Steam Racers

COPENHAGEN – 20 November 2009 – The year is 1888. Europe lies in ruins in the aftermath of the great Technology War, leaving only abandoned battlefields and a smoky horizon to be seen. Steam powered war machines lie scattered throughout the vast wasteland. In the midst of this tragic memorial to the past, something is amiss.

In Steam Racers – a mod for Unreal Tournament 3 – you get to experience the joyful madness of steam punk in a completely new way. With four unique steam-powered vehicles, players must either race or fight their way to victory or choose any route in between. Gun down your opponents with the tank-like Scotch Boiler, navigate easily with the floating Futuramobile 1900 or outrace the competition with the most unique invention of them all, the Monowheel. Buy upgrades to improve your weapons, armor and speed, lure enemies into deadly traps, disrupt progress with the magnetic and flame mines or take control of the powerful stationary turrets for ultimate damage.

With the latest version of Steam Racers, developed by game student group Default Games, players can now enjoy a vast array of game modes, including the new Baron of the Tank, a unique take on David vs. Goliath, where one fully upgraded Scotch Boiler must fight alone, soon to be swamped by mines, turrets and the puny Steamobiles. The game has also seen the addition of two new maps, the race track Crystal Garden and the dangerous Island, for a total of four maps, each catering to different play styles.

With the addition of the sound designer Robin Arnott on the team, Steam Racers 3.0 has also enjoyed a complete audio overhaul, customizing every sound effect down to the last “boom”, making for a true audible experience. Arnott also worked with the group Found Objects to deliver true-to-the-universe classical music that will completely change the feel of the game. And with assistance from art design student Steffi Degiorgio, the interface has gotten a complete, rusty makeover. Added to a long list of tweaks, fixes and additions, Steam Racers 3.0 offers a truly exciting game.

Steam Racers 3.0 was last week submitted to the Grand Finals of the $1 million Make Something Unreal contest, where the first edition of the game enjoyed an honoring 3rd place in Best Non-FPS Mod in Phase 3 and is among the finalist of both Best Non-FPS Mod and Best Vehicle Set for Phase 4. With the release of the newest version, dedicated servers are now available, so new players can get to experience the chaotic fun easier than ever.

For more screenshots and info, visit:

http://www.steamracers.net or http://www.moddb.com/mods/steam-racers

For a short intro video, visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwVOLw15QKk

And get ready in 3… 2… 1…

- Ends -

For press information, please contact:

Jesper Nielsen / (+45) 31 16 13 00 / jesper@steamracers.net

About Steam Racers

Steam Racers is a 3rd person combat racer, where up to 8 players must either fight or race their way to victory. The players have a unique range of vehicles available at their disposal, including the train-inspired Scotch Boiler and the always identifiable Monowheel. Each vehicle have a gun equipped and can overheat by shooting and boosting. Players can choose to spend points on upgrades as well, improving the weapons, armor and speed of a vehicle. Outside of vehicles, players possess a repair tool and two mine weapons; the magnetic mine and flame mine launcher, capable of dealing great damage to vehicles. For more information, visit www.steamracers.net and http://www.moddb.com/mods/steam-racers.

About Default Games

Default Game is a development group of Master students at the Media Technology & Games line at the IT University in Copenhagen, consisting of Jesper Nielsen (Project Manager), Tobias Brogaard (Programmer), Andreas Hesel (Programmer), Daniel Skytte Traun (Game Designer), Nikolaj Pedersen (Level Designer), Ronnie Kristensen (3D Artist) and Ronni Johansson (2D Artist). The team was formed in the spring of 2009, working on Steam Racers as a course project. In the fall of 2009, sound designer Robin Arnott joined the team, which also enjoyed help from design student Steffi Degiorgio and music group Found Objects. For more information, visit http://www.steamracers.net/defaultgames.htm.

About the $1 Million Intel Make Something Unreal Contest

In the $1 Million Intel Make Something Unreal Contest, aspiring game developers create modifications (“mods”) for the PC version of “Unreal Tournament 3” in a range of categories. Winnings exceed over $1 million in value, consisting of one coveted Unreal Engine 3 license as a grand prize in addition to other cash awards and prizes. The “$1 Million Intel Make Something Unreal Contest” is judged in four preliminary phases and a grand final. For more information, visit www.makesomethingunreal.com.

Intel Software provides resources, technologies, products and services developers need to create innovative products and industry-leading software solutions designed to run best on Intel platforms. Intel helps PC gaming developers innovate through its Visual Adrenaline developer program. For more information, visit www.intel.com/software/visualadrenaline.

About Unreal Tournament 3

“Unreal Tournament 3” marks the return of the world's premiere first-person shooter to the PC, Xbox 360® and PLAYSTATION®3. “Unreal Tournament 3” unleashes the full power of Unreal Engine 3, taking graphics, gameplay and challenge to a whole new level. Players engage in intense battles with other human players online, or against Unreal artificial intelligence that sets the industry standard. With the most powerful futuristic weapons and vehicles available, this is FPS action at its best! More information about “Unreal Tournament 3” can be found online at www.unrealtournament3.com.

About Unreal Engine 3

The award-winning Unreal Engine is known for cutting-edge graphics and its best-of-breed toolset. Unreal Engine 3 maintains those features while adding massive world support, multi-processor support, next-generation console optimizations, and one of the most mature tool pipelines in the industry. Unreal Engine 3's advanced toolset is designed specifically to accelerate developers' productivity for ultra-complex, next-generation content. Additional information on Unreal Engine can be obtained through the Unreal Technology Web site at www.unrealtechnology.com.