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I've been in contact with one of the people behind DRAG, a fantastic looking racing game which will come to Linux soon. The fun fact is that the game engine is custom built under Linux too. The developer I spoke to, Thorsten Folkers, wanted us to announce it early to gather a bit of interest. They certainly have my full attention, that's for sure. 

I have to say, I'm really excited about this one. Not just because we don't have enough good racing games, but because of all the detail that's going into making it. They're simulating 4-suspension physics to make the car really feel realistic, just take a look at this:

The crazy thing is—this is built by two people, two brothers in fact.

As for the game engine, it's built to use OpenGL 4.5 with Vulkan possibly coming at a later date. They've been working on this for a while, with the game engine being a private side-project since 2001. They said the game engine really started to come together sometime in 2011, when they decided to really take it further. It's been a long road for them, but with a release coming soon they will finally be able to see what people really think of it.

It will feature:

  • Singleplayer
  • Online Multiplayer
  • Splitscreen Online Multiplayer
  • Realistic physics, suspension and driving mechanics
  • Support for all common Gamepads
  • Windows / Linux (Steam OS) support from day one
  • Available on Steam early access in 2018
  • Price 29.99$

Here's some more gifs they sent me, I've converted them to small video files to save your bandwith:

 And another one to show off the damage model:

If you want to read more on it, they've been keeping a development log here. They also did some more background info here in a post here.

I've been told we will get a Steam key to check it out next month and the current plan for release is around March/April, this is one to firmly mark on your calendar. Looks like it could be a serious amount of fun and good racing games is something Linux certainly needs a lot more of. If it really is anything like the shots they're showing off, it really could be a big hit with gamers.

Note: Article updated to be clear that the release is expected in March/April.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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90 comments
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catskinsox Jan 19, 2018
That must be Liam driving on that last gif. ;)
Xpander Jan 19, 2018
hmm, only the first gif works for me, rest doesnt work even when i open them in the new tab. edit: downloaded gifs and they work :)

Anyway looks amazing. Will probably buy it right when it hits the steam.


Last edited by Xpander on 19 January 2018 at 10:47 am UTC
Liam Dawe Jan 19, 2018
hmm, only the first gif works for me, rest doesnt work even when i open them in the new tab.

Anyway looks amazing. Will probably buy it right when it hits the steam.
Possibly plugin or something blocking in, fine for me in both FF and Chrome - tested both in a private session. Also works fine on my phone...
Xpander Jan 19, 2018
hmm, only the first gif works for me, rest doesnt work even when i open them in the new tab.

Anyway looks amazing. Will probably buy it right when it hits the steam.
Possibly plugin or something blocking in, fine for me in both FF and Chrome - tested both in a private session. Also works fine on my phone...

ohh i'm silly i had image animations turned off from browser settings, all fine now :) weird that the first one worked even with the animations turned off
Perkeleen_Vittupää Jan 19, 2018
hmm, only the first gif works for me, rest doesnt work even when i open them in the new tab. edit: downloaded gifs and they work :)

Anyway looks amazing. Will probably buy it right when it hits the steam.

I wonder why webm is still not a thing
Alm888 Jan 19, 2018
And what about DRM-free release?
dvd Jan 19, 2018
I'm not really into racing games, but this looks awesome, i might pick it up!
TheRiddick Jan 19, 2018
Looks pretty fancy, I wonder if terrain is deformative based, and if you can knock over pushes and trees (assuming your going fast enough). Either way it looks pretty damn good, I will definitely look at getting it once released.

The first gif must be the game in some sort of advanced mode with extra hud data showing up on tires and terrain.


Last edited by TheRiddick on 19 January 2018 at 11:31 am UTC
Kohrias Jan 19, 2018
Wow, nice. I am definitely interested. 15+ years of development is really something.
scaine Jan 19, 2018
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  • Mega Supporter
I'm not a fan of racing games, but this is an insta-buy for me. For the reason mentioned, I don't own a wheel, but I wonder what the wheel support is like. Gonna check out their blog while waiting for their steam page to go live so that I can wishlist it.
Orontes-Games Jan 19, 2018
  • Game Dev
Hi guys,

thanks for the feedback!

DRAG is not in development since 15 years. We were working regular jobs back then and the engine was a private side project. We are working fulltime on this game since 12 and 20 months.

The release date will be March to April depending on what we will have to polish further.
February was probably miscommunication!

There will be a release discount for the first week!

Looking forward racing you guys soon! :)

Thorsten
Liam Dawe Jan 19, 2018
Correction: We should be getting a look next month, with a release due in March/April. Apologies for any confusion there.
FredO Jan 19, 2018
You've got my interest, this looks awesome. Linux friendly too, so supporting this is one of those more simple decisions.
Liam Dawe Jan 19, 2018
Wow, nice. I am definitely interested. 15+ years of development is really something.
As mentioned (in the article and now by the developer too) the game has not been in development for 15 years. The game engine was a side-project back then :)

Glad it turned into something though, very exciting.


Last edited by Liam Dawe on 19 January 2018 at 12:21 pm UTC
Alm888 Jan 19, 2018
Hi guys,
Looking forward racing you guys soon! :)
Thorsten
Hi!
And what about distribution platforms?
Steam-exclusive? Or will there be DRM-free versions?


Last edited by Alm888 on 19 January 2018 at 12:17 pm UTC
fenevadkan Jan 19, 2018
wow, really nice game. I like the kind of racing games, where car destruction is possible, without that it is kind of empty and unrealistic. The best one was for me so far: Dirt Showdown, so this one is really impressive with normal racing + destruction and nice graphics and other goodies like steam controller support, multiplayer, split screen. Keep up the good work.


Last edited by fenevadkan on 22 January 2018 at 7:19 pm UTC
Orontes-Games Jan 19, 2018
  • Game Dev
Hi guys,
Looking forward racing you guys soon! :)
Thorsten
Hi!
And what about distribution platforms?
Steam-exclusive? Or will there be DRM-free versions?

Hi!

We rely on some Steam matchmaking features for the online Multiplayer and also copy-protection. So a DRM-free version is possible in the future but is not something we are working towards at the moment.

Thanks!

Thorsten
Nibelheim Jan 19, 2018
Linux support + seems a nice simulation = stfu and take my money.

Thank's devs !
mihaib Jan 19, 2018
They say it will be released on steam, but I wonder why they did not put that coming soon or something on steam.
But I am looking forward to this one anyhow. Looks good. Very good actually.
Liam Dawe Jan 19, 2018
That must be Liam driving on that last gif. ;)
Don't worry, I will show plenty of crashing into everything when we're able to get a look.
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