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.
Looks fucking awesome to me!! :D
Am also waiting for someone to comment on the motor stator(windings) in the wheels that have no real purpose. :P
Does look good though
@ThorstenFolkers
Will this support steer wheels ?
Last edited by pete910 on 19 January 2018 at 1:21 pm UTC
Quoting: ThorstenFolkersWe 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.Thank you for your response! Sadly, I'm not interested anymore and will pass. Good luck!
Thanks!
Thorsten
KrootShaper Jan 19, 2018
Assetto Corsa, it has no match as far as sims go atleast.
But i will probably pick this one up anyways :)
Quoting: KrootShaperLooks cool! But as far as racing games go, we do have them, but we do not have THE racing game.
Assetto Corsa, it has no match as far as sims go atleast.
But i will probably pick this one up anyways :)
Can I borrow your crystal ball please ?
Quoting: ThorstenFolkersHi guys,
thanks for the feedback!
Will there be other vehicles than the one buggy type, like racing trucks ? What about skins ?
Spoiler, click me
Last edited by on 19 January 2018 at 1:26 pm UTC
PublicNuisance Jan 19, 2018
Last edited by PublicNuisance on 19 January 2018 at 1:32 pm UTC
Quoting: meggermanWill there be other vehicles than the one buggy typeAlso interested to know about this and what racing modes/environments are planned.
I don't do racing a lot, but like others above vehicle damage is something that helps get my attention and I still don't own a racing game that runs on Linux so this could be the first.
Quoting: ThorstenFolkersHi 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
Welcome to GamingOnLinux! Do you plan to release your game on GOG or other DRM-free stores like itch.io? Thanks!
UPDATE: Oh, I see you are using Steam for multiplayer. That's unfortunate, since I'm personally interested in single player experience and I'm only buying in DRM-free stores.
Last edited by Shmerl on 19 January 2018 at 2:02 pm UTC
Quoting: GuestI don't like this kind of reliance of gaming on Steam, something I've mentioned before, but I do understand the reasons of the devs in this case.
If I understand correctly, Steam doesn't even provide a server service, like MMORPGs do, it simply allows finding other players, and then games connect directly. I suppose it should be easy to release a version that skips that matchmaking feature, and simply allows users connecting directly to a given "server" that one of the game instances provides. A lot of games did that in the past just fine without any Steam. I suppose Steam made this step easier, but it came at the cost of lock-in. Not a good trade-off IMHO.
Last edited by Shmerl on 19 January 2018 at 2:28 pm UTC
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