C.A.R.S.

Maybe the next Assetto Corsa. Maybe not.
Post Reply
User avatar
VIPEROSI
Posts: 1279
Joined: Sat Dec 18, 2004 1:06 pm
Location: Southern Highlands NSW

C.A.R.S.

Post by VIPEROSI »

*Edit*
Info and download available from http://www.wmdportal.com/projects/cars/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thought i would bring this up as its looking pretty interesting. Here are some articles from VirtualR from oldest to latest. Could be the kind of sim that we have been waiting for....
Slightly Mad Studios’ Ian Bell shared his vision of a community-funded simulation title right here on VirtualR. What many may have dismissed as a very much utopian vision has gotten extremely real as the studio has been hard at work for the past few months to turn a great idea into a working project.

Named Community Assisted Race Sim, or C.A.R.S. for short, the project will allow ordinary sim racers to become investors in a racing simulation title and get a share of the profits and unmatched access to the development process and a say in the title’s direction.

For the past few months, the guys at Slightly Mad Studios have been hard at work on all fronts as Ian Bell has revealed some exclusive details on the team’s progress. The legal work on the project has just been completed and SMS is ready to launch the project’s website and accept investors within the next 2-3 weeks.

The studio will be offering investment options that will fit any budged, starting out with a 5€ option ending with gold-level commitment of 1000€ and beyond. All investors will be getting access to downloadable development builds throughout the development process, the level of investment will determine the amount of influence each member has though.

While every investor will get to vote on the direction the new title will take, gold members get to participate in board meetings where the bigger calls will be made, always considering the requests from the regular investors. Gold members will even get source-code access to the simulation while smaller investors will be given script access to play with.

Slightly Mad Studios promise a completely transparent development process as all investors get to follow every single bit of progress and every single discussion the developers will be having. The SMS team will work out in the open for all investors to see, there will be no closed-off development forum as all investors get to follow everything the development team does, “even the arguments,” as Ian Bell points out.

C.A.R.S will be used the stripped-down Shift 2 Unleashed engine as starting point, as the team will be adding new modules to it during the course of the development process, including a new DirectX 11 renderer, a new physics engine and new AI. Slightly Mad Studios expect a development cycle of at least 12 months until the finished product is ready, however all investors will be getting access to development builds throughout the process to keep everyone entertained.

Below is a first high-resolution preview, showing an immensely-detailed historical Lotus Formula One car in the garage. SMS is planning to release the first build shortly after the first investors joined, the first release will include a handful of cars and tracks to try out. The base content won’t be too advanced though as the investors will have the final say in the direction that the title will take and what content will be included.

SMS is planning to have fully-licensed content in the finished product, the team may be dealing with generic content in the development builds though while the licensing is being finalised in the background.

For years now, sim racers have been bemoaning the publishers lack of interest in sim racing and the missing influence on developing titles. It looks like Slightly Mad Studios will be changing all that with C.A.R.S.

Image
Slightly Mad Studios have released new two high-resolution previews of their upcoming C.A.R.S. title here on VirtualR.

The new previews show off the historical Lotus 49 Formula One car, including a shot of the car’s very detailed cockpit.

The model seen in the previews is made up of around 250.000 polygons and will run in-game in this kind of quality, thanks to DirectX 11 and the complexity of the used shaders as SMS is aiming to set a new benchmark in visual quality. Aside from pushing the limits in terms of graphics, the studio is also putting equal efforts into the input & physics department

Image
Image
Slightly Mad Studios have released a new render of their upcoming, community-funded, C.A.R.S. project, revealing a brand new car as we get to check out the Audi R18 TDI LMP1 Le Mans Prototype.

Following the first renders that revealed the Lotus 49 Formula One car, this is the first time we get to see a modern race car in C.A.R.S. The R18 TDI is powered by a V6 Turbo Diesel engine, it won this years’ Le Mans 24 Hours race after making its competition debut at Spa Francorchamps just a month earlier.

Interestingly, the car sports a completely fictional paint scheme without any Audi logos, this may very well be a sign of licensing still being worked on in the background as SMS revealed in a past article.

Image
Image
C.A.R.S. – Financial Details Revealed

Posted on September 25th, 2011 in C.A.R.S. - 32 Comments


In the past few months, Slightly Mad Studios have already revealed plenty of details on their innovative new concept that is launched with their C.A.R.S. title, allowing sim racers to invest in the upcoming title.

The studio has already outlined how investors get to have a say in the direction the title and its content is taking. Furthermore, the investors get to follow a completely transparent development process while enjoying development builds of the title from the get-go.

But these perks won’t be the main reason to invest into C.A.R.S. as Slightly Mad Studios are giving a major part of the revenue generated by the title back to the shareholders as a new article in Gamesindustry.biz outlines:

Slightly Mad will take 30 per cent of profits with the remainder divided up amongst the community based on the amount of shares in a game they own.

Slightly Mad is targeting individuals and fans with shares in the games priced a $5 and $10, $250 options for groups, $1000 for small businesses and large companies and investors can get involved with contributions of $100,000. Longer-term, subscribers can also benefit when PC games are ported to other formats.

Based on a two year development cycle at a cost of $5 million, Slightly Mad estimates that a $10 share will return $35 if the game hits a $25 million profit, or 657,000 traditional retail sales. A $250 share will return $875 and a $100,000 share $350,000.

Slightly Mad is targeting three million sales of C.A.R.S., a 90 per cent Metacritic and a profit of $52 million. The free-to-play game will include microtransactions priced from 10 cents to $10 and the company has already licensed a number of tracks and manufacturers.

In the long run, C.A.R.S. is only the beginning though as Slightly Mad Studios are looking to push their innovative concept way past the confines of the virtual racing genre. Called “World of Mass Development”, the service will be offered to other developers as well who can fund their own titles without being restricted by a big publisher and giving investors insight into a transparent development process while providing a solid financial return for shareholders.

“Traditional development puts developers at the mercy of publishers,” Slightly Mad Studios commented. “Although it supplies the necessary funds to develop games with proper QA testing and development cycles, it also makes the development cycle subject to business matters such as financial quarters, company profits and marketing budgets. The development process offered by WMD shifts the focus back to creating great games that your target audience wants to play, whilst still offering the chance to get proper funding for development and testing.”
Last edited by VIPEROSI on Tue Oct 25, 2011 5:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
DexterPunk
Busted ARSE
Posts: 15218
Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:18 pm
Location: SE Suburbs, Melbourne
Contact:

C.A.R.S.

Post by DexterPunk »

Hmm if I recall correctly, I once beta tested for a mod group who were making some Le Mans mod for rF. I think it may have been lead by Ian Bell, the name sounds familiar to me.

Anywho, I remember whispers of this guy being a bit dodgy and wanting to get money involved back then as well. I think there were already some lawyers after this bloke, or at least there were rumors of it. I know one guy was fairly convinced he was a conman. Perhaps I'm thinking of someone else, but I'd be very careful handing over investment money for any community sim, let alone one that's lead by a name that I seem to remember as being a bit dodge.
User avatar
Exar Kun
Sensible Mick
Posts: 11324
Joined: Wed Dec 22, 2004 4:46 pm
Location: Canberra

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by Exar Kun »

Ian Bell was the founder of Simbin, dude. He left to form Blimey! which in turn morphed into Slightly Mad Studios. He rubs some people up the wrong way but I don't think he's that dodgy.
"If we can hit that bull's-eye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate!"
User avatar
r8response
Cry baby
Cry baby
Posts: 8565
Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2004 6:51 pm
Location: Sunshine Coast, QLD

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by r8response »

Sounds more like that Petros Mak fellow.
User avatar
DexterPunk
Busted ARSE
Posts: 15218
Joined: Thu Apr 21, 2005 11:18 pm
Location: SE Suburbs, Melbourne
Contact:

C.A.R.S.

Post by DexterPunk »

Exar Kun wrote:Ian Bell was the founder of Simbin, dude. He left to form Blimey! which in turn morphed into Slightly Mad Studios. He rubs some people up the wrong way but I don't think he's that dodgy.
Ahhh! That's right. Knew I knew the name but thought it was from somewhere else. Been a long time since I was involved in anything sim related.
Woodee
Clean as a Whistle
Clean as a Whistle
Posts: 1898
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2005 10:42 pm
Location: UK

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by Woodee »

oh look... some car renders :)

Looks and sounds interesting.... but from experience the sim racing "community" haven't been able to work together for years!! How will this make a difference when there is money at stake? Too many cooks and all that!

It will be interesting to see how it progresses, but the cynical mind in me thinks otherwise
My Fundraising Journey

Raised over £1000 for the Scoliosis Campaign Fund from 2011-2013.
User avatar
r8response
Cry baby
Cry baby
Posts: 8565
Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2004 6:51 pm
Location: Sunshine Coast, QLD

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by r8response »

Woodee wrote:oh look... some car renders :)
Soon as i saw them, i instantly though West Brothers 2.0
Woodee
Clean as a Whistle
Clean as a Whistle
Posts: 1898
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2005 10:42 pm
Location: UK

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by Woodee »

r8response wrote:
Woodee wrote:oh look... some car renders :)
Soon as i saw them, i instantly though West Brothers 2.0
exactly... and you all know how that vision materialised, or didn't as the case my be.
My Fundraising Journey

Raised over £1000 for the Scoliosis Campaign Fund from 2011-2013.
ysu
Smooth Lubricator.
Posts: 12070
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 7:48 pm
Location: The wet central coast

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by ysu »

I'm a bit sceptic as well. Wish them great luck, but piling together 5mil to start with, and then convincing people to give them more when they run over-budget (~70% of IT projects do this, I heard) well...

And all that if they had a clear project plan, which I'm not convinced they have.
Surprise, no sig. Now there is. Or is there?
User avatar
durbster
The Whack Wasp Warrior
Posts: 5219
Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2005 8:29 am
Location: Nottingham, Mother England

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by durbster »

r8response wrote:
Woodee wrote:oh look... some car renders :)
Soon as i saw them, i instantly though West Brothers 2.0
Haha me too :D

It's a bit sad that everything I predicted from the West Brothers turned out to be true but I still can't work out if they were just massively deluded or bullshit merchants of the highest order.
User avatar
Dr. Pain
Posts: 7431
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 4:17 pm
Location: Benalla, Victoria

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by Dr. Pain »

Will this be come S.C.A.M.? They're just trying to find new ways on making coin.
Minister for Religious Genocide.
User avatar
MADCAP
Posts: 484
Joined: Mon Nov 29, 2010 10:33 am
Location: Adelaide, SA

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by MADCAP »

Just got movement in my Undies :yikes:
+ Current Ride 2016 Ducati 959 Panigale + 2016 TONY KART 401 X30 IAME + Santa Cruz Bronson V3 CC X01 +
User avatar
KNAPPO
Master artist
Master artist
Posts: 10311
Joined: Sun Jul 17, 2005 1:26 am
Location: North of the dog fence, Adelaide.

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by KNAPPO »

The higher res render of the Lotus are beautiful.

http://www.virtualr.net/wp-content/gall ... pM5_TK.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.virtualr.net/wp-content/gall ... Cre6tW.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
http://www.virtualr.net/wp-content/gallery/2932/012.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Life is hard...but, life is harder when you're dumb.
ysu
Smooth Lubricator.
Posts: 12070
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 7:48 pm
Location: The wet central coast

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by ysu »

looks too clean :lol:

but otherwise it's amazingly realistic looking
Surprise, no sig. Now there is. Or is there?
Woodee
Clean as a Whistle
Clean as a Whistle
Posts: 1898
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2005 10:42 pm
Location: UK

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by Woodee »

some new wallpapers for me! :)
My Fundraising Journey

Raised over £1000 for the Scoliosis Campaign Fund from 2011-2013.
User avatar
VIPEROSI
Posts: 1279
Joined: Sat Dec 18, 2004 1:06 pm
Location: Southern Highlands NSW

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by VIPEROSI »

C.A.R.S. Goes Live With First Previews & Development Build



Slightly Mad Studios have just officially kicked-off their C.A.R.S. project that is being developed on the company’s all-new WMD portal.

WMD (World of Mass Development) will allow interested gamers to participate in the development of the new title by becoming team members, allowing them to check out the development progress in the WMD forum, talk to the developers, participate in key decisions regarding the game’s direction and enjoy development builds of the new title.

Speaking of which, C.A.R.S. doesn’t make its public launch just with a bunch of previews as team members get to enjoy a working build of the upcoming new title right after sign up. Even though the finished C.A.R.S. won’t ship before Thanksgiving 2012, the current build already includes plenty of content to keep team members entertained.

The current build comes with two tracks (Watkins Glen & Imola) and eight different cars, including known machinery such as the Audi R18 TDI Le Mans winner, the Audi A4 DTM, three different historic Lotus F1 cars, two Radicals and a state of the art Formula Car.

Due to licensing still being in progress, the content still sports fictional names despite being a very accurate representation of the real-life vehicles & venues as C.A.R.S. is pushing to become the definitive racing simulation.

The current build allows to try the cars and tracks in practice mode without AI for infinite laps as more features will be added as development of the title continues. To give you an idea of what’s coming up within the next 12 months, here are some of the planned features for the finished title:

Planned Features

- FRANCHISE MODE allows you to carve out a personalized career starting in the Karting world and then progressing on to whichever motorsport specialization you prefer including Rally, Touring Cars, Open-Wheel, GT, Le Mans, and many more!

- Play CO-OP with a friend as Driver/Co-Driver

- FULL TEAM MANAGEMENT… Have a large number of friends? Create, manage, and compete together!

- Experience the excitement of PIT STOPS like you’ve never seen before!

- Revolutionary PIT-2-CAR RADIO gives you the strategic advantage

- DYNAMIC Time Of Day & Localized Weather make every race unique and challenging

- 10+ GAME MODES covering every form of motorsport

- CLOUD-BASED SOCIAL NETWORK allows you to connect with friends, compare times & scores, compete and challenge each other, and share content

- USER-GENERATED CONTENT – Create your own liveries, decals, tuning setups, and even events! Then share them with the world – either for free, in-game credits or even real money!

- PUSHING TO THE LIMITS – Advanced physics, lighting, and AI

To ensure a realistic experience, Slightly Mad Studios have teamed up with none other than Ben Collins, the man who spent seven years being “The Stig” on BBC’s popular Top Gear automotive show.

“I’m delighted to be working on the C.A.R.S. project to create the best racing simulation in the world! Computer ‘games’ and simulations have become integral to success on the race track and I will be applying all my racing knowledge to provide handling input and advice to the builds on a regular basis,” Collins commented.

“I’m also looking forward to meeting some of the project’s contributors at the trackday events and working with SMS’s team of experts, whose passion and pedigree will be key to the development of this incredibly exciting new model.”

Below are three previews to whet your appetite. To join WMD and start playing the build today, follow the steps below. Interested sim racers can become team members for as little as $10, entitling them to monthly development builds and participation in the WMD forums.

Other membership options even include weekly development-builds, script access to the game, direct contact with the developers and other perks such as your name and face in the finished game and VIP access to future events.


Personally i think all the scare mongering going on will be disproven. This is a serious developer involved in large commercial titles (NFS SHIFT 1 and 2) and a proven track record with the GTR titles.
Image
Image
Image
Woodee
Clean as a Whistle
Clean as a Whistle
Posts: 1898
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2005 10:42 pm
Location: UK

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by Woodee »

holy bollocks! I think I just wet myself!!!!!

The list of special features is VERY interesting. Now I stopped simracing months ago... haven't turned a wheel in AGES!

May want to check this out though and watch my poor computer crumble under the strain!
My Fundraising Journey

Raised over £1000 for the Scoliosis Campaign Fund from 2011-2013.
Woodee
Clean as a Whistle
Clean as a Whistle
Posts: 1898
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2005 10:42 pm
Location: UK

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by Woodee »

[youtube] [/youtube]

Watch in 1080p.... and have a spare pair of undies handy! :)
My Fundraising Journey

Raised over £1000 for the Scoliosis Campaign Fund from 2011-2013.
User avatar
thornz
Posts: 1396
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:56 pm
Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
Contact:

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by thornz »

:dancer:

Will be signing up as soon as I get home, for just 10 pounds it seems like a cheap gamble.
User avatar
thornz
Posts: 1396
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:56 pm
Location: Christchurch, New Zealand
Contact:

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by thornz »

[youtube] [/youtube]
[youtube] [/youtube]
[youtube] [/youtube]
Mr.Ferret
Posts: 2231
Joined: Sun Oct 02, 2005 10:06 pm
Location: Ballarat

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by Mr.Ferret »

Looks awesome hope it drives well. Will get on it once I'm off the crutches and have moved house
iRacing Name - Joshua Brown2
Image
User avatar
wobblysauce
Seen it, Done it, Invented it!
Posts: 10489
Joined: Thu Aug 25, 2005 9:53 am
Location: On an Island in the south

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by wobblysauce »

Connecticut Hill = Watkins Glen
Some play it safe on the merry-go-round, others go for the thrills of the roller-coaster.

ᕙ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ᕗ vs ლ(ಠ益ಠ)ლ

I have a joke for you. I have a prediction that you are going to walk into a bar, my prediction was wrong and your wallet is gone.
User avatar
Dr. Pain
Posts: 7431
Joined: Tue Jan 18, 2005 4:17 pm
Location: Benalla, Victoria

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by Dr. Pain »

I really like the F77. It's worth a go for $14.
Minister for Religious Genocide.
h00ligan
Posts: 83
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 8:50 am
Location: Gold Coast

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by h00ligan »

I just became a junior investor, will test it out when I get home. If its anything like those videos and the cars handle well ill be super happy.
Image Image Image Image
User avatar
wobblysauce
Seen it, Done it, Invented it!
Posts: 10489
Joined: Thu Aug 25, 2005 9:53 am
Location: On an Island in the south

Re: C.A.R.S.

Post by wobblysauce »

I got the current build in a bit less then 5mins.

Haven't had any major issues with the game so far.
Some play it safe on the merry-go-round, others go for the thrills of the roller-coaster.

ᕙ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ᕗ vs ლ(ಠ益ಠ)ლ

I have a joke for you. I have a prediction that you are going to walk into a bar, my prediction was wrong and your wallet is gone.
Post Reply