NFS: Shift - Interview with Slightly Mad Studio's Ian Bell

• Sinister 7/3/2009 4:36 PM
• 2 Comments

Source: Needforspeed.com

Recently Ian Bell, Slightly Mad Studios (makers of Need For Speed SHIFT) sat down with us and talked about their latest game.

How will the damage effect car performance in "Pro Mode"?

There are four levels to the driving model, and all driving models give you the choice of using visual damage only or 'full' (performance) damage. Again, the engine supports any level of realistic visual to physical damage but we will be tuning the levels to ensure a fun experience. Bumpers will fly off, hoods will be popped open, doors will be bashed in, and if you've got full damage on, your suspension will bend, your steering will pull or get sloppy, and your engine will be destroyed, barely limping around to the end of the race. We made the decision to keep the focus on action without critically severe punishment, since this is a racing game, not a crashing game. There will be consequences to your actions with full damage on, and it will likely destroy your race, but you will always be able to at least limp across the finish line to collect your profile points.

Great to see that they have brought back the visual damage only for those who like to play for fun, and the full performance damage for those who like a good challenge.

Will each different car model have a dedicated physics file? How many car and physics files are in NFS Shift?

Yes, each car has its own unique physics file, plus there are unique files for suspension types, tire types, gearbox types, turbo/supercharger types, engine types, etc. There are more than 500 separate physics files in the game as of now, many with dynamically changing aspects. This huge collection of files allows our physics programmers to create a detailed and realistic simulation of all of the key defining factors in car behaviour and many of the more subtle details that are missed in nearly all racing games. This is the difference that makes a player say "this just feels right!" when playing SHIFT. For example, when the tire sidewalls flex under load in a corner, it minutely changes the shape and location of the tire's contact patch, which in turn changes how the tire grips the tarmac as it strains to keep hold. Without details like this a driving game can still be fun, but it can feel sterile and dead. With SHIFT we're pushing the limits of physics processing on consoles, delivering a racing experience that is alive, gripping, visceral, and believable.

At least now the Audi wont feel like a Challenger, and a Porsche wont feel like a Nissan.

Read the full interview over at Needforspeed.com

Aditionally there is one new screenshot of NFS: Shift

You can check out all NFS: Shift screenshots here.

• Print
• Send to a Friend
• Digg It!

NFSCars - Shift "Sponsor Car" Contest.

• Sinister 7/3/2009 2:20 PM
• 2 Comments

Contest Thread

I had decided that it is about time to have another contest at NFSCars, this time, it is to make a 'sponsored' racecar worthy of being on a track, using whatever methods you would like out of any NFS game from The Undergrounds to Undercover, make your car look stunning and track worthy.

This contest Runs until Midnight PST August 31, 2009

For more information or questions, post them in the Contest Thread

• Print
• Send to a Friend
• Digg It!

NFS: Shift - System Requirements

• Sinister 6/29/2009 6:55 PM
• 21 Comments

Only 3 months to go until Need for Speed Shift is released.
Now the system requirements for the game have shown up.
Now although it's not sure whether this information is official, as it comes from a polish site, we will be confirming this in the near future, and will repost.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

OS: Windows XP Service Pack 3 or Vista Service Pack 1
CPU: Intel Pentium 4 (or equivalent) CPU running at 3,2GHz or higher (3.4GHz for Windows Vista)
Memory: 1GB RAM (Vista 2GB)
Hard Drive Space: 10 GB of free space
Graphics Hardware: 256 MB RAM with Pixel Shader 3 (PCI-Ex)
Sound Hardware: DirectX 9.0c compliant card (DirectX 10.1 compliant if applicable)
DVD Drive: 8X or faster DVD Drive
For Online Play: Network card with broadband connectivity

RECOMMENDED REQUIREMENTS:

OS: Windows XP Service Pack 3 or Vista Service Pack 1
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2,5GHz or AMD 64 X2 2,0 GHz
Memory: 2GB RAM (Vista 3GB)
Hard Drive Space: 10 GB of free space
Graphics Hardware: 512 MB RAM with Pixel Shader 3 (PCI-Ex)
Sound Hardware: DirectX 9.0c compliant card (DirectX 10.1 compliant if applicable)
DVD Drive: 8X or faster DVD Drive
For Online Play: Network card with broadband connectivity

• Print
• Send to a Friend
• Digg It!

NFS: Shift Scirocco Screenshots

• RedTwentyFour 6/29/2009 6:41 PM
• 4 Comments

Needforspeed.com just posted 5 new screenshots, all featuring the car of the day, the new VW Scirocco. The car of the day feature means that needforspeed.com will post new ingame pictures of a specific car everyday.

as always you can find these screenhots here.

• Print
• Send to a Friend
• Digg It!

NFS: Shift 5 New Screenshots

• RedTwentyFour 6/26/2009 6:32 PM
• 6 Comments

5 new screenshots were just released, and I gotta say in my opinion these are the most beautiful so far.

As always you can take a look at them here

• Print
• Send to a Friend
• Digg It!