Exclusive: FAST Racing NEO Update, Called 'Vertigo', Goes Live on 18th May

Time to jump in I guess.

Did someone say stability?...........

Wish they would have further tracks for DLC. Love this game.

Been meaning to pick this up for a while.

this game is such a triple a title in disguise. someone at nintendo fund these guys already!

4 months late, hopefully the online isn't dead by the time the update comes.

@Grumblevolcano: how is this "late" since there were no real issue before?

That mini map will be much appreciated.

@Simbabbad Actually there was a very significant issue, the console crashing with a loud beep was very common when playing online.

It's good that they're still fine tuning the experience.

I was so busy with XCX when this released that I just didn't have time for it. Now, however, I believe that it's go time.

I'll finally purchase this now, been waiting for them to fix its issues.

Well hello, Shin'en. Long time no see. This update will probably get me back into this game. This is an excellent game - everyone should try it out if you haven't already done so.

@Simbabbad : They anounced this ptch for january release. So yes, 4 months late.

They really need to communicate with Nintendo and get a Mute City track in. That would be awesome.

Despite there being HUD/GUI stuff, which I usually hate in games these days, I like how minimal and clean it all is here.

If a game is going to display a HUD/GUI over the actual in-game view, I like it to be a clean and simple as possible. So, kudos for getting that right.

Also, I like to have the option to turn it all off completely. Can't remember if they said that was an option here but I hope it is.

People hyped this game for months, and I was like "wtf, this game will suck".

Then the game was released, I bought it out of curiosity and loved it. It's a great game. Hard to believe it was developed by a small studio.

Can't wait for the update. I haven't tried online mode yet, seems like a good time to start.

Really fun game, and glad to see updates, but I think the CPU is a little over the top, to the point that the challenge isn't even all that fun. This is coming from someone who beats FZero GX cups on Master and all the story chapters on very hard.

Sounds great!

Shin'en is so good. I just got Nano Assault EX as part of the Humble Bundle, and I didn't realize they had developed it. Combine that with this game that really presents like a AAA title, and they are turning to the new standard bearers for "fast and futuristic." Sega used to be that company (notably, they worked on F-Zero GX).

Would love to see Nintendo make Shin'en a second-party developer. Or maybe Sega can pick them up and start producing some good work for a change.

Oh man, now I have a reason to play this again besides just 100%ing the time trials! So pumped.

They think they need to name the updates like it's iOS or Android

Stability was always an issue with my copy, but... Improved stability might be worth goin' back to it!

Omg yes- this is awesome - I'm most excited for the mini-map as I don't ever play online games.

In fact- I'm going to fire this up again tonight. I love fast racing neo-- one of the best game purchases I ever made; there's something about it that makes me feel good/nostalgic haha

I have really enjoyed playing this game--one of the better e-shop purchases out there if you enjoy racing.

My only complaint is you can't adjust the sound settings. I like playing racing games with my own music and you can't turn down the game music at all.

If you've been whingeing for years about a lack of F-zero and haven't bought this, then you are a mug

Great racer with exceptional soundtrack. I'll definitely fire it up again once the update hits.

The online experience around launch was a lonely one for me (in USA, generally play 10PM). I chalked it up to insufficient user base (yes, I just stole EA's lame phrase); hopefully this update will help . . . would love an online experience like MK8.

@Jamotello I really hope Nintendo gives Shin'En some officially sanctioned work. I really don't think it would take much to make them a 2nd party developer at this point. I mean, they kinda are already exclusive. They can do really good stuff with an incredibly small budget. Would be great to see them go at it with a decent sized pool of funds to pull from.

Does anyone not adore this game? I know I do! After 100% all modes and still enjoying online this update is indeed welcome. Thanks! Just got through Nano Assault as well, I agree they deserve as much nintendo support.. any support they can get!!!

That took them a really long time...
I hope those 6 things aren't the only issues that got patched.
What's more important is fixing wrong results (online and offline) and lag (online).
Haven't played FRN since the NL tournament, the bugs were so disappointing.

@shani Same with me but I've actually got it on just now and have been playing it since I read this article,superb game.I'm not going to touch the online till the update though,I'd be surprised if there's anyone still playing it as it was so broken.If they can get the online to work as it should though it would get lots more play time from me.I worry the update might be arriving too late and there won't be many playing online,there's still the NL community though.I mentioned in the multi-player thread earlier about having a session after the update arrives,if it goes well we can have another go at a tournament.

I found this game too punishing, but will give it another go.
I really want F-Zero X...

@OorWullie: Well the things is, the offline mode is also buggy. It screws up the positions after the race, e.g. you finished 3rd but the game lists you as 2nd and to that effect gives you more points than it should. When I saw that the same bugs appeared online I realized that the whole game is screwed up it its very core and stopped playing it altogether.

Sure, after the update we can try some NL community races, but if I'm reading this article correctly, they didn't fix the most important bugs and shortcomings.
For example, it seems like we still can't join specific friends online like in MK8, which was one major problem back then. Plus we apparently still can't choose tracks in online mode.

For me the thing that was bugging me the most was the fact that the world record times were accomplished with glitches, where people would not do real laps. That's what got me to stop playing waiting for the update. It does not appear to have been fixed.

I can't believe the number of whiney people complaining about this being late. I've played and enjoyed the game without issue so far, and an indie game being treated/updated (let alone adding features like a mini map) like a AAA title is welcome and refreshing. This is a great studio. Nintendo delays things all of the time... sometimes for years without apology. AND I'm pretty sure all updates have to be vetted by Nintendo as well before they can be released. 1st world problem whining just sounds sad and ridiculous. It was only a few months and 's' happens.

@shani Fingers crossed there's more to it.Maybe the wrong placings fix comes with the stability improvements.I'm sure Shinen know that had to be fixed,it seemed ton happen more often than not from what i played online . If it works without problems I can forgive some of it's other short comings. I forgot about not being able to join specific friends ,that made things difficult.

@Jayvir That would be a smart move on N's part. Given the uphill battle they face for 3rd party support, they need more allies cranking out exclusives.

@earthboundlink From our mouths to Nintendo's ears... they need this kind of talent in their stable.

Still need to pick this up. Guess it's next up since the humble bundle killed most of my wish list off!

@OorWullie yeah I hope so! Guess I was just overly passionate when the game was out and that led to even bigger disappointment once I realized that this game was far from being polished or anything.
Hope the patch fixes all the important stuff. But honestly, I think they didn't do themselves a favour. They could've just delayed the game and spent more time with bugfixing (I could've lent a hand as a former game tester and even suggested it after the bugs appeared) instead of releasing an unfinished game that pissed off some players that may not come back.
And that's why Nintendo delays its games, because they don't want to release a faulty game. Most of Nintendo's patches add new features instead of fixing bugs because there aren't many.

Finally. Been waiting for a long bit.... Maps are needed as the tracks are great, but they are not memorable for me ( I mean in the way that Mario kart tracks are) I get frustrated when I lose a cup due to poor memory of the track layout. This will help me allot.

Also best quote from this article : " while an on-screen mini-map will help those of us with more limited abilities"

Apparently I have limited abilities lol.

Put it on sale and maybe I'll grab it.

I know it is a good value for some people as is at $15, but to me I would jump on it for $10 ....maybe $12 as an impulse, otherwise I can live without it.

Cool. Thank you Shinen!

Oh yeah, I'll fire it up this weekend. I like the updates and hopefully they will add to the online experience.

@TerrapinJess I like that you called it "nostalgic." I didn't realize it until you said it, but that's just what it is. One of the great thing about the indie developers (especially those who have made a home on the eShop) is the way they can take older, simpler gaming concepts and modernize them in small ways. You end up with a fun, contemporary game that doesn't feel like it needs to shoehorn in $60 worth of value.

"AAA" titles often have to try to do too much to justify their consumer costs, and the result is that some of those additions just don't work very well. These additions also raise development costs. But if you're paying $20 or so, you can be more okay with the idea that this game does one or two focused things really well—just like the classics did.

Aaaand... now I really want to play this game. Away from my Wii U, so I'll have to play Nano Assault EX instead.

A great game but I found it a little too difficult

@earthboundlink very very good observation; one that I agree totally agree with!

....now if only we could get a San Francisco rush (yes with collecting floating spinning soda cans on rooftops) or a beetle adventure racing style game too from someone else. Wow I miss the old generations of games but have such an appreciation for these new studios that can do these things. Nintendo better take note and work with some of the guys !

I'm absolutely going home to play this tonight

Jumping right back in soon as the update drops.

Can they create dlc that changes the name to F Zero Neo?

How about an unlock of all the tracks? That would be nice. I was looking forward to this game forever.. Bought it day one only to be completely turned off by the difficulty level. All the practice in the world wasn't going to help me after a certain point. The first one on Wii I had the same issue with. The difficulty in FZero for GC was fine, at least you still got to see every level in some way, in this game it just feels cheap and unnecessary. At least it was a budget title.

Does this game have splitscreen?

I meant to get this ages ago but forgot about it. Now seems to be the time to jump in. See you online everyone

Lots are turned off by the difficulty it looks like, which does take quite a bit of adjusting too. At first the slowest speed was ridiculous for me too I couldn't believe there was two more difficulties above it... but once you lock in to the way your favorite vehicle drives and get used to the tracks a bit the game really opens up and gets great!

Seems like a perfect time to buy, actually!

Great game. I thought the only problem with the online is that there was no one playing it... Last time I tried to play online there were three people in the whole world available and they were both embarrassingly better than me.

Now if this comes at a discount soon, I'm in.

This will probably patch the Reverse Lap glitch in Grand Prix. Maybe.