Il y a quelques jours, Bizarre mettait en ligne un screen hallucinant représentant un immeuble censé être de la qualité de ceux qui entoureront les circuits urbains du prochain PGR. D'aucuns n'y ont pas cru, certains affirmant même qu'il s'agissait purement et simplement d'une photo. Bizarre les a entendu et Bizarre répond.  
 
Non contents de réaffirmer que le screen d'il y a quelques jours est bien issu de leur jeu, les gars de Bizarre en apportent aujourd'hui la preuve avec la structure 3D de la même image. Un second screen, tout aussi impressionnant que le premier, a aussi été mis en ligne, accompagné lui aussi de son "squelette" issu du même kit de développement que lui. Les screens en "fil de fer", nous explique-t-on, sont obtenus juste après les captures des images "pleines", en switchant le jeu en mode "fil de fer", à partir de ce kit de développement.
 
Tout cela est fait pour montrer aux sceptiques (Qui trouvaient le screen plutôt... Hum... Bizarre) que non seulement, les images sont tirées du jeu, mais aussi que tous les immeubles seront modélisés avec cette qualité dans un strict souci de réalisme (Les immeubles complexes seront complexes, ceux qui le sont moins le seront moins dans le jeu).
 
Mais Bizarre ne s'arrête pas là. On est d'accord, le jeu, actuellement, ressemble à ce que l'on voit sur les images d'après eux, et c'est proprement magnifique. Mais les développeurs nous disent que ce n'est pas fini, qu'il leur reste encore du travail et que ce sera encore plus beau au final.  
 
Avec ces preuves et l'insistance de Bizarre, difficile de croire encore à une supercherie. Et difficile, donc, de ne pas être bluffé par ce que promet ce PGR3.

Last week we released a single screenshot from PGR3 which seemed to cause quite a stir all over the Internet...
 

 
Initially, people claimed it was just a photograph! I think people have pretty much come to the correct conclusion now though - this is what people can genuinely expect from the next generation of video games. Bizarre Creations are proud to be one of the developers leading the charge toward High Definition, and we're very pleased with the results so far.
 
As a small gift to all of you who still refuse to believe that last week's image was a real screenshot, here we have the wire-frame version of the same scene, captured from the same dev kit that the original screenshot was taken. After reading the comments from all over the web (ranging from "That's awesome" to "That's a fake!" ), we felt we had to release something which proved we're not messing with you.
 

 
Some people also claimed that we only showed this particular building because it's our most impressive. That's simply not true... and I wanted to work out a way to prove it to you. So as I wandered over to Chris's desk to get this wire-frame shot I decided that I would ask him to grab whatever was on his screen at that particular moment. After a couple of seconds of fiddling with his 360 controller to get the best angle, Chris rendered out this new shot for us. This is New York City again, in a slightly different area of town - and as with the shot last week, it's just a random street rather than a specific 'showpiece' area that some were worried about.
 

 
Yes, it is possible to get all areas of the game that need it up to this level of detail – that’s what you get for 2 years work with up to 35 artists here at Bizarre, plus additional help from outsourcing companies! Some areas (ie. those with simple buildings in real life) won’t be as detailed, but where buildings are that complex, the game will be that complex too. And in case you don’t believe me again, the wire frame screenshot is printed below, taken immediately afterwards from the same dev kit, by switching the game into wireframe mode.
 
 
 
This is how PGR3's artwork looks right now. On actual 360 hardware. Please bear in mind, however, that you're still looking at a work in progress video game, and that the final in-game effects and lighting aren't even in place yet. We're still a long way from the finish line, but things will only improve from this point on. Start preparing now, and save your pennies for a widescreen HDTV and surround sound system. Although the game will still look stellar on a regular TV, you'll get the best experience when you go High Def.
 
In other news, Roger (our super code monkey) did a small show 'n' tell for the team. He demonstrated some of the new effects that have recently been put into the game. A whole bunch of us crowded into the meeting room, and saw the game running in all it's 720p glory on a huge projector. Running into barriers and watching the crowd scatter in terror never gets old!
 
In our debug build, we can detach the camera and wander over the cityscape, without having to worry about driving our car to the particular bit of track we want to look at. It really helps when you need to get a good look at some of the buildings or other geometry in the game. Whilst I was whizzing about in the debug camera, I stumbled upon something really impressive...
 
When you zoom right up to the back of your car, you can actually see gases being vented from the engine! You notice heat haze at the back of your car's exhausts! It ripples the air around it, and gives the impression of heat blasting over the back bumper of your super car. (I'll try to get a screenshot of this soon). It's simply awesome - Should. Have. Sent. A. Poet.
 
Anyways, check back next week for more updates!