simon
Talking about the Tesla Roadster’s sound with the petrol-heads at SimBin makes swearing in church feel almost comfortable in comparison. Nevertheless, the sounds made it into our upcoming title.
Let’s start from the beginning…
For those of you that have been too high on gas fumes the last couple of years, here are a few facts about the car:
- Two seated all-electric roadster
- 248 bhp which gives a 0-100 kmh time of 3.7 seconds
- 53 kWh battery capable of 393 km
This winter, I had the opportunity to borrow a Tesla Roadster Sport, a high performance all-electric car. I brought it to the studio for everybody to testdrive it. Even the programmers left their cave to give this car a go!
It has one masterpiece, the acceleration – which feels almost like when an airplane takes off. Because of its single gear, constant torque configuration, it is undramatic but quick. Very quick. First time drivers and passengers almost always react with a grin – the Tesla grin.
Those brave/stupid enough to push the TC-off button, reacts differently. It’s a combination of laughter and fear. A very real fear. The tires lose their grip in the same moment the pedal hits the floor.
Our sound designer, Anthony, was a tad negative to the lack of sounds. Just a tad. We soon realized that the lack of engine sound gave us a unique opportunity to record other sounds. Sounds free of the wonderful “distortion” a combustion engine makes. Separating the sounds from distortion is the key to get the real authentic sounds in-game.
Anthony and I then drove around the streets, looking for bumps and holes, that would make the suspension and tire sound the way we wanted. We drove at different speeds to get the correct wind noise.
We also did a lot of burn outs, and hard break-ins to get the right tire squeeks. It was a hard job, but we did it for you! With the sim-racers best in mind – we are willing to make this kind of sacrifice.
We got some good material, and some of the sounds made it into the game. This will add even more immersion to the already spectacular sound experience.
And about the range; our feet were apperantly a bit heavier than the one defined in EPA’s test cycle. We burned 220 Wh/km, which equals a range of 240 km.
Simon Lundell