Evolution Studios took the wraps off DRIVECLUB’s dynamic weather system at E3 in Los Angeles this month and we were there to see it demoed live. Today we’ve got some new direct feed gameplay clips of it in action and an interview with the game’s Art Director Alex Perkins.

The clips are all taken from an early demo of the game’s realistic – and fully customisable – weather system, which will be available for DRIVECLUB as a free update for all players shortly after launch.

We’re really excited to give you an early look at how wind, rain, snow and everything in between can affect your races and how you can customise it in your challenges. Take a look at the new videos and then keep reading for more from Alex.

To see the videos in full widescreen, head on over to the DRIVECLUB Facebook page.

How have you approached weather in DRIVECLUB?

Alex Perkins: We’ve approached our weather system with the same guiding principles as we’ve done with everything in DRIVECLUB, to make it as immersive and fun as possible. We’ve developed a powerful engine that has the capability to model the entire environment in stunning detail; from each cloud that makes up our living skies, to every crest and fall in the tarmac beneath your wheels. From there, we’re breathing additional life into the environments by developing the earth’s atmosphere around it. Originally we focussed on authentic lighting and skies as the tool for you to customise stunning backdrops for fun challenges with your friends. Now, we’re developing a dynamic weather system that plays into all of this, adding another powerful tool to your arsenal. The cloud cover and conditions you choose will dictate how much snow and rain will fall. The wind direction and speed determines where snow will settle. Then when it stops, the temperature and height of the sun governs how quickly clouds evaporate and roads dry out. We’re really striving for consistency in every detail just like we have done with everything else in the game. What’s the scale of the weather types in the game? Is it just rain or snow, or can we expect drizzle, sleet, downpours, blizzards and so forth?

Alex Perkins: You can expect every one of those and you can expect it to change dynamically and unpredictably while you race – because we’ve designed it to be just like real weather systems. Spots of rain can become torrential downpours or transition into blizzards, quickly or slowly, and when the clouds clear up the tracks will dry out too. So if you’re in Norway, for example, you’ll face heavier snow when you’re racing atop the mountains and much lighter snow or sleet when you descend to a lower altitude. Lots of things play into this, like elevation, wind speed and temperature. We can even adjust all the way to zero visibility conditions too – the only limit will be the need to balance things for fun and usability. And what about really extreme stuff, like thunder and lightning?

Alex Perkins: Deafening thunder storms with flashes of fork lightning are what we’re aiming for. Our intention is to make this as immersive and exciting as we can.