The big SnowRunner pre-Phase 7 update oopsie

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Fresh pre SnowRunner Phase 7 news has emerged courtesy of a big Saber Interactive and Focus Home oopsie. Here’s what you need to know.

SnowRunner Phase 7: Compete & Conquer was looking like it would be released on the Public Test Server in January 2022. Then it stopped looking like that because of a delay. That meant the SnowRunner news train ground to a halt.

Fortunately for us, somebody at Saber Interactive or Focus Home accidentally pressed the launch button on a new PTS update, which went live for an hour before another update torpedoed all the super-secret sensitive stuff, including a new truck, location confirmation and bug fixes.

Mr Esorokin said on the official Discord, presumably with gritted teeth and while trying not to swear: “Oh man. This PTS update is a mistake.” If we see a new job vacancy at Saber Interactive we will know why.

Basically, the 16.7 update now on the Public Test Server, PTS for short, was actually 16.6 until someone realised the mistake. The 16.6 update would be known as 16.1 for the non-PTS game client, as the 16.0 client was known as 16.5 on PTS before official release. My head hurts.

SnowRunner Phase 7: New trucks

Anyway, the first bit of news concerns a new truck. The ‘Crocodile Pack’, as the in-game art calls it, is said to be a one-truck DLC arriving before SnowRunner Phase 7.

Whether paid or part of the Year 2 Pass is unclear. Personally, I would think it will follow in the paid footsteps of the Navistar, Chevrolet Apache and Jeep Dual Pack. What I do know is that it is called the Step 33-64 “Crocodile”.

There seems to be some debate on the official SnowRunner Discord as to which truck the Step 33-64 is based on. The snappy answer, pardon the pun, seems to be that it is either a Ural ZIS-355M or ZIL-150, 154 or 157. My expertise is in cars, not trucks, so you can decide.

The in-game description reads: “Expand your vehicle collection with the Crocodile Pack to receive the seasoned Step 33-64 “Crocodile” truck and its three unique add-ons.”

I am pleased to tell you this new Step is the smallest vehicle with the high saddle, beating the Kodiak C70. And as you can now see, it looks ridiculous in an awesome way. As for those three unique add-ons, they are unique in appearance and not function. So technically nothing new here.

With always on AWD and Diff Lock, Mr Crocodile has big enough teeth to tackle harsh terrain. But like other off-road trucks, it does not get an autonomous winch. So if things go anything but swimmingly and you tip over it will be time to dust off your preferred rescue truck.

The standard fuel capacity is 150 litres, no idea about fuel consumption, while it can have a fuel trailer with an extra 900 litres of the stuff. You can also slap on THMS I tyres for rubbery balloon goodness – Tayga King style.

Even better, it appears to have a one-slot cargo bed. Awww, adorable. But not that useful for big deliveries, obviously.

Speaking of which, my source who scoured the Phase 7 16.6 files before they were yoinked said that there had been adjustments made to the Tayga 6436, International HX 520, Azov 64131, Voron Grad, ANK MK38 and its Civilian sibling and maybe others.

These adjustments are said to be of the non-performance variety and are more about how their various addons move in relation to the body. In other words, each truck should work better.

What about the SnowRunner Phase 7 location?

The temporary SnowRunner update ahead of Phase 7 also seemingly confirmed the location. If you look at exhibit A and then exhibit B on Bing, Google Maps or a very accurate pirate treasure map, you can see it is Tennessee. As previously mentioned in a news video before.

So it seems like we can all get merry on Jack Daniels, other brands are available, while enjoying Nascar racing and delivering vehicles. From what I know, Phase 7 has a more competitive element to it – how well that will work, we shall see.

Now I am also aware of another SnowRunner truck pack that is likely to arrive before Phase 7 and is also likely to cost money because it is officially licensed. Both trucks appear to be scout sized, one is old and one is new. I am not really meant to say anything else, but it does have a Jeep Dual Pack vibe.

The pre-Phase 7 16.6 update also contained various bug fixes, including one where snow does not render on trees and another where tire marks are highlighted in fog.

Naturally, I asked my super-secret Jason Bond / James Bourne spy to look for any mention of next-gen update 60 frames per second loveliness. Nothing has been found yet. Nor does there appear to be any rumblings of any physics engine adjustments as rumoured.

That is not to say they are missing, it is just that the update was live for such a short time it would be difficult to pick it apart to find all of its prizes, assuming said prizes even exist.

When is the SnowRunner Phase 7 release date?

As for the SnowRunner Phase 7 release date, it is still pencilled in as the 22nd of February 2022 but then a delay to its arrival on the Public Test Server is likely to result in a delay to starting the console approval process, which will have a knock-on effect on the release date.

Bad news and crying aside, it seems like we will have at least one, potentially three, new trucks to play with while we wait.

In other news fresh off the Tribe printing press, SnowRunner mods have been downloaded 100,000 million times. Less positive is that there is no update on when we will see PC to Xbox crossplay, building on the PC to PlayStation we already have.

And on that note, thank you for watching. Like and subscribe if you found the video useful. 40,000 subscribers and counting, lovely jubbly. Take care homescones, bye.