News

The Vector Unit Costume Contest Features Amazing Prizes!

Do you like to dress up?  Here in the U.S, we're getting ready for Halloween, but whether you celebrate the holiday or not, it's always a good time for a little cosplay!

Well, now you can dress up AND win some awesome prizes for doing it.

Vector Unit is holding a global Not-Necessarily-For-Halloween Costume Contest and thanks to our pals at NVIDIA®, the prizes are SUPER DUPER!

Prizes

(1) Grand prize:  NVIDIA Shield Tablet + Shield Controller + BBR “Super Pack”

(1) 2nd Place Prize:  NVIDIA Shield Portable + BBR “Super Pack”

(1) 3rd place Prize:  BBR “Super Pack”

(5) Runner Up Prizes:  BBR “Bag of Gems”

Here's How to Enter:

  1. Create a totally original costume. Mondo bonus points if you use characters/cars/scenery/stuff from any of your favorite Vector Unit games like Beach Buggy Racing, Beach Buggy Blitz, Shine Runner, and Riptide GP2.

  2. Take a picture of the costume. (Hopefully someone is wearing it!)

  3. Either:
    (a)  Post the picture online (Twitter, web, etc.) with a public link, then tell us the URL in your Rafflecopter entry form (see Step 4)
    OR
    (b) Email the picture to info@vectorunit.com with the subject "Not-Necessarily-For-Halloween Costume Contest" and we’ll match it with your Rafflecopter entry (see Step 4)

  4. Fill out the Rafflecopter form!!  You must fill out the Rafflecopter form below to be considered.

  5. Contest Entry Ends: Tuesday, November 4, 2014 at 11:59 p.m. PST

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Void where prohibited. No purchase is necessary to enter or win. Physical prizes are limited to countries or locales where regular mail may be received. Contest is open to to people 13 years or older; if you are under 13, your entry may be submitted by a parent or guardian.  Employees of Vector Unit or NVIDIA and their family members not permitted to enter.

At our discretion, we may substitute prizes for similar items. Winners will be contacted by a Vector Unit staff member upon being selected and will be expected to respond to that staff member within 24 hours, or else their prize may be forfeit and another winner selected. Vector Unit’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Winners agree that their names and images may be used for promotional purposes by Vector Unit.

Vector Unit Games Coming to Windows Phone 8.1!

One of the most oft-repeated questions we get from fans is "When are your games coming to Windows Phone?"  Well guess what Windows Phone lovers, your time has come!

Over the next 2 months we'll be releasing not just one, not two, but THREE of our most popular games on Windows Phone 8.1.  Beach Buggy Racing, Riptide GP2, and Shine Runner will all come to the platform during the month of November.

But wait, there's more!  

Beach Buggy Racing and Shine Runner will also join Riptide GP2 in the regular Windows 8.1 App Store. So whether you're playing on a Windows phone, tablet, or desktop PC, Vector Unit's got you covered.

The exact release schedule is as follows:

11/3: Beach Buggy Racing – Phone & Windows
11/12: Riptide GP2 – Phone
11/28: Shine Runner – Phone & Windows

 

Oh and about that October thing...

We had previously reported that Riptide GP2 would be coming to Windows Phone the first week in October.  However, working closely with Microsoft we decided it would be better to hold Riptide GP2 a little longer so we can bring it along with our two other games in November.  Sorry for those of you who are disappointed at the delay, but we hope you agree it'll be worth the wait!

Beach Buggy Racing, Now with More Amazon!

Our new kart racing game Beach Buggy Racing™ is now available on the Amazon Appstore, for Fire TV, Kindle Fire tablets, and Fire Phone.  Heck, you can get it for your regular Android phone too!

The Amazon version uses Game Circle for Achievemetns and Leaderboards, and your Amazon account for cloud syncing.

The experience is extra-special on FireTV, where if you have a couple of controllers you can enjoy split screen kart racing goodness the way it was meant to be played!  Heck, it even works with one player on the remote and another player on a controller!

Beach Buggy Racing Zooms on to App Store, Google Play TODAY!

HUZZAH!  After more than a year of working, polish, tuning, and playing, the Vectcor Unit team is proud to announce the release of our fifth mobile game, Beach Buggy Racing™!

As these badges probably tell you, the game is currently available for iOS and Android.  In the coming weeks, BBR will also be coming to Amazon Kindle devices, Windows Phone 8.1 and Windows 8.1.  Stay tuned for those announcements.

Break out your popcorn!

We could tell you about the game... or you could just sit back and watch our brand new trailer!

Thanks to all our fans who have been patiently waiting for this game, particularly to those of you who only emailed us every OTHER week to ask when it is coming out.  We appreciate your support, and really hope you enjoy playing the game as much as we've enjoyed working on it.

...Which, by the way, we are still doing!  We plan on releasing a couple of updates in the coming months, including new powerups, new characters and cars, and more!

Beach Buggy Racing Beta Open to the Public!

UPDATE:  The Beach Buggy Racing Public Beta is now closed.  

Thanks to everyone who's been helping us test the game!  We may open the beta up again at some point, for now we're not taking new testers.

The original post follows:

-------------------------------

We are in the final weeks of polishing and finalizing our newest game, Beach Buggy Racing™, and we need your help!

If you have an Android phone or tablet and would like to play a beta version of Beach Buggy Racing before anyone else, please join our Public Beta!  You'll be able to download and play an almost-finished version of the game, send feedback directly to the development team, and get a head start on the rest of the world!

Click this link to join the Beach Buggy Racing public beta group

You'll be asked to apply, and you'll receive a response within 24 hours, after which you'll have full access to the game and the feedback forums. 

We really value your feedback and can't wait to hear what you think of the game!

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:

By joining us to test this Beta software, you understand and agree to the following terms:
  1. The software is still under development.  Some elements of the game -- such as the prices of cars or powerups -- are still being tuned and may change without notice.
  2. You may encounter bugs and problems in the Beta software that, among other things, cause you to lose your save game progress. It's not likely that this would happen; we've tested the game a lot already -- but it's possible.
  3. This game contains In-App Purchases (IAP)!  That means you can buy stuff like coins or gems for real money. 
  4. We do not expect that you will have any transaction problems with IAP, but in the event you do have a problem receiving the item please contact us directly at support@vectorunit.com and we will help you recover it or refund your money.
  5. Any IAP you make during this Beta test period will stay valid in the final version of the game.  You will not lose your IAP when the game goes live.

Beach Buggy Racing Coming in September

When we originally announced Beach Buggy Racing™ at Google I/O, our plan was to release it in August. At least that's what we told everybody. But the game just keeps getting better the more we work on it, and we have decided to push it back another month to give us more time to make it really solid before we ship.

So our new ship estimate is "September 2014".

We're shooting for mid-September, but it's possible it'll be a little later. We'll announce a specific date a couple of weeks before it actually ships.

But wait, there's more!

For those of you who just can't wait to get your hands on our newest creation, we are going to open up a public Beta test period sometime in the next 2 weeks.  During this time you'll be able to play the almost-finished game and give feedback directly to the team.  

This public Beta is only going to be available to Android users, at least at first.

Stay tuned for a specific announcement and instructions on how to sign up for the Beta, and play Beach Buggy Racing before anybody else!

,

Beach Buggy Racing™ Speeding to Mobile

,

Vector Unit Bringing Seat of Your Pants Kart Racing with Split Screen Co-Op to Mobile

San Francisco – June, 24, 2014 – Independent game developer Vector Unit Inc. announced today the launch of its latest mobile driving game Beach Buggy Racing™for Android, iOS and Amazon devices.  The second in the popular Beach Buggy game series, which has had over 30 million downloads worldwide, Beach Buggy Racing pits players against each other in an action-packed world of playful, off-road kart-racing mayhem.

Players race to the finish line around 12 richly detailed tracks, through dinosaur infested jungles, lava-spewing volcanoes, sun-kissed beaches and mysterious swamps.  Tracks are filled with secret shortcuts, and magical powerups that boost, smash, shoot and bounce drivers to the front of the pack.  New drivers can be unlocked and recruited, each with a unique character ability, like teleportation, flaming fire tracks and Tiki spells.  Players can also collect and customize new vehicles for the ultimate thrill ride on sand, ice, fire and more!

“This is the sequel 30 million Beach Buggy Blitz™ players have been waiting for,” says Ralf Knoesel, Vector Unit’s co-founder and CTO.  “Beach Buggy Racing shares the first game’s amazing off-road driving action and totally destructible environments, but now we’ve put all that in a full-fledged racing game with tons of new game modes.”

And what kart racing game would be complete without split screen play?  By connecting two to four Bluetooth game controllers, players can compete shoulder to shoulder to shoulder on a single device in Beach Buggy Racing’s thrilling Split Screen game mode.  Players can also challenge Facebook friends online and earn achievements with Google Play Game Services (Android), Game Center (iOS), and GameCircle (Amazon).

A challenging and addictive kart-racing adventure for all ages, Beach Buggy Racing will be totally free to play on Android, iOS, and Amazon Kindle devices later this summer.  

Attendees can get a sneak preview of Beach Buggy Racing’s split screen mode at Google I/O this week on the 3rd floor at Moscone West in San Francisco!

Riptide GP2 Steam Update #1: Multiplayer Improvements!

We just released our first update to the Steam version of Riptide GP2, which includes a handful of asked-for feature enhancements and a few minor fixes.

All users are strongly encouraged to update to this latest version, since you'll need it to enjoy online multiplayer games on Riptide GP2 going forward.  But also becasue it's awesome.

The largest enhancement is an improved Online Multiplayer QuickMatch Mode:

  • Allows you to see who else is in the Lobby with you. 
  • Allows you to join a Match that's in progress at the next Race start. 
  • Shows you the status of each racer while you're waiting. 
  • Allows up to 6 players to race simultaneously!

These improvements and others should make it a LOT easier to join multiplayer matches, and to get matches going with 4, 5, and 6 players.

Highlights - Update 1 (Apr 7, 2014):

  • Added Multiplayer Waiting Room for Quick Match 
  • Fixed Cloud Sync issue for save data. You can now sync properly on multiple machines. 
  • Increased MP Stability 
  • Graphical enhancements 
  • Art improvements 
  • Economy tweaks to rider progression 
  • Various other bug fixes

Full Changes - Update 1 (Apr 7, 2014):

  • Waiting Room Screen for matchmaking 
  • Cloud Sync fix 
  • Added fresnel term compute to jetski paint shader 
  • UI focus state bug fixes 
  • Removal of unnecessary UI text 
  • Helmet tweak 
  • Rider female model tweak for shoulder and groin 
  • Rider Shoulder texture and mesh tweaks 
  • Updated Display Settings 
  • QuickMatch now tries to join you in lobbies with people from your friends list, if found. 
  • Render state cache bug fix and performance improvement 
  • Attract mode camera target bug fixed 
  • Adjustments to the starting grid 
  • Cross-version incompability enforcement added

Thank you!

Thank you for all the great feedback! We maintain a prioritized list of issues that are reported by our players so don't hesitate to hit is up for fixes, changes, etc. in the Steam Riptide GP2 Official Game Group Discussion Forums!

Riptide GP2 Announced for Xbox One & PS4

Our flagship racer Riptide GP™2 will be coming later this spring to Xbox One and Playstation 4.  

Like the Steam version, this enhanced version of RGP2 features improved graphics, online multiplayer, split screen multiplayer, ghost racing (VR Challenge), and of course all the excitement you know and love in Riptide GP2.  We'll also have full support for Xbox Live and PSN features like leaderboards and achievements/trophies.

Oh, and did we mention it runs at a silky smooth 60fps at 1080p on both consoles?

The Xbox One version was revealed at GDC this week.  In particular, players and press reacted positively to one amazing feature -- split screen multiplayer with six -- count'em, six! -- simultaneous racers.  Riptide GP2 is actually the first 3d racing game EVER to support 6 player split screen.  You have to see it to believe it.

Dan Hsu from Gamesbeat tweeted this pic and comment regarding the 6-player mode: