How Driveclub's Dynamic Weather Changes the Game

Blizzards, thunderstorms and wind patterns change, lap by lap.

Sony revealed Driveclub's dynamic weather mechanic at E3 last month, promising that rain and snow will affect driving conditions. Today, a pair of new videos on the PlayStation Instagram account show the weather effects in action.

These effects, as previously announced, are entirely customizable, and can change over the course of a single race. Cars may hydroplane at the outset of a race, but if it's sunny enough afterward, the road's coat of water can evaporate before racers corss the finish line.

"Just like we do with time of day, skies and time lapse speed, we’re going to add lots of options for you to be able to adjust how the weather plays out in your challenges," Driveclub art director Alex Perkins said on the PlayStation Blog. "We don’t want to just offer fixed settings for “rain” or “snow,” we want it to be dynamic and exciting."

Perkins said the weather will range from deafening thunderstorms to light drizzles, quick dustings to raging snowstorms. They're calling the weather system dynamic not only because of the customization options, but also because of the range of effects they're aiming for.

"We’ve designed it to be just like real weather systems," Perkins said. "Spots of rain can become torrential downpours or transition into blizzards, quickly or slowly, and when the clouds clear up the tracks will dry out too. So if you’re in Norway, for example, you’ll face heavier snow when you’re racing atop the mountains and much lighter snow or sleet when you descend to a lower altitude."

Sony recently announced that Driveclub will be included in yet another PS4 bundle, which will be available in Europe at the game's October release. However, it's still unclear whether the Driveclub bundle will be available in North America.