Hey racers!

We’ve got a new Tidal Rush update rolling out, focused on stunt animation progress, HUD clarity, and a lot of under-the-hood systems work that sets us up for future features.

This update is more about foundations and iteration than flashy headline features – but you will feel the difference on the water.

Stunts continue to evolve with major groundwork laid this update:

• First iteration of stunt animations fully plugged in

• Network fixes and cleanup for stunt transitions

• Input buffering improvements (especially while steering)

• Fixed edge cases like stunts triggering during crash landings

• Character trick animations cleaned up and exported

• Jump time prediction layers fixed

Still early, but this is a big step toward making stunts feel expressive and reliable.

We’ve started to work on an improved clarity and readability across the HUD:

• Hazard indicators now show players behind you

• Minimap now displays character head icons, sorted by race position

• Map UI icons updated for missing pickups

• Inventory UI tweaks (cleaner rendering, smoother spinning item boxes)

• Updated track maps based on new concepts

Missiles aren’t shown on the hazard indicator yet — that’s coming later.

• Character emotes now trigger on:

  • Weapon hits

  • Taking first place

• Shield VFX fixes

• Fixed edge cases like:

  • Torpedoes hitting yourself right after spawn

  • Mega missiles tunneling through shields

• Torpedo visuals updated with new wake trails

• More camera tweaks (especially in tunnels and during resets)

• Reduced camera flipping issues

• Improved self-righting logic

• Drift edge-case fixes (no drifting during crash landings)

• Pickup collection logic tuned (including cooldown tweaks)

Behind the scenes, a lot of work went into tools and track tech:

• Continued progress on Polybrush-based flow painting

• Flow data moved to UV channels (unlocking foam & depth painting)

• Water shader vertex color features enabled

• Flow calibration improvements

• Multiple track rebakes (culling, flow, lighting, waterfalls)

• Higher-resolution track prefabs and updated collisions

This work is largely invisible — but it’s critical for better water behavior and visuals going forward.

• Engine sound tweaks based on audio feedback

• LAN mode improvements and UI updates

• Multiplayer nullref fixes

• Stat tracking groundwork for challenges & unlocks

This update moves several core systems forward:

• Stunts

• HUD clarity

• Long-term progression

As always, your feedback helps shape where we focus next — especially on camera behavior, and stunt responsiveness.

Thanks for riding with us!
– Your Shiny Team

Hey racers!

Thanks for all the early feedback on Update 0.4.0 – your impressions helped us quickly track down a few issues and polish up some of the newly added systems. Here's the full list of what changed in patch 0.4.3.

• Dynamic water splash effect added when landing from jumps

• Smarter camera behavior in tunnels – More refinement coming in future patches – keep the feedback coming!

• General VFX prefab cleanup & optimization

• Hydrospeeder water interaction VFX updated

• Less over-brightening due to new shader variant

• Track 1, 2, and 3 occlusion/culling data rebaked

• Track 2 flow bake redone

• Incorrect directional signs on Track 3 replaced with floating versions

• Fixed stunt animations triggering in multiplayer races

• Pickup collect cooldown added

• Drift level clamping corrected for more consistent drift behavior

Thanks again for all the feedback, bug reports, and support through the big 0.4.0 rollout. Your input helps us quickly patch, polish, and build toward the next big features.

If you spot anything odd after 0.4.3, let us know in the reviews, Discord[discord.gg] or on our other social media channels. Find the full list of channels here[linktr.ee].

See you on the waves and don't forget to tell your friends about Tidal Rush! 🌊💙
– Your Shiny Team