Expeditions Breaking Ground update & Year 1 Roadmap explained

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The Expeditions Breaking Ground update has been released plus the roadmap for the next year of DLC content and confirmation of free stuff.

Hello and welcome to A Tribe Called Cars, I hope you are doing okay. In today’s news, the Expeditions: A MudRunner Game Breaking Ground update has been released on PC and console.

The Breaking Ground update is free to all so no need for the Season Pass, Supreme Edition or a separate purchase. Whether on Steam, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S. Attempt to play the game if you want to jog the update into updating – that usually works.

New trucks

The Breaking Ground update includes a new map known as Kanab Creek, two new vehicles – the SIRO 72 T8-H and AFIM Hornet 622T – and 22 missions comprised 9 expeditions, 7 contracts and 6 tasks. I would agree this is a ‘major update’, as Saber Interactive calls it.

Apparently, an earthquake has shaken the surroundings until they “no longer look the same”. You get to help find the existence of an unknown civilisation while ensuring you do not run out of fuel miles away from the safety of your base.

New specialist

To help you along the way, there is also a new specialist to hire for each mission. Called Marcus Kingsley, the new mechanic offers the ability to use any winch even if your engine is off. The downside is that it costs 20 litres a minute of fuel so get upright fast.

He also reduces the cost of building bridges and fixing avalanches by 40 per cent and reduces truck damage by 10 per cent for everything but wheels. Not bad for the fourth mechanic specialist in Expeditions.

Breaking Ground is an interesting update for one particular reason and that is because it takes you underground. Something not yet in SnowRunner and definitely a neat idea for an exploration game. You also get a new gameplay mechanic known as amethyst collecting.

Various quality of life and bug fixes have been made, too, such as the interior of the AFIM S1960 changing colour to match your preferred paintjob, user-interface decluttering and the addition of a reward for those who do not skip a scan. Which is pretty much everyone.

Multiplayer progress

What about multiplayer? Well, the next PBB update – the Expeditions equivalent of the Public Test Server (PTS) – will contain co-op, which should help the developers stick to a ‘summer’ launch as promised.

Speaking of promises, Saber Interactive published a community note called ‘the future of Expeditions’, which I shall now read to you. You are welcome. Stick around to hear about the Expeditions Year 1 Roadmap and news of free stuff.

The future of Expeditions

“Expeditions is our first attempt to do something different, to expand the MudRunner franchise into multiple unique experiences, each with their own style and purpose.

“Our aim with the game has always been to create an engaging experience for both longtime Runners and newcomers, with a strong identity based on two pillars: Exploration and science.

“Since launch, with your help, we have been focused on the most critical feedback. We plan on continuing to improve and expand the experience as Expeditions takes its place in our ever-growing MudRunner lineup.

“A lot of exciting content is planned for the weeks and months ahead. Your feedback is invaluable to our team, and we want to express our commitment to you.”

What about that free stuff I mentioned? The post continues:

“This is why we have decided to create more free content alongside the premium seasons, including additional vehicles, new tools, new specialists, and more. And let’s not forget the release of the awaited co-op mode, which will arrive later this summer.

“For those who own the Year Pass, you will also get new features every season, from new vehicles and specialists to exclusive gameplay mechanics and cosmetic elements. For further details, please refer to the roadmap below,” the post concludes.

Expeditions Roadmap Year 1

An Expeditions Roadmap Year 1, Mr Tribe? Tell me more. Well, it says that the high priority fixes are quality of life improvements, UI/UX improvements, performance issues and bug fixes. Nothing especially exciting to note.

Looking more closely. We see the co-op multiplayer to the left of the Season 1 DLC scheduled for August 2024. This applies to Season Pass owners, however, there will also be free content available to all players.

According to the Roadmap Year 1, this free content includes vehicles, specialists, cosmetics, tools and gameplay mechanics.

Between August and November, we see what Saber Interactive calls a ‘free update replayability system’, which presumably is another name for the New Game + we have in SnowRunner. Where you can replay the game using custom rules.

Then we get to November 2024, in which Expeditions Season 2 arrives and yet more free content. Then in the more vague ‘Q1’ of 2025 we will see Season 3 and, you guessed it, more free content. In Q2, the Expeditions Year 1 Pass content will conclude with Season 4. And more free content.

Of course, the roadmap order and timings can and probably will change so use it as a loose forecast and not something set in stone.

So there you have it, a veritable smorgasbord of future potential for Expeditions: A MudRunner Game. Now would be a good time to finish my review. My apologies for the delay – I have had some big life stuff to fix, but hopefully that is all done and dusted.

As usual, subscribe to the Tribe and like this video if you want more SnowRunner and Expeditions content. Take care, bye.

Source: Focus Home forums