For this update we've fixed a few issues reported to us. If you encounter any issues you can report them to us on the forums here.

Can follow on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/vetron

• Fixed behaviour of crab not triggering some animations when in singleplayer.

• Added updates to plugins that handle steam integration.
  
• Added various back-end engine updates.

• Fixed cave gaps in Raruhenga on Naupta.
  
• Fixed collisions on some rock models.
  
• Fixed distance field shadows on some models not behaving correct.

• Fixed some early access text still present in menu’s.
  
• Fixed some copywrite and trademark notices with more up-to date info.

For this update we've focused on fixes for a range of issues reported to us. If you encounter any issues you can report them to us on the forums here.

Can follow on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/vetron

• Fixed a crash issue relating to loading map tiles for some users.
  
• Fixed a potential crash issue relating to the mixer buffer.
  
• Fixed an issue where character wouldn’t spawn correctly in Cyberpunk region from the main menu.
  
• Fixed an issue relating to vehicle and home friends permissions.
  
• Fixed an issue where the total super jump / smash sign count on the spawn menu was showing 0.
  
• Fixed draw call cost being increased by 1 of various tropical shacks.
  
• Fixed an issue with a floating speed trap in Rohai.
  
• Fixed grass in rocks and other things at Mataara.
  
• Fixed placement of some tires in Wahi Hawa.
  
• Fixed an issue relating to the load order of some vehicle assets, which should increase loading time slightly.
  
• Fixed a command relating to Distance Field Shadowing not being recognised.
  
• Fixed LOD’s on various lights at the club in Puna Manawa
  
• Fixed LOD’s on various tropical shacks.
  
• Fixed various issues relating to texture packing which should reduce required installation size.
  
• Fixed async leaderboards timing out.
  
• Fixed an issue relating to barn walls on outer islands.
  
• Fixed an issue with a snowman.
  
• Fixed a small render cost increase of various small home assets due to an incorrect parenting of material.
  
• Fixed a draw issue relating to crystals.
  
• Fixed a packaging issue relating to Balloons.
  
• Fixed the collision on the auto paradise and cinema signs being too complexed, thus bringing performance optimizations.
  
• Fixed an issue relating to vehicle neons incorrectly casting a shadow when active.
  
• Fixed an issue with the loading screen being out of sync for initial second of loading showing a spike in loading bar progress.
  
• Fixed an issue relating to shadows with Taipu tunnel.
  
• Fixed various terrain painting.
  
• Fixed an issue relating to temporary texture memory that had potential to run out and cause textures not to load correctly.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused homes to be inaccessible to friends under specific permission settings.
  
• Fixed several memory issues relating to home textures.
  
• Fixed several memory issues relating to boats.
  
• Fixed a tree growing through a building in Kapiti.

This update primarily focuses on migrating Capsa to a newer engine version and taking advantage of various features such as DirectX12. This will bring considerable performance benefits to areas that were previously GPU bottlenecked.

In addition to these improvements, we've included several bug-fixes to various features and areas in the game. There are no notable new features or additions in this build as it is an update following up to our last major feature update which you can read about here.

Please note that this is a very large update (almost an entirely fresh download) because it’s been compiled in both a new engine and we've changed how the game is packaged. The benefit is that it will now take up half the disk space it did previously.

With this update we will also be leaving Early Access and entering Beta. We had originally planned to complete this during 2020, following on from our last update; however, a combination of Covid related delays and the fact we really wanted to include recent engine improvements meant we've had to delay things till now. There will, of course, be further updates, we are just moving to a different phase of development. In the short term we will be looking at updates to iron out any bugs that users report, which you can do so on the forums here.

Can follow on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/vetron

• Fixed an issue with the right speaker not disappearing in some homes when selecting none.
  
• Fixed an issue of some vinyl being present on floor when selecting none for floor items.
  
• Fixed an issue that would allow some categories to be visible when they conflicted across homes and vehicles.
  
• Fixed an issue relating to the cameras focusing on cushions with Tropical Cottage.
  
• Fixed an issue with ‘Classic’ wallpapers incorrectly showing polka in the San Francisco House.
  
• Fixed an issue with the San Francisco Large Item 1 interior having an incorrect camera.
  
• Fixed various issues relating to dory internal customization.

• Implemented DirectX12 RHI which will bring significant performance gains especially for areas that were previously GPU bottlenecked.
  
• Fixed spawns for slums and club escape in Cyberpunk region not being in the correct place.
  
• Fixed issues with the Balloon Radial menu.
  
• Fixed an issue where a vehicles engine would sound as turning off if the player left a vehicle having already turned the engine off. This occured after entering a vehicle for a second time after spawning one.

• Fixed Grass in Homes on island north of Naupata
  
• Fixed various terrain and foliage issues.
  
• Fixed some torches having incorrect flames
  
• Fixed some torches not aligned correctly
  
• Fixed some San Francisco home types having claims in the wrong location.
  
• Fixed an issue with barrel fires in the cyberpunk area of the map.
  
• Fixed placement of various items around mataara.

This update is one of the largest we've done so far, and includes completely new character models, a brand new character editor, new vehicle type (balloons), performance improvements, additional areas (for cybercity), improvements to existing areas, better roads, various graphical improvements, ability to skydive and lots, lots more!


Firstly we wanted to rework the characters to not only be higher quality, but more importantly support a wider array of clothing, hairs, and new headwear such as hats. There are now around 20 more hair options than there were for female for example, and a good number for the male character too.



You can layer clothing so hoodies and jackets can go over the top of t-shirts, and various tops can go over the top of swimwear (you can visibly see the straps from the swimwear depending on whats covered). There are also variants for most clothing such as denim can come in full length, capris or shorts, some jackets can be armless and bikinis can have different styles of straps/ties.



The editor itself now has its own background which you can change to view different lighting on the character as well as change pose making it easier for you to see what you are doing. The camera system has also been completely reworked for the character editor so can move around your character as you need.

Under options menu you can now preview emotes when you asign them to your favourite slots. As you hover over it will play the current animation.



There are now 20-30 more hair options which is a large increase in options over previous. In addition to this more than 2 thirds of these hairs will support hats including an altered wear style depending on how the hat sits. By default a baseball cap and beanie are included free options, but more novelty hat options are included in a DLC we'll talk about later in these notes. Several hairs also come with gradient options for addtional color customization.


Above you can see there is various makeup options for all the common things like blush, lipstick, eyeliner etc. Makeup is stored independent to your outfit, so you can switch outfits and makeups seperately rather than have to set it up for every combination. Outfits now have 32 save slots, and makup has 8 given you way more freedom to store multiple looks.


Our new vehicle type in this update is Hot Air Balloons which can be spawned at two locations (Mataara and Taipū). These balloons behave as balloons would and are not steerable per-se, but more controlled based on changing wind directions at various altitudes (In bottom right of your screen you'll see the wind direction indicator added to the compass, as you increase in altitude this will change and determine which direction you'll be taken).


Once you've eventually reached your target with a balloon, we've added the ability to skydive and parachute. You'll need to have at least 50 meters relative altitude for skydiving to work, and ideally something like 80 meters to really slow your decent enough (else you'll enter rag-doll state when you land). The relative altitude means you can also attempt to base-jump from some hills or cliffs, and be able to parachute.


Our Cybercity side-region has been expanded sligthly with the addtion of a new area, as well as an addtional club area so be sure to explore these new locations. Various graphical and lighting improvements have been done for existing areas too.



Roads have been improved with better road mesh, and signficiantly more detail along each route especialy in gaps between areas where previously wasn't much in the way of detail. Outer islands haven't been completed yet, expect this in a future update.



Various existing areas have been given additional detail and filled out more. One example from images above is Wai Tai area, where additional islands, ship wrecks and a much more detailed dock area have been added. A rework of the roads in the vicinity has also been added to improve flow of driving through the area.



Next up we've spent a lot of time improving performance, especialy at key areas, and you'll notice that you should be getting higher fps in some areas where it would usualy dip. For Ultra settings we've improved the shadow quality further, but if your fps does dip a little - reverting to 'High' for shadows, will be effectively what previous 'Ultra' shadows were.



In order to help fund development we've also released a new DLC called the "Year 4 Pass" which will introduce 2 additional boats, including a cabin cruiser with customizable interior, and also 1 additional variant of the balloon.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1475340/Capsa__Year_4_Pass/
The DLC will also include 9 additional hat types (Propeller Cap, Sun Hat, Newsboy, Miner, Fedora, Derby, Cowboy, Panama, Santa Hat).

Please let us know if you encouter any issues as we intend to do various hot-fix updates over the coming weeks. Our next major update will be in the New Year.

You can join the Official Capsa Discord here:
https://discord.gg/6F8z83g

Plus can follow on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/vetron

• Added many new hair styles specific for each genders of character as well as replace or rework previous popular styles with higher quality versions. Each hairs come with pattern options so you can do gradient highlights or split coloring per applicable hairs.
  
• Added dozens of new clothing pieces specific for each clothing of character. Older clothing has been mostly replaced with newer versions.
  
• Added ability to mouse drag rotate in character editor window when left or right button is held down.
  
• Added ability to focus zoom in or out using mouse wheel up or down.
  
• Added option to switch to different backgounds for characters so you can see how your outfit will look under different lighting conditions in the game.
  
• Added a prompt to save changes when switching outfit slot in any editor after making a change. This will allow you to adjust and save multiple outfits without exiting the editor.
  
• Added an improved prompt for pressing apply in any editor that will ask if want to apply and save changes.
  
• Added Hot Air Balloon customization including at least 8 classic patterns for each balloon, with at least half being unique to each balloon type. Balloons will also accept neons as a customization option if you previously owned those or own the Standard Edition / Starter Pack.
  
• Added improved footwear selection including new back-end systems to auto adjust the height of character to the ground depending on shoe depth and various overrides to tweak how animations are played with some shoe types.

• Added improvements to some foliage rendering so it is always visible after first spawning with zero wait times. There are also significant improvements to game thread performance.
  
• Added pivot interaction to most foliage, this means as a player or vehicle passes through grass or ground plants, they will be moved by the interaction.
  
• Added new textures for palm trees.
  
• Added performance optimizations to Mataara area on Metarahi.
  
• Added improved shadow behavior for several buildings and the player character.
  
• Added new roads visuals to replace previous which is now higher detailed, smoother and uses a more consistent width. Considerable map changes were made to accommodate this.
  
• Added various small additions near Mataara area.
  
• Added improvements to the shoreline effects under some lighting conditions.
  
• Added improvements to caves so that you can see light outside the cave when near the exit. A few specific locations may still use the old method due to limitations of the geometry in those spots.
  
• Added LOD and culling improvements to various distant meshes like windmills and docks so they can visible in a better state from a distance.
  
• Added water fluid motion effect when you swim.
  
• Added improvements to the Race Track area at Hianga.
  
• Added improvements to south Pekanga Gas Station.
  
• Added improvements to the road between Hianga and Pitonga.
  
• Added significant rework to Wai Tai area.
  
• Added improvements to performance in Rohai area.

• Added ‘drivable’ Hot Air Balloons, these behave as a real world balloon would and you have no control over steering them, just ability to control their rise and decent. A wind system has been introduced based on how it would expect to function in the southern hemisphere where this game is set. Specifically as you gain altitude in a balloon the wind direction will be clockwise, and that’s how you travel in different directions. Everyone will get one Hot Air Balloon for free, with all options available to customize and a second balloon type will be part of the new DLC.
  
• Added ability to skydive including full parachute customization. To skydive simply jump from a location with a height over 50 meters relative to your velocity. E.g. if you jump from a hill your forward velocity will give you a jump arc of over 50 meters in lots of cases despite the slope of the hill putting you near ground level at the start of your jump, thus you can enter a sky dive state.
  
• Added improvements to all sitting animations for aim offset, now specifically only the neck/head will move and so the remainder of the animation should behave correctly.
  
• Added improvements to horse moving animations, with head turn based on the movement direction.
  
• Added various improvements to dance animations, firstly a frame reduction has been performed to give performance gains particularly when you had a really crowded dance club. Secondly Food IK has been added which means feet will remain on the floor, the behavior Capsa already used for all general locomotion.
  
• Added improvements to character editor behavior so you can continue ground sitting or dancing when entering the editor.
  
• Added improvements to vehicle spawning behavior. Vehicles will now sense ground or water height and be placed within half a meter of its surface so will spawn smoothly. For boats especially this means they will no longer appear to drop from a height simply due to placement at some docks.
  
• Added spawn effects for both vehicle and characters so they will appear to blend in using a reverse dissolving effect. This only happens for the first spawn, so for a character getting out of a vehicle does not re-run the effect.
  
• Added improvements to foot ik’s to account for problematic surfaces like plank walkways and docks.
  
• Added new sitting, dancing and gesture animations as well as improving the quality of all previous animations.
  
• Added a rework of Ladders to improve the animations and reliability.
  
• Added various improvements to climbing holds.
  
• Added a rework of swimming animations and behavior.

• Added new Year 4 Pass DLC that inlcudes 3 additional vehicle, pulse neons and 9 hats.

Over the past week or so you’ve likely seen posts from other developers outlining their current situation in relation to COVID-19 pandemic.

Firstly, the team is currently safe and in good health, but we are expecting some disruption to usual development hours potentially in the short term. The game server we host, and general function of the game will however be unaffected as these use 3rd party / off-site services and in the short term these providers have stated they do not believe there will be any disruption.

Given we know a lot more people are going to be at home we have decided to reduce prices on most Capsa DLC’s for the week by 50%, this will of course exclude our recent releases. So, if you are new to Capsa and don’t yet have the standard edition or simply want to support us then now is a great time to purchase.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/976050/Capsa__Starter_Pack/
As always if you encounter a bug or issue with the game, then please post in the bug-reports discussions forum so we may address it. Our next major update is already underway with us expecting to have it released sometime in mid-May. We’ll be covering what this update entails in future posts over the coming weeks.

Stay safe and thank you for your ongoing support.

You can join the Official Capsa Discord here:
https://discord.gg/6F8z83g

Plus can follow on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/vetron

For Caspa 0.13 we've added various quality of life improvements to the race and customization systems, as well as environmental improvements to the sky and select areas.

There has also been a long list of bug-fixes to reported issues over the past couple of months.


As part of this update we've overhauled the Sky considerably with several new features and additions. Firstly there are now 3D volumetric clouds that are fully dynamic with server synced density changes, which make the sky much nicer to look at. These are controlled via the Effects quality option, with them only being enabled in medium to ultra, with various quality/density changes as level increases. For most users low amounts to give a good background ambience should have little performance impact. In the photo mode the density can be adjusted in real time to get even better screenshots.


At sunset you'll find a more orange and vivid sky that reacts great with these new clouds but this is not where the new features stop. After sunset we come to the considerable improvements to the night sky which now includes real time, accurate, 3D stars based on a database of information. This will allow you to see the night sky as you would be seeing it at that very moment if you were to be on the loosely based on french polynesian island in the south pacific. Capsa's stars also move based on your position and this is a feature we will be using later on as the world expands, but for now in the real world you can pretty much use the Latitude and Longitude of -16.499701, -151.770538 if you want to compare to online star mapping tools.


In addition to stars you'll also be able to see planets you would normally be able to see with the naked eye so something to look out for! Because not everyone knows the night sky off-by-heart and even less so for a distant south pacific island; we've added the ability to highlight in real-time the constellations in the night sky. By default this is achieved through holding the N key, but can be changed in options too. Upon holding this key all 88 constellations including all stars that comprise them will be highlighted. But do bare in mind this is a South Pacific island so you'll only see the stars as from that perspective and not all will be above the horizon.


One of things we've added is making it easier to apply paint jobs to vehicles across all parts. Going-forward you will now be able to set the pattern on the 'Body' of a vehicle and it will be automatically matched up and carried over to other parts such as different hoods, spoilers and side skirts.

Another change we've made is that when you switch through parts and items, not just for vehicles is that the customization system will now try and match up the current pattern and variant with the next item you pick. For instance, if you wanted a painted version of a vehicle rim, and switch through the list you will see a painted version until you switch the variant.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1246740/Capsa__Fire__Lightning_Patterns_Pack/
We've also released a new paint job pack which works for all vehicles. These are the Fire and Lightning patterns that were for some vehicles and previously sold separately or as part of the Vehicle Novelty Patterns pack for a while, if you owned either of those then you'll get every one of these new paints as a free update to those. For the Fire pattern specifically we've developed a version that allows you to color tint in addition to the natural look.

Over time we hope to look at other previously individual patterns and update more of them to work across all vehicles.

For homes we've added the ability to have a pair of arm-chairs instead of a sofa with most sofas having a matching themed chair equivalent. Each of these chairs, like sofas, can optionally have a cushion added that can make use of various patterns including the novelty or flag ones (if you've bought either of these DLC packs for character then most of these work as a free update on cushions).


Also for homes we've added optional Coffee Tables in a range of matching styles to existing furniture which can support at least 6 small items on them. The above picture is from the Retro home items pack which has been expanded as part of this update, items such as flowers, books and candles are included by default with more to be added over time.

On some tables as well as some existing side tables you can now choose to place some books or a selection of vinyl on the lower shelf as well.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1249250/Capsa__Retro_Home_Items_Pack
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1249251/Capsa__Contemporary_Home_Items_Pack/
Lots of additional furniture has been included in this update both free and as part of DLC. We are re-releasing two prior home item packs the Retro, and Contemporary (previously just named Modern). These re-releases are free updates to anyone who owns these packs from some point before separately or from the Home Essentials pack that was sold for a while so you do not need to purchase them if that is the case. Additional home items have been added to the Starter Packs as well as a free update.


We have fresh engine sounds to fit with the different engine types for most boats, with the current outboard type remaining the same. These sounds will also bring unique start-up and shutdown sounds as-well. This update introduces sounds for the Outboard types (Mako / Moray) and the old engine types such as the Junker. The barrelback has yet to be completed and will come as part of a future update.

In addition to these sounds we've added the ability to manually shut-down and start-up the engine on all vehicles. For users who wish for their engines to start automatically, as before then they simply have to hold accelerate for a second and it will automatically start. For races and first spawns the engines will auto-start.

Another change is to make headlights more useful by increasing the range and brightness levels of default, this should make it easier to see in night races or driving around in general at night.

There is also a way to manually control your headlights, which can be enabled in the game options (otherwise behaviour remains automatic). This allows you to turn your headlights on or off at any time, with them automatically being turned off when the engine is off.


Something we've been working on is overhauling the roads and overall road-side detail, starting with the main island of Mataara. This includes markings, signage as well as things like the occasional pot-hole or roadworks detailing.






Some areas like Kataara, Mataara and Moka have been targeted this update for quality of life improvements to bring them up to par with more recent areas. Mataara in particular you will find things like a functioning door on the gas station shop, moving windmill with ambient sounds, as well as additional ambient sound volumes for things like the gas station air-con unit. Mostly little things but helps improve the ambience as a whole when visiting these locations.


We've worked on the race track area to bring it up to par with added detailing such as tirewalls, track graffiti and improved landscaping. This track now features as a circuit race as part of the event system.

The races as a whole have had various improvements, notably circuit races will now track per-lap timings and show you your best lap time. This time is what is stored on leaderboards.

In addition to all these changes are a long list of bug-fixes and quality of life improvements which can be found in the full patch notes below. If you encounter any problems do let us know so these can be targeted with a fix for a future update.

One change we've made as part of this update is implement the bare-bones of a progression system which handles the unlocking of vehicle parts (and eventually other things). This can really only be found by looking under the statistics menu right now, but as it gets developed there will be a lot more to this.

The way it works in principle is essentially earning points for progress towards specific things such as say completing races, locating hidden items or driving distance in a specific vehicle, this all accumulates and determines your overall level. Currently there is only 10 levels, and not all of these grant a reward so is still bare bones and will be going more into this over future updates as it progresses.

You can join the Official Capsa Discord here:
https://discord.gg/6F8z83g

Plus can follow on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/vetron

Customization

• Added improvements to the way ‘Variants’ are handled, now Metal and Painted versions of items can now be variants with dynamic hiding of not-needed color options with the intent of making the lists tidier.
  
• Added improvements to the way items are switched in the list, it will now try to match the current variant, pattern category, pattern and color preset with the next item if that variant is available and unlocked.
  
• Added additional versions of the Large and Small Globe to homes. Requires owning the Starter Pack.
  
• Added armchair pairs as additional seating option instead of sofas, with versions of existing sofa’s where they exist in real life.
  
• Added additional home items to complete furniture sets. Some items have been replaced or tweaked to maintain consistent styling of a set.
  
• Added popcorn and cherry bowls to go in some inside and outside slots.
  
• Added new Hi-Fi system with multiple variations to go in home media slot.
  
• Fixed incorrect materials for some home floor options.
  
• Fixed an instance where engine customization wouldn’t apply correctly.

Environment

• Added start of roads overhaul with markings and various added detail.
  
• Added improvements to Katara, with emphasis being around home areas.
  
• Added improvements to Moka area including path detail and rework.
  
• Added transitions between day and night for some ambient sounds.
  
• Added improvements to tunnel transitions near Mataara so will continue to see light at end of the tunnel in most cases.
  
• Added improvements to the road between Mataara and Katara adding additional detail such as fences, trees and buildings along the route.
  
• Added improvements to bird emitters so only visible at suitable times of day.
  
• Added three-dimensional volumetric clouds including density variation to the dynamic night/day cycle. This will be visible on high through ultra effects scalability levels.
  
• Added accurate stars (and planets) for night sky including realistic positioning based on in-game location. Each star is represented based on extensive data including spectral type data.
  (An improved Aurora Australis has been added however this will be visible in locations during a future update.)
  
• Added shooting stars to look out for in the night sky.
  
• Fixed LOD’s on some rocks and other various environment pieces that were a little close.
  
• Fixed footsteps not triggering on some foundation wall pieces.

General

• Added improvements to vehicle headlights, notably to make them brighter and illuminate over longer distance. Removed the previous toggle headlight brightness function as lights are now closer to that my default. Headlights will also turn off when the vehicle engine is off.
  
• Added a game option to toggle whether headlights are turned on automatically as previously, or manually. For manual turn on of headlights the key is L. Automatic will be the default.
  
• Added key to shut the vehicle engine off manually, vehicles will spawn with their engines automatically turned on still. When you get out a vehicle its engine will turn off automatically, you can press I to restart it or simply hold down the accelerator.
  
• Added switch sound for toggling headlights.
  
• Added tire rolling sound which will vary on different surfaces and speeds.
  
• Added new engine sounds for different types of boats, such as outboard, jet or diesel.
  
• Added improvements to circuit races so per lap times are tracked and are what get submitted to the leaderboards.
  
• Added improvements to character gait switching, specifically going from running to walking to ensure it happens more consistently.
  
• Added indicator on screen of characters gait (e.g. running or sprinting). This is primarily for when in toggle mode so you can visibly see the current state without having to move and see.
  
• Added additional option for clouds in photo mode to set the amount. Like time of day this can be changed in real time and with results instantly.
  
• Fixed achievements for Speed Traps not triggering correctly.
  
• Fixed instances where Speed Traps would not re-trigger during a session.
  
• Fixed an instance where a 0 score could be posted to leaderboards during not finishing a race.
  
• Fixed instances where ground particles could appear visible on vehicle tires while vehicle is not on the ground.
  
• Fixed an issue with placement of outside chairs with Fresno home.
  
• Fixed ladder animations not playing correctly near top of ladder.
  
• Fixed animation behavior issue when sitting in a chair while previously crouching.
  
• Fixed boats not rocking from the perspective of another player when it has no driver.
  
• Fixed an issue where switching region would on occasion leave media screens not visible.
  
• Fixed a climbing hold in Toka not working correctly.

Item Store / Downloadable Content

• Added new ‘Fire & Lightning Pattern Pack’ DLC which includes patterns for all vehicles.
  
• Added Retro Home Items Pack' and 'Contemporary Home Items Pack' DLC which includes various items and decor for homes.
  
• Added Houten and Morris Sofa as part of Starter Pack granted content.

We have a major update currently in the works which we intend to release sometime in the next couple of weeks or so, this will bring improvements as well as some new features. We'll detail a few things we are currently working on as well as discuss some of the recent changes we've made to our store packages.


We have fresh engine sounds to fit with the different engine types for boats, with the current outboard type remaining the same. These sounds will also bring unique start-up and shutdown sounds as-well.

In addition to these sounds we are adding the ability to manually shut-down and start-up the engine on all vehicles. For users who wish for their engines to start automatically, as before then they simply have to hold accelerate for a second and it will automatically start. For races and first spawns the engines will auto-start.

Another change we are adding is to make headlights more useful by increasing the range and brightness levels of default, this should make it easier to see in night races or driving around in general at night.

There will also be an option to manually control your headlights, which can be enabled in the game options (otherwise behavior remains automatic). This allows you to turn your headlights on or off at any time, with them automatically being turned off when the engine is off.


One of things we are looking at is making it easier to apply paint jobs to vehicles across all parts. Going-forward you will now be able to set the pattern on the 'Body' of a vehicle and it will be automatically matched up and carried over to other parts such as different hoods, spoilers and side skirts.

Another change we've made is that when you switch through parts and items, not just for vehicles is that the customization system will now try and match up the current pattern and variant with the next item you pick. For instance, if you wanted a painted version of a vehicle rim, and switch through the list you will see a painted version until you switch the variant. We are looking at expanding this to color presets as well, so you can preview paint jobs for vehicles very easily as you go through the list.


Something we've been working on is overhauling the roads and overall road-side detail, starting with the main island of Mataara. This includes markings, signage as well as things like the occasional pot-hole or roadworks detailing.


Some areas have also recieved considerably more detail such as this waterfront area in Mataara shown above. Here can serve as a good vehicle meet-up spot, and also has access to a boat dock on the shoreline.


We've worked on the race track area to bring it up to par with added detailing such as tirewalls, track graffiti and improved landscaping. We intend to have this track now feature in the race events system. We want to look at adding further races as well to add extended variety to the already 20 or so races in the system.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/976050/Capsa__Starter_Pack/
We are changing the line-up of packages we have for sale in the Steam Store. This is from a point of view of trying to make things clearer and more attractive to purchase and we’ll detail what these changes are.

We now have a ‘Capsa Standard Edition’ which is basically just the normal free to play game plus the starter pack most of you will have already bought already. It will be the same price as the Starter Pack individually, and there is zero different between already having the starter pack DLC separate or even continuing to buy the DLC separate, its just a way to make stand out what is the core package for the game on the main page.

What is included in the starter pack is changing, but before we go into details of what these changes are, we will say that anyone who purchased previously won’t loose anything, and new stuff you’ll automatically have access too as-well.

The main changes are that we are now including additional items for the Homes that were previously sold separately, as well as all essential customization for the pets such as all the base fur patterns for Cats. The price has also been dropped going forwards.

Users who purchased Capsa before it was free-to-play have essentially a copy of the Starter Pack so will continue to gain anything the Starter Pack gains.

Second to this is we are also combining the pattern packs to be around theme, and not character type. An example of this is where previously we had novelty pattern packs for Pets and Character, we are going to combine this going forwards, and add support for things like the home sofa pillows and some compatible vehicle hoods.

The Vehicle Novelty Patterns pack will be divided up into smaller packages around specific paint job themes, with the first being “Fire and Lightning”. The difference here is that these will work with every vehicle going forwards and have a significantly lower price per paint job type. Anyone who bought the pack previously will not lose out and will receive these individual packs as they are released.

Vehicle kits are being removed from sale, and we plan on implementing a form of progression system that hasn’t had all its details worked out yet to obtain these going forwards. Anyone who bought the packages already will continue to have these parts unlocked. The main driving force here is that we want to make things straighter forward on what you need to buy and can buy.

The Home Essentials DLC comprises of several home kits, not all of which will not be transferred to the Starter Pack and will be released separately. Examples of these will be the Retro and Modern kits. As with other packs, if you bought this combined package you will just get the individual as they are released.

We hope to have new releases out for the re-arranged and divided up packags likely to coincide with our next update, which we hope to have finished in the next two or so weeks and will have more information on those then.

You can join the Official Capsa Discord here:
https://discord.gg/6F8z83g

Plus can follow on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/vetron

This update is fixes various issues with the Event and customization systems, it also includes engine fixes from migrating to a slightly newer version.


In addition to these fixes, we've added support for throw pillows / cushions to work on all sofa types, as well as added an additional set of patterns for the rugs.

Customization

• Added 8 abstract patterns for the indoor rug.
  
• Added throw pillows to all sofas that didn’t previously support them.

Environment

• Fixed some meshes in use in the cyberpunk area to allow for camera clipping, notably fences and some things you could expect to look through. This will help with moving camera in confined spaces.
  
• Fixed some lighting behavior in Whare Witi.
  
• Fixed a missing cave exit volume in Whare Witi.
  
• Fixed various terrain on Metarahi.
  
• Fixed a seam in a cave in Pekanga.

General

• Added various UE4 engine fixes (migrated from 4.21.1 to 4.21.2).
  
• Added new back-end network replication for customization that should reduce network traffic slightly, but also improve overall reliability for more complex systems.
  
• Fixed an issue where you could enter a ladder climbing state when falling in ragdoll.
  
• Fixed an instance where you wouldn’t receive an item drop in an event since last update.
  
• Fixed some issues with home color replication.
  
• Fixed some behavior issues with the Buggy engine sounds when you hold the gamepad trigger very lightly.
  
• Fixed an issue relating to replication of players during events that on some occasions could cause them not to be put into a race.

For this update we've expanded on the homes system to allow much wider customization. This includes the ability to set up the garden area for homes, as well as introduces an a new home type. There are also many new items to customize both inside and out of all homes.


The Tropical Cottage, can be found in 4 locations across Kiokio and Naupata, with more to be added soon. It is a painted wood design with similar theme on a larger scale to that of the Beachshack. There is seating for the outside decking, as well as a side garden where you can also have seating, a campfire or a blanket to sit at.


Other homes have also been updated to feature a garden area as well as a selection of items to populate with. One thing you can choose to have at your homes is a campfire like seen around with the dedicated camps. There is also various table and chair setups to allow sitting at while watching media on the garden cinema screens.


Shown above are screenshots of some of the improvements done to one home in particular, the San Francisco. This has been given an optional outside awning, and new base materials for the frame. You can also change the appearence of the door, and customize the welcome mat.

In the lower right screenshot you can see the improvements to in-house lighting in reactance with the new matrerials. The homes now have better illumination overall and feature dynamic shadow casting from multiple directions to match up with spot-lights in the ceilings.


To make the addition of so many new customization parts easier on homes we've added an additional tab to the home editor to split the interior and outside parts. These changes have also been added to the editor for ground vehicles, where on the second tab you will now find the engine in one easy accessible place.


Boats haven't escaped improvements in this update with the outboard motors being given new materials and a selection of patterns to customize with. Previous 'Motor Mount' and 'Motor' have been combined into a single slot to make customizing these parts easier.

Other changes in this update include various bug-fixes including some to the event system. Please let us know if you encounter any further issues or any issues relating to this update.

You can join the Official Capsa Discord here:
https://discord.gg/6F8z83g

Plus can follow on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/vetron

Customization

• Added option for Homes to have a camp fire and log seating in the garden areas.
  
• Added Marcy outside chair (works with fire pit).
  
• Added Mocha outside chair and table set.
  
• Added Cappuccino outside chair and table set.
  
• Added Planter outside large item (has flowers in).
  
• Added Wheelbarrow outside large item (has flowers in).
  
• Added Retro Radio item.
  
• Added a variant of small speakers.
  
• Added Picket fence item.
  
• Added door customization for San Francisco home.
  
• Added doormat/welcome mats to homes which feature a selection of designs to customize.
  
• Added awning to San Francisco home type with different wood options.
  
• Added change to home editor so that the doors on the home will close from your perspective (client only) while you are editing, to make it easier to see door customization.
  
• Added change to home editor so that all characters will be hidden while editing, including newly spawned characters. This makes it easier to see what you are trying to customize.
  
• Added a change so that media queue (the system used on cinemas) is enabled by default on homes and vehicles.
  
• Added a camera that focuses on the outside home cinema screen when in the home editor.
  
• Added zoom out with hidden buttons function for the options tab of home/vehicle/pet editor.
  
• Added new materials and patterns for the Outboard Motors on the Barracuda and Pontoon. Motor mount and Motor are now combined for the Barracuda and Pontoon to make customizing easier.
  
• Added additional wood parquet flood options to all homes.
  
• Fixed rotate buttons visible in home editor where such a camera type doesn’t exist.

Environment

• Added improved lighting to San Francisco and Fresno Homes.
  
• Added improved outside decking to the Beach Shack home.
  
• Added improvements to the patio of the Fresno Home.
  
• Added improvements to plots to ensure enough room for wider area on some homes.
  
• Fixed various incorrect physical materials and collisions on home items.
  
• Fixed some light bleed on San Francisco Home.

General

• Added rework of Home editor, including separating out Interior and Exterior portions of the home to different tabs in same menu.
  
• Added engine editor for Buggy’s to the regular appearance editor on a different tab for easy access. The separate menu / achievements for engine editor have been removed as no longer relevant.
  
• Added an improvement to Vehicle/Pet/Home editors so that reset button will work per page.
  
• Added new Tropical Cottage home type.
  
• Fixed an issue where if a color preset was picked, the reset button wouldn’t reset the specific item.
  
• Fixed an issue where colors weren’t updated during a reset.
  
• Fixed an issue where a DNF could post to a leaderboard after finishing a race.
  
• Fixed an issue where vehicles may not spawn correctly during an Event race.

This update includes an area expansion to the outer island of Tautini, it also introduces significant load time reductions.

The new area is reachable by heading north from Kapiti or boating across from Hianga. It includes an inland waterway with a swamp like area that goes into a river. Connected to this area to the west are other work in progress areas which will be finished in future updates. Below are screenshots from this new area.







In addition to the new area is optimizations to the loading times through changing how the game is packaged. We've tested our changes on a range of hardware, including some low-end SSDs, and various old disk based drives. For a low-end SSD that would load the game in around 4 minutes previously, this has been brought down to around 30 seconds, and an old disk based hard drive that took 6 minutes, is now able to load in just over a minute.

Faster more typical SSD's useful for gaming worked out between 20 and 30 seconds. M.2. drives were also tested, but these were already pretty quick before the changes, but on different hardware loading times was brought down to between 10 and 20 seconds.

These times are for first time extended loads or after a major update. In order to undertake these changes a one-time large update was required to restructure game files (why this update is just over 2gb in size compared to our regular size ones).

You can join the Official Capsa Discord here:
https://discord.gg/6F8z83g

Plus can follow on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/vetron

Environment

• Added significant area expansion to the Island of Tautini, including one additional area and other areas work in progress.
  
• FIxed some coral above water near Matira.

General

• Added improvement to load times through restructuring of game files, this will be a one-time redownload but should see significant load time reductions.
  
• Added new achievement for discovering and unlocking new area.
  
• Fixed an issue with Shadows on Pontoon Boat in medium or low settings.
  
• Fixed an issue where if entered photo mode in singleplayer when swimming, upon exiting photo mode you wouldn't return to a swimming state.