Forza Impressions Thread

[Nozzleman_216]

Glad I finally stumbled on to this site. I have been meaning to for a long time. After meeting so many of you from here over the last few weeks (First to Fight and now Forza) I knew I had to make it here.

Anyhow, great racing tonight, havent had that much fun racing in a long time. I never beat Terry but man was it a BLAST!! This game definately makes me wanna sell my GT4 and the DFP. That wheel and GT4 are GREAT together, but the physics of Forza is just so well done and I am having a ton of fun and using a gamepad

So I hope to be around here more often fellas.

[JRod]

I'm not a street racing fan and I don't understand the big draw of driving cars you see on the road.

Anyway I'm underwelmed with Forza. I don't know about the sense or speed or the feel of the cars. So i can't really comment but to this newbie it doesn't feel right.

However what I wanted to comment on was the graphics. Just a very average game. Nothing like PGR, or even Burnout. The game might be great for driving but its definately lagging behind in the eye-candy department. I still think PGR is still one of the most beautiful games of all time. And this game come no where close to that level of car detail or track detail.

After an hour of this game and I want to go back to MVP.

[dbdynsty25]

After an hour of this game and I want to go back to MVP.

Then go...man, what a buzzkill. Anything else wrong with it? I could care less how the thing looks...as long as it plays well.

and...

After about 8 hours with the game I can safely say that in my opinion Forza is the best driving simulator EVER on a console. I think it has even surpassed F355 in my book (Vinny and PK may disagree with me here).

[TheMightyPuck]

Hey TC,

This is how out of touch I am: how does the driving model compare to N2k3? I'm considering getting an xbox for this game but the only driving games I've played in the last while are that cool rally game from like 2000, GPL and N2k3. I've always avoided console racers because of the controller (although Ferrari for the Dreamcast was pretty awesome--actually best console racer I've played). If I get a box it would be for this and maybe some shooters online. Is this baby the real shiznit of should I wait for x2? Ok back to regularly scheduled programing. PS: Liverpool sucks.

[davet010]

Bah, my resistance is being chipped away.

One last attempt....I don't have XBL anymore..is it worth buying just for the offline experience ?

DT

[pk500]

After about 8 hours with the game I can safely say that in my opinion Forza is the best driving simulator EVER on a console. I think it has even surpassed F355 in my book (Vinny and PK may disagree with me here).

I'll agree with you, DB. F355 nailed the apparent driving characteristics of an F355 -- not certain, as I've never driven one!.

But Forza seems to nail the driving characteristics of 275-plus cars, which is quite a feat. Plus the racing AI is MUCH, MUCH better in Forza than F355, which suffered from "follow the robot line" syndrome like all of the Gran Turismo games.

John, it's pretty obvious that your problem with this game revolves around graphics if you don't like street racers yet can't comment on the sense of speed and driving model of the cars. What else could it be that you don't like?

That's a shame, but Forza never was depicted as a graphical wet dream like Gran Turismo 4. It was depicted as a great racing game with superb racing and driving AI with 275-plus cars, and it delivers that in spades.

Oh, and did I mention Xbox Live racing, with a career mode that can be played seamlessly online and offline?

Sorry you don't like the game, John. But then again, we're not expecting you to compliment more than one game per calendar year, and you've already filled your 2005 quota with MVP.

Take care,
PK

[Leebo33]

However what I wanted to comment on was the graphics. Just a very average game. Nothing like PGR, or even Burnout. The game might be great for driving but its definately lagging behind in the eye-candy department.

I knew the graphics were going to be subpar to GT4, but I have to admit that I am surprised how wide the gap is considering GT4 is on the PS2.

That said, I totally enjoyed the limited time I got to spend with the game last night (I've been busy at work and just picked it up yesterday). It's really everything I was looking for in this type of game. So much so that I already sold GT4.

[XXXIV]

I disagree......The graphics are more than fine...

[XXXIV]

I havent found the time to take it online yet ..
Do you guys use that green line online?...or even use it offline?....seems like cheating to Me for some reason....

[Leebo33]

I havent found the time to take it online yet ..
Do you guys use that green line online?...or even use it offline?....seems like cheating to Me for some reason....

I have all the aids turned off. I doubt I'll have time to take it online much, but I don't want to be used to playing with the aids on and be any worse than I already am.

I have a question concerning the upgrades. I purchased some upgraded brakes last night and they *really* seemed to help me. Is that going to screw me up online if I get used to playing with brake upgrades? Do you race the cars you "own" online or are they back to the original versions? I'm just wondering because the upgraded brakes seemed to help me even more than the assists.

[pk500]

You race the cars you own, with all modifications, at least in the Online Career mode.

The effectiveness of the modifications is one of the great aspects of this game. It really can change the way you drive a car. I took my stock Subaru WRX and maxxed it out with every top-of-the-line part I could buy. Probably close to $40,000 in upgrades, more than the original car price!

Not only did the car jump a ton of classes due to the mods, but it also drives completely different from stock. I have to relearn how to drive it.

Take care,
PK

[JackB1]

I have IGN's Forza Guide in a word document.

If anyone wants a copy, just PM me your email address
and I'll shoot you a copy.

[XXXIV]

I havent found the time to take it online yet ..
Do you guys use that green line online?...or even use it offline?....seems like cheating to Me for some reason....

I have all the aids turned off. I doubt I'll have time to take it online much, but I don't want to be used to playing with the aids on and be any worse than I already am.

.

Do you all race with the aids off online? or are your options mixed?
Im Like Leebo ...I dont want to get used to be racing a different way online and offline....

[Zeppo]

I havent found the time to take it online yet ..
Do you guys use that green line online?...or even use it offline?....seems like cheating to Me for some reason....

I have all the aids turned off. I doubt I'll have time to take it online much, but I don't want to be used to playing with the aids on and be any worse than I already am.

.

Do you all race with the aids off online? or are your options mixed?
Im Like Leebo ...I dont want to get used to be racing a different way online and offline....

Guys, it works like this: in Career mode online, you use the settings you have selected in your Career mode 'set difficulty' settings. You can't change these from the online lobby; you have to back out of that lobby and go to the Career mode front page to access the 'set difficulty' settings. Just as it does offline, your group of difficulty settings will affect your final credits take for each race.

In Free Race mode, you can drive any car that is 'unlocked,' or available for you to buy I guess. Or, you can select a car from your garage (all modifications and paint/decal customizations will be brought along). In Free Race mode, when you select the car, you have a checklist of the various assists, so you can select what you want from race to race.

After that first night, we've pretty much been racing Career mode exclusively, and so far only in the lowest, D-Class. Already last night, there were some grumblings about only racing D-Class from some OS types , so I'm not sure how long the big crowds will last in D-Class. For my own part, I am ready to step up a class or two (I've got a couple cars I could easily boost up to C or B class and at least one B-class car I feel like I can drive OK), but by the same token I'm in no hurry to step up, as I continue to make bad driving mistakes race after race in these slow, D-Class cars. Also, note we ran the 'ring last night, and several among us agreed it is a TON of fun in the slow, D-Class cars. In any case, I'm un no hurry to finish off this game, so I am taking my time. I've done next to no offline racing; I'm at level 22 or 23 with close to 90% of my racing done online, I'd guess.

My advice regarding the assists is unless you are afraid that you, driving with all assists and the line, will beat the entire field by more than :30 race after race, you should use any and all assists (including the line) that you want to. Trust me, if you are wondering if you should or shouldn't you probably should. Especially the line, which is an invaluable tool until you learn the circuits. It's possible one could learn the tracks more quickly without the line than with (eg. I tend to turn the maps off in racing games, because I learn the circuits faster that way), but in any case it will take a large number of laps for you to learn the tracks. I had a lot of fun last night with Spooky Oooky and Badgun, and I'm sure they were using the line. I actually appreciated that they were, since it allowed us to race rather than them being caught out at the tough, tight turns time after time. As it was, they (and we all) still had trouble on that last turn at Road America (and forget about Canada corner!), so the line is no 'auto-drive' or anything; you still have to drive the car.

So go ahead, use the line, use the assists. The assists don't make you faster, they make your car easier to control. There will come a time when you want to get rid of them, because you have gotten the hang of controlling the car well enough that they get in the way. The line, however, only increases the overall competiveness of a room, since the big advantage guys who have been playing alot have over guys who have put in limited time is track knowledge.

Anyway, that's what I think. If we do some sort of league, we may stipulate some kind of assist regulations, and/or line rules, but for regular ol' career racing, you should do WTF you want.

[Zeppo]

Ok, a wee bit of nit-picking.

The :30 cut-off really gets my goat. I mean, if they insist on the :30 limit, they should at least reward points according to position. Why must you get across the line within :30 of the winner to get points? I see no reason.

There's a bigger problem, however. Forza doesn't know how to end races properly. I was in a 10-lap race at Maple Valley Short, and had a bad incident on lap 4 or so, where I tore the left front of my car off by hitting the edge of the pit wall. I decided to pit the next lap, and came out with improved steering, but cold tires. Anway, I was a lap down, not far behind the leader when he crossed the line. Normally, once the leader crosses the line, that checkered flag is out and the next time any driver crosses the line, that's the end of his race. ToCA did this properly. In Forza, however, you keep driving. So I had to drive for the next :30 (of course, it made no difference, I didn't have to drive), weaving past the bot-controlled leader's car. Not good.

With the :30 rule, this doesn't really matter that much. But if they ever choose to patch that a lá ToCA, and allow the host to set that time from :30 to, say 2 min., then it will indeed be an issue if we ever do Medium Length or longer races. And of course, with tire wear and fuel consumption (and the much-talked about 'rubbering in' effect), I really want to do longer races. This stuff plus no qualifying, no way to set the grid, etc., not to mention no way to have 'simulation' damage for online Career mode, are the main problems I have with Forza. Obviously, these are outweighed by everything I love in the game, so this is nit-picking, but hey, these aren't things that I think should be gotten wrong. It's good that we can use garage cars in free-race mode, because that way we can run garage cars with full damage for some longer online races! But my oh my, those big cash prizes in some 25-lap races would be something!

[XXXIV]

So you are only racing D types?...I assume that means you are racing only with stock parts? It doesnt take much upgrading to move up in class..

Im really not as confused as I seem to be ...

and Zeppo thanks alot...Great post...you cleared up almost everything I was not sure of...

[Parker]

Actually you can upgrade quite a bit without moving up past a D class....just not most of the engine tuning options.

[XXXIV]

Actually you can upgrade quite a bit without moving up past a D class....just not most of the engine tuning options.

True...I see that now...the engine or the tires...but you didnt answer My question...

[Badgun]

So you are only racing D types?...I assume that means you are racing only with stock parts? It doesnt take much upgrading to move up in class..

Im really not as confused as I seem to be ...

and Zeppo thanks alot...Great post...you cleared up almost everything I was not sure of...

Actually, Zeppo (or someone else) made a great point last night about the D class. It is so much fun to drive some of these tracks and be somewhat under control. We had a great 10 minute race at Nurburgring where we were lucky if we topped 140 MPH.

I think the point being that while everyone loves the fastest cars, they're not always the best fit for a lot of these tracks. I would love to continue to run D and C class cars until I am pretty comfortable with all the courses.

[Badgun]

Actually you can upgrade quite a bit without moving up past a D class....just not most of the engine tuning options.

True...I see that now...the engine or the tires...but you didnt answer My question...

Not sure what your question was, but I don't think anyone ran with stock parts. Granatofan won all the races in a VW Golf, but it wasn't stock because I asked him. I think the upgrades you make, however, must be a little more subtle because almost any engine upgrade will raise you a class.

I think you can make some meaningful changes messing with suspension, brakes, and tires without raising your class, but it's not easy.

[Zeppo]

Yes, it's really the engine upgrades and tires that will boost you up a class. That pro-level weight reduction would to it, too. But all the other stuff, the suspension, the brakes, the tranny, etc. can be boosted right to pro-level parts without going up in class.

Terry laid some knowledge on me that, frankly, blew my mind, but he is so 100% right. He said he doesn't even touch the engines on the D-class cars, not at all. I am here trying to squeeze out every ounce of HP I can get without going up in class. But Terry tells me he just gets as much downforce as possible, improves the suspension or whatever else will add to the cornering ability of the car, and maybe shortens the gears on the tranny a little to add a little extra acceleration.

Well, after slipping and sliding in my RX-7 with max D-Class HP, changed tack, started fresh with a non-upgraded engine, and added as much downforce and suspension upgrades, wieght reduction and quality tires I could wihtout leaving D1. With no engine upgrades, I was able to get that first upgrade in tires without leaving D-Class. Needless to say, I had much more success. Even on the straights, I was better off, because I was able to get a much better exit on the turn before the straights, so I was able to go by guys with more HP. Honestly, it seems counterintuitive to us non gear-heads, especially after the long experience with GT and it's style of boosting HP to win that next race.

I haven't started to mess with adjusting any of the pro-level parts, but the increase in grip makes this car much less of a sliding beast.

[Gangrel]

Yes, cornering can be king. I find with my beloved yellow Focus that if the track has long straightaways, I can barely keep up... maybe if i catch the draft. But when we were racing on the tracks with more corners, my peppy little car with the "best handling in it's class!" (according to Ford. ) does a good job of keeping up.

Of course, I also cherry pick a fair amount.... waiting for you guys to go off the track in front of me and try to scoot by.

[XXXIV]

I don't think anyone ran with stock parts. .

That was the answer to My question...Thanks.

BTW...You taking down many cones?

[XXXIV]

Terry laid some knowledge on me that, frankly, blew my mind, but he is so 100% right. He said he doesn't even touch the engines on the D-class cars, not at all. I am here trying to squeeze out every ounce of HP I can get without going up in class. But Terry tells me he just gets as much downforce as possible, improves the suspension or whatever else will add to the cornering ability of the car, and maybe shortens the gears on the tranny a little to add a little extra acceleration.

Well, after slipping and sliding in my RX-7 with max D-Class HP, changed tack, started fresh with a non-upgraded engine, and added as much downforce and suspension upgrades, wieght reduction and quality tires I could wihtout leaving D1. With no engine upgrades, I was able to get that first upgrade in tires without leaving D-Class. .

Very Nice tip on the downforce and cornering.Thanks for Passing it on..Now If I can figure out how to do it Ill be somebody...

I cant figure the tires ..
I just started working on Honda Civic R and everytime I try the tires I get knocked up in class.

[pk500]

I love the C and D class cars. Very fun.

Everyone laughs at my Saab 9-3 Turbo, but the combination of good cornering and top speed from the turbo make it pretty formidable. I dig it and slapped those big-ass Saab decals all over it just to piss you guys off.

Take care,
PK