regular
    Multiplayer appears to be working now, and I gotta say - Team Demolition Derby is fantastic. That seems like it would be awesome for one of the Steam thread's Friday Night Games.

    Steam FNGs, there's a PA Racing group that does racing get togethers from time to time.
    This game is getting real close to ready for shenanigans and I love it.
    Every time I watch a QL or trailer for another racing game and don't see the destruction I just think "Or I could play NCG. Yeah, let's go with that."

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