Hotshot Racing beta keys

Hey, guys! Lucky Mountain Games will be providing me with a bunch of keys for a closed beta session of their new Model 1-inspired arcade racer, Hotshot Racing. The event runs from July 3-6 on Steam. If you’re interested in giving the game a spin, leave a reply in this thread, and I’ll PM you a key when I get them.

Should you have any questions, you can ask here or get ahold of me in realtime over at the SegaNet discord:

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That’s awesome. Thank you for your generosity!

Awesome, looking forward to giving this game a spin over the weekend.

I would definitely give it a run and can provide feedback if needed.

I’m in.

Down to test Racing Ap- I mean Hotshot Racing!

I think my GPU is just about up to it.

Count me in, if there’s enough keys, thanks!

Beta key requests are closed. LMG has asked me to hold off on distro until Friday evening, so that’s when you can expect to get your key.

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But it’s my birthday today…

Happy 1-UP!

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Keys have been delivered. Check your inboxes and follow the activation instructions.

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Thanks for the Key!

Thanks from me too!

Can we post thoughts and discussion of the beta here?

edit: Scratch that, it won’t run on my PC. Says it is running but nothing ever appears on screen I just see my Library, and then I have to force quit Steam to get on with anything else. Could it be that I run in 4:3 at less than HD?

Make sure you followed the installation instructions I sent along with the key. You have to enter a password and select the correct beta branch from a dropdown box.

I did. Then it did 1.6GB download.

As I say, no joy with my PC.

So now it’s out… what did everybody think of this? Reviews have been mixed.

I’ve read about: simple repetitive tracks, weak AI, rubber-banding, hang around in the pack and use your boost on the final straight to win every time.

Yeah, that’s exactly what I felt were the issues with the game, specifically the career mode. Track design is somewhat bland and designed around the higher difficulties (I only learned about that close to the beta ending), on normal you were never forced to really slow down for a corner. It seems the track design is a remnant of when the game had combat as part of the gameplay, hopefully, something they can fix with the DLC tracks that are on the way. I never got to try it in MP so I think it could be a lot more fun there (unless there’s aggressive catch-up) and I think Time Attack would be great despite the okay-ish tracks. I’ll probably pick it up when it goes on sale.

I love the the ‘Model 1’ aesthetic and always wondered if you stuck to that look but used contemporary hardware to push the game how would it come out and it is rather wonderful.

Yeah, it came across more as a car combat racing game, the courses lacked variety. With the exception of one or two tracks, by and large you were racing the same left and right turns on the same flat tracks throughout the game, the only thing that changed was the course scenery around you.

Given the handling doesn’t have much of a skill ceiling at all the simplistic and unchanging course design just doesn’t cut it.

While the visuals are indeed excellent, I’m not a fan of their usage here, since they recall only the most superficial of comparisons between the game and the likes of Virtua Racing and Daytona USA. Endless reviewers and players seem to be recalling those games when referring to Hotshot Racing (or even saying nostalgia is overrated), when Hotshot Racing isn’t anything like them. In that context you could argue the developers are rewriting history by specifically referring to treasured games of the past while not living up to their legacy and why we remember them so fondly to begin with.

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I agree with all of that. It’s low poly, but that’s where the comparison ends for me.

To find out that all courses are flat, there are limited types of curves, and that rubber banding and AI can easily be cheated is enough to damn this for me.

Sega Model 1 was as cutting edge as the technology allowed at the time. Doing a low poly racing game and then pointing and saying “we’re like the classics!” is disingenuous. It ignores so much about the originals: the finely balanced - though still resolutely arcade - gameplay, the fantastic course design, the depth, the playability.

Hot Shot Racing would be laughed out of an arcade, and that’s the measuring stick they should use if they’re so eager to be compared to things like Daytona and Virtua Racing.

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