For TOCA Race Driver 3, coming February 2006 to PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC, a hugely advanced version of the series' proprietary Terminal Damage Engine is being designed to deliver 100 times the level of damage effect detail.
TOCA Race Driver 3's advanced Terminal Damage Engine will be even richer in its damage visuals thanks to incredible particle effects and, most importantly, far deeper in terms of physics that effect your car's handling and ultimately your race result.
The additional particle effects create hugely impressive visuals that really show the punishment you car's receiving: sparks fly spectacularly when you bottom out and end up grounding the car. You'll see windscreens shatter, wings get ripped off, spoilers break and fly from the car. Plus, new game effects will show incremental amounts of damage as bodywork realistically deforms around crumple zones during a race.
Keeping an eye on the state of your tyres is key; watching for wear and temperature. Any impact to the tyres can send the wheels into misalignment, resulting in juddering drive as you head for the pit lane. If they become too worn during a race, they'll overheat and, if there's no let up, they'll finally burst, sending your car crashing down on its steel wheel rims, kicking up a shower of sparks and smoke.
Similarly, if your car's coolant system fails, the radiator will overheat and smoke begins pouring from under the bonnet. Too much strain and the smoke will billow from your car as the radiator finally blows.
These spectacular damage physics even run across all the AI opponents' cars, making racing a truly thrilling, test of nerves and racing expertise. All this detail means that long-term races become more engaging and tactical. It's not always the fastest driver who will cross the finishing line first; those who employ better pit-stop strategies and keep an eye on tyre wear can reap rewards.
Be daring and tune your car and upgrade parts to suit your racing prowess. Every race team has a budget to spend on car tuning through the course of a race season and there are up to 27 upgradeable parts for each car including real tuning parts from Brembo, Bridgestone Motorsport and OMP.
If you want to make your car more robust, you can replace the roll cage, add engine struts, and improve its suspension, tyres and brake pads. For those who are confident in their racing abilities, you can increase your engine's horsepower but make sure your radiator and coolant system can take the additional strain!
But remember changes to your racing environment can also make for a more hazardous race. If it rains while you're qualifying, when you come to the full race itself, the track may still be wet, increasing the risk of skids and spins.
With so many different racing experiences and real racing cars, TOCA Race Driver 3 is revving up for a release in February 2006 on PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC.
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