BHMS - Can you experience flat tires or mechanical failures while on the road?

XR TEAM - Yes, you can. I am going to discuss it at length in a moment.

BHMS - Can the car be damaged so badly on the stage that one cannot finish the stage at all?

XR TEAM - No, it can’t.

BHMS - How accurately is the damage modeled on the cars?

XR TEAM - The damage system is very well developed. The bodywork of the car will get bent whenever it hits an obstacle. Some parts may come off too, e.g. bumpers. These are all visual damages. There will be some mechanical failures as well. An engine may break down, some suspension elements may wear out too. All damaged parts have an influence on the car’s handling and you need to service your car regularly to be able to take part in the next rally.

BHMS - Are there fully-functional windshield wipers modeled in the sim?

XR TEAM - No, there aren’t.

BHMS - Any real world drivers featured in the sim?

XR TEAM - No.

BHMS - Is there a multiplayer capability built-in when the sim goes on sale? If yes, what are the specifications for the multiplayer mode?

XR TEAM - No, there isn’t for the time being.

BHMS - Are you planning additional tracks, cars, etc. for the sim after it has been released (or other improvements after the actual release)?

XR TEAM - Yes, we are planning some extra tracks and cars. However, it is hard to tell when they will be ready and which ones will come out first. It will depend largely on the users.

BHMS - Are there several FIA-regulated car types in the sim? In another words A-class cars, N-class cars, etc?

XR TEAM - No, there aren’t.

BHMS - Any special stages like the Race of the Champions on the Canary Islands?

XR TEAM - No.

BHMS - With many rally sims, the stages are very short. Will Xpand Rally contain longer stages, such as those found in Mobil 1?

XR TEAM - We have very long stages but they are not boring because you drive your car through the various and changing landscapes. Besides, a sudden change of weather may take place occasionally.

BHMS - Looking at the movie trailer from ECTS 2002, I noticed that the road in one section was really bumpy. Will tracks be "super" smooth like in "all" rally games or will they be bumpy and all over the place?

XR TEAM - The tracks in our game reflect those real ones. Therefore, not all tracks are 100% flat. Some of them (particularly the mountainous ones) are extremely bumpy. On the other hand, the most even stage of the track is the frozen lake.

BHMS - This is the end of our extensive interview. I hope you enjoyed it. A big thank you goes out to the Xpand Rally development team and the staff at Techland.