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Neon is the new proprietary game engine created in house at Codemasters Studios. Codemasters describes Neon as a “growling powerhouse of a game engine that will drive the next-generation of the series’ impeccable car handling, incredibly detailed vehicles and fantastic living environments.“
Neon has already been in development for over 18 months, with over 30 technical experts hard at work creating the cutting-edge multi-platform engine. Unlike lots of other next-gen titles which have been created on current-gen engines enhanced for next-gen, Neon has been built from the ground up for next-gen platforms.
“Neon delivers an engine that provides us with so much more scope and possibilities than an update of existing tech would have ever allowed,” said Gavin Cheshire, Vice President of Codemasters Studios. “The most obvious result is in the visual detail and physics that produce incredible particle effects. Neon makes it possible to go into seemingly minute detail but will create the most realistic and involving environments in the racing genre.“
Colin McRae DIRT will feature more than 50 officially licensed vehicles across 12 car class categories, including 2WD, 4WD, Classic and RWD. Thanks to Neon, Codemasters claim to have been able to model locations and environments as accurately as possible, right down to the effects of the wind.
The game will use real-time physics to model air movements, with everything being affected by the wind: exhaust smoke, trees, foliage, trackside flags, rainfall and the vehicles themselves. Cars will even create their own air rush and will have an effect on everything they pass.
Also expect ultra-realistic damage reflected accurately on cars, with metal crumpling, glass smashing, and environmental objects being destroyed when you crash: small trees will snap and bend, grass will be flattened, wood will splinter and stone will be smashed.
Codemasters has even released a new batch of screens so you can see for yourself just how gorgeous looking DIRT is shaping up to be. Colin McRae DIRT is scheduled for release in 2007 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC.
