TDU World :: November 2020 Update!

[Aquarious]

Hello everyone!

It's been a while since we've openly shared anything about TDU World and an update was long overdue, luckily we have lots of good things to show! Over the past few months we have been working long and hard and have overcome quite a few of the biggest obstacles regarding online play. Some people might already know about some of the news since we teased it in our Discord (which you can join here if you haven't already!), but there is some more stuff to talk about...

We won't keep you waiting any longer, lets get into it!

TDU World got a fresh new logo!

First of all, to go with the advancements of the project, we decided on a new and more distinctive logo. The old one was lacking some emotion and it was a bit boring, the new logo is set to change that! It also fits more into the TDU setting by displaying some palm trees. Here it is:

*drum ruffle*

 

 

We are currently updating all social channels to use the new logo, together with a full restyle of the launcher. Stay tuned!

And now: The news you've been waiting for...

Yup! you guessed it. After a long time of trial and error, we have gotten the first online interactions working! These include the following features:

• Player logins & lobbying
• Free roam, including:
  • Car functionality (i.e. lights, horn, windows, exhaust sounds)
  • Chat (including profanity filter)
  • Co-op driving
  • Instant Challenges (PvP Races)
  • Voice chatting
  • Vehicle Liveries (car colour, stickers, etc.)
• Dealerships & other player rooms (excluding houses)
• Both islands (Ibiza & O'ahu, Hawaii)
• Report/Banning system (All User Offenses)
• Traffic (AI)
• GPS player count
• Joining players via the Map
• All single player content like races and the timed events still works as normal

Features currently in the works:

• Friends & Recent players list (works but not fully)
• Time & Weather (works but not fully)
• Further Lobbying, including but not limited to Races (Private and Matchmaking), Casino, etc.

The biggest thing is of course the free roam functionality, which is working very well. Car syncing is great and smooth! We've been teasing this for an awful long time, so here's some content (proof if you will ) of the servers working.

 

Some exciting progress as you can see!

As much as the team is working hard, it isn't all perfect yet. On that bombshell... We need the community! We're inviting a handful of players to join us with testing the server stability and functionality as well as get a first peek into the TDU World Mod Pack!

TDU World Closed Beta Testing

In line with the progress we have been making recently, the time has come to recruit some beta testers to ensure everything so far is working correctly!

Due to the complexity of the project and the sheer amount of feedback we will receive, the TDU World Community Server Beta will be limited to 20 people.

We will be needing members of the community to test the new server, launcher and mod pack and relay data back to us when you find something funky, or plain broken.

To participate, we require the following things:

• Active contribution
  • Be online often during testing
• Networking
  • Opening ports in your router
  • Using WireShark to log the communication between your game and the server
• Test Drive Unlimited 2
  • A legitimate copy, either retail or Steam.
  • Time to play through part of the game
  • Testing the server stability and mod pack additions
  • Testing car class balance
• English language
  • Speaking and understanding is a must

If you check all of these boxes, you can submit an application here (Click "Here")

After we've chosen the 20 players out of all submission, we will be contacting them through Discord (be sure to allow personal messages during this time!). Please do not message any members of the team about the beta access or ask for any updates on the situation.

We do not yet know when the beta testing will start. When we have selected a date, we will update everyone!

TDU World now has a Patreon!

We've been constantly asked by the community if we will be accepting donations from avid TDU fans who want to support us, and now we can finally say yes! 

We have chosen to go with Patreon as our platform to accept donations on. There will be three tiers you can sign up to, outlined below:

• Tier 1: £5.00 per month - Special "TDU World Fan" Discord title, bonus work-in-progress content
• Tier 2: £10.00 per month - Special "TDU World Super Fan" Discord title, bonus work-in-progress content, a TDU World sticker!
• Tier 3: £25.00 per month - Special "TDU World Ultra Fan" Discord title, bonus work-in-progress content, personalized Thank You Letter and a TDU World sticker & TDU World T-Shirt¹!

¹ - T-Shirts are only available for patrons who have subscribed for 3 consecutive months.

The funds raised will mainly be going towards server hosting, because that isn't free unfortunately! They will also be going towards other project fees. We promise to maintain full transparency on the Patreon as to where they money is being used. 

For those wishing to support us via Patreon, please visit https://www.patreon.com/OfficialTDUWorld. This is the only official way of donating to the project!

Remember: Supporting our project is optional! We will never, ever force players to support us, and playing on the servers/using the mod pack will always be free, forever.
 

The TDU World Mod Pack

We recently acquired some new members to start work on the TDU World Mod Pack. The goal with this mod pack is to make Test Drive Unlimited 2 feel like a modern game again. This means new music, new textures and perhaps most importantly: an updated car list. The pack will be split up into multiple parts: Cars, Environment, Sound and of course, a Full pack consisting of all parts. Below, we will go over these parts.

Cars
Considering how the world of automobiles has evolved since the creation of TDU2 and how many different vehicles have broken records and changed the rules, the car classes are getting fully rebalanced to be better suited for the new cars we are introducing. We did this not by nerfing (slowing down) the original cars, but by putting them against cars that really do match them in performance, whether they were cars from the original game or TDU World additions. For example: the Subaru Impreza is not going to make A6 look like a walk in the park any longer. Instead, it will face tougher competition!

The cars we will be adding are not just a combination of existing mods, we are also creating new high quality mods ourselves to accompany them. The new mods we are creating mostly consist of recent and brand new models from countries like Britain, Italy and Germany. While the new mods we are creating will be of high quality, we will also be keeping low end systems in mind.

Here is a little sneak peek on some of the vehicles that will be added!

Environment
For the games' graphics, we will be using a combination of existing mods to bring more life into the islands and make them look less dated.

For now we have selected mods for roads, foliage and clouds. We will also be tweaking the in game settings to allow for higher quality shadows, and better draw distance for instance. The tweaks we will be doing here are not set in stone yet and requires more research to see the possibilities.

Sound
We will be replacing the radio stations to feature new songs, and if possible, we might even add new radio stations! Music for the map, start screen etc. will also be changed.

Again, these packs are all optional.

In the end, we want everyone to be running the same game, so everyone can enjoy the same cars and more importantly: have a balanced online racing experience! There will of course be people who prefer the stock experience and thus, we will not require use of the modpack. We will, however, be sure everyone runs the same balanced database so all cars will be in the correct classes.
 

Looking for a sound designer!

For the mod pack, we also want to overhaul some of the car sounds in the game. These are kind of lacking and remove some of the immersion while driving. The thing is, we currently do not have a member in our team who is able to create high quality sound mods for cars. Therefore, we give the community a chance to apply!

Do you think you can create high quality sound mods for the cars in TDU2? We would like to get in touch!

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We hope we supplied everyone with enough news! This was it for now, we hope to share more news soon, so stay tuned! Thanks to each and every one of you for supporting and following this amazing and huge project!

 

Best regards,

The TDU World Team

[flipywap]

i am sooo hyped for this mod, it will bring back all the fun

[Avid2545768]

good job！

加油(ง •̀_•́)ง等着大家在火奴鲁鲁重逢的那一天！

[Eudemon]

1 hour ago, Avid2545768 said:

good job！

加油(ง •̀_•́)ง等着大家在火奴鲁鲁重逢的那一天！

哎哟，兄弟好

[Adil2003]

CANT WAIT 
WHEN MP COME OUT AND I CAN FINNALY PLAY TDU WITH MY FRIENDS 

[JagHond]

All the best to you, dear mates... just can't await to drive what good you managed to do.

With best regards.

[VG3O_J]

ooh man... i can't wait to finally relive the old days of tdu2, but in a modern way. best of luck to you guys over on the dev team!!

[JagHond]

About one matter I'm sure: you will release this mod, those folks at TDU 3 Solar Crown won't.

Their project vanished. Literally. I wasn't able to get any recent news about it.

With best New Year wishes and regards to all.

Edited January 9, 2021 by JagHond
typos

[xXBeefyDjXx]

On 1/9/2021 at 8:27 PM, JagHond said:

About one matter I'm sure: you will release this mod, those folks at TDU 3 Solar Crown won't.

Their project vanished. Literally. I wasn't able to get any recent news about it.

With best New Year wishes and regards to all.

TDU World have good faith that Nacon (The developers behind TDU Solar Crown) will deliver in due course. They have their final WRC game to get out the door first and a fairly large task on their hands delivering something the community would be happy with. Remember this is the first time a developer other than Eden Games (RIP) have worked on a TDU game and Nacon are well known for delivering some quality games with the community in mind.

[JagHond]

Hhmmm... I'm still skeptical, because I've already seen to happen something the like with other simulations (almost countless)

At the same time, however, I admit that you have more than a point. So, let's keep on hoping and awaiting in well...

With best regards.

[Aquarious]

For the followers here, I've got good news. The first version of TDU World has been released last weekend and is available to download! Take a look here and see you on the road!

 

[JagHond]

Good job! Something very good on the move at last, thanks a lot.

Just a (silly, perhaps) question, dear Aquarious:

I have a Steam TDU2 install. What do you suggest to do, due that the standard installing procedure is referred to a standard alone installation?

Should I change something in case, I mean, and in this case, what? Given that I'm not an expert, I'd like to learn a step by step procedure, just to avoid misunderstandings or further issues.

Thanks in advance!

With best regards.

Edited February 12, 2021 by JagHond

[Aquarious]

1 hour ago, JagHond said:

Good job! Something very good on the move at last, thanks a lot.

Just a (silly, perhaps) question, dear Aquarious:

I have a Steam TDU2 install. What do you suggest to do, due that the standard installing procedure is referred to a standard alone installation?

Should I change something in case, I mean, and in this case, what? Given that I'm not an expert, I'd like to learn a step by step procedure, just to avoid misunderstandings or further issues.

Thanks in advance!

With best regards.

Installation instructions are on the download page. Follow those and you'll be good to go!

[RangeCreed]

Hey I'm not sure what the limitations are but is it possible for custom licenseplates/randomised ones on AI? 

[Aquarious]

38 minutes ago, RangeCreed said:

Hey I'm not sure what the limitations are but is it possible for custom licenseplates/randomised ones on AI? 

Custom ones yes, but not random.

[RangeCreed]

1 hour ago, Aquarious said:

Custom ones yes, but not random.

Oh nice! Would this be possible via a system ingame that would sync it with players. Or are we talking texture mod only?

[Aquarious]

1 hour ago, RangeCreed said:

Oh nice! Would this be possible via a system ingame that would sync it with players. Or are we talking texture mod only?

It would be a texture mod, which is client only.

[Zakon_by]

when to expect WorldModPack?

Edited February 15, 2021 by Zakon_by

[Aquarious]

On 2/15/2021 at 2:38 PM, Zakon_by said:

when to expect WorldModPack?

No release date is set.