There are the gorgeous Unreal Engine 5-powered graphics – a game engine that Supernova Games Studios has heavily customised, using the ‘Dark Matter’ internal code name – combined with accurate laser-scanned routes, matching real-world tracks with exacting detail. Sure, other areas of the rally sim in this early access phase need work. There are constant changes to throttle maps, suspension response and tyre models, alongside the roll-out of online multiplayer features, upcoming single-player modes and virtual reality. More cars wouldn’t go amiss either. But the stages. It’s hard to argue with their detail, realism and visual fidelity. However, if there was one complaint about the routes, it’s that because they are so detailed, could it take too long to add more into the title? Is the laser-scanning process simply too detailed and labour-intensive? “I’d like to point out that, while laser scanning is certainly expensive in itself, this technique actually gives us major advantages both in terms of quality and production time,” he enthusiastically explains to Traxion. “I’ve read comments from people who believe that creating stages manually in an empty environment would allow us to produce more of them. “Having experienced both approaches during my 21 years as a developer, I can confirm that this is not the case.” For the initiated, Zonca has previously worked on Sébastien Loeb Rally Evo and Gravel, plus at least 40 other racing games, including official World Rally Championship and MotoGP titles. “Having a laser-scan foundation, provided by an external company, gives us an accurate real-world template that we can immediately start working on. “Without it, we would first have to manually create the route, verify it, and iterate on it multiple times. On top of that, we would still not be able to achieve the level of visual fidelity and road-surface accuracy