Found this on the Empire website... it's a little old, but what the heck...
I hope it's news to some of us! :)
Not quite sure I liked the Playstation bit tho.. but then again... what do i
know about preformance of modern day consoles! :)
Ed_
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London, England, 19th April 2000
World Sports Cars
Empire Interactive gets its motor running with an all-new racing simulation
for the PC CD-Rom and is being prototyped for Sony PlayStation 2?.
Empire Interactive is pleased to announce that it is developing World Sports
Cars for the PC CD-Rom and prototyping for the Sony PlayStation 2? .
Designed and programmed by West Racing , World Sports Cars promises to
inject more realism into the racing genre than you ever thought possible.
Scratch the surface and you'll only see a super-charged simulation of
high-performance speedsters, its cars, tracks and physics model accurately
modelled to almost invisible detail. Look a little closer, however, and you'
ll find that where other games simulate the adrenaline-rush of the 'race',
World Sports Cars simulates the sights, sounds and the emotions of 'racing'.
One look at World Sports Cars and you'll soon discover that there's so much
more to 'racing' than just the 'race'.
Two years in development, World Sports Cars promises will feature up to 12
different race vehicles and a selection of world-renowned tracks to drive
them around, all faithfully recreated in high-resolution 3D. What makes
World Sports Cars different is the level to which West Racing has modelled
the physics. Consequently, all aspects of each car model are dealt with in a
physically correct manner. Suspension geometry is modelled so changes in
camber are real, while the tyre model uses the latest information from the
Society of Automotive Engineers. West Racing has spent a great deal of time
recreating the cars both inside and out - i.e. if theres a panel on the real
car that opens or detaches then it does so on the game's spectacular 3D
model. This 'panel'-based system not only allows World Sports Cars to
simulate some superbly realistic damage, but it even allows the player to
customise their favourite speed demons. Taking the system to an extreme, it'
s even possible to remove all of the car's body panels and drive it around
with no bodywork.
"The emphasis in World Sports Cars," says co-designer Chris West, "is on
totally immersing the player in everything that goes on at a race weekend.
So they will be able to unload the car from the trailer, drive it into the
pit and then take it out on the track for a shakedown. We leave everything
up to the player - if they so choose, they can even drive their car around
the track to line it up on the grid before start."
With planned Simulation and Arcade modes, realistic weather effects and a
freedom of movement that will allow you to drive whichever way around the
track you like, World Sports Cars pushes the boundaries of realism in the
racing genre. Boasting a full range of visual effects (fire, smoke, burnt
***), World Sports Cars takes the pursuit of realism to such great
lengths that West Racing even hope to include motion-captured drivers and
fully-interactive pit-stops.
"I don't know if you remember Pitstop II many years ago," continues Chris
West, "but that had a great little pit-stop section which we want to bring
up to date and enhance. In World Sports Cars, the car will pull up an the
player will have to attach the air hose to jack the car up. To change a tyre
they will pick up an air wrench and use it on a wheel nut, before picking up
a new wheel and fitting it to the car. Even when that's done, you have to
pick up the air-wrench to re-attach the wheel nut. The player will be able
to perform all manner of tasks in the pit-stops such as change fluid levels,
refuelling, swapping drivers and replacing disk pads. There is even a bucket
of water and a sponge to allow the player to clean parts of their car, if
they wish."
World Sports Cars is scheduled for a Q4 2000 release on PC CD-ROM and Sony
PlayStation 2? . For further information, please contact Dawn Beasley on