Getting around the city of Steelport can be a fairly daunting task. With civilians all over the sidewalks, enemy gang vehicles driving through the streets, and some pesky policemen always there to stop your fun, it’s not a simple task to just plop a vehicle down in a brand new city and have it feel right. A handful of designers here at Volition, including David Bianchi, have gone to great lengths to not only improve on what our fans enjoyed about driving in Saints Row 2, but finding new ways to keep pushing the fun, non-stop, over-the-top gameplay that our entire team has been working towards since day one of this project.
Read on (and watch the accompanying video below) to learn what changes have been made to the vehicular system in Saints Row: The Third, and what to expect from the upgraded handling, damage modeling, and audio come November 15th.
“A hot topic in many previews is the awesome new vehicle handling and gameplay found in Saints Row The Third. Our team of vehicle programmers, artists, audio guys and designers (including yours truly) have gone to great lengths to make all of our vehicles the best they can be for you. Here’s a taste of what we’ve done.
Drifting
One of the biggest vehicle changes in Saints Row: The Third is the new drifting. The goal was to make drifting smooth, easy and accessible, and yet provide depth to reward player skill. To do this, we’ve replaced the herky jerky handbrake of Saints Row past. Drifting now maintains the flow of driving rather than interrupting it. A skilled driver can deftly drift around corners, maintaining their momentum. You can counter-steer for more precise results, or to correct your slide if you started a drift a bit too early.
An interesting note on the new drifting system: it’s not actually a handbrake. There are many ways to drift and handbrake drifting (commonly used in games) is just one of them. Since it’s not a handbrake, hitting the drift button in Saints Row: The Third won’t slow you down too aggressively, allowing you to better maintain speed as you take the corner. It will, however, allow you to take a tighter turn and you’ll look better doing it.
Weight
Another thing you’ll quickly notice in Saints Row The Third is that cars have a much improved sense of weight. Collisions feel way more satisfying. Cars interact with the road like never before, leading to an experience that just fits into the game world seamlessly.
For those of you that have read thus far and are getting worried that we’ve gone away from the arcadey feel of previous games in the franchise, worry not. Our aim has always been to build upon that arcadey feel, rather than work against it. As an example, on the subject of the better sense of weight, the player’s vehicle is now a more dominant force on the road, able to plow through other cars more effectively than in past games. Realistic? Nope. Fun? You betcha.
Damage Model
On the tech side of things, vehicle damage has been overhauled allowing cars to crunch and distort more than in previous titles. Tires not only go flat, but can now blowout completely leaving just rims. Cars can even be flattened into pancakes by the new tanks. Oh yeah, there are tanks.
Aircraft
Another new vehicle type that’s sure to please is the VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing). These aircraft can engage in combat as effectively as a helicopter – hovering in place, precisely targeting enemies. Then, with the push of a button, they transform into airplanes – screaming through the skies of Steelport to reach your destination in no time. This superclass even includes a futuristic jetbike, as some have noticed in recent screenshots.
Of course, what’s the point in being in a plane if you can’t fly it? One issue that was made painfully clear in playtests is that most players had major issues with the planes in Saints Row 2. To address this, we’ve gone back to formula and rewritten our airplane handling from scratch. The result is something far more arcadey, and much simpler to pick up and play. The new planes have been a big hit, but if you prefer the old, hardcore method don’t fear. It can still be accessed using an advanced option.
Helicopters have gotten their share of love, too. We’ve made them not only easier to fly but also easier to land.
Audio
There have been a ton of changes on the audio end as well. There are brand new systems for engine and drift sound effects for your aural satisfaction. One of my favorite things to do is to drift a gigantic truck that has no business doing so. It’s challenging to be sure, but I just love the way the tires screech – it sounds like a dying tyrannosaurus. Amazing.
The audio team’s attention to detail is staggering. You can even hear the pitter patter of raindrops on your car’s roof when it rains.
These are just some of the myriad improvements that went into the vehicles of Saints Row The Third. On behalf of the entire vehicles team, thanks for reading. At the end of the day vehicles are better experienced than read about, though. We’re really looking forward to you guys getting your hands on all of our vehicles November 15th.”
– David Bianchi, Designer, Saints Row The Third
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