Codemasters Reveals Off-Road Racer ONRUSH

[torque99]

Such a shame for the poor guys (Rushy & Senior Graphics Dev Team etc) after DriveClub's closure. The graphics they produce are some of the best. I wish them well and really hope they find another company that will take them on.

As for the reason for poor sales of only 1000 on release week, (I wonder how many Digital etc) I can only assume the marketing wasn't pushed too hard everywhere (codemasters don't as a rule market too much as Dirt4 nearly missed my radar). No PC release. It was a risk throwing this game out there not being the usual 'racer' as with Blur and Split Second. Reading the comments some racers don't know what it is, others said the beta put them off.

'Harsh' is the gaming industry.

 

[MrCrynox]

I thought this might happen. I wish they would have just been tasked with the next Grid or something. Its sad.

 

[imported_rik19]

Oh no terrible, I feel bad for selling my copy now.

 

[-Fred-]

I'm not really surprised it hasn't sold well, I got the feeling throughout the pre-release that even Codemasters couldn't really explain how the game worked... I wasn't expecting the sales to be so low, however! It's perhaps a wrong place, wrong time kind of situation with the arcade-ish genre making a bit of a resurgence lately, I don't think it's what the audiences were after. Shame.

 

[imported_rik19]

I got bored after a few days with it really....hmmm

 

[MXH]

Not surprised that it didn't meet expectations but those numbers are basically DoA. This has to be the worst bomba in recent memory, right?
I feel bad for the team and I sincerely hope they all land on their feet.

I never played the beta as the game never appealed to me the slightest in its current form. Imagine if they got to work on GRID3 instead. What a massive waste of talent.

 

[torque99]

delete

 

[MrCrynox]

Not surprised that it didn't meet expectations but those numbers are basically DoA. This has to be the worst bomba in recent memory, right?
I feel bad for the team and I sincerely hope they all land on their feet.

I never played the beta as the game never appealed to me the slightest in its current form. Imagine if they got to work on GRID3 instead. What a massive waste of talent.

It must have been Evo's decision to make this game hence the firing of top staff. Which is a crying shame as the marriage between the two companies seemed to be a match made in heaven. I wish CM would have not taken them on as equals and just set them to work on something we expect from CM, such as the next Rally or Grid game, after all that's all we expect from them, isn't it ? All seems a bit daft to me, a missed opportunity by CM and kinda obvious suicide by Evo. Can't make sense of it tbh.

 

[MeanElf]

It must have been Evo's decision to make this game hence the firing of top staff. Which is a crying shame as the marriage between the two companies seemed to be a match made in heaven. I wish CM would have not taken them on as equals and just set them to work on something we expect from CM, such as the next Rally or Grid game, after all that's all we expect from them, isn't it ? All seems a bit daft to me, a missed opportunity by CM and kinda obvious suicide by Evo. Can't make sense of it tbh.

As Driveclub is still viewed as possibly the best all round driving game of this console generation, it should be no wonder that CM took the Evo team on as equals - what is a surprise is the speed of their flip over to simply dumping the core of that team. I appreciate that some of this is standard practise but there is also a certain amount of time needed for an investment to be allowed to come to fruition.

 

[queleuleu]

Except Forza Horizon, the racing genre is in a complicated time. 99% (including me) of the people didn't understand the concept of this game.

 

[MrCrynox]

As Driveclub is still viewed as possibly the best all round driving game of this console generation, it should be no wonder that CM took the Evo team on as equals - what is a surprise is the speed of their flip over to simply dumping the core of that team. I appreciate that some of this is standard practise but there is also a certain amount of time needed for an investment to be allowed to come to fruition.

Yes it is surprising. Seems unnecessary and extremely harsh. If the two teams now started working on together on some existing ip's I'm sure success would be guaranteed. It doesn't make sense to dump them.

 

[torque99]

I know this will be an unlikely scenario, but wouldn't it be good now if Sony apologised, took them back on (after realising how much interest in Drive Club there still is) and asked them to make a full on DriveClub (2) in 4K for the PS4 Pro & Xbox One X Generation with unlimited budget (if they still have all the data it would be easier for a sequel) I think this would sell very well even though there has been some bad decisions somewhere along the line.

I believe there is still a market waiting for another decent simcade racer.

 

[queleuleu]

I know this will be an unlikely scenario, but wouldn't it be good now if Sony apologised, took them back on (after realising how much interest in Drive Club there still is) and asked them to make a full on DriveClub (2) in 4K for the PS4 Pro & Xbox One X Generation with unlimited budget (if they still have all the data it would be easier for a sequel) I think this would sell very well even though there has been some bad decisions somewhere along the line.

I believe there is still a market waiting for another decent simcade racer.

Sony doesn't believe in the racing genre anymore. If GT wasn't a juggernaut (used to be) and Kaz a member of the board, I'm sure it would be the same for Poly and its studio (layoffs then closure)

 

[SlimCharles]

I dont think Sony will see EVO with different eyes after this. It's much more likely they reaffirm themselves in their decision of firing EVO.

The game was an insane risk. They just arrived at CM and instead of making something you know people is going to be expectant for (Grid, Motorstorm or a spiritual sucessor to Driveclub) they make something completely revolutionary. A game that looks like crap from the outside (I base this on many opinions I've saw about Onrush). A game that while being sold at full AAA price, it doesn't seem to correspond that on the content it has. A game with a very poor marketing strategy.

Yeah, it was the perfect recipe for success...

About the game itself, I like it. At first, like many people, didn't appeal to me not a single bit. But the more you play it the more you like it. That why I think doing the same thing Fornite did would have been the ideal choice.

The worst thing is that EVO is totally dead. There was some hope to see again Motorstorm or Driveclub (under the Grid tittle or with something called "Raceclub" for example). Now it's over.

 

[Rustyhole]

Is there a history of Sony reopening studios they've closed. Evolution is gone. I have a feeling they pitched Onrush and Sony passed but allowed them to move to Codemasters as a team for continuing support for Driveclub and the VR stuff even after they moved.

Sadly, Codemasters should've put more explanatory messages out there earlier of what Onrush was instead of right before the beta.

Maybe it'll be on PS+ sooner than later to try to minimize the losses.

 

[Rustyhole]

It also saddens me that Evo's successes like Driveclub and Motorstorm are probably not owned by them but rather Sony.

 

[Silver Arrows]

Ain't it ironic how Codemasters saved Evolution from being killed by Sony, and now they are the ones that are taking them out back and shooting them like Ol' Yeller. Landing yet another blow to the fraternity of British racing game developers.

Also a reminder that those laid off don't protection and benefits that are given to those in film and TV. That desperately needs to change. Game devs need to unionize - and they have.

 

[MeanElf]

...The game was an insane risk. They just arrived at CM and instead of making something you know people is going to be expectant for (Grid, Motorstorm or a spiritual sucessor to Driveclub) they make something completely revolutionary. A game that looks like crap from the outside (I base this on many opinions I've saw about Onrush). A game that while being sold at full AAA price, it doesn't seem to correspond that on the content it has. A game with a very poor marketing strategy.

Yeah, it was the perfect recipe for success...

About the game itself, I like it. At first, like many people, didn't appeal to me not a single bit. But the more you play it the more you like it. That why I think doing the same thing Fornite did would have been the ideal choice.

The worst thing is that EVO is totally dead. There was some hope to see again Motorstorm or Driveclub (under the Grid tittle or with something called "Raceclub" for example). Now it's over.

A Driveclub follow on would take years to develop, so that wouldn't, couldn't be an option for CM - I think CM gave them carte blanche so they went with it, not expecting such a Judas move. Stuck with the limited Ego engine, I think they did pretty well, considering CM couldn't get even a rudimentary photo mode out of it if you held a gun to their heads, and absolutely no dynamic weather. It's a crap engine for this generation, good for the last one but past its time now.

 

[MrCrynox]

A Driveclub follow on would take years to develop, so that wouldn't, couldn't be an option for CM - I think CM gave them carte blanche so they went with it, not expecting such a Judas move. Stuck with the limited Ego engine, I think they did pretty well, considering CM couldn't get even a rudimentary photo mode out of it if you held a gun to their heads, and absolutely no dynamic weather. It's a crap engine for this generation, good for the last one but past its time now.

I think CM problems began right after Dirt 2 when key members left and went elsewhere, Playground I think..? Since then they have been struggling to get games out, struggling to improve the ego engine. Which is why gaining Evo should have worked wonders for them, regaining top talent, yet they go and fire them. I feel this move has come from CM's owners who are stiffling their development as a whole. And they lost Paul Coleman. I wonder what their future holds.

 

[Rustyhole]

[QUOTE="MrCrynox, post: 12414460, member: 270475"Which is why gaining Evo should have worked wonders for them, regaining top talent, yet they go and fire them. [/QUOTE]

It may have worked wonders if Evo was absorbed into and became a part of Codemasters. It seems more like they were given their own room, told to shut the door and not come out until they were done. With little to no integration, the results speak for themselves. I wonder what the testers said about it.

 

[torque99]

All this talent losing their jobs (inc some staff from Dirt Rally which I didn't know about until I read this thread)..It is a real shame.

Where next for them to go? I hope they do not give up and find work still in the gaming industry. As said MS Playground games are expanding but their HQ is no where near Cheshire way. I think Rushy must have the contacts to speak to some other developers, its just whether they all stick together as the 'Evolution' team, even if they change name or work alongside/with future AAA titles or even with an indie developer etc

 

[SlimCharles]

Wow. Just heard about Coleman and, more lay offs? At the Dirt series staff? What the hell is happening at Codemasters?

Is there a history of Sony reopening studios they've closed. Evolution is gone. I have a feeling they pitched Onrush and Sony passed but allowed them to move to Codemasters as a team for continuing support for Driveclub and the VR stuff even after they moved.

Nope. They did all the VR stuff just before leaving the building. Rushy said so.

Curious, because they were fired early 2016 at VR came on October or so.

A Driveclub follow on would take years to develop, so that wouldn't, couldn't be an option for CM - I think CM gave them carte blanche so they went with it, not expecting such a Judas move. Stuck with the limited Ego engine, I think they did pretty well, considering CM couldn't get even a rudimentary photo mode out of it if you held a gun to their heads, and absolutely no dynamic weather. It's a crap engine for this generation, good for the last one but past its time now.

Onrush doesnt use EGO. It's a new engine EVO created with some elements of the EGO engine.

 

[GOTMAXPOWER]

It's a shame for the staff at Evo, I don't think Onrush is a bad game as it just didn't interest me at all, I guess it's the same for everybody else. It's a good game which nobody wants or really understands.

 

[MeanElf]

Wow. Just heard about Coleman and, more lay offs? At the Dirt series staff? What the hell is happening at Codemasters?

Yeah, Paul Coleman was almost two months ago.

Onrush doesnt use EGO. It's a new engine EVO created with some elements of the EGO engine.

Not what Rushy was saying - they may have adapted it with software they have brought along with them but it is still Ego according to him, just made a bit more malleable by Evo - Coleman said several times Ego couldn't do photo mode - Team Evo got it there for F12017 and ONRUSH.

It's a shame for the staff at Evo, I don't think Onrush is a bad game as it just didn't interest me at all, I guess it's the same for everybody else. It's a good game which nobody wants or really understands.

Quite a few people seem to understand it and like it, maybe not in the first week but I'm still seeing a fair amount of chatter on the hashtag.

 

[SlimCharles]

Yeah, Paul Coleman was almost two months ago.


Not what Rushy was saying - they may have adapted it with software they have brought along with them but it is still Ego according to him, just made a bit more malleable by Evo - Coleman said several times Ego couldn't do photo mode - Team Evo got it there for F12017 and ONRUSH.


Quite a few people seem to understand it and like it, maybe not in the first week but I'm still seeing a fair amount of chatter on the hashtag.

I heard on twitter from Rushy when the moved to Codemasters that they were developing a new engine. Later, some Codemasters CM said on reddit the engine was new but with elements of the EGO engine.

Spoiler

Hi ktfright! Thanks for the question. Hope you're excited for ONRUSH! ONRUSH has been built on a bespoke engine, rather than a straight copy of the EGO engine used on other titles. However, that isn’t to say that there aren’t elements of the EGO engine that have been used – it’s just that using an engine designed and tweaked to be a sim engine wouldn’t deliver the style of racing that ONRUSH needs – a pure, arcade racing experience! Hope that answers your question!

Could be that with "new engine" they were refering to a tuned EGO engine so, like you say, it supports photo mode.

 

[Auditore]

This game wasn't marketed very well,and with such a different concept for racing games the vagueness in their marketing killed any chance of sucess

 

[V12orchestra]

There is no market for arcade racing games without licensed vehicles. The only one which can still have some success is Burnout imho.

 

[MeanElf]

...Could be that with "new engine" they were refering to a tuned EGO engine so, like you say, it supports photo mode.

Indeed, likely somewhere inbetween what we both heard - 'tis a dark and mysterious world that of game developing 👍

 

[SestoScudo]

SMS its your turn to pick the Evo staff.

 

[MikeyLCR]

Sad for the people who lost their jobs, the concept of the game never appealed to me, I'd been hoping ( like many others I guess) that we might get a revamp or remastering of Motorstorm. I thought that was the best game around for drunken pick up and play racing when you really can't be bothered with a sim type experience.