More Articles on Juiced
THQ Announces Q2’05 ResultsTHQ Save JuicedJuiced Survives???Juiced ‘Show-Off’ Mode RevealedJuicedLatest Previews
GC08 - Resident Evil 5 Hands OnGC08 - Heavy RainGC08 - FIFA 09 Hands OnGC08 - Prince Of PersiaThe Godfather II - First LookUser Reviews
There are currently 0 User Reviews for JuicedWrite your own review for this game today and you will receive 100 Gamer Points.
Click here to register
Juiced Preview
Derek dela Fuente
11/06/2004
Juice Games demonstrate and chat to us about their forthcoming racer...
Juiced over the last few months, with its eye-catching appearance at the E3, have been receiving some noteworthy comments. Itās a fast paced arcade racing game that will have plenty of competition coming up to its release later in the year. Derek dela Fuente to with Stephen Powell - Project Manager and Richard Badger - Lead Designer, from Juice Games
The development team made up from ex DID/Rage personnel have an impressive CV with a simulation background, along with broad experience of developing physics, sophisticated AI systems and multiplayer games. Since DID, the team have built eRacer for the PC, which gave them their first real taste for the driving genre and how to structure sophisticated on-line competitions. They then cut their teeth on PS2 with GTC Africa along with an OEM product called Rage Rally for PC, but the pinnacle was Lamborghini. It is then they started to focus all that they had learned, to build a quality racing experience. Sadly it was a mere six weeks from retail when Rage went under, taking the game with it. Both Stephen and Richard commented that Lamborghini would have been the first Live enabled driving title and had been tested online for some time, which gave them another area of expertise. They felt frustrated at the fact that they were on the cusp of delivering a product that combined all the teamās skills and knowledge. So close, in fact, that they all agreed that the whole team couldnāt just give up. Having all the right people in the right place, with the enormous task of rebuilding a code base from scratch put them in the best position to creating and designing a true cross platform engine tailored to the driving genre ā“ Juiced!
Billed as part sim, part arcade, racer rather blurs the exact nature of the game but this was all explained. ā This really refers to the usability of the product versus the believability and excitement of the experience. We want to communicate the sense of being there, of recreating a reality that reflects the modding scene, while ensuring the accessibility and fun that an arcade experience delivers. The learning curve has to start gently, and the rewards for the player need to come quickly in order to convince the player that this is a product worth spending time with. Whether you race the car, add a turbo or just shred rubber by doing doughnuts, the performance reflects reality.ā
Games like Burnout, Need for Speed and a whole host of eye candy, slick looking racers, focus on a whole host of top of the range, āloads of moneyā cars but many of fuel heads will say everything always looks great but the disernable differences under the bonnets are rarely as good as gamers would hope. Juiced it appears will be going the extra distance to ensure disernable differances and cars will match their expected performance, whilst offering a game with a real visions, was some of the dialogue spoken by the team.
ā The cars are all fully licensed and based on manufacturers specifications. Stock models in the game reflect the manufacturers figures. We had to develop a system that could handle performance tuning. This involved our physics expert getting to grips with a lot of engineering theory and developing a model that would cope with the very different geometry, power and weight of each model, and the ābefore and afterā effects of adding turbos, nitrous etc. Also the model shows pronounced differences in handling between front, rear and all wheel drive cars. Each drive type requires a different driving approach to get the best lap times. Upgrade the car and put it on the rolling road and you'll see the torque and power curves doing just the right thing. Get into a race and the sense of speed and excitement is there too.ā
ā A major difference in Juiced is that the player determines the strategy and tactics for progressing. Juiced does not have a traditional level based progression. You donāt unlock tracks directly by simply winning; you must influence other crews in order to progress and there is no fixed order in where you start. In career mode there are several game types with different objectives. In general, the challenge is to earn enough respect so that other racing crews want you on their turf. Once you have gained enough respect in all the right areas, you call the shots and organise the events. Each crew has itās own likes and dislikes, so there are many different ways to impress them. Respect does not gain credits to upgrade your carsā¦ youāll need cash for that.ā
āThe quickest way to lose respect is to trash peopleās cars during a race. You win the event, but not the opponentās hearts and minds, which really matters in Juiced. Cash is earned through winning and betting. You might be as rich as Cresus, but unless you have respect it wonāt get you very far. In terms of tactics, how you mod and drive the cars individually and as a team determines how youāll get on. As you get better, youāll recruit and train your own team or ācrewā mates. Youāll have high-level tactical control over them during the race. They can be trained by being entered in events and by you helping them to win. Juiced offers the player a great deal of control over the game inside and outside of the racing; in some respects itās more akin to squad based and RTS gamesā.
If you run an analytical eye over some of the recent racing games, all have been impressive and most have been as good as anything we have seen previously but true innovations have been few and far between. PC, console and CPU power to create a true mirror experience is not possible and the debilitating CPU factor is still always constant but they team commented on their slant where innovation can sometimes be a single unique feature, and sometimes itās a whole bag of features working together to provide a new experience. The single approach may be to weave a storyline into the game, for example, but that's not Juiceās way. They are innovating in a number of areas to give the player full control over the strategy and tactics of how the game is played. In the end, the outcome of a race and more importantly the way you have raced has far more impact than in any other racing game.
ā The debilitating factors are less to do with the limits of technology and more to do with how ambitious or creatively minded the publisher is. Anything that you do thatās new involves a certain element of risk, and few publishers are willing or able to go too far. Ambition is the key; both Juice and Acclaim are ambitious. We have to be.ā
āThere will always be room for improvement. Game AI is still nowhere near simulating true human responses and thought processes (passing the Turin test). Our belief is that a single player game and multiplayer game should be the same, but with AI replacing people when you are offline. Thereās plenty of work to do in this area. In the future your crew could be real people recruited online, but offline the AI takes their traits and styles to simulate their behaviour. So offline is where you learn, and online is where you do real battle. Physics systems, even at best, are still based on generalisations and approximations. We will get to a stage where everyone is able to build a driving model that reflects reality perfectly, but then the experience will depend entirely on the rules of the game ā“ just like real life. A good example of physics enhancing the experience is of course damage ā“ sometimes destruction is the most satisfying reward. Juiced has that plus highly customisable handling and performance for each car and AI crewmembers that you manage during the racing.ā
Juiced is based on a huge city divided into a number of districts, each with their own characteristics and racing environments, from industrial areas to cosy suburbs and run-down areas to modern downtown. Every track has its own traits and graphical beauty, so itās will be hard to pick a favourite and they all look pretty impressive especially racing after a downpour though, as the wet tracks look stunning at any time of day or night and adds the extra challenge of reduced grip!
There is plenty of customising to be done and both explained of some of their fav modding combos.
āFor example, Iāll take a stock RX-7, add a Magnum bumpers and skirts from Vis, plus and HK composite hood for looks and weight saving. So now it looks cool but the drag factor is up, so weāll need to add a high performance fuel delivery system from AEM and a cold-air induction system. Next weāll add a performance exhaust system from Rage in the UK, and a cool set of 17-inch Oz wheels with competition tyres. The final touch will be a pearlescent, two-pack paint job at the local body shop. Of course in reality, this is going to take some time to accomplish and a wedge of cash! Youāll put the car on the rolling road to check out the performance improvements, but stuff like brake upgrades will only be evident once youāre on the street and in the action.ā
One pleasing aspect of the game will be it good car deformation and although manufacturers donāt want the safety cage compromising, which is fair enough everything else, constitutes a crumple zone. Juiced, the damage is largely cosmetic, but it is truly procedural (never the same twice) and can turn your $150,000 work of art into a shameful heap quite easily. When parts fly off during the races, they then become persistent hazards on the track. And donāt forget, damaging someone elseās motor also means you lose respect. If your crewmates cause damage, it costs you and they lose skill levels which means youāll need to retrain them!
