STACK #142 Aug 2016

GAMES FEATURE

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Codemasters' annual Formula One 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

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

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

an online race to 22, meaning you can now beat 21 of your mates all at the same time. The option for manual

We have always said that we want to make the best Formula One games ever and hopefully we are getting somewhere near that

Lee Mather with Red Bull F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo.

starts has also been included and this will really test the skill level of players. For those looking at adding even

GAMES

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

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.”

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.”

• F1 2016 is out August 19

AUGUST 2016

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