Golden Lap News

📢 Hey, everyone!

ℹ️ We've been quiet for the past few weeks, but we've been hard at work on some huge changes to Golden Lap. We've fixed major bugs and made significant improvements to the gameplay and difficulty to offer a fresh challenge for those seeking it. This is a big update, and it may need some extra polishing, so please backup your save data before trying it. We're releasing the update as an early preview on the Steam public-beta branch to gather some feedback before fully releasing it.

📝 We’re eager to see what you think!

Specifically, we would like to receive feedback on three key elements that we addressed in this update
They are:

• The Team Member Market: An overhaul of the team-building process.
  
• Fuel Consumption: AI opponents will try to use all of their fuel during a race, in turn making more use of the engine 'Push' mode.
  
• Game Progression: We've heard your feedback, and with the implementation of several new systems our aim is to provide a more satisfying and challenging progression throughout the seasons.
  

📜 As always, you're welcome to leave your feedback using the in-game menu by pressing CTRL+F, or in the dedicated public-beta channel on the official Funselektor discord server!

🙏 Thank you for your continued support!

[h2]v241114_a9e3d7775 Changelog[/h2]

[h3]Gameplay Improvements[/h3]

• a complete overhaul to the Team Member Market; teams will now pick their members based on their current position in the leaderboard (the first team picks first, the second team picks second, etc.)
  
• added an option at the start of a new season to secure team members from the previous season
  
• added an option to save and quit during the team member selection at the start of a new season
  
• AI drivers now use significantly more fuel and the engine 'Push' mode more often
  
• separated Tune and Send Out actions in Quali, so it's easier to avoid getting stuck in traffic (to get Clean Air)
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• fixed the "super driver bug" (where the stats of some drivers change after restarting the game)
  
• fixed UI issues in results screens and standings
  
• drivers in their Last Year now retire at the end of a season even if they were not on a team
  
• fixed issues with Golden Tune sponsor challenges not being awarded in certain cases
  
• fixed Tuning Master trait working only in first race weekend of the season
  
• fixed issues with car and part building animations
  
• fixed UI issues caused by names longer than 14 characters
  
• fixed wet range indicator in tire tooltip showing incorrect range in certain cases
  
• loading screen now adapts to screen size
  

[h3]Localization Improvements[/h3]

• added Turkish localization
  
• fixed issues with French and German localization
  

[h3]Mods Improvements[/h3]

• added team BFC textures to the BaseMod (BFC was previously available in the alpha preview of Golden Lap)
  
• improved handling of drivers with the 'DecadeStartContent' value set to true
  
• you can now set the 'DecadeStartContent' value for modded engineers and crew chiefs
  
• improved AI decision making when hiring drivers for modded teams
  

[h2]How to access the Public Beta branch[/h2]

To access the public beta build:

1. right click on Golden Lap in your Library
   
2. select Properties
   
3. go to the Betas tab and then select the public-beta branch (screenshot below)
   
4. wait for the update to finish
   
5. verify the installation
   

This week we're rolling out our first major update to enhance game balance. We've refined the overtaking mechanic, making races more challenging and putting greater emphasis on getting clean air during Qualifier, and making Qualifier placement now have more weight.

We've made significant improvements to how traits are managed in the background. While we've addressed the "super driver bug" (where drivers gain or lose focus at season's end), it's not completely resolved yet. We're prioritizing this issue and will do our best to fix it ASAP.

In the meantime, we've launched a Public Beta branch where you can get an early look at the upcoming updates. The current public beta build includes improvements to how crash chances are handled when pushing. This will prevent the possibility to constantly push throughout the whole race without consequences.

[h3]v241018_859d613 Changelog[/h3]

Gameplay Improvements

• It's more difficult to overtake now.
  
• Improved trait handling from race to race.
  

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue with saving/loading traits.
  
• Fixed blocky shadows behind some panels.
  
• Petrol Crisis achievement can no longer be unlocked if the driver doesn't finish the race.
  
• Fixed an issue where Patriotic trait was active for multiple countries.
  
• Fixed Patriotic trait not working for Eduardo Ortiz.
  
• Fixed an issue where drivers don't pit after a puncture if they get a puncture in pit lane.
  
• Accidentally clicking Back button with both right and left mouse buttons no longer soft locks the game.
  

Localization Improvements

• Fixed issues with Dutch and Spanish localization
  

[h3]How to access the Public Beta branch[/h3]

To access the public beta build:
1. right click on Golden Lap in your Library
2. select Properties
3. go to the Betas tab and then select the public-beta branch (screenshot below)
4. wait for the update to finish
5. verify the installation

This week we've prepared for you a substantial update addressing several community feedback points. Some of the highlights include changes to red flag rules, better AI tyre strategy, and mod support for customizing the point-scoring system and season monetary rewards. We hope you enjoy it!

[h3]Changelog v241009[/h3]

Bug Fixes

• Fixed driver’s stress bar filling up during pit stops
  
• Drivers can no longer get punctures in the pitlane
  
• Fixed “Lord of the pits” achievement not being unlockable. The progression of the pitstop-time-based achievements is now 8s, 6s, 5s
  
• Fixed “Home Sweet Home” achievement not being unlockable
  
• Fixed the “Patriotic” trait not working for some drivers
  
• Fixed “Steady hands” crew chief trait not working as intended (being a variant of “Risk taker” instead of its opposite)
  

Gameplay Improvements

• Red flag change: all drivers keep running until the leader has stopped on the start/finish line. This avoids some drivers getting penalized if they were following a car but that car had crossed the start/finish line when the red flag came out
  
• Red flag is now 8 mins to allow all the cars to complete the required laps while lining up behind the leader on the start/finish line.
  

AI Improvements

• Improved AI decisions (improved reaction times) on sudden track changes under rainy and torrential weather conditions
  

Modding Improvements

• Fixed Mod selection screen not automatically refreshing after downloading to a mod
  
• File loading for mods is now case-insensitive
  
• Point-scoring system and end of season monetary rewards can now be modded
  

UI/UX Improvements

• Added track background images in the career calendar and in the quick race track selection.
  
• Reordered end of weekend notifications: player drivers replacement, then AI drivers replacement, then sponsor challenge notification.
  
• Fixed long driver names not fitting in garage screen
  
• Visually improved the shadows behind some panels
  
• Introduced the feedback bar for Mac builds
  

Localization Improvements

• Small localization fixes for French, English, Italian
  

📢 Hello, everyone! The first few days after the launch of Golden Lap have been absolutely fantastic!

🙏 We're really grateful for all the love you're showing us! Thanks to your feedback, we already managed to squash some impactful bugs, like issues with achievements and hiring replacement drivers (yes, Verhoeven, it's you 👀).

We released those first fixes with the new build today. You can read the changelog at the end of this announcement.

ℹ️ In the next few weeks we're committed to improve the difficulty balance and the gameplay, and make the progress from season to season more engaging. We're also adding to the game a mod debugging tool, which will help you create more robust mods.

🛠️ If you're looking for some extra thrills, check out some of the amazing mods from our community:

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3341012710

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3338388066

Stay tuned for the upcoming updates! See you on the track! 🏎️💨


***

[h3]v241002_bcf4a78 Changelog[/h3]

Bug Fixes
- Fixed "Golden Lap" and "Pole Position" achievements not being unlockable
- Added a limit on hireable replacement driver's strength
- Fixed AI being able to hire the strongest replacement drivers without taking their budget into account
- Fixed save games not loading if the workshop mod name was changed
- Fixed some drivers being misconfigured in game, causing potential loading issues
- Fixed a couple crew chiefs having some engineers traits

Modding Improvements
- Added mod debugging tool in mod selection screen to allow mod creators to easily troubleshoot their WIP local mods

Localization Improvements
- Minor translation updates for Spanish and Italian

Hello, wonderful people of the internet!

art of rally turned 4 earlier this week, and what an incredible adventure it has been! It’s been even longer, more than 7 years, since we teased the first concept gameplay for our motorsport management game, “The 107% Rule”.

Thanks to your unwavering support, we managed to complete Absolute Drift and art of rally! And now, in 2024, we joined forces with Strelka Games to create another exciting game!

Huge thanks to the amazing people that worked on the game, from artists, producers, developers, translators, marketing, community management, rally marshalls, and more.

Thank you for making this dream a reality!

[h3]We are proud to present: Golden Lap 🍾 🏆[/h3]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h3]Golden Lap is available on Steam for US $14.99 / £12.99 / €14.99! You can grab it now at a special 10% launch discount until October 10th, or as part of the Funselektor bundle alongside art of rally and Absolute Drift.[/h3]

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2052040/Golden_Lap/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/16232/Funselektor_Bundle/