Where TESTBOX is and where it's going. The physics came first and most of the game is now built around it. What's left is mostly about getting it into more people's hands. Last updated October 2026.
Running in test builds today.
A full rigid-body simulation at 2,500 steps a second: gyroscopic weapons, collision shapes that keep each tooth's rake angle, driven wheels and tires that flex and slip, and damage that counts energy delivered into the other bot.
The importer turns a bot's CAD into a fight model, with mass and material per part, the weapon's measured inertia, and its own paint and stickers.
Peer-to-peer rollback netcode with no host. Public and password-locked rooms, and Mac and Windows players can fight each other.
Every fight is deterministic, so replays are exact and both machines confirm each match ended the same way.
Your bot is sent to your opponent when a match starts, so both machines simulate the same bot. Their copy is stored encrypted.
AI opponents with their own driving styles, two players on one computer, real RC radios or gamepads, and replays with clip marking.
Being built and tested.
Online play works between machines on the same home network. Next is confirming it holds up between different houses and internet providers.
Some home networks won't connect to each other directly. We're collecting real connection data to decide how to relay those players.
The importer works today as a separate tool. It's moving into the game itself, so you can bring in your bot without any extra setup.
Test builds currently start fresh on each update. Your bots, controller setup and replays should carry over.
Planned once the above is done.
Damage worked out the way an engineer would, using finite-element analysis. When a bot is imported, each part's real shape and material decide how it flexes under a hit, when it bends for good and when it breaks. An early prototype already does this for a single part.
Test builds for more people, starting with builders who want their bot in the game.
Matchmaking, invites and friend lists through Steam, which also takes care of connecting players on tricky networks.
Brackets and result reporting, with each result confirmed by both players' machines. A first version already runs on a local network.
A place to publish your imported bot so other people can download it and fight it, likely through the Steam Workshop.
Ideas we want to get to.
Ranked online play, leagues and a career mode that takes a bot from its first event upward.
Because the simulation is deterministic, a spectator can watch a match by receiving both players' inputs. No video stream needed.
More venues and cage sizes, each built from measurements of the real thing.
AI opponents that learn to drive from how real people drive, and get better by fighting each other.
Fights with more than two bots, and multibots, where one entry is several smaller robots.
Tell us on Discord. If there's a feature that would make TESTBOX useful for you or your team, we want to hear about it.