Modifiable racing game
Author
How many of you remember Racing Destruction Set? I used to play it with my C64 for years. It was awesome driving game but the best thing was that it was so customizable. Check out some website reviewing it (use some search engine to find one). You could design new tracks, build cars, change gravity etc. Yes, I know that many games have those same features today but it was something special back then.
So, I don''t want to remake it. I was thinking about giving that same feeling to players: that they could change everything in the game. You could try driving in moon with sportscar or on ice with formula.
Maybe you could build your tracks using 3DS MAX or similar editor. So nothing would limit your creativity. It would be possible to create flat formula style tracks, muddy motocross tracks or psychedelic and colorfull fantasy tracks. You could change frictions etc for all surfaces in tracks.
Cars would be equally modifiable. Different models, engine powers, tyre materials and so on. All those modifications should be easy to do with some kind of GUI. No handtweaking text-files.
It shouldn''t be too hard to make game engine support all that. All we need is good collision detection to handle all those weirdshaped tracks and good physics system to handle different frictions and different kind of cars. Physics system wouldn''t need to be realistic but you should be able to recognize on what kind of surface you are driving etc. Well, AI could be a bit problematic...
What do you say? Is it possible? Is it worth doing? What would you like to be able to do in that kind of game? I think that it should have rather small cars (like Ignition, Death Rally or something) and not be simulation. And it definitely should be 3D to make more things possible.
-Ratsia
quote:How many of you remember Racing Destruction Set?
How could i forget
Did you every play Rally Speedway too? The cool thing about Racing Car Destruction Set was that is was utilizing the 3D element i think. Being able to raise the ground up. What i would like if it was redone is the ability to chuck in small track features like:- pot holes
- Cracks
- lumps
- rocks
- patches (like mud or sand)
- broken down cars that can be placed in unsuspecting spots
etc. As well as a more flexible track layout so you can choose from any and or curve gradient in the road. And it would have to have a few cheesy stunt objects as well
Oh and did i mention cars.... wheeeeeeeI love Game Design and it loves me back.
Our Goal is "Fun"!
Mmmmmh, I really feel like I am nagging now.
Look at "Car Wars" by Steve Jackson Games.
It''s so old that yo have probably never heard of it, and you probably will never find a box of it, but this is the most incredibly detailed car racing game I have ever heard of. Of course, it''s a board game ... [irony]how do you expect a computer to be able to handle so many parameters, calculations, dice rolls, customization ...[/irony]
OMG I jsut checked out if it still exists ...and it''s THERE !!!!
Well .. you know what to do now, Go check it out !
youpla :-P
(God ... the more I know game designers, the more I am desperate at their lack of culture ... )
Look at "Car Wars" by Steve Jackson Games.
It''s so old that yo have probably never heard of it, and you probably will never find a box of it, but this is the most incredibly detailed car racing game I have ever heard of. Of course, it''s a board game ... [irony]how do you expect a computer to be able to handle so many parameters, calculations, dice rolls, customization ...[/irony]
OMG I jsut checked out if it still exists ...and it''s THERE !!!!
Well .. you know what to do now, Go check it out !
youpla :-P
(God ... the more I know game designers, the more I am desperate at their lack of culture ... )
Try this
Let the player add is own texture in th map editor...(i really want to change thos adds on the track).
Let the player use it own musics and sounds in the game (like in warcraft 2).
Delisk
Let the player add is own texture in th map editor...(i really want to change thos adds on the track).
Let the player use it own musics and sounds in the game (like in warcraft 2).
Delisk
Author
Let''s answer to all of you at once.
Paul :
I can''t remember Rally Speeway but it doesn''t mean I haven''t played it. And about those small objects on track... I''m thinking about giving total freedom in track designing. That''s why I mentioned 3DS in my post. So there''s nothing to prevent you from adding rocks or holes.
I don''t think I could make good enough track editor so I was thinking about making file converters to existing editors. And if I finally made an editor those converters could still be useful.
I also think that I''m utilizing that 3D-element quite well if I''m allowing all kind of height differences. You could make a track where you''re driving inside a torus or whatever.
Ahw :
If I''m old enough to remember RDS then I''m definitely old enough to remember Car Wars. I have even played it. I too liked it. Using computer we just can have better feeling and car controlling.
Delisk :
I''m not actually thinking about that kind of customization. Music and things like that are not that important (at least for me). What I want is basically to have all kinds of racing games in single game. No need to have separate games for formulas and rally cars when you can have them in one package. That also gives you a whole lot of new possibilities : to drive rally car against motocross bike in ovaltrack.
If I''m using existing 3D-modeling packages as trackeditors then users will be able to use their own textures.
-Ratsia
Paul :
I can''t remember Rally Speeway but it doesn''t mean I haven''t played it.
And about those small objects on track... I''m thinking about giving total freedom in track designing. That''s why I mentioned 3DS in my post. So there''s nothing to prevent you from adding rocks or holes.I don''t think I could make good enough track editor so I was thinking about making file converters to existing editors. And if I finally made an editor those converters could still be useful.
I also think that I''m utilizing that 3D-element quite well if I''m allowing all kind of height differences. You could make a track where you''re driving inside a torus or whatever.
Ahw :
If I''m old enough to remember RDS then I''m definitely old enough to remember Car Wars.
I have even played it. I too liked it. Using computer we just can have better feeling and car controlling.Delisk :
I''m not actually thinking about that kind of customization. Music and things like that are not that important (at least for me). What I want is basically to have all kinds of racing games in single game. No need to have separate games for formulas and rally cars when you can have them in one package. That also gives you a whole lot of new possibilities : to drive rally car against motocross bike in ovaltrack.
If I''m using existing 3D-modeling packages as trackeditors then users will be able to use their own textures.
-Ratsia
quote:
What I want is basically to have all kinds of racing games in single game. No need to have separate games for formulas and rally cars when you can have them in one package. That also gives you a whole lot of new possibilities : to drive rally car against motocross bike in ovaltrack.
This is why I thought of Car Wars as soon as you mentioned your ideas.
Basically, what you need is a track construction set, where the track can be anything, from an arena to a nice oval, to a straight line in the desert .
Then you need a nice way to define and build vehicles. Personnaly I see this with a sort of skeleton system. You choose the carcass of your vehicle, then add tires, armor, motor, guns, etc. Of course you can have skins for separate elements.
Then you need to associate rules with the race you want to play.
You could define the goal of the race (destroy everybody, reach a beacon, do a number of laps...), the restrictions (what type of vehicles, limitation of motor size, limitations for guns, etc). I guess you wouldn''t really need a script language for this, but something approaching so that you can define lose and win conditions nicely.
just some ideas
But personnaly I am dreaming of something like that since ..pppffff...too long youpla :-P
Author
ahw:
It didn''t even cross my mind that I could use different kind of goals. I was just thinking about game where you always tried to be fastest one to drive certain number of laps. Those different kind of goals could be fun.
It seems that this project is growing way too large... Maybe I should just start writing the engine and if I can make it support arbitrarily complex tracks and all kinds of car models then I can try adding those weird modifications.
Should I have guns, mines etc or should it be just driving? You like Car Wars so of course you would like to see those weapons but will they make game more fun?
There was this nice little racing game Slicks''n''Slides few years ago (DOS game) which didn''t have weapons in first versions. Then they were added but most of the people still continued playing without them... I only tried them once or twice, luckily there was an option not to use them.
Maybe I should have weapons too but make using them optional.
-Ratsia
It didn''t even cross my mind that I could use different kind of goals. I was just thinking about game where you always tried to be fastest one to drive certain number of laps. Those different kind of goals could be fun.
It seems that this project is growing way too large... Maybe I should just start writing the engine and if I can make it support arbitrarily complex tracks and all kinds of car models then I can try adding those weird modifications.
Should I have guns, mines etc or should it be just driving? You like Car Wars so of course you would like to see those weapons but will they make game more fun?
There was this nice little racing game Slicks''n''Slides few years ago (DOS game) which didn''t have weapons in first versions. Then they were added but most of the people still continued playing without them... I only tried them once or twice, luckily there was an option not to use them.
Maybe I should have weapons too but make using them optional.
-Ratsia
that''s why I talked of having goals AND restrictions...
basically, think about it, how would you define the fact of crossing a line ... personnaly, I think that having a goal thingie would be indeed harder to code, but would create something much much bigger in the end.
Because people would be able to do maps that fit what they wanna play.
What you would be providing is a game engine, that has excellent physics, and rendering, and whatever. And the people would decide what they want to play.
Wanna play Interstate 76 ? Just allow guns on your map. And make it an arena in the desert ...
Wanna play a race on the beach , well, just put a starting point zone (spawnpoints a la Quake) and a finish line (a target zone).
If you want to play a Car Wars arena, then just create a counter object that tells you how many cars are still alive, and when there is one left, just trigger the victory signal ... and so on and so forth.
Yes I am an optimistic. But in fact I believe this would give you les work on the design side, as you wouldn''t really have to do anything. Just offer tools to the user, and maybe provide some nicely done examples ...
well, call me an optimistic
youpla :-P
basically, think about it, how would you define the fact of crossing a line ... personnaly, I think that having a goal thingie would be indeed harder to code, but would create something much much bigger in the end.
Because people would be able to do maps that fit what they wanna play.
What you would be providing is a game engine, that has excellent physics, and rendering, and whatever. And the people would decide what they want to play.
Wanna play Interstate 76 ? Just allow guns on your map. And make it an arena in the desert ...
Wanna play a race on the beach , well, just put a starting point zone (spawnpoints a la Quake) and a finish line (a target zone).
If you want to play a Car Wars arena, then just create a counter object that tells you how many cars are still alive, and when there is one left, just trigger the victory signal ... and so on and so forth.
Yes I am an optimistic. But in fact I believe this would give you les work on the design side, as you wouldn''t really have to do anything. Just offer tools to the user, and maybe provide some nicely done examples ...
well, call me an optimistic
youpla :-P
Author
You have written down almost exactly what I was thinking about. Maybe I just let you do the thinking.
Only problem is that it sounds pretty hard. But I''m not so sure it is any harder than making an ordinary racing game. After all, hardcoding rules doesn''t make it any easier than reading them from file.
I think I can make that engine. It will not have perfect physics nor excellent rendereing abilities but it will work. All I need is more time...
-Ratsia
Only problem is that it sounds pretty hard. But I''m not so sure it is any harder than making an ordinary racing game. After all, hardcoding rules doesn''t make it any easier than reading them from file.
I think I can make that engine. It will not have perfect physics nor excellent rendereing abilities but it will work. All I need is more time...
-Ratsia
This topic is closed to new replies.
Advertisement
Popular Topics
Advertisement
