Over the course of the last five years, Racing Rivals has grown into one of the most hardcore racing games in the world. This loyal community has spent countless hours competing in millions of races in “winner take all” fashion – all in the name of Turf Wars and pink slips.

However, all good things must come to an end… After spending time evaluating Rivals and its future – we’ve decided that it’s time to move on. Simply put, the revenue generated from Racing Rivals unfortunately no longer covers the cost of operations. This was not an easy decision to make.

On March 31st, 2019 – Rivals will be racing off into the sunset, and will be permanently shut down. Current players have until this date to utilize any accumulated virtual currency. We’ll be offering some massive reductions in the cost of crates, installs and repairs in addition to a reduction on timers as you race your way into the history books. Effective immediately, no new in-app purchases will be permitted.

In closing, a resounding and sincere THANK YOU to our extremely driven fans for your loyalty and dedication over the years – we hope you’ve enjoyed playing Racing Rivals as much as we’ve enjoyed creating it.

Ryyst Blog #1 - Hacks and the Future

[RR] Ryyst[RR] Ryyst Registered Users, Moderators 3,814 Posts
edited March 2016 in The Carbonated Garage
Welcome Rivals fans! For those that don’t know who I am, my name is Ryyst and I am the Community Manager for Racing Rivals and other games. I mainly maintain the forums and social pages for several Glu Games. I usually read posts on all the pages, answer/chime in when I can and let you all know of news and events. I want to expand that a bit more or at least offer you all more information on what’s going on with Racing Rivals, even perhaps touch on some of the bigger topics I see pop up on the social pages.

So here is the first in what I’m temporarily calling “Ryyst’s Blog”. Boring, I know, I’ll try and come up with something better in the future. In today’s blog I’m going to touch upon a very hot topic right now, hacks, cheats and glitches.


Hacks, Cheats, Glitches

I’m not blind, I see the posts. You’re upset about cheaters. You’re angry, frustrated, upset. We know. I know. I assure you, we aren’t happy either. The answer, the only answer we could give is that, “We are working on it.” We’ve been saying that for awhile, and in some minds, forever even. For a lot of you that isn’t enough. For some of you, it’s a lie. There is no way we could forever be working on it. Well, believe what you want, but it is true.

We’ve been fighting hackers and glitchers from the beginning. We started that fight since our Nitto Legends 1320 days. We’ve fixed many hacks and glitches since then too. We just don’t really go out and say it. We don’t give hackers and glitchers warnings. We wait and let them try again, and sometimes we catch them sometimes we don’t. What we actually do is slow them down. Hackers exist everywhere. No game is safe. You can Google almost any game out there and add the word hack to it and you’ll find multiple sites that offer hacks.

Chances are, you’ve used some hack or glitch to finish games. Cheat codes, game genies, they’ve been out there almost as long as video games have been around. For the most part, it was you versus the game, so it seemed harmless. Enter the age of multiplayer games. The same desire to cheat and hack games is still there, but now, with certain games, it no longer just affects the game, it affects other players. It’s a war that has raged since multiplayer began and probably will keep going. The thing is. People can fix hacks, and people will continue to break those fixes. Nothing is hack proof. All we, as game developers, can do is plug the holes and try and create something that is more difficult to break. As smart as someone or someones can be, there are always smarter and more clever people out there.

This brings us to the popular notion that we, Glu, doesn’t care. Which is simply not true. We don’t come in to work everyday not caring. We’re in this industry to make games, and to make games people love to play. Please, do not take the lack of visible proof as a sign that Glu doesn’t care. We do. In fact we have to often delay other better things for the game due to these hacks. A few months ago we actually did stop the APKs from working. Some of the hackers even told me straight up, that they couldn’t find a way to break what we did… yet. There is the thing. Like I said, as clever as we think we can be, there is someone out there with the determination to be cleverer. So, after about 2 months, they told me that they found the hole and here we are again with modded APKs ruining the game and we’re still doing different things to combat it.

So if we are forever fighting hacks, why haven’t we fixed this latest hack?

Here is the thing about publishing games on the mobile front. It’s not as simple as updating code. There is a process with Apple and there is a process with Google. We have to go through a series of checks with BOTH companies. This means it takes time. It means that we have to be sure we include as much as we can in each update so that the process is worth the trouble. Now, there are things we can do without updates. That means that the change is on our end. However, most major changes are changes to the game client, which is what you download onto your device. To do that we have to publish an update with Apple and Google. When that is needed, that takes time.

So where are we with all this…

Our next update, 5.0 will be the groundwork for further combating hacks. We’re updating the game in ways that will help us fight hacks like this.

Modded APKs – We will be trying something that we hope will a least make it very difficult to make these work. This would end things like auto-launches and grip hacks.

Dual Conversion – An upcoming update will fix this so that it isn’t possible to have both Turbo and Supercharger installed.

Light Lag – This is a function of most devices. Basically it takes advantage of a sort of timing forgiveness. We understand that there are 1000s of different devices, in many places in the world using different ISPs which may not all connect with our servers within the time limits of a race. “Light Laggers” take advantage of this. We are currently working on different ways to address this issue.

Car Cloning – We’ve implemented things that should stop this

Campaign Money Glitch – We’ve fixed this

Racing Rivals… the future

There have been rumors and what not concerning the future of Racing Rivals. Some people said there was a Racing Rivals 1.5… not true. Some say that we are going to be wiping accounts… not true. Some say there is a Racing Rivals 2… maybe.

So what are we doing? Well, we are going to be focused on making Racing Rivals better and on adding new features we’ve wanted
Update 5.0 and subsequent updates afterwards will contain a lot of changes to the game that fights a lot of what you are all reporting to us. The newest APK should no longer work, dual conversion won’t work, car cloning won’t work. Will that mean the game will be fixed forever. Probably not. Like I said, people made this game, people fix it and people break it. Hopefully it will take a good while before anyone comes up with a way to break what we made, which will give us time to work on some things we have planned…

What do we have planned?

Here are a few things to look forward to in 2016

• Campaign overhaul – We’re putting in a more robust campaign
• New Paint
• New Headlight colors
• Chat Improvements
• 4 player tournaments
• Team Management Improvements
• Daily Mystery Boxes
• Daily Quests
• Leagues!

Thats just some of the things we have planned for Racing Rivals.

Some of these are a ways out, so there isn't much I can say about them. Some of these things are coming in the next 5.0 update.

As we get closer to some of these features, I'll talk about them some more

Until next time!

~ Ryyst.
IGN: The Real {RR} Ryyst
Soon to be Ex-Carbonated Community Manager

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Comments

  • Galactic EmperorGalactic Emperor Registered Users 3,940 Posts
    Image and video hosting by TinyPic
    I can see the Statue of Liberty from here
  • stuntmonkystuntmonky Registered Users 5 Posts
    I see one thing missing from future update..can we please get a chat bar in the tournament lobbies? If possible? Would be nice to communicate with people jumping in then jumping out looking for a full lobby only to return to the same lobby 5 secs later lol. Wanna tell em SIT DOWN AND BE STILL!! The lobby will fill faster if ya quit jumping around! Lol. Any way alot of us have been thinking about the chat bar for a while. Otherwise yall are doing great. Keep up the badaxx work
  • 2HIPSI2HIPSI Registered Users 6,984 Posts
    Is there any concern that a lack of RRC could kill the game? I just don't foresee anyone spending $99 to buy 1 mill RRC, with no currency in game people will less likely buy showroom cars, upgrade or pink race. This will then kill any tournement, turf or league play correct?
    OG - 2HIPSI aka 2 High Psi

  • shtoobieshtoobie Registered Users 7,944 Posts
    It's not as terrible as you would think @2HIPSI just because people don't want to spend theirs/higher prices doesnt mean there isn't still trillions floating around.
  • shtoobieshtoobie Registered Users 7,944 Posts

  • MONSTERMANMONSTERMAN Registered Users 276 Posts
    edited March 2016
    @[RR] Ryyst So when is the next 5.0 update is coming? Any clues on the date?
  • BagOfLoveToysBagOfLoveToys Registered Users 2 Posts
    Took a break from the game for a while, decided tonight to start fresh on RR, well.. Came to the forum just to get up to speed on stuff and was surprised by all of the posts mentioning RR being a "ghost town" and that nowadays RR is "dead". Very, very sad to read/see this

    After reading up on your comments Ryyst and now your new blog, I have only two questions moving forward..

    1). What do you think the timeline for 5.0 being released may be? Soon, soon-ish or maybe in May?

    2). Racers who have completed the existing campaign, when this new, robust campaign is put in, will they have access to it?

    Ive been playing since Nitto 1320, so yes, I love the game, the concept and the overall experience, I am willing to continue paying money for this experience, but while you are quick to reply (imo), and are very helpful as well as informative, with that being said, you come off as sort of vague when describing the updates and when they may be implemented, and also without attempting to seem insulting and maybe im a little out of line here.. You dont seem very excited about the overall current state of this game, nor its "progress" going forward, am I wrong or am I just understandably sad to see one of the best multiplayer games ever, nearing its end, maybe Im thinking too much into it at the moment?
  • BagOfLoveToysBagOfLoveToys Registered Users 2 Posts
    edited March 2016
    shtoobie said:

    It's not as terrible as you would think @2HIPSI just because people don't want to spend theirs/higher prices doesnt mean there isn't still trillions floating around.

    You have to constantly be able to adapt to keep and gain clients through whatever business you are trying to run, keeping prices quite steep over a long period of time, for goods that translate, and always have to very little value as "in game currency" has been shows to be a recipe for poor longevity.

    Sure there is always going to be a bajillion dollars "floating around", but maybe this example will knock it through.. We all know BMW is an amazing driving machine, this is common knowledge.. What if all of the last couple model years they built drive like crap, had engineering flaws, faults in the electronics and safety issues? Could you really justify still spending a rediculous $70,000 on a 2017 model that drives like a $25,000 car? Maybe if youre retarted, but the vast majority of people who consume things, reguardless of how much money they have or how much money exists would not do this, unless they are retarted.

    So no, no points for Gryffindor.
  • ipinrimauipinrimau Registered Users 831 Posts
    its a great news to hear that glu does care about us. back these 2 3 days ive tried sort of. most of the moded apk didnt work, glitches didnt work. its really good news. like ryyst said. if player vs ai is not a big deal, it is a big deal when against multiplayer, people are spending hard earned money to enjoy this game, but what they spend are robbed by 10year old using modded apk, thats really upsetting. well done glu. well done @Ryyst and the team. the team at sinful will try to counter u guys. good luck and chiayok chaiyok

  • ipinrimauipinrimau Registered Users 831 Posts
    2HIPSI said:

    Is there any concern that a lack of RRC could kill the game? I just don't foresee anyone spending $99 to buy 1 mill RRC, with no currency in game people will less likely buy showroom cars, upgrade or pink race. This will then kill any tournement, turf or league play correct?

    now i dont know where have all the rrcs gone?

  • KumayinKumayin Registered Users 30 Posts
    edited March 2016
    anyone know how i can speak with [RR] Ryyst ASAP? i have urgent to say that mostly important..for the game,,(are not about my account, or other common issue)

    Thanks
  • itripdabearsitripdabears Registered Users 1,102 Posts
  • KanziGamingKanziGaming Unregistered / Not Logged In, Registered Users 3,930 Posts
    No Graphics Improvement ? Thats A Shame ..
  • Lbhero34Lbhero34 Users Awaiting Email Confirmation 38 Posts
    I'm all for blocking the apk's, grip hacks, cloning and dual conversion but blocking the money? $100 for 1 million rrc and some parts on certain cars costing up to 150k a piece? Ya if that happens I will have an acct with over 500 normal and 68 turf cars for sale... 1 million dollars doesn't go far at all in this game, block the money farming and this game dies a very quick death
  • PR0DUSTERPR0DUSTER Unregistered / Not Logged In, Registered Users 571 Posts
    @Lbhero34 but maybe....just maybe glu wants to put Mills farmers and buyers out of business and they might put in game Mills purchases for 50 cents....that's what I'm hoping for if not the game will kill itself
  • Lbhero34Lbhero34 Users Awaiting Email Confirmation 38 Posts
    Pro that would be nice. Why not drop the price per mill to 50 cents and make all the money that farmers are collecting. Keep it at $100 per mill and its R.I.P RR
  • Racer zRacer z Registered Users 1,377 Posts
    Put in autosculpt option where u can change the shape of rims and body kits and more body kits to every car of and add wheelie to all muscle cars
  • dulwhitedulwhite Registered Users 118 Posts
    Ok then. Until 5.0 update, no pinking anyone. Got it.
  • PR0DUSTERPR0DUSTER Unregistered / Not Logged In, Registered Users 571 Posts
    lol...body kits are the least thing people are worried about...sadly theres plenty of ricers out there waiting for body kits on lambos and built track cars
  • imacimac Registered Users 1 Posts
    anybody have rr mod 4.3.2?
  • Galactic EmperorGalactic Emperor Registered Users 3,940 Posts
    ^ APK Modder
    I can see the Statue of Liberty from here
  • 2HIPSI2HIPSI Registered Users 6,984 Posts
    They would honestly make huge bank if they sold RRC at a much lower price
    OG - 2HIPSI aka 2 High Psi

  • Tawny DonkeyTawny Donkey Registered Users 209 Posts
    I think the updates sound great. If there was some things i would change or upgrade i would definitely start with the exhaust tones or sounds. Im in the automotive business and call me crazy but when i hear a car on the game with what i know is the incorrect sound for that vehicle i just laugh. Same at the movie theater. Who could forget Gone in 60 seconds when the kid brother gives his big brother a Ford Mustang as a gift and it has problems starting and starter sound is of a Chrysler/Dodge. LOL Something else that may be cool is adding graphics to your cars and even dropping some of these cars to the pavement. Low,low. Some of these cars should go beyond the 18-20 inch rim selection. Adding 22-24 would rock on some of these. When i first started the game over a year ago it was all about building the fastest car now i just build to look custom, no engine damage and just race mostly B Class and S Class. The cars i used to have i would get maybe 10 races and then they would sit for repairs for a day. I lost my main account on the last upgrade, Tawny Donkey so im working with my other RR Tawny Donkey. Thanks @Ryyst for the Blog. I think its a great step in the right direction.
    Peace
    Tawny
  • [RR] Ryyst[RR] Ryyst Registered Users, Moderators 3,814 Posts
    edited March 2016

    I see one thing missing from future update..can we please get a chat bar in the tournament lobbies? If possible? Would be nice to communicate with people jumping in then jumping out looking for a full lobby only to return to the same lobby 5 secs later lol. Wanna tell em SIT DOWN AND BE STILL!! The lobby will fill faster if ya quit jumping around! Lol. Any way alot of us have been thinking about the chat bar for a while. Otherwise yall are doing great. Keep up the badaxx work

    Revamping Chat is something we're doing down the road.
    IGN: The Real {RR} Ryyst
    Soon to be Ex-Carbonated Community Manager

  • [RR] Ryyst[RR] Ryyst Registered Users, Moderators 3,814 Posts

    @[RR] Ryyst So when is the next 5.0 update is coming? Any clues on the date?

    Soon
    IGN: The Real {RR} Ryyst
    Soon to be Ex-Carbonated Community Manager

  • [RR] Ryyst[RR] Ryyst Registered Users, Moderators 3,814 Posts

    Took a break from the game for a while, decided tonight to start fresh on RR, well.. Came to the forum just to get up to speed on stuff and was surprised by all of the posts mentioning RR being a "ghost town" and that nowadays RR is "dead". Very, very sad to read/see this

    After reading up on your comments Ryyst and now your new blog, I have only two questions moving forward..

    1). What do you think the timeline for 5.0 being released may be? Soon, soon-ish or maybe in May?

    2). Racers who have completed the existing campaign, when this new, robust campaign is put in, will they have access to it?

    Ive been playing since Nitto 1320, so yes, I love the game, the concept and the overall experience, I am willing to continue paying money for this experience, but while you are quick to reply (imo), and are very helpful as well as informative, with that being said, you come off as sort of vague when describing the updates and when they may be implemented, and also without attempting to seem insulting and maybe im a little out of line here.. You dont seem very excited about the overall current state of this game, nor its "progress" going forward, am I wrong or am I just understandably sad to see one of the best multiplayer games ever, nearing its end, maybe Im thinking too much into it at the moment?

    1) Soon, April
    2) I don't know. Honestly, it's meant to teach new players how to play the game more. Vet players already do.

    I am vague, these things we're working on a in pre-production. I'm not a developer so I don't know the nuances of these new systems yet. When we get closer to when these new features come out, I'll hopefully be able to speak about them more. This list was tow whet the appetite and ensure that we are definitely back in Dev mode for Racing Rivals. There is a bigger list that I have, but these are the ones I've been given the "Okay" to "announce".

    It's hard to be excited about the current state of the game when we and sometimes me personally are constantly told that we don't care. That we are nothing but money hungry fat cats who live lavishly and that none of us actually work It's hard when we haven't had anything new in the ame for awhile. This first blog post was... is meant to address the topic of cheating and what we are doing. It's a sore spot to be sure, not only from the players but for us. We don't like it as much as you all do, but it's also not something that is easily resolved. Hackers hack. They been around a long time and there is a reason for that, they can still hack things, even when others try and fight them off. It's truly a never ending battle with no real solutions.

    My "tone" will be different from post to post, I do hope to have more "fun" news in the future, but I can't really speak about cheats and hacks with a vibrant attitude. I don't think anyone would really appreciate that.

    IGN: The Real {RR} Ryyst
    Soon to be Ex-Carbonated Community Manager

  • [RR] Ryyst[RR] Ryyst Registered Users, Moderators 3,814 Posts
    Kumayin said:

    anyone know how i can speak with [RR] Ryyst ASAP? i have urgent to say that mostly important..for the game,,(are not about my account, or other common issue)

    Thanks

    Just come out and say it. Unfortunately there is no real good way to reach me specifically outside these posts on the forums.
    IGN: The Real {RR} Ryyst
    Soon to be Ex-Carbonated Community Manager

  • [RR] Ryyst[RR] Ryyst Registered Users, Moderators 3,814 Posts
    imac said:

    anybody have rr mod 4.3.2?

    Seriously? Don't help the cheaters or be one. Now I'll have to investigate your IP.
    IGN: The Real {RR} Ryyst
    Soon to be Ex-Carbonated Community Manager

  • [RR] Ryyst[RR] Ryyst Registered Users, Moderators 3,814 Posts

    I think the updates sound great. If there was some things i would change or upgrade i would definitely start with the exhaust tones or sounds. Im in the automotive business and call me crazy but when i hear a car on the game with what i know is the incorrect sound for that vehicle i just laugh. Same at the movie theater. Who could forget Gone in 60 seconds when the kid brother gives his big brother a Ford Mustang as a gift and it has problems starting and starter sound is of a Chrysler/Dodge. LOL Something else that may be cool is adding graphics to your cars and even dropping some of these cars to the pavement. Low,low. Some of these cars should go beyond the 18-20 inch rim selection. Adding 22-24 would rock on some of these. When i first started the game over a year ago it was all about building the fastest car now i just build to look custom, no engine damage and just race mostly B Class and S Class. The cars i used to have i would get maybe 10 races and then they would sit for repairs for a day. I lost my main account on the last upgrade, Tawny Donkey so im working with my other RR Tawny Donkey. Thanks @Ryyst for the Blog. I think its a great step in the right direction.
    Peace
    Tawny

    As a sound guy, I too have the same feelings about the sound in the game. From what I've been told, sound data space is at a premium, so that usually gets prioritized lower. Took a lot to get the sounds we have now. So, we'll see.

    Graphics is another things thats hard to do because of data space. Plus our contracts with the car manufacturers don't really allow for player made custom graphics. Though, A lot of us would like to see that.

    I'll see about getting being able to lower your cars.
    IGN: The Real {RR} Ryyst
    Soon to be Ex-Carbonated Community Manager

  • [RR] Ryyst[RR] Ryyst Registered Users, Moderators 3,814 Posts

    No Graphics Improvement ? Thats A Shame ..

    Thats coming.
    IGN: The Real {RR} Ryyst
    Soon to be Ex-Carbonated Community Manager

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