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KartRider: Drift News

[LIVESTREAM] Practice Lap with Liltya

Racers,

Liltya is back on the track in this week’s Practice Lap. She’s ready to take her drifting knowledge gleaned from countless laps around Bayside Bridge Run to the Forest and Ice maps. Will she be able to improve her track times or crash into railings and scare the wildlife?

Liltya will also be talking about what the development team is working on, so be sure to check out the most recent Dev Blogs on Kart Physics Improvements and User Experience!

Catch the action on Steam, Twitch, Mixer, Facebook, or Twitter this Thursday, March 5th at 1:00 PM PT (4:00 PM ET). See you there!

Dev Blog - User Experience Improvements

Hey there, Racers!

I'm JL, a KartRider: Drift developer.

After talking about improvements to the driving physics in my last blog, I gave much thought on what to talk about next. We are currently working on making improvements based on your feedback after the December Closed Beta, and proceeding with the relevant work of fixing and doing additional development.

I think I gave this so much thought because there are many things I want to talk about.

Continuing from the improvements to the driving physics, I would like to talk about the progress of the in-game player experience today.

Many Racers from the Closed Beta gave feedback that the game was hard to play because the User Interface (UI) wasn't intuitive.

We believe that the in-game UI needs to be intuitive and easy to see. Based on the characteristics of Item and Speed Modes, the information displayed in both game modes must be communicated clearly.

The dev team took this into consideration and formed the in-game UI, but the results of Closed Beta showed that we were not able to meet the Racers' expectations.

Since the UI is critical for creating a good experience, it needs to go beyond the design composition. It must be easy to use, give good information and evoke the right emotions from everyone that plays.

Thus, it is our vision to develop a good User Experience (UX) together with players by listening to the stories told by our Racers, more so than just making it based upon our own mindset.

For these reasons, the dev team decided to rethink the in-game UX from scratch.

We are actively having many discussions on what can be done to increase usability and improve the experience while also meeting the basic requirements. We are also using advanced equipment with pro gamers and influencers such as eye tracking to see where a player's attention goes and how it changes in each situation.

  • The attention area is wider in multiplayer than solo
  • Attention is dispersed while driving because the UI is scattered
  • Attention is dispersed as you need to constantly check on the opponent trailing behind
  • Confirmed that it's hard to watch the situation behind you without a rear-view mirror

We took note of the focus-group test results and Closed Beta feedback, and applied what we learned to the position and size of each UI element to prevent players from getting distracted as much as possible during gameplay.

The position of UI elements will be rearranged closer to the center of the screen in order to provide unified information, and we decided to adjust the size and shape to make it easier for players to perceive accurate information.

Also, many players gave feedback that it's hard to check how charged the Boost Gauge is due to the gauge being curved. The current curve shape will be changed to a straight line to make it more intuitive.

  • Could easily drive without directly looking at the gauge, or quickly look at the end point of the gauge and know how much the gauge is filled
  • Need to constantly check the gauge while driving or check again after getting the booster item
In the long run, we are also preparing a feature that will allow for customizing the position and size of in-game UI elements. Each Racer will be able to freely adjust the settings to match their skills and preferences.

Racers, the feedback you've shared with us is the direction KartRider: Drift is taking. That is why I believe communicating with you, our Racers, is so important.

Please continue to keep up your interest in KartRider: Drift and stay tuned!
-JL-

[Livestream] Practice Lap with Liltya and LAMBCOOK

Racers,

Join Liltya and LAMBCOOK as they talk drifting and the recent Dev Blog in this week’s Practice Lap. Competing head-to-head, victory may come down to who can execute the perfect optimized or cutting drift as they strive to master different drifting techniques.

From Bayside Bridge Run to Handy Harbor, races will be spread across different tracks - and we want you, the viewer, to help decide where to race!

You can catch the action on the Steam livestream on Thursday, February 20th at 4:30 PM PT (7:30 PM ET). See you there!

[LIVESTREAM] Practice Lap with Liltya and LAMBCOOK

Racers,

Join Liltya and LAMBCOOK as they talk drifting and the recent Dev Blog in this week’s Practice Lap. Competing head-to-head, victory may come down to who can execute the perfect optimized or cutting drift as they strive to master different drifting techniques.

From Bayside Bridge Run to Handy Harbor, races will be spread across different tracks - and we want you, the viewer, to help decide where to race!

You can catch the action on the Steam livestream on Thursday, February 20th at 4:30 PM PT (7:30 PM ET). See you there!

Dev Blog - Kart Physics Improvements

Hey there Racers!

I'm JL, a KartRider: Drift developer.

Hello everyone, it's been a while since our last dev blog.

The dev team is currently working on compiling your feedback after the December Closed Beta, as well as proceeding with fixing the problems you noted and continuing to develop the game.

As much as the love and support you've sent to KartRider: Drift, we received a lot of feedback. As developers, we believe you provided us with a sense of the direction that KartRider: Drift should be moving forward in, so we're cherishing it all as we go through them.

I came to write this dev blog to discuss how KartRider: Drift has been changing after the December Closed Beta.

For today, we'd like to discuss the driving physics, one of the topics we received the most feedback on during the beta.

We're working on carrying over and advancing the original KartRider to KartRider: Drift, so that its speed and drifting can be enjoyed by everyone, and we believe it is the dev team's greatest goal and mission to improve the driving physics based on the feedback we received during the beta.

During the December Closed Beta, there were various awkward aspects to collisions between karts, collision of the kart and the track's walls, and more.

The awkwardness during such collisions was caused by the dev team being under-prepared for the complications of the driving physics, and our team is sorry that we failed to rise up to that challenge. Collision refers to what happens when two objects run into each other for just a split second, and everything that follows in the moments after that collision takes place.

Especially in racing games, collisions can occur in many situations, including intentional ramming of other karts, and are essential to racing. We believe the moment of collision and what happens afterwards must be made to appear natural.

Therefore, we have analyzed the feedback we received related to driving physics, and invited professional gamers and influencers to help with a deeper analysis. We proceeded with the group test to understand the issue and to list out the areas that need to be improved.

Our team is currently working on improving the driving physics in the following ways:
  • Collision between Karts
    • Refine the collision's angle and magnitude of force at the time of impact to improve on the effect and rebound force.
    • Refine the angle of recovery after a collision and the force of the collision's rebound force.
  • Collision of Karts and Walls
    • Refine the collision's angle and magnitude of force to improve on the effect and rebound force.
    • Refine the angle of recovery after a collision and the force of the collision's rebound force.
  • Collision While Jumping and Landing
    • Improve so that going airborne while drifting would not cancel the drift, but instead allow you to continue drifting upon landing.
  • Multiple Collisions between a Kart, Another Kart, Walls, and Etc.
    • Improve the individual effects reflecting the magnitude of force at the time of multiple collisions and the rebound forces that follow.
    • Refine the angle of recovery after a collision and the force of the collision's rebound force.
  • Drift Angle Improvement
    • Adjusting the angles that would cause a drift to end.
    • Improve so that drift would function the same way as in the original KartRider.

Once the driving physics' improvement work is complete, we'll be able to provide Racers with the racing feeling that's closer to the original KartRider for the next Closed Beta, and you'll be able to enjoy the sensation of driving that's unique to KartRider.

Your feedback is the direction KartRider: Drift should be moving forward in, and it also greatly encourages us. Please keep up your interest in KartRider: Drift, and continue to stay tuned.

-JL-