In the U.S.'s open world re-creation of The Crew 2, every lane is a racecourse, all the rivers are a playground for speed boats, and the entire urban area is a great pilot study. PS4 players can enter for free this weekend, from December 5 until December 8, and use the cars, planes, and waterfall of Coll 2 to test and compete on every inch of the world's largest range. And if you want to keep tearing down the Crew 2 trails after a free weekend, you can catch the Deluxe Edition of this game for up to 70% off the PlayStation store from now until December 12th.
The free weekend is also an opportunity to check out the content added to the latest Blazing Shots update, including new rides, new tricks (including new effects), and a new LIV Summits weekly for players to test their mettle and place on the leaderboards. Blazing Shots is the fourth free download to come to The Crew 2, following Gator Rush, which introduced hovercrafts; The Demolition Derby, which has added its own brand of event and bumper cars; and Hot Shots, which are launching LIVE Summits.
To find out more about how updates like Blazing Shots work, we spoke with Player Experience Director Julien Hummer about how developers plan game events and select new cars, and what's coming for The Crew 2.
Blazing Shots is the fourth in a series of free updates for The Crew 2 – how does the team edit these reviews?
Our main objective is to review the game based on three pillars: slice, stir, and make a fire. For example, with Blazing Shots, we have introduced a new management of Monster Truck (Polish); add new events every week with new LIVE Summits (densify); and of course, new cars and new vanities (refresh) to allow our players to shine all over the U.S.
Why is it important to have these free updates for a game like The Crew 2?
Since Crew 2 is an online, social, connected world, all of our reviews have so far been released, so as not to alienate our community or to add content. We want our players to continue to invest their money in our world, but with new and different purposes. With this kind of free update, our gearheads can unlock new content, cars, vanities, and compete in new events, and discover new ways to enjoy The Crew 2.
Blazing Shots features 12 new cars, starting with the Elite Bundle 3, including the 2008 Citroën GT and 2003 Porsche Carrera GT, as well as the new tour car, the 2011 Ferrari 599XX EVO. The 2016 Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse, is now available in-game – and there is much more on the way. How do you decide which cars make a review?
It’s a combination of many things, so it takes a lot of time and effort from multiple participants. First of all, each car must be compatible with our game experience. So the creative team, the car enthusiasts in the studio, the 3C team (control, camera, and character), the sales team, and our creative director discuss this topic in the coming months, to see what kind of automotive segment can benefit from being enhanced or modified to provide a better experience much to our players.
The community group is very much present on our various public channels to listen to the wishes of the players and approve their proposals for both creative and automotive teams. During this entire process, we make sure that the cars selected are models or products available to our players, add variety to the game, and are fun to play with.
What really goes into introducing new cars to this game? Do you get models from manufacturers? Do you get to see them in person, take pictures?
Yes, the automotive team works closely with various manufacturers to select vehicles, customize them, and integrate them with the game. In some cases, the team goes directly to the manufacturers' headquarters, or events such as the Mondial Paris Motor Show or the Geneva International Motor Show, to see cars in real life, to take photos, to collect any important information, and to meet with teams for their own creation. In one case, they returned to a private track to bring in the sound of the engine and the sound team. They also access other secrets that we cannot uncover, out of respect for our partners.
Our team has a real love for all things driving, so this is so much more than their job. We also have real creations; helicopters, boats, airplanes, breakdown vehicles, and alpha grand prix, to name a few. In those cases, we start from scratch with the concept artist. We test the concept with selected players in the studio, and collect their feedback and suggestions before the car production.
When it comes to making the new cars playable in The Crew 2, what does the development team do to make sure it's fun to play and balance races? How much is the distribution of pure information?
Our 3C team handles this within the studio. As a UX administrator, I work closely with them to deliver accessible and fun experiences across all vehicles. How so? With prototypes, playtiffs, social views, and more of what works. Even after it was introduced, we did a bit of research on traffic management, in fact, we are currently very interested in what our players think about the most recent handling of the update to The Crew 2 Blazing Shots. Our main goal is always to find the perfect balance between having fun and facing reality.
Blazing Shots are not just new cars, but new events as well. In fact, there will be 17 new weekly events, including a LIFE Summit inspired by Ghost Recon. How did the planning begin?
When preparing for the third group of LIVE Summits, we want to enhance the engagement of the week with our players. Our goal has been to work with all the internal teams to make sure the content fits in the player's viewpoint, and we always make time to put all that in mind. We start with the topic: Water, Mountains, Pollution, etc., and then try to make it all go with it: events, colors, vanities, rewards and more.
What's the final goal with LIVE Summits? What do you want players to get out of them?
The LIVE conference is a weekly PvE competition. With this type of event, we wanted to introduce our players to new ways of competing each week, and provide new opportunities to unlock content in the game. All Platinum Rewards are special, giving players who unlock great bragging rights.
How do you see their rewards?
Rewards unlocked with LIVE Summits linked to the mood of the event. For example, during the Ghost Road LIVE Conference, one of our first LIVE conferences, all the rewards were in camo style: F-150 RAPTOR RACE TRUCK Ghost Recon Edition, smoke effects, tires, etc. Each team member is a gaming or car game (sometimes both), and interest is always a great place to think new content to add to the game. We really hope the community will enjoy these types of rewards!
On top of all that, useless stuff is also included in Blazing Shots. Where do you begin to decide what to include, and what kind of process?
We started working under problems months ago, during a meeting with some of our most involved players. This feature is probably one of the most sought after by our custom-made lovers, and we really wanted to give this new angle the attention it deserves. Ever since Blazing Shots was released on November 13, we've been adding worthless items each week.
What are some of the favorite nonsense from team members?
The studio itself is full of different types of players who love all kinds of nonsense. Depending on the team member, you will hear different answers, but the most appreciated accessories are the ones under the light and tires. These two categories are the perfect types of custom-made items to meet the facts. But the French tire is my favorite.
Other than Blazing Shots, what can fans of The Crew 2 look forward to in the future?
The building we adopted by Blazing Shots to add new content to the game every few months. We also take in all the new additions to our channels weekly, monthly and long term; this includes daily LIVE weekends, social content, monthly information showing all upcoming content, and more.
We look forward to sharing all the details with our players, so be sure to follow our channels to hurry!
