DriveWave News

[p]Hey everyone,[/p][p]Let’s get straight to it. Hope you enjoy this update as much as I enjoyed putting it together.
[/p][h2]Symphony of Valves[/h2][p]Cars finally know how to sing.
All non-electric models now have proper engine sounds, each with its own audio profile tuned for tone, pitch, and overall feel.[/p][p]
Electric cars are still quiet. I could add “realistic” electric audio, but nobody wants to drive around listening to a cordless vacuum, so I skipped that for now.
As always, feedback is welcome. Salute to all my petrolheads. 🫡[/p][h2]
Music[/h2][p]Around 100 new soundtrack tracks have been added across multiple genres. I genuinely lost count somewhere along the way.
The jukebox now offers a much wider range for building playlists.[/p][p]I plan to add environmental playlists in the future to help set the mood automatically, but for now I’m leaving full control to you.[/p][h2]
Quality of Life[/h2][p]Supporter DLC owners no longer need to press the refuel button. (Chat, does this qualify as P2W?)
Skydeck already supported color and vinyl switching, but it didn’t have an on-screen prompt. That prompt has now been added.
Thanks to MrEniena on Discord for pointing it out.[/p][h2]
Fixes[/h2][p]A bug that caused post-processing and retro effects to stop working on certain windows has been fixed.
Restarting the game from the menu was also broken; it now works properly.
Thanks again to MrEniena and Wightie for reporting both issues.[/p][h2]
Notes[/h2][p]Multiple players are experiencing cloud-related problems on different machines. I’m currently investigating the cause.

Thanks to Luster for flagging the issue.
Thread: [/p][p]https://steamcommunity.com/app/3942610/discussions/0/802331493180425987[/p][p][/p][p]See you on the road.
– Tolga[/p]

[p]Hey everyone,[/p][p]This update is a bigger one. It adds full background music support, introduces the Skydeck environment, and includes a long list of improvements across UI, UX, and overall feel.
[/p][h2]New Features

Meet Skydeck![/h2][h3][/h3][p]The new Skydeck is a rooftop parking area with an underground party vibe. It is a place where you can display up to 38 of your favorite cars and walk around between them.
[/p][p]
Lots can be purchased, cars can be placed on display, and the whole area is designed as a small social showroom for your collection.
Color cycling for displayed cars is supported with the number keys 1 and 2, and racing cars can change their vinyls with the number keys 3 and 4.


Skydeck adds a reason to revisit your collection and gives a new way to appreciate the cars you have unlocked so far.[/p][p][/p][h3]Background Music and Jukebox System[/h3][p]DriveWave now has background music. You can enable it through the new jukebox menu and build your own playlist from a library of 142 tracks. The tracks cover several genres, and while most of them are AI-generated, the quality is high and fits the driving atmosphere extremely well.


You can add and remove songs freely, reorder your playlist, and use crossfade, shuffle, and repeat to control how the music flows while your car heads off into the distance.
This feature is meant to make the whole experience feel more alive, especially for long sessions.[/p][h2]
UI and UX Improvements[/h2][p]A large set of UI and UX updates were made to make the game more consistent and smoother to interact with.
Menu transitions are cleaner, scrolling is more responsive, and most navigation paths now require fewer clicks.
Visual clarity has been improved in several screens, including car details, filters, and environment selection.
Small layout issues that existed in previous versions have also been addressed.[/p][h2]
Gameplay and Balance[/h2][p]A number of cars received multiplier increases to better match their intended performance levels.
This affects progression speed for certain car types and should make the collection feel more balanced as a whole.[/p][h2]
Additional Changes[/h2][p]The layout of the main menu has been updated to make space for the Skydeck button.
Leaderboards and Achievements have been moved to a new location that keeps them accessible without crowding the interface.
General stability improvements were made across many systems to reduce small hiccups during long sessions.[/p][p]
These are huge changes for the game and I had to revamp several systems to accomodate these features, so bugs will be as of nature. I'm all ears to any feedback and bug reports!

See you on the road.
– Tolga[/p]

[p]Hey everyone,[/p][p]This update addresses several issues you've reported and adds some handy improvements to make your DriveWave experience smoother.
[/p][p]Quality of Life[/p]

• [p]Added a price filter to help you find cars within your budget
  (Thanks to Himitsu 🎆)[/p]
• [p]The game now remembers which environment you were last in and loads it on startup
  (Thanks to Himitsu 🎆)[/p]
• [p]Improved window dragging – you can now right-click anywhere in the window to move it around your monitor. Also added alignment guidelines and subtle snapping when dragging the window for easier positioning. You can move window anywhere by Mouse Right Click rather than just dragging the window by the speedometer
  [/p][p][/p]

[p]General Fixes[/p]

• [p]Fixed the always-on-top setting not working properly – the game will no longer force itself to stay in the foreground
  (Thanks to Lord Damso || ピッコリノ ペルビアノ)
  (Issue => https://steamcommunity.com/app/3942610/discussions/0/667222425710368194)[/p]
• [p]Fixed global leaderboards only showing local player data – all categories now display properly
  (Thanks to Mickstache & CrescendoFuri)
  (Issue => https://steamcommunity.com/app/3942610/discussions/0/667222425710359751)[/p]

[p]
See you on the road.[/p][p]– Tolga[/p]

[p]Hey everyone,[/p][p]This update brings a wave of new content and improvements to keep your rides fresh and your screens smoother than ever.[/p][h3]
New Content[/h3]

• [p]136 new cars added to the collection, including Racing, Rally, and Police cars.[/p]
• [p]Racing cars now feature vinyl options for extra style.[/p]
• [p]Expanded color variety across many existing cars.[/p]

[h3]Quality of Life[/h3]

• [p]New Car List UI that lets you browse every car and jump to it instantly.[/p]
• [p]Direct Environment Access to switch to any unlocked location without waiting for auto-change.[/p]
• [p]Refined UI for a smoother, faster, and more responsive experience.[/p]
• [p]Improved window handling so dragging and resizing feel seamless.[/p]

[h3]General Fixes[/h3]

• [p]Fixed wheel issues on certain cars, especially some Kizaru FSX variants.
  Thanks to Villanovasoft on Discord for pointing it out.[/p]
• [p]Additional UI performance improvements for better stability.[/p]

[h3]Additional Notes[/h3]

• [p]Some cars have been renamed or corrected for better accuracy, which might affect existing saves.[/p]
• [p]Achievements now recheck at the start of the game to resolve any missed unlocks[/p]

[p]
DriveWave is something I keep running on my PC all the time. I originally made it to keep me company while working on my other games, and my kids were a big part of that. They picked most of the initial cars themselves and helped shape the overall style and idle camera angles.[/p][p]I enjoy tweaking DriveWave whenever I get the chance, so it keeps evolving bit by bit. That’s also why I don’t always post changelogs right away.[/p][p]My main focus right now is Metal Thunder v1.0, but DriveWave will continue to get small, steady updates in the background.

See you on the road.[/p][p]– Tolga[/p]

[h2]DriveWave — Full Launch is Here[/h2][p]Hey everyone,[/p][p]Thank you all for trying the DriveWave demo during Steam Next Fest. Your feedback and support have meant a lot.
It’s finally time to launch the game I made over the summer with my son as a small side project and to get myself back into the flow of making games again alongside Metal Thunder.[/p][h3]What’s New[/h3]

• [p]Full release with 25+ supported languages[/p]
• [p]Demo progression will not carry over[/p]
• [p]Supporter DLC that instantly unlocks all cars[/p]
• [p]Lots of achievements to earn[/p]
• [p]More locations to explore[/p]
• [p]Over 184 cars to collect and drive[/p]
• [p]New rims and customization options[/p]
• [p]Quality of life improvements across the board[/p]

[p]Have fun with the full version, and if you have suggestions or questions, come hang out in our Discord.[/p][hr][/hr][h3]Day 1 Patch Notes[/h3]

• [p]Fixed the 400 km/h issue. Some cars can now go beyond 400 km/h[/p]
• [p]Fixed how environments are handled. They now change properly[/p]
• [p]Added an FPS Limiter[/p]
• [p]Improved multi-monitor window handling for smoother dragging[/p]
• [p]Added a reset hotkey (CTRL + R) if your window gets lost[/p]

[hr][/hr][p]Thank you again for all the support. This little side project turned into something really special.

See you on the road.
- Tolga[/p]