Light Trail Rush Announcement
8 November 2019
DappRadar and B2Expand join forces to promote Light Trail Rush – blockchain gaming reimagined.
Dapp data and distribution platform DappRadar has signed a publishing partnership with French developer B2Expand for its forthcoming blockchain game Light Trail Rush.
Due for release in mid-2020, the innovative PC title is a reimagining of the futuristic racer genre in which players compete to create complex tracks and rack up points for leading the race.
Already available in pre-alpha on Steam Early Access, Light Trail Rush also connects with the Ethereum blockchain to enable the true ownership of in-game items, which can be traded between players.
B2Expand will launch this part of the Light Trail Rush experience with a sale of limited edition skins, ranging from complex materials to animated effects.
Kicking off on 15 November, all skins will be discounted during the first week of the sale and will be immediately playable in the Early Access build.
To get a Steam key to access the pre-alpha build, please sign up at the Light Trail Rush website.
Note: Each skin is an Ethereum non-fungible token using the ERC721 standard. Users will need an Ethereum wallet such as MetaMask, Dappar, Enjin or Casa Tookan and ETH cryptocurrency to purchase and secure their skins. Skins will be immediately tradable on open marketplaces such as OpenSea.
Light Trail Rush is an action racing game in development from B2Expand. It is currently available as a closed pre-alpha demo.
Light Trail Rush features a racetrack that is created by the race-leader on the fly.
In the future, blockchain non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will be provided by the developer. These tokens will unlock new racetrack types.
We have played through the game’s tutorial and a couple of live matches. This article will report on what we found out.
Light Trail Rush gameplay
The developer of Light Trail Rush describes the game as an “arcade-style vehicular brawler type and free-flowing 3D space flight hybrid game.”
Tracers and Chasers
In Light Trail Rush, there is no predefined racetrack. Instead, the racetrack is created by a lead car called the Tracer.
The Tracer uses controls similar to that of an airplane simulator. He tries to throw opposing players off the racetrack by creating sharp turns and other obstacles.
Meanwhile, other players, called Chasers attempt to overtake the lead car. If a Chaser succeeds at passing the lead car, he becomes the new Tracer. In this case, his controls shift to a flying mode, and he no longer needs racetrack to drive on.
Gaining points and winning the match
Whenever a particular player is serving as Tracer, he gains points over time. To continue gaining points, he must remain in the lead.
The first player to obtain a certain number of points is the winner of the match.
Since the winner is determined by points, Light Trail Rush matches do not contain a certain number of laps or miles.
Light Trail Rush demo
Playing the demo
Players who wish to alpha-test the demo should contact the developers on the official Light Trail Rush Discord.
Each alpha-tester will need Steam installed on his device and a Steam key from the developer.
The system requirements for the game and other info can be found here.
Light Trail Rush demo gameplay
Once the Steam Key is entered and the demo is installed, the game opens to this main menu:
Selecting a ship or car
Players can click the arrow buttons at the bottom of the screen to change the ship/car.
Each of the ships have different stats. Some have a higher top speed but less acceleration. Others may have high speed and acceleration, but poor handling.
When a ship is selected, its stats show to the right of it.
Customizing a ship
Players can change the color-scheme of a ship by selecting customize from the main menu. Each ship has a number of parts, and players can click on the color of each part to change it.
Players can also change a ship’s stats by clicking characs from within the customization menu. This brings up a set of sliding bars that will alter the top speed, handling, acceleration, and resistance of the vehicle.
However, these slider bars work on a point system. In order to slide one bar further to the right, the player will need to slide another one to the left. So the player cannot use this menu to create a super-vehicle with max values in all stats.
Controls and options
The controls for the game can be altered using the options menu.
The developer recommends that players use a game controller to play Light Trail Rush. However, the mouse and keyboard do work by default, and they can be configured from within this menu.
The player can connect his Ethereum wallet to the game by clicking options → blockchain and entering his wallet address.
In the future, this will allow a Tracer to create entirely new types of racetracks through NFTs.
Tutorial
The tutorial for the game is called Over The Trail. It begins with a dialogue between two characters: Nikura and Sylas.
Nikura is the student of Sylas. Sylas asks Nikura to forget everything she knows about light trail rushing and to pretend she is a complete beginner.
She agrees, and the match begins.
Nikura is the player character for this tutorial. Her vehicle can be moved left or right with the A and D keys. W pushes the gas, while S applies the brake.
The match takes place in the sky, above a large metropolitan area. And the car drives on a ramp that twists and turns in the sky.
Sylas can be seen up ahead, creating the track as Nikura attempts to catch him.
If Nikura drives off the ramp, animation shows her crashing. She is then placed back on the ramp where she left off.
This results in her losing time to Sylas and falling further behind in the race.
In our testing of the tutorial, we were unable to catch Sylas.
Playing a match
In addition to playing the tutorial, players also have the option to play a live match with other players.
The first time we attempted this, we got stuck in a “looking for players queue.” However, this seems to have been a temporary problem. The following time we attempted a match, we found seven opponents.
Tracer controls
In our testing of this version of the game, we managed to pull ahead of the other players and become a Tracer for a brief moment.
The controls changed, allowing us to steer the ship with the mouse. The W key provided a speed boost, and the D and A keys tilted the ship to the left or right.
Vehicle powers
We also discovered in our testing that players can trigger certain powers. When we took the lead, an opponent reversed our controls, causing the ship to move down when we moved the mouse forward. As a result, we crashed into the ground and lost the lead.
On another occasion, an opponent caused us to drive backwards.
Light Trail Rush review
Light Trail Rush is in a very early stage of development. The main feature of the game is the ability for players to create their own racetracks, especially through customization options available with NFTs.
Since this primary feature has not yet been implemented, we don’t think it’s fair to review the game.
When Light Trail Rush is publicly released, we will play it again and let you know what we think.
Conclusion
We’ve gone over the main gameplay features of Light Trail Rush and reported on what it is like to play the demo. We hope you’ve found this information to be helpful in deciding whether to alpha test the game or get involved with it further.
If you enjoy blockchain games, you may want to read some of our other reviews.
What do you think of the idea of Light Trail Rush? Would you like to create your own racetrack in a racing game? Or do you prefer to have expert designers make them for you?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
