Patch Notes Thread - FUEL: REFUELED mod for FUEL

Here is an early look at the patch notes for Patch #3, this is subject to change and will be updated closer to release.

Fixes:

• Fixed a CTD relating to the use of 'Test Vehicles'.
• Fixed 2 helipads that were previously unusable due to being allocated to the wrong zones. They can be found in Offshore Shack and Redrock Bluffs.
• Fixed floating rear wheel on the "Superfly" Buggy.
• Fixed missing skidmarks and floating front wheels on "Mudhog" Buggy.
• Fixed missing skidmarks and getting stuck in the ground during spawning on "Damocles" Dragster.
• Fixed missing skidmarks on "Flower Reaper" Truck.
• Fixed the "Barracuda" being wrongly classed as a TRUCK when it should be classed as an SUV.
• Fixed the career race "Tornado Warning" so that the player is able to select the same vehicle classes as the AI.
• Fixed the career race "Road Rage" so that the player is able to select the same vehicle classes as the AI.
• Fixed an inconsistency with text formatting on the control options menu.
• Fixed an inconsistency with text formatting on the select camp menu.
• Fixed an inconsistency with incorrect text casing on the session info menu.
• Fixed an inconsistency with improper alignment of decals on the general progression menu.
• Fixed an inconsistency with improper alignment of text on the display options menu.
• Fixed an inconsistency with improper use of decals on the audio options menu.
• Fixed an issue with improper alignment of decals on the map menu.
• Fixed an issue with improper alignment of decals on the display options menu.
• Fixed an issue with text formating on the map menu.
• Fixed an issue with unnecessary declarations on the challenge selection map sub-menu.

Changes:

• Replaced the setup/launcher background graphic with the one used by the mod FUEL: REFUELED.
• Replaced Doppler truck model from TRAFFIC_TRUCK to FLOTTE_JEEP_1 or FLOTTE_BIGTRUCK_1.
• Debug Mode Force Time Array increased to 96 (15 minute increments).
• Removed start locations for broken/un-used races “CR_Tutotest1” and “CR_Tutotest2”.
• Removed "Bonus Codes" menu and integrated all items as in-game unlockables. The "Warrior" can be purchased for 1155 FUEL, the liveries can be found in either Offshore Shack or Tsunami Reef and the driver gear is unlocked by default.
• Reworked “readme” file with more up-to-date information, including patch notes and links to various community web-sites.
• Added "Warrior" as a selectable vehicle in the races "Wild Sand Ride" and "Woodstock" during multiplayer.
• Added "Barracuda" as a selectable vehicle in the race "Crossroads" during multiplayer.
• Added "Devestator" and "Burningdust" as selectable vehicles in the race "Road Rage" during multiplayer.
• Added "Deathgrin", "Stratospheric" and "Stormrider" as selectable vehicles in the race "Tornado Warning" during multiplayer. NOTE: This race remains still technically not selectable during online play.
• Reduced the use of uppercase text to improve readability.

Additions:

• Added several optional mods to make activating console commands easier.
• Added a few minor graphics mods to disable various effects.
• Added optional mods to force the time of day and change the length of day cycle.
• Added optional mod to use the updated control scheme used in the mod FUEL: REFUELED.
• Added optional mod to play the game in ‘Hardcore’ mode. This removes all ability to respawn your vehicle and the game must manually be restarted to continue (ALT-F4).
• Added optional mods to enable either the FUEL: REFUELED V14.5 menu theme or the FUEL: REFUELED V15.1 menu theme and the V15.5 HUD. An option to disable the GPS map on the HUD is also available.
• Added optional mods to change the menu background tint or remove it entirely.
• Added optional mods to force unlock all driver gear and all zones.

Changes:

• 72 Career races improved:
  - Improved AI vehicle diversity.
  - Improved environmental parameters.
  - Wider vehicle selection in multiplayer.
  - Even number of max entrants.
• Helipads added outside every zone camp.
• Vehicles now grouped and ordered in garage menu.
• Vehicles now use a different color palette. Black replaces the darker brown and purple replaces one of the blues. All other colors have been reworked to better fit the style of the game.
• "Damocles" Dragster drivable in free-roam.
• Online session info now displays selectable vehicle types rather than a list of individual vehicle names.

The base patch is designed to only include the core fixes, no real changes have been made - except one; to remove bonus codes from the game and make the bonus content part of gameplay. This includes being able to use the "Warrior" SUV in online multiplayer in certain SUV races. I deemed this an essential change because it serves no purpose to leave the bonus items as they were, the items are omitted from gameplay, they are not counted in collection statistics and most people don't know about the codes. The "Warrior" will be purchasable for 1055 FUEL from the start of the game. 3 of the liveries are found in Offshore Shack and 1 in Tsunami Reef, they shouldn't be hard to find and are meant to be easily obtainable. The clothing I made unlocked by default.

Where it says vehicles have been added as selectable online is circumstances where there is already remaining slots free in the UI and vehicles from the same class has already been added. For instance - "Road Rage" uses SUV's and Trucks, the two slower of the ROAD SUV's are not selectable for whatever reason and there was 2 UI slots free. So this was a no-brainer change to make, it wont effect balance in any way and I was going to make the change in FUEL: REFUELED - LITE anyway. The race "Tornado Warning" is an exception as technically it's not host-able online anyway using the stock game unless you use a work-around of some kind (sorry to disappoint but the tornado and effects don't work online before you ask) so I don't think it's really necessary to bring the issue of balance up with this one. When it comes to adding the "Warrior" - well thats the slowest SUV in the game, so another mute point when it comes to making anything un-balanced.

FUEL: REFUELED - LITE is where the changes are really found, however it should be said that this is still very much the default FUEL game; the changes made are designed to improve on what's already there rather than remove or replace like the standard FUEL: REFUELED does. The notable change is that all 72 Career races have been improved, for instance there will be more variety when it comes to the AI vehicles. There is also a rework of all environmental parameters to make races look better in places. Also I've made more vehicles selectable in multiplayer, which is actually entirely balanced with stock game users because all of the vehicles added here are pretty much the slower ones or just a wider selection of vehicles with similar performance. The way stock multiplayer works is to provide a choice between up to 5 vehicles (due to a limitation in the UI), I instead changed the UI so it would display the classes rather than a list of 5 vehicles (e.g. "Bikes", "Quads" etc.) - thus one race which before only had a choice between 5 vehicles pickable, now has 18.

There is a long list of additional optional mods to plug-in with this patch, this ranges from access-able console commands to even full-blown UI changes. There are also a couple of mods to choose to unlock all driver gear or unlock all zones from the start of the game - something that will make online events better. This is all about letting you choose how you want to play FUEL - I feel this is way better than me making 1 single mod based around what I think is the perfect setup as there will always be people unhappy with it. Also both the vanilla Patch #3 and FUEL: REFUELED - LITE are online backwards compatible, plus compatible with all localizations of the game.

Edited by: Vetron