Editing Destruction Derby

<small>{{about|the video game|the game mode|Destruction Derby (mode)}}

</small>

The British development studio Reflections Interactive began had been working on ''Destruction Derby'' for the PlayStation starting around December 1994,<ref name="edge" /><ref name="nextgen3">{{cite journal | author=Staff | title=Head to head | journal=Next Generation | date=August 1995 | issue=8 | pages=50–52 }}</ref> having been concepted by its co-founder Martin Edmondson and by Michael Troughton - both fans of the real-life [[wikipedia:demolition derby|demolition derby]] sport. It was published by [[wikipedia:Sony Computer Entertainment|Sony Computer Entertainment]] (SCE)'s Psygnosis branch, which allowed Reflections to receive PlayStation development kits (SDKs) long before that console's release.<ref name="nextgen4" /> Edmondson demonstrated the game to SCE CEO [[wikipedia:Ken Kutaragi|Ken Kutaragi]] who flew over with a team of engineers. Kutaragi was "very enthusiastic", though commented that it was a shame that debris from the cars didn't stay on the track.<ref>{{cite magazine |magazine=''Retro Asylum'' |title=The History of Psygnosis |page=44}}</ref> The game debuted at the May 1995 [[wikipedia:Electronic Entertainment Expo|Electronic Entertainment Expo]],<ref name="nextgen2">{{cite journal | author=Staff | title=Demolition Derby | journal=Next Generation | date=July 1995 | issue=7 | page=59 }}</ref> and its initial title was variously reported as ''Demolition Derby'' and ''Demolish 'em Derby''. Writers for ''[[wikipedia:Edge (magazine)|Edge]]'' and ''[[wikipedia:Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' commented that the game could "trounce" ''[[wikipedia:Ridge Racer (video game)|Ridge Racer]]'' upon the PlayStation's release.<ref name="edge">{{cite journal | author=Staff | title=''Demolish 'em Derby'' | issue=21 | date=June 1995 | work=[[Edge (magazine)|Edge]] | page=28 }}</ref><ref name="nextgen2" /><ref>This paragraph is mostly credited to [[wikipedia:User:JimmyBlackwing|JimmyBlackwing]] on Wikipedia.</ref>

To make the results of car collisions easier to predict, Reflections implemented simulated physics into ''Destruction Derby''. Director Martin Edmondson believed that the game would otherwise be "completely unplayable", as with "[[wikipedia:Pool (cue sports)|pool]] when the collisions are all off". Producer Tony Parks noted that the physics were simplified to improve performance and to compensate for the PlayStation's digital controller, and that the team sought a balance between "realism and playability". Performance was also improved by optimising the game's graphics, and by reducing the level of detail of objects in the [[wikipedia:Draw distance|distance]]. ''Destruction Derby'''s game engine supports up to twenty cars on screen simultaneously, which no console racing game, other than ''[[wikipedia:Daytona USA (video game)|Daytona USA]]'', had achieved until that time. However, a single [[wikipedia:wire-frame model|wire-frame model]], differentiated by texture maps, was used for every vehicle. Damage to vehicles is modelled in real-time, based on the speed and angle of the cars involved.<ref name="nextgen4">{{cite journal | author=Staff | title=''Destruction Derby'' | journal=[[Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]] | date=September 1995 | issue=9 | pages=58–62 }}</ref> The team made the game's tracks small to "keep the density of the cars on the track very high", which allowed for large-scale wrecks.<ref name="nextgen2" /> Plans were made to support up to eight players with the [[wikipedia:PlayStation Link Cable|PlayStation Link Cable]], but it was implemented with only up to two players.<ref>This paragraph is mostly credited to [[wikipedia:User:JimmyBlackwing|JimmyBlackwing]] on Wikipedia.</ref>

''Next Generation''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s August 1995 issue stated after playing a preview build: "''Derby'''s most oustanding feature is the realtime deformation of the vehicles — unlike ''Ridge Racer'', smashes and pile-ups really do affect the cars' bodywork". Interestingly this build also shows the race being 20 laps, which does not occur at any time in the final version.<ref name="nextgen2" /> As late as August, it was still called ''Demolish 'em Derby'' by some outlets, including by ''Edge Magazine'' in its 23rd issue.<ref name="nextgen4">{{cite journal | journal=Edge Magazine | date=1995 | issue=21, 22, 23 }}</ref>

;PlayStation Portable

;PlayStation Portable

;PlayStation Classic

*NA/PAL: 3 December 2018

In February 2007, ''Destruction Derby'' became available for download from the [[wikipedia:PlayStation Network|PlayStation Network]] for the [[wikipedia:PlayStation 3|PlayStation 3]] and [[wikipedia:PlayStation Portable|PlayStation Portable]] systems. Later in 2011 the game became available for a paid download on the [[wikipedia:Android OS|Android]] platform, but is has since been removed from its store. In 2012 the game was released for download for the [[wikipedia:PlayStation Vita|PlayStation Vita]] and ''PlayStation Certified'' devices from the [[wikipedia:PlayStation Mobile|PlayStation Mobile]] service (this closed down in 2015). ''Destruction Derby'' will also come preloaded on the upcoming [[wikipedia:PlayStation Classic|PlayStation Classic]] system in North America and the PAL region set to be released in December 2018.

There are also multiplayer modes that work through the [[wikipedia:PlayStation Link Cable|Link Cable]]. ''Destruction Derby'' was only the third PlayStation game to utilise this feature (after Psygnosis's ''[[wikipedia:Wipeout|Wipeout]]''<ref name="Edge11.95">{{cite magazine |magazine=''Edge Magazine'' |date=November 1995 |issue=26 |page=67}}</ref> and 1994 Japanese exclusive ''[[wikipedia:Motor Toon Grand Prix|Motor Toon Grand Prix]]'').

Heavy damage to one side of car's rear will reduce its ability to accelerate and hold speed; severe damage to the back on both sides will result in a near complete loss of accelerative ability and make the car almost unable to move. Damage to the front will eventually give the car a blown radiator.

{| class="table" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 200px;"

| bgcolor="#D78647" |'''Track'''

| bgcolor="#D78647" |'''Race Practice<br> & Div. 5'''

| bgcolor="#D78647" |{{nowrap|'''Div. 4'''}}

| bgcolor="#D78647" |{{nowrap|'''Div. 3'''}}

| bgcolor="#D78647" |{{nowrap|'''Div. 2'''}}

| bgcolor="#D78647" |{{nowrap|'''Div. 1'''}}

| width="400px" |⛅

|☀️

|☀️, ↩️

|☀️, ↩️

|⛅, ↩️

⛅/☀️ = Day,<br>🌆 = Dusk,<br>🌃 = Night,<br>Ⅱ = Variant,<br>↩️ = Reversed.

*"''Beginner's luck, wimp!''" - The Beast, Suicide Squad

*"''Eat dust!''" - Heavy Metal Hero, Undertaker

*"''You little worm!''" - Passion Wagon

*"''Stay off my back!"'' - Learner Driver

*"''Get outta my way!''" - The Optician, Psycho

The soundtrack consists of electronica and techno music (the main uptempo tracks are from the hardcore and jungle techno subgenres) composed by the duo [[Tim Swan & Elliot Sumner]]. This kind of music was highly popular in the UK at the time in the 1990s.

{| class="table" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 500px;"

| bgcolor="#D78647" |{{nowrap|Track no}}

| bgcolor="#D78647" |Name

| bgcolor="#D78647" |Featured in

| bgcolor="#D78647" |Length

{| class="table" border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width: 250px; float: right;"

| bgcolor="#D78647" |Reviewer

| bgcolor="#D78647" |Score

| 9 out of 10 (PS)<ref name="elecplay">{{cite web | last=Lucas | first=Victor | authorlink=Victor Lucas (television producer) | title=''Destruction Derby'' | url=http://www.elecplay.com/arch95/dderby.html | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/19970804211537/http://www.elecplay.com/arch95/dderby.html | date=29 October 1995 | archivedate=4 August 1997 | work=[[EP Daily|The Electric Playground]] }}</ref>

| 3 out of 10 (SAT)<ref name="cvg">{{cite web | last=Randell | first=Kim | title=''Destruction Derby'' | url=http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=7980 | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070916033348/http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=7980 | archivedate=16 September 2007 | dead-url=yes | work=[[Computer & Video Games]] | df=dmy-all }}</ref>

| 7 out of 10 (PS)<ref name="Edge11.95" />

Writing for ''[[wikipedia:GamePro|GamePro]]'', Captain Squideo called ''Destruction Derby'' "the most raucous racing experience of the fall". He believed that its "graphics are almost all you could want for a game" of this type, but wrote that "nothing here stands out as graphically spectacular". He complained that the game does not let players customise cars, and he disliked its lack of split-screen multiplayer. He summarised, "Limited options keep ''Destruction Derby'' out of the winner's circuit, but this rowdy stock-car racer still generates a stadium full of thrashin' fun."<ref name="gamepro">{{cite magazine | author=Captain Squideo | title=''Destruction Derby'' | issue=86 | magazine=[[GamePro]] | date=November 1995 | page=54 }}</ref> [[wikipedia:Victor Lucas (television producer)|Victor Lucas]] of ''[[wikipedia:EP Daily|The Electric Playground]]'' stated that "the beauty of the game" is the strategy involved in making "calculated strikes" against enemy vehicles, and he wrote, "If you go all out and try to make big noise on the track, more than likely you'll be limping to the scrap yard in seconds." He believed that the game's Stock Car racing mode "is no match for the white knuckle inertia of either ''Wipeout'' or ''Ridge Racer''", and that the demolition derbies in The Bowl were "most fun to be had" in the game. He praised the game's graphics and physics, and concluded, "''Destruction Derby'' is a winner in every capacity."<ref name="elecplay" /> A reviewer for ''[[wikipedia:Next Generation (magazine)|Next Generation]]'' was extremely pleased with the concept of smashing into other cars, saying it taps into a near-universal fantasy. He remarked the single-player mode is indefinably "lacking" but the multiplayer offers unqualified enjoyment.<ref name="NGen11" /> The review from ''[[wikipedia:Edge (magazine)|Edge Magazine]]'' noted that whilst the game provides good fun, the "central problem" is that the tracks are too "narrow." The reviewer felt that the game should have been given more time to fix this flaw.<ref name="Edge11.95" />

The PC port was also well-received. Lee Buchanan of ''[[wikipedia:PC Gamer US|PC Gamer US]]'' praised "the spectacular visuals that bring to life the most jarring collisions I've seen on a computer", and he noted that "[car] damage is depicted beautifully". Like Lucas, he wrote that the player "can't just mindlessly smash into other cars; this is thinking man's destruction". Although he found the game too easy "even at the toughest difficulty level", he found this to be a minor issue that did not detract from the experience. He considered the game's online play to be a high point, and he finished, "''Destruction Derby'' is a blast, and a welcome change of pace from high-end driving simulations." Peter Olafson of ''[[wikipedia:Computer Gaming World|Computer Gaming World]]'' called the game "a great simulation" of demolition derbies, and he wrote that the wrecks are "convulsive and realistic". He believed that the game "has never-before-seen quality that will instantly make it a showpiece game to demonstrate to open-mouthed friends and relatives", and he considered the car damage to be "especially marvelous—and unprecedented for this sort of game". However, he found that its "useful life span is surprisingly short" and he hoped for a track editor in its sequel. He summarised, "Despite its limitations, this is a great game, but it has a lot more potential."<ref name="cgw">{{cite journal | last=Olafson | first=Peter | title=Car Wars | issue=139 | date=February 1996 | journal=[[Computer Gaming World]] | pages=68, 70, 72, 254 }}</ref> A reviewer for ''Next Generation'' remarked that while the game is a straight port of the PlayStation version, it is an impeccably accurate one. He applauded the authentic modelling of vehicle crashes, multiple modes, smoothness of gameplay, and inclusion of both network and modem options, and found the game's only downside is that the camera zooms out so little that it can be difficult to see nearby cars.<ref name="NGen14" />

Reviewing the game's Sega Saturn version, Kim Randell of ''[[wikipedia:Computer & Video Games|Computer & Video Games]]'' noted its "inferior graphics" that do not have "the sheen and glossiness of its PlayStation counterpart". Randell believed that it was made "much too late to cause the kind of sensation that ''WipEout'' did. Comparisons with the PlayStation version are inevitable, and the rather haphazard conversion means that the Saturn version lacks the polish of its rival."<ref name="cvg" /> Rob Allsetter's review in ''[[wikipedia:Sega Saturn Magazine|Sega Saturn Magazine]]'' (from the same publisher as ''Computer & Video Games'') recycled most of the text from Randell's review, including the closing remarks.<ref name="SatMag12" />

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