I’m working towards the first public demo of Riff Racers, aiming for December 2026. There’s still work to do before I can put a build out, particularly on the racing AI and handling.
What I’m aiming for
The demo plan currently includes:
- Five tracks
- 12 drivers and 12 karts
- Multiple difficulty levels
- Windows and Linux builds
That’s a lot to finish on my own. I want enough variety for people to get a feel for the game, but I may need to adjust the scope as I go.
The five tracks
Each track is meant to have its own layout and atmosphere. I’m trying out shortcuts, risky jumps, alternative routes and pit lanes, then seeing how they affect a race. Some of those ideas will get cut if they don’t work well in play.
Work in progress: one of the current tracks taking shape. Layout, lighting and visual details are still being refined.
Twelve drivers, twelve karts
I want you to be able to tell the drivers and karts apart by their designs, even before you look at the colours. I’m still working on the models and animations, and there’s balancing to do as well.
An early look at the drivers and karts. The goal is for every pairing to have its own character rather than feel like a simple colour swap.
The racing still needs work too
Most of my time goes into the racing itself: handling, the way races play out, pit stops and whether you can see what’s happening at speed. I’m also working on performance across different hardware.
The computer-controlled drivers need particular attention. At higher difficulties, I want them to choose better racing lines, use shortcuts and be more aggressive. Simply giving them more speed wouldn’t do that. Getting those decisions right is still taking work.
Racing in the current build. Handling, AI behaviour, track readability and race flow are all still being tuned.
The look of the game
I’m still revising the visual style and going back over some tracks several times. Screenshots show the build they were taken from; parts of a track may look different by the time you play the demo.
Why release a demo?
I need to find out how the game feels to people who haven’t been building it. Can you spot the shortcuts while racing? Does the difficulty feel fair? Where does a race become frustrating?
I’d also like to hear what people think of the drivers and karts. Releasing a demo gives me a chance to act on that feedback while I’m still developing the game.
When you can try it
December 2026 is still a target rather than a confirmed release date. If the racing needs more time, I’ll move the demo and post the update here.
— Daniel