Carmageddon: TDR 2000

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Carmageddon: TDR 2000
UK PC Version boxart
Developer(s)	Torus Games
Publisher(s)	EU SCi NA Xicat Interactive
Engine	Proprietary
Platform(s)	Windows
Release date	EU September 1, 2000 NA December 14, 2000
Genre(s)	Vehicular combat
Mode(s)	Single player, Network Multiplayer
Players	1 - 8 players
Rating(s)	ESRB: M ELSPA: 15+ (cut) USK: 16+
Media	CD-ROM
System requirements	Windows 95 / 98 PII 266MHz CPU 32MB RAM 210MB Hard Disk Space DirectX 7 8MB Graphics card 8x CD-ROM Drive DirectX 7 Soundcard
Input methods	Keyboard & Mouse
US boxart

Carmageddon: TDR 2000 (also known as Carmageddon 3: TDR 2000 in the US), was an action-racing-vehicular combat video game, the third in the Carmageddon trilogy.

Gameplay

Single Player

As before, there are 3 ways to finish most levels:

• Complete the race, passing every checkpoint before the time runs out
• Destroy all the opponents
• Kill every pedestrian in the level

The player progresses through 'groups' of levels. These levels are a mix of "Race, Wreck, or Wreak havoc among the people" levels and mission-based levels. Each level has to be successfully completed to unlock the next one, and a whole group of levels has to be completed to unlock the next group. The aim of the game is to finish all of the groups, getting the player out of the ghetto and terrorizing the suburbs.

Time bonuses can be gained on non-mission levels by crossing checkpoints, damaging opponents, bumping off pedestrians, or collecting certain power-ups.

Free Driving

This mode allows the player to jump in to any previously unlocked level. Several attributes can be set, from the number and aggressiveness of opponents to the length of the timer. Credits cannot be earned.

See also: Levels in Carmageddon: TDR 2000

Multiplayer

Main article: Multiplayer#Carmageddon: TDR 2000

Total Destruction Racing 2000 has a wealth of multiplayer modes when compared to the rest of the series. There six game types and seven bonus levels.

Plot

The plot is quite meaty when compared to previous installments, but when push comes to shove it is still as disposable as with previous games. Here follows a condensed summary:

"At the beginning of the new Millennium, cities swelled. The beaten, apathetic police watched as crime spiralled. Most people suffering this anarchy wanted the old values. A safe life; a successful life; a happy life. New towns called Subates were built, segregated and tightly policed. Many could afford to live in this haven of crimeless luxury - Soon the cities were emptied of people until all that was left was the poor and the scum. Their hatred of society, each other, the police and the luxurious Subate fortresses drove them to further excesses of lawlessness.

Soon they had almost total control of the cities, and they began to threaten the Subates themselves. The private security forces wouldn't have been able to face such chaotic desperation, so an executive decision was taken. Nuclear warheads rained down on the inner cityscapes. Millions died: They were lucky. The survivors, torn and twisted by fallout and mutation, were no longer officially classed as human. The walking dead, they were denied medical help and left to suffer. And yet their strength grew, their numbers grew, and their hatred grew.

The Subate bosses built a wall around the inner-urban area, constructing a radiation prison where criminality was the only life. The cops only venture into this hell if they think the gangs have become capable of manufacturing weapons or technology which would give them a chance to escape.

No-one crosses between these two worlds. It would take a four-wheeling genius with no morals, a killer instinct and a burning passion to escape. Since the nuking, no such person has existed. Until now... "

Vehicles

Main article: Category:Vehicles in Carmageddon: TDR 2000

See also: List of vehicles in Carmageddon: TDR 2000

Carmageddon TDR 2000 features 50 vehicles, most of them new to the series, and there are no driver names or descriptions listed in-game. The player can only choose the Eagle MK4 at the start of the game, but the vehicles of wasted opponents can be bought after a race using the earned money. The vehicles added by The Nosebleed Pack can be used immediately.

Development

Torus Games developed the game for SCi. The official Carmageddon website ran a developmental diary called Serialization of a Killer..., discussing changes to the game and presenting new screenshots. The entries are archived here.

An alpha demo was featured on the coverdisc of PC Gameplay magazine in the UK, released May 18, 2000. Other magazines to carry the demo included Micromania (Spain), PC Zone Benelux (Holland) and PC Player (Scandinavia). The demo was 127Mbs - This would have taken just over 5 hours to download through a 56k modem (which often had a maximum connection time of 2 hours). In the month of June, the bandwidth used on carmageddon.com for downloading the demo reached 1.7Tb. The demo contains one race of four laps with six opponents, with the timer fixed at four minutes.

Driver names

See also: Unused content#Carmageddon TDR 2000

For unknown reasons, the driver names and descriptions (as well as "short names") were removed from the game at some point in development. Most people know the TDR 2000 cars by their vehicle names, as they do not have driver names displayed anywhere in-game. These details, however, are still in the retail release. All the driver names, their "short names", and descriptions are in the Car_Strings_[Country].txt file, inside the Strings directory.

Reception

The game was not as well received as its two predecessors, managing a score of 48/100 on aggregate review site Metacritic. Stainless have declared that the game is not considered part of the series to them.[1].

Ports

A Game Boy Color port was developed, which was similar in appearance to the first handheld Carmageddon game (which itself looked similar to the Grand Theft Auto for the GBC), with improved handling. The game was never released, with no reason for its cancellation given. Two decades later, a prototype of the full game was leaked online with the Nintendo Gigaleak.

Soundtrack

The game's soundtrack was created by Plague and Utah Saints. The track "Techknowledgy" is a reworking of the chorus to Iggy & The Stooges' 1973 song "Search And Destroy," while "Hands Up" is built around the opening line from "Sonny's Burning," a 1982 song by The Birthday Party.

1. Data
2. Plague - Cama (3:38)
3. Plague - Eat It Up (3:57)
4. Plague - Dedicated to Hate (3:26)
5. Utah Saints - Techknowledgy (5:26)
6. Utah Saints - Sick (5:18)
7. Utah Saints - Hands Up (4:02)

Expansion pack

Main article: The Nosebleed Pack

The Nosebleed Pack was an official expansion pack that added 10 new vehicles, 3 new environments and several Power Ups to TDR 2000. It also included improved multiplayer modes with extra maps. Originally sold in the UK for £4.99, it was later released onto the internet as a free patch.

Changes from Carmageddon II

• More detailed graphics (especially model-wise)
• Higher gravity.
• Single player mode follows a storyline, with every location/group having 3 levels and 3 missions.
• Different cars, Locations and menu style.
• Less focus on the drivers, with none of them being named in-game or having description.
• Free driving mode, the ability to create custom skins, and the console have been added.
• Level high-scores are kept.
• On the mini-map, the current checkpoint is identified with extending circles instead of a line.

Online Comic

Main article: Carmageddon: TDR 2000 (comic)

An online comic was made by Tozzer.com and released as a tie-in to this game. It shows Max Damage getting hit by an atomic blast (causing his red complexion), as well as initially driving a non-Eagle car (which is rather similar to OK Stimpson's Fraud Broko).

Poster

"Every Part Hurts"

There is a single piece of artwork from the game available to buy on Amazon UK as a canvas poster, from sizes A4 (29cm X 21cm) to A1 (80cm X 50cm). It features the Eagle MK4 parked on top of a body and a decapitated doll.

See Also

• Interview Archive (TDR 2000)
• Unused content from Carmageddon: TDR 2000

External links

• Listing on SCi's Offical Site
• Instruction Manual direct download (ENG - 1.58 MB)
• Review scores at Gamerankings
• Prototype screenshots at TomsGames.fr
• Screenshots at GamersHell
• Intro on YouTube