Speedmaniacs.de, a German Auto-Gaming magazine, had the chance to catch up with Simbin’s Diego Sartori to get some interesting questions answered.
The new GT cars are still a topic of hot discussion as many users are wondering why GTR Evolution does not simulate a real life GT series and uses a fictional mix of real GT cars.
“We did that for a bunch of reasons but mainly for artistic freedom,” Sartori explained. “We were able to move away from real life GT racing rules and came up with our own class rules in terms of looks and performance.”
“Our goal is for every car to be able to win its class. We´re using our own formula in terms of weight, aerodynamics and power to equalise the cars. Each car will handle in its different way but all of them will be able to win their class. That way, we hope that online-grids won’t be dominated by few, powerful cars but by variety. The cars’ balancing was created with the help of some very experienced sim racers and we hope players will appreciate this new route.”
Another hot-topic is the fact that all new GT cars sport fictional liveries rather than real life paintjobs. Sartoris has another simple but logical answer.
“We did, what nobody ever did before in a racing game – at least not to my knowledge,” Sartori said. “We did what’s common in motorsport, we sold advertising space. All cars are backed by real-life sponsors, creating a realistic look and allowing us to put together a fantastic looking field of cars.”
The final answer centers around the making of the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Many sim racers are wondering what techniques have been used by Simbin to create this monster of a track.
“All tracks have been modelled using CAD-data,” Satori explained. “Along with that, we had exclusive access to all parts of the track for three full days, allowing us to drive laps from sunrise to sunset and walk the track to take photos and measurements of all important details.”
That answers some of the most important questions. The new take on car equlisation is really interesting and has worked in reality as series like the FIA GT3 championship have shown. The idea of real-life sponsorship for the cars is somewhat of a double-edged sword, most skins will probably soon be replaced by the community anyways though.
deks
July 8th, 2008 at 16:03
“we hope that online-grids won’t be dominated by few, powerful cars but by variety” – I really, really like this idea
gtrNL
July 8th, 2008 at 16:40
I agree, this could turn out to be the best on-line race sim from the last few years. And I also like the advertising thing, makes it look fresh and new. But one of the DBR9´s on the pics looks very much like the LeMans Gulf livery, only without the Gulf logo…
Jamie Wilson
July 8th, 2008 at 17:58
Minor correction: it’s Diego Sartori, not Diego Sartoris. :)
Montoya
July 8th, 2008 at 18:09
Thats what happens if you take facts from other sources without checking them :???:
Thanks for the hint :smile:
Anonymous
July 8th, 2008 at 19:33
They still should have included our beloved Porsche’s and Ferrari’s.
Disposable_Hero
July 8th, 2008 at 20:39
Does this mean, they didn’t use GPS data like Polyphony Digital did for Gran Turismo 4? Man, i hope they modelled the bumps and differences in elevation as accurate as in GT4. Cause GT4 sucks in terms of car physics but has the best Nordschleife yet.
trebor901
July 8th, 2008 at 23:14
They didnt ask about pit stops :(
jde
July 9th, 2008 at 04:45
read Q&A
http://www.gtr-evolution.com/support.htm
flips
July 10th, 2008 at 20:24
Just read the Q&A, I like the part of about the racing line in training. That should help some of the newer gamers that are just starting out.
I did have a laugh at the following line:
“All tracks have been modelled using CAD-data”
This means nothing. All is says is that they used a computer to make the track… what else would they have used to make a computer game? It’s a shame they didn’t do a laser scan..
slipcurve
July 11th, 2008 at 19:12
I feel uneasy when people start taking artistic liberties in a simulator. It’s a slippery slope of neverending balancing (I can already hear the screaming nerf squad). They will never get it exactly right.
Also I like the idea of racing a championship realistically, even thought some cars are bound to be faster than others. So what? This might be an excellent MP option if they hit the balance right, but I want real cars with real life performance for my singleplayer sessions.