Het is nog niet zo gek lang geleden dat Codemasters op de proppen kwam met hun nieuwste telg in hun Rally serie, Colin McRae Rally 3. Nadat eerst de box en PS2 versie op de markt verschenen, kwam enkele maanden later de PC versie bij de gamestores binnen vallen. De tijd tu en Colin McRae 2 en Colin McRae 3 was aanzienlijk, de development tijd was gebruikt om zoveel mogelijk realisme in de serie te pompen op het gebied van graphics maar ook van carhandling en wegligging. Nu net een jaar na de release van Colin McRae 3 komt Codemasters al met het vervolg op de prijswinnende game van 2002. Hoe wat en waarom vroegen we aan Graham Rigby, Senior Games Designer voor Colin 04.Howdy Guys, thank you for taking your time to answer a few questions concerning the development of a Colin game.GNL::How long has Colin 04 for the consoles been in development? Graham R.:CMR 04 has been in development for around a year – le time than CMR 3 because, this time around, we had more experience with the new generation of consoles (Xbox, PS2).GNL::Seeing Colin 1, 2 and 3 were such succe es, weren't you afraid Colin 04 would lose the appeal of gamers in general? Graham R.:Not really, there are always things you want to do that you couldn't. We had ideas right from the start that we just knew people would like. GNL::Over the course of developing four Colin games, what has been the most challenging part or proce ? Graham R.:It's different for different games of the series. In CMR 04 it was the new car and surface mechanics. We wanted to make it more realistic without alienating the fans of the series. GNL::The games all carry Colin McRae's name, in what way does Colin McRae play a part during the development of the Colin games? Graham R.:He advises on car mechanics and country profiles (how the roads play, what the terrain is like.)GNL::Lots of gamers have taken a lot of time to report bugs or send information as to what should get a change in appearance and why. Has this information contributed to the game as it is now? And if so will this have influence in say the future development of Colin games? Graham R.:Yes, we welcome constructive criticism and value input from many sources and we will continue to listen to the people who play the game.GNL::Colin 04 is going to be released on Xbox and PS2, will PC gamers get a version too and if so will they have to wait long before you release the PC version? Graham R.:At the moment we are considering the po ibility. We have a lot of fans on the PC. GNL::What are the major differences between Colin 3.0 and Colin 04? And since Colin 3.0 has not been on the market that long, aren't you guys a little afraid gamers will lose their Colin feeling?Graham R.:The major differences are the carhandling and the different game modes. We released a demo of the game for people to play and this has gone well, so no, I don't think gamers are losing interest. GNL::Will Colin 04 be playable for all kinds of race game audiences? Will the hardcore Colin player have as much fun as the so called casual gamer? And if so, what are the major differences? Graham R.:I think the modes will appeal to a lot gamers and we also have three levels of difficulty, each with its own damage setting, so the game will get more challenging and more punishing. We did this to make the game appeal to gamers of different skills who may want a different experience from the game. GNL::Will there ever be a chance gamers on lets say the Xbox will be able to go head to head with a PC or PS2 gamer? A unified universal server for all kinds of games? Or do the versions differ too much to base the net-coding on this?Graham R.:I think this is everyone's dream and I'm sure in the future this will be technically po ible. We would like to do this because we develop for both Xbox and PS2.GNL::Although the Colin series has always been true to the genuine tracks available in the world of the Rally sport, will there ever be a way to make your own tracks, and make those drivable in a multiplayer game?Graham R.:Not at the moment – we would have to look heavily at our tools development proce . GNL::Codemasters release DTM racer not long ago, a story driven race game, can we expect such an approach to a future Colin McRae game? So for instance Colin's search for global Rally Domination?Graham R.:Hehe, Nice idea. Thx for the time you put into answering our questions.