During E3 Club Skill sat down with Guy Wilday, the studio director, from the new SEGA Driving Studio based in the UK (just round the corner from our very own Rob Rymond in Solihull), which is developing an all-new Sega Rally game for next-generation consoles and PC, called “Sega Rally Revo”.

The game's features include fully deformable surfaces, so the track will never act the same no matter how many times you play it, as well as is dramatically improved NPC AI - so it now dynamically adapts to the different road surfaces.

CS: When is the game set for release?

GW: The game will be out Spring 2007 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

CS: How many tracks will be featured?

GW: The exact number is to be determined, but there will be a complete cross section of surfaces. These will include sand, mud, tarmac, and we're looking at snow and ice. With snow and ice you get a reverse dynamic to that of the sand; it gets more slippery as you dig down to ice, compared to sand, where the grip gets better the more you go around the track.

CS: How’s the car selection looking?

GW: We're looking at a really good selection including realistic and classic cars. Along with some bonus vehicles such as 4x4’s and dune buggies, we're also looking at some others.

CS: What about weather?

GW: We're working on putting weather in right now. We have some water effects working on some of our tracks now and are working for it, to effect how the cars handle in it.

CS: How are the tracks laid out?

GW: The tracks are going to be closed loops, but we're looking to do shortcuts in the track where you might get a different route but through a barrier, etc.

CS: What about online modes?

GW: We're looking at various game modes; we really like what Project Gotham Racing did and are taking some inspiration from that.

CS: How about downloadable content?

GW: Nothing solid yet, but we're looking to include some kind of functionality.

CS: How will the physics engine effect the gameplay? For example: Damage to cars..?

GW: The cars are not going to get as damaged such as big dents like a rally simulation, but we are going to make the panels scratch and get dirty along with reductions in the performance.

CS: Did you develop all the technologies yourself?

GW: Yes, the physics engine, graphics engine and surface deformation where all developed by us.

CS: Are they reusable?

GW: One of the things we're looking at as a studio is how we can reuse them all in future projects. The physics engine for example is really accurate and we have just tweaked it to feel very Sega Rally; it can definitely be taken and re-tweaked for our next project.. whatever that might be!

CS: How are you finding developing for the PlayStation 3 compared to Xbox 360?

GW: It's definitely trickier, which is widely acknowledged. It took us a while to get up to speed, but we have definitely crossed a hurdle and now things are coming along fast.

CS: What are the differences between the Xbox 360 version and PlayStation 3 version of the game?

GW: Graphically there are very little differences; there are definite performance differences between them. The PS3 is widely recognised as being powerful so we may be able to add more special effects etc.

CS: Finally, are you going to use the PS3 pad’s new motion sensor at all?

GW: Well like everyone - that took us by surprise, and we're going to look at using it have cause. I really like the new triggers, though. They're much more responsive.

Due to the early development of the game we are enable to provide any screenshots or artwork from this title.