Under the Hood. Part 2

First, a few words about the most important thing — the release date of the update. We're still working on the update and plan to release it on November 25; only the final touches remain.

Now, about what it will include!

AI balancing
One of the key issues you pointed out after launch had to do with AI balancing. We reviewed all your feedback on this, watched your videos and livestreams. Taking all of this into account, we adjusted the AI behavior — the game will now be more balanced.

Community events
When the update comes out, among other things you'll immediately notice a new icon in the lower left corner of the main menu. It will let you learn about all community events — current or upcoming.

So what is a community event? In the coming months we'll launch three types of events — each unique in its own way.

• Eventswhere you can earn bonus money.
• Eventswhere you can get discounts on various in-game items.
• Eventswhere you can earn bonus reputation.

The first event starts tomorrow, called "Power matters", where you can get a 40% discount on all performance upgrades. It's the perfect time to upgrade your new ride!

Icon cars
If you've already started exploring Ventura Bay, you've probably driven Nakai-san's Porsche or Magnus Walker's Porsche 277. In the next update you'll also be able to get Ken Block's Hoonicorn and Morohoshi-san's Lamborghini Diablo SV. If you've already completed the corresponding missions, you can simply pick these cars up in your garage, for free.

Neon underglow
While working on Morohoshi-san's Lamborghini Diablo SV, we thought you'd be very interested to see the neon underglow at the development stage. It will only appear on Morohoshi-san's car, and here's what it will look like.

Color picker 2.0
Now when painting your car, rims or decals, a new color picker will be available. Recently used colors and materials, color and material sets, as well as digital values on the sliders will be shown — you'll be able to find exactly what you need without error. One of the most hotly discussed topics you raised in your feedback about the wrap editor was improving color functionality, and we're glad to present all of you with the updated version.

Mirroring
During the closed beta and after the game's release, the whole community said with one voice that this feature was absolutely essential. So we decided to add it! Now, if you open the layers screen, a button will appear that lets you copy any layer from the left side of the car to the right (and vice versa). It works for both the car's side panels and the side windows.

Reputation boost
Race and raise your reputation. Now on the streets of Ventura Bay you'll be able to earn even more REP points. The upper limit will be raised from 50 to 60.

Daily challenges
The update includes a set of new daily challenges, with more balanced event types and less emphasis on violations. As soon as it's out, new challenges will appear too.

New awards and achievements
You'll be able to earn three new awards and achievements:

• Fan: add any of the new icon cars to your garage.
• Rebel: win an event in each of the new icon cars.
• Crazy unlock: score 350,000 drift points in the "Crazy Block" event in Ken's car.

Preset paint options
We're increasing the number of preset paint options that can be used right away. In total we'll add thirty new paint options, and they can be used on different cars.

General bug fixes, minor issue fixes and other improvements
Some bugs have been fixed. We've adjusted and improved other areas, such as AI rubber-banding.

Community survey
Your feedback will continue to be an important source of information for us, and surveys are just one of the tools we plan to use to gather your ideas. The first survey will take place in the coming days, so if you've played Need for Speed since its release, we'll send it to your email — don't miss it.

Community talent
We were simply in indescribable delight at your automotive masterpieces that many of you shared with us. Here are the works we especially liked!

The paint editor has gotten better, and we can't wait to see your new creations.

That's all for today! It was, as always, a packed installment of "Under the Hood." By the next installment the icon update will already be out, and we'll tell you what's coming next. Stay tuned!

See you on the streets of Ventura Bay! Don't stop!