Interview with Michael Mann

In the UK, on August 24, 2006, EA presented at a press conference in Leipzig
the new car arcade NFS: Carbon in the hope of eclipsing all similar projects coming out this winter.
A small downhill speed competition (canyon duel), since the presence of this type of
racing is already known, demonstrated the advanced car physics and hyper-realistic graphics
used in NFS Carbon. After the presentation, IGN invited us to a private conversation with Michael Mann
(Michael Mann), producer at Black Box.

IGN: First, tell us about the cars, please.
Michael Mann: The game will have more than 50 licensed, fully customizable cars.
Each of the three car categories has its own specific parts and tuning, so
the driving type the player chooses is determined by these parts and tuning that are
available. We also added a new physics system that depends on the car type. For example,
a modified Mustang will handle drastically differently from a stock Golf.
The cars are divided into 3 categories tied to career. So you can start
the game in a different part of the city depending on which car type you choose: exotic,
sports or tuned. There is also competition between street gangs, so you
will have to build your crew before going against other crews to capture their spheres
of influence. Certain tracks require certain cars, which is exactly why the player must devote
a lot of time to their crew and car selection. A car that is not suited to a given
track will be very difficult to handle, so you will have to tune it for a better
result in the race.

IGN: Once the player has chosen a car, how much can they customize it?
MM: In NFS: Underground car customization was a priority factor - there were
hundreds of different parts and ways to combine them. And so for the last two years we've been thinking about how
to take all this to the next level, and we came up with "morphing" parts - sections
of the car that can be pulled, shifted, twisted (like plasticine) to create an almost
limitless number of car styling options. Each car is divided into ten zones
that can be modified, so the player can change the size and shape of something,
from the size, height and angle of the spoiler to changing the number of spokes on the wheels.
At present, this only concerns the visual styling of the car and does not affect
the technical characteristics, but we are still thinking about how all this can be linked.

IGN: Do the innovations concern only body parts or is there something else?
MM: We added a vector grid to Need For Speed Carbon, which will allow the player to move
decals (vinyls) to any part of the car, not just specific places. You can
change their size, rotate them, merge them together. In total, there will be around nine hundred images to
choose from, and there will also be 90 thousand colors, so the player can create the
car they like.

IGN: How is the city divided?
MM: Each of the four districts of the city is divided into four or five zones, which in turn
differ by the type of races taking place in them: street, drift or canyon duel.
In total there are about eight races in a zone (the number of races depends on the importance of the zone), but to challenge
the boss you need to win about five or six races. The player will have to win half of all
races to challenge them. However, as your territory grows, more and more
gangs will appear wanting to grab a piece of that territory for themselves, so there is
a constant balance between gaining new territories and defending the areas you already have. You
have more than 80 races at your disposal. Each district has its own boss, plus there are also sub-bosses
who also need to be beaten.

IGN: Will there be new modes?
MM: We brought back drift, as in NFS Underground. This time we wanted to make the physics just
as precise, so we talked to experts and drifted ourselves. Now the car handling is more
precise and much cleaner. The scoring system is also improved: a lot depends on speed,
that is, the faster the player enters the drift, the more points they get. Secondly, the player's score
depends on how far the rear of the car has deviated from zero angle; the greater the angle,
the more points the player will earn accordingly. And of course there are bonuses
for those who go through it all in a single drift.

IGN: Could you tell us in more detail about the canyon duel?
MM: The canyon duel originates from street racing in Japan and consists of two parts. In the first,
the player must stay as close to the opponent as possible without falling into the gorge or
smashing their car against the mountain slope. The second stage is the complete opposite of the first - this time you
will be fleeing from the opponent's pursuit, trying to hold the lead. If the pursuing
car overtakes its rival, it wins the race, although achieving this will be quite
difficult, since the race takes place on a winding mountain road, and the opponent will also try
to push you off the track. If this happens, it will be the end of the race and the player will have to start it
over. We also thought about scrapping the car for metal after it falls off the cliff,
but decided that would be too harsh, considering how much time the player spent tuning it.
You will also have the opportunity to ram the opponent's car, plus they make mistakes too. There is
also canyon drift, where the player must slide down the road, earning points that way,
instead of racing one-on-one with the boss.

IGN: And the last question: what should we expect from multiplayer?
MM: Multiplayer will be available on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. At the moment I can't go into
details, but gamers can expect team races, one-on-one races and canyon duels. On Xbox
Life it's much easier to make multiplayer, just like on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, because there's already a
great environment for online racing.