Interview with Ian Bell
Recently, Ian Bell from Slightly Mad Studios found the time to tell us about Need for Speed SHIFT. Read the interview below.
How did Slightly Mad Studios start working on Need for Speed SHIFT?
Need for Speed SHIFT is the realization of our dream. Having started developing racing simulators, we set ourselves one goal: to give the mass gamer the chance to experience a surprisingly realistic, intense feeling of racing. We want to give racers a chance to test themselves: to tame a wild, fire-breathing machine, to fight their way to the top, to step onto the podium and taste glory.
SHIFT is the evolution of that idea, not of a specific game. There has never been a game with such deep and intense racing sensations. You truly sit down in the driver's seat and flinch at the anticipation of pain when you make a mistake, as if you were really going to hit the wall or trade door panels with your rivals. We expanded the genre by adding first-person shooter physics to the game.
We got a fantastic opportunity to bring our idea to life under the brand Need for Speed, one of the oldest and most famous racing brands in the world. With the marketing and distribution resources that EAprovides, we can bring it to the maximum number of players. It's a great partnership.
How do the difficulty levels of Need for Speed SHIFT compare with the parameters of other simulators?
SHIFT is built on the most advanced physics model we have ever created. It is the most realistic model, even compared to the best of the analogues in popular racing games. It can reproduce an unlimited number of streams and deliver detailed physical characteristics while running on consoles at 400 hertz. This means that things like tire deformation, which depends on g-forces, internal pressure and rubber thickness, are taken into account. Only the most hardcore fans will notice them, but we know they are there.
We have a fully realistic "hardcore" mode called Pro, which can be selected from the very start. It is natural and comfortable, but at the same time it sets an incredibly high bar compared to everything on the market (or getting ready for release) – it will be a challenge even for advanced fans. It can be combined with one of three AI difficulty levels, and in Hard mode the computer opponents will fight to the last, giving you no quarter, so even the most talented racers will have to work hard. The computer opponents will block you, break away, make mistakes and cut corners, and if you are too aggressive, they will fight back.
As you play, you will learn the style of these rival drivers, and they will know you and your unique style.
How will damage affect the car's behavior in "Pro" mode?
The driving model has four levels, and each option lets you choose only visible or "full" (performance-affecting) damage. Again, the physics engine supports the reproduction of any type of damage – from visible to "real" – but we will keep tuning them to make them even more fun. Bumpers will fly off, hoods will pop open and doors will crumple, and if you enable "full" damage mode, the suspension will bend, the steering will respond poorly to your inputs, and the engine will finally give out, so you will barely make it to the end of the race.
We made the decision to focus on the action and abandon overly harsh penalties. This is racing, not a car crash game. In "full" mode your actions will have corresponding consequences, which will probably keep you from succeeding in the race, but at least you will be able to crawl across the finish line to earn points for your profile.
What is Slightly Mad Studios doing to accurately reproduce the tracks?
We reproduce the tracks with incredible realism. In this field we definitely have no competitors. To ensure this quality, we collect data from various sources. Our designers not only use satellite images and GPSdata, but also watch thousands of hours of video so that a track that exists in reality is reproduced in SHIFT down to the smallest detail, and the player gets the true feeling of a racer on that specific circuit. In addition, we are very lucky: we receive telemetry data from several teams, and this allows us to work out the nuances of the track
by carefully studying the suspension movement, timing resistance and g-forces of real racing cars. Measurements and photographs are not enough here. If you want to fully reproduce the racer's experience, you need to know all the subtleties that can be extracted from the treasure troves available to us. Even laser scanning will not provide such accuracy. Information that there is a 5 mm bump on the track will give you nothing if you don't know how the car will react to it. Reaction, experience – that is what matters.
Does each car have its own physics profile? How many car profiles and other physics profiles are there in NFS Shift?
Yes, every car has a physics profile. In addition, there are unique profiles for different types of suspensions, tires, gearboxes, boost, engines, etc. At the moment there are 500 separate physics profiles in the game, and many of them have dynamically changing parameters. This huge collection allows our physics programmers to create a detailed and realistic simulation of all the key factors that determine a car's behavior, as well as the finest details that are missing from almost all racing games. That is why players of SHIFT say: "This is exactly how it should be!" For example, when the sidewalls of a tire flex under the g-forces in a corner, the area and location of the contact patch immediately change. In turn, the tire starts to grip the road surface differently as it tries to hold on. Without such details, a game can be enjoyable, but it can also become sterile and lifeless. With SHIFT we are pushing the boundaries of physics computation on consoles, delivering a living, thrillingly authentic experience that gets right under the player's skin.
Source: nfs.ru