Upgrade System & Gameplay Meta

In Rust Racers, you are able to modify your vehicle, you can change engines, turbos, explosive bumpers, armor levels, skins and spoilers. Customization is done per driver and per vehicle.

Your choice in customization affects the handling and performance of the vehicle throughout the game.

Choosing a really heavy front bumper will lower your top speed and worsen the handling of your car, your suspenion will have to deal with the additional weight and your engine gotta work harder.

Another factor that impacts your vehicles performance is your armor level. While offering additional protection and damage reduction, the more bulk you carry the more mass you gotta put in motion.

In the mod the obvious choice of upgrades was the heaviest armor and the biggest engine. This doesn't quite work in the game.

A really heavy car with a really powerful engine will offer good performance in a long straight line but brakes, steering and suspension will be affected negatively and reduce your overall agility.

Here's an early proof of concept of the upgrade system. A lot is still being worked on, polished and improved.

The good thing about the current system is that it's easy to extend to add more functionality, features and vehicle mods.

If you are interested in helping us playtest the alpha, join our discord as we will start handing out steam keys the moment its ready for testing -> https://discord.gg/hE6zkDj