Ralph Fulton, chief games designer on Codemasters' Race Driver GRID, has confirmed a simultaneous summer 2008 release date for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360, and has made first mention of next evolution of the company's Neon racing technology, named the Ego engine.
"We’re aiming for a summer 2008 release and we’ll be hitting PS3, 360 and PC at the same time," said Fulton, talking to videogaming247. "There’s no Wii version in the works because GRID uses our next-gen Ego Engine – which was previously called Neon and formed the building blocks for Colin McRae: DiRT. However, since DiRT’s release we’ve been enhancing the engine almost constantly. For GRID this means we’ve now got improved visuals, up to 40,000 spectators on tracks, up to 20 cars on the track at once, alongside a new and improved damage system."
Fulton expanded on the thinking behind GRID, leaving no doubt that the game - which features both street and track racing - will be a clear departure from the heavy simulation of previous TOCA games.
It's "key that this isn’t another TOCA game," he said. "The name change is important in that it signifies a change of direction away from our simulation roots. We're not making an arcade game, but we believe there's a gap between those two extremes in which we can create a more accessible, immediate experience. We're still serious about building a realistically-simulated world, but we want it to be a world seen through the lens of a Hollywood director. That means ensuring that the game is fast-paced and rich with incident – after all, nobody ever complained about a race being too exciting."
Sounds hot. Read all of Ralph's answers to our questions after the link.
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