Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown Discussion Thread

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It's bad also for the games they publish outside of the racing genre - all the sports games (cycling/cricket/rugby), the Robocop & Terminator games, Hell Is Us, etc. Some good/very good games that might have struggled otherwise to get decent distribution.
 
Fezzik
Oh dear

www.resetera.com

French publisher Nacon has filled for insolvency and is requesting for judicial reorganization News

Source: corporate.nacongaming.com (pdf) It was expected given last week news but this still sucks no matter what we think of Nacon (and lots to think about how they treat their productions and studios). To give you an idea they own: Cyanide Eko Software Kylotonn Spiders Daedalic Entertainment...
www.resetera.com www.resetera.com
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That was expected after the news on Friday.
Note that this is insolvency NOT liquidation (though liquidation sometimes follows when restructuring isn't agreed with creditors). It is basically the same process in the UK.

It is called "Chapter 8" in the US.

It protects the company and allows time for Nacon to try to renegotiate with creditors.

Nacon will try to get an agreement for restructuring of the debt and that bond in particular. If they can't, then the creditors will take control and decide what they want to do.

If the court and the creditors think they would be "putting good money after bad" i.e. throwing more money away for nothing, they would go for liquidation.

More commonly, the creditors will accept either delayed payment of the bond, and/or a write off of some of the bond amount, in exchange for some amount of minority or majority control of the company.

The same thing happened with MGM in the US where MGM had to get permission from their creditors for every single penny budgeted for Skyfall, which then went on to make over $1 billion and basically saved the company until it was bought by Amazon.

I suspect TDU funding will be cut off as soon as legally possible to do so and the game is probably going to go dead with the servers switched off, as it still doesn't have any offline save. The creditors will probably see that title as very much throwing money away.

WRC 27 COULD happen if the creditors think it will be profitable enough - after all, the creditors want to get as much of their money back as possible. The same goes for any other titles under development. Anything else not seen as a "good bet" will be culled.

If there are any titles already virtually completed and due for imminent release, the costs are already mostly spent, so it would normally make sense to get those released to generate revenue.
 
sirjim73
That was expected after the news on Friday.
Note that this is insolvency NOT liquidation (though liquidation sometimes follows when restructuring isn't agreed with creditors). It is basically the same process in the UK.

It is called "Chapter 8" in the US.

It protects the company and allows time for Nacon to try to renegotiate with creditors.

Nacon will try to get an agreement for restructuring of the debt and that bond in particular. If they can't, then the creditors will take control and decide what they want to do.

If the court and the creditors think they would be "putting good money after bad" i.e. throwing more money away for nothing, they would go for liquidation.

More commonly, the creditors will accept either delayed payment of the bond, and/or a write off of some of the bond amount, in exchange for some amount of minority or majority control of the company.

The same thing happened with MGM in the US where MGM had to get permission from their creditors for every single penny budgeted for Skyfall, which then went on to make over $1 billion and basically saved the company until it was bought by Amazon.

I suspect TDU funding will be cut off as soon as legally possible to do so and the game is probably going to go dead with the servers switched off, as it still doesn't have any offline save. The creditors will probably see that title as very much throwing money away.

WRC 27 COULD happen if the creditors think it will be profitable enough - after all, the creditors want to get as much of their money back as possible. The same goes for any other titles under development. Anything else not seen as a "good bet" will be culled.

If there are any titles already virtually completed and due for imminent release, the costs are already mostly spent, so it would normally make sense to get those released to generate revenue.
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One thing's likely, they'll be shutting down the servers. The game's been struggling to get beyond 200 players most of the time now, with a last month peak of 361 players, on the 11th, and barely below 1000 in January when the game had a free weekend.

Let's just hope Nacon planned ahead and made an offline patch ready to go, if needed.
 
Bought it under 20 some time ago but didn't start playing yet 💀
 
toastet
Bought it under 20 some time ago but didn't start playing yet 💀
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You'd better get cracking on it then, assuming you're not on Steam and therefore not planning to refund it.

I'm already up to level 65ish, so I'm not in a hurry, but if anyone has bought the game and not played it yet, I'd recommend you try to fit a few hours in.

The first few hours are the most enjoyable bit anyway, exploring the two maps and unlocking a few events/races to play.
 
sirjim73
You'd better get cracking on it then, assuming you're not on Steam and therefore not planning to refund it.

I'm already up to level 65ish, so I'm not in a hurry, but if anyone has bought the game and not played it yet, I'd recommend you try to fit a few hours in.

The first few hours are the most enjoyable bit anyway, exploring the two maps and unlocking a few events/races to play.
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Much as I complain about this game, I do really like it. Recently used a VPN to start a new game on the European Server. I solo'd for 4.5 days to level 55 (when money no longer becomes an issue and the best courses open up). I still enjoy driving and tuning the cars despite the myriad game issues.
 
I just joined the Streets and unlocked Ibiza. I think I'm getting into the meat of this game now. Hope they get some offline patch if they can't keep the servers up, I really want to enjoy this game.
 
GTvsForza
I just joined the Streets and unlocked Ibiza. I think I'm getting into the meat of this game now. Hope they get some offline patch if they can't keep the servers up, I really want to enjoy this game.
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They confirmed saying that when the servers will go out, they want to make the game playable offline. If I recall the exact phrase, they say they wanted to avoid a The Crew 1 situation.
 
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Johnny Caisse
They confirmed saying that when the servers will go out, they want to make the game playable offline. If I recall the exact phrase, they say they wanted to avoid a The Crew 1 situation.
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As far as I know, the developers have only said that it will ''likely'' get an offline mode at the end of the game's life.
Apparently they have been ''working on a solution'' but still, no promises or guarantees is what I make of it.
 
MXH
As far as I know, the developers have only said that it will ''likely'' get an offline mode at the end of the game's life.
Apparently they have been ''working on a solution'' but still, no promises or guarantees is what I make of it.
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They also said that they would never sell currency in game which was the whole reason they separated diamonds from coins... And, now, you can buy currency as well as diamonds for DLC. The point is trust in the Dev has already been strained, if not broken.

I personally feel that NOW is the time to implement a real offline mode as I believe it will ultimately lead to additional sales. Whether or not an insolvency court will agree, though, is a complete unknown.
 
Ryan81
So, in essence, if they go down the tubes and no creditor takes on their debts, TDU servers shut down and the game vanishes, ala The Crew 1?
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Well, I doubt they're going to commit the resources to make an offline patch for it, if one doesn't already exist (or the game devs just take the initiative to do it on their own). Ubi only did that for TC2 and TCM because they wanted to regain some form of goodwill with both players and investors and stop their stock from crashing, and if Nacon is already in the financial dumpster then there's no real incentive to prop up a game that has such a low playercount.

It sucks, but that's also the unfortunate nature of live service games.
 
Delete
 
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Believe it or not, I really do love this game. That said, sometimes the communication from Devs is so COMPLETELY TONE DEAF, that it demands a response.

As for the February Solar Crown Letter...

(cross posted to Steam Forums)

Much of it touts revised Art, Detective missions, new cars, sideskirts, etc., for the RW8 Audi Coupe. It also mentions continuing network optimizations in hopes of furthering efforts toward cross region play.

But:
It fails to mention ANYTHING about the long promised PC graphical optimizations.
It fails to mention anything about a true offline mode with peer to peer networking.
It fails to mention anything about being able to purchase a wheel or wing that works on multiple cars.
It fails to mention a solution for those who cannot use the casino.
It fails to mention a reasonable solution for sharing liveries or tunes.

The current network situation, after 17 months IS frankly deplorable. All of these issues should have been fixed well over a year ago. At this point, Dev's oft promised and rarely delivered Network improvements are meme worthy. So, GET REAL and make an OFFLINE mode with peer to peer networking.

As for Detective Missions, Housing, and reworked Art... all of this is good, but NONE of it should be prioritized over the OFFLINE mode or the long promised but yet to be delivered PC graphics optimizations.

I can already hear the response, "They are different departments." That response completely ignores the Devs's responsibility to allocate resources in order to optimize their games. The Art budget should have been slashed a LONG time ago. The networking and graphic teams should have been quadrupled. And, the appropriate fixes should have been patched in within 6 months of release.

P.S. When are we going to be able to filter map by power level, current car, car category and/or weather? These some of many QOL and common sense fixes long overdue.

P.P.S. I am really tired of running into the back of cars at night or in dim light that show no lit tail lights until I am on top of them. It is not enough to tie lighting to time of day and ignore tunnels and/or dark heavily forested roadways. Further, if headlights are lit (as distinguished from DRLs), tail lights should ALWAYS be lit too.
 
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And, despite the season being 5 months long in order to assure graphics optimizations, we hear crickets about progress on the PC and the single most requested feature, offline functionality.

Seems like the cars are a weak attempt to distract from the real issues... But, we will know the truth in roughly two weeks.
 
Odd news day. Next season starts on Wednesday and there is a devstream coming with news of the future plans, but the developers themselves have followed the parent company Nacon into insolvency.

www.gamespress.com

TEST DRIVE UNLIMITED SOLAR CROWN – KT RACING ANNOUNCES A DEVSTREAM FOR SEASON 6

Season 6 detailed in a devstream with a few nods to future content in 7, 8.
www.gamespress.com

www.resetera.com

Origami | Nacon's studios Cyanide, Spiders and Kylotonn have filled for insolvency and are also placed under judicial reorganization News

https://bsky.app/profile/gautoz.cool/post/3mhqj6vzx4c2q One month after Nacon & BigBen's insolvency: https://www.resetera.com/threads/french-publisher-nacon-has-filled-for-insolvency-and-is-requesting-for-judicial-reorganization.1445569 Terrible start of the year for French video games...
www.resetera.com www.resetera.com

A mystery what the future really holds for this game.
 
Fezzik
Odd news day. Next season starts on Wednesday and there is a devstream coming with news of the future plans, but the developers themselves have followed the parent company Nacon into insolvency.

www.gamespress.com

TEST DRIVE UNLIMITED SOLAR CROWN – KT RACING ANNOUNCES A DEVSTREAM FOR SEASON 6

Season 6 detailed in a devstream with a few nods to future content in 7, 8.
www.gamespress.com

www.resetera.com

Origami | Nacon's studios Cyanide, Spiders and Kylotonn have filled for insolvency and are also placed under judicial reorganization News

https://bsky.app/profile/gautoz.cool/post/3mhqj6vzx4c2q One month after Nacon & BigBen's insolvency: https://www.resetera.com/threads/french-publisher-nacon-has-filled-for-insolvency-and-is-requesting-for-judicial-reorganization.1445569 Terrible start of the year for French video games...
www.resetera.com www.resetera.com

A mystery what the future really holds for this game.
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Leaked footage from said devstream:
oxkngb6zer2d1.gif


Unless they're announcing that another publisher has taken them on or that they're going to make provisions for offline play and/or player-run servers, I can't exactly see any good news forthcoming.
 
So I guess no houses or motorcycles in the future, at least add offline support and that’s it.
 
kartman21
Sad story for the company and the people about to loose their job
Anyway I don't know how this game will manage to survive when FH6 will be out, and how could someone think this game will ever be a source or income while there is so much work to fix it and bring what they have told

Even with the next S6 I don't have any plans to reinstall it again
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Not only FH6, The Crew Motorfest it's a success for Ubi and Ivory Tower, in many ways is much better than TDU.
 
I’m no expert on French corporate law but I think the current process can take up to 18 months, therefore it is currently business as usual (as long as they continue to employ and pay their staff).

www.overtake.gg

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown: Additions for Season 6 and Beyond

KT Racing's Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is pressing on with updates and fixes plus a new roadmap showcasing everything coming to the game.
www.overtake.gg www.overtake.gg

IMG_5761.webp


I’d expect an even greater grind and push towards the passes and microtransaction. They need to maximise any income from the game.
 
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The microtransactions in this game are a pain in the neck. This is how this saga ends forever. After 20 hours, this game feels very mediocre to me in many ways.
 
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For its flaws (and there are many) there are aspects about TDU SC which I personally find to be superior to TCM. One, I find the UI to be a lot less 'busy' and annoying.
Navigation is more intuitive and cars are split into various different dealerships rather than just a central hub which is what the original TDU had. Two, true barn finds that contain classic cars (granted, not many) rather than just "goody boxes"
Three, sticking to cars and not trying to be a jack-of-all-trades.
Four, I like the physics slightly better in TDU SC. Feels a little less 'arcadey' somehow. Just hope they eventually add an offline patch.
 
Ryan81
For its flaws (and there are many) there are aspects about TDU SC which I personally find to be superior to TCM. One, I find the UI to be a lot less 'busy' and annoying.
Navigation is more intuitive and cars are split into various different dealerships rather than just a central hub which is what the original TDU had. Two, true barn finds that contain classic cars (granted, not many) rather than just "goody boxes"
Three, sticking to cars and not trying to be a jack-of-all-trades.
Four, I like the physics slightly better in TDU SC. Feels a little less 'arcadey' somehow. Just hope they eventually add an offline patch.
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First, I agree with everything you said. TDUSC massively outshines TCM in force feedback. So much so that it ruins TCM... Which is a shame because, otherwise, TCM is a far more polished product. Moreover, on a game controller, TCM is miles better. On a wheel though...

Second, I specifically asked about the offline mode in the most recent QnA. Here was the response:

  1. [Me]
    Several people have stated that the only reason they haven't purchased this game is the lack of offline gaming. When can we expect a definitive answer on this issue?


  2. Alex VII
    Role icon, Streets

    There has been no progress on offline. Our stance is the same as it was in previous letters. We'll look into working on it when the game is no longer in service.If there is any other details on this, or an full confirmation of it, we'll be sure to communicate that at a later date, but for now, no additional news.
 
Looks like they're only considering an offline patch once the game reaches EoL. Even if that's the case, it's much better than losing the game forever ala The Crew.
 
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