New Test Drive Is So Bad Players Get A Free Car As An Apology

Earlier this year, Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown was released in a pretty bad state. People complained about bugs, broken servers, and other serious issues across console and PC. Things have improved a bit since then, but the game is still in a rough place. As an apology for all this, players are being given a single free car.

Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown, which had three different release dates depending on how much money you spent on it, arrived in September to negative reviews from critics and players. For some who forked over nearly $100, for the fanciest version that provided the earliest access, the game was basically unplayable due to server issues for days. Other players shared videos of physics and graphical bugs. In other words, Solar Crown’s launch was a big mess, and now, for those early players, the developers are offering a free (digital) Porsche as an apology, alongside a large update.

On November 4, Test Drive publisher Nacon and developer KT Racing posted an update to Steam thanking players for their “patience and support.” And to help win people back, those who logged into Solar Crown before October 12 will automatically receive the “Adventurer” edition of the 1986 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe after Season 2 launches.

Meanwhile, Nacon and KT Racing announced that on Tuesday the second major patch for TDU Solar Crown will be available on all platforms. This patch is focused on improving stability and performance on Xbox, PS5, and PC. The patch also promises to fix many of the server login issues players have been encountering since September.

“Over the past few weeks, we’ve worked hard to roll out multiple maintenance phases and hotfixes aimed at enhancing the game,” explained Nacon. “We know there’s still work to be done, and we hear you. Please know that your feedback is invaluable, and our development team is fully dedicated to addressing the issues you’re encountering as quickly as possible, while also refining features to ensure a smoother, more enjoyable gaming experience for everyone.”

Will a free car and the promise of more fixes be enough to win players over? I’m not sure. So far, the game’s Steam review rating is still standing at Mostly Negative. So there’s still a lot of work to be done if Nacon and KT Racing want to turn this car around.

Here are the full patch notes for Test Drive Unlimted Solar Crown’s new major update:

Servers/Network

• Fixed various login issues

Performance/Stability

• Reduced shadow cost in performance
• Added various optimizations to improve memory consumption and overall stability
• Fixed a crash that could happen when entering a spot
• Fixed a crash that could happen when traffic spawned
• Fixed a crash that could happen while buying car parts
• PC: Fixed a crash that could occur when playing with certain AMD GPUs
• PS5: Reduced frame drops in performance mode

Graphics

• Improved global illumination performance
• Improved octree tracing performance
• Improved shadow quality created by headlights
• Improved SSR upscaling
• PC: Use DLAA instead of FSR TAA by default when available
• PS5: Improved quality mode resolution from 1080p to 1440p

Compatibility

• PC: Fixed binding and default preset on Thrustmaster TMX wheel
• PC: Fixed Logitech G923 default binding
• PC: Fixed Moza devices default preset
• PC: Fixed issue where FFB was lost when the mouse was moved
• PC: Fixed issue where FFB could still be present when navigating menus
• PS5 & XS|X: Added presets for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox 360 and PS5 controllers
• PS5 & XS|X: Added clutch binding to default steering wheel presets
• PS5 & XS|X: Added gear binding to default steering wheel presets
• XS|X: Fixed default binding on Logitech devices
• XS|X: Added Fanatec CSL Elite as a recognized device

Bugfixes

• Fixed a softlock that could occur when opening the map at the same time than various menus
• Fixed a softlock when pausing and accelerating at the same time during cutscenes with Vivian
• Fixed garage’s slot not updating when uninstalling and reinstalling DLCs
• Fixed various localization issues
• Fixed an issue where pause menu would be unresponsive if Alyss menu was opened before
• Fixed Aliasing of certain fonts
• Fixed fences sometimes not having collisions
• Fixed pre-order Ford DLC text
• Fixed start button POI on Lotus Evija
• Fixed license plate light turning on with reverse & brake input on Alpine A110
• Fixed dirt wrongly applied on Corvette C7 ZR1
• Fixed brake light animation while spoiler is open on Porsche 911R
• Fixed cases where NPCs could be run through
• Fixed various wall collision issues
• Fixed issue where french audio was not playing correctly
• Fixed pink pixel in dark areas
• Fixed RPM leds not resetting on the pause menu
• Fixed car color widget order
• Fixed the race “Fateful Confrontation” always being identified as a ranked race
• Fixed wrong highlighted races while having the secondary task “Ad Campaign” pinned
• Fixed DLCs vehicles appearing in the pause menu before unlocking them
• Fixed a case where the avatar could fall underground during onboarding in the first car dealer
• Fixed rewards depreciation enabling itself when abandoning or being disconnected from races
• Fixed a case where the wrong garment were applied to the avatar preview when switching rapidly from one category to another
• Fixed issue where car livery were not applied on other player’s cards
• Fixed High Stake event’s rush hour sometimes not triggering
• Fixed an issue where beard were not displayed properly after adding a mustache
• Fixed wrong car thumbnail ratio when using an ultra-wide monitor
• Improvement in AI behaviour while close to the player
• Fixed yellow floating lines
• Fixed GPS voice still talking when set to off
• Fixed issue where parts of the avatar would turn grey
• Fixed “Roof” selection on radial menu when driving a car with no roof
• Fixed issue where cars could change color depending on the distance
• Fixed ghost sometimes not being visible in Time Attack
• Fixed rain in the pause menu
• XS|X: Fixed black blinking during races
• XS|X: Fixed crash when reconnecting Logitech wheel
• XS|X: Fixed issue where wheel angle was being wrongly reset on Logitech devices

Misc

• Updated matchmaking value for toxicity

• Updated camera settings in shops
• Added F13 shortcut for ping display on Nvidia Reflex