After revealing the GTR Revival project only in September, with a new studio and placeholder logo, project lead Ian Bell has shown off more details and information about the title.
First and foremost, Bell has changed the name of the studio responsible for the game’s development, after the original name generated some less than positive user feedback. “MASS”, short for “mILDLYaNNOYEDsTUDIOs”, has now become “Straight4Games“.
That, Bell states, is in “homage to some of the greatest engines ever”, illustrating the point with a 300hp, inline-four powered Ford Escort Mk2. The company’s website is a little sparse at the moment, but states that “a revolution is coming”. How encouraging a sign that is depends on your memory, as “Project CARS Revolution” ultimately became the underwhelming Project CARS 3.
Name-change aside, Bell has continued the earlier recruitment drive from his former company Slightly Mad Studios — now owned by EA — and the Simbin/Blimey predecessor which developed the original GTR and GTR2 titles.
After initially stating he’d spent hours calling up former colleagues, Bell puts the current Straight4 headcount at 48. That includes Ben “The Stig” Collins, who worked on the first two Project CARS games, as “chief handling consultant”.
Along with the administrative updates, Bell has also shared video and images from the new title already — despite the targeted launch date of Q4 2024 being reconfirmed.
That includes a short video showing dynamic weather and time of day functions coded in the game, in a clip shot at the pit-lane entry at the Interlagos circuit.
The video shows rain coming in and the puddles expanding, before the sky brightens up again with what looks like a sunrise in a roughly easterly direction. It’s still flagged as a work in progress however.
Further content shared by Bell shows an “in-engine” rendering of the inside of an Audi A5 convertible. There’s images of the dashboard and binnacle, rear seat area, and a panoramic shot of the front of the cabin. Given that this is the car used in a tech demonstration of Unreal Engine 5 — for car configurators, of all things — it’s safe to say GTR Revival’s previously unknown game engine will be UE5.
Bell’s most recent communications have focused on online and esports. First he praises defunct Grand Prix Legends developer Papyrus — predecessor of iRacing — for its “secret sauce” netcode, which he doesn’t believe has ever been equaled.
A rather cryptic Tweet on the subject of esports stated that “no-one is making money” from esports endeavors, though by adding “if it’s missing, it’s an issue” it’s clear he considers it to be an important aspect of racing games.
That suggests we may well see esports integration in GTR Revival, though there’s clearly still a long way to go.
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