Read more about current development perpectives on servers issues, optimization, compensation, aswell as next development steps.
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Dear players,
Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown has been available to all players since September 12 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. If you haven’t seen it yet, we invite you to check out the launch trailer below:
This launch is the culmination of over six years of development by a little over 90 developers, animators, designers, artists, and many others. Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is a project particularly close to our teams' hearts. It is now time to revisit most of the topics raised by the community with you, while also sharing information on the next stages of development.
As you know, September 5 marked the start of Early Unlock for Gold Edition owners. Beyond this Early Unlock, players also got to discover 6 exceptional cars in their garage, 3 exclusive sticker packs, and 3 unique legendary outfits.
However, the Early Unlock launch did not go as we had hoped. Many of you experienced connection and/or game access issues. From day one, we focused all our efforts on improving the game services to allow most players to enjoy the long-awaited Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown experience.
As mentioned in our
previous official communication regarding the server issues, we continue every day to work tirelessly to resolve these problems once and for all. Today, although the majority of issues have been resolved, there are still persistent cases in certain regions/platforms, including an issue related to saves, which is currently being fixed. Several reasons explain this:
- Every day since September 5, new milestones of simultaneous players have been reached. This pushes the servers and the game’s databases to face new technical challenges, leading to unprecedented network issues. Although the previous playtest and beta phases helped us anticipate and prevent many imbalances for the launch, some technical scenarios could only be discovered with the player volume present at launch.
- Certain technical solutions also require extensive internal testing before deployment to ensure they don't cause side effects or additional issues.
- We prioritize "smooth" and "transparent" solutions for players as much as possible, rather than large maintenance periods that make the game unavailable and disconnect all players for several hours.
We are now confident in resolving the main issues encountered and still consider the improvement of technical services a priority.
Every day, new fixes are applied. In the coming days, larger operations will take place to deploy more profound fixes. These may sometimes require server maintenance or even the download of a patch. In any case, you will be informed in advance through our various social media channels!
Compensation
As also mentioned in our previous official communication regarding the server issues,
we confirm that compensation will be sent to all players who experienced incomplete gameplay due to connection/server issues.
We are especially thinking of Gold Edition owners who could not fully enjoy the Early Unlock starting on September 5.
Many of you are wondering about the nature of the compensation. We are considering compensation that matches the frustration caused by the issues encountered, while ensuring we don’t create unfairness for unaffected players or disrupt the unique progression balance of Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown.
Although it is too early to confirm what this compensation will be, rest assured, it will not simply be a number of Solar Coins or an Avatar cosmetic.
Optimization & Graphics
Beyond connection/server issues, optimization (framerate) and graphics on PC or consoles are also causing reactions.
Although optimization and graphical quality have been greatly improved since the first playtests or the latest betas, some of you feel there is still room for improvement. Rest assured, we are also working hard on these aspects.
A major update aimed at further improving the visual experience is currently in progress. We will share more details soon.
In the meantime, here are some important tips to ensure the best visual experience possible in Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown.
For PC players
First, ensure that your PC meets the official minimum and recommended requirements listed
here.
We also remind you that an SSD is mandatory to play the game.
The read speed of an HDD is unfortunately not enough to display all the map textures and significantly lowers the framerate. So, make sure to install the game on your SSD. Also, feel free to use the various in-game graphic settings to find the best quality/performance balance, particularly through NVIDIA DLSS or AMD's FSR
technologies, which can help you achieve this. Updating your graphics drivers is also highly recommended.
For console players
The PS5 and Xbox Series X|S offer two interchangeable modes at any time:
A visual quality mode, allowing you to play in 1440p 30fps
A performance mode, allowing you to play in 1080p 60fps
Don’t hesitate to experiment with both modes to decide which suits your gaming experience best.
These modes will continue to be improved through updates to ensure an ever-higher/stable framerate, while optimizing graphical quality so you can enjoy Hong Kong Island and your cars in the best possible conditions!
Graphic optimization, like the game servers, remains a development priority for our teams, even after the game’s launch, in close collaboration with specific hardware manufacturers.
Next steps
The coming weeks will be eventful, both to improve your gaming experience and to offer you exclusive new content.
First major patch
Very soon, our first major patch will be available for all PC, PS5, and XS|X players. This update will include
more than 300 fixes, varying in importance and based on your feedback. They may concern visual issues on Hong Kong Island or the different interfaces, but also gameplay balancing for AIs or races.
Beyond these fixes, this patch will also significantly improve game optimization (framerate) on all platforms. The minimum and recommended configurations will be updated accordingly. It will also improve the compatibility and functionality of certain peripherals (steering wheels, shifters, pedals, etc.). As a reminder, you can check the list of compatible peripherals as well as known issues
here.
This patch is currently undergoing thorough checks and intensive tests to ensure everything is functional once applied to the game and to reduce risks during deployment. We will share detailed information and the release date on our various social media channels.
Dev Diary in preparation
Beyond the technical optimization topics that are currently a priority for our teams, we are also closely monitoring your feedback on our social media (Discord, X, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram, Steam), as well as from content creators (YouTube/Twitch) more broadly. This helps us better understand your feedback on the game itself: gameplay, features, balance, etc.
Very soon, Alain Jarniou, Creative Director at KT Racing, will return with you in a "Dev Diary" video to discuss the game’s launch and the main topics at the heart of community discussions (optimization, offline mode, balancing, AI, etc.).
Post-launch content announcement video
For those who haven’t seen it yet, we have already announced most of the updates you can expect in the first year after launch: the return of Ibiza, clan wars, the return of the casino, and answers on topics eagerly awaited by the community: real estate, motorcycles, improvements to steering wheel rotation, etc.
Finally, as already mentioned, we are pleased to see many players embracing the game exactly as we had always envisioned. Seeing you share numerous photos of your garages or screenshots of your best drives with friends at sunrise or sunset on social media warms our hearts and represents the unique vision of automotive passion in Test Drive Unlimited. And this is just the beginning!
