Frequently Asked Questions

Playing

Do I need an account?

No. There is no sign-up, no email address and no password. You type a name when you put a set on the leaderboard and that is the entire identity system.

Is it free?

Yes, completely, with no in-game purchases and nothing to unlock. The site’s running costs are a small server and a domain.

Can I play on my phone?

Yes. On a phone or tablet the race shows on-screen buttons; hold it sideways. A thumb anywhere on the lower part of the left side of the screen steers, left or right of the middle of the two arrows. On the right, gas sits in the corner with brake to its left and N2O above it: the lower part of the right side is gas or brake, whichever is nearer, and N2O answers on its own button. A thumb keeps its button until you lift it or slide it onto another, so one resting on the edge of gas stays on gas, and N2O never lets go of the gas. Android phones give a short buzz on each press. The how-to-play guide has the keyboard controls too.

Which browsers work?

Any current desktop browser with WebGL: Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari are all fine. The game renders to a canvas at 1280×720 and needs hardware acceleration enabled — if you see a black screen where the track should be, that is usually the cause.

Is there a single-player mode?

Not as a separate mode. A GO RACE lobby starts 8 seconds after the last driver joins it (never more than 30 seconds after it opened) and fills every empty seat with a computer driver, so playing alone just means racing seven of them after an 8-second wait, and RACE NOW skips the wait (a new player’s first set starts at once, with no wait at all). Play with friends lets a host start a lobby on their own as well. Either way a visit is a set of three races, and the leaderboard has its own rules about which sets count, below.

Races and points

What is a set?

Three races in a row, on three different tracks, with the same eight drivers in the same truck colours. GO RACE and Play with friends both run one. Between races you see the standings, and after the third you see Final Standings. See the how to play guide.

How are points scored?

By finishing place in each race: 10, 8, 6, 4, 3, 2, 1 and 0 points for first to eighth. The three races’ points add up, and the computer drivers score too. Two drivers on the same points are ordered by the lower total time.

How does a race end?

When every human driver has finished, or 30 seconds after the first truck crosses the line, whichever comes first. From that first finish, RACE ENDS IN 30 under the lap counter counts down the time left. Anyone still driving then is placed behind the finishers by how far round they got. In a rookie set, a new player’s first, a race waits for you, up to two minutes after the winner, as a safety net for a tab left idle, and RACE ENDS IN shows only for the last 30 seconds of that wait.

Why do the trucks start in a different order in races 2 and 3?

The grid follows the standings: the leader starts at the front. A red arrow bobs over your own truck for the first three seconds of every race, so you can find it.

The daily tracks

When do the tracks change?

At the midnight rollover of the calendar date. Everyone driving on a given date gets the same three tracks, one for each race of a set, generated from that date — see how the daily track is generated.

Can I replay an old track?

Not from the interface today. Track data is generated per date and is deterministic, so replaying a past date is technically straightforward and it is a request we have heard more than once. If you want it, say so — it moves up the list.

Why is today's track shorter than yesterday's?

Each day’s loop is grown to a length picked from the date, between 32 and 44 tiles, so some days are a good deal longer than others. Every one of them has a straight of at least two tiles before the start line, where the grid lines up.

Do all players really get the same tracks?

Yes. Each layout is a pure function of the date (and, for races 2 and 3, the race number). The server makes them and sends the same ones to every player, so there is no version of the day’s circuits that is easier for somebody else.

Times and the leaderboard

My lap did not count. Why?

You missed a checkpoint. Crossing the finish line only completes a lap if every checkpoint on that lap has been passed, which stops the course from being cut. Watch the checkpoint counter on the HUD.

Which sets go on the leaderboard?

Only GO RACE sets, because a GO RACE lobby always has a full grid of eight. Play with friends sets do not go on the leaderboard: a host alone in a private lobby would win every race. A new player’s first set is a rookie set, which is not ranked and does not go on the board either. The board ranks sets by most points first, then the lower total time. Any human still in the room at Final Standings can enter a name, once per set.

Why did my first set not offer me the leaderboard?

A browser that has not finished a set yet is a rookie. Its GO RACE lobby is kept for rookies, starts at once and holds computer drivers of the easy level only, and a rookie set is not ranked: it is a first set to learn on, so it never goes on the board. Final Standings offers PLAY AGAIN TO MAKE THE LEADERBOARD instead of a name to enter, since your next set counts, and from then on GO RACE lobbies are ordinary ones. Your browser remembers it, so clearing its saved data makes you a rookie again. See the multiplayer guide.

Can I appear on the leaderboard twice?

Yes. Every set you enter creates its own entry, and names are not reserved, so the board shows the ten best sets of the day rather than the ten best people.

Where did yesterday's leaderboard go?

Entries are filed against the date they were driven, so the board resets with the track. Yesterday’s winner is still shown on the front page in the champion slot.

Someone posted an impossible set.

The server times every race and keeps each set’s points and total time, so a browser cannot send made-up numbers. It does not yet check that a truck’s movements are physically possible, so a rigged entry is still possible. We delete implausible sets when we find them — please report them to contact@dailydirtrally.com. Full detail in scoring and fair play.

Can I change or delete my name from the board?

Yes — email us the name and the date and we will remove the entry. There is no account to log into, so this is handled by hand.

Multiplayer

How many people can race together?

Eight, for all three races of a set. GO RACE matches you with whoever else is starting, and fills any seats still empty with AI drivers when its lobby starts: 8 seconds after the last driver joins it, and never more than 30 seconds after it opened (a new player’s first set starts at once, with no wait at all). To race particular people, open a private lobby under Play with friends and share its six-character invite code. See the multiplayer guide.

What happens if someone disconnects mid-race?

An AI takes over their truck so the race keeps its full field, and the player resumes control if they reconnect. A connection that drops in the lobby keeps its seat for 30 seconds while the game reconnects. In a set the truck stays until the end whoever leaves: the computer drives it and it keeps scoring under that name, and nobody joins a set once it is under way.

Can trucks hit each other?

Yes. Trucks are solid: a hit bounces both apart and costs some speed, and the faster truck pushes the slower one out of the way, computer or not. A truck that has finished the race, or one just put back on the road (for a second), turns see-through and can be driven through. See the multiplayer guide.

Does the AI cheat?

Not to catch you. AI drivers have no nitro and never speed up when you are ahead. It goes the other way: a computer driver more than four tiles ahead of the leading human still racing eases off, a little at a time, down to 85% of its top speed ten tiles ahead, which is slower than a human at full speed, so the leading human can close the gap. It never goes faster than its own top speed, and a player’s truck the computer drives for them is never slowed. But they do not play by exactly your rules. A hard driver tops out at 468 units a second where you top out at 450, the green edge that stops your truck does not stop theirs, and there is no off-road check on the AI, so leaving the track costs it no speed. The hard profile also drives an accurate line and never drops an input. A new player’s first set is against easy drivers only and is not ranked. The multiplayer guide has the numbers.

Do computer drivers take the pickups?

No. Computer drivers take no pickups and have no upgrades: the nitro canisters and the grip, acceleration and top speed upgrades are for the humans in the race. The pickups are shared, so one you take disappears for everyone, and comes back once, 10 seconds later. See the upgrades guide.

Privacy, data and ads

What do you store about me?

For a leaderboard entry: the name you typed, your points, your total time, and the track date. When a GO RACE set ends, the server also keeps its points, total time and track date, with no name on them, so it can be put on the leaderboard once. It stays in the database after that and identifies no one. A new player’s first set is a rookie set: it is not ranked, and the server keeps nothing of it. Standard web server logs record IP addresses and browser strings, as every web server does. No accounts, no profiles, no tracking of you across other sites by us. The privacy policy has the detail.

Does the site show ads?

Not at present. If advertising is introduced it will appear only on written pages like this one — never on the game screen, the lobby or a loading screen — and the privacy policy explains the cookies involved before it happens.

Do you use cookies?

The game keeps a session identifier so a lobby can find you again. There is no advertising or analytics cookie at the moment.

Still stuck?

Email contact@dailydirtrally.com or use the contact form. Bug reports that mention your browser and the track date are the ones that get fixed fastest.