MotorStorm is a racing video game series developed by Evolution Studios, BigBig Studios, Virtuos and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The titles were off-road racing games featuring different types of vehicles with their own strengths and weaknesses and tracks with different terrains which may either hinder the vehicles' handling or improve it.

MotorStorm: Apocalypse (discharged as MotorStorm 3 in Asia) is a 2011racing 3D computer game by Evolution Studios and distributed by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the fourth amusement in theMotorStorm arrangement and the third for the PlayStation 3. Parents need to know that Motorstorm: Apocalypse is a fantasy racing game that is noticeably more violent and racy than its predecessors. In addition to spectacular slow motion crashes that depict riders flung from their vehicles, players can now run through crowds of pedestrians at high speeds, sending them soaring through the air.

The central premise of the series was a gathering of off-road racing enthusiasts for an event entitled the 'MotorStorm Festival'. Participants in the MotorStorm Festival are not limited to their vehicle choice for any event and cut-throat racing is encouraged. Races allow for any combination of vehicles to be used together in a single event.

Sony closed Evolution Studios on 22 March 2016 and retain ownership of the MotorStorm intellectual property. In April 2016, Codemasters hired most of the Evolution staff as an additional development team.^[1]

Games[edit]

MotorStorm (2006)[edit]

The first game was released in December 2006 in Japan, 6 March 2007 in North America and in Europe on 23 March 2007. The first MotorStorm game includes various classes of vehicles, ranging from Bikes to Big Rigs, each with their own abilities and weaknesses. While Bikes and ATVs are some of the faster vehicles in the game, alongside Rally Cars, they are very weak and are prone to being punched out by other riders or wrecked by bigger vehicles. Buggies are four-wheelers that use their lightweight as an advantage when it comes to speed, handling and ability to cross most terrain. Rally Cars are the fastest vehicles in a straight line but suffer from rough terrain and loose surfaces, and thus are easily slowed or damaged by any other heavy vehicles. Racing Trucks, slightly larger than Rally Cars, are noted for the well-rounded performance and can deal with most situations. Mud Pluggers are medium-heavy vehicles, and can tackle any terrain they find, but do not excel when it comes to speed. Big Rigs are the heaviest vehicles in the game. While they favour most terrain, particularly mud, their acceleration is very slow, and this can be a problem when racing against faster vehicles. As a rule of thumb, the larger a vehicle is, the greater the ability that it will have in traversing looser, muddier surfaces.

There are 8 tracks that can be raced on in the game's setting of Monument Valley, from sand dunes to rocky canyons, with four additional tracks that can be purchased through the PlayStation Store, totalling up to 12 tracks. For example, 'Mudpool' consists of mud-filled canyons, giving lighter vehicles a massive disadvantage, thus forcing them to use ramps and routes which keep to higher ground, while Mud Pluggers and Big Rigs gain an advantage through the muddy terrain. 'Dust Devil' consists of sandy desert and high-speed straights, which are suited for any vehicle, though many hazards are present, such as stacks of burnt-out vehicles and rocky outcrops.

Boost plays a large part in MotorStorm, and is used to either catch up to opponents or pull away from them. Players must keep an eye on their boost meter, which shows how hot their vehicle's engine is. The longer the boost is held on, the hotter the engine becomes. If the boost is held when the engine reaches its critical temperature, it will explode. Since explosions resulting from the boost typically rocket the player's vehicle forward, they can be used to edge out another racer across the finish line. This can be very useful when behind, although this does not work all of the time if the opponent gains the upper hand.

Since then, MotorStorm has achieved global sales of over 3 million copies.

MotorStorm: Pacific Rift (2008)[edit]

The second game was released on 28 October 2008 in North America and 7 November 2008 in Europe. The game has sold over one million copies as of 9 December 2008. The game takes place in a lush, volcanic island, much different from the first game's Monument Valley.

Do not put too much population there, since you won't be able to deliver enough food and this will prevent buildings to improve, keeping your prosperity level too low. Do not waste any space!Leave the areas far away from the farmlands for production of pottery and other trading resurces. Instead, I stopped making payments to Rome, or whatever the heck it was they wanted.Along the road in the valley between the mountain ranges leading up to the city, I lined both sides with walls and towers.Caesar kept sending troops to arrest me, but to do that, they had march in between my Towers of Doom, to be mercilessly attacked from both sides. Back in the day, I gave up trying to win this mission. Caesar iii lugdunum. My boys generally wiped them out before they even got to the front gate.

The original seven vehicle classes return, including, for the first time, Monster Trucks. The Monster Truck can handle any terrain, just like the Mud Pluggers. Not only surprisingly fast, it is also considerably deadly, since it can run over and crush other vehicles, including other Monster Trucks and Big Rigs. It is, however, quite vulnerable in crashes, and due to a high centre of gravity they have a tendency to roll over.

New features which affect the player's boost temperature are introduced in Pacific Rift; for example, driving through water will cool boost, whereas driving through fire or near lava will heat it, risking a boost explosion. Another new feature in the series is the ability to manually ram other vehicles and throw punches at Bike/ATV-riding opponents. 'Speed' events are also introduced, where players must pass through set checkpoints before the time runs out. Players can also select drivers of different gender and racing-suit design.

Photo Mode can be entered from the pause menu while racing, and images can be exported to the PlayStation 3's HDD. Yet another new addition is the ability to play the user's music via the console's XrossMediaBar.

MotorStorm: Arctic Edge (2009)[edit]

The third game was developed by Bigbig Studios for PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. It was released in September 2009. To date, it is the only MotorStorm title not to appear on the PlayStation 3.

The 'cooldown' system from Pacific Rift (driving through water or deep snow in Arctic Edge to speed up the rate of boost cooling) remains. A new feature of Arctic Edge is the ability to outfit the vehicles with new body kits, liveries, and exhaust systems (though none of the enhancements affect the performance of the vehicle). Sponsor decals can also be applied to the vehicle.

A new hazard that racers need to be aware of is avalanches, which can be triggered by a vehicle's explosion or blowing the horn. A wave of snow will rush down the hillside in the avalanche areas and sweep away any vehicle trapped under it, regardless of the vehicles' strength rating. Ice bridges present another new obstacle unique to Arctic Edge. While small vehicles can get through ice bridges, heavier vehicles can cause it to break and disintegrate, making the shortcut unusable but also preventing other competitors from using it to gain an advantage.

MotorStorm: Apocalypse (2011)[edit]

The fourth game was released on 16 March 2011 in Europe and on 3 May in North America, due to a delay following the 2011 Japan earthquake. On June 2011, the game's release in Japan was cancelled for unknown reasons. It is the third game of the series to appear on the PlayStation 3. Apocalypse is the first MotorStorm game set in an urban environment as opposed to natural settings, taking place in a decaying city suffering the aftermath of a natural disaster, known as The City. Competitors are challenged to race through these ruins while avoiding collapsed buildings, explosions, and tremors that will actively and visually redefine the routes mid-race.^[8] The opponents, along with the player, will need to be wary of two warring factions as bystanders will present a hazard for the first time in the series. The civilian 'Crazies' are seen wandering around the city, scavenging items and starting fights against each other, even throwing rocks or molotov cocktails. DuskLite, a private military contractor, will attempt to control the 'Crazies' and stop the races of the Festival. The game also adds five new vehicle classes alongside the original vehicles: the Superbikes, Supercars, Superminis, Muscle Cars and Choppers.

Like MotorStorm: Arctic Edge, players can customize their vehicles' appearance with a wide array of parts, sponsor stickers, vinyl, etc. Some of the parts must be unlocked by progressing through certain tasks during online play, such as wrecking other players, drifting, and gaining air-time over jumps. Players can also equip perks for online races, for the first time in the series, in a similar manner to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.^[9]

The game's main Festival mode contains a story about three racers competing in the two-day Festival, namely 'The Rookie', Mash, 'The Pro', Tyler, and 'The Veteran', Big Dog. Each of the characters represents a difficulty level, from Mash's races being the easiest to Big Dog's being the most difficult.

MotorStorm: RC (2012)[edit]

The fifth game was released for PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3 on 22 February 2012 in Europe,^[10] 6 March 2012 in North America, and 29 March 2012 in Japan.

The game features a total of 16 unique tracks from the previous game's areas, as well as an additional 10 tracks to download. There are 8 vehicle classes that take the form of remote-controlled vehicles. The game also features online ghost time multiplayer and single player for both versions.

References[edit]

1. ^'Evolution Studios joins Codemasters, Hocking becomes VP of product'. GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
2. ^'MotorStorm Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
3. ^'MotorStorm: Pacific Rift Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
4. ^'MotorStorm: Arctic Edge Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
5. ^'MotorStorm: Arctic Edge Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
6. ^'MotorStorm: Apocalypse Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
7. ^'MotorStorm: RC Reviews'. Metacritic. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
8. ^Motorstorm: Apocalypse hands-on, Motorstorm: Apocalypse PS3 Previews GamesRadar
9. ^Interview: Motorstorm Apocalypse’s Matt Southern; VG247
10. ^'MotorStorm RC PS3 Games PlayStation'. Uk.playstation.com. 22 February 2012. Retrieved 12 September 2016.

Finally released this week, Evolution Studios' MotorStorm Apocalypse marks the arrival of another high-quality, high-profile first-party release for the PlayStation 3. Sporting state-of-the-art environment deformation, 1080p and 3D support, superb dynamic lighting and an even more refined version of the franchise's remarkable physics engine, this is still clearly a MotorStorm game, albeit one quite unlike of its predecessors.

'As kids I think a lot of us were happy for video game sequels to offer minor iteration and polish, but as the medium has grown more significant differences are rightly expected,' MotorStorm Apocalypse game director Matt Southern suggests.

'We felt that interest in MotorStorm would wane if we didn't treat the franchise with a 'healthy disrespect', whilst still respecting the original audience and staying faithful to our DNA. We also spotted a decline in interest in the entire genre of racing after Pacific Rift, which sold really well. We looked to the genres that were really gaining momentum for our inspiration: shooters, action adventures.'

Lead technical artist Andy Seymour concurs: 'It's all too easy to find yourselves treading water,' he observes. 'We needed to push ourselves beyond our comfort levels in order to keep the franchise invigorated.'

From an engine perspective however, the studio prefers to build upon its existing work as opposed to developing a completely brand new slab of tech for each major release. 'Evolution by name, evolution by nature,' says lead graphics programmer Oli Wright.

'Apocalypse has lots in common technologically with our previous games. Unlike our approach to the franchise, we try and make incremental improvements to our technology rather than reinventing the wheel,' Andy Seymour confirms.

'For example, on the first MotorStorm our VFX pipeline was very hard-coded. On Pacific Rift we developed an in-house editor for the artists to define VFX, and this was taken through to near-breaking-point on Apocalypse. Our animation pipeline, however, had to be completely overhauled to deal with the massive events in Apocalypse and the engine was reworked to deal with new challenges such as multiple dynamic lights.'

'We were partly ready for large-scale dynamic environments already. Our object-culling approach, for example, has always used occlusion objects rather than pre-computed visibility,' Wright explains. 'This system just needed iterating to handle moving occlusion objects, and we also added a dynamic portal system to make our indoor sections more efficient.'

Another of these evolutions was the inclusion of the SCEE-created MLAA (morphological anti-aliasing), which shifts AA processing from the RSX - a piece of hardware not ideally suited for the task - onto the Cell CPU, used by many developers also like a graphics co-processor that works in tandem with the NVIDIA GPU. Evolution adopts a different approach that is fundamental in creating its very specific gameplay experience.

'The only major pixel-pushing task that we run on SPU is the MLAA. The SPUs are mostly occupied with physics, vehicle simulation (which runs at 600Hz), animation processing, particles, scene processing and rendering preparation,' reveals Wright.

'They're certainly not sat idle. If the SPUs were tied up doing lots of work offloaded from the GPU, then we'd need to have much simpler worlds with far fewer dynamic objects. That wouldn't be MotorStorm. As it stands, we have worlds with over 2000 dynamic objects in them.'

Across the years - and the games - Evolution has worked closely with middleware vendor Havok in adapting its physics libraries to be more SPU-friendly.

'On Pacific Rift there were significant performance gains over previous versions thanks mainly to increased SPU usage, so by the time we were working on Apocalypse the big performance gains had already been made,' confirms physics programmer Dave Kirk.

'However, the lessons we learned from the early products enabled us to really streamline our code. This meant we could squeeze even more tech in, such as our groups of NPCs, as well as significantly ramping up the amount of dynamic objects and destruction.'

A core element of the new MotorStorm are the 'Events' - episodes of seismic destruction that change the circuits as you play, realised in the form of some spectacular graphical set-pieces.

'From a production standpoint the key challenge was to define and create an entirely new team - the Events Team - who could deliver the quality animation and VFX solutions we needed in high volumes,' explains Matt Southern. 'Nick Sadler joined us from Studio Liverpool (who were invaluable throughout the project), to help run things.'

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'Continual refinement of gameplay and visuals was invaluable in achieving final results, so it was key to have a process which allowed frequent reviews and frequent iteration,' Sadler elaborates.

'The biggest issues faced in preparing the events were pretty fundamental design challenges: how would the event affect gameplay before, during and after it had triggered? The events were designed with fairness in mind from the beginning: they should be triggered far enough away so that the fastest vehicle with a clear run at full boost would experience as much of the event as possible and not be disadvantaged. No dynamic object could have sufficient mass to radically affect the gameplay negatively, or take out the player unfairly.

'We knew that the player could learn the motion of events, and how intrusive they would be onto the racing line, but wouldn't know if events would trigger. There's definitely a need for twitchy reaction and skill in adapting to the order of events.'

Sadler goes on to discuss the challenges of conceptualising the event design process, using blockout assets - basic building blocks used in the prototype game engine to test whether a particular set-piece would work or not. 'We also had to make significant alterations to the modelling/animation pipeline for interactive events,' he adds.

'There was a good amount of 'chicken vs. egg', when moving between interactive pre-vis-quality events and interactive production-quality artwork and collisions: approving gameplay if the interactive blockout might be different to the production version vs. having artists commit to investing in a production-quality asset, without a blockout to prove its worth.

'Another issue came about because of the sheer number of contributions necessary in preparing the artwork; from modelling, to animation, to VFX/particles, back to modelling, then to audio, etc. Getting the right person working on the right aspect of the event at the right time was initially a pain, but we were well-managed, and the team was amazing in producing 280+ events on a tight schedule.'