Project Gotham Racing 4: Ben Ward talks dynamic weather

Project Gotham Racing 4‘s enhanced weather simulation features have definitely raised eyebrows and made people wonder what’s in store for the upcoming PGR game. Fortunately, IGN along with Team Xbox were able to put Bizarre Creations Community and Web Lead Ben Ward on the hot seat to reveal some sweet details.

There will be 10 different types of weather. These include:

• Clear: A normal, sunny day. Your cornering will be sharp, assuming you have the skills.
• Overcast: There will be lots of cloud cover, but no change to your vehicle dynamics.
• Light Rain: A little drizzle, but nothing to change your driving style too much. The track surface will be slightly slippery, and youÂ’ll find that too much gas will lead to your backend sliding around more than usual.
• Heavy Rain: Lots and lots of the wet stuff. Your visibility will be reduced, and youÂ’ll be peering between frantic windscreen wipers when using in-car view. Deep puddles form around the track, and should be avoided at all costs.
• Wet: The aftermath of a heavy rainfall. Clouds are still brooding in the sky. The track is wet, but the puddles are dissipating and everything is slowly drying up.
• Storm: Danger time. Rain, clouds, thunder, lightning. The sky is black, and your chase camera will be obscured by heavy rainfall. Keeping your car on the track will be difficultÂ… but racking up the sliding Kudos wonÂ’t be!
• Light fog: A slight haze rests over the city, giving a slight reduction in visibility. It does not affect vehicle dynamics, but stay on your toes and donÂ’t let any corners creep up on you.
• Heavy fog: A huge cloud descends over the track. Visibility is severely reduced, and finding your way is difficult. On some tracks you can drive uphill and rise above the fog, so use this opportunity to scout out the route below.
• Icy: A really, really cold day. Puddles are starting to freeze over, so watch out for them. YouÂ’d be silly to go out without wearing a bobble hat.
• Snow: The track is icy and slippery, snow is falling from the sky, and all the puddles have completely frozen over. YouÂ’ll need to drive slower and avoid the icy patches; even if it means straying from the racing line.

Weather transition will happen dramatically, which means a blizzard won’t come out on a clearly sunny day. When they do change, however, we’ll see tropical storms and the like.

Tracks won’t change even if weather does, aside from puddles forming up and causing your wheels to slide a bit more. Ward stated that races will still be reasonably consistent even if the day starts clear followed by rain shower.

AI will respond to the weather accordingly. Vehicle selection, driving style, and judgement will differ depending on the situation. For the first time, PGR gets a dedicated AI programmer so we can expect good things.

Find the full interview by clicking on the Read link below.

Project Gotham Racing 4‘s enhanced weather simulation features have definitely raised eyebrows and made people wonder what’s in store for the upcoming PGR game. Fortunately, IGN along with Team Xbox were able to put Bizarre Creations Community and Web Lead Ben Ward on the hot seat to reveal some sweet details.

There will be 10 different types of weather. These include:

• Clear: A normal, sunny day. Your cornering will be sharp, assuming you have the skills.
• Overcast: There will be lots of cloud cover, but no change to your vehicle dynamics.
• Light Rain: A little drizzle, but nothing to change your driving style too much. The track surface will be slightly slippery, and youÂ’ll find that too much gas will lead to your backend sliding around more than usual.
• Heavy Rain: Lots and lots of the wet stuff. Your visibility will be reduced, and youÂ’ll be peering between frantic windscreen wipers when using in-car view. Deep puddles form around the track, and should be avoided at all costs.
• Wet: The aftermath of a heavy rainfall. Clouds are still brooding in the sky. The track is wet, but the puddles are dissipating and everything is slowly drying up.
• Storm: Danger time. Rain, clouds, thunder, lightning. The sky is black, and your chase camera will be obscured by heavy rainfall. Keeping your car on the track will be difficultÂ… but racking up the sliding Kudos wonÂ’t be!
• Light fog: A slight haze rests over the city, giving a slight reduction in visibility. It does not affect vehicle dynamics, but stay on your toes and donÂ’t let any corners creep up on you.
• Heavy fog: A huge cloud descends over the track. Visibility is severely reduced, and finding your way is difficult. On some tracks you can drive uphill and rise above the fog, so use this opportunity to scout out the route below.
• Icy: A really, really cold day. Puddles are starting to freeze over, so watch out for them. YouÂ’d be silly to go out without wearing a bobble hat.
• Snow: The track is icy and slippery, snow is falling from the sky, and all the puddles have completely frozen over. YouÂ’ll need to drive slower and avoid the icy patches; even if it means straying from the racing line.

Weather transition will happen dramatically, which means a blizzard won’t come out on a clearly sunny day. When they do change, however, we’ll see tropical storms and the like.

Tracks won’t change even if weather does, aside from puddles forming up and causing your wheels to slide a bit more. Ward stated that races will still be reasonably consistent even if the day starts clear followed by rain shower.

AI will respond to the weather accordingly. Vehicle selection, driving style, and judgement will differ depending on the situation. For the first time, PGR gets a dedicated AI programmer so we can expect good things.

Find the full interview by clicking on the Read link below.