KT Racing has revealed what’s coming in Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown Season 3, and it’s not quite what we were expecting from the previously announced roadmap. Clan Wars has been delayed, but in its place the team has tried to cater to a wide range of community requests and feedback to improve the game, including a new solo mode.
Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown Season 3 is starting on 19th March.
Solo mode is being added to let you skip the standard multiplayer matchmaking that has featured since launch and just race against AI. This enables you to pause the race and fast restart, which hasn’t been possible so far. Multiplayer mode will give 50% bonus rewards to encourage participation, and to be fair, chances are you’ll be racing mostly against AI through these events anyway.
AI difficulty selection is another addition. This includes Novice, Amateur, Intermediate, Experienced and Expert tiers, giving up to a 40% bonus reward for the top difficulty.
Clan Stores let you shop for new plates, rims and more at your chosen Clan HQ. This goes hand in hand with the custom license plates, which let you pick a number of plate designs and set custom text.
Three new cars are being added for players to save up and buy:
- Aston Martin Valour
- DeLorean DMC-12
- Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta
The Season 1 ranked reward is also now available in the luxury car dealership, handing out the Pininfarina Battista.
A new Navigation Mode challenges you to reach a location using only a compass dial at the top of the screen, aiming to set the fastest time to get there. Convoy Missions are also back, handing you the keys to someone else’s car.
And of course there’s new weekly live events and a 50 level Solar Pass with a free track of participation rewards.
This all sounds fairly positive for the game – the new modes are all very welcome – though it’s still not getting at the root of some of the complaints that players had. In our Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown review, I said, “After years and years of waiting, Test Drive Unlimited is back. Kind of. Solar Crown is an open world racer for gamers who don’t need constant gratification, but can be patient and work toward a key unlock and crowning car. It’s just a shame that the game at launch will require patience while KT Racing fix, improve and hopefully expand it to meet more of its potential.”
