The car models are over five times more detailed than in IRC! This higher level of car design results in the cars looking very photo-realistic and curvy. The level of detail is far higher than anyone has ever achieved, with both internal and external views modeled and textured. The cars are all licensed from their respective manufacturers, bringing added realism and authenticity to the game. We have worked very closely with the teams to ensure that:

• The cars appear in their latest liveries.
• Car specifications are up-to-date and can be programmed into the game's car physics model to ensure they drive like the real vehicles.
• The teams are happy with us representing their brands within the game.

We initially set a goal to have at least ten cars in the game. As we progressed we kept adding vehicles into the list. It looks like we'll be settling on having twenty cars in total. We feel this is one of our strongest selling points, mainly because so many players look for car brands that they associate with. I personally like the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo II, and I know that many Spanish people will be looking for the Toyota Corolla because it's driven by their local hero Carlos Sainz.

It's our intention to have car damage within the game. The only obstacle could be the car manufacturers, they may veto the use of damage in relation to their car. We are currently seeking approval from all manufacturers and will not know if they will clear this feature until quite close to release. The standard set by other games and the expectation of the buying public demands such a feature - we anticipate that most if not all teams will agree to it. Until we have all the legal paper work signed we cannot confirm the use of damage yet.

If all goes well, we intend to have damage to the exterior of the car (in the form of dents and deformation of the panels). Sections of the car will also break off and be left in the road (wing mirrors, bumpers, bonnet lid (hood to our US friends) etc. The glass of the windscreen will crack and ultimately break if damaged too much.

As the cars get damaged they may also suffer loss of power and develop problems like steering to the left should a wheel or axle be damaged.

Both of course! From the start of the game's development we looked around to see the current and emerging technologies. Sound blaster Live! was the first technology that showed up, so we quickly started to write routines to play 3D sounds and environmental audio. Aureal 3D was another card we chose to support and we've also managed to support Dolby Surround sound (for those of you who have their PC sound plugged into a Surround Sound system).