Paul Jeffrey
Premium
A new open world racing game in the vein of Test Driver Unlimited has entered into the Kickstarter Crowdfunding programme. D.R.I.V.E, stranding for Diverse Racing In Vast Environments, looks to raise £28,000 in the next 23 days as the studio aim to build a game to fill the gap left by the popular Test Drive series.
Input Games have revealed details of the D.R.I.V.E Kickstarter campaign designed to raise funds towards developing a new massive free roam open world racing title, with a strong emphasis on large scale online multiplayer racing. The team behind the proposed game are a community derived studio made up of like minded players of open world driving releases.
D.R.I.V.E - Announcement Trailer
The studio have promised the new title will be "feature rich with experiences never before seen in driving games" and have a strong emphasis on car culture. Due to feature up to 100 unique vehicles from hatchbacks, performance vehicles, racing cars and GT spec machines, the D.R.I.V.E game will aim to cater to all different driving tastes. Unlike the Testdrive series the game has been inspired by, D.R.I.V.E will not contain any real world manufacturers but instead feature cars designed and modelled in house at the studio.
The game will be based at the fictional Isle d'Auriga location, with a career progression structure designed to maintain the players interest and offer something more than just simply driving and entering racing events. Players will begin their gaming experience with a rental vehicle, where the target will be to complete in events and earn cash to purchase cars for themselves. Once the player gathers enough money they can move on to purchasing property and exploring the hidden activities within the game map. Race tracks and car meets can be found within the game environment, and players can spontaneously challenge friends to join in on races with each other or take part in social experiences. Should rental cars not be your thing, the opportunity to take out a loan and hire your own vehicle exists, but repayments need to be made on your purchase as you look to build up a reputation and cash inventory.
"D.R.I.V.E's Physics have been designed to be realistic, yet characterful, with each vehicle having different characteristics from the factory. Optional extras such as sports suspension, spoilers, weight reduction kits and exterior styling packages all feature in D.R.I.V.E, with many of which changing how the vehicles handles". State Input Games.
"Specific options can vastly change the characteristics of a vehicle. Purchased a sports exhaust? Your car will be noticeable louder. Purchased the sport package? It will impact how the car handles; from stiffer suspension, to increased down force. The modifications that you make will change the characteristics of your car, reacting to your in-game decisions."
In a rather cool and unique idea from Input games, as the game ages new vehicles and facelift models will be made available to purchase, moving the older content out into the second hand marketplace.
"In order to give each vehicle a chance to shine, the variety of missions is just as large as the car list. From high speed test track sessions to off-road time trials, from delivery missions to heavy transport and from multi-lap circuit races to police pursuits, players will always be busy and there will always be something to do on Auriga."
D.R.I.V.E is proposed for an initial PC only release, with other platforms to be considered at a later date. The studio anticipate D.R.I.V.E could be released in December 2017 and in order to help facilitate the development of the game several crowdfunding perks have been offered depending on the level of backing contributed. For further details of the backer levels and to contribute to the campaign, visit the D.R.I.V..E Kickstarter page here.
Did you play the old Test Drive Unlimited games? Will you be interested in trying out D.R.I.V.E for yourself? Will you be taking part in the crowdfunding campaign? Let us know in the comments section below!
Last edited:
Maybe this won't disappoint like The Crew.
