Nuovo video di anteprima per l'atteso Need for Speed Shift targato Electronic Arts: il trailer di oggi, che mostra alcuni spezzoni di azione in game, è un vero e proprio filmato promozionale, decisamente spettacolare!

Già da un paio di settimane è disponibile tramite il client Steam un nuovo aggiornamento per il GTR Evolution - Race 07 dei Simbin. Non è ancora chiaro però quali sono state le modifiche apportate da questo update che porta il software alla versione 1.2.0.8 non senza qualche problemino; oggi però il team svedese ha specificato che con questa patch sono stati sbloccati in Race 07 tutti i contenuti dei due STCC e GTR Evolution, anche per chi non li avesse acquistati!

1.2.0.8 changelist has been delayed, other taks last week have taken priority. We will keep you posted!... With 1.2.0.8. All STCC & GTR Evo features are enabled for Race07. Even if you dont have the expansions.

Potete ammirare direttamente qui sotto e discuterne a questo post del forum dedicato una nuova video intervista che riguarda il prossimo Need for Speed Shift targato EA: ascoltiamo cosa ci dice Stephen Viljoen, Lead Designer/Producer del team Slightly Mad Studios che sta sviluppando il gioco.

E' apparso oggi sul sito ufficiale di iRacing questo gustosissimo annuncio dedicato ad una particolare promozione trimestrale per tutti i nuovi utenti: la vera notizia è però la conferma del prossimo arrivo delle monoposto Indycar con telaio Dallara e del circuito di Indianapolis nel simulatore targato Kaemmer!

IndyCar Series racing fans won’t just be able to attend the Indianapolis 500 in person next year, or watch the broadcast at home – on the 2010 Memorial Day weekend anyone in the world who has a PC and a broadband internet connection will be able to drive in a stunningly realistic virtual version of the race.

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Under the terms of a multi-year partnership with the Indy Racing League, iRacing.com’s motorsport simulation service will offer fans the opportunity to compete in virtual versions of IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights races on a variety of tracks, including Indianapolis Motor Speedway, beginning this fall. Additionally, iRacing will feature faithful digital reproductions of both series’ Dallara chassis.

“This November, before the end of the first year of the Speedway’s 100th anniversary celebration, hundreds of thousands of fans who have attended the Indy 500 in person and millions more around the world who have watched this classic American sporting event on television will have the opportunity to sample for themselves the challenge of driving a Dallara IndyCar Series car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway,” said Dave Kaemmer, CEO & CTO of iRacing.com Motorsport Simulations. “When our virtual version of Indianapolis Motor Speedway is completed next month, we will have in inventory or under construction 12 of the 17 venues on which the IndyCar Series will compete in 2009.”

Additionally, iRacing.com sponsors IndyCar Race Control, the section of www.indycar.com that displays a real-time leaderboard and brings fans multiple live in-car video feeds during IndyCar Series competition.

“Our fans are tech-savvy and enjoy being actively involved in our races,” said Terry Angstadt, president of the commercial division for the Indy Racing League, the sanctioning body of the IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights. “One of the things that makes IndyCar Series racing unique is the diversity of venues in the series. iRacing puts drivers, team members and fans into their own virtual driver’s seat of an IndyCar Series or Firestone Indy Lights car to enjoy racing one another on demanding short ovals, scenic road courses, high-banked superspeedways, and of course, Indy.”

Italy’s Dallara Automobili, the company that designs, manufactures and supports both the IndyCar Series and Firestone Indy Lights cars, is collaborating with the iRacing tech team in developing the two vehicles.

“It was iRacing’s demonstrated ability to work closely with the manufacturers of the cars already in its inventory that persuaded us to grant them permission to build virtual versions of the Dallara I 09 and IP 09,” said Andrea Toso, Dallara Automobili’s head of research and development and US racing projects leader. “It has been an interesting project, and we continue to enjoy working closely with Dave Kaemmer and his engineers.”

In April a crew of iRacing laser-scanning technicians captured the dimensional data and graphic information used over the last several months to build a millimeter-accurate version of the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway track that will be correct right down to the detail in the famous Yard of Bricks at the Start/Finish line.

The iRacing version of Indianapolis Motor Speedway will include both the 2.5-mile oval used for the Indy 500 and Brickyard 400 NASCAR race and the 2.621-mile road circuit that is home to the Red Bull Indianapolis GP world championship motorcycle event.

“Hundreds of thousands of patrons visit Indianapolis Motor Speedway each year,” said Chris Schwartz, Indianapolis Motor Speedway vice president, marketing. “Now they will have an opportunity to experience the Brickyard at speed from the seat of a simulated race car. Competitors will tell you how dramatic Turn 1 can be in an IndyCar, NASCAR or on a MotoGP bike at speed – for the first time fans will be able to share that experience.”

For Kaemmer, who is widely acknowledged as a pioneer of realistic racing simulations, Indianapolis represents a return to his roots. It was 20 years almost to the month that Kaemmer’s first motorsport title, “Indy 500”, was published.

“Looking back, I guess that ‘Indy 500’ was groundbreaking, at least given the technology of the time,” Kaemmer said. “What is exciting for all of us on the technical team at iRacing is that we can now build virtual cars that perform in exactly the way as their real-world counterparts. Everything that is adjustable on the physical car is adjustable on its virtual counterpart and the digital car responds to those adjustments just as the carbon fiber and metal car does. That’s why Justin Wilson and Dale Earnhardt Jr., as well as many other professional racing drivers, use our service not only for fun, but also to prepare for real-world test sessions and races. And because our motorsport simulation service is internet-based, enthusiasts from all over the world can drive and take part in races. All it requires is a reasonably up-to-date computer, a broadband internet connection and an inexpensive steering-wheel and pedal set.”

Il portale italiano di Nextgame ha pubblicato a questo indirizzo un interessante articolo di confronto fra i due titoli di guida più attesi del momento per le console, dopo averli provati alla recente fiera Gamescom di Colonia: fra Gran Turismo 5 e Forza Motorsport 3 sembra essere il gioco per XBox quello maggiormente realistico per la guida.

Quasi non ci si sperava più: l'esistenza del videogioco automobilistico di Kazunori Yamauchi per PlayStation 3 aveva ormai assunto parossistici contorni di leggenda mitologica, sui cui prodursi in facili e fin troppo banali facilonerie tanto per riderci su.... L'impressione generale che ne è emersa è che Forza Motorsport 3 sia esteticamente inferiore rispetto al titolo di Polyphony, ma sensibilmente più gratificante (se giocato in rigorosa modalità simulativa).

Finalmente una notizia che riguarda l'ottimo Live for Speed: dopo un lungo periodo di silenzio, infatti, è direttamente Scawen in persona (uno dei tre programmatori del gioco) ad annunciare il prossimo arrivo per il software di una nuova fisica, dedicata in particolare ad un rinnovato modello per i pneumatici, resosi necessario per il rilascio della VW Scirocco.

We are pleased to announce that a new tyre physics model is currently in the testing and refinement stage. Many community members have been wondering what happened to the release of the new VW Scirocco and why there was no news about it. Here are the reasons why: While we were working on the Scirocco in December, we found that we could not make the LFS model handle as well as the real car. One of the reasons for this was that the LFS tyres had too much grip and this was causing the inside wheels to lose too much load while cornering. But simply reducing the grip would not have been a good approach... the result would have been just the same old LFS but at lower speeds. We decided to look into a completely new core tyre model.

Il portale italiano di Nextgame.it ha pubblicato a questo indirizzo un interessante articolo di anteprima dedicato al prossimo Colin McRae DiRT 2 della Codemasters. Inoltre a questo link potete ammirare due nuovi video in game: il primo (anche qui sotto) ci mostra vari incidenti e lo spettacolare sistema dei danni, mentre il secondo trailer è dedicato alle gare su sterrato.