Nintendo’s chaotic racer is undergoing some changes today thanks to its Ver. 1.2.0 update, which tries addressing many of the biggest complaints about the game. Emphasis on tries: at least one of the adjustments to Mario Kart World isn’t quite what it seems based on player testing.
So, what’s new? We’ll drop the whole patch notes at the end of this post, but some aspects that immediately stand out are the tweaks for the COM, which is what Mario Kart World calls its AI (as in, “computer”.) Since release, players have insisted that Mario Kart World’s AI seemed almost unfairly good at the game. Though all Mario Kart titles have had ”rubberbanding” — that is, AI that’s reactive to how the player is doing — the mechanic was overtuned on Switch 2 to the extent that it felt like the computer was cheating somehow.
Well, it seems that Nintendo agrees: From now on, the AI in everything but battle mode will be “weaker.” You can also play VS Race in single player with no COM.
Another eye-catching adjustment appears to address the complaint fans had about picking races. Basically, Mario Kart World gave players the option to vote for the next race, but players often selected “random” because it made it more likely that the game would load a normal 3-lap race. Though Mario Kart World is open-world, players have proven skittish about the way the game implements this mechanic. In general, diehard players preferred to skip the straightaways that connected the major tracks. Nintendo put a halt to this with the last update by making random include more intermission tracks, which upset some of the more vocal parts of the fandom.
In the late July update, the patch “increased the frequency of lap-type courses appearing in the selection when choosing the next course in VS Race and wireless races.” At first glance, this sounds like Nintendo undoing the thing that made everyone mad, but in the hours since the patch has gone live, player tests suggest that while the frequency is higher, it’s not much higher. Turns out, Nintendo still wants people to engage with the point of the game, which is its structure. But at least Nintendo threw players a bone?
There are a few other changes that will affect everyone. The boomerang’s homing mechanism is less precise now. You’re less likely to get a triple dash mushroom while in a low position in everything other than frantic difficulty. You’re more likely to get ? blocks from item blocks now outside of frantic. Helpfully, the game now includes an animation that tells you if you’re pressing A too early to accelerate when a race begins.
In typical Nintendo fashion, one of the most meaningful changes in the patch isn’t even mentioned in the notes. Already, a top Mario Kart World speedrunner is calling the change broken. “When you land from a trick now, you get a ton of extra momentum,” YouTuber svcTyler says in the video below, where he showcases the differences. “So much momentum to the point that it’s completely trivialized every currently existing world record in the game. I don’t think any world record from today will still be standing after tomorrow.”
The changes to momentum will make a huge difference for hardcore players, but casual players may not notice it as much, even if the adjustment might be meant for them. Hilariously, despite all the uproar around the AI when Mario Kart World was released, some players are bemoaning the fact that the AI is now easier. C’est la vie. Perhaps, with time, some of these diehard fans figured out better ways to deal with the AI — so the prospect of less challenge isn’t all that appealing. But for normies, Mario Kart World might’ve just gotten more pleasant.
Here are all the patch notes for your viewing pleasure:
- In the “VS Race” of “Single Player”, added “No COM” to the COM rules.
- In the “VS Race” of “Single Player” and “Multiplayer”, added “Mushrooms only” to the item rules.
- You can now choose “View Replay” after downloading ghost data in “Time Trials”.
- You can now choose whom to watch when spectating in “Knockout Tour” and “Balloon Battle” in “Online Play”, “Wireless Play”, and “LAN Play”.
- You can now see the waiting time until the next race or battle starts in “Online Play”, “Wireless Play”, and “LAN Play”.
- When using CameraPlay in “Multiplayer” and “Online Play”, the game will now remember the camera cursor position and size until the player closes the game.
- If you change the number of people playing, the cursor position and size will return to their original settings.
- On the “Free Roam” map, when you gather all of the P Switches, ? Panels, and Peach Medallions, the colors of the various numbers will now change.
- Made COM weaker in everything other than “Battle”.
- Made homing of Boomerang weaker.
- Decreased the probability of getting a Triple Dash Mushroom in the low position, whenever the item rules in a race are anything other than “Frantic”.
- Changed it so order of getting ? Block is higher than in the past, whenever the item rules in a race are anything other than “Frantic”.
- Made it so there is a wheel spinning animation if the player presses the A button (acceleration) too early when starting a race while driving.
- Player will not lose speed even when spinning wheels.
- Increased the frequency of lap-type courses appearing in the selection when choosing the next course in “VS Race” and wireless races.
Fixed Issues
- Fixed an issue where the rate fluctuations were sometimes displayed incorrectly in wireless races.
- Fixed an issue where the vehicle would stay floating in air when jumping off a half pipe.
- Fixed an issue where, when a player crashes while gliding and uses Bullet Bill, they go out of the course.
- Fixed an issue where, if a player quits a Rewind in the location where they were wall riding, the driver’s posture would not return to what it was before.
- Fixed an issue where the item that was displayed in the item slot would turn into something else when using it.
- Fixed an issue where in “Online Play”, the player would not dash even when getting on a Dash Panel.
- Fixed an issue where the points in a team race in “Wireless Play” would display incorrectly.
- Fixed an issue where sometimes controls were inoperable on the menu screen after the player was retired in “Balloon Battle” in “Wireless Play”.
- Fixed an issue where a Peach Medallion would sometimes disappear when doing Rewind in “Free Roam”.
- Fixed an issue where sometimes controls were inoperable when the player pointed the cursor at their own character or course and pressed A on the “Free Roam” map.
- Fixed an issue where sometimes controls were inoperable when the player quit a mission in “Free Roam” right before entering a pipe.
- Fixed an issue where the player would slip through some drift ice around “Sky-High Sundae”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would get caught on the outside of a handrail on the left and right sides right after the start of “Airship Fortress”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would get caught on the fence and not be able to move forward in “Bowser’s Castle”.
- Fixed an issue where, when the player used a Bullet Bill in “Bowser’s Castle”, they would not be able to glide and fell into the abyss.
- Fixed an issue where the player would go out of the course when using a Mega Mushroom on the last turn of “Whistlestop Summit”.
- Fixed an issue where the player could not get out of the location where they fell from a railroad when “Smart Steering” is on in “Whistlestop Summit”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would slip through the ground at a ramp near the goal at “Choco Mountain”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would get caught on a block when using a Bullet Bill on the road that enters “Choco Mountain”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would get caught on a plank of wood laid on the road when throwing a green shell on the road between “DK Spaceport” and “Whistlestop Summit”.
- Fixed an issue where the last place would be sometimes incorrect in the wireless races of “Dino Dino Jungle”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would get caught on the back of a leaf when using a Bullet Bill in “Acorn Heights”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would not be able to slip through a vase that is placed on the road in “Shy Guy Bazaar”, when using a Boo.
- Fixed an issue where the player would slip through the ceiling in “Dry Bones Burnout”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would sometimes hit a fence when throwing a red shell on the first turn in “Moo Moo Meadows”.
- Fixed an issue where one part of the effects that take place for the bridge transforming when heading toward “Rainbow Road” did not display.
- Fixed an issue where the player would slip through the ground on the road between ”Starview Peak” and “Sky-High Sundae”.
- Fixed an issue where some of the item boxes would not have appeared in “Wario Shipyard”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would slip through the bottom of a rock near the goal of ”Wario Shipyard”.
- Fixed an issue where the player would go out of the course when using a Mega Mushroom on a turn inside “Wario Stadium”.
- Fixed an issue where the player gets caught on a tree in the middle of a shortcut if they have “Smart Steering” on when heading from “Starview Peak” to “Dandelion Depths” in “Ice Rally” of “Knockout Tour”.
- Several other issues have been addressed to improve the gameplay experience.
