Hyper's Progression Overhaul

Description

Hi! This mod aims to overhaul some of the grindy aspects of the game that didn't age well today with some QoL improvements while being vanilla friendly.

What's Changed?

Most of the URL events are removed from progression. Each stage now has two URL races to pass. No cutscene has been removed.
Decreased the amount of regular races that need to be completed in a stage significantly.
Decreased the lap count of circuit races and URL races significantly.
Decreased the amount of outrun victories needed to unlock unique parts.
Part unlocks now solely depend on finding shops in open the world rather than completing certain amount of regular races to reduce the backtracking in gameplay. You will still receive SMS messages about part unlocks occasionally after doing certain URL races.
Some of the sponsor contracts are tweaked.
Instead of removing the visual rep this mod tweaks the part reputation so that visual parts still have a use in progression. You should be able to reach 10 stars without ricing your vehicle.
Players can now install the Gear Tuning Kit early in the game which unlocks transmission tuning to the fullest.
Compatibility option with ug2.net, all credits go to megusvae for testing and providing the solution for issues.
This mod also offers options for people who don't want to deal with optional magazine events and people who want sensible car performance for low/high-end vehicles (SUV performance hasn't been tweaked within this option.) You can also skip installation steps if you don't want any optional tweaks.
Update 1.0.3.3 Changes:

*Increased payouts for regular races, sponsored races, outrun races, banknotes and tips in open world for smoother progression.
Handling Tweaks Option Insight:

Test Track: URL Circuit Dyno Track

Tune: Max downforce, all suspension components set to around 3.0 for every vehicle, everything else untouched.

Powerlap times for vehicles that unlock in each stage after equipping maximum upgrades, no uniques:

Stage 1 vehicles max perf: sub 1.10 ,
Stage 2-3 vehicles max perf: sub 1.09 ,
Stage 4-5 vehicles max perf: sub 1.08 .

MANDATORY EVENT COUNT

Vanilla/Overhaul
URL Race Count: 24/8
Regular Race Count: 100/55 + Final Boss
Sponsor Race Count: 12/12
DVD Count: 10/10
Total: 146/85 + 1

IMPORTANT

Read the text when you enter a shop the first time, the text contains important information what has been unlocked.
Beware of your contract terms and If you forget how many races you need to complete in a stage, check under View Rewards > View Signed Sponsors in the garage menu.
Only english localization is supported, at least for now.

Install/Uninstall

Open Binary and select user mode. (All credits go to Maxhwoy, main developer of Binary tool. Also 2.8.3 is ideal version, 2.9.0 isn't tested with this mod.)
Select "ScriptRunner(Vanilla).end" for vanilla game modding or "ScriptRunner(ug2.net).end" if you want to use this mod on top of ug2.net
Select your UG2 directory from your computer.
Select your options.
Save when asked.
Profit!

F.A.Q.

Q: Is new profile required?
A: Yes.

Q: Career Status (F4) shows I still need to complete X amount of races in stage A but sponsor contract says complete Y amount of races. Which one is true?
A: Stick to terms in the contract. The career tab is either hard coded/haven't found a way to change the event wins UI.

Q: Is this compatible with X, Y or Z?
A: Mods that don't touch URL races should be compatible. A slight heads up for addon car mods, you might need to tweak the GCarUnlocks yourself since some URL events are removed.

Screenshots

Stage 4 contract in the garage menu.

Hero's Skyline replica with 10 star rating.

Gear Tuning Kit in the performance menu.

Comments

hypeeerspeed (March 01, 2026 @ 00:01)

@Dreww Thanks for your general feedback. For drag races, the developers did put a lot of them at the end stages and early stage drag races are mostly hidden events, i can probably move them up in early stages, especially the offworld ones. For general shortness, yes i'd agree on some parts are too short, but i had to get an idea on what people thought about it first so probably will also patch that up in later updates. Glad you enjoyed it.

Dreww (February 27, 2026 @ 18:31)

I think I enjoyed it overall. But I feel like it made the game too short in places where it counts, such as URLs. 2 lap URLs felt a bit too short for me, especially since there's only two per stage, I understand if you have personal gripes with them though. Also felt like there were not enough drag races? There were a lot of those taking place in Coal Harbor (those are horrendous) and airport, but very small amount of highway ones which are probably the best ones.

hypeeerspeed (September 02, 2025 @ 09:11)

@Evoltal Glad you liked it <3

Evoltal (September 01, 2025 @ 22:25)

This mod (in addition to graphics and an extended soundtrack) actually made me have the most fun UG2 playthrough i ever had. I feel like it was almost too short like this. Definitely prefer the career this way tho!

hypeeerspeed (July 27, 2025 @ 13:34)

@megusvae Thanks for testing the mods compatibility and sharing the solution, the new version should have the fixes patched in, with fixes credited to your name.