Distance - A New Futuristic Racer

[Holdwick]

Hey all,

I just wanted to share with you a new futuristic racing game I'm currently working on. I figured that you might enjoy checking it out since it's inspired by Wipeout . I was one of the developers on an arcade racing game called Nitronic Rush released last fall. Some of us from that team decided to go indie and work on a spiritual sequel called Distance. You can see more at survivethedistance.com and I'm really curious what you guys think about it?

Distance_16x9.jpg

distance_car_race.jpg

distance_city_concept1.jpg

[blackwiggle]

After watching your presentation, which apparently shows what stage of development you are at......I would say IMHO the game rides like WO1 ATM
VERY "On rails racer" from what I saw.
Almost "Blur" like....which , if you have done your homework would have known was a FAIL.
It died so bad it killed the studio that made it.

Needs a LOT MORE WORK, would be the kindest words I could say about this game.
It shows very little in Game Play -RE - any Wipeout - That merits interest.......need something more than neon tracks.

What has made Wipeout great over all the series are/was three things.
Track design [Show me better, every curve/bend/jump was "Thought out" and put there for a reason] Each of those also played out differently when raced at different speeds .....see the results of the HD/FURY CUP to see what a leveler track design/speed class was......BRILLIANT!
Each CRAFT was different, and handled so, they also did at different speeds, which just made your options better, the more you got/get involved with the game.....Also choose a craft for a track if you need to.
THE VIBE....MUSIC was and is THE major motivating factor of Wipeout Tragics...it pumps you up...makes you want to replay tracks to shave that fraction of a second off...HD allowed to make your own soundtrack...no more needs to be said.

[dreadofmondays]

I'm not entirely sure that blackwiggle knows what he is talking about... this is not meant to be a wipeout game ?.? criticisms aimed because the game is not enough like wipeout do not apply! (And what's wrong with the music? Sounds pretty great to me.)
At any rate I saw the gameplay and I think it looks fantastic! (I especially like how the hud is on the back window of the car) Multiplayer looks like it would be a blast! I played Nitronic Rush a great deal (held a tournament with a bunch of friends :3) and if this game is anything like that one, it's going to kick ass.
Looking forward to see just how much more awesome this will be! Keep it up!
(and also blackwiggle, Blur is a great game and a lot of people think so; it only flopped because of an unfortunate release date/circumstances!)

[Colonel]

Well said dread. BW it's odd that you say the game looks like Blur, and WO1 as if that's a bad thing. Blur and WO1 are both awesome, and I think you'll struggle to find many people on here that think otherwise.

I'd not heard about Nitronic Rush before but it looks bloody amazing. I'll definitely keep an eye out for Distance too. Keep up the good work man.

[Holdwick]

Thanks guys! Yeah the game isn't supposed to be exactly like Wipeout, we're just inspired by the futuristic atmosphere and crazy track designs that are in that series. Distance will be a bit more open so you'll be able to drive or fly around anywhere in the levels. We're trying to design the levels to inspire exploration even and there will be hidden areas that can be discovered.

The hardcore rotating mechanic in Nitronic Rush will also be in Distance so we're experimenting with that some more also. We actually stumbled onto that mechanic halfway through the development of Nitronic Rush so were excited to incorporate it into Distance right the from the beginning this time. I feel we can take that much further this time around. It will be interesting to watch people racing when playing multiplayer with a bunch of cars on the track!

[rdmx]

Yeah that was very strange Blackwiggle... I don't think anyone said this game was meant to be even remotely similar to Wipeout...

I enjoyed Nitronic Rush quite a lot. One of the best features of NRush was the way the visuals and audio were visually linked + beat matched with the dynamic soundtrack. I hope that makes it into Distance as well.
End to a Violent Heart is positively dangerous to listen to on the freeway .

The prototype footage of Distance does reminds me quite a bit of Trackmania. I look forward to where you take the game from here.

[pusga]

I played Nitronic Rush, and I loved it. I feel like I need to compliment you directly

I'm looking forward to this, it looks really nice, but it also looks very similiar to Nitronic Rush. I hope you guys create new stuff to keep the gameplay fresh so it doesn't become a clone of NR.

[AGSys]

Really nice game so far. I loved Nitronic Rush and I can't wait for this next one. Looks very nice graphics wise, and seriously looks like it's a ton of fun to play. Are you guys planning on releasing an App version of the games? Like for iOS or Android?

[dreadofmondays]

I'm copying and pasting this post from a similar one I did on another forum. The same basic message applies.
Hey guys, just a quick update.
They are about half-way through the kickstarter length but they only have about a third of the cash they need. You can fix this. Raise awareness! Tell as many people as you can about the kickstarter and the game, and tell them to tell their friends, and to tell their friends to tell their friends. This deserves to happen! But without help, it isn't going to.
Social networks are a good start. Word-of-mouth is also historically one of the most successful ways kickstarters get noticed, so tell as many people as you can! If you have any other ideas, feel free to use them.
Now go!

[Medusa]

Hmm. Looks neat, I don't think I'd compare it to any wipeout though, sorry. I got the feeling from each track scene that the cars were racing towards the Palace of Creation. Straight towards it in fact. Very straight...
The car doors opening (that's what it is right?) each time it flew was an eye-roller for me, sorry.
Anyway, nice tune playing, future-y atmosphere is nice, I have to say I'd agree with Blackwiggle's comment that the gameplay needs more. More twists and turns would at least make it look a lot less boring. Otherwise it looks like some games I've played for five minutes and put away, sadly.
But this is just your start, so...
Best wishes, keep it going!

[Colin Berry]

I'm looking forward to seeing how this develops, it has some interesting ideas in there. Olly Quinn put me onto it, so I'm keeping an eye on it