If you’ve tolerated the early troubles experienced by Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown and have not yet given up on the game, then you’ll be rewarded today with the ‘Season 2’ update, and a trip to a sunny Mediterranean island. Virtually, at least.
The return of Ibiza, which served as the main setting for Test Drive Unlimited 2, was confirmed shortly before Solar Crown’s release. The release of the update was then brought forward by a couple of weeks in a surprise move, and here we are.
There is something of a caveat: for now, at least, it seems the playable area is just limited to Ibiza Town, the island’s largest city, rather than the entire island as featured in TDU2. Whether this is set to expand in the future isn’t clear. Still, its narrow streets, overlooked by a hill topped with a large cathedral, should provide something of a contrast to Hong Kong Island’s neon-soaked urban jungle.
The map will feature a new car dealership and clothing store, and you’ll need to hit reputation level 12 and join one of the game’s ‘Clans’ – the Streets or the Sharps – to be able to access it.
The update also brings a host of new cars as promised, although again, expectations should be tempered a little: five of these are ‘Selene Edition’ versions of existing cars, pre-tuned and wearing new liveries. They relate to Selene, an in-game organisation that hosts race events in Ibiza.
There are some totally new cars available, though. Two are available from the new dealership. Veteran TDU2 players will be familiar with the Ferrari California, the very first car you drove in that game, in that weird introductory dream sequence.
Also available to buy is the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ Roadster Xago Edition, a special edition limited to just 10 units in real life to showcase the work of Lambo’s Ad Personam personalisation division.
Lamborghini Diablo VT in TDUSC
Hitting level 25 in Season 2’s Solar Pass will unlock the Lamborghini Diablo VT. This was actually one of the very first cars to be confirmed as featuring in the game several years ago, but it’s been inaccessible until now.
Finally, at the end of the season, anyone who reaches the rank of Solar King or Queen, or joins the Solar Court, will be gifted the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, the customer version of the very first road car to break the 300mph barrier.
Bugatti Chiron SS 300+ in TDUSC
Elsewhere, the game will receive some quality-of-life improvements, including changes to the AI to prevent them from setting physically impossible times, and improvements to the much-criticised steering wheel animations. The update is set to go live later today.
Read the full article here
