Racecraft Preview

There isn't a great variety of racing games on PC – aside from Assetto Corsa and maybe Project CARS, home computer players have been starved for choice in comparison to console fans, who have gorged on top quality racing sims for years on end now. However, Racecraft, an upcoming Early Release title on PC, looks to sate the need – the need for speed.

Where Racecraft looks to shine is through providing a tight and robust racing experience, and even in Early Access, it succeeds in that goal to no end. So far, the game offers a strong driving simulation that recreates the real tensions of driving while also necessitating some of the real-world skills used in racing, such as knowing exactly when to brake, and how to navigate corners – this isn't a game like Need for Speed where you'll throw the car around and hope for the best. Of course, this means that Racecraft will not necessarily be easy to play; I found myself skidding and doing involuntary doughnuts in my first few minutes of the game, but this is because Racecraft looks to be a sim that is more accurate to driving a real car. You'll need to put in time with this game before you can handle the 200mph monsters that you'll be driving, but this is good: at this stage of development, it looks to make for a much more engrossing and realistic experience.

One expectation that players might have is that famous and challenging real-world racetracks might appear. However, for up-and-coming developers, this is a huge expense, so Racecraft gets around this by utilising procedurally-generated racetracks, allowing for a literally infinite amount of replay value. Players will be able to set the difficulty of the tracks (how many corners, how tight they are etc) and other cosmetic details like time of day. Strictly speaking, procedurally-generated tracks are not a new idea – Gran Turismo's been doing it since 5 – however, where the random tracks in the aforementioned game felt flimsy and cheap, the ones accessible in Racecraft feel like the real thing, like the developer has spent hours slaving away over it rather than something a computer spat out in seconds. What this means is, instead of being a lazy afterthought of a gimmick, procedural generation looks to be this game's saving grace and if this translates well to a full release, could lead to hours of fun.

According to the in-game loading screens, the developers claim that the graphics are 50% complete as of now. I'm anxious to see what the game will look like when it's complete, as it looks accomplished as is. The production values sparkle; the only real detriment is that the tracks, the backgrounds in particular, all look the same, taking place either in a field or in the middle of a wooded area. This is a small thing, especially considering that Racecraft's tracks are made in seconds, but they all look a bit bland at this point in time, all blending together into one big racecourse. Gran Turismo featured tracks in inner-city areas like Tokyo and Seattle while also utilising natural scenes such as alpine mountains or dirt roads: showing a bit of creative flair to keep things interesting; something that Racecraft lacks and doesn't necessarily need, but would feel all the better for it.

Gran Turismo and Forza might be ahead of the pack but Racecraft is coming up fast, and if it maintains the speed it's going at right now, this one is a dead cert for the racing video game podium.