Codemasters, the game development studio responsible for past hits such as TOCA and the new title GRID , has created an alliance with Real Time Technologies, a German automotive firm, to share car rendering know-how. The partnership means the two companies will ‘compare notes’ on their rendering and realisation projects, such as RTT’s DeltaGen and RealTrace software tools (which enable car designers to render CAD models in realtime) and Codemasters efforts in driving games (such as the EGO Engine used by Colin McRae: DiRT and Race Driver: GRID.

RTT works with the likes of Adidas, Airbus, Audi, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Dodge, EADS, Lamborghini, Maserati, Porsche, Sony Ericsson and Volvo and works with car designers to create virtual versions on in-production automobiles.

The line between reality and virtu-ality continues to blur. Newbie F1 drivers are known to play simulation games to familiarize themselves with tracks they’ve never driven on. McLaren Mercedes F1, for example, is famous for the simulation facility which allows their drivers to test themselves in various weather and track conditions without ever being there. Is Digital Polyphony, the creator of the Gran Turismo franchise on Sony’s Playstation systems, far behind in creating their own alliance of similar type?