Take Total Control of Your Team in NASCAR ’06: Total Team Control

by Louis Bedigian

“Every year we play test and polish our driving mechanics to ensure that we strike a good balance between a challenging experience and also a driving experience that anyone can enjoy.”

When the engines are revved and the light turns green,

You push on the gas, too fast to be seen.

No one can catch you, as if someone would try,

You're moving so quick they'll think you can fly.

You drive for miles and hang tight for hours,

Preparing for the victory that will soon be ours.

Bump opponents to cushion harsh turns,

Oops!  He spun out!  Man that burns.

Look over the pace car – the goal is so clear!

The crowd is standing!  For us they will cheer!

I'm there!  I did it, I crossed the finish line!

The trophy is ours but the money's all mine!

No sport is faster on the track or has grown faster with new fans than NASCAR, and few upcoming sports games show as much promise as NASCAR '06: Total Team Control.  

It was NASCAR Thunder that got me interested in the first place and I’ve been a fan ever since.  Thunderous applause followed when gamers learned that, in Total Team Control, you can handle multiple drivers and switch vehicles (on-the-fly) every time you crash.

Scott Stutsman, Producer of NASCAR ’06: Total Team Control, is here to tell us more about EA’s most anticipated simulation racer.

The subtitle, "Total Team Control," that indicates that there is some kind of team control feature that is totally…fantastic!  Could you explain?

Scott Stutsman: Sure.  There are many elements that our team continues to innovate on gameplay that encompass "Total Team Control."  Starting off with our opening prologue, we introduce a great new feature that has never been seen in a racing title and that is the ability to swap to another car real-time at any point during a race.

Of course you have to swap to a teammates car which makes it really important that you treat them well.  If you make your teammates angry, you will be turned down and ultimately unable to swap to their car.

Swapping is done through your Interactive Crew Chief Control.  You'll call up a teammate that you want to interact with and have 4 immediate communications that you can use on your teammates.  Also, through our newly integrated "Voice Recognition," up to 8 total commands can be used that can affect the way you race with them.  These controls include swapping cars, blocking, falling back and pitting with you.

The Total Team Control feature must have greatly influenced the career mode.  What can we expect from it?

SS: It's not just about the individual driver anymore in our career mode.  We took all of our newly created team game mechanics and merged them into our career mode, Fight to the Top.  With the addition of the Interactive Crew Chief feature to Fight to the Top, the player can now send commands to his teammates (through his crew chief) while racing.  It is through these commands that the player can build team chemistry with his teammates, which in turn leads to better teamwork, more cash, and more opportunities to climb the ladder of success.   We've also added real teams this year.  I'm betting gamers this year will really enjoy being able to race the #8 car for DEI, and have his real teammates blocking or drafting for him.  It's a goal the player can have in his career; to strive to one day drive for, and/or own, some of the biggest teams in NASCAR.

My favorite thing about EA's NASCAR games is the controls.  They're always silky-smooth and feel very realistic.  Are they being tweaked for NASCAR '06, and if so, in what ways are they being improved?

SS: Every year we play test and polish our driving mechanics to ensure that we strike a good balance between a challenging experience and also a driving experience that anyone can enjoy.  With having four different authentic NASCAR series in the game, this gives us a natural progression to expose new users to so that they can enjoy driving a variety of cars that all handle differently but with ramped difficulty levels.

What does Bump Drafting do?

SS: Bump Drafting occurs mainly at your super speedways like Talladega and Daytona.  Due to the restriction that NASCAR places on the cars to keep the speeds down for safety, you will see cars out there on the track Bump Drafting.  What happens is that a car gets a certain amount of momentum from drafting behind another car.  With that momentum, to make the 2 cars go faster, the rear car bumps the car in front to give him a little momentum boost.  This causes the two cars to go faster than one car could which in turn could help them make a difficult pass or pull away from other cars.   Bump Drafting can be very effective on the straightaways, but the player will have to be careful in the turns to prevent causing a wreck.

Are there any other new techniques being implemented?

SS: I don't know if you would call them new techniques as much as I would call it a whole new approach to how you race.  With NASCAR '06, again, we try to really integrate the team element into gameplay.  Interacting with your teammates can be such a key element to success in your career.  As you race and get to the front, you can swap back to a struggling teammate and help them get to the front.  This will help you and your team accumulate more points and also the important dollars it takes to become a dominating team in the top NASCAR divisions.

My second favorite thing about EA's NASCAR games: car pileups!  Does NASCAR '06 expand on this aspect, including superior body damage?

SS: We spent a lot of time this year upgrading the crash physics so that they looked more spectacular, but also more natural.  The damage that occurs on these cars when you get into a huge pileup is unbelievable .  This year we have also  increased the debris that will come off the cars and remain on the track for a period of time following accidents, so it will be important for the player to avoid the car parts on the track to keep their car clean and running well.

This is the last year before the next generation heats up.  Have you finally been able to squeeze the last ounce of power out of the existing game consoles?

SS: We are reaching the limits but we continue every year to do more than we would have ever expected that we can do.  We are the only console racing game that has 43 cars running on the track at the same time which takes some horsepower to accomplish.  With that being said, when we think that we are up against it technology wise, our team continues to squeeze out more features, year in and year out.

All this sounds great, but suppose I'm a loner and I want race entirely on my own.  I don't want to worry about my computer-controlled teammates or anyone else.  Is there a way to go solo?

SS: Then you just go out there and do that.  You will lose out on the benefits that racing on a team provide, but you can play the game any way you choose and still be successful.  Even though NASCAR is dominated by top teams in the sport, there are still teams that only field one car in a race and they still have the opportunity to win a championship.

You get cash for winning races and can then buy new racers that will increase the success rate of your group.  How does this work exactly?

SS: You can win cash for finishing well, and with that money you can buy different teams in different series.  Each race team in NASCAR 06 has its own group of teammates who posses unique characteristics.  Of course, what you'll want to do is save your cash and buy those big name racing teams on the market, like DEI or Roush  Racing .  Those teams have established superstars on the payroll who know how to take care of themselves on the track.  And if you buy them, those drivers will be your teammates.  The better your teammates, the faster your team's prestige will grow, which in turn increases your team's net value.  Then you can sell that team and use that cash to buy a better team in that series, or a team in another series, or upgrade any of your current teams assets.  It all depends on what the player  chooses to do .

NASCAR '06 utilizes the Logitech headset in a unique way.

SS: This year in NASCAR '06, we have added voice recognition to the mix.   There are 3 main categories for utilizing the voice recognition: Team Commands, Dynamic Race Feedback, and Menu Options.  The Team Commands, as previously discussed, provide you with 8 new features that can be use to set the track and punch your team through the pack.  Dynamic Race Feedback allows you to access real-time feedback from your crew chief and spotter.  This can be used to find out where your teammates are on the track, what your fastest lap time is, and much more.  Through activating the Menu Options, you can command the rear view mirror on and off, pause the game, or even call out pit strategies like a 2 tire or 4 tire pit stop. So many of these things you would normally have to go to a pause menu settings screen to adjust, and now you can now do this on the fly as you are racing.

I also heard you could lose points for swearing...?

SS: Yeah, we thought it would be neat to make sure you kept it clean while racing so you need to be careful when racing around the track and you get bumped around by your opponents.  Your crew chief will keep you posted on where you stand when those inappropriate words come flying out of your mouth in the heat of the battle.

How will the online gameplay features work now that the team features have been added?  Can we expect innovation, or at least a lot of fun and excitement, from that as well?

SS: There is always a lot of fun and excitement when racing online with your friends and foes.  You choose how you race with others online whether you want to draft with them or fight for each position.  From a teammate perspective, you can buddy up with someone and race against the rest of the pack to work your way to the front.

Thank you for your time.