Multiplayer is a focal point of development for 22 Racing Series as an esport racing series, so a lot of thought went into the design. In this interview, Garth explains how the new multiplayer game mechanics will provide players and teams with even more flexibility to define their race strategies. He also gives us some insights into what we can expect from 22RS’s multiplayer in the future:
- The ability to compete as a single player against others, with tournaments and challenges that can run over days, weeks or months.
- The ability to set roles suited to the player’s driving style and team strategy using loadouts.
- Soon-to-be unveiled, all new, never-before-seen racing modes and racing features.
- New and unique team racing modes for in-depth racing strategies and esports competitions.
Watch the PAX 2020 AMA interview below for the full discussion.
Synchronous vs Asynchronous Multiplayer
Up until now, 22RS players on Pavillion have had access to asynchronous multiplayer and local multiplayer. In asynchronous multiplayer, lap times are saved to global online leaderboards, so players can compete against each other’s lap times, but they don’t race against each other in real time. Local multiplayer allows players to compete against each other in real-time, but they’ve got to be on the same network/in the same location.
Synchronous multiplayer, on the other hand, allows players in different locations to compete against each other in real time.
“We’re excited to be nearing the release of our online (synchronous) multiplayer. This will take our already very competitive competition to the next level,” Garth said. “It’ll really ratify our new team game modes and allow us to launch our ‘royale’ race modes, with numbers of concurrent players never seen before in racing games. It’s going to be epic.”
Multiplayer Game Mechanics
New Loadouts
The new loadout mechanics add another dimension to multiplayer. They allow you to choose between various upgrades and abilities, which you can then take into a race. This gives you whole new ways to think about race strategy, both in your setup going into a race (e.g., what’s the best loadout and play style for the track and your opponent?) and also during a race.
The loadout mechanics are a unique twist to 22RS. They’re great for team mode, where you’re able to work out the best mix of loadouts amongst your team, but they also apply to free-for-all races, where it’s every racer for themselves.
There are two categories of Loadouts:
- Vehicle Upgrades (or “Upgrades” for short): These allow players to upgrade features fitted to their vehicle. You can upgrade engine HP, boost turbine thrust, capacitor energy storage and ERS collection speed / efficiency.
- Track Abilities (or “Abilities” for short): These are areas of effect that you can paint onto the track. Some abilities can be used by you and your team, while others can affect opponents only. Abilities include things like extra boost, extra energy, stealing energy (from opponents) and adding extra friction to the track, to slow opponents down. All of the Abilities have different areas of effect on the track, and the strength of abilities and cost to use them vary.
Before heading into a race, you can adjust your vehicle’s loadout to suit your individual driving character and preferred race strategy, taking full advantage of your unique strengths.
For team modes, different loadout combinations can be categorised into ‘roles’, ranging from support and engineering to defence and offense. We’ll cover each of these in detail in another article.
This is uncharted territory when it comes to racing games, so we’re excited to see where it goes and what racers can do with it!
New Team Modes
In team mode, two or more teams can compete against each other in a number of event types:
- Team Tournaments: A race or series of races of any duration (day long to season long grands prix) on any combination of tracks and in any combination of game modes).
- Team Race: First player to cross the finish line wins the race for the whole team.
- Team Capture: The first team to capture all sectors in a race and hold them for 30 secs wins.
Team mode and the corresponding team event types are pivotal features for the series. They also pave the way for additional gameplay opportunities that are characteristic of traditional motorsports and esports, such as brand sponsorships and technical career pathways that will be facilitated via blockchain smart contracts. Together, these will create the most comprehensive and streamlined esports ecosystem in the games industry today.
Free-for-All Events
Solo racers can also enjoy multiplayer. In a free-for-all race, each player races individually against any number of opponents, on any track. The first player to complete the set number of laps (set by the race-creator) is the victor.
‘This mode is designed for players who just want to jump in and start playing without too much fuss – keeping it simple and making it easy to find and join a race is one of our priorities. We also offer lots of combinations of different game modes and styles, so that players can find race modes that suit their own style of play.
And Finally...
Great news players! Development of real-time multiplayer, including these new game modes and loadouts, is almost complete. Expect it to be released in the coming months.
We’ve also got an exciting new race mode in the works which we’ll be announcing soon…
If you want to hear about it as soon as it happens, then feel free to sign up to our 22 Racing Series Newsletter.
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