Man! I've been playin Forza for five days straight! [I ain't feelin too good :S ]. So, here goes:
Forza Motorsport is Microsoft’s first foray into the realms of driving simulation. It’s a game that is supposed to deliver superior levels of realism in terms of physics and handling, an ambitious undertaking to say the least. Racing fans and Xbox owners will be delighted to learn that it fires on all cylinders without missing a beat.
The Cars
Although not as extensive as Sony’s Gran Turismo 4, Forza packs an impressive array of cars from a large majority of big name manufacturers. Among the mix of American, European and Japanese manufacturers and even cars from Korea are present in the lineup. The only glaring omission is Lamborghini but, you won’t feel the absence of the Bull as its hard not be blown away by the cars in Forza.
The cars are broken up into classes, from A to D. These house production models ranging in levels of performance, with A being the highest state of tune and D being the lowest. One step above the A class in the supercar, S class, which includes cars that are produced in numbers. Each class has four sub-classes (1 to 4) which further categorize the cars based on their performance within a class.
Forza also contains an R class, which I cannot really say what it stands for. Whatever the case may be, the cars of this class are all ‘one-off’ pieces that race in real car series around the world. R class has three sub-classes that group cars based on the general horsepower ratings for the classes in which they compete including the illustrious P1 class.
Each car in Forza features four attributes which basically govern how the car behaves on the track and a fifth attribute that covers the vehicle’s cost factor (more on this later). Cars are ranked on a 1 to 10 scale in terms of speed, acceleration, braking and cornering, 10 being the pinnacle of performance. Many of the production class cars have some weaknesses in one or more areas but, any performance issue can be hammered out in the garage as Forza features some really extensive modding options. The performance upgrades are simple to install and parts can be bought in three different categories: Engine & Power, Appearance & Aerodynamics and Chassis and Drivetrain. Each area comes with multiple areas of enhancements, each with three levels for an increasing level of performance. The best part of these enhancements in which Forza excels more than other racers is Aero. In most games the Aero parts are basically cosmetic and do nothing to alter the actual performance characteristics. The Aero parts in Forza not only look good but, they also effect the performance for better or for worse. Front and rear spoilers give more downforce but, the car’s attributes go down and cornering goes up in high speed courses with aero parts. This is reality at its best and Forza delivers in every possible way.
Forza also forces gamers to think decisively about their car’s upgrade path as too much modding forces the car into a higher sub-class or even a better performance group. This also pushes the tuning aspect of Forza in the limelight as upgrades that are installed and not tuned for every car, race and track may end up being detrimental. Professional parts will give you full control over every aspect of your vehicle’s setup as every individual part can be optimized.
Now comes the paint booth. The paint booth allows complete resprays, or a sectioning of color on the body, mirrors, hood, and wing. It comes equipped with base, metallic, kandy, and color shifting paints, there are applications which give the look of bare carbon fiber weave for the straight race look. Most of the creativity with visual customization comes from the insanely deep layer editor. Layers can be either vinyls or decals and can be applied to six parts of each car (roof/trunk/hood, left side, right side, front bumper, rear bumper, and wing). The hundreds of decals come from all the major manufactures represented in Forza. Everything from a classic set of flames to an arachnid can be applied to your car. Basic geometric shapes, numbers, and more tribal looking patterns are also made available for application in any color that a car can be sprayed with. The vinyls and decals can even be re-sized, moved, rotated, and skewed and they can also be layered…and layered…and layered. A grand total of 600 with up to 100 layers per side can be added to any vehicle. The ability to add so many layers on a single car is what makes visual customization in Forza so powerful. Well, the tools are there so just let the creativity flow, unrestricted.
The entirety of the physics and driving model is based on the real world. All the 233 cars are completely authentic in their different characteristics and even different moments of inertia. The incredible physics model of Forza is not based on the regular Newtonian physics. The dev team collaborated with Toyo Tires to develop an advanced model that accounts for the unpredictability that arises when the tire makes contact with the road. This results in tires that react as they would in real world, in respect to pressure proportional with temperature, variable contact patches with respect to G forces, thermal breakdown, and wear and tear. The car damage model is another aspect that, including some cosmetic denting, happens to affect the car handling as well.
Forza Motorsport is Microsoft’s first foray into the realms of driving simulation. It’s a game that is supposed to deliver superior levels of realism in terms of physics and handling, an ambitious undertaking to say the least. Racing fans and Xbox owners will be delighted to learn that it fires on all cylinders without missing a beat.
The Cars
Although not as extensive as Sony’s Gran Turismo 4, Forza packs an impressive array of cars from a large majority of big name manufacturers. Among the mix of American, European and Japanese manufacturers and even cars from Korea are present in the lineup. The only glaring omission is Lamborghini but, you won’t feel the absence of the Bull as its hard not be blown away by the cars in Forza.
The cars are broken up into classes, from A to D. These house production models ranging in levels of performance, with A being the highest state of tune and D being the lowest. One step above the A class in the supercar, S class, which includes cars that are produced in numbers. Each class has four sub-classes (1 to 4) which further categorize the cars based on their performance within a class.
Forza also contains an R class, which I cannot really say what it stands for. Whatever the case may be, the cars of this class are all ‘one-off’ pieces that race in real car series around the world. R class has three sub-classes that group cars based on the general horsepower ratings for the classes in which they compete including the illustrious P1 class.
Each car in Forza features four attributes which basically govern how the car behaves on the track and a fifth attribute that covers the vehicle’s cost factor (more on this later). Cars are ranked on a 1 to 10 scale in terms of speed, acceleration, braking and cornering, 10 being the pinnacle of performance. Many of the production class cars have some weaknesses in one or more areas but, any performance issue can be hammered out in the garage as Forza features some really extensive modding options. The performance upgrades are simple to install and parts can be bought in three different categories: Engine & Power, Appearance & Aerodynamics and Chassis and Drivetrain. Each area comes with multiple areas of enhancements, each with three levels for an increasing level of performance. The best part of these enhancements in which Forza excels more than other racers is Aero. In most games the Aero parts are basically cosmetic and do nothing to alter the actual performance characteristics. The Aero parts in Forza not only look good but, they also effect the performance for better or for worse. Front and rear spoilers give more downforce but, the car’s attributes go down and cornering goes up in high speed courses with aero parts. This is reality at its best and Forza delivers in every possible way.
Forza also forces gamers to think decisively about their car’s upgrade path as too much modding forces the car into a higher sub-class or even a better performance group. This also pushes the tuning aspect of Forza in the limelight as upgrades that are installed and not tuned for every car, race and track may end up being detrimental. Professional parts will give you full control over every aspect of your vehicle’s setup as every individual part can be optimized.
Now comes the paint booth. The paint booth allows complete resprays, or a sectioning of color on the body, mirrors, hood, and wing. It comes equipped with base, metallic, kandy, and color shifting paints, there are applications which give the look of bare carbon fiber weave for the straight race look. Most of the creativity with visual customization comes from the insanely deep layer editor. Layers can be either vinyls or decals and can be applied to six parts of each car (roof/trunk/hood, left side, right side, front bumper, rear bumper, and wing). The hundreds of decals come from all the major manufactures represented in Forza. Everything from a classic set of flames to an arachnid can be applied to your car. Basic geometric shapes, numbers, and more tribal looking patterns are also made available for application in any color that a car can be sprayed with. The vinyls and decals can even be re-sized, moved, rotated, and skewed and they can also be layered…and layered…and layered. A grand total of 600 with up to 100 layers per side can be added to any vehicle. The ability to add so many layers on a single car is what makes visual customization in Forza so powerful. Well, the tools are there so just let the creativity flow, unrestricted.
The entirety of the physics and driving model is based on the real world. All the 233 cars are completely authentic in their different characteristics and even different moments of inertia. The incredible physics model of Forza is not based on the regular Newtonian physics. The dev team collaborated with Toyo Tires to develop an advanced model that accounts for the unpredictability that arises when the tire makes contact with the road. This results in tires that react as they would in real world, in respect to pressure proportional with temperature, variable contact patches with respect to G forces, thermal breakdown, and wear and tear. The car damage model is another aspect that, including some cosmetic denting, happens to affect the car handling as well.
