Hey all! While I've been doing my best to post stuff on Twitter, I've been pushing off this devlog since I figured our next stable release was around the corner. I was off by a bit... but it's because this update is shaping up to be our most ambitious yet. We've released eight experimental builds since my last devlog, and we're now tracking down the final bugs. When the stable release does eventually happen, I hope to dive deeper into some behind-the-scenes stuff. For now, here's a quick overview for anyone curious.

The Breakdown

For most of 2016 I've been consumed by Adventure mode. I'll go deeper in the next devlog, but let's just say it's been intense. Endless learning, iterating, re-designing, etc. I've having fun though. It just eats up almost all of my time. If you're dying for a preview, here's something I posted recently. Jason is in a similar situation, except that he's been focused on Arcade mode. After revamping Distance's controls in the previous update he set out to create a fully featured ghost/replay system. It's been a monstrous endeavor. After months of work we now support uploading/downloading ghost replays from the Steam leaderboards that you can race against or just spectate.
To pull this off he needed to significantly modify several underlying systems, and while this resulted in some nice improvements across the game it's also been the source of many bugs. Balancing the system redesigns alongside the continual addition of new features is one of the reasons this stable release ended up being such a massive project.
Watch: Downloading others' replays Kyle has been bouncing around a bit. After wrapping up the stats system mentioned in the previous devlog, he helped Jason with several features (e.g. replay storage, ghost uploading to Steam leaderboards). For the past couple months I've pulled him onto Team Adventure to help create new level content. Andrew has also been moving around. His focus is typically split between VR and the PS4 port, though (as always) he's finding clever ways to optimize the game. It's been especially helpful as our new Adventure mode levels are much more detailed than the publicly available versions. On the side he's done a couple cool projects. For example, he upgraded the skybox using data from 170,000 real stars. Looks amazing in VR.
Eddie and Laura had also been largely focused on Adventure mode, though recently they've shifted onto their own secret project. One way or another they're continuing to add content either in the form of new levels or level editor assets. At this point the upcoming build is essentially feature complete, but there are some tricky issues in multiplayer that need to be addressed. We've been using the IGF submission (October 24th) as an internal deadline for our next Adventure mode candidate, so Kyle and I will be crunching like mad until then. After that it's likely we'll join in helping Jason and Andrew fix whatever issues remain in the build so we can get the stable release out the door. If you'd like to try the upcoming stable build early, a release candidate is available now on the experimental branch. Here are some of the featured additions:

Major Upcoming Features:

• Ghost/Replay System (race friends/global top times)
• Arcade level progression system
• Statistics system
• HTC Vive support
• VR options menu
• Upped online player count from 6 to 12 players
• More performance optimizations

It's been a lot to tackle both a story mode and arcade feature releases simultaneously, but I think we're making good progress on both fronts. Not sure when the stable release will be ready, but watch out for another Steam announcement coming (hopefully) soon with details on that build. Until then, back to work! - Jordan (@torcht for more frequent dev updates)