Pedestrians have changed the most compared to the original CCD. In the teaser, which everyone is already familiar with, we used exported models from Fuse: for the chosen setting, pedestrians required different clothes, and the quality of the model was approximately at the level of the original CCD.
At the same time, we realized that this level of model implementation, though perhaps the best for optimization, fails to meet the modern quality standard for games. In turn, UE has its own, quite handy character creation tool – MetaHuman.
For CCD 2.0 in MetaHuman, we create only the basic proportions of pedestrians’ bodies and their faces. After that, the artists perform a retopology of the model, which contributes to our goals for optimizing the game. Hair and clothing are created as separate models in the appropriate software and assembled with human models from MetaHuman. After that, all pedestrians are loaded into UE and used in CCD 2.0.
On the left is a pedestrian created using Fuse early in the game’s development. On the right, one created using MetaHuman
After a short excursion into exactly how new models are created, let’s turn our attention to the most important point: the gameplay. Pedestrians in CCD 2.0 have a number of differences from the original game.
The first major change is that pedestrians now have full-fledged physics. If you drive carelessly, pedestrians will jump away from your vehicle, or you may hit them. Fortunately, it’s not fatal. For such behavior and causing harm to pedestrians, players will be subject to appropriate punishment, which we will definitely talk about in our logs dedicated to the general pace of the game and the topic of compliance with traffic rules.
The second change is related to the general atmosphere and mood of the game: pedestrians are true city residents, and not a decoration or an obstacle for you as a driver. For example, people in police uniforms will be located only near the police station, various workers, correspondingly, at construction sites. All this is also applied in the game modes of taxi driving and cargo courier. The final additional touch is that people will react to weather changes on the streets: pedestrians will mainly be dressed for the weather.
All vehicles in CCD 2.0 are completely new models: we decided not to carry over anything from CCD1 due to the fact that there is a strong visual difference between the current mode of transport and what we had. Some objects, such as tractors, can be occasionally found in the game world.
The main difference between traffic vehicles and the player’s cars is the detailing of the interior. For optimization purposes, the detailing of the interior in traffic vehicles has been simplified. The cars that you can drive have a very detailed interior shown right down to individual buttons. In early access, they will not be clickable, but we are building these features into the interior of the player’s car in advance.
In terms of the gameplay, cars are one of the main generators of all events in the game. All cars are full-fledged road users: they fully comply with traffic rules, can drive into parking spaces and create dangerous situations on the road. Traffic vehicles do not include heavy trucks or construction machines. However, you can see ambulances and police cars on the roads. In early access, we do not implement all the planned functionality associated with these vehicles, so we note just their presence, but not the implementation of all the planned functionality.
Will there be economy and sport modes in cars?
No, in early access, these driving modes will not be available on the cars that we are preparing for CCD 2.0
Will electric cars be available in the game?
In early access, we focus on standard, familiar cars, and there will be no electric cars in early access. However, we do not rule out the addition of the increasingly popular electric car in the future, especially given the trend for the promotion of electric cars
Will a drunk driver mode be added?
As we have noted several times, CCD 2.0 is created more according to the patterns of a game rather than a training aid. Therefore, this idea was not included in CCD 2.0 initially. However, we see a demand for this rather popular mechanic, so after early access, in future updates, we will consider the possibility of adding such a function to the game
What about the licensed car?
We have no ability to license vehicles. We try to implement all cars as realistically as possible and bring them as close to the original as possible. As regards the brand, patented objects and other technological features, CCD 2.0 won’t have them even after early access
Do you plan a release on consoles, not just PCs?
No, we don’t at the moment, but if City Car Driving 2.0 becomes a popular car simulator, then of course we would like to expand to these devices
And what about cloud gaming?
We don’t plan it at the moment either. This is also why we try to optimize the game for old and weak computer configurations
Will there be microtransactions?
It’s the first question where our “no” will sound like something good. No, microtransactions are not planned and will not be available in CCD 2.0
What are the plans for DLC?
We have none now. Before we consider DLC, we should release the game in early access and then successfully bring it to full release and implement the full potential we planned for CCD 2.0
You can always find out more about the upcoming game before its release in the Developers Logs, regularly published every two weeks.