GRID hits the apex of enjoyment when you find that perfect setup for you; when the car feels just right for your driving style, and the difficulty is set to put you in the heart of the action. Sure, you could say that about any racing game – but with GRID, being in the pack means being surrounded by unpredictable, realistic, wide-ranging personalities of AI drivers.
In any mode, in any scenario, you have the chance to race against AI personalities that think differently, act differently – and are even capable of losing their cool.
400 AI PERSONALITIES
The innovative system centres around over 400 different personalities built into GRID, appearing in each mode and challenging you in a new way, every time the lights go out.
When you see a name of a driver next to you on the grid, that’s not just another randomly-selected name placed onto a car. That’s a driver with a bespoke set of racing characteristics.
Some will be quicker, some will be slower, but it goes much deeper than that. Some of the AI drivers are more consistent and reliable in their performance and behaviour, whilst others can drastically fluctuate. Some AI drivers exude cool, calm, precise racecraft, whilst others are known for their daring overtakes and risky manoeuvres.
Over time, you get acquainted with certain drivers, memorising their tendencies. The more you do this, and the more you adapt to overcome their styles, the greater your chances of victory. With over 400 of these drivers randomly chosen for each 16-car race, the combinations of different personalities for every race is near-endless, giving every event a different feel.
NEMESIS
How about another layer of unpredictability? Get too feisty in any race and you might just trigger the Nemesis system, which dramatically changes an AI driver’s personality. Make too much contact with another driver and they’ll become your Nemesis, signified by a red symbol above their car and by their name in the standings. A Nemesis instantly becomes faster, more aggressive, and far less worries about the damage bill at the end of a race. Their goal is now to finish not first, but just ahead of you – by any means necessary.
Nemesis works in tandem with the built-in AI personalities, meaning it’s more nuanced than simply bashing into a car and triggering it. The more calmer personalities will be less likely to become your Nemesis when you hit them, whilst the hot-headed drivers will just need a bumper tap to set them off. Multiple Nemeses can be formed in a race, so get your elbows out too much and you can suddenly have a grid full of drivers gunning for you. Hey, if you can dish it out…
TEAM-MATES
GRID’s team-mate system, which allows you to hire and fire different drivers to represent your team and potentially help your chances of victory, has a similar depth and variety. As with your opponents, your team-mate options vary in skill and consistency, but we throw another variable into the mix: Loyalty.
During races, you have the option to speak to your team’s crew chief, and ask them to instruct your team-mate to attack or defend. Using these options successfully can slow down a pack of drivers in front of you and give you a ‘rear gunner’ to defend your lead. That is, of course, if your team-mate wants to play ball. The loyalty level of the driver dictates how likely they are to accept your instructions, so you might not always get your way. Do you choose a team-mate that’s not the quickest, but very loyal, or a team-mate that’s a super-fast lone wolf? Choose wisely.
All of this strives to replicate the unpredictable nature of real-world racing – where the personality of every opponent has to be respected, where bitter rivalries are formed, and where team-mates can be compliant and defiant in equal measure. It’s a technical innovation the team here at Codemasters are proud of – and pleased to be considered for Steam’s Most Innovative Gameplay award.