14 DAY TRIAL // With the Formula 1 season in full swing and much of the thrills and spills of the early season offered by the appearance of bad weather and rain drops in the middle of races, Codemasters has taken some time to talk about the impact that weather is set to have in their F1 2010, the simulation that they plan to put out in September for the Xbox 360, the PlayStation 3 and the PC.
Paul Jean, who is the senior producer working on F1 2010, stated “Players can be going along outside the points, and maybe they make a gamble. The clouds come in, the skies darken. Maybe you pre-empt that the rain’s going to come now and you change your tyres early. Player choice is going to be critical at those stages.” Anthony Davidson, a test driver in the F1, also testified to the importance weather has “The teams know by the radar where the weather is coming from and how long it’s going to last. You’ll be aware of what the weather’s doing roughly, and then you can make your call, just like you would in real life.”
The weather in F1 2010 is build by Codemasters as an integral part of Active Track technology, a system designed to track the grip, water, rubber and marbles that appear on every 30 square centimeters of actual racing surface. The weather is fully dynamic, meaning that players will never see drops coming down in places like Abu Dhabi, while wet surfaces are far more likely at Silverstone or in Monaco, when they play the full season Career mode.
Weather changes can come even during races, meaning that quick tire changes to the appropriate density can be crucial. Gamers who pick up F1 2010 can set weather conditions manually for other game modes like Time Trial, Gran Prix or the various multiplayer modes.