[Initially published 11th March 2020]
Light Trail Rush and our Road to Beta
Changes made, lessons learned, and what still needs to be done!
Light Trail Rush will move into its next development phase tomorrow when we launch the beta. All users who already have access to the alpha will only need to update their game. Those who are interested in joining the brawl, go to our website and request their own Steam beta key for free. We’re very proud to launch the Light Trail Rush beta, but what’s going to change?
The core design of Light Trail Rush was very well received by the community, however, the user experience and our visuals weren’t great. The game lacked a real ‘wow’ effect, so we invested a lot of effort in that. In addition, we have obviously added more content to the game as well.
How will players see the improvements made to the beta of Light Trail Rush?
The most obvious changes are within the user path outside of the actual matches. The game hub is completely redesigned to make the experience far more enjoyable. But that’s not all. We’ve also completely redesigned the visual effects of the game, using the latest technology from Unity. As a result, we were finally able to achieve the artistic vision we had since starting the project. The game world is vivid and full of colourful effects.
What about the additional content?
We’ve given the players more control over vehicle customization. In addition, players now earn experience points, which will allow them to unlock new skins and hologram for their ships. This way everybody can customize their ship in such a way that it fits them best. All non-fungible tokens will be integrated into our beta, including the holograms that were still missing in the alpha. Players who own these tokens in their Ethereum wallet, get additional options for vehicle customization.
What’s the biggest test for this beta version?
Our biggest concern was performance. We’ve added new technologies, but our game is all about speed and high performances. Therefore we had to keep the resources needed as low as possible. This work isn’t finished yet, but currently, the game offers the best possible experience for the majority of the players.
The second biggest concern was the customization, which required lots of efforts from our art team. We wanted to offer quality design, and because of that, we worked hard on shaders and textures.
Visually Light Trail Rush is changing a lot, but what about the controls?
For what we’ve learned during the late stages of the Alpha version, the game’s controls were mostly on point. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it! Right? However, we’ve polished some parts of the experience. Especially the moments when you run into portals. This could be a bit frustrating at first, but we’ve made the experience with portals a bit more user-friendly.
Light Trail Rush is all about speed and competition, any plans for esports?
Well, we are not focusing on esports that much, since our current objective is to have the most enjoyable experience for every type of player. But if you are into the competitive aspect, the group system will allow you to go against your friends and ease competition organisation. In addition, there’s the leaderboard which will help you keep a track of your level and stats. This will help you to improve yourself or claim bragging rights among your friends.
And what about elements to empower content creators? Like for example a replay function with a free camera.
These features are being discussed. These are really nice ideas, but they are quite far away from our core gameplay. It can also be quite hard to implement. However, Light Trail Rush is all about a sport. Therefore we think it’s quite important to have a replay system.
Describe Light Trail Rush in five words:
Retro-futuristic, brawler, freedom, fast, chaotic (but in a good way).
Wishlist on Steam: Light Trail Rush
