The Karters 2: Turbo Charged News

[p]Hello everyone![/p][p][/p][h3]🎤 Voice-Over for All Racers — FIXED![/h3][p]Last week we introduced voice-over (VO) for all players during races… and unfortunately had to roll it back shortly after 😞[/p][p]
The issue was that modded characters’ audio settings weren’t updating correctly, and we spent several days trying to solve it without requiring modders to update their existing mods.[/p][p]I’m happy to say we’ve successfully fixed the problem and no changes are required to existing mods, and the feature is now fully working in this build! 🎉
[/p][p]Huge thanks to @Kami, our community manager, who helped fine-tune this feature and did a lot of testing to make sure everything works as expected.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]🧑‍🤝‍🧑 More Lobby Options[/h3][p]This build includes many lobby improvements, plus a super cool new feature that lets you:[/p]

• [p]View other players’ Steam profiles[/p]
• [p]Send and receive friend requests directly inside the lobby![/p][p] [/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]📋 Full Changelog[/h3][p](Vipek — our second programmer - is on fire and doing amazing work!)[/p][p]NEW LOBBY ACTIONS[/p]

• [p]Built-in Send / Accept / Decline Friend Requests
  Manage friend requests directly through the in-game system.[/p]
• [p]Randomize Customization Button
  Generate a fully random customization preset.[/p]
• [p]Copy and Save Preset
  Copy a preset from another player or CPU and save it to your own presets.[/p]

[p]LOBBY ACTION NOTIFICATIONS[/p]

• [p]Easily identify pending actions for specific players (such as friend requests). Now you can see small notification icon next to the player.[/p]

[p]OTHER[/p]

• [p]Added mod loading percentage text to group-related loading screens.[/p]
• [p]Added a lobby owner icon.[/p]
• [p]Removed numbering for CPUs in offline lobbies (now shown simply as CPU).[/p]
• [p]Renamed AI to CPU in online lobbies.[/p]
• [p]Disabled actions for disabled or unoccupied slots.[/p]
• [p]Sent actions no longer disappear, text now changes from “Send Friend Request” to “Sent Friend Request.”[/p]
• [p]Actions now use different colors based on their state.[/p]
• [p]Friend accept and decline actions are now prioritized and shown before other actions.[/p]

[p]FIXED[/p]

• [p]Fixed the voting map background in online rooms.[/p]
• [p]Fixed the CPU icon not refreshing when using Random Preset or Set Preset.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an incorrect track group being shown on first entry (hopefully 😄).[/p]

[hr][/hr][p][/p][h3]🎄 Christmas Time![/h3][p]We’re heading into the Christmas and New Year period, so update timing may vary, but you can definitely expect at least one more update before the end of the year / during Christmas 🎁[/p][p][/p][p]Thanks everyone![/p]

[p]Hello everyone![/p][p]This week’s update brings something many of you have been asking for, and we’re excited to finally share it. [/p][p][/p][p]As always, let us know what you think in the comments, and if you’re enjoying the game, we’d really appreciate a Steam review! ❤️[/p][hr][/hr][h2]🚀Lobby Player Management & CPU Preset Selection[/h2][p]This feature has been requested many times, and we’re happy to announce that you can now select a customization preset for CPU racers in your lobby.[/p][p]You can now assign any preset you’ve already created to CPU racers, and yes, you can do that for each CPU![/p][p][/p][h3]How it works[/h3][p]In the lobby, you’ll find a new PLAYERS tab. From there, you can:[/p]

• [p]Navigate between player slots[/p]
• [p]Press Enter to open the ≡ menu[/p]
• [p]Manage presets (SP), roles, and social options for each player (Online)[/p][p][/p][p]Single-Player Options[/p]

• [p]Select Customization Preset for each player[/p]
• [p]... or use Random Preset to change the CPU without picking[/p][p][/p][p]Online Options[/p]

• [p]Kick Player[/p]
• [p]Promote to Leader[/p]
• [p]Invite friends to your lobby[/p]
• [p]View Steam profiles[/p]
• [p]Send, accept, or decline friend requests[/p]

[p]The idea to add the ≡ menu per player came from Vipek, our second gameplay programmer, big props to him for such a greta idea! 👏[/p][hr][/hr][h2]🎙️ Voice Overs for ALL Racers![/h2][p]Until now, you could only hear your own character during races. That changes with this update![/p][p]You can now hear every racer’s voice lines during the race. This was a highly anticipated feature, and honestly, it adds more life and action than we imagined.[/p][p]⚠️ This is the first pass of the system.
Next week, we’ll be adding audio settings that will let you tweak and customize this feature further.[/p][hr][/hr][h2]🛠️ Detailed Changelog[/h2][h3]Lobby Player Actions (NEW)[/h3][p]A new PLAYERS tab has been added to the lobby, providing quick access to player management and social features. Clicking any player slot opens a contextual menu with available actions.[/p][p]MANAGEMENT[/p]

• [p]Choose Preset – Assign a specific preset to any player slot[/p]
  • [p]AI slots: Room leader only[/p]
  • [p]Co-op slots: First local player[/p]
• [p]Randomize Preset – Randomly assign a preset to any player slot[/p]
• [p]Kick Player – Remove a player from the lobby (room leader only)[/p]
• [p]Promote to Leader – Transfer lobby ownership to another player[/p]

[p]SOCIAL[/p]

• [p]Invite Friends to Lobby – Invite Steam friends directly via the Steam overlay[/p]
• [p]View Steam Profile – Open a player’s Steam profile[/p]
• [p]Send Friend Request – Send a Steam friend request[/p]
• [p]Accept Friend Request – Accept incoming Steam friend requests[/p]
• [p]Decline Friend Request – Decline incoming Steam friend requests[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Local Co-op Lobby Improvements[/h3]

• [p]Track and Customize screens now fully support local co-op[/p]
• [p]Sorting and searching is now independent per player[/p]
• [p]Each player slot now has its own unique buttons[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Other Changes & Fixes[/h3]

• [p]Voting has been disabled in local games[/p]
• [p]Fixed soft mask issues for preset previews in the lobby[/p]
• [p]Fixed lobby arrows not displaying correctly on first entry[/p]
• [p]Fixed incorrect track group shown on first entry[/p]
• [p]Fixed an exploit in Duo Time Trial that allowed lap count changes in the lobby[/p]

[hr][/hr][h2]❤️ Thank You![/h2][p]Thanks again for all your continued support, it truly means a lot to us.[/p][p]
We’ll see you next week with another update!


⚠️ IMPORTANT NOTICE – VOICE OVERS FOR ALL RACERS FEATURE IS TEMPORARILY DISABLED ⚠️[/p][p]We have discovered an unexpected issue where, if at least one modded character is present in the lobby, players will hear voice overs from all racers regardless of distance.
Due to this bug, the racer voice over playback feature has been temporarily disabled.[/p][p]We are actively investigating the issue and will bring the feature back as soon as possible.
Thank you for your patience and understanding![/p]

[p]Hello Everyone! This week update we focused on improving the lobby experience, UI behavior, and overall polish. Here’s what’s new:[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h2]✅ Added[/h2]

• [p]Added track groups to the lobby.[/p]
• [p][/p]
• [p]Added customization presets groups to the lobby.[/p]
• [p][/p]
• [p]Added confirmation for reordering via Select (controller) or T (keyboard) - you can now enter and exit this state with a single button.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h2]❌ Removed[/h2]

• [p]Removed automatic map selection on hover when Cup Mode is off; selections must now be confirmed manually.[/p]
• [p]Removed automatic map selection after sorting in the lobby; it now moves to the first track instead.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h2]🎨 Adjusted[/h2]

• [p]Improved lighting in lobby preset previews.[/p]
• [p]Updated preset preview sizes in the lobby.[/p]
• [p]Refined soft masks for lobby previews.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted track screen behavior when returning from the lobby with a different game mode than when it was entered.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h2]🛠 Fixed[/h2]

• [p]Fixed UI becoming unresponsive when clicking two arrows at once during group reordering.[/p]
• [p]Fixed incorrect page state when re-entering group tracks.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an incorrect track screen state when navigating from the TOTD screen.[/p]
• [p]Fixed confirm issues after dialog popups in the lobby.[/p]
• [p]Fixed incorrect preset previews in the CUSTOMIZE tab and/or lobby after entering via COMPLETE.[/p]
• [p]Fixed incorrect rendering of previews with trails on wheels.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where leaving preset customization during sticker editing prevented rotation.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h2]⚠️ Known Issues[/h2]

• [p]Poiyomi shaders currently display black rectangles in preset previews.[/p]

[hr][/hr][p]Thanks for playing, and we’ll see you on the track! [/p]

[p]Hey everyone,[/p][p]This week’s update is a smaller one, focused mainly on quality-of-life improvements. While the changes may be subtle, they’re all things we believe meaningfully improve the overall experience. We hope you enjoy them![/p][p][/p][h3]New Lighting for In-Menu Kart & Character[/h3][p]We’ve wanted to refresh the lighting for your kart and character preview in the Main Menu for quite a while. This week, it finally landed! The new, more realistic lighting gives your setup a much nicer presentation, and we’re pretty happy with how it turned out.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h3]Reordering Built-In Groups[/h3][p]Last week we introduced the ability to reorder your custom race track groups in the Main Menu.
This week, we’ve expanded that feature to built-in groups as well! Now you can fully customize the order of all your groups and organize your favorite tracks exactly how you like.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h3]Other Improvements[/h3]

• [p]Adjusted “Create New” group behavior - it now automatically enters edit mode[/p]
• [p]Adjusted “Customize” random button - it now automatically approves the selected item[/p]
• [p]Updated preset rotation - it now rotates at a constant speed[/p]
• [p]Fixed preset rotation for presets that include hidden elements[/p]
• [p]Added exhaust particles to karts in preset customization[/p]
• [p]Updated to latest Unity version[/p]

[h3]Extra Improvements[/h3]

• [p]Added a dialog that allows you to disable Time Trial leaderboard record uploads when a race track is detected as Work in Progress by the track creator (via the publish directory)[/p]
• [p]Duels - Added support for custom tracks, including a custom track pop-up dialog. This feature still needs more testing, but you should now be able to play against other players on custom tracks[/p]

[p][/p][hr][/hr][h3]🐞 Known Issues[/h3]

• [p]Character and wheel positions in the Main Menu vehicle preview may appear slightly offset[/p]

[hr][/hr][p]If you have feedback or run into any issues, let us know! Thanks for playing! 🎉[/p]

[p]Hello everyone,[/p][p]This week’s update brings several highly requested features related to presets and race track groups, along with a set of important fixes reported by the community :)[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h2]Groups & Group Item Reordering[/h2][p]You can now reorder custom groups and also reorder the items inside them. This makes it easier to organize everything exactly the way you want. Please note that built-in groups cannot be reordered.[/p][p]This feature was requested by community, and we hope you'll like it[/p][p][/p][p]We are aware of a few minor dialog issues related to groups. These will be fixed next week.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h2]Critical Fixes[/h2]

• [p]1-Lap Time Trial exploit fixed.
  Players were previously able to start 1-lap Time Trials and easily achieve world-record times. This is now prevented.[/p]
• [p]Invalid track and mode combinations fixed.
  It is no longer possible to start unsupported combinations such as playing Road Breaker on normal race tracks.[/p]
• [p]AI tanks removed.
  AI can no longer use Tanks. Tanks created balance issues and affected difficulty settings. Humans can draw a Tank , but AI cannot.[/p]

[hr][/hr][h2]🚗 Kart Menu Rotation Preview[/h2][p]You can now rotate your kart in the menu using the A and D keys or the controller’s right stick. We also plan to improve character and kart lighting in the menus in a future update.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h2]Other Improvements[/h2]

• [p]Simplified text for group action buttons.[/p]
• [p]Quick dialogs can now be closed using ESC or the controller’s B button.[/p]
• [p]The preset tab now keeps its state and does not reset when returning from a race.[/p]

[h3]Fixed[/h3]

• [p]Incorrect preset character selection after switching from PRESETS to CUSTOMIZE.[/p]
• [p]Incorrect preset previews appearing after switching from PRESETS to CUSTOMIZE.[/p]
• [p]After using Save as Preset, the CHARACTERS section was selected by mistake and required extra input to reach the Karts section.[/p]
• [p]The game resetting to the first track in a group after returning from the leaderboard screen.[/p]
• [p]A blocker that prevented exiting preset customization.[/p]
• [p]Occasional incorrect character tooltips.[/p][p][/p]

[hr][/hr][h2]🌍 Localization Support Coming Soon[/h2][p]We know that many of you are waiting for localization. Our goal is to have it ready by the end of December.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][h2]❤️ Thank You[/h2][p]Thank you for your continued support. Before the end of the year we are focusing on fixing critical issues and improving overall user experience. [/p][p][/p][p]With the new year we plan to shift toward bigger and more exciting features including new game modes duo characters, and of course the in-game track editor[/p]