FlatOut Interview - Bugbear & XBW
posted 04/02/06
A group of hardcore racing game fans in Finland are currently putting the finishing touches on their upcoming racing title, FlatOut. We had a chat with Janne Alanenpaa the Managing Director of Bugbear Entertainment about just what gamers can expect.
Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions Janne! A lot of Australian racing fans have been tracking the progress of 'Flat Out' since first hearing about it and since those new screenshots were released showing off the awesome looking damage model, there's a lot of Aussie gamers keen to get their hands on this game.
XBW : What was the inspiration to make a game based on cars that are cheap and nasty looking, rust filled and generally not the sort of 'aspiration' car that most games are based around?
JA : I think we all have aspirations to drive those classic 70s style muscle cars, don't we? We wanted to capture some of that old style feeling and put it into a contemporary racing game with all the latest technologies to really bring them to life.
We wanted to do something different, something rough, tough and cool which will turn heads. And by the sounds of it, it worked!
Can you go into detail about the physics engine? How do the cars interact with each other and their surroundings? Is it an arcade styled 'exaggerated' approach or a more realistic style of physics?
We accurately simulate the cars when it comes to things like torque, suspension, traction and the like. However, we then tweak the parameters of each vehicle to give them a more user-friendly, intuitive handling characteristic so you can pick up and play and be executing dramatic powerslides in seconds.
One of the really cool features of FlatOut is also the environmental physics. We like to think of ourselves as the Half Life 2 of racing games! Nearly everything in the environment is interactive one way or another - fences shatter, tyre walls collapse, barn doors fall apart when using them as short-cuts, barrels roll around, water towers fall down, advertising hoardings break and tons more. We want to make it as interactive as the hardware allows!
Then we have the cars themselves which feature accurate damage models. Depending on the velocity and angle of impact, cars will damage accordingly and release debris such as doors, fenders, side panels, hoods, etc. Debris always remains on the tracks and continues to be interactive. Handing will become affected but not to the point where it no longer makes the game any fun to play. The player must always feel he can compete, even with a bashed car.
The info released for Flat Out mentions the incredible sounding car damage model and being able to shatter fences into hundreds of pieces! How do you firstly, create such a highly detailed car damage model, and secondly, why model a fence out of hundreds of polygons when most gamers would be impressed merely by the fence breaking apart into a few bits?
Haha, well what's more impressive - a few bits of fence or hundreds of bits of fence?! It's impressive to fly to the moon but it's even more impressive to go to the edge of the solar system. And we're all the way into outer space with FlatOut with over 2000 items of scenery per track to smash into which all retain their physical properties for the duration of a race.
How hard has it been to create the models of the cars complete with engine, transmission, working suspension and “everything you'd expect a car to have beneath its skin� Some serious development time must have gone into it. How realistic do the cars look and behave?
These days, if you want to be a successful developer making top games, you need to be able to re-use your technology and games design experience. FlatOut is Bugbear's third and therefore most accomplished racing game so far. So in a way, yes some serious development time has gone into FlatOut but because the developer has been sensible in its tech development, retaining staff and learning from its previous efforts, they have now created what I consider to be a genuine Burnout and NFS beater.
Yes, it's hard but it gets easier technically which means you then get to focus even more on gameplay and that elusive X factor which keeps gamers hooked for months.
Can you explain the 3rd person mode in the game?
By this, I guess you're referring to the ragdoll technology, something which we believe gives us a great edge over our rival car racing titles.
Basically, drivers can get flung through windscreens and wrap themselves around trees if they're not careful! Even worse, an outside of vehicle driver can get run over! Don't worry, there's no blood or severed limbs - this is more comical than anything else.
And we have some really cool ideas to make use of the ragdoll in extra game modes so watch this space for multiplayer ragdoll madness!
Does the story mode feature a pre-determined character or will the gamer get to create his identity from scratch, give him/her a name and pick from different character models?
Among others, we have a Career mode which allows you to compete across three championship classes, earning points and money with which to buy car upgrades, unlock new seasons, unlock new tracks and game modes.
You'll be able to choose a male or female driver but there is no plan to allow the player to create his own identity beyond this. Our feeling is we're a racing game and we're not here to play Barbie… maybe in the future, though, but for now let's concentrate on the racing to make sure we provide the best high speed experience out there. By the way, we like Barbie - no offense to her.
How many tracks have been decided upon, and what types of environments will the take place in?
There will be five different environments: Forest, Winter, Town, Pit and Racing. Each will be split into a number of tracks - we aim for there to be at least 36 different circuits. On top of that, we have stunt tracks and dirt tracks and an oval. There is absolutely loads for the player to do!
One of the other key points about FlatOut while we're on the subject of environments is that we've tried to make them as free-roaming as possible. So while the player has to reach checkpoints around the circuits, he can also drive off into the wild blue yonder and explore - we don't restrict the player like most other racing games. We feel this promotes a sense of reality and is generally just much more interesting.
How many players will Flat Out support in split screen mode, and will system link and Xbox Live both be supported. If so, how many players online?
Split-screen will be two player. And because Xbox is really good for multiplayer, we support 8 player via Xbox Live and system link. This will allow players to compete in races, have friends lists, play the special game modes together and so on. All cool stuff, we promise.
Will there be any features to take advantage of the Xbox hard drive? Will you be able to edit and save replays of your best races or play custom soundtracks?
Right now, it's not looking likely because of time. But don't worry, there's plenty more to be getting your teeth into.
When can we expect to see Flat Out on shelves and what do you think will make Flat Out stand tall in a genre already packed with loads of great racing games?
On the shelves back end of Q3 - that's around November to normal blokes like us. Sorry for the marketing spiel there. So it's a perfect Xmas gift, folks!
And how I laugh at your last question - hohohoho. Shane, we rock because we have the BEST car damage models you've ever seen, the funniest and most dramatic ragdoll driver crashes in the history of gaming, loads of tracks, very unique game modes based on our ragdoll and car dynamics, and we all play games. Over and out for now!
Interview by Shane Bryan
