For instance, operations like exchanging real money for in-game currency simply didn’t exist, and player-to-player trading was completely prohibited.

This approach certainly had its pros and cons. One of the most notable results was that anyone who wanted to make money in the game to buy cars had to honestly earn it within the game itself, unless they directly purchased someone else’s account. There was no way to accelerate this process through top-ups or buying game currency from other players.

For some people, this might represent fairness; for others, it might seem rigid, inflexible, and inconsiderate.

But regardless, the officials didn’t seem to have any intention of changing this rule, so players could only accept it.

Since there were no in-app purchases, it likely meant the game would follow the traditional model: relying on DLCs to maintain subsequent income.

After all, the base game was a one-time purchase. Later income would only decrease over time. If they developed DLCs but didn’t charge for them, how would they support the cost of developing those DLCs?

“Hmm… it’s also possible that this update doesn’t contain much content, so Tenda is being generous and making it free.”

“Let me see what specific updates there are…”

“Huh? There’s actually quite a lot of new content!”

Zhang Yan scanned the update log and found several significant updates.

First, the game added seven different new cars, three of which were from the domestic manufacturer Stefer. They also updated some highway sections, provincial road sections, and race track maps.

Second, the game officially launched a VR version, which could be experienced after connecting to Doubt VR glasses. However, the current version wasn’t perfect and was still being further optimized.

The game also updated support for eye-tracking devices, which was good news for ordinary players.

Eye-tracking devices track the movement of a player’s eyes. The data from the player’s eye movements could further influence the game screen, allowing the view to turn wherever the player looked.

This was good news for ordinary players because it served as a solid alternative to a triple-monitor setup.

Setting up three 2K monitors might pose economic or space problems for many people, but eye-tracking devices were much cheaper compared to three 2K monitors.

Driving games particularly needed better field of vision. For instance, when driving a large truck, if you only had one screen, checking the rearview mirrors and dashboard became difficult, degrading the driving experience.

In other words, the game now had three different experience modes: the best effect was still with three screens or an ultra-wide fish-eye screen, as they provided the best display effect and wider field of vision; next was VR, which, although the display quality would worsen with a pixelated feel, and some people might experience dizziness, the immersion was indeed strong; lastly, there was the eye-tracking device—with just one screen, at least you wouldn’t need to take your hands off the steering wheel to use the mouse to adjust the view; you could simply move your head to see the rearview mirrors.

Finally, they updated some Spring Festival activities.

For example, there were special paint jobs for the exterior of cars, more Spring Festival-related lucky charm ornaments inside the cars, and more Spring Festival-related decorations on the roads and city buildings.

It seemed these were all regular updates that had been planned in advance.

Tenda Games did this aspect very well—they knew how to maintain momentum.

After a new game launched, in most cases, they would arrange an update in the short term that players could noticeably feel.

This way, players would feel valued, effectively enhancing player stickiness.

Some other companies would launch a new game and then go silent for two or three months. In the fourth month, they might finally release a patch, but when players checked, it was all just bug fixes. At that point, players would shelve the game and lose interest.

“I can try the VR version another day, but the driving experience might not be significantly enhanced, as current VR glasses still lack in display technology. I can only hope that Doubt VR glasses release a new model soon.”

“So this update mainly focuses on the cars, I guess.”

Zhang Yan browsed through and found that the most notable part of this update was the three new Stefer car models. Two of them were models that existed in reality, and there was one called K1, which looked quite good but had never been seen online before.

Stefer was a relatively well-known brand with a good reputation in China. Since “Safe and Civil Driving” updated its cars, it naturally meant that both parties had reached a strategic cooperation.

“People will definitely do crash tests on Stefer’s cars, right? I wonder if they can maintain their ‘Road Tank’ reputation in the game,” Zhang Yan joked.

“Road Tank” was a meme that originated from many photos of Stefer cars after collisions with other cars. After collisions with various brands, Stefer cars always performed well—the other cars would have severe deformations, while Stefer cars would only have minor dents.

Of course, one couldn’t simply claim that Stefer’s cars had safety standards that crushed all competitors, but Stefer automobiles did perform quite well in various crash tests.

When Zhang Yan glanced at the comments, she found that viewers’ attention seemed to be focused on this new car model called K1.

“Damn, streamer, hurry and buy this K1, it’s ridiculous! It’s practically an official cheat!”

“Envious that the streamer still has so much savings and can buy a car outright. I just impulsively bought a new car that can’t be returned. Not saying more, I’m off to grind!”

“With this car, you can fully automate money farming. I have a feeling this game might become dominated by bot farms…”

“Doesn’t this seem a bit excessive? ‘Safe and Civil Driving’ is supposed to emphasize realism, but for the sake of endorsements and making money, they created such an unrealistic car?”

Zhang Yan was a bit confused.

What were they talking about?

Curiously, she clicked on the details page for the K1 and found that its price was quite high, reaching 450,000 yuan. However, after various parameters, it clearly stated: “Under current laws and regulations, achieves L2 level autonomous driving”!

Autonomous driving is classified into 5 levels. Currently, many companies at home and abroad are researching autonomous driving technology, and they’ve already seen initial results.

Level 1 autonomous driving is simply very basic driving assistance, such as detecting an imminent collision and helping the driver hit the brakes; Level 2 can assist with steering, acceleration, lane changes, and other operations, but still requires the driver to be responsible for most safety functions and environmental monitoring, and they must be ready to control the vehicle at any time.

Level 3 autonomous driving is more impressive, with the vehicle itself controlling all environmental monitoring. This process can be through a pure visual solution via cameras or through the joint detection of cameras and lidar. Generally, on major roads at speeds below 37 miles per hour, human takeover isn’t necessary.

Level 4 autonomous driving is highly automated—the vehicle will change lanes, turn, recognize traffic signals, correctly use turn signals, and so on. It can handle complex road conditions over long distances without driver intervention. Level 5 autonomous driving doesn’t require any driver and can complete driving tasks under any stringent conditions, with safety levels higher than human drivers.

Currently, Level 5 autonomous driving remains the highest goal of this technology, Level 4 is also uncertain, and as for Level 3—some companies claim to have achieved it, but looking at the description of Level 3 autonomous driving, one can guess that many claims of L3 autonomous driving contain exaggerations and vague spaces, with a suspicion of boasting.

Therefore, current domestic laws only support L2 level autonomous driving, which means that regardless of the situation, the driver must constantly observe the road, keep both hands on the steering wheel on standby, and ensure they can immediately take over the vehicle at the first sign of a problem.

If both hands leave the steering wheel, it would be a violation.

The K1 model didn’t specify exactly which level of autonomous driving it had; it only noted that under current laws, it achieved L2 level autonomous driving. This seemed like a rather conservative statement.

The game didn’t specify exactly which L-level this car was.

Perhaps they were afraid people would think they were exaggerating?

But regardless, judging from the reactions in the comments, this was definitely not an ordinary car. It seemed the production team had given it some excessive parameters in the game, even to the point of “provoking public anger.”

Zhang Yan looked at her in-game balance and immediately, very extravagantly, made the purchase.

Having savings meant being able to do whatever she wanted!

However, this car with a price tag of 450,000 yuan was indeed not cheap, several tens of thousands more expensive than mainstream models from first-tier gasoline car brands.

Zhang Yan had almost depleted her savings on this car, which meant she couldn’t race on tracks anymore and would have to continue taking jobs to earn money.

Although large trucks and long-distance buses earned money faster, she had just bought a new car and needed to try it out. Besides, Zhang Yan hadn’t driven for a ride-hailing service for a long time and was actually kind of missing it.

With the new car, she hit the road!