'POD': The new king of virtual racing.SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 1, 1997-- The Market's Fastest, Richest, Smartest, Most Internet-Capable Racing Game A racing game is any game that involves competing in races through a surrogate playing piece or vehicle, either getting it from one point to another or completing a number of circuits in the shortest time. Hits the Streets April 1st! Tear around 16 different tracks at up to 280 mph! Hit a pylon pylon (Greek: “gateway”) In modern construction, a tower that gives support, such as the steel towers between which electrical wires are strung or the piers of a bridge. or dead car and watch it ricochet A wireless Internet service from Ricochet Networks, Inc., Denver, CO (www.ricochet.net). Originally developed by Los Gatos, CA-based Metricom, Inc., Ricochet was the first high-speed, wireless Internet service for commuters. off your bumper like the real thing! Play against the smartest computer opponent ever, or race with up to seven friends or strangers over the Internet, local area network, modem, on split screen or a combination of them all! Download new tracks and cars every month! That's the brave new world Brave New World Aldous Huxley’s grim picture of the future, where scientific and social developments have turned life into a tragic travesty. [Br. Lit.: Magill I, 79] See : Dystopia Brave New World of POD, a rip-roaring, eye-popping, Pentium/MMX(TM) technology sci-fi racing game from Ubi Soft Entertainment that pushes the envelope in every aspect of virtual racing Virtual racing is a recent offering from the "Big Four" bookmakers in the United Kingdom, along with some smaller firms. They offer punters the opportunity to place a wager on racing even after the day's race coverage, then watch the race on a TV screen. : speed, graphics, effects, artificial intelligence, Internet capability, expandability and more. On MMX (MultiMedia EXtensions) A set of 57 additional instructions built into the Pentium MMX chip for improved multimedia and modem performance by performing mathematical operations on multiple sets of data at the same time (see SIMD). (TM) technology based machines, the game sends you hurtling around the track at up to 32 fps or at a blistering maximum of 80 fps with a 3Dfx 3D accelerator card, all to the rumbling accompaniment of Dolby Surround A digital audio encoding system from Dolby that provides four channels. Derived from the Dolby Stereo technology used in movie theaters, Dolby Surround was introduced in the early 1980s for video soundtracks, audio cassettes, CDs, TV broadcasts, video games and PC software. Sound that tells you a car is approaching even before you see it. On Pentium systems 100 MHz (MegaHertZ) One million cycles per second. It is used to measure the transmission speed of electronic devices, including channels, buses and the computer's internal clock. A one-megahertz clock (1 MHz) means some number of bits (16, 32, 64, etc. and up, you'll average 25 to 27 fps, as much as 30 percent faster than most Pentium racing games. Developed after a thorough analysis of virtually every racing game on the market in every platform, POD has taken the best features of its forebears and added layers of realism and variety that bring true arcade-class racing to the PC. Thanks to a free matchmaking Matchmaking Matricide (See MURDER.) Kecal marriage broker whose plans are foiled by a pair of lovers. [Czech Opera: Smetana The Bartered Bride in Osborne Opera, 32] Levi, Dolly service called POD-NET that can be accessed either from the Ubi Soft Web site (www.ubisoft.com) or from a Ubi Online direct-connection button in the game interface, it is also the first multi-player racing game directly playable over the Internet without middleman mid·dle·man n. 1. A trader who buys from producers and sells to retailers or consumers. 2. An intermediary; a go-between. gaming fees. Creating the Perfect Car The game takes place sometime in the future on the Planet IO, the victim of a lethal virus called POD that is causing IO's world to disintegrate. Players race for their lives in their choice of eight cars on a succession of 16 tracks in a desperate rush to escape before the planet explodes. The level of the difficulty and the richness of the graphics progress from track to track. Each car can be modified by changing the settings assigned to grip, acceleration, brakes, handling and speed to create a unique 300-point configuration. The computer then generates the car you've designed to create the appropriate feel when you take the "wheel." Cars react differently on each course, leading to a lot of trial-and-error that keeps the game challenging. Knock-out Animations With unparalleled real-time 3D-generated graphics, POD's moving 3D objects and changing backgrounds offer a visual feast. Each track has obstacles such as cones, signs, pylons and abandoned vehicles that really move when you hit them and reappear where they have landed on each successive lap around the track. Moving 3D landmarks such as rotating satellites, flashing neon billboards and spinning nuclear reactors add to the realism and visual interest. Skid marks skid marks skid npl → Reifenspuren pl; (from braking) → Bremsspuren pl remain on the road, clouds cast shadows on the ground and tires "smoke" from skids and fast turns. 16 Richly Imagined Tracks POD's 16 tracks -- more than virtually any game on the market-add another level of visual richness. Lushly displayed in 640 x 480 resolution utilizing a palette of 65,000 colors, the scenes range from abandoned urban refineries to lavish rural hillsides. Each track has distinct obstacles and physical properties that players must learn to prevail. The visual effects change with every track. In the Canyon environment, light filters through the windshield when you're facing the sun. In the Sewer setting, slime drips out of the sewers on the side of the track when you drive by. On the Cocoon track, where the POD virus is causing the wildlife to mutate mu·tate intr. & tr.v. mu·tat·ed, mu·tat·ing, mu·tates To undergo or cause to undergo mutation. [Latin m , man-sized flies hover at the edge of the track, and a giant spider straddles the screen with his hairy legs. Higher Intelligence POD is also equipped with superior artificial intelligence programming that not only allows each vehicle to handle differently according to its custom configuration but also enables computer opponents in single-player mode to adapt to your racing style. Computer-controlled cars will cut you off from your favorite shortcut (1) In Windows, a shortcut is an icon that points to a program or data file. Shortcuts can be placed on the desktop or stored in other folders, and double clicking a shortcut is the same as double clicking the original file. , force you off the road and use ramps to pass you by. At the easiest of the three difficulty settings, the other vehicles will give you slack; at the hardest, they will use every trick they can to win. Mix-and-Match Internet Play POD is among the first games in history to enable players to mix and match their linking options over the Internet, local area network, modem or two-computer direct link connection. Example: Two people playing in split-screen mode on the same computer can link up with a friend in another city by calling the IP number of a designated server, and that friend can link to gaming colleagues over his corporate LAN (Local Area Network) A communications network that serves users within a confined geographical area. The "clients" are the user's workstations typically running Windows, although Mac and Linux clients are also used. . Pre-calculated car movements have been integrated directly into the game engine to conquer latency problems, delivering smooth movements and eliminating system jumping. Pit Stops at the POD Web Site In addition to POD-NET's free matchmaking service for POD Internet players, the POD Web site lets you download new vehicles created by other players as well as new tracks and saved races of players from anywhere in the world. (Learn the superstars' secrets by following their ghosts!) Upload your races and compare them against the winners. Participate in contests and championships in real time. You'll also be able to chat with other POD gamers, view a ranking of all competitors, get the scoop on the making of the game and visit a special "garage" for inside information about customizing the game cars. Specifications, Pricing POD will carry an MSRP MSRP Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price MSRP Message Session Relay Protocol MSRP Multi-Species Recovery Plan (US Fish & Wildlife Service) MSRP Member of the Society for Radiological Protection (UK) of $49.95. Minimum system requirements include an MMX 166 or Pentium 100 with 16 MB RAM, a 4X CD-ROM CD-ROM: see compact disc. CD-ROM in full compact disc read-only memory Type of computer storage medium that is read optically (e.g., by a laser). player, a 16-bit sound card and a graphics card capable of displaying 640 x 480 in 16 bits. For more information, contact Ubi Soft at 415/547-4000 or 800/UBI-SOFT or visit the company's Web site at http://www.ubisoft.com. -0- Ubi Soft Entertainment, a $50 million European-based software publishing and distribution company, was founded in 1986 in France. It is best known in the U.S. for Rayman, a blockbuster action/adventure game for all ages that debuted in 1995. In addition to its U.S. offices in California and its headquarters in France, Ubi Soft has offices in Japan, Germany, Spain, Italy, England, Australia and China. CONTACT: Ubi Soft Entertainment Carrie Tice, 415/547-4000, Ext. 215 415/547-4001 (Fax) E-mail: carriet@ubisoft.com Web: http://www.ubisoft.com or S&S Public Relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most , Inc. Lauren Finkelman/Sophia Chee, 415/773-5359 415/773-5369 (Fax) E-mail: lauren_finkelman@compuserve.com |
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