The World of Cars Online
The World of Cars Online was an online computer game, previously available to play on the Disney Official Website.
The game was under development with Open Beta, which launched on March 1, 2010. There was a sneak peek of the World of Cars Online called the Test Track which started in October 2008 and ended in November 2009 to make way for Open Beta.
According to the trailer, the game was originally going to open in Summer 2009, but due to some contrasts, it was postponed to 2010. From March to May 2010, the Open Beta took place to fix the latest bugs and prepare the official launch of the game. When the Open Beta ended and the game finally opened on June 29, each car was awarded 2,010 car-coins, a Founder's plaque, and an Open Beta plaque (For users that joined during the Open Beta event).
In January 5, 2012, Disney announced the game would be closing, and finally closed in February 8, 2012.
Gameplay
Players can create an account, and then create a car - the player can choose their color, name it with a variety of names and surnames given by the game system, and choose a racing number. Once their car has been created, they can go into the counties of Radiator Springs - the town itself, Willy's Butte, Fillmore's Fields and Redhood Valley, the entrance to Tailfin Pass (added later). There the player can roam around while chatting with others, collecting coins, and roaming freely.
In race mode, the player can race with other people currently playing the game, or against the AI (Radiator Springs townsfolk or the Delinquent Road Hazards). Winning these will earn the player car-coins and race points, which can be collected to move on to bigger races if the player was a sponsored car.
If the player was sponsored, which costed five dollars a month, they could have gotten access to tons of extra things - unlimited customization in Ramone's House of Body Art and Luigi's Casa Della Tires, access to Piston Cup races, and getting sponsors to become a reserve driver for big shot race cars.
Characters
- Lightning McQueen
- Mater
- Sally Carrera
- Doc Hudson (until summer 2011)
- Francesco Bernoulli (since summer 2011)
- Ramone
- Flo
- Luigi
- Guido
- Sheriff
- Chick Hicks
- Mack
- Fillmore
- Sarge
- Lizzie
- Red
- Boost
- DJ
- Wingo
- Snot Rod
- Tractors
- Frank
- Todd Marcus
- Floyd Mulvihill
- Rusty Cornfuel
- Slider Petrolski
- Lee Revkins
- Ruby Oaks
- Johnny Blamer
- Brush Curber
- Haul Inngas
- Kevin Shiftright
- Sage VanDerSpin
- Greg Candyman
- Ryan Shields
Locations
Never opened
Tracks
There were 10 tracks which users were allowed to race on. Only sponsored cars could race in Piston Cup races.
Carburetor County
Pro tracks (Piston Cup)
- Tailgator Speedway
- Big Heartland Speedway
- Backfire Canyon Speedway
- Petroleum City Super Speedway
- Motor Speedway of the South
- Los Angeles International Speedway
Rewards
| Carburetor County Speedway | Willy's Butte Rally | Fillmore's Fields Rally | Twistin' Tailfin Trails | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doc Hudson's Training Exercise | Lightning McQueen's Racing Series | Doc Hudson's Training Exercise | Lightning McQueen's Racing Series | Doc Hudson's Training Exercise | Lightning McQueen's Racing Series | Doc Hudson's Training Exercise | Lightning McQueen's Racing Series | |
| 1st place | 320 coins and 640 racing points | 336 coins and 672 racing points | 200 coins and 400 racing points | 210 coins and 420 racing points | 400 coins and 800 racing points | 420 coins and 840 racing points | 480 coins and 960 racing points | 504 coins and 1,008 racing points |
| 2nd place | 240 coins and 480 racing points | 252 coins and 504 racing points | 150 coins and 300 racing points | 157 coins and 315 racing points | 300 coins and 600 racing points | 315 coins and 630 racing points | 360 coins and 720 racing points | 378 coins and 756 racing points |
| 3rd place | 160 coins and 320 racing points | 168 coins and 336 racing points | 100 coins and 200 racing points | 105 coins and 210 racing points | 210 coins and 420 racing points | 240 coins and 480 racing points | 240 coins and 480 racing points | 252 coins and 504 racing points |
| 4th place | 80 coins and 160 racing points | 84 coins and 168 racing points | 50 coins and 100 racing points | 52 coins and 105 racing points | 120 coins and 240 racing points | 126 coins and 252 racing points | 120 coins and 240 racing points | 126 coins and 252 racing points |
Race points
Race points were made to unlock the Piston Cup races. You could unlock all the Piston Cup races, but they would still be locked, as you still had to beat them in order of race points to race the next one. After you beat Los Angeles International Speedway you will win the Piston Cup trophy, which you can use as an item in your backyard.
- 60,000 points - Tailgator Speedway
- 200,000 points - Big Heartland Speedway
- 380,000 points - Backfire Canyon Speedway
- 640,000 points - Petroleum City Super Speedway
- 1,000,000 points - Motor Speedway of the South
- 1,000,001 points - Los Angeles International Speedway
Beta elements
- For this subject's list of beta elements, see The World of Cars Online/Beta elements.
A lot of content shown in trailers were cut in the final version of the game, such as leaderboards for each race, adding buildings and roads in your yard and Tractor Tippin' game.
Closing
The World of Cars Online was closed on February 8, 2012, just 9 days after another MMOG, LEGO Universe, closed. Disney is expected to refund up to $8,000 in membership fees that cannot be concluded with game time.
The game never picked up as much as other Disney MMORPG's. The total member count was about 60,000. The majority of those members are inactive and unpaid. Many gamers began playing during Open Beta and left once payment was required to continue.
Many miss World of Cars Online. But, some people have asked, "Will you make a World of Cars 2?" Disney said that they wouldn't, and that they recommend users to go to the official cars website.
Gallery
- For this subject's image gallery, see The World of Cars Online/Gallery.
Trivia
- In summer of 2011, the game was updated for Cars 2. Some of these updates included a World Grand Prix party, adding hidden spy-gadget shops around Radiator Springs, updating Lightning's paint job, adding Francesco and removing Doc from the game. Before the update, Doc raced in Carburetor County Speedway and Willy's Butte Rally, but after the update he was replaced by Sally and Sarge, respectively.
- Red could be seen driving from Radiator Springs to Redhood Valley, and Doc could be seen driving from Radiator Springs to Willy's Butte and Redhood Valley. In Doc's case, this happened until he was removed from the game.
- The oldest post about World of Cars Online was in August 1, 2006, in Joe Shochet's website (worker for almost every virtual game Disney made), where he explained his role in The World of Cars Online. This means the first designs of the game were made only two months after the first movie came out. And two years later the Test Track would take place.
- Redhood Valley didn't exist when the game opened, there was just rocks blocking the entrance. When Sally got trapped (and rescued after that), the place was opened to the public.
- Number 69 was not allowed, as the 60's stop at 68. This was considered by many as a very strict parental control.
- You could get Tractors to your backyard, they would drive around the place, unless you blocked them with items or by tipping them while they sleep.
- 5 months after the game closure, there was another game called Cars Land Racers, which used the same technology. However, it only lasted one year.
- According to a developer, the game costed $10 million budget to make.