Driveclub: Free PS Plus Edition Detailed; New info on Car Customization, Tracks, Realism and More

Giuseppe Nelva April 30, 2014 3:01 PM EST

With the re-reveal of Driveclub happened yesterday the newly appointed Game Director Paul Rustchynsky is hard at work responding to the questions of the fans as a follow-up to an informative article on the PlayStation Blog.

First of all, we get some more details on the length and variety of the tracks that will be available in the game:

The length of the roads and race tracks in DRIVECLUB vary massively, with some that you can speed around in less than a minute and others that stretch on for miles. The longest takes 5 minutes end-to-end, even with your foot to the floor in any one of the quickest cars in the game! We did try our hand at making even longer tracks and while it was possible, it was difficult to keep super long tracks feeling fresh and exciting, especially when you’re racing because the pack you’re racing with tends to break up the longer the race goes on. All of the tracks that feature in DRIVECLUB are authentic and based on real world reference trips, but rather than just recreate reality we exploit the freedom of games design to make them more exciting and enjoyable!

He also explained where the game is placed compared to the arcade and simulation racing genres:

Our ambition was always to transcend “arcade” and “simulation” stereotypes because we want to bring fans of all racing games (and all of their friends) together in DRIVECLUB. The driving model we’ve developed offers the best of both worlds, with handling that offers many layers of depth to allow players of all ability to race together. If you come from a background of arcade racing or you’re completely new to racing, you’ll find it easy to pick up and you’ll quickly learn that you do need to use the brakes more than you would in most arcade racing games. If you come from a background of simulation racing or you understand the art of race craft, you’ll be able to pull off advanced driving techniques and use the weight and velocity of the car realitsitically to keep to the racing line and shave milliseconds of of your lap times.

Rustchynsky then promised to release more footage, including direct gameplay recorded from PS4, mentioning that the the team has been hard at work in exploiting the power of the PS4 and they’ll continue to strive for the best results until release:

We will be showing you more of the game before and at E3, including direct gameplay captured from PS4. We’re keen for you to see how much it’s improved since you last saw it, even for the areas where we’ve already achieved great things. Our artists have relished the extra time to add more cars and tracks and to add detail upon detail to the cars and tracks we’ve had all along. They’re all trying to one-up each other and exploit the power of PS4 as much as possible and they’ll continue to do so until you get your hands on the game. So you can definitely expect us to be proudly sharing updates with you for the rest of the year.

We also finally get some specific details on the free PS Plus Edition and on how it’ll differ from the boxed one:

The PlayStation Plus Edition hasn’t changed. It’s hardly a demo because you get access to all of the game’s features online and offline. The difference is that you only have 10 cars and you can only race in one country (which gives you access to 5 tracks with 11 distinct variants).

That includes the explanation on why it won’t be possible to complete the single player Tour mode with the PlayStation Plus edition:

Simply because the PlayStation Plus Edition doesn’t include all of the cars and tracks that you’ll need to complete DRIVECLUB Tour.

If you’re wondering how much customization will be allowed for the liveries of the cars, Rustchynsky gave some information on that front too:

You’ll be able to customise your vehicles using liveries that you unlock throughout the game, changing colours and paint finishes of the various layers. This will allow you to create unique paint jobs that’ll make you and your club stand out from the pack.

Finally, he gave a few more miscellaneous details, that you can read below:

There are no plans for 3D support.

No monster trucks (I guess the one who asked was a Motorstorm fan) in the game.

Racing wheels will have 1:1 ratio, but will be locked at 720 degrees (of the 900 available) to provide a more accessible experience.

There will be the possibility to turn the HUD off like in inFAMOUS: Second Son.

One thing is for sure: the team at Evolution Studios has been hard at work on the game, and what we’ve seen in the past two days proves that all that effort hasn’t gone wasted. You can expect more news about Driveclub here on DualShockers very soon.