Racecraft

Racing games usually keep a pretty solid fan base, as long as their mechanics are satisfactory and they hold enough content to keep boredom at bay. However, developers can only create so many tracks and cars, even if more could be added with mod support and a dedicated community. On the other hand, you might wonder how would procedural technology benefit the genre.

Racecraft is here to answer that question, because that’s exactly what the game provides. While it’s just a simple tech demo at the moment, you can see that there’s potential in the idea, at least as long as it all turns out well in the end. Procedural tracks and cars stats sound wonderful on paper, but it can also go pretty wrong if the algorithms are not able to create something worthwhile to keep the players interested.

The game uses a proprietary engine to handle the procedural generation, and the tracks usually end up looking like something you might race on. Even if the tracks in question do not contain too many interesting elements for now, they should be enough to keep the experience fresh for longer periods of time, especially in multiplayer. On the other hand, you also have the option to save the generated tracks and replay them whenever you want.

Simulation-wise, there’s not much to tell at the moment, except that this feels like a very early prototype. The cars drive like they benefit from every assist out there, which makes it difficult to take the game seriously. Granted, this is probably not representative for the final version of the game, so you shouldn’t judge it just yet. As the developer promises, the cars can be generated as well, or at least their stats, although you will also be allowed to craft your own components.

Infinite amounts of content seems to be the ultimate goal, which is pretty bold. However, the fact that multiplayer seems to be the main component makes it easier to explain, because it’s a lot simpler to keep players busy if everything is different every time they start a new race. On top of that, the graphics are not bad at all, although they are pretty basic at this point.

Racecraft is still too early in the development phase to make a proper impression on the industry. However, if everything turns out the way it’s planned, the game should be a revolution in the genre, at least in some regards.