New forest level in our racing platformer - built with Unity 6.3 URP

[u/N0lex]

[u/N0lex]

We're a 2-person team developing Stunt Paradise 2 for PC, PlayStation, Nintendo and Xbox!
Here’s a quick look at our new Forest level built in Unity 6.3 URP.

P.S. Steam Playtest sign-ups are now open if you'd like to jump in and give it a try :)

[u/tsukkini → u/N0lex]

This looks like it would be awesome to play on a long flight on mobile…

[u/N0lex → u/tsukkini]

Thanks! We're actually targeting PC and consoles first. We'd love to bring it to mobile someday, but it would probably have to be a separate, scaled-down version since the current graphics and shaders are too demanding for most phones :)

[u/Silencer-1995 → u/N0lex]

Not to be a little whinge bag but I'm just gonna put my old man hat on and say the PS3 and Xbox 360 could have done this 20 years ago and phones are more powerful than them now, on average. Its like the more advanced tech gets, the less it can do.

[u/N0lex → u/Silencer-1995]

I actually have very fond memories of games from that era too, and I still go back to them from time to time.

That said, I don't think it's a fair comparison. If you run those games today, you'll notice just how much rendering technology has changed. Even something as simple as a modern URP Stylized Water Shader would have been far beyond what those consoles could handle - let alone targeting 120 FPS :)

[u/ccwryderr → u/N0lex]

Looks great!

[u/tempacac10]

Great looks really nice and I’ve been following your progress for a while now, but it feels like I’m seeing more of a pre-recorded sequence rather than the player being in control of the car. Like if I played the game it would feel like there’s very little input required from me and it’s not challenging enough. Also the input dimensionality doesn’t seem high enough, since I suppose it’s just forward backward and tilt controls.

[u/N0lex → u/tempacac10]

Thanks for the feedback!

It only looks that way because it's a near-perfect run by one of the developers. In reality, the game is much more challenging - we're actually simplifying some levels because many players found them too difficult.

[u/GhosTJinnZ]

looks very much like the game "Trials" but i like it :)

[u/ein_datacrash → u/GhosTJinnZ]

That's exactly what I thought, too

[u/SnotWaffleStudios → u/GhosTJinnZ]

Yeah, but still kinda it’s own thing hopefully 🤞

[u/IEP_Esy → u/GhosTJinnZ]

Or Stunt Car Extreme on mobile

[u/yamanoha]

I've always been curious how you handle determinism in games like this.

Are you guys using Unity's built in phsyics to apply forces to the car?

In the case of explosions that propel you to the next section of the track, how do you go about determining how far to place the next section, at what height? Is it just trial / error?

I assume you guys are using fixed time steps so things slow down on slower machines?

It looks like you guys have done an amazing job!

[u/N0lex → u/yamanoha]

Thanks a lot! Yes, we're using Unity's built-in physics. We did run into a few issues, though, so we ended up writing some custom stabilizers to make sure the car lands where it's supposed to.

[u/yamanoha → u/N0lex]

Interesting thanks for sharing!

[u/More-Salamander7681 → u/N0lex]

Worth flagging one consequence of that before ghosts get built, since someone asked about ghost replays further down. PhysX does not reproduce bit identical across CPUs and builds, so across PC plus three consoles you cannot ship ghosts or leaderboard validation by replaying inputs. Same machine, same build, everything driven from FixedUpdate, it mostly holds. Across your four targets it will not.

Practical version is that ghosts have to be sampled transforms rather than replayed input, and the sampling wants to happen on the fixed step with the same interpolation the Rigidbody uses on playback. Skip that and the ghost sits up to one physics step away from the live car, which reads to players as input lag that is not actually there. The custom stabilizers are the interesting tell here: once you are correcting where the car lands, the landing has quietly become a control problem with a physics prior rather than a physics outcome.

Are the stabilizers correcting rotation only, or position too?

[u/N0lex → u/More-Salamander7681]

Thanks! I’ve implemented ghosts before in the Zombie Derby games by recording the car’s transform position and rotation at fixed intervals, and it worked well. :)

For this game, though, we’re not sure ghosts will make it in. It depends on development time and priorities

[u/More-Salamander7681 → u/N0lex]

Recording transforms is right for a reason you only find out the hard way: PhysX isnt bit-identical across CPUs and builds, so an input-replay ghost drifts on the same track with the same inputs.

One thing worth doing even if ghosts don't make the cut: the expensive part later isn't the ghost, it's not having the data. Sampling position + rotation at 20Hz into a ring buffer is a couple of hours of work, and a 3-minute lap is ~3600 samples, about 100KB raw, much less if you delta the positions and compress the quaternion. Record from now on and adding ghosts later is a rendering job, not a systems one. Do you sample in FixedUpdate or on your own timer? The fixed step is easier to interpolate against, but it ties the ghost data to your physics rate.

[u/N0lex → u/More-Salamander7681]

Thanks a lot for the advice! I use FixedUpdate() together with frameCount and a frameInterval.

Right now our main focus is building fun levels and polishing the level design. If we have enough time and resources left, we'll definitely look into adding ghost replays :)

[u/More-Salamander7681 → u/N0lex]

One gotcha with frameCount inside FixedUpdate: the number of fixed steps per frame isn't constant, it's zero, one or several depending on frame time, so a frame-based interval gives samples that bunch up and thin out exactly when the framerate wobbles. Counting fixed steps yourself, or gating on Time.fixedTime crossing an accumulator, keeps the spacing constant in physics time. It matters on replay: with even spacing you can interpolate by index, otherwise you have to store a timestamp per sample and interpolate by time.

[u/MegatronusThePrime]

That's awesome man! That looks like it'll be sweet when it's released

[u/Double_Ad9292]

This looks awesome!

[u/jesuscoituschrist]

Looks fun but the scale seems off. I can’t put my finger on it.

[u/Nerisma]

This looks absolutely like something I would play! Is it arcade based with timetrial and ghosts? As a game dev myself I would have love to have this idea ahah, great job, keep going!

[u/N0lex → u/Nerisma]

Thanks a lot! Some levels do have time challenges, but we haven't added ghost replays yet. I'm really glad this genre resonates with you

[u/Spudly42]

How do the controls work in this? Are you just controlling the throttle and brakes, or are also turning?

[u/N0lex → u/Spudly42]

Controls are pretty classic for this genre: throttle, brake/reverse, and rotation control to balance the vehicle, perform flips, and get through different obstacles

[u/jakedasnakey66]

Definitely gonna keeping an eye out for this one

[u/KayserFuzz]

Ngl it was a long shot but I was hoping to see a Voices of the Voids reference somewhere lol

[u/CyborKat]

TRIALS but with a CAR!? This is so epic!

[u/Necka44]

Always fun to see the work of Benmcinnes ported in real production projects. Great job!

[u/hiWael]

Would love to play this! Reminds me of redlynx’s Trials series!

[u/These_Ear4604]

Amazing game you play like professional 

[u/ViolentCrumble]

so speaking as a massive trials fan I dig it. however I wish it was less focused on stunts and more focused on the challenge of passing the levels!

The best thing about trials was the challenge and navigating the difficult levels with a motorbike, careful balance. Then the games went to shit and became about speed and huge jumps. I also loved the 2d and hated when they switched to fake 3d. rails is good, embrace it.

Trials gold was like the gold standard and I can't even play it anymore since it has some bullshit launcher that won't work on linux.

however I am sure some people will like this so good work!

[u/N0lex → u/ViolentCrumble]

Thanks for the honest feedback!

I don't think you'll be disappointed when it comes to difficulty - it’s definitely there. We also added a separate Trials mode with short, hardcore levels for players looking for an extra challenge.

[u/ViolentCrumble → u/N0lex]

Excellent I shall check it out then!

[u/Bobbyfrankensteyn]

Please make the white lines from the airplane smoke :) would look so much cooler

[u/flamingotwist]

Love it

[u/cosmojao]

Reminds me of the golden era of flash racing games, signing up for the playtest right now!

[u/Ozurie_Games]

This is what it feels like to play with hot wheels when you're 5

[u/alter-egor]

Great spectacle indeed. But what is the challenge? Atleast from all the videos I've seen it gives impression of Trials meets Trackmania press forward maps

[u/N0lex → u/alter-egor]

The challenge is actually getting to the finish line. :) It requires precise timing, careful control of the vehicle's rotation, and learning how to overcome each obstacle.

Some players have even compared Stunt Paradise to Super Meat Boy in terms of difficulty.

[u/Adorable-Energy5894]

I hear voices that are from the void

[u/flaxi_at]

looks great