Xpand Rally Brings the Thrill of Rallysport to the PC

by Louis Bedigian

“We want [to]…make [the player] forget that he's sitting at a keyboard or a steering wheel and looking at a screen.  We want him to feel like he's driving a real rally car.”

Why should Xbox get to have all the fun?  It takes years for the good games to be released on that platform, but when they are they’re the best in the genre.  Some of the most devout PC gamers in the world consider Halo to be the best shooter available.

With the shooting genre in the bag, Xbox nabbed the best PC-style RPG (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic), and published three of the best racing games ever made: Project Gotham, its sequel, and RalliSport Challenge.

RalliSport Challenge 2 is headed to Xbox and will likely be ported to the PC.  Before that time, Techland Software will release a game that could give RalliSport a run for its money: Xpand Rally.

Built with a powerful engine to ensure that the graphics are comparable, if not better than their competitors, Xpand Rally is packed with gaming goodness.  Just how much gaming goodness exactly?  Read on to find out.

Xpand Rally is an all-new racing game for the PC, so please start by introducing it to our readers.
 

Adam Tutaj, PR & Marketing Manager: First information about Xpand Rally appeared on the Internet in 2002, when the idea for the game and the first prototypes were developed. With time the idea for the game dramatically evolved and currently the game is being developed with one thought in mind: Xpand Rally - The new level of realism in the car racing games.

During the development of this game we focused on never-seen-before realism and the intensity of experience on the part of the computer driver. We want the experience that the player will get through the driving physics, interactive environment, quality of the detailed roads, changing weather conditions, realistic sounds and controllers make him forget that he's sitting at a keyboard or a steering wheel and looking at a screen. We want him to feel like he's driving a real rally car.

There are two very interesting facts about Xpand Rally – it is the first rally game with highly developed economic aspect (winning money, buying cars and parts) and also the first game in this genre that will include a set of professional editing tools based on the WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) technology that will enable the players to create their own tracks, cars, or even entirely game mods.

What type of game modes does Xpand Rally have to offer?

Paweł Zawodny, Development Director: The game offers a career mode which is based on ideas presented in the already legendary Gran Turismo series. The player will have to compete with fast opponents, earn money and tune his car to be able to win in numerous championships. Of course single-race mode will also be available.

One of the unique qualities of the game is the fact that in some game modes the player will be able to drive without any restraints around vast, carefully detailed terrain, unlike in other games, where the driver has to stay in a characteristic "gutter."

The multiplayer mode enables races in "serial" cars (cars that were chosen by the person running the server) or cars that were built during the player's career. Two kinds of races are available: regular races on set tracks and "freestyle" races on unrestricted terrain.

During the race on set tracks players can choose between two types of races. The first one is "head-to-head" racing, where drivers can collide and push each other off the road. Of course this type of racing is against the rules even in rally cross. The other type is closer to classical rally - without collisions, drivers race with opponents' ghost cars. 

This small shot doesn’t do the game justice.

How was the Chrome engine adapted for use in Xpand Rally?

PZ: Xpand Rally is based on the new 2004 version of the Chrome Engine. This engine is the next version of a very effective engine known from Chrome, but the revolutionary transfer to DirectX 9 and the amazing possibilities of pixel shaders and vertex shaders enabled us to create some amazing graphics. With this engine we were able to make a unique simulation of spreading lights, which gave more realism to the lighting in the game.

The Chrome Engine 2004 was additionally equipped with solid figure physical simulation. To achieve this we used ODE system, which (thanks to our own upgrades) can match with any commercial system available on the market. The game required us to add to the engine a simulation system of physical phenomena occurring inside the car - parts responsible for driving parameters.

Thanks to these modifications the Chrome Engine performs remarkably well in a rally game. Right from the beginning this engine was perfect for open terrains filled with rich plant vegetation which in reality is the most common scenery for such races.

Are there any official licenses being used for the vehicles?  If so, which car manufacturers are going to be featured in this game?

AT: The game will not include licensed cars, although vehicles available are based on popular WRC and "serial" cars. The problem with getting the licenses was mostly based on extremely long periods of time necessary for negotiating the license agreements. Moreover, most of the rally cars that we were interested in were already "booked" by electronic entertainment moguls, which prevented us from using these vehicles in our game.

Another barrier in getting the licenses was the fact that some of the car manufacturers did not want to agree to damage their cars completely during the game, not to mention injuries to the drivers - these are quite important elements of Xpand Rally.

We decided that our main goal was to achieve maximal realism, and using licensed cars was just a marketing trick that does not influence the driving experience. We aimed at other ways of getting the player involved in the game and we believe that we succeeded in doing so. I should mention that the editing tools included in the game will enable all the players to add any car that they might like to the game.

Nice trees.

Does car or environmental damage occur at all in this game?

AT: It's impossible to imagine realism in a rally game without proper damage of the car. In Xpand Rally each car may be damaged in collisions, as well as the components' cars will wear off during intensive usage. All this will immediately affect the driving physics of the vehicle. We managed to achieve this by simulating all the most important processes and interactions taking place in a real car. Besides impressive broken glass, hoods flying off after huge jumps, torn off bumpers and spoilers, and damaged chassis of the cars, the driver might also lose a wheel after colliding with a boulder, damage the suspension, engine, compressor or transmission.

PZ: Dynamic and fully interactive track environment in Xpand Rally has been achieved by global physics simulation of all game objects. Physical model in Xpand Rally is based on rigid body simulator named Open Dynamics Engine - a complex solution for dynamics simulation created by Russell Smith - the author of the MathEngine system that has been used for physics in many games.

During the development of physics simulation for Xpand Rally, ODE has been largely modified and underwent heavy optimizations. Thanks to the above we were able to achieve an unbelievable level of interaction of the car with the environment.

What sort of road hazards will players have to overcome during a race?

PZ: Besides standard difficulties such as tight turns and huge jumps, the driver might encounter animals wandering on the road, sudden weather changes (which may influence road conditions), or strong wind. We had several other ideas, but we do not want to reveal them now so that they may be a complete surprise to the players.

If this were an Xbox game,

RalliSport Challenge 2 would have some serious competition.

How does weather affect driving conditions?  Are there specific tires and/or other car parts that are important to choose before taking on Mother Nature?

AT: The driving model of the car includes, besides the processes taking place inside the car, the simulation of the interaction between the tires and the surface of the road. This means that each type of surface has its own individual characteristics and will differently influence the car's traction. Combining this fact with the strong influence of the weather conditions and day-time on the surface means that the car will behave differently on the cold tarmac in the morning and on hot tarmac at the end of a sunny day. The temperature will also have affect on whether the water on the ground will start to freeze or the ice will begin to melt. Obviously the traction will be influenced by rain and snow. That is why the choice of the right tires for each surface will play a crucial role in each race.

The physical simulation of the air resistance makes it important to equip the car with spoilers. The car will gain a better CX ratio and thus will be less susceptible to side wind.

We can't forget about adjusting all the car's parameters to achieve the desired effect. For example the suspension will have to be a bit higher and softer for gravel roads and lower and harder for tarmac streets. Similarly the brakes and the balance between front and back wheels may influence races where the visibility is impaired and reaction time is more crucial. The choice of front, back, or all-wheel drive is a matter of personal choice, but it will also influence the driving physics.

Do any storms occur in this game?  Blizzards, thunderstorms, or tornados, etc...?

PZ: Weather conditions may rapidly change during a race. The driver can be surprised by a sudden rainfall, wind blow or thunderstorm. The fact that there is some unpredictability in the weather conditions makes the races especially interesting and challenging as the player will need both: lots of skills and some good luck to be successful.

How many cars and tracks do you hope to have in the final version of the game?

AT: There are more than 60 tracks available in the game without reverses and mirrors, in 5 various parts of the world. The player will encounter around 30 different types of track surfaces, each with unique characteristics. Xpand Rally offers 9 types of rally cars in more than 30 different versions. The economic part of the game consists of more than 600 various parts grouped in 7 categories. But the most important fact is that the player can add infinite number of tracks and cars. Moreover, all the rules of the competition and economics can also be changed, enabling the player to create a completely new, personal rally game based on an advanced graphics engine.

Black car, yellow tires.

Yeah, you know it’s rally racing.

Are terrain types (snow vs. dirt, etc.) dispersed evenly among the tracks?

AT: Each player will find something interesting. Besides quick trials on straight gravel roads the player can also race on curvy tarmac streets between buildings as well as tight forest paths. The players can compete on various surfaces such as:

• Tarmac

• Gravel

• Mud

• Sand

• Snow

• Ice

Each surface comes with several variations depending on the weather conditions. For example the player might encounter dry tarmac, as well as covered with ice or melting snow and ice. Altogether the game offers about 30 different possibilities as far as surface is concerned.

Some of the tracks have the same surface throughout its entire length and some tracks have various surface types.

Moreover each surface type will change its parameters according to the weather conditions during the race, which will make each race even more attractive.

Can you change vehicles frequently in this game, or do you have to stick with the same one throughout each cup?

AT: The career mode in Xpand Rally includes various types of races, often grouped into series. Depending on the type of the series the player will have to complete the series in a particular type of a car or the choice of the vehicle will be up to the player. The career mode was designed to ensure maximum challenge and to make the player upgrade his vehicles and make him drive as many different cars as possible. The economic aspect of the game is especially important in the career mode. It enables the player to compete on similar bases with the opponents and forces the player to wisely manage his funds. It might sound complicated but I assure you that it will be very appealing the players and it will keep them playing for a very long time.

Can players tweak their vehicles in any way?  Can they change parts and upgrade their vehicle's performance?

PZ: Gran Turismo was our model as far as the economic part of the game is concerned. However the set of parts available in our game is based on reality in which a real rally driver has to compete. Among the parts available a player will find upgrade sets such as: engine, exhaust, suspension and many others. Each part possible to be installed in the car not only changes the driving parameters of the vehicle, but also introduces additional parameters that may be adjusted. 

Thank you for your time.

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