GeneRally 2 News

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 😊

This update includes the new menu UI, a new car, some physics and AI updates, and many other general improvements. This is our last planned patch before the release of Online Multiplayer, and the patch includes a number of improvements made in preparation!

• Added a new car: Monster Truck.
  
• (Finally) added the option to end the current race immediately from the pause menu.
  
• Made various adjustments to car steering and suspension when the car is tilted at a high angle.
  
• Significantly improved the handling of the Drift.
  
• Reduced the friction of "worn" mud.
  
• Adjusted behaviour of all cars as they approach top speed to improve racing on longer tracks.
  
• Improved car reset logic.
  
• Improved ghost car appearance.
  
• Cars are now ghosted briefly after resetting.
  
• Various performance optimisations.
  
• Small adjustments to some car sounds.
  
• FIXED: Various memory leaks in menus and game have been patched.
  

• Added Italian language localisation (thanks to Marcello Beretta, Amedeo Sorpreso and Riccardo Russo).
  
• Completely reworked main menu UI (with improved performance and visuals).
  
• Updates to the in-game UI to align more closely with the new main menu UI.
  
• Added a news panel to the game with latest information about the game (in English).
  

• None
  

Welcome to the October 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!


This month has again been focused primarily on the Online Multiplayer and the UI Update - but one of the new cars is now nearing completion (see lower down this post for a sneak-peek).

• Online Multiplayer - We've continued to run some test sessions, and improve upon the multiplayer experience, and we're pleased to say it's approaching a point where it will soon be ready for some wider testing. If you want to see a video of the multiplayer in action, see last month's post.
  
• UI Update - The UI update is nearly complete. As well as the visual overhaul, it has much better performance, fixes a variety of bugs, and generally feels nicer to use.
  
• AI Update - We're continuing to make improvements to the AI for the upcoming AI update.
  

Primarily, the updates we've been working on are waiting for the upcoming Multiplayer patch - however, we are likely to release a smaller patch update in the coming weeks. This will include a few features and fixes, including a feature that can help to drastically reduce GPU load during gameplay.

Stay tuned for more information about the update!


Get those stunt and off-road tracks ready for some monster truck action! The next addition to the car lineup will be coming with the next patch. We've been testing it along with the multiplayer update, and I must say that it's one of the most fun and entertaining cars to drive with others.

Unfortunately Steam won't let us show the 3D car render here, but you can find it on the developer blog.

Topi has done a fantastic job on the model and texturing, as always, and Markku has tweaked the handling to be both unique and rewarding.