Pioneering work-the need for speed (1995)
The first generation of Need for Speed was jointly produced by EA and the American automobile magazine Road /Track, which included the first-class sports cars in America, Japan and Europe at that time. Its selling point is to let drivers experience the feeling of sitting in a popular imported car. The game was first launched on the 3DO game console, and then the PlayStation, Sega Saturn and PC versions were launched one after another.
Before Need for Speed, many games often let all vehicles enjoy a simple and single physical system. With the help of professional racing data from Road /Track magazine, the design team of Need for Speed has given each car a different driving experience through a unique physical system, which has also improved vehicle performance.
At that time, the screen effect of the first generation of Need for Speed was outstanding. Beautiful interface and rich scenes make players very satisfied. Even when the car shifts gears in the game, it will use the shift lever to move.
Close-up "picture in picture" to express, the details are also in place. However, due to the function of the hardware in those days, the track can't run in reverse, and the longer point-to-point track also needs to be phased and can't be run at once.
1August, 99615th, Need for Speed released the SE version, adding the track and the online function of local area network.
Creativity 2 Need for Speed 2 (1997)
In the adjustment of fidelity, the second generation made an innovation, and divided the game control methods into three types: simulation, arcade and wild. In the simulation mode, although it is not too difficult to control the car, players still need to remember the basic racing knowledge such as braking to the right speed in advance before turning; Compared with the former, arcade mode emphasizes the pleasure brought by high speed, and the control is simpler, which will not let the car get out of control; As for the wild mode, players only need to step on the accelerator and properly cooperate with the left and right keys to enjoy madness. 1 generation has no gimmicks like police chasing, but with the help of the track that can roam at will, a new way of playing has emerged, that is speeding! Players can use some big ramps to fly, and some places can even fly for a long time before landing.
Because of the support of voodoo graphics card, the second-generation se screen launched in the same year became the best of its kind, and some players even said that "voodoo was bought to play the need for speed 2SE". Since then, the online gameplay of Need for Speed has also become popular.
Hot Tracking-Need for Speed 3: Chasing after (1998)
"Thermal Tracking" is the first work with subtitles in the series "Need for Speed", and the subtitles also accurately express the theme of this work-police tracking.
The most important thing about Need for Speed 2 is that there is no pursuit mode. In order to make enthusiasts regain their enthusiasm, the game development team abandoned the simulated game content and began to create a brand-new large-scale video game experience. In this game, * * * has three police cars for players to choose from. As a runaway racer, there are more models to choose from, such as Chevrolet Corvette, Jaguar XKR, and even Ferrari 350/550, Lamborghini Diablo Sof, Mercedes-Benz CLK-GTR and other "magic cars" that once only worshipped in the hearts of fans!
In the pursuit mode, the game adds spike belts that can puncture tires, roadblocks that leave you unguarded, smarter artificial intelligence, and police convoys in droves. The improved pursuit mode will make players nervous from their previous leisure. The game also includes a unique vehicle editing system that allows creative drivers to create new styles and join them.
In 1998 released by Need for Speed 3: Heat Tracing, PC has entered the Pentium II era in an all-round way, and Microsoft's D3D graphical interface has gradually matured. Walking at the forefront of science and technology, Heat Tracing brought the most advanced pictures and sound effects at that time. The most attractive thing is the environmental mapping effect on the car body. Although it is only a very simple environmental map from today's technical point of view, it was enough to make "heat tracing" amazing at that time. In addition to environmental mapping, Thermal Tracking also added a rare racing combustion effect at that time, and the gorgeous degree of the flame even attracted a large number of racing enthusiasts to rush into the mountains. Of course, the hardware requirements of the game are relatively higher: at least one "advanced product" such as Pentium II, 64MB memory and D3D/ Voodoo-supporting graphics card is needed to perfectly experience the fun brought by "hot tracking". In addition, "heat tracking" also supports force feedback steering wheel and joystick, Dolby virtual surround technology and innovative EAX ambient sound technology.
In racing fidelity, this work is still in the stage of exploration and evolution. The obvious change is that the car begins to "skid". When the wheels are over-manipulated (the steering wheel is killed or turned back frequently), the grip may be unstable or even lost. In addition, engine braking (engine deceleration under inertia) plays a very important role. In the game, most corners can be basically solved by releasing the throttle, and there is basically no room for delicate control technology.
Smoke-filled speed demand: high stakes (1999)
This is a summative work. In order to get rid of this series of routines named after "Dai", the game development team did not add the word "4" to the title of the work, but directly named the game with subtitles. "Need for Speed: Put all your eggs in one basket" is only more than half a year away from the third generation, but the quality of the game is not lost at all.
Need for speed: We have inherited the game mode and track of "hot tracking" with all our eggs in one basket, introduced a brand-new car damage system for the first time, and added a professional mode and new track, and the total number of tracks rose to 20 in one fell swoop.
With the support of DX5, the latest graphical interface with the most special effects at that time, the picture effect of Need for Speed: Put All Your Eggs in One Egg has been obviously improved compared with the previous work. Windows become transparent, vehicles shine with metallic luster, and the halo effect can be seen instantly. Even the atomization effect is no longer the patent of voodoo series, and more and more players are approaching the need for speed.
In terms of driving experience, the need for flying cars: putting all your eggs in one basket is basically the same as the previous generation, and it belongs to a game that does not require high control skills. In the game, the car feels very tough. Just release the throttle when cornering, basically without braking. This vehicle upgrade system is more creative, but unfortunately it can only upgrade vehicle parts.
I Love "Porsche" —— Demand for Speed: Porsche Release (2000)
The fifth work in the series is still not named by numbers, but with the theme of Porsche. We have seen Porsche in the first four series of Need for Speed, and this game development team intends to design a theme game that fully reflects Porsche's outstanding style.
All vehicles in this project are manufactured in cooperation with Porsche. In addition to the brand-new physical model, the control of the vehicle is also close to reality. The unique physical system of the game can accurately simulate the weight transfer effect of the car body. No matter whether the player steps on the accelerator, brakes or twists the steering wheel, the body will make a very realistic response, which is quite real, so that the player can fully experience the pleasure of driving a Porsche Mercedes-Benz in a city street or even a seaside town. Compared with previous generations, Need for Speed: A Porsche Journey is the most evolved generation in terms of game mode and physical characteristics.
In addition, the image style of this game is also very distinctive, giving people a vague sense of atmosphere, and the force feedback effect of the game is also very delicate. A slight change in the road surface can be reflected in the force feedback, giving players a strong sense of driving, which even the subsequent sequels failed to surpass.
In addition, the addition of the EA Racing server has also injected new vitality into the Need for Speed, so that all PC players can connect with other drivers and compete on the Internet.
Deep Pursuit-Need for Speed: Chasing 2 (2002)
The sixth work of the series, Need for Speed: Heat Tracing 2, was separated from the previous work for two years, and the passionate heat tracing mode returned in this work.
Need for Speed 2 brought 49 authorized vehicles and 10 police cars. In the challenge mode, the driver can become a policeman who sets up roadblocks and send helicopters to intercept criminals who are speeding. In Need for Speed: Porsche Tour, players must control the damage of vehicles, while in Need for Speed: Heat Tracking 2, players must be more careful. The visual impact brought by DX8 graphical interface is enough to show the seriousness of the production team: the powder keg dropped by the helicopter adopts the industry-leading particle flame special effects; The car body can reflect extremely realistic metallic luster; Especially in the car selection screen, the body rendering is very good. Compared with the past, the sound effect of this work has also made obvious progress.
This game gives up the physical simulation system of Need for Speed: A Porsche Journey, but it doesn't mean that the new physical engine is low-energy, which can be seen from the sensitive response of racing tires to different roads in the game. However, in order to reduce the difficulty of the game and improve the speed and pleasure, the production team worked hard on the physical engine from another way. Judging from the INI configuration file corresponding to each model in this work, the physical engine of Need for Speed: Heat Tracing 2 is quite capable, but the production team has not adjusted to the realistic style. The most classic is the slow mirror effect when a sports car is in the air (also called "bullet time"), which is used by later works.
Speed and Passion-Need for Speed: Underground (2003)
The new generation of "Need for Speed: Underground Car Club" brings innovation to the need for speed series as much as the third generation's concept of "heat tracing". As the seventh orthodox sequel of the series, the game development team abandoned the game style that always focused on world famous cars and beautiful scenery, and instead created a work with underground racing culture as the main line and introduced the plot for the first time, telling the story of an underground driver racing for fame.
Due to the limitation of the theme of the story, the time of "Need for Speed: Running Underground" is set at midnight, and the venue of the competition has also shifted from beautiful natural scenery to urban forests made of reinforced concrete. In the game system, players can generally transform their cars from the inside out by imitating the real underground modified car Need for Speed: Underground Hurricane. Of course, this needs to be achieved by winning the game and relying on K bonus. And according to the graphical interface of KDX9, the depiction of light and shadow effects has reached a new height.
Since the last Need for Speed: Heat Tracking 2, both the image engine and the physical engine of Need for Speed have reached a stable period. The game development team hired Habib Gapur, a master of special effects animation who was in charge of the classic shuttle racing scene in Star Wars Episode I, to help complete the effect of moving the road and environment before the high-speed Mercedes-Benz. Whether it's a city with high-rise buildings in the dark, dazzling neon ghosting, or the blurred effect of the surrounding scenery brought by high speed, we have done it with great care. The introduction of drift, sprint and other tricks makes this game have a pleasure that simple racing cars don't have. As for the "auxiliary driving switch", the game has also achieved a certain balance between driving and racing, which has injected new vitality into the system. The sound effect of the game is also very good and delicate, even the gear meshing sound of the gearbox is truly presented, and the rock music with strong rhythm runs through the game. All these high-level visual and auditory productions make Underground Car Club vividly depict the world of variant cars and racing cars, which is deeply loved by western young people.
Midnight Mercedes-Benz-Need for Speed: Underground 2 (2004)
Need for Speed: Underground Storm gave players a big surprise, and a year later, Need for Speed: Underground Storm 2 brought another accident. If "Need for Speed: Underground Speed" pursues the pleasure of racing, then "Need for Speed: Underground Speed 2" pursues a high degree of realism while ensuring the sense of speed and begins to approach GT racing. The game has designed more detailed adjustment options in the modification of vehicles, so that players can have a deeper understanding of the knowledge of vehicles. In the game, under various road conditions and driving conditions, various reactions of the car body can be reflected, and any operation will have an impact on the subsequent driving. Fortunately, the game development team only increased the difficulty of the track in order to let ordinary gamers get started quickly.
In terms of image effect, due to many special effects of DX9C graphical interface, Need for Speed: Underground Gallop 2 has achieved more dazzling image effect, and at the same time, it has corrected a few cases in Need for Speed: Underground Gallop that the road surface can't be seen clearly because the picture is too blurred. Richer and more gorgeous car changing parts, even the NOS spray performance only found in the movie The Fast and the Furious has begun to appear, and the explosive background songs created by European and American pop rappers such as SnoopyDog are simply cool to the extreme!
Evolution of Research Level —— Demand for Speed: Most Wanted (2005)
As a classic continuation of Need for Speed 10 racing glory, the latest works in the series have finally changed from "underground" to "above ground". Judging from the subtitle of Wanted Order, this generation emphasizes the sense of speed when being chased and being chased. However, when we entered the game, we found that this work was actually a modified racing competition in pursuit coat-the pinnacle of the integration of underground storm and heat tracing.
In Need for Speed: Wanted, the game modes that players can choose can also be said to be the richest in the series. Open track, rich "professional mode" and "challenge mode". The game also introduces the concept of "blacklist", with "criminal record" and "street reputation" as the core of "wanted criminals". Every illegal racing behavior identified by the police in the game will be recorded. When the records accumulate to a certain extent, it will be blacklisted. The police will give priority to chasing drivers before K on the blacklist. The blacklist will record drivers before 15, and the player's purpose is to become a "blacklist"
Players can also modify the car according to their own needs, which is still an important part of the game. Players can challenge opponents at any level by upgrading performance components. In Need for Speed: Most Wanted, the pursuit mode is brought to the extreme. Many police cars chase and block on the highway, and there will be roadblocks, which makes us seem to return to the era when we first came into contact with Need for Speed: heat tracing. Of course, the most wanted man has a brand-new graphics engine that shows more details. The vehicles we drive are faster, the artificial intelligence is smarter and the game is more challenging. Imagine the fierce chase between the police and the gangsters. The police will systematically chase, outflank, set up roadblocks or use other techniques to stop high-speed offenders.