Need For Speed: Carbon (New XBOX 360 screens up!)

  • Thread starter GT Pro
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Duċk;2398630
Really? The one JR linked and the one you linked are the same thing. :confused:
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oops I apologize. I was posting on Forza central at the same time as here. The video on Forza is different. Your right the one posted above is the same. I will correct my other replies.
 
Found a new interview.
IGN
GC 2006: Need for Speed Carbon Chat
Producer Michael Mann pops the hood on EA's latest street racer.
by Alex Simmons

UK, August 24, 2006 - Need for Speed Carbon was taken out for a spin during Electronic Arts' press conference at the Leipzig GC, with developer Black Box showing how the next-gen street racer will spew exhaust fumes in the face of its rivals when it rolls onto the tarmac this winter. A brief downhill race -- or canyon duel as they're known in the game -- demonstrated the advanced car physics and hyper-realistic graphics employed in NFS Carbon, but when the public viewing came to an end, IGN was invited for a beneath-the-bonnet look by Michael Mann, producer at Black Box.

IGN: Let's start by talking about the cars...




Michael Mann: There are over 50 licensed cars and all are completely customizable. There are specific parts for each of the three car factions, so the type of ride a player chooses determines the car parts they have access to. We've also introduced a new physics system that's specific to each type of car, so a modded Mustang will handle very differently from a custom Golf.

The cars are broken into three categories which are tied to a curve progression. So you'll start in different areas of the map depending on whether you choose a muscle, tuner or exotic car. There's rivalry between crews too and you need to build up your team before you can send them out to race against other crews and attempt to take their turf.

Certain tracks suit certain cars, which is why the player must use his crew and choice of cars to make the best decision. A car that doesn't handle so good will be hard to race on the canyon tracks, so players will have to customize their cars to suit the tracks they're racing on.

IGN: After a player has picked their car how much can they customize it?

Mann: When Need for Speed Underground came out it was at the forefront of car customization -- there were hundreds of different car parts and ways to use them together. So over the last two years we thought about what we could do to take it to the next level and what we came up with were "morphable" body parts -- sections of the cars that can be pulled, pushed and twisted to create an almost limitless number of ways to customize a car. Each car is broken into ten zones that can be changed, so a player can alter the size and shape of anything, from adjusting the size, depth and angle of spoilers down to small details like changing the number of spokes on the rims. At the moment these modifications are purely visual, they don't affect the handling or performance of the car, but we are looking into how we could incorporate it.

IGN: It's not just body shaping that's been improved either, right?



Mann: We've also introduced vector-scoping for Carbon, which allows the player to put decals on any part of the car, not just certain sections. They can be scaled, rotated and merged together, plus there are over 900 to choose from, as well as 90,000 paint combinations, so a player really can create any look they want.

IGN: The races take place across a city. How is it divided?

Mann: Each of the four areas of the city are broken down into four or five sub-zones, which are split into street, drift and canyon duel races. That's a total of eight -- the number of races in each depends how important the area is, so if it's a boss challenge there could be five or six. A player has to take over half of these to challenge the boss to a canyon duel. But while a player is going after new turf they're also being targeted by rival gangs, so there's a constant balance between getting new territories and protecting existing areas. Each of the four major areas is split into four or five sub-zones, so you're looking at over 80-plus tracks to race on. For each of the major areas there are bosses that a player will come up against, plus there are sub-bosses that must be defeated to move on.

IGN: Can we expect new race modes?

Mann: For starters we've reintroduced drift races from Underground. This time we wanted to get the mechanics as precise as we could so we spoke to experts and checked out drift events for ourselves. The car's handing is a lot more accurate now, much more pure. The scoring system is improved too: a player scores points for speed and the faster they enter a corner the more points they'll get. Secondly, a player's score depends on how much the ass of their cars slides out as they go around a corner -- the more it drifts, the more points are awarded. And finally there are modifiers and bonuses for drivers who link drifts together by sliding from one to the next.

IGN: You also mentioned canyon duels...



Mann: Canyon duels originate from street races in Japan and take place in two stages. In the first, the player must drive as closely to their rival as possible, without crashing through a barrier and wrecking their car. For the second leg it's the opposite, attempting to keep the lead while the rival racer tries to overtake. If the trailing car takes the lead, whether it's the player or the rival, they win the race.

But because these races take place on winding, twisting mountain roads there's always the danger of pushing the car too hard and crashing through a barrier. If this happens it's the end of the race and the player has to start again. We did think about writing off the cars when they went off the edge of a cliff but thought it was too harsh after someone has spent hours customizing it! It's possible to ram the other car off the road too, plus they make mistakes because the canyon duel is all about driving right on the very edge.

There's also a canyon drift mode, where the player drives down the mountain course sliding and tricking to build up their score, rather than racing mano-a-mano with a rival boss.

IGN: Finally, what can we expect in terms of multiplayer from the next-gen versions?

Mann: The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions will both have multiplayer modes. I can't go into the exact details at the moment but gamers can expect gang races, mano-a-mano and the canyon battles. Xbox Live has made it a lot easier to implement multiplayer and both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 provide the perfect environment for racing online.



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That is a very exciting interview. I really like how you can "morph" any body part including the wheels. I am actually looking forward to this game now and add it to my list of games to keep an eye on. Thanks for the really good information. I have a feeling that after a little more exciting news like this that I will probably buy the game. It would be worth it just for the unique customization it presents. 👍
 
I actually think this will be an enjoyable game, especailly the being able to put decals wherever you want, and totally customise the look of your car. I can spend ages doing that in Forza.
 
live4speed
I actually think this will be an enjoyable game, especailly the being able to put decals wherever you want, and totally customise the look of your car. I can spend ages doing that in Forza.
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Funny you mention Forza 2. I spent most of my time in that game making cars just because its so fun to mess with vinyls. I hope Forza 2 has the customization like this game. Especially the wheels. I am still blown away by how much you can adjust on the wheels. That was one of my biggest complaints of GT4 was the fact that I could only have 14"-15" wheels on a 69 Camaro. Most cars only allowed stock size wheels and tires. That sucked! At least forza allowed you to go up several sizes. Wheels make or break the apperance of a car. I love having the option to pick whatever size I want. As I always try to say YOU CAN NEVER HAVE TOO MANY OPTIONS. :)👍
 
I got so excited last night after seeing the video that I pre-ordered the game. Cant wait to drive the new Challenger. :dopey:
 
live4speed
I actually think this will be an enjoyable game, especailly the being able to put decals wherever you want, and totally customise the look of your car. I can spend ages doing that in Forza.
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What scares me is that there is literally 'too much' modifying possibilites; you could spend hours developing a single car. Sure, it may sound stupid but I do need to sleep every now and then. Nevertheless, it sounds damn fun.
 
GT Pro

What scares me is that there is literally 'too much' modifying possibilites; you could spend hours developing a single car. Sure, it may sound stupid but I do need to sleep every now and then. Nevertheless, it sounds damn fun.
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You will never have "too much" modifying possibilities. :sly: Forza had never ending possibilities since you could twist, stretch, rotate, or flip any vinyl. Literally never ending possibilites. It was very easy to spend 6-20 hours on any car to get the look you want.
Looks like this game could be close to that depending on how many vinyls you can put on each part of the car. I still really like the morphing customization. Its about time someone did this.
 
It's actually been done before though not to this degree and the game it was done in was complete crap. Supercar street challenge anyone.
 
Well, I got my hands on a copy of the Carbon Demo, and I must say I'm impressed. The graphics on my aging PS2 are amazing for that console, and the sounds and ambience is just right. There are three cars to choose from in the demo. from the Exotic group there's that yellow and black Gallardo from the early screenshots, representing the Tuners there is a red EVO IX with white flame decals, and in the Muscle corner there is a blue 69 Camaro. Me being me, I chose the Evo, and was immediately in love with the Autosculpt feature. It is possible to create some absolutely stunning cars with this, and I can't wait to use the full thing in the real game. Autosculpting wheels is fantastic, I quickly turned tiny piddly things into deep, chunky 5-spokes.
Now to the racing. There are two races available at first, a circuit and a drift event. If you win both of them, you are able to take on some dude in a canyon race.
I chose the circuit first, and I found that the physics engine has been improved considerable since MW. It seems to be a fair bit more realistic, but still not a patch on stuff like GT4 or Toca (after all, it IS NFS :P).
I tried out the drift event next, but it wasn't that great. The drift physics make the car handle like its on ice, and for some reason the game automatically winds on opposite lock when you get its sideways. It had me overcorrecting all the time, with the car sliding around everywhere. Once you get used to it its alright, and it can pull off some really quite speccy drifts, but in my view the drifting in UG1 and UG2 was far superior.
I haven't got up to the Canyon Race yet, but I'll keep you posted.


Overall, 8/10 so far.
 
Oh brother. "As long as it's fake damage, that's good enough."

I wonder how many people hollering for car damage actually mean this? ;)
 
They handed out PS2 demos at the Game Convention in Lepizig, and a couple have found the way onto the internet as .iso files.
Thats all I'll say for fear of breaching the AUP.
 
Yea, can't really punish someone that's giving away a free demo on the internet :rolleyes:

Those forums need to reread the copyright laws. ;)
 
Revolution.
Well, I got my hands on a copy of the Carbon Demo, and I must say I'm impressed. The graphics on my aging PS2 are amazing for that console, and the sounds and ambience is just right. There are three cars to choose from in the demo. from the Exotic group there's that yellow and black Gallardo from the early screenshots, representing the Tuners there is a red EVO IX with white flame decals, and in the Muscle corner there is a blue 69 Camaro. Me being me, I chose the Evo, and was immediately in love with the Autosculpt feature. It is possible to create some absolutely stunning cars with this, and I can't wait to use the full thing in the real game. Autosculpting wheels is fantastic, I quickly turned tiny piddly things into deep, chunky 5-spokes.
Now to the racing. There are two races available at first, a circuit and a drift event. If you win both of them, you are able to take on some dude in a canyon race.
I chose the circuit first, and I found that the physics engine has been improved considerable since MW. It seems to be a fair bit more realistic, but still not a patch on stuff like GT4 or Toca (after all, it IS NFS :P).
I tried out the drift event next, but it wasn't that great. The drift physics make the car handle like its on ice, and for some reason the game automatically winds on opposite lock when you get its sideways. It had me overcorrecting all the time, with the car sliding around everywhere. Once you get used to it its alright, and it can pull off some really quite speccy drifts, but in my view the drifting in UG1 and UG2 was far superior.
I haven't got up to the Canyon Race yet, but I'll keep you posted.


Overall, 8/10 so far.
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Thanks for the review of the demo. Everything sounds great and I am glad there is a 69 Camaro in there too. :)
I pre-ordered this for myself a few weeks ago but I might have to get this for Heather too.
 

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