RC Game?

[jimmy]

If people wanted to play an RC game - what sorta stuff would you want, what look would you like, what level of realism etc...?

Not talking about a simulator for practicing but a GAME for PC using keyboard or joypad preferably.

I had an rc game on my gameboy and it was fairly basic - win races I think and get points to buy a faster motor.
How important are the physics to control your car in the air and time jumps. It could never be as fast as RC for people to enjoy - you'd stress out and go nuts, probably fitting for hours.

Would you want upgrades to mean something - would you want a shaft driven car / belt driven to be better / worse. Would cartoony / slightly exaggerated and rounded buggies be acceptable?

Would you want real cars in there licencing permitting or just made-up-a-likes?

Damage?

What about the gameplay aspect - would you want things other than your driving to decide your fate. I'm talking style points here. ++ for a smooth run over the tripples. ++++++++++ for a nice move in the air recovered and landed nicely - stuff like that.

Multiplayer - do you want to fight your mates online? Or a simgle player only game. TBH I don't know what is needed for the multiplayer aspect since running dedicated gaming servers isn't my thing. lol.

Commentary (obviously not real, live) - crowd jeering/cheering?

Motors tyres electrics - how if at all would you want them part of the granturismo style upgrade path to actually matter? The real racing these days is limited by skill mostly for off road. The cars are easily too fast - but that said, if it's a GAME then you can have pickup frogs if you want. So anything goes.

How much track do you want to see - say you had an isometric 3/4 view above following your car - perhaps with a lap map at the top of the screen.

Racing only on tracks - or also include bonus skateparks or street setups you can bash on?

I'm not a gamer as I said. I sometimes race sims like iracing or play starcraft1 and 2. Generally I'm not interested as it's a waste of time when I could be creating instead of playing.

Given the tiny RC market - wider appeal would need to be a part of it. Tiny market I mean in racing - since even working at a manufacturer they seemed to think it was all about the top racers..... failing to realise people buy far more RC vehicles to DICK ABOUT WITH - including race cars. Am I the only one who knows this or what? lol.
I know this is a race forum primarilly but myself - I'd happily drive a realistic defender 90 round my garden at barely just over 0mph. Or take a big truck to a skate park and stunt it up.
I regularly do backflips off a tree in my garden with my race 4wd - and sometimes manage a transition to a wall ride on the garage before landing perfectly. (not always).

Anyway - that's where I come from in RC. The last time I went to Belgian GP and raced my first final in the wet with the wrong tyres and a one way in my car. That's the most fun race possibly I've ever had. turning last second on a jump and landing sideways, and drifting every corner like a lunatic. I came last btw.

So yeah - bearing the non-racer element that might know something or might know nothing at all and just want a fun game. That's how it needs to be looked at. If people can throw out some ideas on some of these points it would be great.

[ruf]

Oculus Rift support. :lol:

[jimmy]

lol I've seen a few VR headsets dumped around game company offices. I guess some day someone will make one that doesn't turn you blind.

[TomHow]

Sounds like a great idea Jimmy, I think something fun would be cool. Do you remember Re-Volt I used to love this game, it is available on Iphone but more fighting with bombs etc than racing.

Cartoony style cars would be better to use less headache.

Dedicated server idea or multiplayer rooms via DirectX lobby service.

tracks outside, indoor, real (but not actual) and garden/street/parks.

fun is the aim but maybe with points and league tables etc.

Just some ideas for you :-)

[jimmy]

Thanks mate. Appreciate the feedback. Yeah re-volt was fun but not really what I'm thinking here at all. I'd like to see the sorta things you'd really get if you landed bad and got on the power too early. Be nice if you could use different driving styles like neat and tidy vs crazy sideways with roosters.

In a single player game I can see how it could be done - but the multiplayer throws me. The sort of backend in a game like Starcraft 2 is crazy and would take so much time to make. But it's a great way to find your friends and join their battles. Have to think about that.

[Maxbashing]

Hi.

I think motor storm rc isn't a bad start. It's quick,fun and really fast paced. The races are short and I can pick it up have a blast for 20 minutes and then put it down again.

It has a range of car types which is nice as it's fun to learn different techniques. It doesn't have upgrades which is good for me as I can't be waffed with all the fuss. I can compare my times with mates at the start of each race which is fun.

The one thing I'd like is if I could somehow use my transmitter to control it.

It might be just me getting old but I find I prefer games that I can just pick up when I have a few spare minutes.

[DCM]

Hey Jim, I think actually trying to get the physics right would be a total ball ache but something along the lunes would be ace.

Cars, lookalikes and fun, achievements for faster motors, piwer ups maybe?

[Welshy40]

Sony made one a while back for the playstation one or two which is not bad. Cant remember the name but think it was RC Play.

Also you can buy the download for your pc as well for revolt which ive been using for ten or so years but with a difference, you can add up to 500 more different cars and levels so you never will get bored. Also you can use the playstation 3 controllers so can drive it like an rc car.

If realism is required then one game online does exist but im not up for paying a monthly fee, i want a one off fee for it to do as i please.

[Origineelreclamebord]

When I was young, I played this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrpCmhrPcCU

3D Ultra Radio Control Racers! Someone at school had the German version of it, and we played it occasionally. It's hilarious! I managed to get the English version about 2 years ago, and I occasionally play it again.

I really love the graphics: It's vivid yet basic imagery, you don't need more than that, in fact the focus on 2D with striking textures works better for me than a 3D model without proper detailing. At most wheels that can move independently from the car would add to the experience. It's really cool too you can edit the basic physics of the game in Notepad. Also, I think the feature of weapons and upgrades on the track is really cool (imagine what other weapons and upgrades you could make if you take some inspiration from Worms! :lol:)

However, now I've grown up I'd like to see a more sophisticated AI so you can actually race closely, perhaps Network/Internet Multiplayer driving and a more sophisticated and realistic physics/handling engine so the cars behave more diversely. It doesn't have to be like VRC Pro, but a relatively basic but decent car physics model of a game like GTA 3/Vice City would work wonders for realism (and handling can be edited in Notepad, just like the RC Game I mentioned). Oh, and many more types of cars and tracks :D And while you're at it you could make a mission/storyline in the game, too.

So in short, in my imagination a fun RC game has a basic but decent physics model with proper AI for close racing, but takes a sort of kids' perspective of driving them like they did so vividly in 3D Ultra Radio Control Racers! :)

[jimmy]

3D it would be but more painted stylized than anything in terms of overall look. Not simply downloading a dirt texture from cgtextures.com and overlaying with another here and there to create a pretty lame looking track :)
Different textures (blue groove) can have different properties quite easily from others.

[KennyClark]

I used to have RC Pro Am on my Nintendo NES and it was the bollocks!

[skyaflake]

The game Origineelreclamebord is referring to looks quite fun. With some up-to-date graphics and probably more tracks it would be fun for me to play.

I do play VRC Pro sometimes, but it's physics engine isn't that good and I'd prefer a more fun way to play. If I had the spare time I would love to make a decent game. But currently too busy with other development. :bored:

Great topic though. :D

[Razer]

Has anyone played Madskills motocross on their Iphone? I play that a lot, and it would be really cool with something like that done o0ple style with buggies.

[2-alex-2]

i used to play this game and i still have it somewhere in some boxes but was a good game for what it was and for when it was around some tracks were fun some were more competative and the cars were prity close lookign to what was around at the time as well maybe this could be made with better graphics engine but still with that fun factor.

http://uk.ign.com/images/games/3-d-ultra-radio-control-racers-pc-13618/4fa6c974cdc388ed13e4801a

[jimmy]

All good info guys keep it coming.
Engine will be Unreal - that's about all that's certain. No other forum offers you input to create a dream rc game (not sim) :thumbsup:

[Danny Harrison]

All good info guys keep it coming.
Engine will be Unreal - that's about all that's certain. No other forum offers you input to create a dream rc game (not sim) :thumbsup:

Ability to play online live with friends would be the biggest selling point for me.

Motorstorm rc almost nailed it, except for this.

[andys]

Something along the lines of the older 'micro machine' games - but with online play.

[jameswilkinson7]

Motorstrom RC was good but the tracks were too cluttered, on some of them it was hard to see what was going on. Andy's micro machines idea is good, but with more sensible tracks. I do think on-line play is a must though.

[Alan Reeves]

A similar style game as the ones mentioned but as a phone app, now your talking :thumbsup:

[450kid]

You should design a adaptor to able to use your transmitter with grandturismo! That would be mega.

[jimmy]

I think this game might happen.

[MikePimlott]

Anyone remember skidmarks on the amiga ?

Remake that Jimmy :woot:

[P_B]

Yep, an RC-adapted, cherry-picked amalgam of Super Skidmarks, Micro Machines and Ivan 'Ironman' Stewart's Super Off Road (with multiplayer if possible) would be simple, addictive and fun. Leave out silly power ups, xp points and all that cack so it's simple to just pick up, join a game and race - whether that's a 5 min blast or an afternoon session.

[jimmy]

Thanks again guys! :woot:

[johnnygibbon]

motorstorm rc was ok and quite playable but seemed to missing something
think a realer version of that that felt bigger an more flowing would work
maybe using uk tracks ........
hope you make it
i will be buying it

and on a slightly differant topic could a rasberry pi be programed and linked with a reciever and used as an interface for pc games so you could use your own controller

[jimmy]

Ok - gameplay wise what would people like to see in:


Single player - offline. What sort of game style(s) would you like to see. If we aim for this to be mainly a multiplayer game then I think we still need single player mode. Quick jump in a game against AI? Race against the fastest times (laid down by us in testing) to get gold/silver/bronze or naff all on a particular track?


For multiplayer we thought the following:

Quick game - simple, go into a lobby and wait for X number of cars to enter - as soon as the minimum number are in someone could initiate the race or perhaps once people enter there's a 2 minute countdown to allow others to join? or....?

Achievement game - playing the game single player to put in fast times on a certain track would pit you against similarly fast people of your own level to battle it out for the win.
non-upgrade achievements and awards that show how damn fine you are could be awarded so anyone can see how many races you've won, milestones etc.

Car upgrades - no idea how to implement these. I mean you could win new cars / unlock them - but there wouldn't be any difference in handling or speed at all. Is this enough?

Starcraft - the best game out there ever - you play and you win consistently and you go up divisions such as diamond league. You never ever have an advantage - you have awards but in starcraft it's only ever skill that counts. You can drop divisions by either not playing for a while or doing badly / others doing better than you.


Classes - I think it's stupid to race different types of car against each other - saying that something akin to a Rough Rider would be the same pace as something super modern looking. But I mean - 2WD, 4WD, ep buggy - what other classes would people want. SC? 8th buggy?

Some racing games you don't have collision with other cars but i think this should - so you crash into someone there needs to be a penalty. It could be 50-50 both drivers mistake, or some other percent all the way to 100% one driver being a mentalist.
Perhaps it would be best to try keep collision detection to an unrealisticly small box so it's only when cars REALLY mix it up they pay the price. Either in lost momentum or lost time from marshalling.

Just so it's clear - we have 2 artists, 1 programmer and 1 more wanting to join plus a third wanting to help. We have a sound designer and 2 musicians to use. The most important thing for me is the feel of the car - I think it needs to be slower than realistic RC speed to be controlable but not too slow. It needs good physics and realistic air-time control. You should be able to drive into a corner hard and lock up the brakes for a tight line or throw it in sideways for a drift round - both need to feel right.

A game where you can drive an rc round just practicing the track and enjoying the feel of how it drives would be the ultimate goal. Then being able to race that car against others = winner of a game.


We discussed indoor/outdoor environments. I think something we don't want to do is have people in the game as it would be a much bigger job -I mean you get magic marshalled and there's no crowd round the edge of the track. But I'm sure our sound engineer can create some good mood cheering / ooohing & booing etc..... And then lastly there's commentary which would be nice to add - we'd need to do that last though - come up with every possible phrase or word that could possibly be used and get it recorded and edited by the sound designer.

Possibly in multiplayer each racer could hear their own commentary or the overall commentary about the leaders etc.

Track wise I think it best we make blank tracks and standard jumps that we can use to test layouts. I want a downslope to mean something - and a chassis-slapper to lose you a little drive.

More thoughts are welcome about oOple RC racing (no, we won't call it that haha)

[Lee24h]

Vrc but on a console sorted

[bondy]

motorstorm rc was ok and quite playable but seemed to missing something
think a realer version of that that felt bigger an more flowing would work
maybe using uk tracks ........
hope you make it
i will be buying it

and on a slightly differant topic could a rasberry pi be programed and linked with a reciever and used as an interface for pc games so you could use your own controller

I like Motorstorm RC... Its not to kiddy but the tracks are pants.
A bit more realism ( handling and proper tracks ) race formats etc etc would be good :)

[jimmy]

Vrc but on a console sorted

Think that's something for VRC guys to make :)

We will develop on PC for PC - other platforms could come later if we have funds to do it.

[Danny Harrison]

motorstorm rc was ok and quite playable but seemed to missing something
think a realer version of that that felt bigger an more flowing would work
maybe using uk tracks ........
hope you make it
i will be buying it

and on a slightly differant topic could a rasberry pi be programed and linked with a reciever and used as an interface for pc games so you could use your own controller
It could, but it would be easier buying a usb adaptor that the receiver plugs into. £5 on eBay ;)

[johnnygibbon]

how about something like the motox or quad racing games where you follow the bike or buggy but it has the same flowing feel and big jumps
i think online racing is a good way to expand the game to more people its real competition
and indoor and outdoor tracks with set up options like dirt,or colin mcrae games

[Dazzler]

What about incorporating some sort of track builder / editor? So you could build your favorite club track or maybe even become a tool where people will design and race / test in the game and then go and build it for real at their club. Track builder / editor would be for everyone, the design / test / build would be for us racers / club types as a by product..

A ghost car of your fastest lap might be good too for a practice mode..

[Beddall]

hey,

A track builder / editor would certainly be something that we can look into. I know the game 'Chivalry: Medieval Warfare' released their mod tools earlier this year i think. they also based their game on Unreal3. So it can be done :)

Also we would be looking into ways to allow you guys to paint up your own cars. There's nothing quite like wearing your own tags while stealing fastest lap.

Any more info from the community would be greatly appreciated at this time while we are bouncing around ideas for this project. If it comes to anything we'll be sure to keep you guys involved and suck you dry of all your ideas :D

[Cody227]

Only one coder seems quite few for developing a complete game in a reasonable amount of time.

[levontraut]

You should design a adaptor to able to use your transmitter with grandturismo! That would be mega.

You can

[kaylon]

This is sounding pretty cool Jimmy :)

I'm all for 'easy of use'. A lot of the current RC games do not migrate to keyboard/mouse very well so that and handling would be the big areas of getting right for me.

Apart from hitting the handling etc I'd love a spectator mode within the multi-player side of the product.

K

[Taro98]

I think that you should get real manufacturers and also in the career mode you should climb the ladder to the worlds and pick up sponsorship deals from different companies and use money made from races to customise your cars livery like custom stickers etc
And also you should do scenario mode races from previous world championships e.g racing against masami hirosaka at the top of the scenario ladder

[RCG]

ReVolt is an awesome RC game, give it a try

[Welshy40]

ReVolt is an awesome RC game, give it a try

Yup, first it came out for the consol then someone cracked the coding and put onto pc so revolts great plus there are at least a thousand tracks and cars out online plus you can build your own. Then if you can get toy master then thats also pretty cool also.

[outspokencrummy]

My husband used to like Motorstorm RC and Revolt.:D

[danDanEFC]

Recharge RC is a free rc game available on the app stores.

You can build tracks and a few of the US pros are setting times on the tracks

[chris68nufc]

Most of the best times are cheating though, I think its so addictive but crap that you can cheat!! Typical Yanks!! I do think its good though!