Xpect Games hat vor rund einem Monat ein neues Rennspiel mit einem Teaser Trailer angekündigt. Damals haben wir nicht viele Worte zu dem Spiel verloren, was wir jetzt nachholen wollen. Es handelt sich um das Spiel Race After 1977.
Das Spiel spielt – wie der Titel schon verrät – in der Vergangenheit, genauer im Jahre 1977. Die Welt ist von einer nuklearen Katastrophe heimgesucht worden und stakr verändert worden. In dieser Öde aus Sand und Eis trittst du gegen eine Vielzahl von Gegnern in actionreichen Rennen an. Doch du sitzt nicht in irgendwelchen Autos, denn das Spiel bietet dir stilechte Musclecars und Trucks aus der Zeit. Außerdem wartet das Spiel mit einer tollen 3D-Grafik aufw, wie auch im neuen Gameplay-Video zu sehen ist. Auch erste Screenshots hat der Publisher schon veröffentlicht.
Das Spiel soll diesen Herbst erscheinen, der Release steht also quasi unmittelbar bevor. Uns ist aber leider kein genaues Datum bekannt und auch über den Preis im AppStore gibt es leider noch keine Informationen.
Beschreibung (englisch):
“Race After 1977” is a leap from the industry standard flat-surfaced and walled-in routine that has plagued the mobile racing games for so long. The full physics experience of the custom engine will let your car slide on gravel, drive on dam walls, leap over opponents, slam them into walls, jump across ruined bridges, swerve on uneven grounds and skid into oblivion … All that while trying to compete against an AI that adapts to your skills and will not hesitate to run you off the road.
Und noch einige interessante Fakten von der offiziellen Homepage des Spieles (englisch):
The custom proprietary game-engine developed by Xpect revolutionizes the way racing games are done on mobile platforms. An advanced physics engine allows the game to support racing tracks that deviate from the industry standard flat floored, tunnelled and narrow model and allows fast-paced racing to occur on tracks that include bumpy surfaces with different traction properties, driving on walls, massive jumps and full physics collisions with environment and opponent players.
The technology behind the physics allows for an active 4 point suspension, real-physics drifting (which realistically reacts to counter-steering), weight of vehicle influence on performance and handling as well as mass-regulated collisions between vehicles (bumping a vehicle can drive it out of balance and launch it into a spin). Vehicles fully interact with each other including scraping, jumping on top of each other, forcing of the road or into poles and walls and even giving each other speed boosts by slamming into the backsides.
The “Race After 1977” experience allows for driving outside of normal boundaries of what is currently considered standard mobile racing games. This includes driving on angled or steep walls (if inertia and momentum are high enough), jumping off of any surface angled enough to provide upwards momentum (jumping across bridges, construction sites, shipyards etc.), bouncing off hard surfaces when slammed into them and even flipping over if met by a solid object whilst sliding.
The Technology – Rendering
“Race After 1977” features a highly optimized rendering engine written with the constraints of mobile devices in mind. This allows it to render copious amounts of geometry never before seen on a mobile platform. The texturing methods specially developed for “Race After” avoid the use of repetitive texturing and make sure that each and every piece of static geometry in the game is individually textured and radiosity lighted to make the most out of what a mobile platform like the iOS can give.
Special effects like lens-flaring (in 70’s style hexa and octagonal lens shutter form), dust, metal on metal scraping embers, hard collision chunks and environment reflections / specular shading are all optimized to provide as much eye candy as possible.
“Race After 1977” will leverage enhanced graphical capabilities of the iPhone 4 and Ipad delivering additional effects and more detailed tracks and vehicles.
The Tracks
The race-tracks are set in two separate climate areas that have resulted from the fallout and axial shift during the storyline war that ensued in1977. One environment that is scorched and burned by a relentless sun and one that is in a constant twilight and covered in everlasting nuclear winter.
The 1977 episode of the “Race After” story takes place on the North-American continent and in remnants of cities such as New York, Denver, Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and others.
The Vehicles
Vehicle classes in “Race After 1977” are not artificially ‘tuned’ but based on physical properties like mass, wheel-base , circumference and traction, suspension stiffness, centre of mass and even steering properties like max. steering angle and sensitivity. All vehicles also have different drive technologies (front, rear or 4-wheel) as well as properties like engine-torque and braking strength.
Since production of vehicles halted with the apocalypse all vehicles are modified, reconstructed and ‘jacked up’ versions of pre 1977 models of the most popular vehicles of their time including consumer vehicles, muscle cars and trucks.
The Modes
For a quick entry into instant action “Race After 1977” provides a Quick Race mode that will allow you to pick a vehicle and a track to drive on and be at the starting line in a minimal amount of time. This mode will make it possible for you to race any vehicle or track you unlocked so far.
In addition to Quick Race mode there is also a Story Mode which will let you race in makeshift tournaments composed of several races each. Story Mode racing allows the player to race against a select group of opponents from a large pool of contenders that will compete against him throughout the tournament. As you complete the races you will collect numerous bonuses and achievement badges that will testify to your abilities as a lord of the wasteland roads.
The AI
The technology behind the AI uses algorithms that adapt the AI to the abilities of the player. It also ‘learns’ from the way it completed it’s previous rounds. As the player gains experience on the tracks so will the AI and it will not hesitate to run the player off the road or compete against other AI on the track. The physics that apply to the driver’s car also apply to the AI cars and they are vulnerable to the same cop-outs, roll-overs and collisions the player is.
The Sound
Original soundtracks emulating authentic 70’s music evolved to a new level in the post-apocalyptic environment where electricity and electronics are scarce. Ripping guitar sounds and heavy base and drum-lines will keep the player’s heart pounding as he races down the desolate roads and the remnants of a once bustling world.
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