GeneRally 2 News

GeneRally 2 will be launching on Steam Early Access on the 30th of May 2023!

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With the launch date being a little under three weeks away, we're getting excited!
We hope that what we launch into Early Access is something you want to play and support.


Early Access is a way for us to get GeneRally 2 into your hands earlier, and receive
valuable feedback from you, whilst continuing to develop the game further! We'll be
offering GeneRally 2 at a reduced price during Early Access, with the price rising as
we add major features (like online multiplayer), and we'll be keeping a close eye on
the feedback from players to guide the direction of development.

Rest assured, what we're launching into Early Access is a game that has all the
fundamental features and systems in place - and can be enjoyed as-is (as many of
you found out from the demo earlier in the year).

• 5x Cars: Rally, Classic, Formula, General and one more.
  
• 14x Tracks: 10 all-new tracks - and 4 classics reimagined (by TuomoH).
  
• Track Editor: Create your tracks, and upload them via Steam Workshop.
  
• Up to 8 drivers (any mix of local players and AI drivers).
  
• Support for Steam Remote Play.
  

Read more:

• The Cars of GR2 Early Access.
  
• Car Physics.
  
• Track Editor: Introduction, Painting Tools, Manual.
  

We'll publish a more detailed Early Access roadmap between now and the launch date. But
here's a minimum set of things we expect to add or improve over the course of the Early
Access period:

• Online multiplayer.
  
• More cars.
  
• More tracks.
  
• More advanced AI behaviour and AI customisations.
  
• New objects for the Track Editor.
  
• Save games & replays.
  

If you want to keep up-to-date on our roadmap, you can visit the public roadmap.


GeneRally 2 will be 14,99 EUR / 14.99 USD / 12.99 GBP when launching into Early Access. As
the game develops and gets closer to its full release, the price will increase.


We're keen to hear what you think of the game, and if you encounter any bugs or other
issues! If you want to give feedback, you can do so by joining our Discord server.

Today we'll take a look at the cars that are coming as part of GeneRally 2's Early Access (still on-schedule for a spring release). Initially, we'll have 5 cars for you to drive, though more will be added during the Early Access period. We want to ensure that the base cars in GeneRally 2 feel satisfying to drive and offer unique driving styles and challenges for players of different skill levels and preferences.

If you haven't read it already, be sure to check out Markku's post about GR2's Car Physics.

Ultimately, we want all of the cars in GeneRally 2 to be able to be driven on all surfaces. Some cars will provide an additional challenge on certain surfaces, whilst some will be specialists on those surfaces - but whatever you pick, we hope you'll be able to have fun on all sorts of different tracks!

Those of you who played the GeneRally 2 Next Fest Demo last month will already be familiar with the Rally car, so we'll start our blog post there...



[h3]Specs[/h3]

• Drivetrain: AWD
  
• Top Speed: Medium
  
• Acceleration: Medium
  
• Hard-Surface Grip: Medium
  
• Off-Road Grip: Medium
  

No matter the surface, the Rally car will always be ready to perform. As competent on snow as it is on tarmac, the Rally car is the go-to option for mixed-surface races. It's even had some extra setup tweaks since the GeneRally 2 Demo!



[h3]Specs[/h3]

• Drivetrain: RWD
  
• Top Speed: High
  
• Acceleration: Medium
  
• Hard-Surface Grip: Medium
  
• Off-Road Grip: Medium
  

With all the power of 3.0 litre engine and very little downforce, it's understandable that the General requires all of your attention. A nod to the days when sheer bravery was the name of the game, and a fast laptime was all about throttle control... get ready for some old-school action!



[h3]Specs[/h3]

• Drivetrain: RWD
  
• Top Speed: Very High
  
• Acceleration: Very High
  
• Hard-Surface Grip: Very High
  
• Off-Road Grip: Low
  

The Formula represents the top-level of single-seater racing cars. It has a lot of power, great acceleration and huge amounts of downforce - but it has to be handled with care. Intended to perform at its best on hard surfaces like tarmac, it's unbeatable in the right hands.



[h3]Specs[/h3]

• Drivetrain: FWD
  
• Top Speed: Low
  
• Acceleration: Low
  
• Hard-Surface Grip: Medium
  
• Off-Road Grip: Medium
  

Whilst you could easily take a trip to the supermarket in the Classic, it's this everyday, low-power form factor that helps to provide door-to-door racing with even the newest players. Intended for those times you just want to take in a bit of the scenery at the same time, the Classic is the perfect all-ages racing car!



The final car that will come at the start of Early Access is as-yet undecided. We have a few different ideas for what it will be, but ultimately we'll let the most important factor decide what we ship with: how fun the car is to drive.



We hope you enjoyed a quick look at most of the cars that we'll have available for you to drive at the start of GeneRally 2's Early Access. We're really excited to get these cars into your hands, and see what you think of them!

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Don't forget to wishlist GeneRally 2 and if you want to stay up-to-date sign up to the newsletter and follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

You can also join our Discord serverto chat with the team, and the community!

In this blog post I will give an overview of our approach to modelling car physics in GeneRally 2. Here, as in other areas, our task is to build on GeneRally in a way that doesn't undermine any of the features that made that game as enduringly popular as it has been.


The largest difference to GeneRally 1 when it comes to car modelling is that GeneRally 2 models suspension in a more realistic fashion. This provides us with two potential benefits. Firstly, visually, it allows the cars to display realistic behaviour such as body roll under acceleration; wheels tracking uneven terrain; and suspension compressing when landing from jumps - this plays into our general push for a more lively and interesting world for the player to race in. Secondly, it provides a platform on which to build a more realistic handling model for the cars.

This second point, however, we have found to be a double-edged sword.

At an early stage of development we experimented with realistic steering behaviour and grip calculations, with traction calculated based on tire load and applied to turn the car by rotating the front wheels. This provided an improvement in realism, but it did not translate into improved gameplay. A realistic simulation of the tire forces often manifested simply as inconsistent or incomprehensible controls, due to the high downward camera angle making it very difficult for the player to see precisely what the car is doing at any given moment.

In the end we changed to implementing the steering the same way GeneRally 1 did: as a direct rotation of the car around its center of mass. Turning does not depend on immediate traction, or even on tire contact (to allow the car to turn happily in mid-air). This change means that the car will always react to steering inputs in a consistent manner.

Consistency is one of the keys to the kind of intuitive and easy-to-pick-up gameplay that we are going for. The handling model should be something the player doesn't have to think about, since the car simply feels right. GeneRally, after all, doesn't need to challenge the player with tricky handling - there is enough challenge in figuring out optimal lines; changing track conditions; and in planning your pit strategies over the course of a race or championship.


But this doesn't mean there won't also be new and challenging cars in GeneRally 2!



Here is where a robust physics model gives greater opportunity for building interesting handling characteristics that can take some skill and experience to master. Adjusting tyre pressures or suspension parameters such as travel and damping coefficients, allows one to play with how planted/nervous a car feels on uneven terrain and how it transfers weight under braking and acceleration. Adjusting how tire load affects grip - and the relationship between static and dynamic friction - allows for varying understeer/oversteer characteristics and for cars that can be rotated with the brakes. The choice of driven wheels (FWD/RWD/AWD), differential type and torque also make a big difference to how a car performs.

Much of this car balancing remains to be done - and testing will show what can be done in a way that remains challenging in a fun, rewarding way. We've gathered a lot of valuable feedback about the physics and the Rally car during the period the demo has been available. Obviously, as GeneRally is not intended to be a simulation, there is no inherent value to doing things in a realistic way: if a more direct approach proves to be better for gameplay, that is what we'll go for.

One such example is the demo's Rally car: it includes an additional force that helps it to turn whilst sliding - a "slide assist" if you will. This feature was implemented as being able to throw the car into corners was deemed to be more fun than trying to avoid sliding to maintain grip. This makes going fast more about choosing the correct line and timing the turn-in, rather than about being able to precisely micromanage the car's angle mid-corner.




Questions about balancing realism with gameplay can, in this system, be done on a per-car basis - and in much more depth than was available in GeneRally 1. GeneRally 2 will include some cars that are made to be as easy to pick up as possible, and some cars that come with unique handling characterics to add variety and challenge for more experienced players. We will also make sure to have some throwbacks to the "classic GeneRally feel" for that healthy dose of nostalgia!

The full list of cars for Early Access release has not been set in stone yet - and it will certainly continue to grow over the Early Access period (and hopefully after the release too). In any case, you can expect the car selection in GeneRally 2 to be more varied in terms of their handling characteristics than in GeneRally 1.


I hope you have enjoyed this peek into what goes into making of GeneRally 2's cars. In future posts I'll go into more detail about the workings of the car model and about the development of individual cars. You can also expect insights into the mysterious minds of the AI drivers.

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Don't forget to wishlist GeneRally 2 and if you want to stay up-to-date sign up to the newsletter and follow us on Twitter and Facebook!

You can also join us on Discord!

[h3]About Markku[/h3]
Markku is one of the founders of Curious Chicken Games and has been working on GeneRally and GeneRally 2 since 2010. He is primarily responsible for GeneRally 2's physics and AI.

As part of our participation in Steam Next Fest - which runs from 6th - 13th of February - we've put out a demo of GeneRally 2 for you to try! You can download the demo from our Steam store page.

Note: The demo will be available until the 13th of February, after which time it will be
taken down, as we continue to focus on getting the game ready for its Early Access launch!

• 1x Car: Rally
  
• 3x Tracks: Tropico (Tarmac), Polarius (Tarmac/Ice), Mudroot (Mud)
  
• Track Editor with Test Mode (save/load restricted).
  
• Up to 8 drivers (any mix of local players and AI drivers).
  
• Support for Steam Remote Play.
  

The Rally car is a new-player-friendly car designed to handle all types of surface and
terrain. It may not be the most powerful car, but it's stable, and forgiving to drive.
Various cars and car types will be available when the game launches into Early Access.


The demo is limited in some ways - these limitations do not exist in the full game.

• No customisation of race settings (race laps are limited to 3).
  
• No car colour selection (random only).
  
• No load/save in the Track Editor.
  
• No damage, tyre wear or fuel usage.
  
• No adjustment of AI skill level.
  
• No key/controller rebinding (as a result, some controllers may not work).
  

We're keen to hear what you think of the demo, and if you encounter any bugs or other
issues! If you want to give feedback, you can do so by joining our Discord server - or even right here on Steam.

If you want to find out what we have planned for GeneRally 2 for the future, you can
take look at our public roadmap.

Last time, I shared my first impressions with GeneRally 2 Track Editor. Today I want to talk about the painting tools, in other words about drawing the track. This can be divided into two parts: editing the surface, and editing the height of the track. Terrain Type menu contains tools for painting the surface of the map.

The heart of the Terrain Type menu is the Surface Type tool. Currently there are 14 surfaces to choose from. Some of them are familiar from GeneRally 1, such as darker and lighter tarmac, grass, sand, mud, and snow. The biggest change from GeneRally 1 comes in the form of several tarmac types that only differ by their colors, such as green and blue. These have been included so that the users can create more delicate painting patterns, for example kerbs with varying paint schemes or trackside ornaments.

Each of the surface types can be painted with the standard round paint brush. The size of the brush can be defined in pixels unlike in GeneRally 1 Track Editor, in which only 10 preset sizes could be used. Furthermore, the brush's location isn't invisible anymore. Thanks to this, it's easy to draw the track layout one section at a time as the brush can be placed exactly at the spot where the previous stroke ended.

The surface map itself has grown from the 512x512 pixels of GeneRally 1 to 1024x1024 pixels. This enables more detailed work than before.

The Rope tool works the same as in the GeneRally 1 Track Editor. It's a nifty aid that enables smoother lines. When the Rope Length is set at 0, the brush works like your basic freehand brush, reacting to every tremor of one's hand. When the Rope is activated, the brush works as if it's dragged by a rope, so small hand movements don't affect the brush direction that much. The longer the invisible rope, the smoother the line.

The same squiggly line made with Rope Length 0, 4 and 13.


A new addition to the Track Editor is the Spray brush. Spray makes it easier to mix different surfaces such as gravel and sand on grass to make it look more natural. This tool is very versatile as every surface and setting available in the Terrain Type menu can be used in combination with it. Furthermore, the Spray Density can be defined by the user. Interestingly, the Spray brush uses randomizations that change for each click. Thanks to this, sometimes it creates cool patterns on its own.

Next, there is a wonderful tool called Surface Mask. With this tool, one can choose which surfaces will be masked - that is, can't be painted on. Any surface can be masked so there's no fear of messing with your detailed blue decorations. Surface Mask can also be used to replace a certain surface with another while not affecting the other surfaces.

In addition, the Surface Mask can be used for creating kerbs! In fact, the GeneRally 2 Track Editor is missing the kerb tool that was featured in the GeneRally 1 Track Editor. However, if you ask me, said tool wasn't too good. Now, with a little bit of patience and help of the Surface Mask, one can create nice kerbs with any color combination. This is where the new colored tarmac types are very nice. No more using grass (which turns to mud) for your green-white kerbs!

Pretty kerbs and sprayed surfaces!

Another new cool tool is called Outline. In GeneRally 1, the outlining options were very limited. For tarmac, there was white and yellow option, and they worked only for the darker tarmac. Moreover, all surfaces (except for ice and oil) had an extra outline, not of paint but some other surface, usually a type of dirt. In GeneRally 2, any surface can be combined with the outline, and any surface can act as the outline. Not only this, but the outline width can also be defined. Again, this is an improvement from the thick outline of GeneRally 1 that came only in one width.

Finally, the Terrain Type menu has the Dashed Line tool. In GeneRally 1 Track Editor, the dashed line was available for the white and yellow lines. In GeneRally 2... you guessed it: any surface can be painted with the Dashed Line. In addition to the line width, the user can also define the line and gap lengths.


As important as painting the layout is, height changes are what often give the track its life. For this, the Track Editor has the Terrain Height menu. The biggest change from GeneRally 1 must be the size of the height map (hmap) which has grown from 64x64 pixels to 256x256 pixels, making hmap work considerably more detailed. Someone might wonder why the hmap isn't as large as the landmap but, in my opinion, this offers enough precision for detailed work.

Currently, there are three Paint Modes. With Height Adjust one can raise and lower the terrain to the desired height. Fixed Height does the same, but the user can define the exact height. The limits are 0 and 255 as with GeneRally 1 and various other games that use a height map system like this. Finally, there's the Smoothing mode.

For a GeneRally 1 veteran, the Height Adjust and Smoothing work differently in GeneRally 2 Track Editor than what one is used to - at least for the time being. It must be said that the Height Adjust does somewhat cruder job than in GeneRally 1. On the other hand, Smoothing works way better than it used to work, at least in my opinion. There is a bit of a learning curve, but it isn't too steep.

There are also various