Solar Club Letter: September 2025
[p]In July we held our Season 4 and Year 2 dev diary where we showed the world what to expect over the next 12 months in TDUSC. Today, we go into more details about what you can expect in Season 5 and when the next news on TDUSC is coming.
[/p][h2]What’s In the Letter?[/h2]
[/p][p]“For Season 5, we focused on several key areas:[/p][p][/p][p]Main Menu:[/p][p]With Thibault Drevon, our aim was to shift away from a "techno-digital" feel towards a more realistic environment. The goal was to immerse players in the driver experience, offering a glimpse of the in-game housing.[/p][p][/p][p]Lighting:[/p][p]Working with the lighting team, we made nice improvements.[/p][p]While further engine improvements are needed for post-processing, the overall objective was to achieve a cinematic mood throughout the game. We also sought to differentiate the two islands:[/p]
[/p][p]
[/p][p]“In Season 5 we take the first step in a global UI rework to improve the visibility and art direction of the interface. The philosophy behind the change of the pause menu is to highlight your car and your character on the center of the screen. The buttons and navigation have been repositioned to optimize the space and let the 3D shine over 2D. We also had a lot of details to our global UI such as radius corner and drop shadow for more clarity. Last but not least, we have changed our hovered button color to feel more classy and less in a sci-fi mood.”[/p]
[/p][p]We’ll continue to work on the UI/UX design of TDUSC throughout the coming seasons.
[/p][h3]KT Engine Improvements[/h3][p]Although some of the KT Engine improvements are behind the scenes of the player, improvements like this are what allow us to improve the overall performance of the game with new rendering techniques. Even with the arrival of Season 5’s changes, we know there is still work to be done on the performance of the game, and we created a dedicated optimisation team to help with this. Moving forward, let’s see what you can expect to arrive in Season 5[/p]
[/p][p]“Season 5 brings a major iteration of the Kt Engine rendering engine.
[/p][p]The most visible improvements concern rendering, with particular attention to shadows and water shaders, which have been revised. Less visible but equally important work has also been done on the rendering pipeline to better balance it.[/p][p][/p][p]This evolution of our engine is the culmination of almost a year's work by our engine team on the subject. However, its release also marks the launch of a long-term optimization campaign that will allow us to improve both quality and performance over the seasons.”[/p]
[/p]
[/p][p]Just for you to know, Clément, Guillaume & others are doing a great job on the ORC, I know people will love it! We can't wait to show you our progress on it! [/p][p][/p][p]We will continue to add more of these to let you see where and what we are working on!"[/p]
"We did a big load of work in design, programming and UI to change a lot of things in the Economy.
[/p][p]We wanted the player progression to be more rewarding but we wanted to keep the TDU DNA too; so we won't spoil the player and keep the progression meaningful and create joy when you finally buy the car you cherish and wanted for all this time. [/p][p][/p][p]It was quite a challenge but I think we have found the right balance here.
[/p][p]As usual, we are waiting the feedback of the community. We will continue to improve economy by giving you new ways to earn money and adjust balancing."[/p]
[/p][p]The Alpine A110 Légende gets an incredible livery for a Season 5 live event! We know you’ll ask other questions about the screenshot though, but we need to reassure you that ONLY the livery will be rewarded in the live event in Season 5, any other vehicle modification you may see will be discussed at a later date… though of course, it will still arrive in Season 5!
[/p][p]
[/p][p]More licensed clothes arrive in TDUSC’s Season 5, with your chance at receiving a PUMA t-shirt and shoes! Also yes, we did change the wardrobe, more details on this to come![/p][p][/p][h3]Mid-Season Update[/h3][p]Unlike the last seasons, there will be no feature content arriving in the mid-season update, however, we don’t want there to be any surprises when it comes to monetisation in TDUSC. The mid-season update will bring the online store, which will allow players to purchase licensed clothing, vehicles, previous live event rewards, and more. Let’s quickly discuss this.[/p]![]()
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[/carousel][p][/p][h2]🔊 Sounds[/h2][p]The sounds of Season 5 are taking form, but what’s arriving after? Let’s find out![/p][p][/p][h3]Season 5 Cars[/h3][p]So far in Season 5, we’ve confirmed the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera and the De Tomaso P72 so far, although since you guessed it right, the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 will arrive in Season 5 too! These vehicles each feature distinctive sounds, and the sound designers have worked really hard on them, so let’s hear the De Tomaso P72 roar![/p][p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][h3]What’s Next?[/h3][p]Back in July, we shared the results of the sound design survey in which players had the opportunity to vote on what car sounds they’d like to see improved in the game.[/p][p][/p][p]“For the P72 it was very complicated to find some sourc ematerials because it is a new car, and no one has it. It is a special car with a 5.0L V8 supercharged, but we think did well in recreating the distinct sound of the DeTomaso P72. [/p][p][/p][p]For the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo, it was a challenge to make the sound of this vehicle in TDUSC comparing from Endurance Motorsport Series. We had to keep the good work that the team from EMS did, while integrating the TDU DNA into it's design.[/p][p][/p][p]For now, we are focusing on the different Season features on sound design, but we want to tackle in the next months the mix of all AI vehicle in the world, including your opponents. We are also looking at the feedback from players on vehicles such as the Lamborghini Huracan Sterrato and other community feedbacks.”[/p]
[/p][h3]Physical Clothing Store[/h3][p]Clothing stores are set to arrive in Season 6 of TDUSC as our lighting artists finish the work on Season 5’s timecycles. The last time you saw pictures of the stores, their lighting was in an early phase, so we’d like to share with you some updates we’ve made since then! [/p]
[/p][h2]🖼️ Community Spotlight Winners - September[/h2][p]Last letter, we announced that the Community Spotlight will go over some new changes so players can now vote for the winners in our Discord, and there will be prizes to win! Let’s take a look at the results from September![/p][p] [/p][h3]Winners[/h3][p]There have been some amazing pictures sent in for this month's Community Spotlight, but here are the top 3 voted photos for the month of September! [/p]
[/p][h2]⏭️ Coming Up Next[/h2][p]Season 5 is releasing in late October, so you can expect some of the marketing around this season to rev up! Here’s all of the upcoming news to expect regarding TDUSC’s Season 5! All of these upcoming assets will arrive with a dedicated letter on our Steam and Reddit social page, so be sure to stay tuned![/p][p][/p][h3]Console & PC Gameplay[/h3][p]This time around, we are going to make sure to show how TDUSC looks on PC and consoles. On October 9th, we’ll be sharing a handful of gameplay on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC. You’ll see various weather conditions, timecycles, and of course, races.[/p][p][/p][h3]Taxi Mission & Poker Gameplay[/h3][p]Poker and Taxi Missions will be arriving on day one of the Season 5 update along with the many other features. We’ll be sharing gameplay of both of these features on October 16th![/p][p][/p][h3]Season 5 Feature Showcase Livestream[/h3][p]There are a lot of changes coming to TDUSC’s Season 5, so what better way to discuss these with you than hosting a livestream at KT’s Paris office!
[/p][p]On October 21st, we will be streaming TDUSC live on the Nacon Racing YouTube channel going through everything you'll find on day one of Season 5 with many of the developers who are working on TDUSC. Of course, during the stream we will be answering questions from the community regarding the upcoming season, and what’s in store for the game's future![/p][p][/p][h3]October Solar Club Letter[/h3][p]The October Solar Club Letter will arrive at the launch of Season 5, detailing all of the exciting features covered from the livestream and more!
[/p][h2]❤️ Final Message[/h2][p]We are working hard to make sure Season 5 is the best season so far for the TDU community, and as usual, we are excited for you to see the upcoming news releases in the coming weeks of October! See you soon![/p]
[/p][h2]What’s In the Letter?[/h2]
- [p]Season 5 Details[/p]
- [p]Timecycle[/p]
- [p]UI Overhaul[/p]
- [p]KT Engine Improvements[/p]
- [p]Water Shaders[/p]
- [p]Performance[/p]
- [p]Construction Sites[/p]
- [p]Economy[/p]
- [p]Race Payouts[/p]
- [p]FRIM[/p]
- [p]Car Selling[/p]
- [p]Vehicle Improvements[/p]
- [p]Cruise Control[/p]
- [p]Bug Fixes & Improvements[/p]
- [p]Live Events[/p]
- [p]Mid-Season Update[/p]
- [p]Monetisation[/p]
- [p]Previous Solar Pass Vehicles[/p]
- [p]New Vehicles[/p]
- [p]Ford GT Pre-Order[/p]
- [p]Release Date[/p]
- [p]Sounds[/p]
- [p]Season 5 Cars[/p]
- [p]What’s Next?[/p]
- [p]Season 6 Details[/p]
- [p]Physical Clothing Stores[/p]
- [p]Detective Mode[/p]
- [p]Community Spotlight Winner - September[/p]
- [p]Winners[/p]
- [p]How To Enter[/p]
- [p]Coming Up Next[/p]
- [p]Console & PC Gameplay[/p]
- [p]Taxi Mission & Poker Tease[/p]
- [p]Season 5 Feature Showcase Livestream[/p]
- [p]October Solar Club Letter[/p]
- [p]Hong Kong Island: Hong Kong Island gets many improvements to TDUSC, so let’s take a look at some of these!
[/p][carousel][/carousel][p][/p]
- [p]Ibiza: As mentioned in the last letter, we made the decision to improve the timecycle on Ibiza. Here’s some of the amazing views you can expect to see![/p][p][/p][carousel]
[/carousel]
[/p][p]“For Season 5, we focused on several key areas:[/p][p][/p][p]Main Menu:[/p][p]With Thibault Drevon, our aim was to shift away from a "techno-digital" feel towards a more realistic environment. The goal was to immerse players in the driver experience, offering a glimpse of the in-game housing.[/p][p][/p][p]Lighting:[/p][p]Working with the lighting team, we made nice improvements.[/p][p]While further engine improvements are needed for post-processing, the overall objective was to achieve a cinematic mood throughout the game. We also sought to differentiate the two islands:[/p]
- [p]Hong Kong: Mimics the atmosphere found in various Asian driving community videos.[/p]
- [p]Ibiza: Emphasizes the heat and vibrant colors reminiscent of a postcard.[/p]
- [p]Ibiza: Received a complete identity change, featuring more enclosed spaces and a structured feel, similar to Formula 1 races in Monaco or Macau.[/p]
- [p]Hong Kong: Still under development, with the aim of creating a new proposition less futuristic but giving as much freedom that they do for now. We want to keep this Open Road vibe on HKI races that define a Test Drive Unlimited Experience.", hopefully ready for Season 6.[/p]
- [p]Stéphane Cambier / TDUSC Art Director
[/p]
[/p][p]
- [p]Thibault Drevon / TDUSC Lead UI Designer[/p][p][/p]
[/p][p]We’ll continue to work on the UI/UX design of TDUSC throughout the coming seasons.
[/p][h3]KT Engine Improvements[/h3][p]Although some of the KT Engine improvements are behind the scenes of the player, improvements like this are what allow us to improve the overall performance of the game with new rendering techniques. Even with the arrival of Season 5’s changes, we know there is still work to be done on the performance of the game, and we created a dedicated optimisation team to help with this. Moving forward, let’s see what you can expect to arrive in Season 5[/p]
- [p]Water Shaders: Since the last time we discussed this, we have made some new improvements to the water shaders. You’ll now be able to find waves appearing on the beaches in Ibiza, and a further improved water tone colour. Below are some screenshot examples of this, along with more screenshots from Hong Kong Island’s waterways.[/p][p][/p][p]
[/p]
- [p]Performance: We are working hard on the improvements of the games performance on consoles and PC. This new initiative arrives from a team dedicated to the games optimisation, so rest assured, Season 5 will not be the end of performance improvements. We don’t expect major changes to the framerate with the arrival of Season 5, as we optimised the game, to then improve the current rendering techniques. However, you should still see improvements on performance, and we plan to increase PC and console performance/framerate further in the coming updates with our dedicated optimisation team. [/p]
[/p][p]“Season 5 brings a major iteration of the Kt Engine rendering engine.
[/p][p]The most visible improvements concern rendering, with particular attention to shadows and water shaders, which have been revised. Less visible but equally important work has also been done on the rendering pipeline to better balance it.[/p][p][/p][p]This evolution of our engine is the culmination of almost a year's work by our engine team on the subject. However, its release also marks the launch of a long-term optimization campaign that will allow us to improve both quality and performance over the seasons.”[/p]
- [p]Fabien Fumeron / KT-Racing Technical Director[/p][p][/p]
[/p]
- [p]Ibiza: You’ll be able to find 2 beautiful house location construction sites in Season 5. We won’t tell you where they are exactly, but we don’t mind teasing one of them![/p][p][/p][p]
[/p]
- [p]Hong Kong Island: Although no construction sites are present on HKI yet, you may notice a map change somewhere on the island near a twisty road.[/p][p][/p]
[/p][p]Just for you to know, Clément, Guillaume & others are doing a great job on the ORC, I know people will love it! We can't wait to show you our progress on it! [/p][p][/p][p]We will continue to add more of these to let you see where and what we are working on!"[/p]
- [p]Guillaume Guinet / TDUSC Game Director[/p][p][/p]
"We did a big load of work in design, programming and UI to change a lot of things in the Economy.
[/p][p]We wanted the player progression to be more rewarding but we wanted to keep the TDU DNA too; so we won't spoil the player and keep the progression meaningful and create joy when you finally buy the car you cherish and wanted for all this time. [/p][p][/p][p]It was quite a challenge but I think we have found the right balance here.
[/p][p]As usual, we are waiting the feedback of the community. We will continue to improve economy by giving you new ways to earn money and adjust balancing."[/p]
- [p]Guillaume Guinet / TDUSC Game Director
[/p]
- [p]Race Payouts: We’ve increased the payouts of all races found on both Ibiza and Hong Kong Island. One of the biggest changes comes to the Crown Jewel races, with one of them now paying out before bonuses 1,000,000 Solar Coins![/p][p][/p][p]
[/p][p]For other events and races found in TDUSC, you’ll find all payouts have been increased, and are also based on the time you put into them, so no matter how you play TDUSC, whether it be a 2 min Navigation Race, a 9 minute Car Delivery, or a 20 minute Crown Jewel, you’ll be paid equally for the time you’ve put in.[/p][p][/p]
- [p]FRIM: This gets a complete overhaul in Season 5. Let’s go over all of the improvements and changes to FRIM, which we believe to be more aligned with the TDU DNA, and improve how players can earn and navigate in the world. FRIM now lets you earn Reputation and Solar Pass XP in addition to the Solar Coin output. We’ve also removed the cash-in cap on FRIM which means you can cash-in as much as you want, and you’re no longer limited to earning 1,000,000 Solar Coins every 24 hours. FRIM now levels up differently with a max level of 99.[/p][p][/p][p]Among the aforementioned improvements, we’ve also added new ways to fill up your bar. You can now earn FRIM by just cruising. This opens up the ability for players of all types to enjoy FRIM, no matter how you play. Previously, you were always limited to the skills you could do with FRIM. We are now removing that limit, so you could drift as much as you want, cruise as much as you want, weave through traffic as much as you want, and not get penalised! The ability to cash in has been changed. Previously, you had a limited amount of time to cash-in, now, you can do it whenever, wherever… as long as you don’t hit another car that is.
We have deleted Special Skill chains as it was a complicated feature within FRIM, we also removed things like burnout, 0-100, and some others to make the design of the FRIM more consistent, and these were replaced with features like 'clean driving'. We are rewarding you for driving your vehicle, not just doing skills repetitively that has no meaning.
We are excited for the players to try out FRIM in Season 5!
[/p] - [p]Car Selling: It’s coming. Although we mentioned in the developer diary we weren’t sure when it would arrive, we decided to bring this feature to Season 5’s economy improvements. You’ll be able to find this NPC in the Solar Hotel
[/p][p]Once you open the menu, you’ll be able to sell your vehicles, with the sell prices varying depending on the odometer distance, upgrades, and vehicle options you have added at the dealership or workshop.[/p][p][/p][p]Your depreciation price will also change depending on the vehicle itself. For example a daily driver will have a lower depreciation value than a hypercar.
[/p]
- [p]Cruise Control: With the arrival of Taxi Missions in Season 5, we will be adding cruise control to the Alyss menu. The cruise control has two modes to use.[/p][p][/p][p]
[/p]
- [p]Speed Hold/Cruise - In this mode, the vehicle's acceleration will stay at the assigned speed. You can increase and decrease this speed in the same Alyss menu. Coming to a stop will automatically turn the cruise control off. [/p]
- [p]Speed Limiter - In this mode, the vehicle's acceleration is controlled by you, and the assigned speed is the limiter. You can increase and decrease this speed in the same Alyss menu.[/p][p][/p]
- [p]Bug Fixes & Improvements: In Season 5, we tackled a lot of issues surrounding our vehicle models, and below are just some of the improvements you will see in Season 5.
[/p][p]We’ve added the correct dynamic indicators to the US-based Shelby GT350R, and the Mercedes-AMG GT R and Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series.
There are of course, many other smaller issues regarding the vehicles models of TDUSC, and we are continuing to work on these vehicles throughout the next seasons, such as the correct P/S gauge on the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.
[/p][p]Please continue to share any discrepancies you see with the vehicles in TDUSC. We have much more to work on, such as the wheel size of the Ferrari F40, and the headlight animation of the Lamborghini Miura SV, the Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE shift animation, and more.
[/p]
[/p][p]
- [p]Monetisation: Items in the online store will be purchasable with Diamonds. With the addition of this shop, we will be giving players the ability to earn free Diamonds by claiming their Diamonds in the store once a week.
[/p] - [p]Previous Solar Pass Vehicles: Currently, players do not have any way to earn the previous Solar Pass vehicles. In the mid-season update, we will be adding the previous Solar Pass vehicles to the online shop for players to purchase.[/p][p][/p]
- [p]New Vehicles: Every season, we will be releasing 3 additional vehicles to the online store. These vehicles can be special licensed or unlicensed bodykits of existing vehicles in-game, or they will be completely licensed special models of existing vehicles in-game. An example of this is the Mercedes-AMG SLS Black Series, arriving in the online store in Season 6, or the Nissan GT-R ‘The Tyger’ widebody kit arriving in the Season 5 mid-season update.[/p][p] [/p][p]
[/p][p]You can also expect to find some incredible collaborations with other real life brands involved in the car scene in future seasons, which we can’t wait to share with you!
[/p] - [p]Ford GT Pre-Order: The Ford GT was available as a pre-order bonus in TDUSC before the game launched. In the mid-season update for TDUSC, we are looking to make this possible for purchase soon.
[/p]
- [p]Guillaume Guinet / TDUSC Game Director[/p][p] [/p]
[/p][h3]Physical Clothing Store[/h3][p]Clothing stores are set to arrive in Season 6 of TDUSC as our lighting artists finish the work on Season 5’s timecycles. The last time you saw pictures of the stores, their lighting was in an early phase, so we’d like to share with you some updates we’ve made since then! [/p]
- [p]Streets: Located near the current Street Clan Shop on Ibiza, this store features a beautiful blue night hue, similar to that of the nightclub of the Street Clan on Hong Kong Island. We are excited for the store to finally open its doors in January 2026. [/p][p] [/p][carousel]
[/carousel][p][/p]
- [p]Sharps: We have some work to do on the lighting of the Sharps store, so for now we can only remind you of the exterior![/p][p][/p][p]
[/p]
- [p]Guillaume Guinet / TDUSC Game DIrector[/p]
[/p][h2]🖼️ Community Spotlight Winners - September[/h2][p]Last letter, we announced that the Community Spotlight will go over some new changes so players can now vote for the winners in our Discord, and there will be prizes to win! Let’s take a look at the results from September![/p][p] [/p][h3]Winners[/h3][p]There have been some amazing pictures sent in for this month's Community Spotlight, but here are the top 3 voted photos for the month of September! [/p]
- [p]Discord member Destroyer-GT wins this month's Community Spotlight with their amazing sunset picture as they head North on an offroad section of TDUSC’s Hong Kong Island map! Congrats on getting 40 votes, your reward is 6,000,000 Solar Coins and 250 Diamonds.
[/p]
- [p]Discord member PovverfulOZ takes second place in this month's Community Spotlight with their beautifully composed picture with the Chevrolet Corvette C1! Congrats on getting 31 votes, your reward is 4,000,000 Solar Coins and 100 Diamonds.
[/p]
- [p]Discord member ManofManyNamesX comes third in this month's Community Spotlight with their night vibe photo in the town of Shek’O on TDUSC’s Hong Kong Island map! Congrats on getting 23 votes, your reward is 2,000,000 Solar Coins and 50 Diamonds.
[/p]
- [p]Pictures must be high quality and not edited outside of the game or taken with tools that are not native to TDUSC's in-game photo mode[/p]
- [p]Only 1 picture is allowed in a post[/p]
- [p]You are only allowed one post per month; however, you can delete your post and make a new one to replace it.[/p]
- [p]Each week, we will randomly choose pictures to repost on our social media[/p]
- [p]The top 3 voted posts in the month will win prizes[/p]
- [p]The most voted picture in the month will be selected to showcase in the in-game news section in TDUSC (Starts Season 5) [/p]
- [p]This thread will be wiped on the release of every Solar Club Letter[/p][p][/p]
[/p][h2]⏭️ Coming Up Next[/h2][p]Season 5 is releasing in late October, so you can expect some of the marketing around this season to rev up! Here’s all of the upcoming news to expect regarding TDUSC’s Season 5! All of these upcoming assets will arrive with a dedicated letter on our Steam and Reddit social page, so be sure to stay tuned![/p][p][/p][h3]Console & PC Gameplay[/h3][p]This time around, we are going to make sure to show how TDUSC looks on PC and consoles. On October 9th, we’ll be sharing a handful of gameplay on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC. You’ll see various weather conditions, timecycles, and of course, races.[/p][p][/p][h3]Taxi Mission & Poker Gameplay[/h3][p]Poker and Taxi Missions will be arriving on day one of the Season 5 update along with the many other features. We’ll be sharing gameplay of both of these features on October 16th![/p][p][/p][h3]Season 5 Feature Showcase Livestream[/h3][p]There are a lot of changes coming to TDUSC’s Season 5, so what better way to discuss these with you than hosting a livestream at KT’s Paris office!
[/p][p]On October 21st, we will be streaming TDUSC live on the Nacon Racing YouTube channel going through everything you'll find on day one of Season 5 with many of the developers who are working on TDUSC. Of course, during the stream we will be answering questions from the community regarding the upcoming season, and what’s in store for the game's future![/p][p][/p][h3]October Solar Club Letter[/h3][p]The October Solar Club Letter will arrive at the launch of Season 5, detailing all of the exciting features covered from the livestream and more!
[/p][h2]❤️ Final Message[/h2][p]We are working hard to make sure Season 5 is the best season so far for the TDU community, and as usual, we are excited for you to see the upcoming news releases in the coming weeks of October! See you soon![/p]
- [p]The TDU Team[/p]