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SEGA RALLY 2005 Interview
Thanks for relaying this useless piece of info to computer users....
Dave "Xenon" > wrote in message ... > > [20/12/04 10:54] > Most driving game sequels don't take six years. But then most driving game > sequels aren't the latest Sega Rally, says Edge > > > After a strangely long absence, Sega Rally Championship is preparing to > re-enter the race - and not in the arcade but on PlayStation2. We talked to > producer Jun Taniguchi and director Kenji Sasaki about their new direction > for a treasured franchise. > > Sega Rally has traditionally led as an arcade title. What made you decide to > develop this version on PS2? > JT: The requests from gamers were quite important. Of course we had many > requests for an arcade version as well and, yes, we like to challenge > ourselves on powerful platforms. Arcade, PC or Xbox could have suited us in > that matter, but PS2 is the biggest market of all. It is the tenth > anniversary of the series. Until now, we had enjoyed sharing our passion of > automobiles with a broad public: first in the arcade when that market was at > its peak, then on Saturn with 1.2 million copies worldwide and later on > Dreamcast with around a million copies worldwide. As you know, though, > [coin-op] sales are down. With this anniversary in mind we wanted to make a > game so fans and newcomers alike could enjoy our game. The best way to reach > so many people was PS2. > > KS: The base of the series is our love for automobiles: the fun in driving a > car is the core element of the game. Of course, the gap in terms of > technology between arcade and the console is quite important, but the main > difference is you can't enjoy an arcade game as you would enjoy a consumer > game. You have to deliver all the fun in three minutes for the arcade while, > on console, you expect to be able to play the game for as long as you want, > whenever you want. So if our main motivation is the same, we have to > redesign the game rules and play time to fit with this new market. > > > > > "Games are getting too difficult to enjoy. Most racing > games claim they are realistic, but I think realism has several faces and > one is the way you enjoy the game" > > > > > > > > How has that affected the play modes on offer? > KS: Two of them are very similar to what you had in the arcade. The Quick > Race mode is what we used to call the Championship mode. Then you have Time > Attack. The third mode is really specific to the consumer market, the Career > Mode. It follows an automobile enthusiast who decides to drive > competitively, first locally and later aiming at higher classes until > finally entering the Sega Rally Championship. He then has a year of > competition to reach the top of that championship. > > I know this style of play is quite common nowadays, but usually you need to > clear a race in order to access the next one. And eventually you come to a > race that's too difficult, and you can't progress beyond that stage, which > is where most players give up. We want to avoid these problems with our > vision of the career mode in Sega Rally 2005. All our events and training > session are scheduled on a calendar, and you are free to attend or ignore > them as you wish - although some may have conditions for attendance, such as > achieving great results in a previous race or holding a certain licence. > > But presumably there'll still be a need to clear a series of events to > access the final championship. > KS: Well, the game will give the player the freedom to do what he wants. If > he wants to become the overall champion, he will aim at the Sega Rally > Championship and play hard. Others might only enjoy one kind of race, like > the Toge, illegal mountain races. You may prefer to be just a local > champion. The Career mode is divided into classes like you would find in > WRC, but we did not put a limitation on the car choice as you would find in > other games. Of course, you will definitely need to gain access to a higher > class in order to buy a more powerful car, but you can get a powerful car > from the beginning if you can afford it, just like in reality. For example, > you could buy an Impreza or a Lancer Evo as your first car. You can go to > your car dealer, buy them and then attend a local rally competition. In the > game you can do the same. > > > > > > How many cars will be featured? > KS: There are not that many, around 20. One problem was that there are not > many cars in the WRC championship. > > JT: But you know, in Europe, you have lower classes like the Junior WRC and > the Super 1600. In these classes you find competitive cars like the Astra, > the Golf, etc, but rally fans are focused on the higher classes with cars > like the Impreza and the 307. So packing the game with hundreds of cars is > not always the solution, and I'm not convinced that players play all these > cars. Plus, hundreds of cars mean you need to prepare the equal number of > physics - so we preferred to focus on a smaller number of cars but making > them individually really enjoyable. > > What about the cars at the heart of the series - the Toyota Celica, the > Lancia Delta and the Stratos? > KS: They appeared in the demo, but we're not yet completely sure if we will > use them in the final game. I can say you shouldn't expect old but legendary > cars like the 205 or the Alpine, though. This 2005 version is a way for us > to reset the series and make a fresh start on console. > > Will there be any focus on tuning your cars, or are you concentrating on the > racing aspect? > KS: Since I want to bring game back to racing, I would prefer to avoid > having players spend too much time on this. So this option is purposefully > not that deep in the game. > > You've announced the game will feature a random course generator - is this > as an aside from the prebuilt courses for the main game modes? > KS: Yes, we developed the random course program as an idea to help make > players enjoy our game. But our problem at the moment is to determine > whether the courses it creates are fun. There are also plenty of courses. We > are planning something like 400 tracks of various types for the Career > mode - although that does not mean you will find 400 different landscapes. > We will also have various weather conditions prepared, and we are still > working on effects in order to study what we can do in addition to the > 'classic' conditions. > > How about the other racers? Are you working on giving them personality > through AI? > JT: Career mode will feature AI rivals who will have their own names and > their own specialities. So according to your driving style you may always > find yourself confronting a given rival. And they each have a kind of > 'psychological profile', a way that they drive. Previously, you only had > types of car as rivals, but now you have Mr X on Evo, or Mr Y on another > Evo, Mr Z on Impreza, etc... > > KS: You will find one AI known for high speed, another for aggression, and > so on. > > JT: This Career mode is a start for us and I see in the future something > much more developed, deeper - maybe some kind of a simulation or team > management mode. > > Simulation-style rally games have proven popular in the console market - are > you making any concession to that within this version in the series, or > keeping to Sega Rally's arcade heritage? > KS: We want to deliver a gaming experience and, in that regard, it will be > arcade. So, yes, it would be closer to a game like RalliSport Challenge on > Xbox. I know they did that game because they loved our Sega Rally, which I > find really cool. And we enjoy playing RalliSport in our office sometimes! > > Overall, I think games are getting too difficult to enjoy and very > inaccessible for many. I still believe that we can enjoy games purely for > fun. Most of the racing games on consoles claim they are realistic, but I > think realism has several faces and one of them is the way you enjoy the > game. > > > > That sounds similar to the approach you've always taken with the series. > > > KS: When we did the first Sega Rally, we had many competitors on the market: > Daytona, Ridge Racer, etc. When we decided to make Sega Rally, we agreed to > change the way players should enjoy a racing game. We first wanted the > player to feel as if he was actually driving a real car. In other racing > games, you would have a high sense of speed. In Sega Rally, we decreased > this speed and focused everything on controls. We amplified the controls to > make them very easy to understand. So our cars in Sega Rally were drifting > in a way a real WRC car would not. At that time, we did not spend any time > in testing real WRC cars, but the result was that users were delighted and > found our game very 'realistic'. > > With Sega Rally 2, it was a time when simulators were numerous, like Gran > Turismo. So this time, we went testing rally cars with real drivers. We > realised how much our game was different from the reality. Then I felt the > need to give the opportunity to the players to experience a rally race > through the driver's eyes. That became the base for Sega Rally 2. We > analysed the cars' specifications to reproduce some of the physics, but our > main concern was to recreate the way the driver would see a landscape or the > road and the way the controls would work. > > You talked about making a fresh start - do you think the arcade series is > over? > KS: Hmm... What I can say is you may expect something different from us in > the arcade. I mean, seven years have passed since the last Sega Rally in the > arcade. > > When did you start working on Sega Rally 2005? > KS: My feelings about Sega Rally did not disappear during the seven years > that I was not working on it. We really started on this version last year, > in April or June. But the beginning of the development was quite slow, with > few staff working on it. Of course the libraries and our track-building > program were in progress for quite some time so it helped speed things up. > Currently, there are around 15 of us working on the game. I know you will > find much bigger teams working on a single title these days and, yes, I > would like to do the same - but right now, I think we are doing OK. > > How have you found working with Sony's hardware, given how little experience > you've had with it? > KS: I think we're starting to see something quite interesting indeed with > how the game is developing. In fact, the designers working on the game are > coming from our past structure, Sega Rosso. Now, for this game, since the > difficulties of working with the PS2 have been no secret for most of the > industry, we have benefited from the past experience of others to build this > engine. It will deliver 60fps and we will work to ensure this is constant > throughout the game. > > Will you be looking to support PS2's online options? > JT: No. The game will be a standalone experience with no twoplayer option. > > KS: A player who wants to speed through everything should clear it in 20 to > 30 hours. This experience is our objective right now. > > > > > > > > > |
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#2
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Nice one.
-- Andi. Remove only one zero to reply "Dave St.Onge" <1@1> wrote in message ... > Thanks for relaying this useless piece of info to computer users.... > > Dave > > "Xenon" > wrote in message > ... > > > > [20/12/04 10:54] > > Most driving game sequels don't take six years. But then most driving game > > sequels aren't the latest Sega Rally, says Edge > > > > > > After a strangely long absence, Sega Rally Championship is preparing to > > re-enter the race - and not in the arcade but on PlayStation2. We talked > to > > producer Jun Taniguchi and director Kenji Sasaki about their new direction > > for a treasured franchise. > > > > Sega Rally has traditionally led as an arcade title. What made you decide > to > > develop this version on PS2? > > JT: The requests from gamers were quite important. Of course we had many > > requests for an arcade version as well and, yes, we like to challenge > > ourselves on powerful platforms. Arcade, PC or Xbox could have suited us > in > > that matter, but PS2 is the biggest market of all. It is the tenth > > anniversary of the series. Until now, we had enjoyed sharing our passion > of > > automobiles with a broad public: first in the arcade when that market was > at > > its peak, then on Saturn with 1.2 million copies worldwide and later on > > Dreamcast with around a million copies worldwide. As you know, though, > > [coin-op] sales are down. With this anniversary in mind we wanted to make > a > > game so fans and newcomers alike could enjoy our game. The best way to > reach > > so many people was PS2. > > > > KS: The base of the series is our love for automobiles: the fun in driving > a > > car is the core element of the game. Of course, the gap in terms of > > technology between arcade and the console is quite important, but the main > > difference is you can't enjoy an arcade game as you would enjoy a consumer > > game. You have to deliver all the fun in three minutes for the arcade > while, > > on console, you expect to be able to play the game for as long as you > want, > > whenever you want. So if our main motivation is the same, we have to > > redesign the game rules and play time to fit with this new market. > > > > > > > > > > "Games are getting too difficult to enjoy. Most racing > > games claim they are realistic, but I think realism has several faces and > > one is the way you enjoy the game" > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > How has that affected the play modes on offer? > > KS: Two of them are very similar to what you had in the arcade. The Quick > > Race mode is what we used to call the Championship mode. Then you have > Time > > Attack. The third mode is really specific to the consumer market, the > Career > > Mode. It follows an automobile enthusiast who decides to drive > > competitively, first locally and later aiming at higher classes until > > finally entering the Sega Rally Championship. He then has a year of > > competition to reach the top of that championship. > > > > I know this style of play is quite common nowadays, but usually you need > to > > clear a race in order to access the next one. And eventually you come to a > > race that's too difficult, and you can't progress beyond that stage, which > > is where most players give up. We want to avoid these problems with our > > vision of the career mode in Sega Rally 2005. All our events and training > > session are scheduled on a calendar, and you are free to attend or ignore > > them as you wish - although some may have conditions for attendance, such > as > > achieving great results in a previous race or holding a certain licence. > > > > But presumably there'll still be a need to clear a series of events to > > access the final championship. > > KS: Well, the game will give the player the freedom to do what he wants. > If > > he wants to become the overall champion, he will aim at the Sega Rally > > Championship and play hard. Others might only enjoy one kind of race, like > > the Toge, illegal mountain races. You may prefer to be just a local > > champion. The Career mode is divided into classes like you would find in > > WRC, but we did not put a limitation on the car choice as you would find > in > > other games. Of course, you will definitely need to gain access to a > higher > > class in order to buy a more powerful car, but you can get a powerful car > > from the beginning if you can afford it, just like in reality. For > example, > > you could buy an Impreza or a Lancer Evo as your first car. You can go to > > your car dealer, buy them and then attend a local rally competition. In > the > > game you can do the same. > > > > > > > > > > > > How many cars will be featured? > > KS: There are not that many, around 20. One problem was that there are not > > many cars in the WRC championship. > > > > JT: But you know, in Europe, you have lower classes like the Junior WRC > and > > the Super 1600. In these classes you find competitive cars like the Astra, > > the Golf, etc, but rally fans are focused on the higher classes with cars > > like the Impreza and the 307. So packing the game with hundreds of cars is > > not always the solution, and I'm not convinced that players play all these > > cars. Plus, hundreds of cars mean you need to prepare the equal number of > > physics - so we preferred to focus on a smaller number of cars but making > > them individually really enjoyable. > > > > What about the cars at the heart of the series - the Toyota Celica, the > > Lancia Delta and the Stratos? > > KS: They appeared in the demo, but we're not yet completely sure if we > will > > use them in the final game. I can say you shouldn't expect old but > legendary > > cars like the 205 or the Alpine, though. This 2005 version is a way for us > > to reset the series and make a fresh start on console. > > > > Will there be any focus on tuning your cars, or are you concentrating on > the > > racing aspect? > > KS: Since I want to bring game back to racing, I would prefer to avoid > > having players spend too much time on this. So this option is purposefully > > not that deep in the game. > > > > You've announced the game will feature a random course generator - is this > > as an aside from the prebuilt courses for the main game modes? > > KS: Yes, we developed the random course program as an idea to help make > > players enjoy our game. But our problem at the moment is to determine > > whether the courses it creates are fun. There are also plenty of courses. > We > > are planning something like 400 tracks of various types for the Career > > mode - although that does not mean you will find 400 different landscapes. > > We will also have various weather conditions prepared, and we are still > > working on effects in order to study what we can do in addition to the > > 'classic' conditions. > > > > How about the other racers? Are you working on giving them personality > > through AI? > > JT: Career mode will feature AI rivals who will have their own names and > > their own specialities. So according to your driving style you may always > > find yourself confronting a given rival. And they each have a kind of > > 'psychological profile', a way that they drive. Previously, you only had > > types of car as rivals, but now you have Mr X on Evo, or Mr Y on another > > Evo, Mr Z on Impreza, etc... > > > > KS: You will find one AI known for high speed, another for aggression, and > > so on. > > > > JT: This Career mode is a start for us and I see in the future something > > much more developed, deeper - maybe some kind of a simulation or team > > management mode. > > > > Simulation-style rally games have proven popular in the console market - > are > > you making any concession to that within this version in the series, or > > keeping to Sega Rally's arcade heritage? > > KS: We want to deliver a gaming experience and, in that regard, it will be > > arcade. So, yes, it would be closer to a game like RalliSport Challenge on > > Xbox. I know they did that game because they loved our Sega Rally, which I > > find really cool. And we enjoy playing RalliSport in our office sometimes! > > > > Overall, I think games are getting too difficult to enjoy and very > > inaccessible for many. I still believe that we can enjoy games purely for > > fun. Most of the racing games on consoles claim they are realistic, but I > > think realism has several faces and one of them is the way you enjoy the > > game. > > > > > > > > That sounds similar to the approach you've always taken with the series. > > > > > > KS: When we did the first Sega Rally, we had many competitors on the > market: > > Daytona, Ridge Racer, etc. When we decided to make Sega Rally, we agreed > to > > change the way players should enjoy a racing game. We first wanted the > > player to feel as if he was actually driving a real car. In other racing > > games, you would have a high sense of speed. In Sega Rally, we decreased > > this speed and focused everything on controls. We amplified the controls > to > > make them very easy to understand. So our cars in Sega Rally were drifting > > in a way a real WRC car would not. At that time, we did not spend any time > > in testing real WRC cars, but the result was that users were delighted and > > found our game very 'realistic'. > > > > With Sega Rally 2, it was a time when simulators were numerous, like Gran > > Turismo. So this time, we went testing rally cars with real drivers. We > > realised how much our game was different from the reality. Then I felt the > > need to give the opportunity to the players to experience a rally race > > through the driver's eyes. That became the base for Sega Rally 2. We > > analysed the cars' specifications to reproduce some of the physics, but > our > > main concern was to recreate the way the driver would see a landscape or > the > > road and the way the controls would work. > > > > You talked about making a fresh start - do you think the arcade series is > > over? > > KS: Hmm... What I can say is you may expect something different from us in > > the arcade. I mean, seven years have passed since the last Sega Rally in > the > > arcade. > > > > When did you start working on Sega Rally 2005? > > KS: My feelings about Sega Rally did not disappear during the seven years > > that I was not working on it. We really started on this version last year, > > in April or June. But the beginning of the development was quite slow, > with > > few staff working on it. Of course the libraries and our track-building > > program were in progress for quite some time so it helped speed things up. > > Currently, there are around 15 of us working on the game. I know you will > > find much bigger teams working on a single title these days and, yes, I > > would like to do the same - but right now, I think we are doing OK. > > > > How have you found working with Sony's hardware, given how little > experience > > you've had with it? > > KS: I think we're starting to see something quite interesting indeed with > > how the game is developing. In fact, the designers working on the game are > > coming from our past structure, Sega Rosso. Now, for this game, since the > > difficulties of working with the PS2 have been no secret for most of the > > industry, we have benefited from the past experience of others to build > this > > engine. It will deliver 60fps and we will work to ensure this is constant > > throughout the game. > > > > Will you be looking to support PS2's online options? > > JT: No. The game will be a standalone experience with no twoplayer option. > > > > KS: A player who wants to speed through everything should clear it in 20 > to > > 30 hours. This experience is our objective right now. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > |
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