Disney Speedstorm Dev Diary – Racing Visuals Update
We received a lot of feedback during our PC Closed Beta on how various visual and HUD (Heads Up Display) elements could be improved. In today’s Dev Diary, we will showcase several of the visual changes that are in the works for Disney Speedstorm. Please keep in mind, some of the visuals we showcase in the Dev Diary may change slightly between now and when the game launches, but we’d like to give you an early look at what we’ve been working on.
PRE & POST-RACE VISUALS
There’s been a big focus on making improvements to both the visuals and HUD, to give players an overall more immersive and accessible experience.
The above GIF showcases the same pre-race animation that you know and love from the Closed Beta, but with one key improvement. AI Racers will now always be sporting different kart liveries and parts rather than the default set up, so now you’ll be able to view different cosmetic items in action on the track before you may have unlocked them yourself!
The post-race animation has also been given an upgrade with the top three racers now being showcased on-screen at once. You’ll also be able to brag about your place on the podium with your Victory Animation of choice. Check those out in this video if you missed it previously.
MID RACE VISUALS
In the above GIF you can catch a glimpse of the new and improved Skill Boxes that you can crash through to pick up your racer’s unique and common skills. We feel they are super pretty [Arbee! Do we really have to write that?]
Racer Billboards are also a new addition to the mid-race visuals in Ranked Multiplayer that will provide you with some key information about your rival racers. As long as you are within a certain distance of a rival racer, a billboard will be shown containing their username, current race position, game platform as well as their player avatar. We are still working on the exact design but don’t worry, your Racer Billboard won’t show when using skills that make you invisible like Cloak!
In case you missed it in our last Dev Diary on drifting, we have also improved the visual indicators of when your Drift Boost is ready to activate. Read more about it here.
RACE HUD (HEADS UP DISPLAY)
The Manual Boost Bar is also receiving an upgrade, in order to make it more impactful and visually appealing. Another small change from the Closed Beta will be that when you have your racer’s Unique Skill available, it’s now much more clearly visible in the HUD thanks to some cool new artwork. There you have it! Just some of the small but important improvements we have made to the race experience for launch. We can’t wait for you to see the final versions and what else we have in store in upcoming Dev Diaries.
Don't forget to follow us on our social media channels for all the latest news and make sure you to wishlist the game if you haven’t already!
We remain fully committed to providing you with updates on improvements being made to the game, and today’s Dev Diary is no different. In addition to going in depth on the drifting mechanic itself, we also want to highlight key visual improvements we have made to the drift boost mechanic based on feedback from the PC Closed Beta.
What's drifting in Disney Speedstorm you ask? Well, the simple explanation is that it's the most effective, efficient and straight up coolest way to round corners during a race. But if you're not catching our drift, our game designers have a more technical definition for the racing enthusiasts as well.
"When drifting in our game, a player oversteers in a particular direction by pressing and holding the drift button which results in the tires losing traction while maintaining a level of control over the arc trajectory of the vehicle."
Drifting is an absolutely crucial mechanic that players will need to master if they hope to find themselves on top of the podium. In this week’s Dev Diary, we’ve once again enlisted the expertise of Game Designer Hunor Vizi to explain this key mechanic in detail.
DRIFTING 101
“With the drifting mechanic we wanted to empower our players to handle all the tight twists and turns that the game’s tracks have to offer.
Drifting makes the gameplay feel more fast paced in general, and the drift boost mechanic that enables karts to accelerate out of curves, gives an even greater sense of speed to races.
We wanted drifting to not only feel amazing, but to be easy to execute. The mechanic is very accessible, but the real challenge lies in getting the most out of your drift through timing and precision steering”
Before we get into the more advanced drifting techniques, Hunor will briefly explain the basics of how to drift in Disney Speedstorm.
“During a race, holding the drift button while turning left or right will make the kart start to drift. While drifting, the player has control over tightening or loosening the curved path along its trajectory with the directional buttons.
The tighter the drift, the more speed a kart loses and at the loosest possible drift trajectory, a kart will accelerate at a rate equal to that of normal forward acceleration.”
The drifting mechanic has many layers to it and while it’s certainly something that’s easy to pick up, it will take skill and practice to master, so take notes as we peel back some of those additional layers below.
DRIFTING & MANUAL BOOST
Drifting isn’t just a way to look cool while you race, it’s also absolutely critical to filling your Manual Boost Bar. While you are drifting, your manual boost bar will start to fill up, giving you a quick and easy way to get a timely speed boost when you need it.
DRIFT BOOSTING
Drift boosting is a slightly more advanced element of the drifting mechanic and really benefits racers who hold longer drifts.
“Drift boost activates after around 1.5 seconds of continuous drifting and is indicated by your wheels glowing. A successfully charged drift boost will grant an instant speed boost as well as extra manual boost fuel.”
Being in the air or hitting walls and obstacles will cancel a Drift Boost charge so be wary when starting a charge when close to ramps and obstacles.
We saw the feedback during the Closed Beta that it wasn’t visually clear when drift boost was charging or ready to activate. Now, your wheels will progressively start to glow as the drift boost charges and sparks will start to fly. When your drift boost is fully charged your entire wheel will be fully glowing so you won’t miss your chance to leave the competition in your dust anymore!
RACER CLASSES, HANDLING & DRIFTING
If you read our previous Dev Diary on Racer Classes, you’ll know that Trickster class racers have an advantage over other racers when it comes to drift boosting.
“Trickster class racers get double the amount of manual boost fuel upon a successful Drift Boost compared to other classes.”
We mentioned earlier how the tightness of a drift’s trajectory influences the rate of speed loss while drifting. In addition to this, another key factor to take into account is the handling stat of individual racers.
“Maneuverability & speed loss rate during drifts are dependent on the handling stat of each racer.”
If you are using a racer with a lower handling stat, it’s a good strategy to equip them with a Crew member that will boost their handling. We covered Crews in a previous Dev Diary so be sure to check that out as well if you missed it.
Well, there you have it! If you’ve reached this far, we can assume you haven’t drifted off and hope you enjoyed our deep dive on drifting in Disney Speedstorm. We look forward to sharing our next Dev Diary with you all soon!
Finally, don't forget to follow us on our social media channels for all the latest news and make sure you to wishlist the game if you haven’t already!
Today’s Dev Diary is all about the crew system. We’ll not only explain crews in detail, but we’ll also reveal an additional layer of depth that had been added to the system, as well as User Interface (UI) improvements that have been made since the Closed Beta. We remain committed to providing you with regular updates on what the team has been working on to provide the best Disney Speedstorm experience possible, so keep an eye out for more in the coming weeks!
Every successful racer has an amazing crew to support them and it’s no different in Disney Speedstorm. You can equip each of your racers with up to 4 crew members in our game to improve their stats and give you an edge over your rivals. There’s a bunch of Disney & Pixar crew members to collect when the game launches, so gather the crew as we explain this key racer upgrade system works below.
From Mushu & Cri-Kee, to Boo & Roz, there’s a whole host of Disney & Pixar crew members for players to unlock. You can unlock new crew members from reward boxes earned simply by progressing in the game. Equip them to the corresponding racers to help improve their stats.
Each racer can equip one crew members at star level 1, two at star level 3, three at star level 4, with the possibility to equip a maximum of 4 crew members at star level 5. Like racers, you can also use shards to increase the star level of your crew members to make them even more effective. During the Closed Beta, crew members could improve different combinations of the following stats:
Top Speed: Maximum speed of a racer. Acceleration: How fast a racer accelerates. Handling: How well a racer turns & drifts. Boost: How long a racer’s boost lasts. Combat: The duration of stun applied when hitting or being hit by rival racers.
We wanted to add an additional layer of depth to the crew upgrade system to make crew members even more impactful. We are happy to reveal that at launch, some crew members will also enhance your racer’s unique and common skills, in one of two ways.
The first enhancement will allow racers to begin a race with a common skill already equipped so you’ll be able to get an edge on your rivals right from the start line.
The second enhancement will increase the overall power level of your racer’s unique skill or a common skill that they pick up during a race.
The final topic we would like to touch on in this Dev Diary is the improvements we have made the game’s UI, based on the feedback from the Closed Beta. Navigating the menu & UI systems in the game was one of the main feedback topics we received from the community on our social channels and Discord server.
In our video you can see the improvements we have made to the crew system UI to make the whole experience of browsing and equipping crew members more visually appealing and smoother. It’s not the only aspect of the menu and UI systems in the game we are improving however, keep an eye out for further improvements as we get closer and closer to launch.
Finally, don't forget to follow us on our social media channels for all the latest news and make sure you to wishlist the game if you haven’t already!
When we announced the decision to delay the worldwide release of Disney Speedstorm in order to meet our expectations and provide players with a more immersive racing experience, customization offerings & game modes, we promised to keep you up to speed on our progress as we head towards launch.
Today’s Dev Diary will be the first of many where we will give you a glimpse at the progress we have been making on the game. We hope you enjoy!
TIME TO SHOW EVERYONE WHO’S BOSS
Throughout our PC Closed Beta, we received feedback from the community that you would appreciate more race variety and challenge when progressing through Adventure Maps. In today’s Dev Diary, we are going to give you a glimpse into just one of the additional race types being added to the game called Boss Mode.
Boss Mode races are all about increased challenge and overcoming a designated rival AI racer who will do everything in their power to leave you in their dust. When progressing through Adventure maps, you’ll frequently find your path blocked by a Boss Node and will need to outpace them in order to move on.
Each and every Boss Mode race will have a designated rival racer you will need to defeat in order to progress further in the Adventure Map. You will still have 6 other racer to contend with as well, but don’t take your eyes off your rival racer for a second!
Rival racers will have significantly higher stats than the other AI racers and will be extra competitive, doing everything in their power to knock you out of contention. Always be on the lookout for their attacks as they’ll have you in their sights for the entire race!
NEW OBSTACLES IN YOUR PATH
Rival racers aren’t the only thing you’ll have to contend with in Boss Mode. In addition to the hazards like the ship cannons on the A Pirate’s Life track that you saw during the Closed Beta, you’ll have brand new obstacles to dodge.
Whether it’s manholes blowing their top in Toon Village or fire-breathing statues in the Jungle Ruins, the race environment itself is at its most difficult in Boss Nodes. If you are hit by one of these obstacles, you’ll be stunned so do your best to avoid them.
Hazards and obstacles will be present in other race types as well, but the amount present on the track is dependant on the difficulty rating of the race. In Boss Modes, the maximum amount of hazards and obstacles will always be present so you’ll need to be ready to dodge at all times!
On a related topic the more eagled-eyed members of our community have already spotted glimpses of some additional “décor” around our racetracks in our most recent videos. Players will now encounter destructible objects scattered around tracks, so have fun smashing through them or breaking them with skills like Bomb or Shot. They won’t stun you like obstacles or hazards, so you can hit them to your heart’s content!
Well, there you have it, that’s a first look at everything you need to know about our newest race type. Which rival racer are you most excited to take on in Boss Modes in the future?
Remember that this is only the beginning of the new race types we plan to add to the game so make sure you stay tuned to our social channels for more sneak peeks in the future.
Finally, don't forget to follow us on our social media channels for all the latest news and make sure you to wishlist the game if you haven’t already!
We have been working diligently to craft an amazing racing experience for Disney Speedstorm, capturing our vision of the exciting magic fans enjoy in their favorite Disney and Pixar characters and games.
With this in mind and after careful consideration, we have decided to delay the worldwide release of Disney Speedstorm to meet our expectations and provide players with a more immersive racing experience, customization offerings, game modes and more.
Fans are invited to join us on the speedway when Disney Speedstorm launches in 2023 on PC and Consoles.
We appreciate all of the feedback and support we’ve received from fans who participated in the beta earlier this year and our followers on social. We plan to keep fans up to speed on our progress with regular updates on these features as we head toward launch, so stay tuned for more over the next several weeks!
We'd like to thank our community for their invaluable feedback and can't wait for you to see what the team has been working hard to bring you.
Are you a Speedster, Trickster, Brawler or Defender? The racer class system in Disney Speedstorm has something to fit all play styles. In this Dev Diary, we will explain each racer class in detail as well as the design choice to have distinct classes in the game.
Game Designer Hunor Vizi gave us more insight on the decision to have each racer be part of a distinct class:
“We introduced the Class system because we wanted to create variety among our racers, make them feel unique. The playstyle of each class is different, but their learning curves are similar.
In a racing game like Disney Speedstorm, it just felt intuitive to categorize these playstyles into our 4 classes.
Making the structure systematic not only helps players grasp the system easier, but also helps the Game Team make sense of things when we need to calibrate and balance new racers in future seasons.”
CLASS BONUS OVERVIEW
Each racer class has their own unique bonuses and differences that are either gained passively or by performing certain actions and we’ll explain how each category works below:
Stats Bonus
There are general stats bonuses that each racer class has an advantage in such as top speed, boost, handling, acceleration, or combat.
Dash Bonus
Unique bonus effects are granted by successfully hitting a rival racer with a dash. This effect is different depending on the racer class and will either benefit the player who lands the dash or hinder the player hit by the dash.
Manual Boost Bonus
Racers can fill their manual boost bar faster by performing certain actions such as hitting boost pads or racing in a rival’s slipstream. The different racer classes will need to perform a certain action to gain a manual boost bonus.
In addition to each racer’s unique skill, there are several common skills that can picked up during races. Each class has a set of 2 skills that are their focus, with each racer in a class having 1 of those 2 focus skills as their class skill. For example, in the Brawler class, Hercules and Beast have Shot as their class skill, whereas Donald Duck has Fire.
Each racer also has a unique line-up of the other common skills that they can pick up, ensuring that every single racer plays a little differently.
Now that you have the inside track on what makes our racer class system work, make sure to check out our racer class showcase playlist to see each class in action!
Finally, don't forget to follow us on our social media channels for all the latest news and make sure you to wishlist the game if you haven’t already!
At D23 Expo, presented by Visa, during the Disney & Marvel Games Showcase, the news was revealed that Sulley will be joined by racers Mike Wazowski, Celia Mae and the first villain Randall as part of our Monsters, Inc. inspired content.
Check out our gameplay trailer to see the new racers in action on the Monsters, Inc. inspired track "The Factory"
We also just launched our Instagram Account so make sure to drop us a follow for exclusive behind the scenes content.
Finally, don't forget to follow us on our social media channels for all the latest news.
The Disney Speedstorm PC Closed Beta has ended. Thank you!
The checkered flag is flying which means the Disney Speedstorm Closed Beta has concluded. We are very grateful for all the feedback provided from the very first racers on the tracks!
As a thank you, all beta participants will receive this special cosmetic reward at a later date!
Make sure to Wishlist the game to be notified about the upcoming launch later this year.
You can also join our official Discord server to connect with the Disney Speedstorm community!
Finally, don't forget to follow us on our social media channels for all the latest news.
We are delighted to announce that players worldwide can enter the time-limited PC Closed Beta for Disney Speedstorm!
The Disney Speedstorm Closed Beta begins on June 08, 2022, and during this time, players can upgrade and customize their characters and progress through the single player Adventure Map mode, and on weekends players can join in Online Ranked Races, where they can apply all their skills they’ve learned in the most competitive racing environment around! Leverage special grinding rails, combat items, and character’s unique abilities to be the first to cross the finish line.
We are thrilled to get Disney Speedstorm into the hands of players for this time-limited Closed Beta, as this marks the first occasion for us to field valuable feedback from the gaming community.
See you all out on the race track!
FAQ
Q. I'm a console player. Will I be able to join the Closed Beta?
A. No, our test will run on PC, but you will be able to enjoy the full release of Disney Speedstorm on your console of choice when it launches later this year.
Q. How do I join the Closed Beta?
A. You can sign up on disneyspeedstorm.com or you can sign up right here on the game's Steam page.
Q. Will Closed Beta players keep their progress at the end of the test?
A. No, all progress will be wiped at the end of the test.
Q. What will be available during the Closed Beta test?
A. The game is still in development but the Closed Beta will include all the gameplay features, single player and multiplayer modes across six environments inspired by Disney and Pixar worlds. Players will have a choice of 12 racers.
Q. What are the system requirements for the Closed Beta?
OS: Windows 10 (64 bit) or newer (64 bit) Windows OS Processor: 2.5 GHz Quad-core Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: 2 GB video card, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760, AMD Radeon R7 270X, or better DirectX: Version 12 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 20 GB available space
Follow us on social for announcements regarding the upcoming Closed Beta.
Disney Speedstorm Races Into Closed Beta on June 8th
Disney Speedstorm Races Into Closed Beta on June 8th
The time-limited Closed Beta for Disney Speedstorm will begin on June 8th and you can register now on Steam! All you need to do is to request access to the Closed Beta client through the Steam Playtest tool, on the Disney Speedstorm page.
Before you speed off, a quick reminder: the Beta version of Disney Speedstorm will focus on stability and is meant to give you a taste of racing greatness to come. We are excited to soon get beta testers' feedback and we hope that you will come back when we launch officially with even more features and content available. Stay tuned!
Follow us on social for announcements regarding the upcoming Closed Beta.
