PS4 Racer Driveclub's Weather System Looks Darn Impressive

In a post on the PlayStation Blog today, Sony released a pair of videos that show off the weather system for this October's PlayStation 4 racing game, Driveclub. The footage looks stunning.

The videos (shared only through Instagram, unfortunately) you see here in this post are from an "early demo" of Driveclub's weather system. Notably, the weather system won't be available at launch come October 7, but will instead be delivered as a free update for all players "just shortly" after launch, Sony says.

Developer Evolution Studios art director Alex Perkins says the studio's overall ambition with the game's weather system was to make it "as immersive and fun as possible." The studio has gone to great lengths, Perkins said, to achieve that goal. You're able to dictate the cloud cover to determine how much snow and rain will fall, and you can also vary the wind speed, which will in turn determine where snow settles.

The weather system goes further still. The temperature and the height of the sun will govern how quickly clouds will burn off and roads will dry out. "We're really striving for consistency in every detail just like we have done with everything else in the game," Perkins said.

Driveclub players can expect to experience a whole range of weather elements, including rain and snow, as well as variations like drizzle, sleet, downpours, and blizzards. In addition, you might start a race in a light rain, only for the storm to progress to a torrential downpour. What's more, if you start a race at the top of a mountain, you might see the snow thin out as you head to the bottom.

Driveclub's dynamic weather system is not just for show, either, Perkins says. When roads become wet, you'll have a tougher time braking (but an easier time drifting); when it's pouring rain and your windshield wipers are running at full tilt, you'll find it's more difficult to see. During a snowy nighttime race, your headlights will reflect off the flakes, making it more challenging to see.

Driveclub launches on October 7, a day that also sees the release of high-profile games like Dragon Age: Inquisition, Alien: Isolation, Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor, NBA 2K15, and NBA Live 15.