| Xpand Rally Facts : | ||
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| INTRODUCTION Xpand Rally is the newest racing game with complex economical plot. It shows ridersí copings in the Xpand Rally Championship leagues. Xpand Rally Championship (XRC) was created by a group of young car owners, who can not afford to have the professional rally driverís license for different reasons. The first races took place in the States and Germany. Nowadays, drivers wanting to participate in the XRC races make appointments via internet in different parts of the world. The races are semi-illegal and there are no limits to the engine power and technical car modifications. XRC started to be considered an extreme sport. In Xpand Rally the player gets into the car, whose engine power is about 800 Horse Power, and races around the world. Thanks to the newest technology it is the first time that we can have such a realistic game. The implemented Chrome engine, used in Xpand Rally, lets us create picturesque and extensive terrains. The player can feel freedom of movements and he does not have to move only in narrow channel. It is the first time that the race line will be sourrounded by luxuriant and naturalistic flora. It is also the first time, when you can feel dynamic weather conditions. Rain will turn a dry land into mud (causing sliding) and wind will slightly push the car off the track. You can choose one of over 60 different tracks in different parts of the world. You can race in the desertsí heat, on the frozed lakes or in greenwoods and mountains. One of the gameís main features is over 20 realistic world cars. Each of the machine has its own technical and driving parameters. Each car can be tuned-up from factory level to high-performance racing machines. In the Xpand Rally you can choose some of the dozens of tuning parts. Thanks to the realistic driving model cars will behave differently depending on the weather conditions and the surface (sand, gravel, snow, ice or asphalt). INTERVIEW - PART 1 BHMS - Do you have licensed cars in the sim and if yes, which makes are featured in the sim? XR TEAM - The cars in Xpand Rally are not fully licensed. However, they are extremely realistic. Their models have been based on original technical specifications and photographs. Of course, due to a wide variety of tuning possibilities, the cars will look differently than the real ones. We have not licensed our tuned cars since we would have to give up using of the wide range of tuning options. BHMS - The team who made this sim, have they been involved in racing sims before or was this their first go at it? XR TEAM - Of course, we have some experience in this field, for example we have worked out a dynamic model of vehicle physics. Besides we are fans of rally games. However, we have never developed a game that would involve such detailed designing techniques. BHMS - Did the team meet up with real-life race teams and/or drivers to get input to the sim? XR TEAM - We have seen a lot of races on video. Also, one of our designers is a professional racing pilot and he is a member of a professional racing team. As soon as we have completed the Beta version of the game, we are going to invite a few professional drivers to sit behind the steering wheel and test the realism of Xpand Rally. BHMS - Are there any special stages which would have been modeled from the real special stage in a certain rally-event? XR TEAM - No, there arenít. BHMS - How are the special stages divided; do you follow the real-life rules for when the cars are allowed to be serviced, how many spare tires in the car, etc? XR TEAM - The tracks are not divided into special stages as it is in case of WRC. Xpand Rally has its own system of races. The performance of the car parts is similar to whatís in real life. However, they have not been designed to be the top quality simulations. BHMS - How many world locations are featured and approximately how many special stages are there for one location? XR TEAM - There will be around 60 tracks available in the game. They will be located on all continents and in all climatic zones. The player will be able to race in Africa (Kenya to be exact), in North America: the USA (Colorado, Nevada), Canada, in Scotland, in some colder parts of Europe with severe climate (Sweden, Norway) as well as on the tracks we are most familiar with - in Poland, Slovak or Germany. BHMS - Is there a career mode in the game? XR TEAM - Of course there is. First, you are a beginner and you drive the car that is most easily handled. As you go on wining next races you earn money that you can use then to buy some new parts. In this way your car gets more enhanced and you have more chances of wining the following races. Your career progresses until you become the world champion. BHMS - Can you enhance and develop your car as the rally-event progresses and if yes, will these enhancements carry over to the next rally-event? XR TEAM - Of course, you can enhance your car and use it in all subsequent races. It is a part of competition among the drivers. The tuning can be both mechanical (improving the carís parameters) and visual - for example the changing of spoilers, bumpers, both front and rear, rims, etc. BHMS - What kind of setup options do you have for the hardcore sim driver, or is the setting up of the cars aimed more towards the casual rally driver? XR TEAM - Car setup has been designed for casual drivers. It is not fully an arcade type of setup, though. We hope it suits all rally fans. BHMS - Is the physics model in the game a brand new creation or is it based on some other product? XR TEAM - In Xpand Rally we use our own original physics model. It is realistic but quite user-friendly too, so the player can drive the car without too much difficulty. BHMS - Is the weather dynamically modeled so that it can change during the special stage? For example in a special stage with mountainous terrain it would be dry at the lower parts of the track and wet or rainy/snowy while climbing up the mountain during the special stage? XR TEAM - The weather in the game changes and reflects different climatic conditions on a particular area. For example a strong wind and rain may set in over the track and then it may turn into a downpour and even a storm. The wind may begin to push the car off the road and, because of the heavy rain, some puddles may appear. Visual effects of the changing weather conditions are not everything. You will need to follow the weather forecast to choose the best tires and make good settings of your car. Otherwise, the wining of the race will be much more difficult. In addition, for example a frosty surface will make the driving far more difficult than it is on any other surface.BHMS - Any fantasy cars or other 'easter eggs' hidden in the sim? XR TEAM - Of course, there are special bonuses in the game. For example some tuning parts will not be accessible directly in a shop but only in the race with an opponent. You will be able to race your opponent for a bonus car as well. If you win, you get your opponentís car. If you lose, you also lose your car. Think carefully before you decide to go in for such a race, as it is very easy to lose your car. So do not enter the competition when you have just one car. Once you lose it, it will impossible to get it back. However, once you win the car, it can significantly help you through the following races, as it is a special bonus car, unavailable neither in any shop nor after wining the championships. Besides the bonus car can be tuned as well. BHMS - Are all the cars and tracks drivable right from the get go or do you need unlock features before being able to access them? XR TEAM - Not all tracks and cars will be accessible right from the start of the game. To access some of the features, you will have to unlock them. BHMS - How big a part does the tire selection play in the handling, grip and speed of the car when on a special stage? XR TEAM - Wrong selection of tires in relation to weather conditions or the surface will reduce the traction and the speed of the car. BHMS - Is the usage of handbrake to negotiate tight turns modeled in the sim? XR TEAM - Yes, the handbrake will be used to take tight 180-degree turns. BHMS - While not seeing the graphics how do you rate them in terms of system performance? Do you need a top-of-the-line PC to run the sim with maximum details turned on? XR TEAM - We are working on making XR operate well on slower computers. Minimum configuration should be: P400, GeForce1 graphics board, 128 MB RAM and around 700 MB of free space on your hard disk. BHMS - Do you support all the available steering wheel/pedals combinations currently on the market? TSW, ECCI, ACT Labs Shifter and clutch, etc? XR TEAM - Yes, we will try to support as many steering wheel models and other accessories available on the market as possible. BHMS - How meaningful is the terrain on which the car is traversing at any given time? Can you 'feel' or notice changes in the car's handling when you go to gravel from tarmac for example? XR TEAM - Yes, there is a noticeable change in the carís handling when the terrain changes, for example when you go from snow to ice or from gravel to tarmac. BHMS - What is the #1 thing in the sim why you think people will like it and keep on playing it over and over again? XR TEAM - There is not one such thing only - there are several of them, to say the least. First of all, a developed career option. Also, bonus tracks accessible after you have completed the game and become the champion. It will be possible to return to bonus tracks and improve your results even after you have completed them once. Besides, the championships option will be quite long itself and it will get more and more difficult as your career progresses. Moreover, the size and the diversity of the tracks will make you play the game over and over again - each time you can expect different weather conditions that influence the terrainís appearance and your driving style. BHMS - Is the physics model one and only or have you made a beginner's mode and advanced mode for driving? XR TEAM - The physics model of driving will be different for each particular car. The cars with the least powerful engines will have the easiest handling but you will need much greater skills to drive a car tuned up to 700 HP. BHMS - When you have a fast and undulating special stage modeled, can you get the car airborne from the jumps like in the real world? XR TEAM - Of course, the car will get airborne from the jumps on bumpy stages. The jumps will be similar to those in the real life and will not be exaggerated at any time. BHMS - Can you damage the car in some way if you jump too long or land nose first for example? XR TEAM - Yes, you can. You can damage the chassis and some parts inside the car. The carís handling will be surely more difficult after these jumps. BHMS - How would you rate the co-driver and how accurate are his instructions while driving on a special stage? XR TEAM - There is no human co-driver in the game. We have introduced a GPS system instead to perform the co-driverís functions. GPS is a kind of an automatic co-driver that will give you hints and explanations about the route. BHMS - Does the co-driver have anything 'special' up his sleeve or is he just telling you where to go and at what speed? XR TEAM - The automatic co-driver will provide you with detailed description of the route, warn you about changing weather, and thus help you adjust the speed to road conditions. BHMS - What kind of driving aids can you choose within the sim? XR TEAM - The co-driver mentioned above will assist you and also the arrows will be displayed before every turn to give you information on the direction.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 canít. 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 carís 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 arenít. 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 isnít 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 arenít. 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. |
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Comments : |
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| Author: RaZor | 24-11-2002 |
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I dont happy for answears...at maby by coooool game. |
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| Author: Kull-Atlantyda | 24-11-2002 |
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There should be an option of not continuing race because of too high car damage.... |
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| Author: Morty | 24-11-2002 |
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est. Release date ?, Demo ? etc ?? (late:)IDEA : Stagelenght is level dependent ! ( e.g Novice=3km, expert=8 km) |
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| Author: PiTER | 25-11-2002 |
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It should be impossible to drive the car after hitting a tree. There should be a multiplayer option, to race against each other. |
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| Author: Jure Zagoricnik | 26-11-2002 |
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Not many people race rally online, though I had a lot of fun racing Colin McRae Rally 2 on LAN. As for hitting the tree and ending the rally. Well that would be a bit too real :) |
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