On The Edge Pack - OUT NOW

Date: Thu, 13 Apr 2023

Genre: Free to Play, Racing, Simulation, Sports
Developer: KW Studios
Release Date: Tue, 12 Feb 2013

Today we’re releasing our On The Edge pack: a trio of high performance cars that reward being pushed right to the edge. The McLaren 570S GT4 further bolsters Raceroom’s already strong GT4 offering; the KTM delivers two cars in one – you’ll get both the GTX and GT2 versions; and then the Mazda RT24-P pushes us into modern prototype territory, opening up a lot of opportunity for some epic multi-class racing – and just maybe more prototypes in the future!

Get it now for only 7,50 €

GT4 already includes a diverse set of cars, its ruleset balancing out high-end touring cars and bespoke specials against thoroughbred supercars like this McLaren. It’s such a fun GT class to drive, and one where its popularity – both in the real world and in Raceroom – mean there’s still room for further evolution.

The McLaren sits more on the aero side of the GT4 class. It’s a powerful car, for sure, but its strength is particularly in corners – rather like the Lotus Elise and KTM X-Bow GT4 that are already in-game. A unique feature of the 570S is that it runs with an open differential, which is fully replicated in Raceroom’s physics. The relative left and right wheel speed is controlled electronically rather than mechanically, allowing more torque to be transferred to the tyre with less load but with the electronics on hand to help keep things under control.

The pair of KTMs are really engaging and exciting cars to drive. Identical twins on the surface, it’s what’s out (mid) rear that makes the difference. The GTX variant will sit in its own ‘Cup’ class, providing the opportunity for some high-powered single-make races where driver skill will be the deciding factor.

The GT2 will be, naturally, in Raceroom’s GT2 class, joining the Audi R8 LMS and Porsche 911 GT2 RS Clubsport. It’s an interesting class: in one way less restrictive in terms of power – the KTM X-Bow GT2 has around 70bhp more than the GTX, for example, pushing 600 horses – but then by regulation the cars are then literally saddled with lead to balance out the field. But it means that on long straights the X-Bow GT2 will keep accelerating: down something like Paul Ricard’s Mistral Straight you’re going to need something to hang onto.

As well as the new content, the latest game update will also include a set of seriously updated physics for GT2 and GT4 classes, that both balance the new cars but also deliver dramatic accuracy improvements to the driving experience. We’ve fine-tuned the base setups for all our GT4s, further improving drivability but also making sure no one car dominates.

We’ve dedicated serious time to making the suspension kinematics accurate, right down to where the suspension arms are connected to the chassis and wheels. They are not simply holding the car up: they're actually playing a really important part by controlling wheel camber and vectoring forces in certain situations. Getting it right or wrong can totally make or break a car’s handling – and getting it right is very hard! We think we’ve really got the GT2s and GT4s into a good place, and we’ll be applying the same logic to other cars through further updates.

We’ve also applied some major updates to the braking physics as well: we’ve really focussed on making sure that the brake disks, callipers and pads on all our cars are accurate and reflective of real-world models. Our attention to detail even goes down to brake disk diameter, weight, cooling, pad weight and length of brake pedal travel. It means that the slight intricacies that come about from different components can now be really felt. The KTM has quite a different brake setup to the BMW M4, for example, and its braking behaviour reflects that. Get real indeed!

Back to On The Edge's content, and last but not least we present the Mazda RT-24P. It’s a great example of the last generation of prototypes that dominated prior to today’s Hypercar class, and it’s right up there in terms of extreme performance. It’s a raw racing machine: carbon brakes, plenty of downforce and a serious amount of torque extracted from what’s a pretty small engine. Just like top tier single-seaters, prototypes deliver a singular experience. Although visibility isn’t as bad as the high-fender LMP1s of the 2010s, they still take a lot of focus and practice to master – and a rear-view camera does help.

Our Mazda represents the final iteration of this machine, which was admittedly a little recalcitrant in its first season of racing in North America. But it was always fast. Reading the numbers involved when it reaches V-max won’t be the problem: mastering them will be.

The Mazda will be epic in multi-class races – whether you’re racing in or against one. They’ll be massively faster in the corners than their opposition, but in certain circumstances not hugely faster on straights when the best GTs hit their top speed. We’ve got a lot of Ranked racing and competition planned for the Mazda, which should be an absolute blast.

Raceroom’s On The Edge pack is available today for €7.50, and the accompanying game update will deliver all the improvements listed above and more.

We’re also pleased to say that we are formalising our content release strategy for 2023. From now on, you can expect regular themed pack releases every three months, neatly interspersed with tailored drops of single cars or tracks we think deserve to be highlighted. Following on from On The Edge, in six weeks you’ll be able to get your hands on the first of these intermediate releases, which we think will be a great addition to our GT3 range, followed by a pretty epic themed pack release at the end of Q2 – around June. We’ll be revealing our plans for the rest of the year imminently, and we’ll also be delivering regular physics and general development updates over the coming months. Watch this space for more details!

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