Since you''re factoring in damage, can I also assume repairing damage is part of the game?

Here''s an instant example of grief play. I have 3 cars in the race. I make sure one is a speed champ, the others damage resistant.

Race starts. I instantly let my 2 cars drop back to last, keeping one among the leaders - but not IN the lead.

1st lap, my 2 are eliminated. My only goal is to keep my car in the race for a few more laps, staying out of trouble and not getting into any scrapes. I let the others bump and rub each other for another 3 or 4 laps, then I push the pedal and win the race. I get a measley $100, and repair the damage to my car for half that.

The others get jack, and all their cars suffer damage. Let''s say they get $75 for 2nd and $50 for 3rd. All that money will likely go towards repairs...so I''ve come out shining pretty good in comparison. So I didn''t get the bonus. So what? The whole point is to make my opponents LOSE money so they can''t improve their vehicles.

Let''s switch gears here, and look at another concern. I''m in a tight race; I''ve got all 3 cars running near the front. How do I keep switching from car to car, maintaining their level of speed and cornering manually enough to keep the other cars from nudging their way through without sacrificing my lead car''s skills?

If I''m making a tight turn and there''s an opponent on my side, and my #2 car on my rear...will the comp AI make as tight a turn for my #2 as I do manually for my #1? Do I have to switch to both, for those split seconds, to make as good a turn?

I''m trying to understand the physical nature of this, and just not seeing it. It sounds like a great 2 or 3 player cooperative game, but a single individual controlling 3 cars in a fast-paced race? You seem to end up losing something, guaranteed, in terms of overall skill, IMHO.

re-read the original post...damage is automaticly repaired during the race...damage doesn''t impair the cars handeling, etc...its just like a fighting game "health bar"...reach zero and the car is out of the race...during the race any damage the car takes will slowly be reparied as the race progresses.

When a car reaches zero on the health bar and/or is eliminated from the race because it is behind the leading team...the car becomes a "scrap pile" that acts as a obstical on the track...

Once a car becomes a "scrap pile" it is out of the game once the race is over...meening you must buy new cars to replace them

There is no second place...only the winner recieves money

Remember that your team mates can combine cars into a larger, more damage resistant "combo" that can be used for defense (preventing other cars from passing)...

The game would play in a overhead view..like a RTS (or the old GTA games)...players use the mouse to control the currently selected car...the view will place the selected car in the center of the screen, and it will move in the direction the mouse is in relation...for example...the mouse is in the upper-right corner...the selected car will try to head in that direction...the further the mouse is from the screen center the harder the car will accelerate/brake in the given direction...the left mouse button initiates a "attack move"...the right button is for the "turbo"...the keyboard number pad switches between team mates...and the space bar is used to form a combo or brake one appart...in the screen corners is a small race track map, minicam views of the other team mates, and a "scoreboard" indicateing who is in first etc..

All cars start off equal...upgrades can be purchased to allow them to brake quicker, higher top speed, etc...additionaly upgrades can be purchased for the cars "attack", as well as armor...there are also special items that can be purchased that effect car "combos"...and lots of special items that can be purchased if certain conditions are ment (Example: win in less then 10 laps and a quicker car repair generator can be purchased...win in two laps and a "electro magnet" can be purchased allowing a car to automaticly push teams mates to faster speeds)

When a car wins a race...it recieves "experience points" in the number of team cars who have won (win with 2 cars...both cars get 2exp)...at the begining of the game only a handfull of tracks are available for 0exp cars...later trackes are available only to cars with higher exp (example: 0-10exp tracks, 10-20exp tracks, 20-30exp tracks, etc.)

Players start with $10 million...and a new replacement car costs $1,000 (with most upgrades costing that much or more)...players can enter a minimum of one car per race...but there is a max of three per race...players can have up to 100 cars in thier garage....and players can place bets on who will win, race goes a certain number of laps, winning team does so with X number of cars, etc...this allows players who lose the race to make some money and stay in the game

Idealy there would be a multiplayer mode...allowing each player to control a different team and/or car for a given team.