STACK #180 Oct 2019

GAMES FEATURE

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After quite some time in the pits, the GRID series makes its way to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC this month.We had a chat with Chris Smith, the GRID game director at Codemasters, as to what to expect from the reborn racer. Words Amy Flower W ith a whole new generation of hardware to play on since the last series entry, GRID Autosport , Chris Smith tells us that possibly the most exciting thing to look forward to is, essentially, randomness. experience. Considering Smith’s keenness to highlight it, we pressed him for more details. “We wanted to create the unpredictable nature of motorsport to deliver memorable racing stories for the players,” he ALL LINED UP

Spanish F1 legend Fernando Alonso has worked with Codemasters on this iteration of GRID . “It’s been great working with Fernando, who is arguably one of the world’s greatest ever drivers,” Smith gushes, understandably. “Both his experience and knowledge has enabled us to make improvements to both the performance and handling of our cars. From a gameplay perspective, players enter a series of events against some of Alonso’s esports driving team FA Racing, across multiple classes of racing before going head- to-head with the former world champion in his Renault R26 F1, in a face-to-face showdown event.” What we loved most about GRID Autosport was its superb balance of simulation with enough of an arcade vibe to not scare away more casual drivers. So, where does GRID sit on this spectrum? “Today there are many different gamer types, each with different gaming habits, skill levels and time available for their gaming sessions,” muses Smith. “ GRID is designed for everyone with choice and accessibility in mind. You choose how you play through the career, how you set up your car, what online experience you want, no matter your skill level or time to play, GRID is for everyone. "This approach to accessibility and choice is also reflected in GRID ’s newly-created handling model. Turn off assists like stability control and ABS, and players who prefer a more challenging and realistic handling model will feel at home. If you’re a more casual player, leave the assists on and the level of skill required to drive the car lowers. This allows us to have a handling model that feels great for each car class, and enjoyable for all players. After all, it’s your game and we want you to have fun!” We can’t hold out any longer. The cars! Tell us more about the cars and what we can do with them!

elaborates. “In order to achieve this, we needed competitive AI with distinct personalities like rivals, teammates and nemeses for the player to react to, as well as have them react to the player. For example, if you create a nemesis by repeated car contact with an AI, we change their personality, boost their skill and allow them to initiate car-to- car manoeuvres and even start more actively blocking your overtake attempts. In short, when an AI becomes a nemesis, they do all they can to beat you.” In news that will excite many a race fan,

“Unpredictable motorsport racing is the most impactful addition to GRID that players will feel every moment they are racing. “With 400 AIs, 74 potential

No matter your skill level or time to play, GRID is for everyone

teammates, a nemesis system, rivals and the ‘Event Choreographer’ – which affects AI drivers with mechanic failures, mistakes and human traits such as someone being

on the top of their game or just having an off day – the variety in cars and tracks means no two races will feel the same.” A game’s AI can make or break the

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OCTOBER 2019

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