SimHQ.com - Motorsports Zone - Interview: Champ Car Challenge: An Interview with iDT

Independent Developer's Team (iDT) is a group of modders currently specializing in mods for F1 Challenge. SimHQ talked with the developers Pierre, Matt and iks of the coming Champ Car Challenge mod.

We also talked about modding, the Champ Car Series and about the past and the future of the championship.

Q: First of all, I'd like to thank you guys for taking the time to talk with SimHQ about the mod group iDT and your upcoming Champ Car Challenge. You are all Champ Car fans I understand. What is it about the Champ Car series that is so fascinating that you chose to make a mod covering the Champ Car seasons 2000 through 2005?

Pierre: We as Champ Car fans have seen the series that we love so much just go down hill over the years. Losing tracks, losing sponsors, all the fighting with the IRL. It's been frustrating to all of us. The racing itself has so much history and that is also something we want to keep alive. There has not been very many good Champ Car sims out there and we wanted one too!

We just wanted to keep the spirit of Champ Car alive and to make a simulation of sorts for the fans who want it. There was a Champ Car advert that I saw once that said racing is more than speed — it's a celebration. And when you hear 750 horses screaming down main straight, you'll know the party has started. Enough said.

Gulfstream

Q: Can you tell us a little bit about the guys in the iDT group? For example, how you came into contact with each other, other mods you have made, for how long you have been working on this mod, how and why you became involved with modding?

Pierre: The guys in iDT? Well, for me, it was important that we all be Champ Car fans. I thought that if we were all Champ Car fans the collaboration would make things all the more accurate and as precise as we could get it. We are from all over the world and that is a great thing too. The mixing of so many different cultures all wanting the same things is brilliant! (Note: A listing of the full team is here).

Iks (track texture guru) and I worked with Prairie on the 2003 mod. During that time there was talk on combining teams in order to form a better Champ Car mod for the future. Zero-G and another modeler had already begun working on new models and a Champ Car 2004 mod and they were already an established track editing and converting team (iDT). Things didn't work out, but iks and I remained with Zero and the team started from there. Prairie did a fantastic job on the models and the 2003 mod. There is no doubt about that and we thank him for this because he really helped make the push for iDT to move on with bigger and better things.

We have been working on this mod for a long time now. I would say 6 or 7 months? Hehehe... its hard to say. A LONG TIME. I have been modding on my own for a few years now on mostly stuff for myself. I did do a beta conversion of the Volkswagen tdi mod from F1 2001 and released it. I just ran out of time to fix things up because I have been so involved with the Champ Car mod.

I am pretty sure it's the same for most of the guys. Except Zero-G, who was involved with the Tantra Design Group and Dennis as well. We recently added a guy called Cobra who has been doing Cart and Champ Car updates for a long time and he has been a welcome addition to the team.

Jordi who is our Champ Car historian has been helpful along with Rudeboy who has been doing a lot of the track gdb's making things accurate. Loren, our sound guy lives in Long Beach and has tons of sound samples from races there and all over. So expect some realistic sounds.

Matt: In my case, I stumbled onto the group's site (iDT) looking around on the net for a Champ Car mod. I'd painted a few cars for NR2003 along with PWF's Trans Am mod so I figured I'd ask if they needed any help painting. I had never painted cars for F1C before, so I figured I'd give it a shot and here I am.

On the banking

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