*Somewhere deep in Codemasters' headquarters* Developer 1: Sir, I know we have other projects, but the guys all want to make a rally racer! We call it... DiRT Rally! CEO: We don't have the time, but that does sound awesome! How soon can we have a prototype? Developer 2: Sir, we've already finished an alpha-quality product, but... do you think people will play it? CEO: You guys need to sleep more! Quick, get press relations to send out an announcement and put the game on Steam Early Access!
I'm pretty sure the above is a direct retelling of the events that have lead to today's announcement and release of DiRT Rally. Yes, Codemasters have both officially announced their new racing game and released it via Steam Early Access on the same day. The game will focus on off-road realism, multiple driving surfaces and a variety of weather conditions, all packaged in a game only a bit more than half the price of a standard racer.
Here's what Codemasters will offer as part of their Early Access package for DiRT Rally:
- 17 CARS OVER 6 NEW AND CLASSIC CLASSES - Including BMW M3 Evo; Audi Quattro S1; Lancia Delta HF Integrale and Subaru Impreza
- DIVERSE LOCALES - 36 challenging stages set across Hafren, Wales; Monte Carlo, Monaco and Argolis, Greece
- TEAM MANAGEMENT – Hire up to four engineering staff to work on your car between stages
- RALLY ASYNC – Daily, weekly and month-long challenges against fellow players from around the world without the need to be online at the same time
- RALLY SEASONS – Compete in a succession of events with the aim of gaining promotion to the next rung on the driving ladder
- CUSTOM RALLY EVENTS – Take any car on any track and configure and compete in single or multi-stage events against the AI’s times
- UPGRADES – Unlock the full potential of your car with meaningful improvements to its handling and performance
- TUNING – Tweak your car set-up based on car, track and weather conditions to best suit your racing style
- PHYSICS-BASED ASSISTS – DiRT Rally allows players to experience cars in their purest form. It also offers a selection of real world assists similar to those seen in race and road vehicles as traction control and ABS
- DAMAGE & REPAIRS – Wear and tear is faithfully recreated with a comprehensive and realistic damage model. Damage can be repaired by hiring Engineers to work in the team’s Service Area between stages but with a finite amount of time available
As for what's coming to the game in the future, Codemasters says they're planning multiple "free" updates including cars, locations and game modes. Which makes me think this is less an Early Access game and more of a release that Codemasters wants to earn money on without doing all of their QA up front. It doesn't really sound like they have any real plans as far as bringing their game from Early Access to full release, that is.
Nevertheless, Early Access is whatever a developer wants it to be. If Codemasters thinks their game is ready for drivers to race in, then it must be so. Let's just hope they didn't put out a broken game for full price, stamped with Early Access so they don't get as much criticism over it.
DiRT Rally is available now on Steam via Early Access for the price of $35. Check out the trailer and the provided screenshots to see if this rally racer is up to your speed.
Click here to see more images
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