Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled

[Moonface]

So the Back N. Time Grand Prix has ended, and with it has come the debut of a new way to fill your Nitro Point gauge: using Wumpa Coins. If you were unable to fill your gauge during the GP, you can now spend up to 14k in Wumpa Coins to fill it to the max. The amount you spend depends on how much you need to fill, but if you had zero Nitro Points, you will only need 14k in Wumpa Coins to fill it entirely. Filling it this way will not adjust your totals in the leaderboards; it's just another way of obtaining the items, as if they were in the Pit Stop.

I think 14k is reasonable, although I wonder if that was done to avoid a backlash or if it'll actually stay at that total. 15k would be the most I'd be fine with, but beyond that is probably too much for people to fill that and get the Pit Stop items too.

Also, online had changes made over the weekend to reduce warp orb and clock powerup frequencies, and also added in the super engine from battle mode to give people in the back another way to try and catch up to the pack. The only disadvantage the super engine has is it kills all of your boost reserves and you can not obtain boost reserves while it's in use, so for some maps such as Electron Avenue or Twilight Tour it may actually be a hindrance as you'd have no reserves to keep blue fire from a turbo pad.

It turns out the Back N. Time decal was given out by mistake, but rather than remove it, Beenox has created a new decal instead for anyone in the top 5% of the leaderboards.
I'm fine with the new decal, since I'm in the 5% anyway on both leaderboards and I wasn't even actively trying to get into both of them that highly. I also hope the Spyro GP has a similar amount of Pit Stop items as this GP did, since I actually managed to buy everything in this one. I don't want another one like the Nitro Tour GP where there's a surplus of paint jobs and stickers because it makes it a pain if you want everything.

[Mr EliteL]

Wumpa Coins for filling up the Nitro gauge is a good thing, although yeah does sacrifice coins for Pit Stop items.
Glad Warp Orbs and Clocks are getting reduced item spawns. I think I had 5 warps after me at one point, which really screwed me over in a race. Or three, and I had one shield for protection, was ridiculous. Was wondering why the Turbo Engine suddenly appeared available in races.

Glad there's a new decal instead of removing it from anyone who reached the top 5% last GP and not this one because of their blunder. I got in the top 5% for Nitro Points, which is cool with me. Was worth going online after all, and not just for Wumpa Coins of course. Also happy the GP items are still appearing in the Pit Stop as I haven't got everything yet. Doubt I'll get all the skins I'm missing though, which is N. Tropy, Krunk and Zam, but neither have appeared the last few days. Have all karts, tyres, the other skins but not sure about stickers and decals though. Got a set of stickers today (the only set I've got this GP from Pit Stop so far), but don't know if there's any more. Agreed that there was way too much in the Nitro GP.

[Moonface]

Spyro and Friends GP Trailer
The trailer for the next Grand Prix has been released, giving us our first look at the new track and karts Spyro and his friends will be driving.

[Mr EliteL]

Also here's the GP details of what will be added for the rewards, Pit Stop Items and so on.




Like the look of Spyro Circuit. When it was titled "...& Friends", I was expecting two characters that are actually friends Spyro, not just one. Also, was expecting Ripto if there was meant to be a villain character in there, but I suppose Gnasty Gnorc is still good. New Karts look great, especially Spyromobile, which looks like a Batmobile.  No wonder there's a black coloured version of it shown off in a picture alongside Gnome Velo who looks exactly like oe, both seen on the Twitter account. Amazed to see Evil Crunch and Coco from I take it Mind Over Mutant as someone in YouTube comments mentioned. Kinda bummed there's no special Spyro skin, although could still be one in the Pit Stop, but as there's no sign of it in the details image, I assume not.

[Moonface]

The MoM skins were very unexpected. They seem better for Halloween and don't really fit this GP. If anything, Coco should've got an Elora skin.

The new track seems to have taken elements from Happily Ever Faster from CTTR. That bounce area at the end screams of rage if someone triggers a clock in there. I also hope there's no blue fire on this map. I'd rather see a track that lets everyone stick close like Meteor Gorge does.

I hope I can get everything in this GP since it starts right as I'm planning to move house. >.<

[Mr EliteL]

Yeah, I'm surprised it's so soon again, we're still in August, and so is the start of it. Thought the GP would start early September, but I suppose they wanted it to begin on a weekend, and next weekend is probably a bit too far into the month. I'm probably blind, but can't find the end date. Nitro Tour was 27 days I believe, and Back N Time was 24 days, kinda hoping it's more than the last one. Then again we did get the extra days for Pit Stop, so I suppose another 24 is OK. Given the trend is ending on a Sunday, 22nd or 29th? If 22nd, it's only 23 days then.

That bounce part is at/near the end? Dang, also getting hit and sending you off will also be annoying. Also hope there's no blue fire, just give a little bit more chance to people in the back of the race.

Ooh speaking of, I finally managed to complete a full lap with blue fire on Out Of Time which bagged me good win. Got a replay of it too on my PS4 to remember the occasion. I've sort of done it before, but I hit a wall just before reaching another blue fire pad on Tiny Temple (geez, Tiger Temple, Tiny Temple, Tiny Arena, dang it those names so similar I have to see the image to know which one I'm about to race on ), but the second blue fire pad was just before the end anyway, also don't think I won that race.

Just got Krunk's skin to get on Back N Time and I should have everything. Wasn't today Zem was, so hoping for tomorrow.

[Moonface]

Blue fire on Out of Time is actually a trickier one compared to others, so nailing that is really good for you @Mr EliteL! What class were you using?

[Mr EliteL]

I've seem to have lost my replay which is infuriating, as I wanted to watch it again. I remember saving the past hour and trimming it down to the last two races of the save as I won both. Must've deleted it by accident without noticing what one(s) were selected. I was either using Crash or Megumi, as I've been playing mostly them recently. Also Ami now since getting the yellow Electron paint, and her bee colour scheme goes so well with it, although that was after the Out of Time win so definitely Balanced or Acceleration.

[Mr EliteL]

Welp, looks like they've done it again with a new GP, well a new screw up. Last time it was the decal being available from the get-go if you were in the top 5 of the Nitro GP, and can confirm the Spyro GP decal isn't. The difference is I just booted up my game to find my Nitro Gauge is full up for the Spyro GP, although at least that hasn't unlocked anything. So that needs to be patched damn soon or I won't get anything. Perhaps I need to go online for it to reset itself, just going to check that....
OK, crisis averted. If you have the same problem, get online and that should reset the gauge. Thank goodness.

Received the second the second Back N Time decal with update, which is cool. Didn't realise the Orc and Goblin skins for both the Norm were meant to reflect Gnasty Gnorc, and them becoming his cronies. That's cool too. Time to get playin'.

EDIT: Seem to have stopped Weekend Bonus on a Friday, unless I've got my timing wrong. Also just called "Wumpa Time" instead of Daily Bonus? Too busy playing my hour to find out what's going on/what stuff means, but will try and check in between or after.

EDIT 2: Think I did do my timing wrong, I went on too early today. Wumpa Time is the new Daily Bonus (apparently people knew this 3 weeks ago, but mine kept saying the old term). Some people aren't getting the first Kart in the rewards, similar to the Nostalginator from last GP. I've managed to unlock it though, nor had the issue with the other kart last time.

[Moonface]

Already into gold tier for this GP since I decided to do as much as I can early in case we lose power from the hurricane. I like that the new track lacks blue fire, although it feels cramped in places. The Wizard Peak area shouldn't have walls and instead be flat grass with water pools to jump over for the corner shortcuts. I think it would be a lot better that way.

[ShiraNoMai]

I love the skins they gave to Spyro. That ice flame color, coupled with some of the color customizations, really makes for a pretty aesthetic, that ESPECIALLY gets highlighted on the darkly-lit tracks.

[ShiraNoMai]

Grand Prix Roadmap Outlined in Latest Tweet!

Over the next three months, Beenox will be hosting three themed Grand Prix events, starting with Spooky in October, Neon Circus in November and rounding out the year with the Winter Festival in December.

Nina Cortex, Pasadena O'Possum, and what is rumored to be Fasty are the next new characters to be added to the game's roster with each respective Grand Prix.

Any thoughts on this hot piece of news?

[Mr EliteL]

Sweet, two more after the Halloween themed GP? I'm all for it.
So glad they're going up to Christmas. They just had to have one for that month. Makes me wonder if there'll still be three new characters per GP, or just one? As Tawna, Baby T and Spyro were the main/first featured before the GP video reveal. Still Rilla Roo, Koala Kong, Von (forgot his name), and maybe another left. Don't know who Fasty is, looks like a reindeer, nor who could be the other two for that.

[Moonface]

Engine Swap, Offline Wumpa Time, New Cup and More Added
A new blog post by Activision today has announced new additions to Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled alongside the content for the upcoming Spooky Grand Prix: https://blog.activision.com/crash-bandic...tro-Fueled

Engine Swap
This highly requested feature is now official! Every character in the game is no longer locked to one class, and can now be given any class, along with a new one, "Drift".

• Beginner is now Turn
  
• Intermediate A is now Balanced
  
• Intermediate B is now Acceleration
  
• Advanced is now Speed
  

These classes will be able to be selected at the same time you are selecting your racer before each race. A sixth class, "Classic", will select your character’s original class by default.

Offline Wumpa Time
Due to popular demand, the 2x Wumpa Weekend bonus will now carry over to all game modes, including Adventure and Local Arcade! As long as the player’s console is connected to the internet, players now have the opportunity to earn 2x Wumpa Coins when they race or battle during the weekend, starting at 1:00 PM PDT on Fridays and ending at 1AM PDT on Mondays. This will be useful if you want to grind coins easily after using up your 5x Wumpa Time bonus in online modes.

The Lost Cup
A brand new Cup Race has been introduced – the Lost Cup. This race includes Oxide Station (from CTR), Clockwork Wumpa (from CNK), Twilight Tour (from the Nitro Tour Grand Prix), and Prehistoric Playground (from the Back N. Time Grand Prix).

Returning Pit Stop Items
Items from the Nitro Tour Grand Prix have been put back into the Pit Stop rotation! It may not be every item, as Activision have said it is "select items", but it's still a chance to grab some things you didn't get first time around.

Spooky Grand Prix
Outside of these quality of life updates, Activision went into more detail about the Spooky Grand Prix. First off, they have released the roadmap for the Grand Prix, detailing more of the items and costumes available:



There is also a new challenge being added with this Grand Prix called Ghost Hunt! It works as follows:

This season introduces a host of new rewards that can be earned by completing challenges, earning Nitro, and filling your Nitro Gauge throughout the season.  There’s a special new challenge type this season – track down some spooky spirits with Ghost Hunt! For the duration of this Grand Prix, breaking certain crates will release a mischievous ghost that was trapped inside. Catch up to the ghost to capture it and complete Grand Prix challenges. The more of these crates you break, the more ghosts will be flying around and the more challenges you can complete! As a note, you will only be able to see the ghosts you have released, and these spectral beings won’t get in the way of your racing. They are there to be captured if you dare!

---

My thoughts:
This is nothing short of superb! Engine swap was so needed because now lobbies won't be dominated by the same characters. Sure, it makes some classes even less appealing than ever, but I'll take that over characters being redundant. I tried out the new Drift class today, and it seemed alright. I used it on Nina's Nightmare so I can't really compare it well against another class, but I didn't find myself hating it. It'll probably come down to online play to really tell how effective it is or isn't.

Items starting to return is good news. That has been in the dark since launch and now I guess it'll be that a GP's items will appear 3 GP's later. Items from the Nitro Bar are in the Pit Stop too, because I had a decal from the Rocket missing and that bundle appeared in the store for me today.

Offline Wumpa Time is very nice to see. It was bullshit that offline players got no bonuses, so at least they get something now. It also means I can grind for more coins offline instead of having to suffer more online wait times once my 5x bonus ends.

Nina's Nightmare is a great track by the way. It has a blue fire pad that isn't actually in a bullshit spot for once, and there's some sharp turns following it that'll make it challenging to keep it active. There's some track hazards that only slow you down rather than spin you out which is also really nice, especially since I don't think they're present on lap one. I wasn't really paying attention at first to the track surface though so I may have simply missed it.

[Mr EliteL]

This update sounds great! Everything from the new GP to gameplay.

Offline totally needed bonus time, and gives more incentive to play after online Wumpa Time. I always finish playing once I can't get more Wumpa Coins other than grind for a very low amount, which I don't like doing. I also can play more Adventure or grind for character skins from race wins that I don't have.

Engine swap sounds good, will get to see who players pick, as they'll play as their favourite characters rather than stick to one or characters with the same default engine, namely speed. Of course, most will choose Speed now with whoever they choose. Maybe me included, although at the moment I think I do best with Balanced.

I need some items still from Nitro GP, so glad they finally return. Couldn't believe I missed out on Tawna Pink, but other stuff I knew I wouldn't get in time. Hope what I didn't get turn up this time, but will be a bit of a pain to buy with Spooky GP taking priority. May the offline bonus help out there.

Looking forward to trying out the new track Saturday.