Nacon, the publisher of the highly anticipated Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown, recently revealed some interesting details about the long-awaited car game. Alain Jarniou, Creative Director at Kylotonn, shared information about the Solar Hotel lobby and specifically announced that it will not be possible to buy houses at the launch of the game. This announcement disappointed many fans who were hoping for this signature feature of the franchise.
Also read: Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown reveals the surroundings of its large map
A key part of the TDU saga will be missing at the game’s release
In a recent statement in a Test Drive Unlimited: Solar Crown Steam blog post, Alain Jarniou emphasized the importance of bringing players together and making it easier for them to interact within the game. In his opinion, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown n the case is not just a racing game, but rather a game for lovers of beautiful cars, which offers the opportunity to drive hectic races or go on a car trip with friends. Therefore, it was crucial for the development team to provide players with a virtual meeting place. With this in mind, the Solar Hotel lobby was created, offering players the opportunity to interact with their avatars and find themselves in a social environment.
The lobby of the Solar Hotel was designed as a real “village square” as part of the Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown. Players can strut around in the latest exclusive clothing, challenge other players instantly, admire their car on display after a win, buy new clothes, and even customize their avatar’s look. This central location was added to improve the TDU series’ housing concept, which was previously represented by houses in Test Drive Unlimited 2.
However, Alain Jarniou’s testimony also confirmed that the homes will not be available for purchase at the launch of Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown. This news came as a shock to many long-time fans of the franchise, who fondly recall the opportunities offered by houses in the previous installment. Houses allowed players to expand their garage and customize their personal space for a more intimate experience. While it was possible to invite friends to these houses, it was necessary to make friends beforehand, which is part of the Solar Hotel’s goal of encouraging encounters and interactions between players.
Facing the fans’ disappointment, Alain Jarniou wanted to reassure the community by saying that the absence of the houses from Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown’s launch does not mean that they will never be part of the game. On the contrary, he emphasized that the development team is already looking at a list of features for future content in the medium to long term, indicating the possibility of seeing the houses in a future update or expansion.
One can only hope for the return of unique houses and merchants in Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown, as these elements are essential to the success of the saga in the hearts of players and greatly differentiate the license from its direct competitors. Kylotonn would shoot itself in the foot for omitting this key feature, among other things.
“The Solar Hotel lobby is an example of our desire to bring players together and help them interact. TDUSC isn’t just a racing game, it’s a game for fans of beautiful cars to race or drive around with friends, so it was imperative for us to offer something.” A place where players can meet. The most obvious way to achieve this was to create social hubs where players would travel with their avatars instead of driving a hypercar at 300km/h on HKI. In the first Solar Club letter, we explained that players meet at vendors and workshops, but the Solar Hotel is the central meeting place for TDUSC.
Whether it’s strutting around in the latest exclusive gear, instantly challenging other players, showing off their car after their latest triumph, buying new clothes, or changing their avatar’s look, the Hall has been featured in TDUSC as ” Dorfplatz” designed.
We added this amazing place and its rooms to improve the concept of accommodation in the TDU series. Fans of the franchise will remember the houses in TDU2 where you could expand your garage, but that was a very personal experience. Even if you could invite your friends, you had to make friends first, and that’s the goal of Solar Hotel. We know that the houses impressed the TDU players. Although this feature was not present in the game at the time of TDUSC release, it is part of a long list of features that we are already investigating for future content in the medium to long term.”