GeneRally 2 News

Welcome to the January 2025 Community Update! It's a new year, and we have some updates for you on the state of development - primarily what we've been working on recently; and what you can expect to see in the near future.

To join the discussion, as well as get more info direct from the development team, you can join us on Discord!


As mentioned in the end-of-year update, we have been working on the last parts of the Online Multiplayer UI, with a view to starting testing very soon. We had hoped to have already started testing in January, but it looks like it'll still be a couple of weeks before we're ready to proceed with that due to some delays in getting the last bits of the UI finalised. At this point, though, we're really happy with the state of the netcode, and the general gameplay of Online Multiplayer, and we're looking forward to sharing that with you!

After the testing has been completed, we'll be finishing up the controller-profile system (that allows you to rebind controls) and fixing any bugs that arise during the testing period. When that's done, we'll be ready for general release on Steam.

Internally, we've broadly decided on a release schedule for multiplayer, so things are starting to fall into place (finally) - once we've finished the testing, we'll be able to start talking about the release date!


Alongside the Online Multiplayer, we've also had a few other things in progress:

• Control Rebinding - As mentioned above, this is something that we hope to ship along with the Online Multiplayer feature.
  
• Car Physics Updates - Markku has been hard at work improving some of the car physics and car handling characteristics. This has been a fairly universal improvement across the board!
  
• Unity 6 Upgrade - We've been upgrading the game to allow us to take advantage of some of the new features offered by Unity 6. As with all upgrades, we've had to spend a little time fixing some things broken during that process.
  
• Next Car - The next car has been in testing for a while, and tweaks to its handling and performance are ongoing. It's been a lot of fun in testing 😊
  
• Steam Deck Fixes - There are a few small problems with the menus (and controls) in the most recent updates, on Steam Deck, so we're trying to get to the bottom of those.
  

We'll have more about the Community Choice Award soon - and we'll be posting the back-dated results for the missing months as well!

This update fixes a small issue with achievements not unlocking properly.

[h2]Changes[/h2]

• FIXED: Achivements can now be unlocked/incremented again.
  

Welcome to the End-of-Year 2024 Community Update! This one will be a little bit different to normal, and includes a little "mini-interview" with Markku, James and Topi!

For those still wanting to know what we're working on, December (and particularly Christmas) has been a bit of a relaxation time for the team - but we're now in the final stages of work on the Online Multiplayer UI, along with the control rebinding.

To join the discussion, as well as get more info direct from the development team, you can join us on Discord!

[h2]Markku[/h2]
What was your favourite update for GR2 this year?
Probably the latest one. The AI is a challenge to develop, and I had many great ideas for it that for one reason or another did not end up working in practice. But when you hit upon something good you get concretely rewarded by the little cars going around the track a bit faster.

What are you most looking forward to in GR2 in 2025?
Having more time to work on the AI. Seeing the multiplayer finally get out there, and how it will develop over the year.

Do you have any plans for New Year's Eve tomorrow?
I intend to enjoy my own company in peace (unless the latest patch has broken something that needs fixing).

Anything else you'd like to add?
Huge thanks to everyone who played the game and/or showed up in our Discord. I love game development, but it's even more motivating when you know there are people out there enjoying the game. Seeing the hundreds of tracks people have built for the game is quite humbling.

[h2]James[/h2]
What was your favourite update for GR2 this year?
In terms of gameplay, I really enjoyed the Monster Truck update - it's a lot of fun to drive. And it's especially fun in multiplayer. It also has quite a sharp line between "everything's going okay" and "okay, now I'm on my side and going nowhere", which makes it fun in competition!

What are you most looking forward to in GR2 in 2025?
Online Multiplayer, without a doubt. We've had such fun in testing, and I really do think players are going to enjoy it a lot. It really is, for me, a "dream come true" as far as GeneRally is concerned.

Do you have any plans for New Year's Eve tomorrow?
Board games and fondue with some friends, and then fairly early to bed. A lot will depend on how our year-old puppy reacts to fireworks (which are very popular to set off in Finland on New Year's Eve) - hopefully he'll be fine!

Anything else you'd like to add?
I'd like to say a big thank you to the entire GeneRally community for their support, encouragement, feedback and just general awesomeness. Also to the feedback & testing team for their thorough and honest (sometimes brutally so) feedback. And, well, ultimately I'd just like to say that we're by no means done, and we have plenty of plans for 2025 and beyond!

[h2]Topi[/h2]
What was your favourite update for GR2 this year?
The stand outs for me were the addition of the new UI and the Monster Truck. Also love the new improved handling of the Drift.

What are you most looking forward to in GR2 in 2025?
Obviously the launch of the Multiplayer as it has been in the works for a long time.

Do you have any plans for New Year's Eve tomorrow?
No major plans this year. Decided to take it easy and chill at home for the most part. Will go out and check some local fireworks around midnight of course!

Anything else you'd like to add?
Just want to thank everybody in the community who's helped us develop GR2 this year. I think with all the help and feedback we've received, we've been able to improve the game significantly.

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With that, there's nothing left to say but a big thank you to you all for 2024, and Happy New Year from the GeneRally 2 Team!

A small update to push the upcoming AI updates in before the multiplayer patch! Happy New Year from all of us 🎆

• Significant updates to the AI logic, to make them faster (improvements to their overtaking ability will come later).
  
• Some further updates to the AI pitting logic.
  
• Made the "AI Skill" slider more accurately reflect the AI skill level.
  

• FIXED: Going to Editor, and using the Up/W keys, no longer prevents you joining a race with those keys when returning to the race menu.
  

• None.
  

Welcome to the November 2024 Community Update! Here you can read the latest news about development - primarily what we've been working on recently; and what you can expect to see in upcoming patches.

To join the discussion, as well as get more info direct from the development team, you can join us on Discord!


We're still working on the Online Multiplayer, which has taken up the majority of our time this month. We are expecting to announce a release date for Online Multiplayer soon!

• Online Multiplayer - All that's remaining before release is to finish the Online Multiplayer UI. We are now also accepting sign-ups for testing, please click here to sign up!
• Performance - Whilst we released some performance improvements in today's patch, we are continuing to work to make the game lighter and more efficient.
  
• Control Rebinding - Work on the control-rebinding has begun, and we're targeting this to release along with the Online Multiplayer.
  
• AI Update - We're continuing to make improvements to the AI for the upcoming AI update (which will arrive after the Online Multiplayer update).
  

Today we have released the last pre-multiplayer patch. You can find the patch notes here. Unless any significant bugs are found, the next update will be Online Multiplayer.


As we've been focused on getting the Online Multiplayer into a good state, we've got behind again on posting the results of the Community Choice Award. We'll be back on top of that soon 😊