Nacon has provided more new information on the upcoming Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, with its latest monthly newsletter revealing more about its Hong Kong location.
As we already knew from information provided earlier in the game’s development, the events all take place within the confines of Hong Kong Island — recreated in the virtual world at a 1:1 scale. That ultimately means that if you’re familiar with the island in the real world, you should know the game world like the back of your hand.
“Solar Club Letter #2” delves more into what that will entail though, with the 30 square-mile island containing some 370 miles of surfaced roads as well as some more interesting terrain.
Road discovery will be a vital part of the game, with rewards for players who explore and find more of the highways. However they’re just a small part of the picture, with the 14 districts of the island containing some wildly different landscapes.
Along with the obvious urban hub of Hong Kong itself, TDUSC recreates rural areas such as Repulse Bay, the south-eastern coastline at Shek O, and the Tai Tam Tuk reservoir. The island’s highest point, the 552m Victoria Peak — or “The Peak” — also features, with the newsletter suggesting it’s “perfect for an off-road experience”.
However, while the general geography, layout, and road positioning is close to identical and at a 1:1 scale, it’s not a slavish digitization of the island; KT Racing has exercised some oversight to improve playability.
Creative director Alain Jarniou notes that some roads have been mildly edited to widen some city streets that were too narrow, open out some of the faster roads to suit the faster cars, and — citing the team’s expertise in WRC titles — make navigable paths out of some routes that are in reality mere hiking trails.
That will allow players more freedom to drive — and race — on certain roads, and to explore more of the island’s 14 districts. In fact Jarniou hints that there may be some hidden secrets down roads that aren’t necessarily marked on the game’s map…
As well as exploring, each district has its own gameplay challenges too, from speed traps to the returning “wrecks” feature. Finding the wrecks gives unique parts, and finding them all will allow you to unlock “iconic cars”.
There’s also a fully dynamic time of day and weather system, although the full extent of this hasn’t been detailed just yet. However the newsletter does suggest that there’s rain and stormy weather as well as sunshine, time of day phases, and players will be able to put the roof up and down on convertible vehicles.
The newsletter also briefly mentions multiplayer, with head-to-head online races against other players and “instant challenges”, though we expect to hear more on that in a future edition.
Also noted in the newsletter — and again, one for a later clarification — is that your cars can get damaged, and you will need to visit a gas station to restore them.
One thing that’s still to be revealed though is the game’s release date. TDUSC was originally slated for September 22, 2022, before being subsequently pushed back to 2023 and with eight-gen console support dropped. Hopefully we’ll get a hint of a date in May’s third newsletter.
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