SpeedRunners is sprinting out of Early Access on April 19th!
We're proud to announce today that SpeedRunners will see its full release on April 19th, only two weeks from now!
It's been a long and incredible journey since we released the first beta build back in 2013. Now, over 50 updates and 2 years later, we're finally at a point where we can confidently call the game finished.
When the game first entered Early Access, we had no idea how much the game would take off - or that we would be working on it for such a long time. It was a humble prototype back then - fun and playable, but filled with game-breaking crashes and many exploitable bugs. With hard work, dedication and a lot of helpful feedback, it slowly expanded it into a highly competitive game (an official eSport even!) that sold over a million units. The process has been amazing, thanks to you; the wonderful community we've come across here on the Steam forum <3 <3 <3
Now, the full release won't be just another small update. We've got a couple cool new features lined up for you.
Mac & Linux
Along with the full release, the game will also be available on Mac and Linux. It's all the same codebase, which means there's full cross-platform support. So Mac and Linux players can play with each other, as well as with PC players. We've been running a beta for this the past few weeks, and it looks like the game runs smoothly on these platforms, so yay, finally! Full Mac and Linux support!
Custom Trails
This is a big feature, that we've been working on in secret for quite some time. In the full release, you'll be able to design, upload, share and even sell your own custom speed trails! Here's an example of one that I made:
Ever since we introduced the first trails on handicapped characters and as a reward for winning the ESL tournament, people have been super excited about getting their own trails. Some even went as far as hacking the game to get their own custom trails in. Well, this is no longer necessary, as we've built an full-fledged trail editor just for you! This editor allows you to create the most outrageous, fun, fancy and sweet-looking trails you can imagine. You can create layers, use your own artwork and even add particle effects! Here's another that I made, just for fun:
Once you're happy with the trail you've created, you can submit it to the community for curation. If it's accepted, other players will be able to buy it from the steam store, and you'll get a portion of the revenue!
Singleplayer campaign
We've created a new campaign mode, which dives into the backstory of some of the beloved SpeedRunners characters. It's a Mario Kart-style campaign, in which you play against bots of various difficulty levels in a tournament setting. We hope this will be a fun addition for new players, where they can safely learn the tricks of the game. For those of you who have already logged hundreds of hours online, it shouldn't be much of a challenge to beat the bots and unlock 4 new hand-drawn comics, centered around Moonraker, Gil, Buckshot and the Falcon's struggles in New Rush City.
Twitch Betting
Finally, we added a feature for twitch-streamers, which allows viewers to bet on the outcome of your matches. We've previewed this feature in our weekly King of Speed livestream, and it has proven to be a fun new way to experience SpeedRunners as a spectator on twitch.tv. Viewers will be able to bet special 'tinyBuild points', which they can use to craft discount coupons to tinyBuild's collection of games. Even if you're not into these types of coupons, the betting makes for a cool meta-game among viewers.
Open Beta
What's more, you can already start trying out these new features today! That's right, we're doing a beta-test while still in Early Access. So meta. Right-click on SpeedRunners in your Steam Library, select Properties > Betas and opt into the beta branch. This will give you access to the test-version of the final build, so you can already start creating cool-looking custom trails!
NB: We'll also be updating the normal version of the game today, so that it's compatible with the beta version. Aside from the new features mentioned in this post, we've also fixed a few bugs here and there. See the changelog for more details.
Wrapping up Early Access
What does leaving Early Access mean for the development of SpeedRunners? Well, let me start by saying that development will continue. There's still room for improvement and new features in SpeedRunners. For example, we're planning to overhaul the ranking system at some point. Also on the todo-list is more extensive support for ghosts to pratice with/against. So just because the game is coming out of Early Access does not mean we'll stop developing for it. However, we will be shifting our focus internally to console development, which basically means that updates will be spaced further apart.
Finally, as a thank-you to all the players who have supported us and helped us in the development of SpeedRunners during Early Access: we've made a special, Early Access-only trail that only you get exclusive access to! You'll be able to show eveyone what you were part of the original community that helped build this game into what it is today!
And there you have it; only two weeks until final release, you guys! Time to GET HYPED! :D
-Casper
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