Racing

Racing missions broke with a past update and need engineering, UI and other work to restore; they also want a more accessible experience, but no date is given.

Aerodynamics and drafting for ground vehicles aren't currently in the plan, but could come with the next ground vehicle version, in limited form rather than a full simulation.

Xi'an endurance racing, where winners slow their body functions and are highly revered, is the main alien sport named, alongside the Banu's love of Sataball, where some play professionally.

No third racing mode is described; racing influenced the design, with boost working outside combat mode and capacitor and boost regeneration differences between modes being tested, with no definitive answer yet.

The M50 is a racer/interceptor; its second-engine variant is art-complete but has dropped in priority, since the tech team must first make flight control handle losing a thruster properly.

A full suite of hangars was added to Grim Hex, making it feel like a complete landing zone, which required reworking the asteroid, though the common hangar elements made refitting fairly simple.

The team is updating older Stanton locations, such as adding hangars at Grim Hex and finishing New Babbage details, building foundations other teams can add content to later, with not every change advertised.

It's a fine line: racers can be fast but must not become better combat ships, so they'd look at other advantages like handling, sustained G in turns or atmospheric performance instead of top speed.

No official change to separate racers from interceptors is planned; John Crewe personally would like it, but it hasn't been decided and would need internal consensus.

Luke Pressley says Scramble Racing is a first-tier stepping stone toward Death of a Spaceman, not opposed to it, with a non-lethal version and injured-and-revive mechanics expected later, though the current game doesn't yet reflect that.

Players must keep checking the General tab of the contract manager, where an active Scramble Race appears and is accepted; a task exists for the future to let players flag tabs for pop-up alerts.

The ship is only slightly larger, so its racing role is unchanged: still among the fastest ships thanks to its twin engines, though somewhat less maneuverable than the Razor and M50.

They describe a possible racing-specific policy covering the risk of pushing vehicles to the limit, and stress that premiums should save players money and never be punishing or break their banks.

They are prototyping waypoint-based surface races on the moons, but it's not the top priority and they don't say whether it will make 3.0; leaderboards per vehicle are wanted.

Chris Roberts says the Murray Cup map has a very small amount of gravity, he's unsure about wind resistance, and other race courses will have more atmospheric or gravitational effects, though it's early days.

Roberts says the 350R and Mustang could get jump drives while the M50 is likely too small, so racers would be carried in transporter ships or hired out.

Yes, there will be mini games, though specifics aren't announced; racing, timing events, gambling and jousting are mentioned as things planned, and players will help test them and suggest ideas.