Project Gotham 3: New Features Explored

Justin Buser · 22-08-2005, 06:17 AM

IGN got an interview Bizarre Creations' Design Manager Nick Davies and some very interesting news about PGR3 for the XBox360 came out. First of all, every single car in the came will be playable on every single track in the game straight out of the box - big ups! Secondly, the Gotham TV feature will allow tens of thousands of people to watch you race around with no lag, as its all centrally hosted. Goto to IGN for the full story.

Quote:

Nick started off the demo by sharing Bizarre Creations' motto for designing PGR 3: "Life begins at 170 miles per hour." He explained that all of the 80+ licensed cars from over 30 manufacturers (including Ferrari, Dodge and Lamborghini) in the game will go at least 170 miles per hour, so don't expect any granny-mobiles here. Unlike most racing games, you can drive any car on any track out of the box. Nick explains, "Our thought is that if you spend $50 on a game, you should be able to play whatever you want."

The next part of our demo focused on the highly realistic environments in the game. To build the cities in the game -- New York, Tokyo and London -- artists took a minimum of 20 thousand photographs of each city, and compiled a whooping 40 gigabytes of picture data for each locale. We saw a side-by-side comparison of a real-life building in Manhattan and the in-game model, and it was difficult to determine which was which. Some of the signs were changed for legal reasons, but for the most part, the buildings looked spot on. As Nick tells us, "If you live there, you'll recognize the building around the corner."

Realism won't just be confined to the cars and the environment, though. Instead of being just flat, cheering masses, even the crowd will react to the race as it happens. If you slam into a guard rail along the course, those behind where you struck will jump back in fear. If you're doing well in the race, you may hear cheering as you fly around the track; if you're not doing so well, you may hear booing. In addition, Bizarre Creations has tried to accurately depict the size of the crowd in attendance at every given race, and the number of onlookers will be determined by the popularity of the race within the circuit.

While a virtual crowd may be an ego booster as you're flying around the track at breakneck speeds, Gotham TV will allow real-life Xbox Live users to watch your races, or let you watch other drivers and learn what makes them so good. Nick told us that literally tens of thousands of people can watch a race at the same time and it won't slow down performance of the live race at all because it's all central server-based.

Source: IGN

bennyboo03 · 22-08-2005, 06:43 AM

so how many people can watch you play in a race at one time? thats awesome!

Nomino · 23-08-2005, 11:21 AM

I'm sure I've read a figure of around 30,000 with no lag. That's quite an audience, and you will be able to see just how many are watching you.

ChaosLord13 · 23-08-2005, 11:33 AM

omfg that's amazing, and it would add a real mental aspect to the race, your nerves would get to you

Blank · 23-08-2005, 11:43 AM

I don't feel that many people will actually watch people race, unless this option is available on the Silver online package. Still, it's a good addition.

U2MOFO · 24-08-2005, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blank

I don't feel that many people will actually watch people race, unless this option is available on the Silver online package. Still, it's a good addition.

Well I know one large group of people who cant wait for this feature. I race in leagues over at xblracing.com..... when it comes down to the championship in a league... we will have quite a few people watching. I think its a great feature..... better than sitting in a lobby waiting for your friend to finish or watch a dot go around and around a track in the lobby. The way they are pulling it off looks sweet also..... very TV style like. When you circle through the racers... maybe an in dash shot, it throws up their gamertag and what car they are running and a current position. Gonna be fun... you wait and see

sindian · 28-08-2005, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blank

I don't feel that many people will actually watch people race, unless this option is available on the Silver online package. Still, it's a good addition.

didn't xbox live reach 2million subscribers recently? All those are gold automatically and i'm sure this game will sell more than 30,000. it seems that it may be some crazy chance that at least once maybe numbers venturing close to 30k will watch a race..maybe a tourney or whatever. Would really be nice.

Glock 19 · 28-08-2005, 03:59 PM

I can't wait for PGR3 I better practice on single player for bit before being watched by maybe a few thousand people lol.

citizen X · 11-09-2005, 07:50 PM

Yeah I’m seriously hyped for this game. I’m so much better at racing games the Halo 2, and I play with level 30s. Racing is in my blood both in games and on the real road. I can’t help it.

In racing games it’s all about your skill not which friend u have in your team to pull u through every match.

About Forza 2, that is going to be unbelievable as well. Can’t wait for that one too.