When it comes to sound effects, we record them on actual race tracks using real cars, which makes us regulars at several domestic tracks. For instance, to capture engine sounds, we set up multiple professional microphones inside the engine compartment and run the cars through the entire rev range in each gear. After recording a comprehensive set of audio resources, we proceed with professional post-processing and align these sounds with the game’s physical parameters. This ensures that players in Racing Master can enjoy the same guttural roars they would experience in real life.Can you elaborate on the challenges bringing a full simulation racing game to mobile platforms?
Zhou Qian, Technical Director: One of our most significant technical challenges has always been to smoothly present intricate and realistic artistry on the limited performance capabilities of mobile devices. To achieve uncompromised visual fidelity, we assembled a specialized technical team solely dedicated to custom development at the foundational level of Unreal Engine 4. We’ve also partnered with several mobile manufacturers for hardware-level development. Through our concerted efforts, we successfully achieved console-grade lighting and shadow effects on mobile devices, akin to those of next-generation consoles.
Our technical team consisted of top-tier experts in NetEase. Throughout the project, extensive foundational development was carried out on UE4, with some technical highlights stemming from collaborations with Epic Games.
To showcase the highly realistic lighting, shading, and textures of vehicles and tracks, we employed some of the most advanced rendering techniques available on consoles, such as Screen Space Reflections (SSR), Variable Rate Shading (VRS), FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR), and Global Illumination. We also developed numerous customized rendering pipelines.
It’s widely known that superior visual quality requires more processing power. During our initial public tests, some players’ devices couldn’t even last through two races. In response, we formed a team of technical experts dedicated to maximizing optimization efforts, addressing rendering, physics, and even UE4 itself. We meticulously refined every detail, pushing performance to its limits, and eventually ensured smooth gameplay even on smartphones that are six years old.
Can you tell us more about the process of recreating real-world supercars within Racing Master?
Luo Zhongyuan, Vehicle Team Leader: We go to extremes to realistically reproduce assets such as vehicles and tracks, committing ourselves to faithfully reflect the details of the vehicles, from the exterior design to the interior. The whole process spans six to seven months, involves over 30 steps, and requires nearly 10 rounds of quality checks, from getting licenses from car manufacturers, production, polishing, to presenting the car in-game for players.
Source: Unreal Engine Blog