Hello riders! This update is all about making the game run better. We’ve focused heavily on improving performance and fixing issues that could cause stuttering or slowdowns. Along the way, we’ve also added a tutorial for new riders, polished up visuals like grass, snow, and lighting, and squashed a bunch of bugs to help keep your ride smooth and fun.

Check out what's new:

Release Notes:

🆕 New Content

• Tutorial: A tutorial has landed to help new riders quickly get up to speed. It's available right after launching the game for the first time via the welcome message, or anytime through Main Menu > Garage > Tutorial.

⚙️ Enhancements

• Better Foliage: Grass visuals have been improved with increased density and more realistic wind movement, especially on High and Epic graphics settings.

• Ribbon Tapes: Trackside tapes now sway more naturally in the wind and feature updated materials.

• NPC AI Improvement: NPC racers now use more of the track width for a more natural racing experience.

• Lighting Tweaks in Blackrock Heights: Sunset and night lighting has been enhanced for a more atmospheric look and feel.

• Snow Upgrade in Rocky Ridges: Rocky Ridges now features higher-quality snow meshes and textures for a more realistic and immersive ride.

🛠️ Bug Fixes & Optimizations

• Performance Optimizations:

  • Reduced UI rendering costs that were affecting frame rate, even when elements were hidden.

  • Optimized and unified various materials to lower GPU load.

  • Improved player and NPC respawn handling to avoid costly performance spikes.

  • Addressed several causes of unexpected stutters during gameplay, particularly in high-density areas and during specific actions.

• Free Ride on Blackrock Heights: Fixed an issue where Free Ride always started at the same location, ignoring the selected track. It now correctly starts at the chosen position, just like in other ride modes.

• Sprint Message (Player Assist): Temporarily disabled in Blackrock Heights, where it often appeared unnecessarily. A smarter, context-aware version is planned for a future.

• Torch Placement in Blackrock Heights (Night): Fixed floating or poorly positioned torches that disrupted tracks at night. They’ve now been repositioned properly.
  

Let us know how the game feels after this update! With the performance improvements in place, you might even be able to turn up your graphics settings a notch or two, give it a try and see how it rides!

Thanks for riding with us and enjoy your ride! 🎮🚵‍♂️