Hello everyone,

As a quick update, I just wanted to say that TRF will become Free to Play soon. I enjoyed working on this game, but other things have taken priority in my life, and I can no longer support this project I began as a hobby.

Because of TRF reaching end of support, I decided to switch the game to Free To Play on all platforms, Steam, Xbox and Android. This will occur over the coming days.

Thanks to everyone who bought and enjoyed the game over the past few years, it's been fun!

Kind Regards,
Oliver

There were a lot of collision issues that crept in somehow. I'm not sure how, likely an internal change to the game engine I use. Either way, these should mostly be fixed with this hotfix.

Hey everyone,

Just a quick post to let you know that TRF is now available for Android over on the Google Play Store.

The game is fairly similar to the PC release, however has a few omissions, due to the nature of mobile devices.

The game is singleplayer
There is currently no track creator, although a simplified version may be added.
There is no ability to share tracks.
There is no Elimination mode.

Other than that, the core gameplay is intact. And there is time trial mode with leaderboards.

You can download it over at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.oliverstogden.trf

I hope you all enjoy!

Hey Everyone,

This version has a few bug fixes. I also updated the Demo, as it was based on a May 2021 release, and didn't contain the latest fixes etc.

Here's the full changelog for 2022-004:

2022-004 (05-06-2022):

FIX: Fixed an issue causing cars to be slower than they were before.
FIX: Potentially fixed an issue with AI cars being very slow in Battle Arena's after some time.
FIX: Fixed several issues with the Elimination mode.
FIX: Fixed an issue with Kill Trail mode split-screen cameras.

Thanks for the support everyone!

- Oliver

Just a quick fix for a crash that could happen in Return the Flag and Hold the Gold modes when playing at lower screen resolutions.

Hey everyone,

It's been a while since the last update, but I had a couple of bug reports to run-through, as well as a couple of things I had noticed myself, so I thought I'd do a quick update to fix these bugs ready for the summer.

Here are the patch notes for 2022-002:

2022-002 (18-05-2022):

CHANGE: Internal changes related to Steamworks SDK and Steam Support.
CHANGE: Internal engine updated for stability.
CHANGE: Made the AI pathing on battle maps slightly more fine.

FIX: Fixed an issue where parts of the Cops & Racers mode were not working correctly.
FIX: Fixed the issue where the total time would go off-screen when a race exceeded 10 minutes in length.
FIX: Improved AI behaviour around pit stops, making them more reliable.
FIX: Cars no longer gain as huge a speed boost when tyre wear is poor.
FIX: Time Trial leaderboards should now work again.

Thanks everyone for your support!

- Oliver

022-001 (03-02-2022):

ADD: Added a SimpleFlips logo for cars, with permission from SimpleFlips.
ADD: Zoom levels 0.5 and 0.75 added for high resolutions.

CHANGE: Culling distance adjusted slightly to reduce pop-in when travelling at high speeds.
CHANGE: You can now right click or press X on gamepad(Xbox) to go back on the car logo roulette.
CHANGE: You can use your gamepads D-Pad on some menus to snap the cursor to buttons now. The D-Pad no longer just moves the cursor slowly.

FIX: You no longer have to click twice when scrolling through car logos to loop back to the first logo.
FIX: Fixed some text belonging to the Xbox version of the game showing in the Steam release.

Hello everyone!

I'm happy to announce that TRF is now available for purchase on the Xbox Store for the same price as it is here on Steam.

Feature-wise the game is almost identical, with the exception of no ability to share tracks online on the Xbox release, as there is no Steam Workshop. Leaderboards for Time Trials are still functioning however, as they use a separate system from Steam.

You can purchase the game on Xbox here: https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/the-race-factory/9msnzs40zchf

Thanks for all the support!

021-025 (30-12-2021):

CHANGE: Tracks should load a bit faster in the level select screen on slower systems.

FIX: If a track that has been loaded in memory is unavailable when entering the lobby, the game will now try and revert back to Grass Raceway 1 to prevent a softlock.
FIX: Fixed water detection over tracks when High Track Quality is unticked.
FIX: Weapon pads will actually have, y'know, weapons in them now. This was an unfortunate side effect of the new culling method.
FIX: Fixed a crash that happens at the end of events.

021-024 (30-12-2021):

FIX: Fixed a crash where tracks were not deleted correctly, meaning tracks stay visible in the track select even after they've been deleted.
FIX: Fixed a crash when loading the base battle arenas.
FIX: Fixed a crash when painting Player 5-8's cars.

021-023 (29-12-2021):

CHANGE: Optimized GPU usage of the terrain.
CHANGE: Further CPU optimizations for the AI.
CHANGE: Optimized CPU & GPU usage for tracks with large amounts of placeables.

FIX: Terrain is now correctly changed again when selecting environment in the track editor.

021-022 (26-12-2021):

FIX: Fixed a crash when selecting object placing in the editor.
FIX: Bushes, Cacti and Rocks can now be placed again in the editor.

021-021 (24-12-2021):

CHANGE: Optimized AI CPU usage slightly.

FIX: Fixed an issue where the track sometimes would render incorrectly when "High Track Quality" isn't ticked.
FIX: Fixed a crash when pressing the boost button on gamepad.
FIX: Event settings should no longer affect championship races.
FIX: Event settings should no longer affect Time Trials.

021-020 (22-12-2021):

CHANGE: Significantly optimized CPU usage.
CHANGE: Slightly optimized GPU usage.
CHANGE: Changed how the Pulse weapon works slightly.
CHANGE: Changed how shadows work, some trees will place shadows on others, and shadows can be darker/lighter depending on how much shade is present.
CHANGE: Improved the gamepad controls in the track editor.

FIX: Fixed an issue where changing the weaponset would sometimes leave leftovers of the previous selected weaponset.
FIX: Fixed seamines not being visually destroyed when they explode.
FIX: Fixed some AI issues with busses.
FIX: Fixed some issues with gamepad in the editor.
FIX: Fixed an issue where the previous tracks terrain would remain present when switching between race and battle tracks.
FIX: Fixed a crash that could occur when Steam doesn't respond with the time trial rankings at the end of a time trial.
FIX: Fixed a crash that could occur when you finish a time trial at a similar time to the ghost replay.

REMOVE: Removed some debug text that was accidentally left in.

021-019 (10-12-2021):

ADD: Added small text at the bottom telling player they need to slow down to pit the car.

CHANGE: You can no longer use ALT+ENTER to change between Windowed/Fullscreen as this causes issues, please use the options menu for this in future.
CHANGE: You can no longer resize the window manually, the Resolution option can be used to change window size.
CHANGE: Internal engine updated for more stability.

FIX: Game no longer reverts back to Windowed when returning to the main menu when you have selected Fullscreen previously.
FIX: Fixed some issues where dirt particles would be kicked up on a road track.
FIX: Fixed a crash that sometimes occurred at the end of a time trial event.
FIX: Possibly fixed a crash that could occur when a ghost replay reaches the finish.

Some other issues may have been fixed, as some tracks had incorrect formatting which may have caused odd issues on the original 20 tracks included in the game.

Hey everyone,

TRF is 50% off until the 13th of December. During this time, any profits made from sales of the game will be donated to charities through the Yogscast Jingle Jam. More info on that here: https://www.jinglejam.co.uk/

I've watched the Jingle Jam event for the past few years, and wasn't able to participate in anyway. And although I can't officially participate in it this year, I at least have something that could maybe contribute to it in some way.

So I hope anyone who has this game on their wishlist will choose this time to buy it!

Thanks for your support everyone!
- Oliver

Hey everyone,

This update has been a little while in the works, and in preparation for the Career mode that I'm working on for TRF, I've added Tyre Wear and Fuel to the game.

These are both somewhat experimental features, to use them you need to enable "Fuel/Tyre Wear" as a mutator for your event. It only works in the 'Race' game mode, and it only works on tracks which have at least 8 pit buildings placed in them.

If you are making tracks, make sure the pit stops are close to the track, and easily accessible, as the AI basically need to be near a pit and have a straight line to the pit in order to use them.

2 new tracks have also been added to the game, which have support for pit stops, they are based in Britain and Australia, specifically on Silverstone and Albert Park.

There is also a bunch of bug fixes which has fixed some new as well as longstanding issues, here's the full patch notes:

2021-018 (30-11-2021):

ADD: Added Real World Location Track: Australia
ADD: Added Real World Location Track: Britain
ADD: Added Fuel usage to cars. (Activated by a Mutator)
ADD: Added Tyre wear to cars. (Activated by a Mutator)
ADD: Pit stop buildings can now be used to refuel and replace tyres. 8 Pit stops must be on the track to work.
NOTE: Pit Stops must be placed on/near the track to work, as the AI need a clear path to drive to them from the racing line.

FIX: Fix an issue where terrain was incorrectly placed when loading up a track in the editor.
FIX: Finally fixed the pit-stop building collision issues.
FIX: Fixed no maps being available for Kill Trail mode.
FIX: Fixed some terrain detection issues where terrain was misplaced by 2000 pixels to the North West.
FIX: Fixed AI not being slowed down by being on a poor terrain type.
FIX: Terrain is now visible again on the main menu.
FIX: Gamepads will no longer vibrate for no reason when the car is stationary.
FIX: Fixed the wrong part of the track being visually "underwater" in both the game and track previews.
FIX: Fixed some terrain decals being incorrectly placed on water.

Thanks for your support!

- Oliver

Hey everyone,

This patch fixes a few issues with the game, mainly with the time trial mode, I noticed World Record ghosts were not being uploaded to the server, and also sometimes ghost files never got through either. This patch should fix most of the issues with this, alongside some other things.

Full Patch Notes:

2021-017 (28-11-2021):

CHANGE: Altered the way terrain editing works in the editor, you now select what terrain you want and click to make it that, rather than hold left click to gradually raise/lower land. Brush Strength values closer to 1 are higher terrain, 0.2 is deep water.
CHANGE: Optimized the AI to use less CPU resources.
CHANGE: Changed how AI sounds are processed, reduces their CPU usage by about 30%.
CHANGE: Internal game engine updated, for more stability.
CHANGE: Map sizes are now adjusted when entering a level to try and prevent the camera not being able to center each players car at the edge of tracks.

FIX: Fixed an issue in certain weather conditions where a rectangle would appear around Player 1.
FIX: Fixed an issue where Players 2-4 would not see rain on their screens in the "Rain" weather condition.
FIX: Prevented leaving a time trial when you have gotten the WR time but the ghost has not yet uploaded.
FIX: Fixed an issue where sometimes your time wouldn't be saved when finishing a time trial.
FIX: Fixed a potential crash when editing terrain outside the world map in the track editor.
FIX: Fixed an issue where your ghost data would not be uploaded to the server when getting World Record.

REMOVE: Removed some additional debug text shown during a Kill Trail game.

Thanks for your support!
- Oliver

Hey everyone,

Every year, the Yogscast host a charity stream during December where they host a bundle of games and give the proceeds of the bundle to charity.

TRF isn't in this bundle sadly, but I'd still like to participate in some way, so I'm happy to announce that net revenue from the 1st of December to the 13th of December (the length of the Yogscast charity streams) will be going towards the charities selected by them.

Because of this, TRF will not be participating in any discounts/sales until early December, when the game will be discounted to encourage sales that will go towards charity. I hope you understand.

If you'd like more information on the Yogscast event, then please head on over to: https://www.jinglejam.co.uk/

I hope you all have a great day!

- Oliver

Hey everyone,

It's now been 1 year since TRF launched on Steam, thank you all for your support!

To celebrate, a new update is being released, this update adds a new game mode that is playable by up to 4 players.

It is based on the TRON/Snake, where each car leaves a trail behind it, and has to try and make the other drivers hit their trail, whilst not slowing down themselves, or hitting another trail, including their own!

Alongside this, dynamic rain and dynamic snow are appearing as new weather types, when the weather is set to these, the intensity of rain/snow will vary throughout the race, causing changing driving conditions and visibility.

I hope you all enjoy this update, here's the full changelog:

2021-016 (27-10-2021):

ADD: Added a new game mode: Kill Trail, for up to 4 players.
ADD: New Weather Type: Dynamic Rain
ADD: New Weather Type: Dynamic Snow
ADD: Added some new AI names for the AI drivers to choose from.

CHANGE: Updated to a newer engine version, improving stability.
CHANGE: Re-balanced some weapon presets.
CHANGE: Adjusted and optimized the particles system.
CHANGE: Optimized the culling system for objects out of view, should have increased performance on large, busy tracks.
CHANGE: Some default settings changed, zoom level changed from 1.25 to 1.5, and the track map is now on by default.

FIX: Fixed the collision box for Pit buildings.
FIX: Fixed multiple errors related to event results and tournament standings when there are less than 8 cars in an event.
FIX: Fixed a crash that could occur when there were less than 8 cars in an event.
FIX: Fixed an issue where the rev counter wasn't visible even when on manual transmission.
FIX: The Championship name no longer overlaps other text in the championship map screen.
FIX: Basic terrain is now drawn in the championship map screen.
FIX: Fixed a crash that could occur when getting World Record while offline, and then getting a slower World Record online.
FIX: Fixed an issue where Cops & Racers events wouldn't end after all racers have been eliminated when there's less than 8 cars.
FIX: Fixed an issue where your time wouldn't be uploaded to the Steam leaderboards if the first attempt to upload the time failed.
FIX: Fixed an issue where drivers would not be properly introduced to the game if you lowered the car limit below 4 and changed game modes.
FIX: Fixed an issue where the "joined players" panels at the bottom would incorrectly light up if there was less than 4 cars in an event.
FIX: Fixed an issue where sometimes log fences would not be destroyed correctly.

021-015 (29-05-2021):

FIX: PB/WR times in Time Trial mode are now shown correctly at the top right regardless of resolution.
FIX: Fixed a potential crash at the end of events.
FIX: Dirt particles will now correctly show on dirt tracks made in the advanced track editor.

021-014 (15-05-2021):

CHANGE: When using gamepad in the editor, the editor help screen will now display gamepad controls, not keyboard & mouse.
CHANGE: You can no longer overlap horns playing in the shop by moving your cursor on and off of them.
CHANGE: The D-pad in the track editor will now adjust variant/scale/brush-strength/brush-speed instead of slowly moving the cursor.
CHANGE: Reset car text no longer specifically mentions "R" to reset car/time trial, as R may not be the mapped key anymore.

FIX: Clicking to go to next game mode when on Return the Flag will now go to Cops & Racers and not Race, when using a gamepad.
FIX: You can now activate the Sim Racing mutator using a gamepad.
FIX: You can no longer place team bases on Race Tracks.
FIX: The previous and next page arrows for placing objects are no longer visible when editing terrain in the editor.
FIX: Going through race results with a gamepad no longer brings up Team Standings.
FIX: Fixed an issue which meant times would not be uploaded to the time trial leaderboards.

Hello everyone!

I've been working really hard over April and into May to bring you this latest update to TRF, with the longest changelog yet!

The major changes are:

Cops & Racers game mode added.
5 New Tracks added.
Extra objects to place in the editor.
Gamepad support in the Track Editor
32-bit Support Removed, the game now requires a 64-bit OS.
Online play has been removed.
A ton of bug fixes.

The removal of online play was a sad moment for me, but the content I was able to add because of its removal was worth it in my opinion, and I think the majority of the players will benefit from it.

Here are the full patch notes for this release:

2021-013 (11-05-2021):

From this point onwards TRF requires a 64-bit OS. 32-bit may be able to continue to be unofficially supported on another branch, but you should not purchase the game unless you use a 64-bit OS.

ADD: Added a new Game Mode: Cops & Racers
ADD: Added a new Race Track: Grass Raceway 4
ADD: Added a new Race Track: Mt. Raceway 2
ADD: Added a new Race Track: Desert Oasis
ADD: Added a new Race Track: Ocean Raceway 3
ADD: Added a new Race Track: Calden Park
ADD: Added a new placeable object: Small Boost Pad.
ADD: Added 2 new tree variants: Palm Trees.
ADD: Added a new track piece: Half-length Straight.
ADD: Added the ability to choose weapon pre-sets for events: Normal, Bolts & Shields, Nitro Only, No Weapons.
ADD: Gamepad support added for the track editor.
ADD: You can now use LB/RB on an Xbox controller to navigate the level select pages.
ADD: Experimental support for spawning cars near where the previous round ended on Advanced tracks in Elimination mode. Previously you always started from the start/finish line in Elimination mode on Advanced tracks.

CHANGE: The base game engine has been updated.
CHANGE: Executable is now a 64-bit exe, not 32-bit, this brings a big improvement to performance.
CHANGE: When using Up/Down or LB/RB to change selected object in the track editor, the page will keep up with the selected objects page.
CHANGE: Boost/Slow Pads now light-up so they are more visible at night.
CHANGE: Off-road detection on 90 degree corners is slightly less forgiving again.
CHANGE: Off-road detection on 45 & 180 degree corners should be more accurate.
CHANGE: Weapon Balancing largely changed. Last is more likely to get nitros and strikes, first is more likely to get shields.
CHANGE: Improved the way that log fences detect collisions.
CHANGE: Changed how vehicles get eliminated in Elimination mode.
CHANGE: Made the camera focus on the cars quicker at the start of each round in Elimination.
CHANGE: Changed possible spawn locations for restarting an Elimination round, should produce better results.
CHANGE: Temporarily removed Team Standings table at the end of a Team event.
CHANGE: The lobby should handle correcting the number of laps better, and stop defaulting to "3" at the end of each event.
CHANGE: You can no longer use the "Sim Racing" mutator in Zen mode.
CHANGE: Improved the quality of the explosion created by meteors.
CHANGE: Improved the quality of the explosion made by vehicles exploding in Pass The Bomb.
CHANGE: AI will now attempt to reverse if they're stuck driving into a wall in Battle Arena's.
CHANGE: AI will now take slight avoiding action to avoid crashing into other cars in races.

FIX: You can now select all objects/track pieces in the track editor using Up/Down again.
FIX: Selecting car horns in car select should now work again.
FIX: Fixed a crash when saving a Neon track in the new editor.
FIX: Fixed a long-standing issue that prevented cars from finishing in sprint races at times.
FIX: You can no longer start a team-based event when all players are set to the same team.
FIX: The "Scale" options in the track editor should now be visible/invisible at the correct times.
FIX: Fixed an issue where edited terrain wouldn't be loaded for WIP maps.
FIX: Fixed an issue where terrain would be made "deeper" each time you saved and loaded a track.
FIX: Fixed an issue with Elimination mode where racers would be incorrectly eliminated.
FIX: Fixed an issue with Elimination mode which means the camera should correctly focus on the lead car more often.
FIX: Fixed an issue with Elimination mode where the AI couldn't earn points properly.
FIX: Fixed an issue where terrain would not correctly display in the lobby.
FIX: Fixed an issue where AI head/brakelights would be visible in Drift and Zen modes.
FIX: Fixed an issue where particles sometimes wouldn't appear when vehicles were eliminated in Pass The Bomb.
FIX: Fixed an issue where Boats could not move properly on Basic Tracks made in the Water environment.
FIX: Fixed an issue where vehicles would not correctly detect they were in water.
FIX: Fixed a crash when exiting a track that had a spinning hammer/bar in it.
FIX: Spinning bars/hammers will now reset to their original rotation after ending a test in the track editor.
FIX: Fixed an anti-cheat issue with one of the tracks.
FIX: Tyre screeching sounds, as well as gravel sounds, will now correctly play on Advanced Tracks.

REMOVE: Network mode has been removed.

As always, please report any bugs you find and any suggestions you have either in the forums here on Steam, or over on the TRF Discord server at: https://bit.ly/2OIgGPq

- Oliver

Hello everyone,

This isn't a decision I've made lightly, or one I'm particularly pleased to make, but I feel it's for the best.

I've been keeping an eye on the statistics for online play, and it seems like it's only been used a handful of times since the game launched, and on top of that, the time it takes for me to make every game mode, every slight change in gameplay, work in the network part of the game is very time consuming as someone working alone.

Given that hardly anyone plays TRF online, and it almost doubles my workload to support the online mode, the next major patch to TRF will remove online multiplayer from the game.

If you have a good internet connection, you could use Steam's Remote Play Together feature to stream your game to friends and let them play the local multiplayer mode with you. Or use another service such as Parsec.

What are the benefits to this change?

Mainly that I will be able to release content more frequently and faster. I don't have to run checks and multiplayer tests, which are hard to do for a solo dev, and take up a significant amount of time.

Also, content that has until now been held back due to not working in the games network mode, can now be freely released. This includes a new game mode, which is almost ready.

The store page has been updated to remove any mention of online multiplayer, so any new purchases are not under the assumption that the online mode will stay in the game.

As I'm not a network programmer, your experience with Remote Play Together or Parsec may be smoother than playing online anyway. :)

Thank you for all your support,
Oliver

021-012 (07-04-2021):

CHANGE: Optimized how Motion Blur works slightly.
CHANGE: Optimized the culling of objects, makes the game use less CPU resources.
CHANGE: Greatly optimized the drawing of the HUD in race mode, especially in split-screen.
CHANGE: Optimized weapon pads.
CHANGE: Optimized breakable fences.
CHANGE: Optimized CPU usage slightly for tracks with a large amount of objects.
CHANGE: AI will now fire Bolts from further back.
CHANGE: Slightly optimized trees, especially when there is a large amount spread across the map.

FIX: Storm weather effects in split-screen should now display properly.
FIX: Fixed a soft-lock when changing from battle mode to race modes in the lobby.
FIX: Fixed a crash for the AI trying to change into gear 2 in boats when there is no gear 2.
FIX: The "Node Limit" graphic and text is now written in the correct place on resolutions other than 720p.

Very small update just to update the base game engine that TRF runs on.

2021-011 (31-03-2021):

CHANGE: Updated game to the latest engine.

This update should fix pacing issues that users may have experienced on monitors above 60hz.

Hello everyone!

It's been a month since the last update, but I've been working for hours each day to bring you this new feature!

The track editor is getting a new "advanced" mode. In this mode, you can place "nodes" to define the track shape, rather than placing pre-defined track pieces. The new mode also lets you modify the terrain, allowing you to add water to your tracks, without making them entirely water.

The old editor remains, and is now listed as the "basic" editor when you open the track creator.

Here's a quick timelapse of me making a simple track in the new "advanced" editor:


This will hopefully allow the creation of new and interesting tracks, definitely it will allow you to make tracks that closely represent what tracks would in real life.



There are still some things I would like to add and refine with the editor, so stay-tuned for future updates to it.

That's not all that's been added in this months update however. A new mutator has been added, which can be purchased for 5,000 coins in the in-game shop. A few people wanted a more "realistic" experience with the cars, and for them to be less drifty. I don't know if I achieved what they wanted with this, but I had fun making it!

The mutator will basically add weight to the cars, make them accelerate/decelerate slower, and make them turn slower. It means you may need to start braking to handle the corners properly when you have it enabled. The AI have been modified to take the extra weight of the cars into account, but they might still have some oddities while I work this out.

And with the 2 main features of this update out of the way, here's the full patch notes for your enjoyment!

2021-010 (29-03-2021):

ADD: Added the ability to create tracks using splines.
ADD: Added the ability to alter terrain in the track editor.
ADD: Added a choice of which editor and environment you want to use when first making a track/arena.
ADD: Added "Settings Applied" text when saving and applying settings in the options menu, so players have confirmation their settings are saved.
ADD: Readded Delete Progress and Delete Ghost Data buttons back into the options menu.
ADD: Added a new mutator "Sim-ish Racing".

CHANGE: Terrain graphics for the environments have changed.
CHANGE: Environments in the track editor are now set when you first make a track, and cannot be changed afterwards.
CHANGE: Fonts have been changed slightly.
CHANGE: Updated the auto-generate scenery button to generate scenery a little more randomly and varied.
CHANGE: AI scores generated for Zen mode have been lowered slightly.
CHANGE: Boats are now faster in Zen mode.

FIX: Fixed the Reset text being off-screen for P1.
FIX: Fixed the cursor in the track editor being below certain buttons.
FIX: Fixed a crash when loading tracks with nothing in them, particularly occured when loading autosaves.
FIX: You should now be able to download Steam Workshop tracks/arenas with the gamepad in-game.
FIX: You can finish in Time Trial mode again.
FIX: The track map is now aligned properly in Time Trial mode again.
FIX: Fixed some issues with map previews for workshop items.
FIX: You can now browse more than 10 tracks/arenas in the download tracks menu.
FIX: You can no longer place more than 8 spawn points in a battle arena, as doing so resulted in a crash.
FIX: Arena spawn points weren't clickable to place if you weren't on page 1 for objects, this has been fixed.
FIX: Fixed an issue where all cars would be considered to have a turbo.
FIX: Fixed various sound issues with Zen mode.
FIX: Fixed an issue where you couldn't complete more than 1 lap in Zen mode on tracks with a crossroad.
FIX: Fixed the arrow keys rotating objects incorrectly in the track editor.

REMOVE: Removed 2 objects from the track editor that should not have been placeable.

As always, please report any bugs you find and any suggestions you have either in the forums here on Steam, or over on the TRF Discord server at: https://bit.ly/2OIgGPq

Thank you all so much for your support, TRF has had more support the past 2 weeks than it has since launch, and I'm grateful for that.

- Oliver

Hello everyone,

Pleased to announce that TRF is 40% off for the next few days as part of the Steam Remote Play Together sale.

Remote Play Together is a handy built-in feature of Steam, which lets you play split-screen games over the internet by streaming your screen to your friends. They can play with you using their controller, as if they were at your PC with you!

TRF supports Remote Play Together to let friends enjoy the frantic 4 player split-screen action!

On top of that, the new track editor, which features terrain editing and an improved way to build tracks, has entered public beta, you can try it out by switching to the 'neweditor' branch in your game properties.



I hope you all have a good weekend, and thank you for your support so far!

- Oliver

Hey everyone,

I recently put TRF up on localizor to try and get community translations available for TRF, so people can play in their own language.

I'm a big fan of accessibility in games, and I would like to improve accessibility options in TRF, as well as including more languages that people can play in, besides just English.

If you would like to assist in translating TRF, please head on over to: https://www.localizor.com/trf-the-race-factory

Translations will be added gradually as the game is translated and approved.

Currently not all of the in-game text is uploaded to Localizor, but there's a fair amount of text on there that can be translated, I'll add more over the coming weeks.

Thanks for reading, and I hope to offer TRF in more languages with your help!

- Oliver

This patch adds 1 new song that can play during events, as well as adding a dead tree perhaps better suited to Winter themed tracks. Some (hopefully) subtle turbo noises have been added to certain car classes.

There was also a complete change in how the game handles scaling, let me know if this causes issues, but it should result in better image quality, especially in resolutions such as 1440p and 4k.

Elimination mode has temporarily been disabled for online play, as there are issues with it that make it pretty much unplayable right now, as such you won't be able to select it as a mode in the online lobby.

Here are the full patch notes:

2021-009 (27/02/2021):

ADD: Added 1 new song to the playlist in events.
ADD: Added an extra tree variant: Dead tree.
ADD: Turbo noises have been added for player cars.

CHANGE: The pitch of the Formula engine has been adjusted.
CHANGE: Changed the way track pieces are sometimes handled, so snowy track pieces shouldn't get changed to non-snowy ones if you select snowy weather.
CHANGE: When waiting at race results as client, it now says you are waiting for the host to continue.
CHANGE: Changed the way resolution scaling is handled, should result in a better quality image in resolutions above 720p.
CHANGE: Elimination mode has been temporarily disabled for online play. This is due to bugs making it unplayable over a network.
CHANGE: Changed how the HUD is drawn again, meaning less calculations need to be done per frame.

FIX: Fixed a weird graphic artefact on tree variant #2.
FIX: Vehicles in Zen mode now have their correct engine sounds.

REMOVE: The AA graphics option has been removed, it didn't really improve graphics and caused extreme performance hits on high resolutions.

I hope you're all enjoying TRF, thanks for your support.

- Oliver

Small Hotfix.

Patch notes:

2021-008 (23/02/2021):

FIX: Fixed S-Curve track pieces being invisible on track preview images.
FIX: The "Hill" in KotH mode no longer moves when the game is paused.
FIX: Fixed a crash when testing a track in the track editor.

Small Hotfix.

2021-007 (22/02/2021):

CHANGE: The amount of coins you have should now auto-save everytime you visit the main menu or lobby.

FIX: Fixed a crash that could happen when playing a Battle Arena with no objects in it.
FIX: Fixed a crash when playing on a battle arena with finely rotated spawn points.

Here are the patch notes for this version, just bug fixes this time around.

2021-006 (22/02/2021):

FIX: Fixed a crash that could occur when visiting the "download tracks" menu when not connected to Steam.
FIX: The darker overlay on the main menu should now always fit the screen size.
FIX: You can no longer select the Busses vehicle class without first purchasing a Bus License in the shop.
FIX: Fixed an issue where AI Busses would have the wrong engine sound and it wouldn't stop when returning to the lobby.
FIX: Fixed an issue where the finish line on water tracks could be drawn incorrectly.
FIX: Fixed a crash that could occur when a vehicle resets when collisions are disabled in event settings.
FIX: Fixed a scaling issue when returning to the menus after using the editor in a resolution other than 720p.
FIX: Fixed an issue where the save buttons for saving a track were placed in the wrong positions.
FIX: Fixed a scoring issue with infection mode where human players would be awarded extra points for being infected.
FIX: Fixed a scoring issue with infection mode where the last car to be infected would receive no points.
FIX: Fixed a soft-lock that could occur when uploading a track to the Steam workshop when not connected to Steam.

Hello everyone,

A new patch, 2021-005 is released today.

This patch adds the ability to rebind controls. Controls for P1 on keyboard are now defaulted to WASD. Please check the controls menu in options to set your controls how you like them. And let me know if there are issues with the rebinding.

There is a new option to allow 2 players to play on 1 keyboard also. Keyboard Controls are for the first keyboard player, and Keyboard 2 Controls are for the 2nd keyboard player. Tick the "2 Player Keyboard" checkbox in the controls menu to allow 2 players to use keyboard.

This patch also fixes several issues with multi-event tournaments.

Here are the full patch notes:

2021-005 (19/02/2021):

ADD: Added the option to rebind keyboard and gamepad controls.
ADD: Added the option to change the vehicle class for the event mid-tournament.
ADD: Added a toggle in the options menu under 'controls' to allow 2 players to play with keyboard controls.
ADD: P1-4 can now have separately configured Deadzones and Vibration feedback settings for their gamepads.
ADD: Added Twitter and Discord buttons to the main menu.

CHANGE: Resetting in Time Trial mode is now binded to your car reset key. Instead of always to "R".

FIX: You can no longer play user-made tracks in time trial mode, this wasn't intended and results in a crash.
FIX: You can no longer drive a land vehicle on a water track when switching between the two mid-tournament.
FIX: When changing between race modes and battle modes mid-tournament, the correct maps will now be available in the map select.
FIX: You can no longer start a mid-tournament event with incorrect settings.
FIX: Fixed additional HUD misalignment issues.
FIX: Fixed misaligned text on the player drop-in/out system if P3 or P4 was using a keyboard.
FIX: Fixed an issue where the camera wouldn't focus on the car correctly on battle arena's during a tournament.
FIX: Fixed a crash when switching between a race game mode and battle game mode during a tournament.

REMOVE: The "P" button no longer pauses the game, please use ESC instead.
REMOVE: Removed some debug keys that were accidentally left in to observe AI cars.

I hope you're all enjoying TRF, thank you for your support so far!

- Oliver

Hello everyone,

A new patch, 2021-004 is released today.

This patch adds a new options menu, as well as some additional options to choose from. It also fixes some further HUD issues.

Please note that only one set of controls now works in the game. As such WASD no longer controls the car, you must use the arrow keys for now. This is because the input system is in the middle of a rewrite, a later patch in February will allow you to rebind your keys.

Here are the full patch notes:

2021-004 (18/02/2021):

ADD: Added a button that takes you to the games forums on the main menu.
ADD: Added some "did you know" text to the main menu.
ADD: Added the option to enable/disable V-Sync in the options menu. Has been disabled until now.
ADD: Added the option to control level of Anti-Aliasing in the options menu. Has been set to 0x until now.
ADD: A new set of logos is available to put on cars.

CHANGE: Options menu has been revamped into tabs. To allow more options to be available.
CHANGE: Secondary controls are no longer in the game, please us the arrow keys for driving right now, not WASD.
This will change in a patch later in February.

FIX: Gamepad players can now use their horn using the Horn button.
FIX: The rev counter is now visible again when using manual transmission.
FIX: The boost bar is now visible again when using the Boost Bar mutator.
FIX: Fixed P1's weapon HUD being offset slightly.
FIX: Fixed a crash when a player's gamepad became disconnected in the menus.
FIX: Fixed an issue where the game wouldn't properly change to fullscreen when clicking the "apply" button in options.
FIX: The "back" button should no longer move around the screen when changing resolutions in the options menu.
FIX: Buttons missing in the track editor in fullscreen are now back again.
FIX: Fixed the DNF timer being mis-aligned.
FIX: Fixed the race results/tournament standings being drawn in the wrong place.

There will be a further update in February that will add additional options to the options menu, as well as some more content.

I hope you're all enjoying TRF, thank you for your support so far!

- Oliver

Hey everyone,

Currently the vehicles in TRF are quite drifty, except for Kart and Formula classes.

As this is quite a divisive driving style, I was wondering what people thought about me adding an option to choose driving style in custom races. So you could toggle between drifting and grippy cars.

Some things to note:

1. In network races, the driving style would be determined by the host.
2. In Time Trial mode, drifting driving style would remain, otherwise all times until now would need to be reset.

With that out of the way, here's the poll to vote in, I'm hosting this poll in a few places, so this poll alone won't determine the outcome, but I would be interested to see if a driving style option has any support: https://strawpoll.com/1dcvwcpz2

Thanks everyone for reading.

Hello everyone,

A new patch, 2021-003 is released today.

This patch mainly focuses on fixing errors with the resolution changing and fullscreen/windowed transition. A lot of times, the UI was incorrectly displayed in various resolutions and whether you were in fullscreen or not.

Also 2 new track pieces were added, 45 and 180 degree corners, for shallow and tighter turns respectively.

Here are the full patch notes:

2021-003 (11/02/2021):

NOTE: Available resolutions have changed, please check your resolution options when next playing.

ADD: 21:9 resolutions have been added to the resolution select.
ADD: A new track piece has been added, 45 degree corner.
ADD: A new track piece has been added, 180 degree corner.
ADD: Added text pop-up when rotating object in the track editor, to let you know how much rotation you have.

CHANGE: Optimized the way HUD is drawn, should give slight performance gains, especially in split-screen.
CHANGE: Reduced amount of HUD drawn in Zen mode, so less of the screen is used by HUD elements.
CHANGE: The track map will now only draw in single-player & network events. No longer in split-screen.
CHANGE: Black background added when the "confirm resolution change" text appears after changing resolution, makes the text easier to read.
CHANGE: The track map will now only draw the track on race tracks, it will not draw the "track" when in Battle Arena's.
CHANGE: The dirt decal for S-Curve track pieces no longer uses the standard corner dirt decal, fitting the track better.
CHANGE: There is now text to warn you if you have achieved a World Record on a track, but your ghost has not yet been uploaded. Please wait on the finish screen until the ghost has been uploaded.

FIX: Fixed a bug where sprint tracks wouldn't be limited to 1 lap.
FIX: You can now properly select car colour when in fullscreen and in non-16:9 resolutions.
FIX: Menu buttons should now be clickable regardless of resolution or window/fullscreen mode.
FIX: Fixed a crash that could occur when entering the lobby in a non-16:9 resolution.
FIX: Some HUD was displayed incorrectly in 3 or 4 player split-screen races.
FIX: In-Race HUD's for all game modes should now fit properly regardless of resolution.
FIX: The transition fade now covers the entire game when in a non-16:9 resolution.
FIX: Fixed a bug that could result in a game-mode and track type mismatch, mainly in network games.
FIX: The in-game pause menu is now properly aligned with the screen regardless of resolution or window/fullscreen mode.
FIX: Players can now respray their cars simultaneously in split-screen multiplayer. Each car has their own colour chart again.
FIX: Player/Car 4 can now adjust their car cosmetics and settings again.
FIX: Steam Workshop image previews of tracks/arenas should now be taken correctly regardless of resolution or fullscreen/windowed.
FIX: Fixed a crash that could occur when returning to main menu in a non-16:9 resolution.
FIX: Map preview is no longer visible behind the event settings window.
FIX: Fixed a crash that could occur when returning to the Time Trial track select in a non-16:9 resolution.

There will be a further update in February that will be more "content" related, rather than fixes. This just had the priority for what I wanted done soon.

I hope you're all enjoying TRF, thank you for your support so far!

- Oliver

Hello everyone,

It's time for another update!

This one is just a bug fix to solve an issue with the Elimination mode in the game.

Here's the full patch notes for this version:

2021-002 (05/01/2021):

FIX: Fixed a bug where focus could be placed on the wrong car in elimination mode after completing a lap.

I hope you're all enjoying the game, thanks for the support so far!

- Oliver

Hello everyone,

It's time for another update!

This one is just a bug fix to solve one crash in the game.

Here's the full patch notes for this version:

2021-001 (02/01/2021):

FIX: Fixed a crash when exiting a Pass The Bomb event early.

I hope you're all enjoying the game, thanks for the support so far!

- Oliver

Hello everyone,

It's time for another update!

This one is mainly a small bug fix to solve some issues with the game, as well as improving the network multiplayer experience slightly.

Here's the full patch notes for this version:

2020-044 (30/12/2020):

CHANGE: Networked players/AI should now have visual effects when hitting an EMP mine.
CHANGE: Slightly adjusted how network players are handled so movement is smoother.

FIX: Fixed a crash related to strike weapons being fired by network players.
FIX: Fixed a crash when a vehicle struck a sea mine.
FIX: Fixed a crash when a vehicle was struck by a meteor.
FIX: Fixed an issue where players joining a networked team race would have the incorrect teams assigned.

I hope you're all enjoying the game, thanks for the support so far!

- Oliver

Hello everyone,

It's time for another update!

This one is just a bug fix to fix some issues with the game.

Here's the full patch notes for this version:

2020-043 (27/12/2020):

CHANGE: Resetting car has been reintroduced into Drift and Zen modes with a more consistent reset method.
CHANGE: Changed the frequency of auto-saving your cash. Should auto-save more often.

FIX: Fixed a crash caused by someone hitting a strike weapon that was fired by a keyboard user.

I hope you're all enjoying the game, thanks for the support so far!

- Oliver

Hello everyone,

It's time for another update!

This one is just a bug fix to fix a crash that occurred when setting the game to play multiple events in a row.

Discord presence has also been added, showing what game mode you are playing in your Game Activity status on Discord, and whether you are playing alone or not.

Another patch, 2020-041 was released a few hours later, as I became aware of some additional issues.

Here's the full patch notes for these versions:

2020-041 (26/12/2020):

CHANGE: The column names in Race Results should now be displayed correctly.
CHANGE: Automatic transmission is now forced in Zen mode, to prevent players putting the car in a low gear and cheating.
CHANGE: Automatic transmission is now forced when the "Go Fast" mutator is enabled, to prevent cheating.

FIX: Resetting is now disabled on Battle Modes, Zen mode and Drift mode, as it caused an issue with car physics.
FIX: Fixed a crash that could occur at the end of a Pass the Bomb event.
FIX: Fixed a crash that could occur when enabling Catch-up and then leaving lobby to return to the main menu.

2020-040 (26/12/2020):

ADD: Added Discord Presence.

CHANGE: The difficulty of Drift mode AI has been lowered slightly on all difficulties.

FIX: Fixed a crash when ending an event during a tournament.

I hope you're all enjoying the game, thanks for the support so far!

- Oliver

Hello everyone!

Pleased to say that TRF is 40% off in the Winter Sale for the next 2 weeks! You can now purchase it for just $3!

The game has also been patched to fix a few bugs to hopefully make it a stable experience for everyone.

Here's the changelog for the latest version:

2020-039 (22/12/2020):

CHANGE: Internal Game Engine updated.
CHANGE: Game Engine Garbage Collector has been re-enabled, which should improve overall performance and memory usage.
CHANGE: Text in lobby changed so that it fits within borders of the windows it belongs too.
CHANGE: Car Collisions can no longer be disabled in battle game modes.

FIX: Map now gets updated to a valid map when changing game mode with a gamepad.
FIX: Fixed a crash that could occur when rotating the start/finish line slightly in the editor, and then fully rotating it by 90 degrees.
FIX: Cars should now be placed with a little more accuracy when the start/finish line isn't rotated in 90 degree increments.
FIX: Fixed a crash that could occur when putting the cursor over the map preview when entering the lobby.
FIX: You can no longer play Elimination, Drift, or Zen games on a point-to-point track, only circuits.
FIX: Fixed a crash when uploading a level to the Steam Workshop is the first thing you do after booting the game.
FIX: Fixed not being able to change time limit for King of the Hill mode in some situations.
FIX: RTF mode now ends when the points limit is reached, not a time limit, to conform with the menus.
FIX: Told Player 8 to stop resetting their car all the time in battle modes.

I hope you're all having fun, and thank you for all your support.

- Oliver

Hello everyone,

It's time for another update!

This one is primarily a bug fix, it disables a feature of the game engine which could cause crashes, which was unknown to me, but I was recently made aware that the game engine had a flaw in it that is being worked on by the developers of the engine.

There were also other bug fixes, mostly relating to the new Bus vehicle class, and also some changes to how things are handled. I also found better ways of achieving the same result in a few cases, which has made the game use less resources.

Here's the full patch notes for this version:

2020-038 (11/12/2020):

CHANGE: Optimized the frameskipping method, so the CPU overhead is reduced when 30FPS mode is enabled.
CHANGE: Optimized the way the position list is drawn, should now use less GPU resources.
CHANGE: Changed the background of the map preview to reflect newer graphics.
CHANGE: Players can now be any team they wish in Return the Flag mode.
CHANGE: AI will no longer fire indiscriminately at cars on the same team.

FIX: Bus icon is now scaled correctly in the HUD.
FIX: Disabled the game engines built-in garbage collector, which was causing game crashes.
FIX: The flag is now visible in Return the Flag mode before being picked up.

I hope you're all enjoying the game, thanks for the support so far!

- Oliver

Hello everyone,

It's time for another update!

This one adds a new vehicle class, Busses!

These are big, heavy vehicles. Slow turning, slow moving... just slow at everything really! They're pretty long too, similar to trucks, but not articulated, so they're tougher to manoeuvre around tracks.

A pretty big memory issue was also fixed, meaning the amount of RAM used during a race is much reduced.

Here's the full patch notes for the past 2 versions, as they released close together:

2020-037 (04/12/2020):

CHANGE: Changed location of the wheels on Busses.
CHANGE: Changed the particle effects for Busses.
CHANGE: Made collision box a bit smaller for Busses.

2020-036 (03/12/2020):

ADD: Added a new vehicle class: Busses

CHANGE: Done a large optimization on how the terrain is placed, drastically reducing RAM usage.

FIX: Fixed a potential memory leak linked to the shop.

I hope you're all enjoying the game, thanks for the support so far!

- Oliver

Hello everyone,

It's time for another update!

This one adds a new mutator which adds a "boost bar" to the game, holding Z or E will activate your boost. It recharges over-time, and using a Nitro power-up will give you a full bar of boost instead of boosting your car if the mutator is turned on.

The S-Curve track piece added previously has had a complementary track piece added with it, so it can now be rotated and placed in all directions.

There was also some optimizations and bug fixes in this patch.

Here's the full patch notes for this version:

2020-035 (18/11/2020):

ADD: Added a second Chicane/S-Curve track piece to allow them to be placed in all positions.
ADD: Added an event mutator to have a Boost Bar that gradually fills instead of Nitro power-ups.

CHANGE: Optimized the "speed-trail" particle effect.
CHANGE: When using Nitro power-up with the Boost Bar mutator enabled, the Nitro will instead fill your boost.
CHANGE: AI are now smarter in their Nitro use and can use Nitro on tracks without track pieces.
CHANGE: Updated in-game manual with new controls.
CHANGE: Greatly optimized how wall shadows are handled.
CHANGE: Wall shadows are now displayed for Players 2, 3 & 4 in split-screen due to optimizations.

FIX: Prevented changing of rotation during testing in the editor.
FIX: Fixed a bug where a default track wouldn't be loaded upon entering Time Attack mode.
FIX: Rev counters are now visible in split-screen when P2/P3/P4 have manual gears enabled.
FIX: Rev counter is now accurate to your car when in network games.
FIX: Fixed a crash that could occur when finishing with manual gears.
FIX: Changing gears with gamepad no longer changes gears more than once.
FIX: Event settings tooltips now show accurately when controlling menus with a gamepad.

I hope you're all enjoying the game, thanks for the support so far!

- Oliver

Hello everyone,

It's time for another update!

This one adds an extra menu option to "download tracks", this will allow you to view and subscribe (or unsubscribe) to items in the Steam Workshop from within the game itself. Meaning you can go into there, download a user-made track, and then go straight to a Custom Event and play on that track/arena.

It also adds a new "S-Curve" track piece to the track editor, for more varied tracks. And you can now hold the CTRL key down when in the track editor, which allows you to change the 32x32 placement grid, to a 2x2 placement grid while it's held, allowing for more finer placement of track pieces and objects, and rotating whilst holding CTRL, also allows you to do more finer rotation of objects.

Here's the full patch notes for this version:

2020-034 (02/11/2020):

ADD: Added new Chicane/S-Curve track piece.
ADD: You can now hold CTRL to finely place track/objects in the editor and adjust their rotation.
ADD: Added a toggle option in Options to enable/disable gamepad vibration.
ADD: You can now download user-made tracks & arenas from within the game.

CHANGE: Updated the game engine, for better performance and stability.
CHANGE: Edited the colouring of the Armco Straight and Armco Corner objects.
CHANGE: Change file structure to allow for greater compatibility with Linux.

FIX: Fixed a crash that could occur in time trial mode when finishing a lap.
FIX: Fixed an issue that could cause a crash when unsubscribing from Workshop items with the game booted.

I hope you're all enjoying the game, thanks for the support so far!

- Oliver

Hello everyone,

Really small update today, just a couple of bug fixes related to the new hammers/bars. And also some adjustments to Formula and Truck physics.

Full Patchnotes:

2020-033 (29/10/2020):

CHANGE: Trucks & Formula class vehicles are now more affected by driving off-road.
CHANGE: Spinning Bars/Hammers will now spin in test mode in the track editor.

FIX: Spinning Bars/Hammers no longer spin whilst the game is paused.
FIX: Fixed buttons being visible at the edge of the "Press Enter" screen on 21:9 resolutions.

Hope you're all enjoying the game!
- Oliver

Hello everyone,

This patch is a pretty small one, just adding an autosave feature to the track editor, as well as a couple of more placeable objects to create interesting levels.

Here's the full patch notes today:

2020-032 (28/10/2020):

ADD: Added an auto-save feature to the track editor, will autosave your current track every 1 minute,
overwriting any previous auto-saves.
ADD: Added Spinning Hammers as a new placeable object.
ADD: Added Spinning Bars as a new placeable object.

CHANGE: Change how save data is handled.

FIX: Fixed an occasion where you could lose gamepad input and be unable to get it back.

Hope you're all enjoying the game!

- Oliver

Hello everyone,

This is a patch that mainly addresses issues faced by gamepad users and those using online play. There may still be certain issues, please make me aware of any bugs you come across so I can fix them!

Here are the patch notes for the first update to TRF:

2020-031 - Released 27/10/2020

FIX: Server should now correctly relist itself on serverlist upon returning to lobby after an event.
FIX: Gamepads should now work again in online events.
FIX: Gamepads no longer fire all 3 bolts at once when pressing the fire button.
FIX: Gamepads can now click on servers on the serverlist to join.
FIX: Gamepads now function inside online lobbies.
FIX: Horns & Lights are now sent correctly to new players when joining an online lobby.
FIX: Fixed several crashes that could occur when opening vehicle select with a gamepad.
FIX: Fixed clients not being able to close car select screen in certain circumstances in network lobby.
FIX: Fixed one instance where network games would hang on "retrieving results" at the end of the event.
FIX: The cursor is now visible when bringing up the pause menu in a network game.
FIX: Server will now force clients back to lobby if they don't follow back. Should prevent cases where
clients are stuck in the event after the server has already returned to lobby.
FIX: Fixed network players being able to change the appearance of other players cars in some circumstances.

CHANGE: Font has been changed for server passwords, to help distinguish between lowercase & uppercase letters.
CHANGE: You can no longer start a network game with just 1 player. This was unintended and resulted in
unanticipated behaviour.

That's all for this update, I'll keep searching for bugs and keep my eyes and ears open to any that are reported.

Thanks for the support!
- Oliver

Hello everyone!

Thanks to all those that have bought TRF in the past 16 hours since release.

This is just a quick notice to say that I'm aware there are some issues with the online play in the game, and I am working on a fix that should be available in the coming days. A changelog will be posted with the update to say what bugs were fixed.

Please feel free to report any bugs in the comments section or in the discussion board, so I can make sure I'm aware of the bugs present in the game.

Thank You for all your support!
- Oliver

We'll spend a couple of hours looking at the game, playing some of the game modes, setting some times on the online leaderboards, and creating a basic race track in the editor.

Come hang out and chat at 3PM BST on Sunday the 11th of October!

TRF is a multiplayer top-down racing game, with a variety of game modes, vehicles, and a track editor included with the game. Inspired largely by racing titles of the 80's and 90's, TRF hopes to capture the feel of these classics, while offering modern features such as online multiplayer and leaderboards.

Thank you for checking out The Race Factory!

My name is Oliver, and this has been my project for the past 2 years.

It is a top-down racing game, inspired by classic racing games that I grew up with from the 80's on 90's on Commodore/Atari systems and the SNES/PS1.

The game features a variety of vehicles, from regular cars, to Formula vehicles, Trucks and Boats. It also features several game modes, all of which are playable by up to 4 players locally and up to 8 players online. There is also a track editor included in the game.

Most cars are designed to be drifted, however Formula cars and Karts stick to the road and require quick reactions.

Here are the features in the Steam Games Festival Demo:

• 7 Tracks
  
• 4 Vehicles Classes: Street, Sports, Super, Formula
  
• 1 Battle Arena
  
• 4 Game Modes: Race, Elimination, Drift, Infection
  
• 1-4 Player Local Multiplayer
  
• Track Editor, however playing user-made tracks is unavailable
  
• Street Car Championship
  

We'll spend a couple of hours looking at the game, playing some of the game modes, setting some times on the online leaderboards, and creating a basic race track in the editor.

Come hang out and chat at 3PM BST on Monday the 12th of October!

TRF is a multiplayer top-down racing game, with a variety of game modes, vehicles, and a track editor included with the game. Inspired largely by racing titles of the 80's and 90's, TRF hopes to capture the feel of these classics, while offering modern features such as online multiplayer and leaderboards.

Hey everyone,

Just a quick update on a few things as I don't post much on Steam News, I mostly use Twitter.

The Steam Games Festival went quite well for TRF, almost doubling the amount of wishlists the game had. And generating several thousand views to the store page.

The game had been due to release at the end of the Games Festival, at the end of June. However I ran into some issues with the 8 player controller setup for local play. Unfortunately, in order to comply with Steam regulations, I've had to lower the amount of supported local players from 8 to 4. This was a real shame to me, as I wanted to make sure the game could be played by as many people as possible in as many scenarios as possible.

To that end, I decided to delay the release of the game to September, and use the time that gave me to add online multiplayer to TRF.

I've spent the past 4 weeks working exclusively on adding online/LAN multiplayer to the game, if you follow me on my Twitter, you'll have seen frequent updates, including GIFs, to show how the network multiplayer is progressing.

Right now, I have 3/9 game modes working in network play (Time Trial currently isn't planned to support network play). Those game modes are Race, Drift & Zen. The current focus is the Elimination game mode, which is similar to how classic Micro Machines plays.

So that's basically what I've been up to the past month, polishing parts of the game off, and mostly adding the ability to play over a network.

Thanks for reading,
Oliver

I'll be hosting an AMA session on Discord, this Saturday at 8PM BST, that's 3PM EST and 12PM PST.

Come hang out, ask questions and offer suggestions!

Discord Link: https://discord.gg/xZhFRwE

We'll be going through the features of TRF, showing off the track editor, which was used to make all the tracks in the game, setting some times on the leaderboards in Time Attack mode, and playing around with several racing and arena game modes!

We'll be going through the features of TRF, showing off the track editor, which was used to make all the tracks in the game, setting some times on the leaderboards in Time Attack mode, and playing around with several racing and arena game modes!

Hey everyone,

The past couple of weeks I've been trying to add some form of competition with other players, as the multiplayer in TRF is local/couch multiplayer only.

My solution to this was to add online leaderboards.

I'm happy to announce that a Time Trial mode has been added to the game, along with in-game Missions, both of these connect to Steam and upload your best times to the games online leaderboards.

Firstly we'll talk about the Mission mode.

These are generally short challenges, taking place in controlled environments (off the race track). Think similar to Gran Turismo's License tests. The first few are simple, and are good for getting used to the games car physics, such as going through a series of cones in a slalom, or a short circuit. Later ones present more challenging driving situations.

Each mission has a Bronze, Silver and Gold medal time, so try and get Gold on every mission!

And now we come to the Time Trial Mode:

In Time Trials, you are forced to drive in certain conditions. Firstly, you are put into a Super class car. The weather and time of day is always clear and midday. You will have to complete 3 laps of the track.

Time Trial mode is currently available for the base tracks that will be included when the game launches in June 2020. I will look into if I can add leaderboard support for user-made tracks, however I believe this might be a difficult ask, so for now, I can only confirm that the base tracks included with the game will support this mode.

The game will launch with 12 base tracks, however I plan to release further tracks after the games release.

A shield power-up has also been added, as my private testers felt it would be nice to have a way of defending yourself instead of being at the mercy of weapons.

The game entered private beta testing last Friday, the 27th March 2020, and I've been getting very valuable feedback on the game from them.

Thanks for reading!
- Oliver

Hi Everyone!

Today's post is just a summary of all that the game is planned to have for its launch in June.

Here's what the game is planned to have:

Gamemodes:

At least 8, currently we have 7:

Race: Simple racing gamemode, finish the set number of laps, features weapons which can be turned on and off. 1-4 Players, played on race tracks.

Elimination: Shared-screen eliminator mode, think Micro-Machines, falling off the screen is death. Last car standing wins a point, first to set number of points wins. 1-8 Players, played on race tracks.

Drift: A target score is generated for the track, drift around corners and keep your combos on the straights to earn big points, car collisions are disabled. 1-4 Players, played on race tracks.

Zen: A target score is generated for the track, your cars power is constantly increasing, your car is always accelerating and there are no brakes, you earn points when driving around the track, but if you fall off the track, your points stop increasing. The driver who stays on the track the most when time runs out is the winner here! 1-4 Players, played on race tracks.

Infection: 1 Player starts as infected, their aim is to infect all the other cars by touching them. If a player becomes infected, they then have to infect other cars to earn points. Try to stay alive until the timer runs out to win in this game mode! 1-8 Players, played on battle arenas.

Pass The Bomb: A bomb is randomly placed on a car, they have to touch someone to pass it to them, if you have the bomb when the fuse runs out, BOOM, you're out of the event. Surviving as long as possible is how you earn points here. 1-8 Players, played on battle arenas.

Hold The Gold: A gold bar is placed somewhere on the map, race to pick it up, and then hold onto it for as long as you can! Being hit by another car will transfer the gold to them, whoever holds the gold earns points. Holding the gold for the most amount of time when the timer runs out will win you the event! 1-8 Players, played on battle arenas.

Track Editor:

There will be a fully-functioning track editor in the final game. It's what I've used to make all the tracks currently in the game. It's capable of making both Race Tracks and Battle Arenas. It contains a racing-line editor so you can tune the AI to your standards, as well as determining what classes as "cheating" on your race tracks, stopping people from cutting corners.

4 Car Classes, each with 8 cars to drive:

There are 4 car classes in the game, Street, Sports, Super & Hyper.

Car performance in each class is identical, however there are 8 styles of car in each class you can choose from. Sports is the default class, and is recommended for most drivers to start with, Hyper is for more advanced drivers who want a challenge.

Controller Support:

The following controllers have been tested and work with TRF: Xbox 360 Controller, Xbox One Controller, Dualshock 4. Mouse & Keyboard also work.

Local Multiplayer Support:

All game modes support at least 4 players, and some game modes support up to 8 players. Every game mode also has support for AI Drivers that will fill up the grid. When playing 1-4 player, the screen will be split. 5-8 player games, the screen will be zoomed out so everyone can fit on the screen.

Weather & Time of Day:

The game has various weather conditions for you to choose from:

Clear, Rain, Stormy, Snow, Blizzard, Meteor.

Adverse weather conditions will affect car performance, so don't expect to stay on the road in a blizzard! And Meteor showers can really switch up a race.

There are also time of day settings to choose from, Dawn, Day, Dusk & Night.

Mutators:

Along with the standard event settings, such as amount of laps, weather and time of day, there are also extra "Mutators" you can set for an event.

These range from adding the Zen mode "Always Accelerating" feature to any game mode. Or making the road permanently icy, as though you were in a blizzard. You could even turn off the "drafting" feature, if it's annoying you that people keep catching you up in Infection!

This covers most of what the game has.

Have a good day everyone!