The team took a ”very modern approach” to have multiplayer ”extremely adaptable,” so players can drop in and out of online play when it suits them. You can ”always blacklist someone” from traffic.
The scoring system in the game already encourages individual racers, despite being part of a Crew, as the Ubisoft team claim they’ve ”found that sweet spot” to exploit.
”Our experience is enhanced when gamers connect online, as they can then be a part of a fully living, breathing world filled with other players to challenge or crew up with,” said creative director Julian Gerighty.
”However, if some players are more of the solo type, they can play the full campaign SP, they are never constrained to play cooperatively with friends. And if they change their mind at some point, they always have the opportunity to team up with friends on-the-go, without having to go through intimidating lobbies.”
”The Crew takes a very modern approach to multiplayer, in the sense that it is extremely adaptable. Just like in real life, some days you may want to be by yourself, others you’re eager to share new experiences with friends. In The Crew, all the missions can be played solo or with your crew and when playing with your crew, you’re enticed to play for yourself, in some way since the scoring system is rewarding individuals and not teams.”
The Crew boasts 10,000 km of roads, and 1,000 landmarks in their depiction of the United States, and that includes everything from dusty canyons to bustling streets.
”We built a social interface that facilitates communication between players and makes it extremely easy to engage with others,” continued Gerighty. ”You can crew up with other fellow drivers on your way to your next objective. It’s all seamlessly integrated and does not require you to stop driving.”
”When playing with other crew members you can choose to jump into any campaign missions together but you could also set up your own race and give it a go. That’s the core of what we want: a living world constantly evolving around with people you can challenge or race with.”
The Crew releases on PC, Xbox One and PS4 in Q4 2014.
