Backseat Drivers News

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Because there's not an "Only With Friends" or a "Turn Your Friends Against You" category![/p][p][/p][p]We've put the whole year into making Backseat Drivers a frustratingly fun struggle in which you laugh til you cry/cry til you laugh, and muddling through its weird world with your friends is the most important element in making it feel like a fun and rewarding experience. It's also the only way to experience it at all, but that is beside the snuggly, cute, marshmallowy, heartfelt point I am trying to make.[/p][p][/p][p]Seriously. Your time spent playing, and all your many clips of the ensuing chaos, have made it all worth it to us already, but if you enjoyed the game at all, your nominations and your reviews would be the cherry on top!![/p][p][/p][p]The Halloween content update and the Arcade update that just went live weren't the last, either. More content is incoming, so stay parked right there 'til we're done!![/p][p][/p][p]NOMINATE BACKSEAT DRIVERS FROM NOW TIL DEC 1st @ 10AM PACIFIC[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Hey!

A fairly quick patch today, but a significant one: we've updated the game with ARCADE MODE, which supports WASD steering (for those using mouse + keyboard), and a similarly straightforward layout for controllers. [/p][p]This is to further alleviate the motion sickness symptoms felt by some players who struggle with the mouselook-driven steering wheel controls — or, for whatever reason you want. It's your game, after all. We just made it.[/p][p][/p][p]A couple of other fixes snuck through along with this, so here's everything:[/p]

• [p]Arcade Mode, whereby direct, remappable inputs (e.g. WASD) control steering wheel direction, as opposed to the click-and-drag-and-spin-your-head default or the click-and-drag-and-spin-your-hand Center Interact.[/p]
• [p]Steam Cloud Saves are now supported, so you can keep your unlocks and progression wherever you might be*[/p]
• [p]The particle collider tunnel in level 6 that you have to rocket through to get to the portal was occasionally really hard to rocket through, so we've smoothed it out and made it a bit more forgiving. Because we forgive you.[/p]
• [p]Some improvements to the menu flow when using a controller[/p]
• [p]Made the extra thicc accessibility / mode menu text lose some of its chonkiness[/p]
• [p]More steps to get that gorgeous green Steam Deck Verified checkmark [/p]
• [p]More network optimizations[/p]

[p][/p][p]We are still cooking more substantial updates with new content and other surprises, so stay tuned, because we'll be picking you up for the next one.[/p][p][/p][p]Known Issues:[/p]

• [p]We're having an issue with the ski-lift on level 8 with a controller, you can use your mouse as a workaround right now. We're planning to have a fix for this soon.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]* Valve does provide information on disabling steam cloud. You can follow the instructions on this page if needed.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Sorry for the delay on this patch — it's a few days later than we wanted — we've been super busy working on more content!!!!! coming soon.[/p][p][/p][p]Now get in loser, we killed the scariest bugs in the car![/p][p][/p]

• [p]Fixed the skin system bug in which swapping from driver to passenger in gameplay didn't respect which character you chose, sometimes giving you the other player's character or a default selection. Now it should respect everyone's choices.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue with pedals not being able to swap between displaying (and being pressed by) Q & E. As if this game wasn't confusing enough already.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue in level 8 with the snow plow chase sometimes failing to trigger on successive respawns. Now he won't stop til he gets you or falls off the mountain[/p]
• [p]Also fixed an issue in level 8 with the metal jingle bells cover coming from the murderous snow plow sometimes not audible for everybody in the car[/p]
• [p]Cleanup of some misbehaving rascals in the netcode[/p]

[p][/p][p]Pick you up when it's time for the next one.[/p]

[p]Come, confused little road users, you want not the overpriced carnival family haunted house ride this All Hallows Eve! 'Tis much more frightening (and cheaper tbh) to take a short drive to us, instead, where terror and dark secrets await, barely cloistered within ...[/p][p][/p][h3]GRAMMA'S HOUSE[/h3][p]Along with new content and a carful of fixes, this update brings our first post-launch level, An Evening at Gramma's, our bone-chilling take on the classic roadside attractions of yore. Ghosts and ghouls and weird stuff that will make you go "huh?" lurk within! Drive on up and see for yourself IF YOU DARE.[/p][p]We are still working on the other upcoming neat secret stuff in the GhostJam game dev lab on wheels, but for now, an overview of what's included in today's terrifying update.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]New content:[/h3]

• [p]New level, An Evening at Gramma's, available to everyone no matter how far through the story they are[/p]
• [p]New car cosmetics to unlock for the new level[/p]
• [p]New driver skin: Grampula[/p]
• [p]New driver skin: Grandwitch[/p]
• [p]New passenger skin: Bonesy[/p]
• [p]Passenger directional callouts (up/down/left/right/stop) now change based on character. Monday (Goth Girl)'s voice is pitched up, Buggs (Big Boy)'s voice is pitched down, and Bonesy's voice is clattering bones and xylophone hits.[/p]

[p][/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][h3]Accessibility improvements:[/h3]

• [p]Improved center interact to make it more reliable[/p]
• [p]The rocket button now blinks when ready, and beeps angrily before it explodes you[/p]
• [p]The poo room's flood wheel in level 3 was a bit hard to see, so we now draw a little more attention to it[/p]
• [p]Cosmetic car pickup items in all levels will now play their twinkle sound and display their VFX properly to make them a bit easier to find (and now correctly play their pickup SFX)[/p]
• [p]Enabled forward shading for faster rendering and better performance[/p]
• [p]Optimized shaders to be kinder to more hardware[/p]
• [p]Optimized transparency pass so that e.g. looking through a bunch of transparent materials at once doesn't punish your GPU as much[/p]
• [p]Fixed localization for some languages that were unable to be selected[/p]

[p][/p][p]Center interact vs normal interaction. [/p][p][/p][h3]Fixes:[/h3]

• [p]Added another lighter literally taped to the cannon at the end of Level 5 to make it less frustrating to light the fuse if yours is stuck under a seat or something[/p]
• [p]Another fix for the dang CCTV machine in Level 6 (please work)[/p]
• [p]Balanced various SFX throughout the game, banged fists on top of various other SFX so that it actually plays[/p]
• [p]Fixed the crosshair when pumping gas in level 6[/p]
• [p]Added desperate food-wrapper-unwrapping SFX to food order on level 2[/p]
• [p]Fixed some collisions on the cute alien murdering puzzle on level 7[/p]
• [p]Found your mouse pointer! It was getting lost on the mission complete screen[/p]
• [p]Fixed some speed bumps that were too brutal, too metal, too hardcore for a sweet little game like this[/p]
• [p]Fixed the fire grate kill cam which would sometimes give you the awe-inspiring, astonishing view of the inside of a rock[/p]
• [p]Additionally shrunk the bounds of the fire grate since it was incinerating your car and everyone in it from a smidge too far away[/p]
• [p]Spacebar now removes an item when ordering your wonderful healthy meal in level 2[/p]
• [p]The Device doesn't beepbeepbeepbeepbeebeEEBEEBEEBEEBEEEEEEEEEEEEP at you when dropped any more[/p]
• [p]Game audio now ducks when you complete a mission so you don't get sensory overload from ALL THE SOUNDS playing[/p]
• [p]Speaking of the complete screen! It now animates your stats a bit faster without mashing the spacebar or furious clicking, and correctly plays SFX while it does[/p]
• [p]Resolved an issue with passenger-perspective fire not being removed when the passenger's fire is extinguished[/p]
• [p]Moved a bunch of the crud at the motel on level 6 that was incorrectly blocking off some routes through and making others unintentionally difficult[/p]
• [p]The leaderboards now display the first 100 entries instead of the first 10
  [/p]

[p][/p][h3]Known issues: [/h3]

• [p]Something may have scrambled up the skins system which means they can switch undesirably in gameplay. We're working on a fix![/p]

[p][/p][p]Pick you up when it's time for the next one. [/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Another round of windshield wipes for another round of sneaky little bugs that got all smooshed and dried on there. [/p][p]As follows:[/p]

• [p]Fixed VSync. Vs now properly synced.[/p]
• [p]Ys can now be inverted! Added a new "Inverted Y axis" option in the settings since it'd been highly requested, possibly by those of you who are airplane pilots and are used to it being that way? Just kidding, this had been on our radar a while — thanks for the requests and for your patience.[/p]
• [p]Ragdoll issues resolved. Let us know if they continue to misbehave.[/p]
• [p]Fixed the food order in level 2. You can now, once again, see what you're meant to order and how to order it.[/p]
• [p]Fixed collision in various places basically in every level. What you collide with is important. That goes for outside the game, and in.[/p]
• [p]Checkpoint in level 4 fixed, shouldn't put you inside some horrible boulder for no reason after ramming poor innocent sweet gremlin Froyo Hopkins[/p]
• [p]Added glare FX to dome light in car to make the reason you're horribly flashbanged a little clearer [/p]
• [p]Your "Gashole" in level 6 will now flash when your hole wants gas. Er, no comment.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted bounds for coin toss to make it easier to land your "Kobe!"s into the coin baskets and so on[/p]
• [p]Adjusted bounds for level 2 park puzzle so less undesirable stratospheric escapes and other mischief can happen[/p]
• [p]Don't play with fire, kids!! Except in level 5, where we have fixed an issue that could sometimes break the lighter.[/p]