14 DAY TRIAL // Codemasters has revealed that the emphasis with its upcoming Grid Autosport title was to get cars and tracks that support the racing experience, instead of trying to get famous vehicles or iconic circuits for the glamour factor.
Grid Autosport is the next big title in the series and Codemasters has confirmed when it revealed the game last month that it was going to deliver an expanded and improved racing experience over last year's Grid 2.
The studio emphasized that it has factored in fan feedback and mentioned that the number of cars and tracks have been greatly increased, with the addition of new vehicle types like open wheel prototypes, as well as touring cars, for example.
However, Codemasters has revealed to VG247 that it didn't try to feature vehicles or tracks that didn't fit the game, just to brag about their inclusion
"Whilst this is the biggest GRID game we’ve ever made, the focus remains on quality of experience, rather than quantity of content. We choose cars which best represent the racing styles – both in terms of modern and classic racing – and we select tracks which aren’t necessarily the headline, clichéd track selections, but instead provide the best on track racing experience against other drivers," the studio said.
What's more, the studio also tried to ease the worries of fans who think that just one year between Grid 2 and Autosport is too little to provide any meaningful change or improvement.
"It’s worth bearing in mind that we shipped many games between the original Grid and Grid 2, and then also rebuilt large chunks of the EGO engine to finish GRID2 and make it look so spectacular. By comparison, Grid Autosport already had the team and the technology ready to go – we were prototyping the new game within weeks of officially starting the project, and the team were already well aware of improvements and changes they wanted to make."
What's more, this initial phase went off really well and, after a short break, the development went even smoother as time flied without any major problem.
"Many developers will tell you that the toughest bit of making any game is that initial phase – getting the technology and the tools to the point where a whole team are really moving through the gears and producing at full speed. We took a brief break to recuperate, held a very successful Game Jam, and then got stuck into the game. The development has really flown by."
Grid Autosport launches at the end of June for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.