Summer Line-Up

Summer Line-Up

The sun is high, the drinks are cool, and engines are running hot, so it's time for another major update to ProtoDrive!

This update took a bit longer than anticipated, but thanks to a more open seasonal schedule for our main dev, the next one should be in about a month or so. For now, though, there are a whole bunch of major updates to the game, so read on to get the details!

What's new?

Bold Ultra Hauler

"Haul off on 'em."

Bold’s robust chassis have always been a good choice for people doing tough work, and nothing exemplifies that more than the Bold Ultra Hauler. This pick-up truck sacrifices nothing to creature comforts in favor of ensuring the vehicle can run in even the worst conditions. Low quality fuel? Not a problem. Unstable soil? Easy peasy. Underwater? It’s fine!

This chassis is a working person's vehicle, the kind of thing you drive when you need to do all the heavy lifting.  With the highest HP in the game, the Ultra Hauler can take almost literally any hit and keep on truckin'. With a new traction control system, turbo-diesel injectors, and a bed that can handle so much weight that it might actually flag the vehicle as a whole weight class higher, this is the vehicle for people who have places to be and don't want anything, or anyone, to get in their way.

MHI Chujitsu

"Designed to Get You There On Time."

The vehicle of successful white collar workers, the MHI Chujitsu is recognized the world over for its smooth ride, surprisingly decent peppiness, and a form factor that utterly disappears amidst a sea of similar styles. This doesn’t mean it’s a slouch in the racing scene, though. After all, once the workday is done, even salarypeople deserve to have some fun.

This chassis is MHI's nod to the kind of customers that want to maintain a respectable façade without sacrificing their car's ability to zip along the road. Though it would fit in amongst the normal vehicles in any corporate parking lot, the Chujitsu has a number of highly-tuned quality-of-life upgrades that make it a contender, even among other racers. With an engine designed to handle quick acceleration from a dead stop, a very forgiving transmission, and just a dab of good ol' nitrous hidden under the professional exterior, this is the car to choose for people who want to go from the office to the racetrack without ever changing vehicles.

WCMC T-1 Tribuilt

"Tribuilt: Worth the Trouble"

The Tribuilt is perhaps the most controversial of Wright-Clarke’s kit cars. Some praise it as a sign of how dedicated the company is to innovation. Others call it an absolute flop, and still don’t understand how the company survived its release. As usual, the truth is somewhere in the middle: Though the Tribuilt’s three wheel design has its drawbacks, people have found tons of creative ways to modify it into something that’s not only reliable, but fun!

This chassis is much maligned by those who don't understand its genius. Originally introduced decades ago, the Tribuilt continues to get new small-batch production runs with improvements every few years because WCMC's development team refuse to give up on it, and the die-hard enthusiasts just keep buying them! Its unique single-point steering system is the very definition of high risk/high reward for those who can master it, its roll correction ballast is a neat solution to the chassis' main problem, and the optional approach klaxon is always good for a laugh. Whenever Wright-Clark Motor Company comes up in conversation, there's a reason people think of the Tribuilt (for better or worse).

DF Pipistrello

"Speed Limits Are For Other People"

Though anyone can get access to this former trophy car for high-powered executives thanks to modern manufacturing methods, the Pipistrello remains out of reach for many. Its luxurious lines create the kind of aerodynamics many drivers dream of, and its cooling systems are top notch, but the number of tickets one inevitably accrues in such a speed demon cut too deep for anyone without the kind of bank account that never dips below six figures.

This chassis began life as a luxury vehicle only intended to be sold to the wealthiest CEOs and investors. Fortunately, the way the world works now means that anyone can get one if they know the right people! Designed to push both the road and the human body to their absolute limits, the Pipistrello can sustain the highest top speeds in the game, but this comes at a cost: though it has systems to mitigate heat build-up, its bespoke transmission had to include a few dangerous gaps in its reach for the stars. Additionally, this means its otherwise strong steering suffers in corners. But what do you care? On the straight-away, nobody can catch you!

All Existing Chassis Stats Updated

Thanks to playtesting, we were able to come up with something akin to a point-buy system that we think will help smooth out the power levels of the base chassis stats across the board. Additionally, Heat remains the most hard-hitting thing in the game. As a result, the stats of every previously released chassis in the game have been updated. Here's the full list of chassis that got updates:

• CMG Standard
• Bold Brumby
• Bold Rambler
• MHI Odoru
• MHI Yosei
• WCMC Micro-Max
• WCMC T-5 Yoofoh
• DF Kestrel
• DF Merlin

This means that updating the character sheet is now more important than every. Keep an eye out for a smaller update about getting that modernized Soon (TM).

Smaller Updates

There were a number of things that got small changes with this update. There were a few spelling corrections and wording clarifications, but the actual mechanical changes are:

• Added the Unique tag to Top-Mounted Blower
• Updated numbers on the Beveled-Tooth Gearing Transmission (M)
• Made corrections to Quick Reference section
• Removed Holds & Forwards to make way for the Drama Token system

Coming Soon

There are only four more chassis for the base game, and thanks to the almost-a-point-buy system we mentioned above, the numbers for them actually already exist! Now it's just a question of creating unique parts and core powers for them, which is actually the hard part. We can comfortably make one new chassis a week, so expect the next update to come in the first half of July!

• New Chassis
  • Bold McKinney
  • MHI Oji
  • WCMC Formula 87
  • DF Aplomado
• Character Sheet updates
• Map Tile updates