RalliSport Challenge 2 Developer Interview

We go behind the scenes and get the inside scoop on the Microsoft published and D.I.C.E. developed rally racer.

Microsoft?s RalliSport Challenge was something of a sleeper hit when it first shipped. Released with little fanfare, the game quickly gained a large following for its seamless blend of arcade style handling with traditional rally racing physics. In many ways the game was the spiritual successor to Sega?s own Sega Rally. Now, having shipped Project Gotham Racing 2, the software behemoth is putting the finishing touches on RalliSport Challenge 2. GamePro.com had a chance to sit down with Adam Kovach, the product manager for RalliSport Challenge 2 and throw a few questions his way.

GamePro: What are the big things that differentiate RalliSport Challenge 2 from the original RalliSport? What?s new and improved in this game?

Adam Kovach: The big difference between RalliSport Challenge and RalliSport Challenge 2 is that we have given users a brand new career mode. It is a user directed career mode, so you choose your own path on how to complete the game. We have also given you more cars and more tracks than the first version. The cars now, if you take a look at them, you?ll see a lot more damage modeling, which is really something that people have been looking for. We also adjusted the cars so that they handle better and the player has more options on how you want to customize your car in regards to performance and handling.

GP: How important is customizing your car going to be in playing the game?

AK: Customizing your car to race specifications is definitely going to give you an advantage in regards in how you race and drive versus someone who leaves it in a standard preset mode. You?ll be able to get your car to react to how you race. Some people will over steer and some will under steer and so balancing your car out to compensate for that will help a lot.

GP: Now when you say customizing your car, are you talking solely technical or are we going to see things along the line as putting your own decals on your car, swapping out spoilers and the like? Really tweaking out the car as we?ve seen in the likes Auto Modellista and Midnight Club Racing -- are we going that far?

AK: It is only going to be customizing your car as far as handling and performance. We don?t have any functionality to put in your own decal. It would be cool to have that in there, but right now we want to focus on the rally racing experience and not so much in regards to customizing the exterior of your car.

GP: The new RalliSport Challenge 2 has Xbox Live support as well as XSN support. Owners of Project Gotham 2 saw what Microsoft could do with Live, what will XSN bring to the table for RalliSport Challenge 2?

AK: RalliSport Challenge 2 fans can look forward to having all the features that they would expect from a XSN sports game such as being able to set up your own custom rally leagues and tournaments, so if you want to do all ice racing or if you want to have a mix you can. You?ll be able to step your leagues and be able to compete in that fashion. You?ll also be able to trade ghost files with other players just like Project Gotham Racing 2 -- have your ghost files download and upload on the Live service.

GP: RalliSport Challenge 2 has how many cars exactly?

AK: We?ve got over 40 -- the exact number of cars is still being worked out. All the cars are fully licensed from each of the manufacturers and there is a process we have to go through where we show the car to each manufacturer. Once the cars are finally licensed and in the game we can announce the total number of cars.

GP: How did you decide which cars to put in the game?

AK: When we looked at the game we wanted to make that sure we had all the essential rally cars in there from top manufacturers like Subaru and Mitsubishi. We also wanted to have the cars in there that made rally fun, so we have the Group B cars and if there are any rally fans familiar with Group B they know that these cars are the most powerful cars around. We also thought about what we could add to this game for the second version and so we put in every single winning rally car since 1978. There is some heritage built into this game. People who follow the sport will be able to go into the game, pick one of their favorite cars and race.

GP: All the cars are licensed, what about the tracks? Are we going to see real locations or are they going to be fantasy tracks?

AK: The tracks are based upon real world locations but they are fantasy tracks that we designed. They?re fantasy tracks, but based on real world locations like Argentina, Sweden, US, Canada, and Great Britain.

GP: Looking back on the original RalliSport, obviously you got a lot of feedback on the game. What stood out most of all and how did you implement that into RalliSport 2?

AK: The biggest feedback that we have gotten is that people wanted more content. Also because of the difficulty of rally racing players would get stuck within the game and so we introduced the user created career mode where you are able to set your difficulty. You can start out in an amateur race and go through and win your license and progressively move up through the tracks without having to get stuck on a race -- that?s one of the biggest improvements we made. But people also wanted more damage, so we are introducing this crash cam so where it actually highlights your spectacular crashes giving you a real sense of all the awesome carnage that can happen

GP: Are you going to be able to save those for a replay?

AK: That?s something that we are looking towards right now. I can?t say yes or no but it is something we are definitely are working towards. It is just implementation at this point. We are not sure if we can get that in.

GP: What other technical differences are we going to see in terms of visual effects. What changes have been made to the engine?

AK: D.I.C.E. is a very talented developer that can really push the power of the Xbox. We?ll have 480p progressive scan and full screen anti-aliasing to eliminate a lot of the jagging, so you have smoother lines. D.I.C.E. is able to do various tricks to make it seem very realistic. If you take a look at the game you will see trees swaying in the wind, you see particle physics when the dust is getting kicked up -- it looks very realistic. You?ll see breakable objects in this game, so bushes will be pushed down and small signs will break and bend.

GP: With all these technical upgrades is RalliSport 2 losing its arcade focus and becoming more of a sim? Or will fans be able to expect more of the arcade action they loved in the original?

AK: Fans should be able to expect more of the same. RalliSport got critical acclaim and fans loved it because it was it wasn?t a hardcore sim, it did have that arcade edge. We are giving you more of that rally action -- and the best way to phrase it is rally action, its hard to describe it as anything else. The art of rally racing is about getting sideways and racing on these incredible tracks. We want to be sure we appeal to the customers who bought the first game and give them more of the same experience, except better.

GP: Wrapping up, since you have obviously been playing the game more than anyone else, what is your favorite aspect of RalliSport 2?

AK: My favorite aspect of RalliSport Challenge 2 so far is really the crash cam cause you know that?s the feature that puts a big smile on your face. There?s nothing better than doing a corkscrew in the middle of the air, getting pulled out of your car and seeing that corkscrew action happen, and then when you land on your 4 wheels, popping back into the previous camera view and continuing your race. I think that feature right there is going to be appealing to any racing gamer. It doesn?t matter if you like rally racing or not, it is just a feature all racing gamers can appreciate.

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