Offroad Truck Simulator – Heavy Duty Challenge News

Hello Everyone,

I hope you are well. This week I’d like to write a few words about one of the key mechanics in the game, the differential lock. Our prototype interface in the demo didn’t explain much, though I hope it helped to learn which buttons to push, at least.

Heavy Duty Challenge demo screenshot: diff lock information in the bottom right, plus a pop-up in the middle
Source: Nano Games

In general, the differential is a mechanism that allows the wheels to spin with different speeds. When you drive, it makes it easier and safer to take tight turns, for example.

So why would you want to lock the differential?

The mechanism affects the distribution of power to the wheels. When you lose traction on one wheel (e.g. it stops touching the ground, or touches a slippery surface), there may not be enough torque on the other wheel to keep the truck going forward. Especially in difficult terrain or when you’re driving up a hill.

In the game, like in real trucks, you’ll be able to lock the differentials and this way – to put it simply - you’ll have some control over which wheels and axles get a portion of the power.

These are possible locks in a 3-axle truck, like the MAN on the screen above.

Inter-axle lock gets power transmitted equally to both rear axles

Central diff lock between the front and back – power is sent to all axles

Inter-wheel lock on the 2nd and 3rd axle – the four wheels in the back spin with the same speed

Inter-wheel lock on the front axle – all diff locks are on, equal distribution of power to the wheels


So why would you ever have the diff lock off? It puts strain on the axles, makes the tires wear out quicker and taking those tight turns will be more difficult.

I bet some of you know even more about the physics and mechanics of the differential or have some thoughts on how it should work in the game – leave a comment or jump to our Discord to share!

Best,

Łukasz Pleśniarowicz, Lead Designer
Nano Games Team


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https://store.steampowered.com/app/1165530/Heavy_Duty_Challenge

Today we present you one of the 2-axle trucks in Heavy Duty Challenge - The Unimog.

They are smaller and have less powerful engines than trucks in Category III or IV! 2-axle trucks are the most maneuverable trucks and are able to deal with any challenge that is thrown at them. The Unimog is the most popular truck brand in Category II of Europa Truck Trial.

On the Screenshots you can see the Unimog of Team Plein Gaz
https://www.europatrucktrial.org/team/?id=4




https://youtu.be/XGYgUTrM9ZE

Hi Everyone,

In the demos in January and February, we’ve shown you two trucks, which have some obvious things in common:

• Both are a version of the MAN TGS truck
  
• Both are driven by German teams (BFS Trucksport Team and HS-Schoch Hardox Truck Trial Team)
  
• Both are awesome 😉
  

But there’s also one easy-to-spot difference: the number of axles.

In Europa Truck Trial, the championship that inspired our game, trucks are divided into categories, within which teams compete. Three of those categories will be featured in Heavy Duty Challenge base game: Categories II, III and IV, which means teams driving 2-axle, 3-axle, or 4-axle trucks.

This is the view of a prototype menu in the game with 3 trucks from the 3 categories

Source: Nano Games

This defines the structure of the game. When you begin, you select a truck and this decision puts you in one of those categories. To compete in the other two, you will need to progress through the game and unlock trucks with a different number of axles.

Also, leaderboards will be organized into those categories, so if you want to show your friends and strangers who’s boss, you’ll have to practice driving different categories.

Racing Team Avia Future in Avia 31T on their way to victory in the 2-axle category

Source: https://www.europatrucktrial.org/team/?id=1

Coincidentally, in the last held ETT championship, both BFS and Hardox teams were the winners of their respective categories. The team that won in Cat. II was Racing Team Avia Future from the Czech Republic.

So this is how the trucks will be organized in the base game. Hope you enjoyed this devlog. Until next time!

Best,

Łukasz Pleśniarowicz, Lead Designer
Nano Games Team


P.S. Not to ignore an important fact, there’s a fourth category in ETT: Cat. PROTO. Here, the number of axles doesn’t matter. You’ll end up in this group if you modify your truck, so it is no longer considered one of the “standard or close-to-standard vehicles” (to quote the rules). We’d like to have those in the game, eventually, but their mechanics (like pneumatic suspensions, custom brakes and more than one steering axle) are a challenge we’ll face in the next step.

Team Manent-Cellier in their modified Ural 4320, French champions of Cat. PROTO 2019

Source: https://www.europatrucktrial.org/team/?id=72

Łukasz


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https://store.steampowered.com/app/1165530/Heavy_Duty_Challenge

Hello,

Big thanks from Nano Games team to everyone who played Heavy Duty Challenge during our January playtest and February Steam Game Festival. Your support means a lot to us!

We decided to sum up the feedback we’ve received, and answer some of the frequently asked questions. These are just the issues that have been discussed the most - feel free to post any other that come to mind here, on the forum, or on Discord.

Will there be better sounds?

Let’s get this one out of the way. Yes, we’ll have better sounds. The sounds we used in January are out forever; the festival sounds were better, but temporary. This is a key feature, and we won’t neglect it, promise.

Will there be proper controller support?

After the first demo, it seemed like most people wanted the wheel controllers, so we made some (not final) updates to them. After the second, we’re sure the gamepad is just as important. We knew that all along. On release, we’ll fully support different types of controllers.

Can you make the rules like in Europa Truck Trial?

Generally, yes, we’ll make them as close as possible. We were happy to see how many fans (and teams!) of real-life truck trials are with us. You know the championships very well and were able to help us with getting the rules of the sport right. So next time you play, the errors you’ve found will be corrected. Hopefully, they never spoiled your fun.

Will there be bigger levels?

Yes. On release, levels will be open environments that you can drive around freely. Some parts of them will be sections – obstacle courses – which you enter to get points in the championship. This is also actually inspired by Europa Truck Trial. The demo was only one such section.

What other features are you working on?

We’re constantly tweaking the trucks, so they drive realistically, and look and feel right. We are working on a damage system – the trucks will break down if you are not careful. There will be a campaign mode we call Career and leaderboards to compare your scores with other players. And we’re adding more trucks and levels.

When will the game be out?

The Early Access release will be this year, but we first want to create something bigger, more polished and more exciting than just a demo.

What’s up with the bugs?

We’re working on them all the time.



If any more ideas come to your mind, feel free to comment.

Thank you again for playing Heavy Duty Challenge - stay tuned for more!


Best,

Łukasz Pleśniarowicz, Lead Designer

Nano Games Team



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https://store.steampowered.com/app/1165530/Heavy_Duty_Challenge

Attention! HDC will take part in the Steam Game Festival! It starts tomorrow and we can't wait!

From February 3 until February 9, you will be able to play a free demo of our game. Look forward to some updates in comparison to the playtest version.

We have some really cool new screenshots from the Hardox - another truck you can drive in Heavy Duty Challenge. And the best... you can already try it at the Steam Game Festival! So enjoy driving "The Brownie"😉


Source: Nano Games


Source: Nano Games


Source: Nano Games

We wish you a lot of fun!
To be always a bit earlier up to date, join our HDC Discord!

All the best!
Nano Games Team