Racing Games, damage modeling
While waiting for Forza3, I've been playing some NFS:Shift which is supposed to be a more in depth simulator than most previous Need For Speed offerings. And it is. There's a plethora of options for tuning suspension, steering, etc which actually do have affect in game. (though the upgrades are still generic "Stage 3 Turbo" rather than any actual parts) It has actual damage modeling in game, body parts crumple, hoods come off... supposedly it's supposed to affect performance, I think (though it doesn't seem to).
The last game that was similar to this in the series was Porsche Unleashed. And I had a grand time setting my cars up in that to handle the way I wanted, and am slowly working my way through doing the same in Shift. Porsche Unleashed also had damage modeling which I KNOW affected the performance of your cars, however, had one thing that I think is missing dearly from pretty much every other racing game (especially those that are supposed to be 'simulators') released to date, persistent damage.
If I was running around like an idiot ramming everyone and their brother off the track, sure I could win. But when the race was over and it was time for the next, I had to either start the race in a car beat to within an inch of its life, or pay a shit ton of cash from my winnings (and maybe more than I won) to actually repair my car so I could race it again.
I started thinking about this when I decided to play some multiplayer Shift, just pick up racing, that doesn't really matter. I was doing fairly well when some dude slides through the turn and rams into me, throwing me off the track and effectively out of the race. In a multiplayer context (unless you're limited to cars you 'own') the damage doesn't really matter, but it would be nice to have a way to encourage people to try to drive properly, don't you think?
Perhaps for multiplayer, you lose points/money for how much damage you do to the 'borrowed' car? Or if you're limited to your own cars, you have to fix them afterward. Something I think developers should consider.
The last game that was similar to this in the series was Porsche Unleashed. And I had a grand time setting my cars up in that to handle the way I wanted, and am slowly working my way through doing the same in Shift. Porsche Unleashed also had damage modeling which I KNOW affected the performance of your cars, however, had one thing that I think is missing dearly from pretty much every other racing game (especially those that are supposed to be 'simulators') released to date, persistent damage.
If I was running around like an idiot ramming everyone and their brother off the track, sure I could win. But when the race was over and it was time for the next, I had to either start the race in a car beat to within an inch of its life, or pay a shit ton of cash from my winnings (and maybe more than I won) to actually repair my car so I could race it again.
I started thinking about this when I decided to play some multiplayer Shift, just pick up racing, that doesn't really matter. I was doing fairly well when some dude slides through the turn and rams into me, throwing me off the track and effectively out of the race. In a multiplayer context (unless you're limited to cars you 'own') the damage doesn't really matter, but it would be nice to have a way to encourage people to try to drive properly, don't you think?
Perhaps for multiplayer, you lose points/money for how much damage you do to the 'borrowed' car? Or if you're limited to your own cars, you have to fix them afterward. Something I think developers should consider.