Drag X Drive update adds local wireless, stat tracking, and online tweaks

The first big update since launch for Drag X Drive has dropped, bringing a healthy list of changes, updates, and improvements—plus more than a few “why wasn’t that there at launch?” moments I’ve seen in a game for some time.

First up is the addition of local wireless play, which was missing at launch. There’s now stat tracking for everything in the game, and it’s been recording in the background, so you’re not starting from scratch either. The game also now displays player levels, although this won’t affect matchmaking in public parks.

Online play has seen plenty of changes too. You can now set a team colour preference, and if you try to join a friend’s park or a public park that’s full, you’ll be placed on a waitlist. At launch, the game would sometimes split people across different matches, but now it increases the chance of proper 3-on-3 games. There’s also an optional scoreboard, which is viewable in spectator mode as well.

Nintendo has also tweaked the success rate of shots, listed under “Other Notes” below—and it’s one of the most detailed notes I’ve seen in patch notes for a while.

General Updates:

• It’s now possible to play local wireless games. Select Local wireless park from the Mode tab of the X Menu to play.
• The game will now display play history. Select Stats from the Help tab of the X Menu to view it.
• The game will now display player levels, which increase by gaining XP. It displays in the upper right corner of the screen on the X Menu. It is not used in matchmaking for public parks.
• It is now possible to select either Set as Blue or Blue/Red for Your Team Color. Select Settings on the Help tab of the X Menu, then select Display Options to make this choice.
• Adjusted certain depictions, including the game-start animations, lighting within parks, and the time the lights are lit up when at top speed.
• The game will now display version information. Select the Help tab of the X Menu to view it.

Online:

• It is now possible to join the wait list when the public park or friend park your friend is in is full. You can join the wait list from the list found under Friend park on the Mode tab of the X Menu. If you select your friend when the park that friend is in is full, you will automatically attempt to connect next time a spot opens up in that park.
• When you are in a public park, selecting public park again will now prioritize selection of another public park.
• Made adjustments to increase the chances of 3-on-3 games in public parks.
• Changed the game start position for 2-on-2 games in public parks.
• The game will now display the score when using the spectator camera.
• Like offline bots, online bots will now pass to players when they raise their hands or use the “Hey” reaction.

Fixed Issues:

• Fixed an issue where sometimes no record is made under Search for Users You’ve Played With.
• Fixed an issue where the game would sometimes crash when starting up the game or heading to a park.
• Fixed an issue where the shot success rate for shots made immediately before landing was based on the position where the shot was made.

Other Notes:

• The success rate for shots is affected by the distance to the hoop (how close the player is to the hoop) and the player’s orientation towards the hoop (how directly the player is facing the hoop).
• In order to make it so that bunny-hop shots while approaching did not become excessively advantageous, the intended design was to calculate shot success rate for distance to the hoop based on the last point of contact with the ground (the jumping off point).
• However, just for when the player took a shot immediately before landing, the shot success rate was being calculated based on the position where the shot was made, which was not intended, so we have fixed this.
• However, there are no changes to the success rate for orientation towards the hoop.