We loaded run-off areas with destructible scenery, so even if you make a mistake and slide off a particularly challenging corner, you don’t need to respawn - you just barrel through a load of props and keep going. We wanted to make something fast, fluid and uninterrupted - a rewind-free experience that demanded more forgiving route design. We removed blind turns, so you’d always have time to react to the challenges in the route, and we removed hard-stops in the scenery. We then set about adding more challenging, technical routes because they were more fun, and focused our efforts on reducing the frustration when you got it wrong. We incorporated epic scale landmarks, spectacular vista reveals, sequences of perfectly-driftable turns and dramatic changes of scenery to try and focus the experience on amazing racing. With NFS Heat, our approach was to start by building a solid set of race routes, then tune and craft them to the landscape around them. There’s a massive city to explore, and the surrounding countryside gives you these cool panoramic city views while you drive.īuilt for Racing: - Fast, Fluid and Uninterrupted Actionīefore driving games became open-world, designers could craft race routes to perfection, packaging high speed straights, technically challenging sequences and epic scenery to dramatic effect. We stretched reality a bit, fusing Miami and Florida with Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains to provide us with some much-needed elevation and big vistas, and to inject a little variety. You get a range of changing conditions as you play, and it was a great excuse to wash the streets down and go big on night neons, wet cars and reflective roads.
We loved the idea of bringing this to the game, so we built a full dynamic weather system. While we were location-scouting Miami, we saw crazy weather - blazing sunshine then torrential rain then bright sunshine - all in the space of a few minutes. It felt pretty fresh for a Need for Speed game, and we also knew immediately that it could deliver that classic NFS look. Miami gave us all the right ingredients - a vibrant city with a multicultural blend of music, cool street art and stunning night neons. We started looking for a setting that would feel both familiar to players and unique to Need for Speed. We’re just weeks away from the launch of NFS Heat but before you get in your car and find yourself cruising the streets we thought we’d give you a bit of insight into why we think Palm City is our best NFS world yet.Īfter the arid deserts of Need for Speed Payback’s Nevada-inspired world, we wanted a big city location that could deliver dense urban action and open world cop chases while capturing the feel of fan favourites Need for Speed - Most Wanted ‘05 and Underground. Forums Buy Now Forums Buy Now Under the Hood: Our Best World