RoadCraft isn’t the type of game you just pick up on a whim. It’s a hardcore simulator with realistic physics and mud mechanics, terrain and elevation considerations, and vehicles that maneuver like a tank from World War I in the French countryside. But hey, we’re all new to the genre at one point or another, and to ensure your vehicle doesn’t lock up mid-delivery, I’ve gathered a few tips from my playtime for RoadCraft. Enjoy!
A Hot-Fix Is On The Way For MindsEye’s Frustrating CPR Mini-Game
Take full advantage of AWD and other tools
Screenshot: Saber Interactive
Immediately upon beginning your journey in RoadCraft, you’re gifted a series of vehicles, including your pickup truck, which is a versatile scout vehicle capable of not only getting you from point A to point B but also hauling in a pinch. It’s a tool ready to be used, and one that you shouldn’t ignore.
It’s equipped with All Wheel Drive (AWD), allowing you to traverse the muddy landscapes with relative ease. Unlike in previous titles, such as Snowrunner, AWD in RoadCraft doesn’t come with a cost. It’s completely free, and as such, you should have it active at all times to help you navigate!
Optimize your routes (or just cancel them)
Screenshot: Saber Interactive / Brandon Morgan / Kotaku
During the game’s prologue sequence, you’re taught to set a route to deliver goods and materials from your warehouse to the factory to build a flood wall. It sounds simple on paper, but reality is far from it. While it’s not overly hard to place the route itself, as you can plop down points, remove unwanted milestones, and follow the world’s roads and natural paths for easier navigation, it’s the AI that poses a problem.
To put it lightly, they’re dumb as the dirt you’re hauling. The AI, despite working for a company of this scale and complexity, tends to drive straight into ditches, trees, fences, gates, buildings, lakes, and other obstacles. If the truck becomes stuck, it ruins the entire route. Do yourself a favor and, at least for the first run, keep an eye on your vehicles as they follow the route. Examine where they slow, where they become stuck, etc. Then, fix it!
Don’t overlook the excess scrap
Screenshot: Saber Interactive / Brandon Morgan / Kotaku
As you complete objectives, you’ll note leftover materials lying around the game world. These come in various forms, such as containers, scrap heaps, and raw, individual materials. While it’s cumbersome to use the crane to load a truck, you don’t want to leave all of that scrap behind. It’s worthwhile!
RoadCraft heavily relies on construction projects to push the story forward, from bridges and roads to more complex tasks. All of these projects require raw materials, and if you’d like to save some money and time, use what the world provides you!
RoadCraft is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Windows PCs.