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Rocket League gears up for eSports with crate-and-key Rumble update

Rocket League Rumble update

Update September 8, 2016: Rocket League: Rumble is available some time today, adding new crates, versions and mode all in one.

The Rumble update for Rocket League should be available soon on all platforms. It has the new hyper-rando Rumble mode, the CSGO-ish crate system and Mac/SteamOS versions. You can see the official trailer above.

If you prefer to keep your wheels firmly on the ground try the best racing games on PC.

The crate system is intended to fund future eSports outings and is entirely optional. You’ll be able to trade the items between players, or simply buy a batch of keys to get what you want.

Meanwhile Mac and SteamOS versions are in a beta state. Here’s their known issues list:

  • The correct store page for DLC purchased through the Showroom doesn’t show up for Big Picture users. This is a Steam client-specific issue that Valve will be fixing in an upcoming patch
  • There are occasional crashes when exiting from a match to the main menu
  • The statues in Urban Central do not display correctly
  • You may experience intermittent blurring issues
  • (Mac Only) Xbox 360 controllers won’t work. You will need a third-party driver solution to use them

They advise a dedicated GPU and say that while it may work on other Linux platforms, SteamOS is the only officially supported one while they’re still working out the kinks. Likewise, Macs released after 2013 are your best bet.

More details over ion the official announcement.

Original story September 3, 2016:Rocket League’s latest major update finally brings the footcarball hit to SteamOS and Mac as well as new cosmetics, a battle royale Rumble brawl and allowing players to support a burgeoning eSports ecosystem from September 8.

Taking cues from Valve’s successful CS:GO monetisation strategy, crates will now drop randomly after matches for which players can purchase keys to open for special cosmetic customisation items.

Keys cost $1.49 each or can be bought in packs of 5, 10 and 20 for their respective numbers but in dollars, and the money will “go towards funding future eSports events and prize pools”.

Not into that gachapon style of pseudo-gambling? No worries! Psyonix have also included an option to completely disable crate-drop notifications reminding you about the sweet, sweet loot you could be getting for just $1.49 and your immortal soul. Which is really neat. I mean, that’s amazing actually. Well played.

To facilitate those of you still into chasing the rocket trail, player trading is being implemented with this update too, letting you swap antennae and wheels and hats to your heart’s content. Well, almost, some DLC stuff can’t be traded, but you do get to set your own exchange rates, as is the freedom afforded by free market capitalism. God bless this flawless economic construct.

On the game side of things, there are a few new maps, including the VR-themed Octagon which is not the same shape as the other pitches at all. There’s also a new mode, Rumble, which throws in a bunch of new power-ups and mutators and looks a lot like Mario Kart if a giant football landed on the track and Yoshi was a monster truck.

Another minor detail is the addition of party chat, so you don’t need to worry about trash talking that one random on your trio team and them hearing about it. Don’t do that, though. That’s for bad cars, like Ladas and Reliant Robins.

Here’s a bit of Rumble in action: