3DClouds previously announced an exciting new step forward for their cartoon racing game, Formula Legends, which sees the title partnering up with Formula E! This new venture sets out a brand-new battlefield in front of the giant-killing racing game, and founder and CEO, Francesco Bruschi, spoke to OverTake exclusively about everything involved in this new partnership!
The all-electric World Championship will be available as a paid expansion, Formula E: Electric Evolution, on April 30th. The Nintendo Switch version of the game will receive the expansion at a later date. As Francesco explains, this is far more than just a simple new car model.
Interview with 3D Clouds founder and CEO, Francesco Bruschi
Before we begin, a special thank you to Francesco for taking the time to talk to us about this exciting new partnership with Formula E. Let us know in the comments down below what else you want to know about this upcoming release!
Q: To begin with, could you let us in on how this deal came about with Formula E?
We presented and showed off Formula Legends last summer, and we had lots of companies wanting to work with us. We really put our passion and heart into this project, and we think that the motorsport fans will be able to see that.
There is a great opportunity, and I was quite surprised when Formula E asked us (Formula Legends) to come on board. Their goal is to show and continue to share their championships in as many ways as they can, and we presented the pitch that captured their attention, despite the pitch looking very different to the final results!
In my experience in a previous job, working with a fully licensed modern season is much easier than going back to the past because there is always another company or agreement in the way, but Formula E really works super well with us to find the best solution, and in the end we have created something really special.
We have all the official content, all the cars, drivers and tracks. For now, we have decided to create six tracks, the most iconic of this season, but we are maybe working in the future to bring all of the tracks into the game from the Championship.
Q: You've chosen to include six circuits: Berlin, London, Miami, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Tokyo. Why were those six specific tracks chosen?
We decided together with Formula E which tracks to include first: London and Berlin, which are two very iconic tracks. For the others, from our design perspective, we wanted to include tracks from all over the world. Shanghai for the Chinese market, Miami for the USA, also because Miami is having its first year on the calendar this year.
Also, Tokyo is during the night, so having the real-world weather and systems in place means we can have the most accurate version of the race for players.
Q: Formula E is often a divisive championship in real motorsport, with the electric cars splitting opinion. Are you planning to add any more modern electric cars in the future, perhaps in the classic Formula Legends unlicensed style?
For now, we are just excited to have the World Championship licence for Formula E, so it would be strange for us to create something different now. From my point of view, the Formula E content will be very enjoyable with the gameification of motorsports. Don't forget, Formula E started more or less fifteen years ago, so it does have a long history by now with a lot of partners.
I think Formula Legends is perfect because the model is simple to drive, but hard to be competitive. Within the game, we have all of the Formula E technology. Those being Attack Mode, Pit Boost, and the mandatory pit stop, alongside battery management. We also have all the broadcast and UI graphics from Formula E. We wanted players to enjoy the racing just as they would when watching the real thing.
So, never say never (to an unlicensed electric class in Formula Legends), but for now, we are super happy with what we have. This is also a dream come true that an indie company can take a huge license like Formula E, so with our hard work, it has come through.
Q: What were the biggest challenges in bringing a fully licensed championship into a cartoon-stylised, non-licensed game like Formula Legends?
The development was rather easy, the joke was removing the gears, given how our game is set up! We had to cut everything from the physics to remove features like engine braking and the clutch.I think the biggest challenge was bringing Attack Mode into the game properly so that the car behaves as it should and differently enough from normal. Balancing this is difficult, just like the real car, you have a cooldown where you can't use it.
Making sure players cannot use it when they have pit boost, for example, was hard. It's making sure that the details are right. The other part is during the changing weather, the Formula E Hankook tyre has only one compound for all the races, so the problem was that when it started to rain, we needed the same performance in the wet and the dry. So to have a universal compound that works in all conditions is quite challenging.
I don't want to create lots of hype, but in-house, our developers are super happy with how much engagement is needed to win a race.
Q: How long has this DLC been in development for?
We signed off in the Autumn last year, after finding the right agreement, and we also waited for the start of the calendar, with Formula E having a reversed calendar compared to other series. Getting the new cars ready took about four months, with all the teams providing liveries and sponsor decals.
Formula E was very helpful with providing the track details. We, of course, followed the layout of the real tracks, and some of these changed during FIA approval, but overall, it was super easy when it came to development with them.
This DLC really does respect the championship in every single part, with everything, even the sponsor banners. Overall, it took between four and five months to develop. We also had to create all the Gen1, Gen2, and Gen3 cars during that time, each with its own liveries and sponsors. There is a lot of content within this DLC!
Q: How hands-on was Formula E when you were creating this DLC?
We presented the pitch last summer, but what we presented then is what you see now. Together, we checked everything, and they were really excited at the first sketch, saying that they could not wait to see it in-game. After that, everything moved very quickly. They just wanted to check that all the modes worked in the game as they should, of course, and that some sponsors had changed before the season. But they were very easy to work with.
Q: If you could name one thing in this Formula E pack that players will be surprised by, what would that be?
Fun. Fun. Fun. This is because the approach is much more complex than players realise. Once you get behind the wheel, you will really understand the world of Formula E. We, of course, have all the systems I mentioned earlier that make it a race of management as well as racing.
Q: And finally, which of the three included Formula E car generations is your favourite?
From my perspective, I love the Gen2 silhouette, but our minds always love to follow what is new, so the Gen3 Evo car has to be my favourite. The Gen3 Evo Lola livery is my favourite, the yellow and blue give off the Yamaha vibes! It is really hard to nail down a favourite. Jaguar has a fantastic livery this year as well, and Nissan, with the Japanese Sakura flowers, looks really good on the livery!
The Gen3 Evo Lola livery is my favourite, the yellow and blue give off the Yamaha vibes!
What are your thoughts on the Formula Legends x Formula E partnership? Let us know in the comments down below!
What do you think about this new partnership between Formula E and Formula Legends? Are you planning to check it out? Let us know in the comments down below!