How do I get a custom trail in SpeedRunners?

Subscribe to a trail on the Steam Workshop; the game downloads it into SpeedRunners\WorkshopContent\ \ and it appears under Trails in the character select. A trail is a settings.trail file plus the PNG layers it uses.

Can I make my own SpeedRunners trail?

Yes: the game has a trail editor in the main menu (Workshop › Trails). Each layer is an image with lifetime, size, taper, fade, offset and sine-wave settings; the editor uploads the result to the Workshop.

SpeedRunners 1

Trails

The streak behind a runner. Workshop trails, how they are made, and where custom trails are going next.

Trails on the Steam Workshop Skins

soon

The trail archive

Trails will join the archive next to skins: a searchable list with a live preview of every trail, one-click install packs, and the ones that are not on the Workshop any more. Until then the Steam Workshop is the place: subscribe and the game installs it.

What a trail is, technically

A Workshop trail is a folder (SpeedRunners\WorkshopContent\<id>\) with settings.trail, an icon and the PNG layers. settings.trail is a binary list of layers; every layer carries its image name and the settings you see in the game's trail editor:

Enabled (always / boosting / super speed), Order and Layer (behind or in front of the runner)
LifeTime, Color, Opacity, Size, Taper and FadeOut (+ speed)
Offset / OffsetVector, flips, Noise, a sine wave (amplitude, frequency, phase) for wavy trails
sprite mode: a still image, or an animated sprite (SpriteSize, SpriteCount, FPS)

That is what the archive's preview will render, layer by layer, straight from the file.

Install a trail by hand

Get the trail folder (an icon, settings.trail and its PNGs).
Copy it into …\steamapps\common\SpeedRunners\WorkshopContent\ under any unused numeric name.
Start the game: the trail is listed under Trails in the character select.

Custom trails in SpeedRunners 2

SpeedRunners 2 has no trail editor. Custom trails are planned for the DART mod: the same layer format as the SpeedRunners 1 trails, so a trail made for the original can follow you into the sequel. This page will link both when it lands.

Have trails that are not on the Workshop any more? Keep the folders - the archive will take uploads when it opens, and the Discord is the place to drop them until then.