Welcome to the first in a series of KartSim blog posts and dev diary/gameplay videos taking you all the way to the launch of KartSim during the 1st Quarter, 2012. First up is a gameplay video showing a lap around Oakleigh, with a short interview on the video with the game’s developer, Zach Griffin…

Hi Zach, Can you explain just exactly what we are seeing here?

The video is 100% unedited real-time footage taken straight from an onboard camera mounted on the sidepod of the kart. With the driver display switched off to better show the front end steering working, the footage shows a lap being driven around the Oakleigh Go Kart Racing Club Circuit. As the onboard camera is mounted to the sidepod which is loose for setup reasons, we’re also seeing quite a lot of movement due to the vibrations and bumps on the circuit making the sidepod shake independently of the chassis.

It seems in certain parts of the lap that the kart starts to bounce violently, what’s happening there?

This is what you call ‘hopping’. When the Centre of Mass of the kart is too high, or the rear track is set too narrow or even when the kart is driven incorrectly, the outside rear wheel can start to tip over and suddenly lose the grip it had. This causes the inside rear wheel to come crashing down back onto the track and the kart starts to regain the grip it had. The process then repeats itself, causing the kart to ‘hop’. Because the chassis is simulated using a real-time FEM model, it behaves exactly as it would in real life.

One last question for you: Is this the quality we can expect from the final product?

Absolutely! In fact the quality will be even higher once the assets are given their final pass. As this video represents an Alpha build, some of the assets, particularly the sounds and some of the trees will be completely redone prior to shipping. It’s worth noting that I modeled and textured this track about 4 years ago, so all the new tracks will be of an even higher quality. Fans of the game are in for something spectacular!

Stay tuned for KartSim BLOG #2 next week!
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