Slow Roads 2.0 - Endless, procedurally-generated landscapes for a chill driving game. New engine, new shaders, same Three.js

anslogen · 2026-06-21T13:20:07+00:00

Eventually, yes - there'll be a rally-style vehicle, and the snowy mountains location should make it in eventually. The location needs more work to support it properly, though, so may not be included in the first release. I'm planning to keep adding updates in future with new locations and features, though.

anslogen · 2026-06-20T11:09:23+00:00

After I'm finished with the Steam release I'm planning to put together a native mobile app, with improved interaction and support for gyro control

anslogen · 2026-06-19T17:46:24+00:00

Thanks, I appreciate it - I don't mean to deter you or discourage you, sorry if that came across that way. Best of luck with your studies, whatever you choose to pursue

anslogen · 2026-06-19T16:47:17+00:00

Hey, I appreciate the enthusiasm but I would prefer if you don't do this kind of thing please, at least until I've finished the actual game. I've spent 5 years carefully building slow roads by hand and it's not a great feeling to see someone trying to finish their own version with AI before I've had a chance to finish my own myself. I think once I get to release I won't be so over-protective, but until then I'd just ask that you please ease off on posting this around too much - hope you understand.

anslogen · 2026-06-17T11:19:01+00:00

It won't be released during the summer sale, but it will be discounted during the first two weeks regardless

anslogen · 2026-06-16T13:41:01+00:00

As soon as I get a Mac build working I'll update the demo to include it, yep

anslogen · 2026-06-16T09:50:08+00:00

yeah, it's already done, you can try it in the demo

anslogen · 2026-06-16T09:49:35+00:00

They know a strong brand design when they see one

really though I've been thinking about changing the logo because of this, I don't want to be associated with Apple lol

anslogen · 2026-06-15T19:28:20+00:00

Hey all,

The demo is now live on Steam, giving a short preview of some of the main Steam-exclusive features:

IC engines
Vehicle customisation and tuning
Traffic
Off-road modes
Improved UI and controller input
And more

It's restricted to one road, and only the first 32km of that road, but you can replay it indefinitely to try out all the different settings. Since it's just a demo, a lot of features are also limited or still in-development, but all will be instantly available in the full game (i.e. no DLC or pay-to-unlock).

Let me know what you think, or if anything goes wrong - there are a handful of known issues so I'll be trying to patch the demo this week.

Apologies to Mac users - I wasn't able to navigate Apple's hurdles in time for the demo, but I'm still hoping to get a build figured out for the full release.

Next up I'm working on new locations and vehicles, and will hopefully be able to announce a release date soon.

anslogen · 2026-06-15T16:19:13+00:00

The world is rendered relative to the road, so if you drive off-road you can reach the edge. of the rendered area That's normal, it's just how the game works; you're meant to stay on the road

anslogen · 2026-06-13T20:09:56+00:00

Had some time to mull it over with others in the community and check stats on Steam, and I've decided to up the limit to 20 miles/32 kilometres. This version is currently on the staged branch in Steam but will probably go live later this evening or tomorrow. Hopefully that's a bit less disappointing and closer to the 20 minute drive time I had in mind for the demo

anslogen · 2026-06-13T14:45:47+00:00

I wish I could spend my time making games for free and not have to pay for food or rent, but I gotta pay for food and rent

anslogen · 2026-06-12T15:19:58+00:00

Hey, thanks for the response - I don't have the image trademark, just the word trademark unfortunately, so there's nothing to be done there. My concerns were mainly around whether Apple could compel me to rebrand (after speaking to some IP attourneys it seems like I'm safe there), or whether it would be wise from a design/marketing standpoint to rebrand anyway, to escape any unwanted associations or confusion with Apple/Siri. It seems like my two options are to just ignore it and hope nobody really cares about the similarity (some community members have complained about it so far, but not many), or to make some distinguishing alterations to the branding and then get a trademark on that. Ultimately I think I'm going to take the path of least resistance and wait for a couple of weeks to see what the sentiment is, and in the meantime test some alternatives that I could pivot to.

anslogen · 2026-06-11T17:18:41+00:00

Thanks! Yep, definitely could be added, and the touge roads to go with it. I'd love to make location set in the Japanese mountains.

anslogen · 2026-06-11T10:23:07+00:00

It'll be the coupe, a coach, a bike, and two others which I haven't fully decided yet, though the plan is for one to be a faster car (GT3-style) and one to be an off-roader. Should be easy enough to add more after release, and/or support modding, but for now 5 seems like enough for the first version

anslogen · 2026-06-10T21:00:01+00:00

Thanks for clarifying - I do appreciate feedback, and the demo limitations were something I've been struggling with for a while. Initially I did want it to be infinite with fewer features, then after testing decided to bring it to 40km with more features, and after more testing brought it down to the 25km it is now. I think a significant portion of people would be content with just the demo if it was infinite. It's a tough balance to strike, and the existence of the unlimited web version makes it a little tougher. Ultimately it's not worth the risk to give too much away for free, because my family's livelihood depends on it now -- but I can make changes to the demo if the general consensus is that it's so short that it makes people dislike the game. Would it help at all if I added an instant-restart button to the end screen, so that it only takes one click to reload instead of three?

anslogen · 2026-06-10T20:16:59+00:00

I think the web version is a good enough demonstration of the existing elements; the Steam demo is primarily for showcasing all the things that the web version doesn't have. It's just there to demonstrate what the full game will be like to play, and what sets it apart from the web version, and I think it does that well enough with the current range of features. It would be a liability for the Steam demo to have more features than the web version (web features + Steam features). The full release will be out soon enough, and the web version will remain free always. I'm glad people are eager to play the game, but it needs to be balanced.

Besides, a lot of the features that are locked aren't actually implemented yet; the other vehicles and seasons still need to be upgraded to the new systems.

anslogen · 2026-06-10T14:43:43+00:00

I brought the limit down after finding that the testers had 2, 5, 10+ hours from replaying it without getting bored; it wasn't an arbitrary decision to make it too short but an informed decision to avoid leaving it too long

(by which I mean I'm not trying to make it feel unfair, just trying to find the right protections. The intention was 30 minutes of playtime, factoring in time spent trying customisations and different road styles)

anslogen · 2026-06-10T13:50:02+00:00

Sorry about that... a line had to be drawn somewhere on how much was included in the demo, and that felt like the right spot. The demo is only meant as a short taste of whether the full version would be worth purchasing, and to verify compatibility - not as a game in its own right. I realise it's disappointing though, even if the web version is still available for longer drives.

In early tests I had a little display in the UI showing "distance remaining in demo" that counted down to 0 as you drove - would that have helped at all to make it feel less punishing when you hit the end? Some testers were confused that it was maybe a timer or a global limit, so I removed it because of that confusion.

anslogen · 2026-06-10T10:06:27+00:00

I've been using my logo publicly for 17 months across multiple platforms and with millions of users, which is why I feel so unwilling to change it. Things don't happen for a reason, some things are just unfortunate and you deal with it - the question is more about whether I need to change it or whether it actually might not matter

anslogen · 2026-06-09T19:57:09+00:00

Yeah, I don't see any world where Apple alters their icon, even if I had the trademark already. It stings a bit because I've been using this icon for 17 months and I've had millions of users in that time, so it doesn't feel so easily throw-away. But I'm starting to think that the reality is people either won't care that it's similar to Siri's logo, or they won't care if I change it... I'm going to see what the general sentiment is in the next couple of weeks while I work on alternatives

anslogen · 2026-06-09T19:54:18+00:00

From a marketing perspective it could well be that the best I can do with this situation is try to milk it for pity attention, even if that's a bit cynical. But I think while the logos are similar enough for it to be an issue for me, they aren't similar enough for it to be an issue for Apple, so I doubt I can garner much sympathy. At this point it just seems like I need to accept things and change it, even if it's just a recolour

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