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Dakar Desert Rally update 1.4 explained

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The Dakar Desert Rally update 1.4 is a step forward for the game in many areas. Here is what to expect plus details of the Season Pass.

As promised, the first major Dakar Desert Rally update has arrived. Update 1.4 brings with it a number of adjustments, fixes and even new content for those who are not yet done with the current roster of Sport, Professional and Simulation events.

The update, which takes the game to around 36GB on Steam or 70GB with the free Extended Map DLC I shall talk about in a second, tackles a number of key areas. This includes handling, AI behaviour and steering wheel support and applies to PC, PlayStation and Xbox.

First up, handling. As I mentioned in my previous videos and also my forthcoming Dakar Desert Rally review, bikes and quads were particularly affected by over-enthusiastic oversteer that would have you facing backwards if you did not slow down to a crawl.

The update 1.4 patch notes claim that bikes now have ‘better counter steering’ while the quad bikes, easily the trickiest vehicles in the game to handle, have ‘more stability and better counter steering’.

Finally, I can finish first in every stage in every vehicle type to unlock those classic vehicles. Hello, 2CV and sidecar thing.

Please note: This is the script from my YouTube video, click play above to watch or go here.

Saudi Arabia Extended Map

Next we have the Saudi Arabia Extended Map DLC, which is not automatically downloaded so locate it in the store as I am on screen, click to install then wait for a considerable file to work its way down those Internet pipes.

Once done, you can playthrough entire Dakar Desert Rally 2020, 2021 and 2022 events. These 12-spage-stage spectaculars are thousands of kilometres long and only available in Simulation, which requires you to be rank 25. Two of these new events require rank 26 and rank 27 for the other.

If that seems like so much hassle, well, the 1.4 update has also added ‘quickplay’. This lives under the free mode area and lets you do those big events without needing to rank up. Unfortunately, this mode is not to be confused with freeroam – check out my other video for the DLC roadmap.

Usefully, Dakar Desert Rally now tells you when a note has been passed by saying, rather cunningly, ‘note passed’ in Professional and Simulation events. This should help reduce some of the navigation confusion that can arise sometimes.

AI improvements

Developer Saber Porto and publisher Saber Interactive have been busy with general improvements too such as that aforementioned AI, which is said to be better at overtaking you and their ‘driving behaviour’. Hopefully getting rear-ended at 150mph is no longer a thing.

Racers do seem less kamikaze and less inclined to rocket away from the start line so that is something. Less exciting is a fix for flags in profiles.

As for multiplayer? The changes include fixing vehicle lights, spectating a team when your vehicle is destroyed, two camera issues and a couple of music playback problems. Oh and the Xbox save progress bug should be fixed. I have crossed my fingers.

Steering wheel support

What about Dakar Desert Rally steering wheel support? Well, I deliberately held off my review as my Fanatec GT DD Pro had no steering. And now I am happy to say it does and that Saber Porto has promised force feedback for all supported wheels.

All footage in this video is from using my GT DD Pro. I tried cars and they seem to handle better. Trucks are just as lovely to steer as before. Quad bikes are now largely good fun. But you still get the odd moment where oversteer whips you round – although it is easier to save.

On the flip-side, I dislike the random moments where the front-end becomes comically heavy over jumps and you crash or lose control. Also the default ‘cockpit’ view looks down too much and then the view ahead is obscured by the head-up display.

Anyway, the steering wheel support list now includes the following (but not the GT DD Pro, for some reason):

  • Thrustmaster T248
  • Thrustmaster T-GT
  • Thrustmaster T-GT2
  • Thrustmaster TMX
  • Thrustmaster TS-XW
  • Thrustmaster T80
  • Thrustmaster T150
  • Thrustmaster T300
  • Thrustmaster T300RS
  • Thrustmaster TX
  • Thrustmaster F430
  • Thrustmaster F458
  • Logitech G27
  • Logitech G29
  • Logitech G920
  • Logitech G923 TrueForce
  • Fanatec CSL Elite
  • Fanatec CSL Elite (WRC)

Meanwhile support for H-pattern and steering wheel handbrakes is also said to be included in the 1.4 update. Providing it is from a supported brand. Presumably, Fanatec, Logitech and Thrustmaster. Maybe other brands such as PXN and Hori will work, but I cannot confirm.

Speaking in the patch notes, Saber Porto said: “We are going to continue improving, updating and adding to the game. Thank you all for your patience and constructive feedback. We appreciate it!”

Season Pass

One last bit of news. The Season Pass is now available on Steam and presumably other platforms. Costing £25.99 or equivalent in your currency, it includes the DAF Truck Turbo-Twin, Peugeot 405 Turbo 16 and five future DLCs as discussed in the DLC roadmap video.

Not only that, the Steam description also mentions a new map (could this be a reference to the USA Tour DLC?) and two new rally events.

If this update did not solve an issue you are having or has made a new one, you can take your complaint or complaints to the web address on screen. If enough of you make a song and dance about something, the greater the chance it gets prioritised. In theory.

Or just let me know in the comments because, maybe, just maybe the developers are watching. Based on this update, it appears the foundations of Dakar Desert Rally are becoming as solid as a Saudi Arabian boulder. However, there is still work to be done.

And that is it from A Tribe Called Cars, be sure to like, subscribe and maybe even join my YouTube channel for a few coins, donate or whatever. It all helps. More racing game content on the way.