DIRT gets something new under the hood

Let’s start with the good news. In 2007, Colin McRae: DIRT (DIRT: Colin McRae Off-Road in the U.S.) will be hitting consoles and PC gamers with all the realism that the Colin McRae series is known, but this time it’ll come with a little something extra under the hood: Codemasters‘ proprietary engine Neon.

Neon will be the growling powerhouse that’ll drive the next generation of the series’ sublimely handled, incredibly detailed vehicles and fantastic living environments. Neon has been in production for over 18 months with over 30 tech experts on the development team. It will be used to build Colin McRae: DIRT from the ground up with tech developed solely for use in next-gen formats, so gamers can expect no recycled McRae tech inDIRT.

The detail that Neon provides enables the dev team to model locations and environments as accurately as possible, giving each their own unique look and feel. Air movements are modeled using real-time physics, so everything from trees to car exhaust will be affected by the wind just like in the real world. Neon also delivers impressive impact detail. You’ll see metal crumple, glass smash, and everything that you collide with in the game’s environment will be destroyed in a realistic way.

Says Gavin Cheshire, Vice President of Codemasters Studios: “Neon delivers an engine that provides us with so much more scope and possibilities than an update of existing tech would have ever allowed. The most obvious result is in the visual detail and physics that produce incredible particle effects. Neon makes it possible to go into seemingly minute detail but will create the most realistic and involving environments in the racing genre.”

Alright, the good news is over and done with, so what’s left? The bad news? Nope, but we do have even more good news in the form of new screenshots from the game. Check ’em out below.

Four more screenshots after the jump!

Let’s start with the good news. In 2007, Colin McRae: DIRT (DIRT: Colin McRae Off-Road in the U.S.) will be hitting consoles and PC gamers with all the realism that the Colin McRae series is known, but this time it’ll come with a little something extra under the hood: Codemasters‘ proprietary engine Neon.

Neon will be the growling powerhouse that’ll drive the next generation of the series’ sublimely handled, incredibly detailed vehicles and fantastic living environments. Neon has been in production for over 18 months with over 30 tech experts on the development team. It will be used to build Colin McRae: DIRT from the ground up with tech developed solely for use in next-gen formats, so gamers can expect no recycled McRae tech inDIRT.

The detail that Neon provides enables the dev team to model locations and environments as accurately as possible, giving each their own unique look and feel. Air movements are modeled using real-time physics, so everything from trees to car exhaust will be affected by the wind just like in the real world. Neon also delivers impressive impact detail. You’ll see metal crumple, glass smash, and everything that you collide with in the game’s environment will be destroyed in a realistic way.

Says Gavin Cheshire, Vice President of Codemasters Studios: “Neon delivers an engine that provides us with so much more scope and possibilities than an update of existing tech would have ever allowed. The most obvious result is in the visual detail and physics that produce incredible particle effects. Neon makes it possible to go into seemingly minute detail but will create the most realistic and involving environments in the racing genre.”

Alright, the good news is over and done with, so what’s left? The bad news? Nope, but we do have even more good news in the form of new screenshots from the game. Check ’em out below.