ExoCross News

Combined changelog up to version 0.2.8.1

The demo special event track has been updated with movable containers and tyre walls too!

[h2]We've completely revised the online multiplayer races[/h2]

You can now respawn at any time during an online race. The respawn has a small time delay depending on the current position. The further forward in the field, the longer a respawn takes.
Thank you for your help and patience in testing the different respawn mechanics together with us in the community races.

[h3]Online Championships[/h3]

You now get points for qualifications and races, depending on your result.
The championship ends when a driver has 125 points. The driver with the most points wins the championship and a new championship begins.

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

6th

7th

8th

25 points

18 points

15 points

12 points

10 points

8 points

6 points

4 points

The race starting grid is now inverted. This leads to more exciting and closer races. It works well together with the points system. Your feedback on this from the community races is very helpful. Thanks again to all who contributed!

[h2]We've added three new race track variants for online and two of them for time trial[/h2]

Zone-B reverse layout

Zone-A oval with joker lap

Zone-A reverse short track

We've also added 10 past Special Event stages as online qualifications. Together with the previous 20 qualifying challenges, there are now 30 qualifying stages to choose from.

[h2]Full force feedback for steering wheels[/h2]

The force feedback now transfers the correct physical forces from the wheels to the steering wheel. You can reduce or increase the force feedback with the rumble intensity setting.

For the range setting, 540° with a linearity of 50% has proven to be a good starting point.
We're now working on supporting analog handbrakes, which will come with a future update.

[h2]Added new special event 13[/h2]

The new Special Event has just started and will run until the 9th of February.
There is a live updated leaderboard that also captures the input devices used in our Discord community. Videos of record attempts and personal best times are also shared.

[h3]Further changes in version 0.2.8.1[/h3]

your vehicle configuration from the garage is now used in special events
audio volume settings are now more finely graduated
fixed tyre wall collision bug in online race
fixed rare crash on first input
fixed rare crash on online level load
chat messages are now displayed for longer

[h3]Added movable containers and tyre walls throughout tracks and challenges[/h3]

[h3]Further changes in version 0.2.7.0[/h3]

made movable tyre walls also available in online multiplayer
smoothed metal ramp edges on Zone-A
fixed joker lap sector time on online track A-04
updates to the Special Event tracks used in online qualifications

[h3]Further changes in version 0.2.6.0[/h3]

smoothed the grip no-grip transition of the tyre model
adjusted chassis front and rear anti-roll bar ratio
fixed shortcut and leaderboard integrity of SE12
fixed grass bumps behind the underbridge of SE11
fixed shortcut on the inside banking of SE11

[h3]Further changes in version 0.2.5.0[/h3]

decreased damping of gamepad steering for more directness and precision
slightly decreased outer damping of keyboard steering
input devices used are from now on displayed in discord leaderboards
default deadzone setting for wheels is now set to 0.0
increased rotation angle of the ingame cockpit steering wheel to 360 degrees
added new special event 12
fixed shortcut and leaderboard integrity of challenge B1

[h3]Further changes in version 0.2.4.1[/h3]

added vsync option to settings menu
adjusted front toe angles
fixed small regression with keyboard steering

Impressive racing game DRAG gets a big driving-physics update

DRAG is easily one of the most impressive Early Access games from 2020 and they ended 2020 in style with a big upgrade to the game and it's looking great.

Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2021/01/impressive-racing-game-drag-gets-a-big-driving-physics-update

Driving Physics Update v0.2.4.0

Updated both the full game and demo!

Special Event track 1 is now permanently included in the demo, so you can test all the latest changes on a slightly longer track.

[h2]Physics adjustments[/h2]

[h3]Limited-slip differentials[/h3]
We added limited-slip differentials to the front and rear axles as well as a center diff. We balanced the all-wheel drive system for better handling of uneven surfaces, drift and weight transfers.

removed bumpsteer from the axis geometry
increased tire tread depth (grab mass)
reduced contact patch size (grip compensated)
lowered slide friction ratio
reduced tire elasticity
stiffened damper relaxation and compression slightly
softened anti-roll bars on vehicle 2
reduced toe angles on vehicle 2

With all the changes we've made sure that the cars are ever so slightly faster than before, so that all the top times on the leaderboards can still be beaten.

[h3]Adjusted steering parameters for gamepad and keyboard[/h3]
We focused the damping and sensitivity more on the center.
The steering wheel force feedback is also reworked but is still work in progress!

[h3]Added dynamic tire walls[/h3]
We've added tire walls for time trials and challenges that serve as a visual reference point, but are also fun :)

[h3]Vehicle 1 color customization[/h3]
Selected colors are now used on the body of vehicle 1. The black and white look is still possible by selecting white as primary color. We also adjusted the predetermined vehicle colors in challenges so it's worth taking a look.

[h3]Added new special event 11[/h3]

[h2]Bugfixes & other changes:[/h2]

updated SDL2 for PS5 and Xbox Series X controller support
fixed camera collisions in online qualifications
fixed respawn orientation in hairpin track A-4
lowered guardrail friction in Zone-B to make them less deadly
increased guardrail friction on Demo track to avoid wall riding
fixed shortcut on Demo track

Update v0.2.3.0

[h2]Changelog for DRAG up to version 0.2.3.0[/h2]

[h3]Reworked wheel steering[/h3]
You can now use the full range of your wheel. The updated wheel steering also no longer uses speed adapt, which should make it much more predictable.

[h3]Added steering linearity setting[/h3]
Although the default setting should be fine for most cases, you can now adjust the steering linearity to your personal preferences.

[h3]Added centered / combined pedal support[/h3]
If the pedals are combined, they are treated as one axis (y-axis). Use this setting and check with the visualization bars if throttle and brake are assigned accordingly.

[h3]Added support for dynamic physics objects[/h3]
You can try it out with the containers in Special Event 9. We will of course use this technology on a lot more objects in the future.

[h3]Added 11 new flags[/h3]
As requested, we've added a few additional non-country flags.

[h3]Adjusted small trees in the first turn of Zone-A[/h3]
The small trees are moved a bit to the outside and the last tree with collision is now covered by concrete barriers. This change improves the situation in online races.

[h2]Tips & tricks:[/h2]

If you have two input devices for example wheels, pedals or handbrake as separate USB device, make sure there is no overlap across devices in the mapping menu. Set functions to either device A or B. If in doubt, all functions should be unassigned except those used by the device in question.

[h2]Bugfixes & other changes:[/h2]

updated polish translation
fixed SE9 container collision framedrops
fixed online chat crash
fixed shortcut in challenge A-4
fixed metal plate collision in Zone-C
lowered default rumble intensity

Update v0.2.0.0

[h2]With version 0.2.0.0 we add many new and most requested features[/h2]

[h3]Added resolution setting[/h3]
You can now directly select a common render resolution. Use the resolution scale setting below to scale down in small increments for better performance if necessary.

[h3]Added super sampling setting[/h3]
Use this setting for the highest rendering fidelity and best overall image quality.

[h3]Saving camera choice[/h3]
Your last camera choice is now saved, so you no longer need to switch to your favourite view at the start of a new challenge or race.

[h3]Added ingame option to hide / unhide the ghost[/h3]

[h3]Improved ghost clearance for all camera options[/h3]
This solves the issue that the ghost in the hood and cockpit camera was shown much too close obstructing the view. Together with the hide / unhide option, the ghost should now be much more practical. A time-deltabar as an alternative to the ghost will come with a future update.

[h2]Wheel and force feedback updates:[/h2]

[h3]Added hard stop at the end of the wheel range[/h3]

[h3]Reworked wheel steering range[/h3]
We renamed the steering saturation setting to steering range (now in degrees). This is the central value to increase / decrease the working range of your steering wheel.
The device range above should be set to the maximum that your hardware is capable of.

[h3]Fixed steering wheel linearity when range is increased[/h3]
There used to be a problem where the steering became less linear when the steering range (formerly steering saturation) was increased. This is now fixed.

[h3]Reworked software force feedback effect management[/h3]
This enables ffb for wheels which had issues before.

set force feedback expo value for fanatec and logitech wheels
corrected fanatec CSL device range to 1080° degrees
corrected activation range to 30° degrees for wheels

[h2]Tips & tricks:[/h2]

If you have two input devices for example wheels and pedals as two separate USB devices, make sure that there is no overlap between the two devices in the mapping menu. Set functions to either device A or B. It wont work if a function is set for both devices.

[h2]Zone-A improvements:[/h2]

smoothed second hairpin transition on track A-04
added more tyre tracks to indicate the racing line
added two concrete barriers on the outside of turn five as visual reference point on track A-04

[h2]New Special Event 8[/h2]

The new special event starts on November 17th.
No this shortcut won't work in online races or other game modes because a sector checkpoint would be skipped. You can of course try it ;)

[h2]Bugfixes & other changes:[/h2]

added chat key label "t" to controls menu
added game icon for windows
fixed rare issues with the online region detection
fine tuned steering adapt speed
updated spanish translation