We've been working on something for all you drivers out there, so let's get right into Build #5365520.
This update finally adds spoilers for you to slap on the back of your trucks. Attach them in the customization menu after unlocking them.
And here's the real beauty of it: If you've played Can't Drive This before, and unlocked a few items, chances are you already own some spoilers!
Because of how we implemented the unlock system, you've been unlocking items that didn't even exist up until now, and the more items we add, the more items you automatically get.
And as usual, here are a few of the bugs we fixed in this build:
Fixed an issue where the game crashed when you exploded after being invited
Moved the “press to join" buttons for better legibility
Fixed an issue where flips were incorrectly registered after respawning
More reliable synchronization between host and client
Fades gameplay music correctly in online games
Fixed an issue where the "give up" button on the client wouldn't close the menu
Fixed an issue where text in the settings menu may become illegible
Fixed an issue where usernames were not displayed correctly sometimes
Early Game Features, Unlock-O-Meter, and More
Hey everyone,
time for another update! Build #5296914 brings a few very noticeable updates, so here's what's what:
Yardage Start
We've gotten a bunch of reports saying the game is too hard right from the start, so we decided to change the start tile in Yardage.
The start tile is no longer a boosted ramp, but instead just a double straight tile. This means you get to start the game at your pace, and aren't forced to go full-speed ahead right from the start. Additionally, Yardage is now much more forgiving at the start. If you don't start driving immediately, you don't explode. In fact, you can completely stop on the start-tile without exploding. The farther you drive, the faster you have to be to not explode.
Tutorials
In addition to making Yardage easier for new players, we added tutorials to teach you all the things you might not know about. You can find them in the SETTINGS MENU!!!! (You'll get the joke once you see the tutorials).
We would liked to have implemented a beautifully integrated way of teaching you the game by playing, but we're an indie studio. And indie studios are notoriously poor (unless they had that one hit game that made them stupid rich), so we made tutorial slide shows. *shrug-emoji*
We want to make sure you know about the tutorials, so when you play the game without having seen one, the first two tutorials will play automatically. In this case, they're not skippable, because we're supremely evil beings.
Don't worry though – when you watch them from the settings menu, you will be able to skip them.
Unlock-O-Meter
You can do flips and stunts to unlock new customization items. But until yesterday, there was no way to see your unlock progress. Well, there is now.
To unlock a new item, you must perform 10 tricks or stunts in a single round. The Unlock-O-Meter shows you exactly how many remain in order to unlock a new item.
You don't have to look for it in-game, it'll make itself very noticeable.
Street Paints
Last but not least (maybe least, who are we to judge?), you can now customize your road, for when you're playing as the builder.
With the asphalt still to follow up soon, you now have the ability to colorize the curbs, which are normally red and white.
Fixes
Here are a few of the issues we fixed, bugs we squashed, and minor updates we added since the last version:
Added a nice big effect for when you beat your high score
Fades out the music on the game over screen
Localization: All texts should now work entirely in English and German
Added an "Apply" button to resolution and language settings
Added a "Give up" button in-game, in case you get stuck somehow
Selected mode in mode-selection is now highlighted
Cursor in mode-selection is now locked when mode is selected
Now uses your system language as the game's language by default (German and English only for now)
As usual, if there's anything you'd like to let us know, we want to know! Whether it's bugs you found, features you want, or changes you don't like – please hop on over to the Steam Forums, and empty your heart out.
See you on the Forums!
Tutorials Photo by Renan Kamikoga on Unsplash
Unlockables Are Here!
Hey all,
we're back with a new update this week! So let's jump right into the novel sensation that is Build #5156201.
We know you've been waiting for this for a while: You can now finally unlock customization items!
Tricks and stunts no longer add bonus points – instead, they unlock items. Perform 10 tricks in a single session to unlock a new item. Any combination of tricks or stunts will do. Here's a list:
FLIP (Do a flip)
HOOPED (Jump through a fire ring)
NEAR MISS (Narrowly avoid hitting a moving obstacle)
CLOSE CALL (Build a tile
just* in time to save the driver)
As of now, the only available customization parts are paints, patterns, and noses (read below). You will however be able to unlock every type of customization – even if you can't equip or even see them yet. You'll be able to use them, once they're added in a future update.
The third customization slot is now available: Noses! If you've ever felt your Monster Truck to be too faceless, feel no more!
With currently...
28 noses
26 patterns
43 paint jobs
... we're now just over A MILLION possible customization combinations.
As usual, we did a bunch of other things, that were pushed out of the spotlight by unlocks and noses. Here are a few of them:
You may now disconnect a controller on the Game Over screen, without the game rage-quitting
Ballons with Holos on them are lit up now, which is pretty
Removed bonus points for stunts, because of score-mongering (reported by Citabogue & Paragon | Janni & Paragon | Jocy)
Stunts now unlock customization items (even ones not yet available. Future-you approves this.)
Adds noses to vehicle customization, because all trucks need noses.
Building with the mouse now works, when mouse-lock is active. Magical.
Danger Glow no longer progresses while in the air. More close calls. Neat. (reported by Citabogue)
Makes menu controllable with WASD, because why not (reported by Sofi)
Vehicles now explode in joy when all Holos are collected in Game of Drones
Game of Drones will no longer end prematurely for various reasons
Imitating real life, you can no longer drive in the air in Game of Drones
The splash screen is now monkey-safe
And of course, if you find anything that bothers you – or anything you really love, let us know!
See you on the Forums!
New 2-Player Mode: GAME OF DRONES
Hey everyone,
firstly, thank you all for the amazing feedback you've provided on the Forums and on Discord. We're continuing to add fancy new stuff to Can't Drive This, and this update (Build #5054550) is no different.
Last update brought you Capture the Egg, a 4-Player competitive mode. We realize, of course, that in times of a pandemic and social distancing, a local-only 4P mode is less than optimal. Not everybody has the luxury and/or misfortune of having three roommates to play with.
So for all those of you who are isolated, and in desperate need of yelling at friends, we present...
Game of Drones is a brand-new cooperative mode for 2-4 players. In a finite square stage, collect all holos to complete a level. But beware the drone – it haunts you and drops EMP mines that temporarily disable your controls when you drive too close.
Each level gets incrementally larger, with more difficult tiles, a less forgiving Low Speed Danger Zone, and more aggressive drones.
Additionally, here are some of the smashed bugs, QoL improvements, and general fixes this update adds:
Improves street tile balancing in Yardage
Close Calls no longer count as unused tiles (as reported by Paragon | Jocy)
Fixes an issue where the game can get stuck while joining an online match
Adds a fancy animation in the crew menu
Adds loading icons when waiting for an online game
Fixes an issue where mouse input behaved strangely sometimes
As usual, if you run into any problems, or just have general feedback for us, we'd love to hear from you! Just open a thread on the Forums, and we'll see to it asap.
Capture the Flag & Classic Controls
We have a LOT to cover for this update, people, so no beating around the bush. Here's what's new in Build #4966306:
Capture the Egg
This update brings you the first new game mode: Capture the Egg. It's like a classic round of good ol' Capture the Flag. But instead of people, there are Monster Trucks. And instead of Flags, there are 600 POUND CONCRETE EGGS!
In this frantic four-player* mode, a team of one builder and one driver make their way to the opposing team's base. There, you'll find the other team's delicious** egg. Collect the egg, and drag it back to your own base. That would be simple if there weren't a few obstacles, like...
- You still can fall off the track. - The egg pure concrete, and will slow you down - Also, you still explode when you go too slow - The egg will get stuck in places, stopping you dead in your tracks - There's a whole other team that will make your life miserable
Best of three rounds wins!
*Can't Drive This supports up to two players online, so Capture the Egg is local only. **Tastes like victory
Classic Controls
We heard a lot of feedback over the past weeks, and we're always listening. To prove it, we spent the past weeks bringing the old controls back into the New Can't Drive This! That means two things:
One Keyboard. One Mouse. Two Players!
Something that a lot of you loved about the Legacy version, was the that you didn't need a controller to play multiplayer. Well, good news! If you don't have a controller, or don't want to use one, you can now play with mouse and keyboard again. Technically, this can also be used as a Single Player mode. While we're way too dumb to play our own game that way, it's perfect for training your multi tasking skills during quarantine!
Drive With a Controller, Build With the Mouse
Even though controller support was rudimentary at best in the Legacy version, many of you got it working and played with a a controller-mouse-combo. If you prefer building with the mouse, but drive better using a controller, this is now possible out of the box! An added bonus is, any local player can use the mouse to build, as long as there is only one builder.
Bugfixes
As usual, you sent us a ton of bugs that needed fixing, and we got a few of those into this update as well. Take a look at a few of them:
Fixed messed up bloom in menu
Fixed texture on ghost tiles (reported by Paragon | Jocy)
Driver icon is now visible on client (reported by Paragon | Jocy)
Fixed controls menu after returning from game (reported by Paragon | Jocy)
Makes sure boundaries don't stop at ~9000 points. (reported by Paragon | Janni)
Improved performance even further
Let us know what you think on the forums! And as usual, if you find any bugs, we'd be happy to exterminate them.
One Last Note
We realize that due to the current situation, many people won't be able to play Capture the Egg the way it's meant to be played. This sucks hard, but we want to encourage you to stay safe and take advantage of Steam Remote Play Together, if you don't have four people to play with at home.
Stay safe!
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND
Mouse and Keyboard Photo by Andrew Mantarro on Unsplash Code Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash
April Update #2
We've got a brand new batch of update-sauce for all you drivers and builders out there. Here's what's new in Build #4904705:
Performance Improvements
We worked hard on getting the game running on as many devices as possible. Over the past few weeks, we sifted through the entire game like gold panners, hunting those precious performance nuggets. Then we separated the dirt, and rocks, and the remaining alluvial deposits, melted the pure separated performance in a melting pot, and poured it into a mold, to get the shiny new update that you can download right now.
Reduced Polygon Count
In all seriousness, we reduced the polycount of most of the models in the game. Overall, we're now rendering about 40-60% less polygons than before. This means less strain on your CPU for sending data over to the GPU, and less strain on the GPU for actually converting the data into a visible image.
Faster Rendering
Additionally, we switched to a faster rendering solution. This should have the game running at 60fps with four players for most modern desktop PCs. For the technically interested among you, we switched to the LWRP, which is far faster because it allows us to not render things we don't actually use (like a depth pass, depth+normals texture, motion vectors, and other fancy-pants shenanigans).
If you still run into performance issues or frame drops, please let us know on the forums – we'd really like to fix those.
Customization I
Vehicle customization is back, sorta! The first batch of customization goodness brings you basic colors and patterns. We know this doesn't scratch your creative itch to completion, but we're getting there. More customization options will be added in future updates. (Read the "I" in the heading as the Roman numeral, not the letter). Also note that you won't be able to unlock more colors for now, as we're still working on an unlockable system – which will allow you to unlock customization options during the game.
Change Log
Here's some of the minor changes this update:
Fixed a bug where key maps weren't saved (reported by Freekill and Ramprage)
Fixed a bug where audio was disabled by default
Made ghost tiles more easily readable for the builder (reported by Paragon | Jocy)
Fixed color scheme in settings menu
Fixed Linux launch config (as reported by [Linux] Liam)
Fixed a bug where controllers were sometimes not recognized on start
Removed visual seam in skybox
Added contact buttons to menu
Removed garbage allocation in some scripts
Fixed an issue where physics breaks at ~9000pts (reported by Paragon | Jocy)
Displays Controller icons on start screen
Changed Start button from SPACE to RETURN
Fixed an issue where tiles can rotate to an arbitrary value (reported by Paragon | Jocy)
Added "Waiting for other player" when playing online
Added support for most controllers
What's next?
Here are things not in the game yet, we're looking to add back in future updates (in no particular order):
Street customization
Remaining vehicle customization
Achievements
Leaderboards
More game modes
Unlockables-System
Online Matchmaking
New Trailer & Box Art
As usual, if you find any issues (frame drops, bugs, glitches, etc.), we'd love to hear from you! Just open a thread on the Forums, and we'll see to it asap.
WE'RE BACK BABY
Hey everyone,
Remember all those times we told you that we're working on a big update, and we just needed some more time?
Well, guess what... We just uploaded the New Can't Drive This, and it's ready for you to play. We know you've been waiting for this for a long time, so let us just start by saying thank you, for sticking with us.
So, what's new
What did we change? Well, pretty much everything. Every line of code has been improved or rewritten. Every model has been replaced with a prettier model. Every physics glitch has been patched with a funnier physics glitch.
Here are just a few major changes we made:
Entirely new vehicle physics. Your vehicle is now a lot more fun to drive – no more frustrating moments when the car just doesn't behave the way you expect it to.
New, prettier Monster Truck. I'll just let this image speak for itself.
More beautiful environment We swapped the old, infinitely empty ocean, for a rich environment, so your eyes don't get bored should you ever not be looking at the track. You should, however, always be looking at the track.
Completely new tiles The style of the tiles matches the new detail-richness of the rest of the game. And yes, we also kicked the windmill. (Though you won't like what we put in its place)
New visuals when driving too slow The old CDT had a tiny, barely noticeable, speedometer in the lower left corner. Incidentally, the lower left corner is exactly where you're not looking while playing. So now, when you're about to explode – you'll notice.
Yardage supports up to four players locally Nuff said.
New VFX, SFX and Music We completely overhauled the soundscape of the game, starting with new motor sounds, and ending with a sick original theme song!
Online Multiplayer is much more stable Remember, when you played online and you got randomly disconnected? Yeah, not anymore you don't.
Full controller support You can control the entire game with your controller now. Including, but not limited to, driving, building, navigating the menu, and tossing the controller into your friends face for not building in time.
What about the community?
Additionally to publishing the New Can't Drive This, we've restructured our Steam forums to better react to your feedback.
Just Chatting for questions, and general blah.
Bugs & Features for bug reports and feature requests.
Friendship Hub for finding new friends to play with.
We worked really hard on the New Can't Drive This, and we're seriously psyched to finally bring this update to you – hopefully, you'll enjoy it. Stay tuned for new updates, including vehicle customization, new modes, unlockables, and more coming soon!
Thanks again to all of you, for sticking with us, and not giving up hope.
See you on the forums! ❤️ PS: This update is our Build #4845410
Pulling the Plug
Dear all of you,
after careful consideration, we decided we can no longer sustain our current workload. That is why we collectively decided to terminate the development of Can’t Drive This on Steam, effective immediately. Instead, we will be publishing the finished game on the Epoc Store, as well as Ploystation and Xbux. Also, we’ll bring a sick special version onto Nintondi Swank, which will be exactly the same, but 50% more expensive for some absurd reason.
It is with great pleasure that we, on this April Fools’ Day, totally friggin’ gotcha! (Did we, though?) We shall now quit playing games with your hearts. However, we will be intersplicing this announcement with sad GIFs, so as to troll people not reading the entire thing.
No, Can’t Drive This is not cancelled, of course. As they say, lol jk. The development of Can’t Drive This will stay exactly the way it is - with us, not publishing any updates, and saying “sorry” every few months.
Gotcha again! We WILL be publishing new updates, and the first one will be in your hands only two weeks from now.
The new Can’t Drive This will be replacing the old version. However, since Can’t Drive This changed a looooot, we’ll be moving the old version to a new permanent home: The legacy channel. Consider it the retirement home of channels, where you can visit the old Can’t Drive This as often as you want, and in turn, it’ll ask you if you’ve been taking your vitamins, or why the damn remote won’t work.
So, go ahead and update Can’t Drive This, and get crackin’ right now. Yes, right now. Earlier when I said “two weeks from now”... Well, gotcha.
We’ll be posting another announcement, with some more detailed plans for the future of the game tomorrow, when International Troll Day is over.
So again, sorry for cancelling the game and stuff.
Take care.
Getting Close
Hey all,
popping in for a short update on the development, and it's really going places.
The art and design are pretty much done – a few pieces of UI and small details on game modes are missing, but that's pretty much it. Most artists have now switched to meta artwork (artwork for storefronts, box art, etc.) or our next title.
Our programmers are still working hard on getting network code hammered down. There's been some problems with the networking SDK we'd been using before, but the current system is well on track. Once that's done, they'll be adding in an invite-system and user management. And once that's done, you'll all get to play the new Can't Drive This we promised so long ago.
For the data connoisseurs among you, here's a graph of our development hours by discipline.
If you have any questions, as usual, we'll be happy to answer them.
All the Best,
Steve
Good News! New Mode, Tile Ghosts & Team Colors
Hey y'all,
just popping in to let you know the base of the game is coming along nicely.
We now have a strong code-base, with stable physics and input handling, and which supports adding new game modes quickly.
That means can finally start working on getting Online Play and Vehicle Customization going again. And when that's done, the game will finally be on the same level as the current Early Access build (feature-wise), and we'll finally be able to roll out the new version to all of you.
Two-to-Four Player Yardage
With the new code-base, CDT now supports up to four players. So now, the classic 'go-as-far-as-possible' Yardage, supports two, three and four player co-op. Every player adds to the score (even the builder), and drivers are able to revive each-other, when they explode or fall off the track.
Capture the Flag
With the code now supporting four players, it's time for team-based versus modes! The first one we created is a variation of Capture the Flag, where both teams have a driver and builder each, and must get to the opposing team's base and back to score.
Tile Ghosts and Team Colors
To enable greater recognizability for tiles before they are placed, we've redesigned the Ghost's shader. In turn, we also used colors, which are distinguishable for colorblind gamers as well.
From Here On Out
We're now getting networking going again – everything is already coded in a way to make this as easy as possible, but considering the implications of real-time physics over a (potentially slow) network, this is a rather complex thing to do, if you want to do it right (which we do).
The goal is to make online play as stable as possible, and have matchmaking work to reliably find players – unlike in the current version.
Also, we'll be re-implementing vehicle and street customization. Again, the code-base is already designed in a way to allow for relatively quick implementation, but things like the customization UI, synchronizing customization over the network, and new customization options, will have to be done again.
Hope that helps give you an idea of how things are going – and THAT things are going.
As always, if there are any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
