STACK August 2016 Issue 142

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W e’ve often wondered how studios
stay focused working on an annual
franchise. It’s an admirable quality to
return to a game year-in-year-out with the
same level of enthusiasm and desire to make
a better game than the year before. But
principal games designer Lee Mather reckons
that this is never an issue with the team
working on F1.
“F1 is a fantastic license and we are fans
of the sport which helps to motivate us. We
are constantly striving to improve and get as
close as we can to the real world sport which
helps to drive the game forward. Keeping
up to pace with the sport and its constantly
changing ecosystem can be a real challenge
but one that we enjoy.”
Mather reveals that planning for the game
each year is generally decided once the
design stage for the previous year’s title is
concluded. In 2015, the series encompassed
PS4 and Xbox One development and
something the studio is keen to expand upon.
As such, one of the big changes this year
was in the career mode, missing in the 2015
version.
“I am pleased to say that we have created
the most in-depth career we have ever had
in one of our F1 games, stretching up to ten
seasons,” says Mather.
“You start by selecting the in-game avatar
and the race number that will follow you
throughout your career. You can then select
the team you want to begin your career with.
Naturally the higher ranked team you choose,
the higher their expectations will be.
“By working with your Research and
Development Engineer and completing
development tasks over the race weekends
you can improve the car in a way that suits
your style. It’s then up to you whether you
want to develop your chosen team into a
championship challenger over a number of
years or whether you work with your agent
to negotiate moves between the teams
to eventually end up at the pinnacle of the
sport.”
Elsewhere, Codies has increased the
number of players competing in
an online race to 22, meaning
you can now beat 21 of your
mates all at the same
time.
The option for manual
starts has also been
included and this will
really test the skill level
of players. For those
looking at adding even
more realism to their race
experience, manual entry
into the pit lane and braking
can be selected; brake too early
and you’ll lose precious seconds, and
brake too late and you’ll incur a penalty for
speeding.
Additionally, two of the most requested
features from fans of the game are also
making it into the game this year.
“I’m delighted to say that both the Safety
Car and Formation Lap are making it into F1
2016, as well the Virtual Safety Car,’” Mather
says. “We will continue to monitor player
feedback and listen to our community about
what else they would like to see introduced in
the coming years.”
With F1 2016 safely in the bag, we ask
Mather what Codie’s long-term plans for the
franchise are?
“We have always said that we want to
make the best Formula Ones games ever and
hopefully we are getting somewhere near
that. We have a long list of ideas, features
and expansions that we would love to
see in the game in the coming years
but the main thing is to create a
game that the fans love playing.”
Lee Mather: “This is done in a variety of
ways as the cars sound so different depending
on where you are hearing them from, plus we
have to consider issues such as reflection and
reverberation off buildings and other structures
around the circuit. We work closely with the
teams to capture the audio and, wherever
possible, rig cars up with recording equipment
to capture the engine sounds during testing. We
also attend races to capture the car audio from
the side of the track as well as all of the ambient
sounds such as the crowd, the noise of the
paddock and in the pit lane.”
visit GAMES FEATURE
68 AUGUST 2016
GAMES
Codemasters' annual e franchise is
lining up in-store this month.We spoke with
principal games designer, Lee Mather, about what’s
new for the franchise in 2016. Words: Paul Jones
We have always
said that we want to
make the best Formula
One games ever and
hopefully we are
getting somewhere
near that
• F1 2016
is out
August 19
Lee Mather with
Red Bull F1 driver
Daniel Ricciardo.