|
| NFS C: Q&A with Steve Anthony, Part 3 |
Thursday, 02.11.2006 |
 The third part of the Q&A with Steve Anthony, the Line Producer of Need for Speed Carbon is out.
This time he talks about the race modes in the game:
Community Team: What are all the race modes in Carbon?
Steve Anthony: This year we have a large variety of games modes consisting of new cool modes coupled with classic popular modes synonymous with the Need for Speed franchise. The two major new modes we have brought into Need for Speed this year are Canyon Duel and Drift.
Firstly, Canyon Duel really is something new for Need for Speed with a brand new style of gameplay. The game mode is inspired by Touge racing from Japan which is becoming hugely popular in the street racing scene. The mode is split into two legs; the first leg sees the player chase their opponent down the treacherous canyon roads, trying to keep as close as possible to score as many points as possible. The closer the player races with the opponent, the more points they will accumulate. The second leg sees the player go from being the chaser to being chased, and the mindset now switches to defending your previously set score. The player must now keep ahead of their opponent and try and get away from the chaser. The larger the distance, the less points are deducted. If the player manages to get to the bottom of the canyon run with points remaining then they win. If they don't then they lose! The other key element to this mode is that there are several end states to the gameplay. At any point the player can smash through the canyon barriers which will result in a loss. Alternatively if the player manages to get far enough away from their opponent for a protracted period of time, they will win. Conversely if either player manages to overtake their opponent and maintain the new position this will result in an instant win. There is no doubt about it - the Canyon Duels in Need for Speed Carbon are the most illicit game mode we have created in the franchise and I hope our fans enjoy playing it as much as we do!
Secondly, we have drift which sees it return to the Need For Speed franchise for the first time since Underground 2. This time around the drift mechanic really focuses on speed and the speed at which the player can drift. The player will be rewarded more points the faster they manage to drift. What this does is make the mode a lot faster than it ever has been before, and makes it a much more intense experience. I am sure our fans will love this mode more than ever.
In addition we have a host of classics in Carbon, such as circuit, checkpoint, speedtrap and sprint. Following on from the success of Most Wanted, we have also brought back a better, more honed Challenge Series for Need for Speed Carbon. Also we have some cool new online modes that the player can indulge in - Pursuit Tag and Pursuit Knockout.
Finally we have a next gen only game mode called Race Wars which sees the player battle against a huge pack of opponents. The goal is simple - battle your way through the grid and hang onto first place. It's a lot tougher than it sounds!
CT: Are all these modes available for both offline & online play?
SA: All modes in the game can be played online in Need for Speed Carbon. This year we specifically we have two exclusive online modes which are cop orientated. These are Pursuit Tag and Pursuit Knockout. In Pursuit Tag it's your job to avoid the other players who play the cops and are hunting you down throughout the city. Avoid them long enough and you can record a best score on the online leaderboards. Get busted and you return as a cop in pursuit of the one that busted you.
In Pursuit Knockout each player begins a multiplayer circuit race. The player that finished the lap last returns as a cop bent on harassing the remaining racers and keeping them from posting a top time. With each lap more players return as cops until only one racer remains with 2 laps to go. Cops compete for pursuit points by knocking and bumping the racers who are running the gauntlet for the top racer prize.
In addition, we have some specific online challenge series events that will allow online players to experience this cool mode cooperatively!
CT: How many players to a race?
SA: Most race types will see the player pitting their skills against two opponents, with the other racer being your wingman. For the next generation systems we have been able to increase the field to create a better gameplay experience; we have a total of 8 racers, with 6 of them being opponents from rival crews. This makes for an enjoyable race experience that really brings out the rivalries in the crews.
CT: How do cops figure into Carbon? How are they different to MW?
SA: Cops don't play such a huge role as in Need For Speed Most Wanted, but they still exist in the Carbon World and the cities finest will be keeping an eye on you and the other racers. As in Most Wanted, the cops will be patrolling the open world keeping their eye out for racers. One key aspect this year is that regions in the city have heat designated to them. What I mean by this is that the more the player and other crews race in a particular region, the higher the heat is in that region. The more heat in a specific region means the more chance there is of cops showing up in races and free roam in that region. It is up to the player to manage this geographic heat by leaving areas to cool down before indulging in more street racing in a particular spot.
As with Most Wanted, the player can still be busted and their rides impounded and confiscated. All in all, the cops this year really do compliment the gameplay without overwhelming the rest of the gameplay experience. The cops are as cool as ever, but this year they are better applied to the gameplay experience and I am sure fans of Most Wanted will enjoy the new cop experience in Need For Speed Carbon.
CT: How much gameplay time do you see gamers getting out of Carbon?
SA: Well, there are three Career paths to begin with –we designed the game so you can play through the game in one Car Class and then have a very different experience playing through the Career on different Car Class.
We also have revamped the Challenge Series: each Challenge type is divided into bronze, silver and gold challenges, with some cool unique unlockables for completing the gold challenge in each Challenge type.
A completely new feature is called the Reward Card. By completing a group of four in-game challenges per card (such as a set number of cop chases, completing career 100% etc.) you can unlock new parts, vinyls and cars to customize your cars even further.
To complete all the tasks and events in the Career, Reward card and Challenge series you are looking at some serious gameplay time, it took our guys here at the studio at least 40 hours to do just the Challenge Series, Career and Reward Card -and that’s without even touching the multi-player modes!
For PS3, PC and Xbox 360 there is also all the online content with their unique game modes, as well as online-only Reward Card with further rewards. I think you can look forward to spending a lot of time on Carbon!
|
|
Comments (0) |
Pages:
You have to be logged in to post comments.
Please login by using the form in the right menue. If you are not registered
yet you can create here a new free account. |
|
|
|
