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Stampede: Racing Royale News

Dev Log #2 - Stampede: Racing Royale

Hey everyone,

We’re back with the Stampede Dev Log, after a wild couple of weeks in the world of Stampede: Racing Royale!


[h2]AUGUST ANTICS[/h2]

In August, we were incredibly excited to bring an early version of our chaotic kart racer to Gamescom, alongside rolling out our second Steam Playtest. The week-long test saw thousands of players get involved, checking out what we’ve improved and added since July. A huge amount of work from our team went into creating this updated build, particularly on creating the first iteration of our Friends and Party systems, which we’ll continue to polish up.



Bringing Stampede to Gamescom, alongside our second playtest, was helpful not just to speak with our community in person, but to also observe how the game performed over a long stretch of consistent play ‘in the wild’. It was great to see several player-reported topics and suggestions from the first playtest be resolved – from obvious stuff like bug fixes, kart collision improvements and performance boosts, to more subtle things like audio tweaks, lobby behaviour, and kart handling changes.


[h2]YOUR FEEDBACK [/h2]

Of course, whilst we’re seeing Stampede’s development progress nicely, there are still plenty of areas to address, and your feedback has once again helped us identify key areas of focus going forward. In terms of bugs, we’ve noted the reports around a rogue ‘Connection Failed’ pop-up message, some UI and visual errors, and more.

You can check out a wider list of what we’re investigating on our Trello board. Everything on there, alongside much more, is being looked into right now, and we'll continue to keep it (and you!) updated throughout development.

From Steam Discussions and our latest survey, we’re also taking in the wider feedback on gameplay and features. A common request from players has been to add more fanfare and messaging around our three-round events, both to help explain the format and increase the sense of tension. This is something we fully intend to implement over time and are currently working on!

Another good example is the suggestion to add more ways to earn XP and rewards beyond simply competing in events – like completing certain challenges, or doing something ‘X’ number of times. Again, we’re on it, and aim to add more options like this through Early Access. Ah, speaking of which…


[h2]EARLY ACCESS [/h2]

During August, we also revealed that Early Access on Steam will begin on November 2! We’re so pleased to put a date to this major milestone, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the help and feedback of our community so far.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Whilst Stampede will still be in development during Early Access, it’s a big step forward for the game, with new features and options not yet seen in the playtests, such as Seasons, challenges, and limited-time events. We’ll also be expanding and improving existing features, like adding loads more cosmetic items to discover and show off.

All of the above is currently in the works, but will take time to finalise. Our team have plenty on their to-do list, so over the coming weeks, we may be a little quieter than usual, as we focus on Early Access preparations. We’ll share more looks and details at what’s coming up as soon as we can.


[h2]ONE MORE THING [/h2]

A final note: Discord! We’ve seen the requests for a Stampede: Racing Royale Discord server and this is coming. We’re making sure it’s ready for you and will open its doors before Early Access kicks off.

Thanks everyone. Catch up soon

Steam Playtest 2: New Player Survey

Hey everyone :)

We hope all players of our second Steam Playtest have enjoyed the experience so far. To help us continue Stampede: Racing Royale's development, we're asking all players to fill out our shiny new survey for this playtest. You can find it via the link below!

https://bit.ly/47CVYEY


This survey includes questions on new features and changes, as well as more general queries. The results of our first survey were hugely useful to our team, so we encourage all players to get involved once again. It won't take long, honest!

As well as the survey, feel free as always to share your thoughts across Steam Discussions and our official channels. Thank you

Early Access Begins November 2 for Stampede: Racing Royale!

Hey everyone,

Big news today for Stampede: Racing Royale! Drum roll please... or, start your engines? That's more appropriate. Anyway. We're here to announce Early Access on Steam will begin on November 2!

Revealed during the Gamescom Into The Infinite Showcase, the free-to-play, thrilling 60-player online kart racing game from our teams at Sumo Leamington and Secret Mode shifts into another gear on November 2, with Early Access bringing new experiences, content, and ways to play.

Check out our brand new gameplay trailer announcing the news, first shown during Into The Infinite:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Early Access is the next major milestone for Stampede: Racing Royale, following our early Steam Playtests. A massive thank you to all playtest participants, survey respondents, and everyone who gave their feedback during these work-in-progress stages, which are helping shape Stampede’s plans for Early Access and beyond.



The game will remain in development throughout Early Access and we'll be bringing you lots of fresh content including themed Seasons, new cosmetic items, maps, limited-time events, challenges, and more. All the new stuff is built around our core chaotic gameplay: Be first to the finish line in wild races and be the last kart standing in battles, over three rounds, with 60 drivers competing to be champion!



Between now and November 2, we’ll share more details on what’s coming in Early Access and keep you posted on our development plans. Make sure to Wishlist Stampede: Racing Royale and follow our official social channels to stay up to date. Let’s gooooooo!

Steam Playtest 2 Now Live for Stampede: Racing Royale

Hey everyone,

Time to put those race suits back on - the second Steam Playtest for Stampede: Racing Royale is rolling out now on Steam!

If you've requested access, or played our previous playtest, keep an eye on your Library to see when the 'Stampede: Racing Royale Playtest' is available. Yet to sign up? Head to our store page and hit the green 'Request Access' button.

This updated version of the game remains very much a work in progress, but includes community-requested changed and additions, including an early version of our Friends and Party features. Full patch notes are here, Friends and Party details are here, and our Trello board is updated with all key information on hot topics.

The playtest kicks off an exciting week. We're also bringing Stampede to Gamescom, where you can find us in Hall 6 all week long to try the playtest, meet our team, and maybe even cop some merch. Alongside that, tune into Level Infinite's Into The Infinite Showcase, this Wednesday night on YouTube or Twitch, where some special news for our chaotic 60-player kart racer will be revealed!

Work-In-Progress Friends & Party System for Steam Playtest 2 - Full Details

Hey folks,

The second Steam Playtest for Stampede: Racing Royale includes the ability to connect with Steam friends and create parties, so you can jump into lobbies with your pals!

This is a super early version of the friends and party system that we invite you to try out, as we continue to expand and improve the feature. This first iteration allows up to five players to connect with each other in a party, either via invite or inputting a player’s unique Friend ID code.

In the bottom left corner of the main menu, you’ll find the Friends feature, where you can start parties, view friends, send invites, and input those Friend ID codes.







This feature is a work in progress, so we wanted to make you aware of things you may experience when using it, which we’re already investigating:

  • If you remove a player as a Steam friend, they may still appear in the in-game friends list

  • After inputting a Friend ID code, controller users can’t navigate to the ‘Search’ button, unless you navigate downwards, then back up

  • The in-game friends list can take multiple attempts to populate, via your Steam friends list

  • When in a party, all players appear on the main menu, but the layout of the users can appear strange, which is not final

  • Invites can be sent to players in-game, but not from the Steam overlay

  • Re-adding a friend can cause them to actually be removed as friends, and both have to accept the friend request

  • After changing settings in the ‘Friends’ area, the ‘Privacy’ menu has navigation and slider issues

  • If any member of a party leaves a lobby before the event begins, the whole party will be returned to the main menu

  • When in a party, the customisation selections of other players do not show in the main menu (they do appear correctly during events)

  • After readying up in a party, in a non-party leader navigates to a different menu, they will not join the lobby with the party. Stay on the main menu to ensure all friends enter a lobby together



As always, you can use our official reporting form if you come across something you want our team to investigate, or drop a message in Steam Discussions, if you have any feedback. Our Trello board will also be updated with known topics and their status. Thank youuuu!