Finalmente notizie fresche sull'interessante F1 Championship Manager, titolo esclusivamente manageriale dedicato al mondo della Formula 1: il beta testing del gioco prosegue secondo i tempi previsti e gli sviluppatori hanno quindi programmato le ultime prove per settembre ed il rilascio finale a Natale 2006. Parliamone sul forum dedicato.

April 06 saw the long awaited alpha 4.1.4 released for initial evaluation by the alpha test team. Their vital bug sourcing has already started to filter back into the debugging team and we have opened up the forums so that all progress can be monitored by non testers and testers alike.

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There is big job ahead of us to make the game commercially complete but we are now confident that huge strides will be made and the final C++ beta version of the game will hit it’s final development stage on 4th June 06. Our project plan is to complete the final beta test for the beginning of September 06 and Christmas commercial launch is now a realistic target that we are determined to achieve.

L'Independent Developers Team (iDT) e lo Sportscar Simulation Motorsport (Team SSM), due fra i più noti ed esperti gruppi di sviluppo di mods dedicati ai simulatori di guida, hanno annunciato oggi l'unione delle loro forze e la conseguente partnership che porterà ad un lavoro comune, che sarà annunciato a breve.

Independent Developers Team (iDT) and Sportscar Simulation Motorsport (Team SSM) today have announced a partnership to create racing simulated projects. The two Chicago-based operations have decided to join forces in order to create the best possible racing simulations.

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Pierre Pelonero, team leader of iDT thinks that the new partnership will benefit both groups. “We at iDT are happy to be back and look forward to working with the members of Team SSM. We have always had a few SSM members at iDT, so making it official makes it much better. Stay tuned for project announcements!â€

John Dagys, team leader of SSM, which recently worked with Digitally Driven Developers (D3) has moved on by partnering with iDT. “This partnership just makes sense. Our faithful team members have stuck with us throughout the years and will now make the transition over to Pierre’s wonderful organization. Look for very exciting news to come soon.â€

IDT/Team SSM will be announcing their future projects in the coming weeks. For more information, please visit http://www.teamssm.net and http://idt.rscsites.org/

Il team BugBear ha pubblicato una nuova puntata del diario di sviluppo dell'atteso FlatOut 2: a questo link del blog ufficiale, potrete leggere tutti i dettagli che riguardano il sonoro del gioco.

Everybody, please welcome Greg Hill, our visiting blogger for these two very special editions of the FlatOut 2 developer blog! Greg is the master of vehicle sounds, who has been working with Bugbear for years...

Nuova recensione per il divertente Crashday del team MoonByte Studios: potete leggere l'intero articolo, pubblicato dal portale di Computer & Videogames, direttamente a questo indirizzo.

What were you doing in 1997? Britpop was still simmering, Michael Owen had yet to score that goal, and PC gaming was heralding a brave new dawn of accelerated graphics. Meanwhile, in Germany, the developer of Crashday was putting together some initial concepts for the game...

Il team Simbin ha annunciato di aver siglato un importante accordo con la IGA Worldwide, importante società che si occupa della pubblicità all'interno dei videogiochi e che curerà le sponsorizzazioni all'interno dei prossimi GTR 2 e WTCC. Questo il comunicato stampa completo:

IGA Worldwide, the multi-award-winning in-game advertising specialist, has signed a multi-year exclusive agreement to integrate its Radial ® in-game advertising technology into SimBin’s stable of officially licensed racing video game titles – GTR, based on the FIA GT and a recently announced new series to be based on the World Touring Car Championships.

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The agreement with SimBin, recognised as one of the world’s premier racing simulation developers with major pan-European and US distribution agreements, includes three titles for 2006 starting with the imminent re-release of the universally applauded FIA GT racing game, GTR, winner of numerous awards and with average review scores exceeding 90 per cent. This will be followed later this summer with the hotly anticipated GTR sequel and last, but definitely not least, the debut of the first dedicated WTCC racing game. The deal comes on the heels of a recent IGA announcement for another immensely popular racing franchise, TrackMania Nations.

“What SimBin required for these titles was not only revenue generating ads, but extremely realistic and appropriate ad content and placement that will match and enhance the unrivalled pixel-perfect realism our games provide, coupled with the flexibility and high degree of measurability and standards inherent in IGA’s Radial network,†said Magnus Ling, CCO of SimBin.

The WTCC (World Touring Car Championship) is broadcast worldwide and in 2005 attracted 491 million viewers. It is anticipated that 600 million will tune-in in 2006. The series features official factory-supported entries from BMW, Ford, Chevrolet, Alfa Romeo, Honda, Mercedes and Seat, amongst others.

“SimBin’s GTR is renowned as the most realistic racing simulation ever released, and having played early versions we are certain that their WTCC titles will maximise their unique combination of professional racing background and veteran development teams to deliver the most exhilarating experience for players,†said Justin Townsend, CEO of IGA Worldwide. “We are really excited to be able to offer these virtual racing communities as an exclusive promotional platform for the world’s leading brands whilst adding to the realism of the game environments.â€

As well as featuring dynamic billboards around the tracks and circuits, IGA’s wholly-owned communications consultancy Hive Partners will be responsible for integrated promotional opportunities surrounding the real-life events, including the attendant ‘Get Real’ race center, which allows race day attendees to participate in linked races at the circuits.

Vi segnaliamo una interessante novità persino gratuita disponibile nella sua ultima release ufficiale: si tratta del particolare Rigs of Rods, un ottimo simulatore di trucks, ovvero quegli enormi camion elaborati che partecipano ai grandi raid del deserto. Sul sito ufficiale trovate il download, screenshots e video di anteprima. Da provare...

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I started developping RoR in august 2005, out of frustration from the low
quality of physics in most recent driving games titles. My favourite driving
simulators were Indy500 (1990), Carmageddon (1997) and
1nsane (2001). We're in 2006 now and I don't think you can find better game
physics on the shelves.

So I started this as a challenge. I enjoyed a lot a small bridge building game
called Pontifex, because of its simple, yet realistic physics, based on
interconnected beams. So I had the idea to build chassis and wheels with the
same physics. This allows the chassis and wheels to realistically flex under
stress, with the added benefit of a built-in and realistic damage model. The
downside is the large CPU power required to simulate the whole vehicle.

I chose the truck theme because the usual fast and expensive car theme is
boring, and I wanted something different. Also, trucks usually experience
various weight conditions and experience more chassis stress, that the physics
model can model, and allow lots of exotic axles configurations, loading
mechanisms, cranes and trailers.

This game would be nothing without the powerfull Ogre 3D library, that allowed
me, from the very beginning of the project, to have a professional-looking 3D
rendering, using simple and efficient API and at the same time giving me access
to the most advanced rendering techniques. And it's LGPL too!

Now I continue developping RoR at a regular pace, adding features depending on
my mood. I do this on my free time, I have a good job elsewhere and don't plan
to embrace a game career. I do this just for fun. I have no commercial plan yet
for RoR.
In the future, the big features I plan to add in the long term are a complete
truck builder (which would be very interesting since because of the physics
model you model the structural characteristics of the chassis and not just the
appearance of the cab) and a mission-oriented gameplay.

If some people want to help me, I'm good at programming but not at modeling. I
will welcome propositions of good-looking buildings/town models (original
content, not plundered somewhere else). Of course, modders are welcome, and I
started a wiki documenting the trucks format for those that can't wait for the
truck builder.