Europress is only a few short months away from publishing one of the most anticipated racing games of this year: Magnetic Fields' Rally Championship '99. In the past the Australian based publisher has released a variety of racing games across all the major consoles. Each has delivered new innovations in the areas of physics, handling, sound and graphics.
Nothing however, from Europress or otherwise, has gained the following of RC99. One look at this game's gorgeous screenshots and you'll instantly know why. There's no doubt that RC99 will be a visual heavy weight, but screenshots don't portray the inner workings of a game. In this interview with RC99's Executive producer Richard Vanner, Sharky Extreme removes the shroud of secrecy surrounding this smash hit in the making.
Everything we've been able to see from the screenshots has been very realistic. There's no doubt that you'll want to carry that realism into other aspects of the game: Physics, cars, sound, AI, etc. Starting with the physics engine, what features will you employ into RC99 that will serve to set this apart from similar driving games?
All through the development of the game we've had car physics at the front of our minds - we know how important it is and are aware of the expectation upon us to deliver believable car control. In previous versions we have not employed such a high degree of mathematics - this time in Rally Championship '99 we have researched the subject extensively. First we played many of the successful games that people have become accustomed to (Carmageddon, Colin McRae, Grand Prix Legends etc). From this analysis we were able to decide what the quality level had been set to and knew what we had to beat. The next stage was to talk to some physics experts to ensure Shaun was thinking in the right direction and wasn't going to end up with code that may have to be re-started. We then invited some of the rally drivers to see the game and to question them on what actually happens with the car in many different situations. We were also able to talk with the lead engineer at Mitsubishi Ralliart, he provided us with technical data that only someone like him would know. As we speak we're still developing the car physics and they are looking amazing! I thought we had produced something very special with IRC, but now that I see this rally car moving properly (as it should do in real life), I now reflect back and view IRC as basic compared to this.
