Forza Motorsport 4

[cherokeesam]

Turn 10 is introducing the cars in the game a little more each day....nothing particularly new or shocking or noteworthy yet, except I've noticed they're introducing a few hybrids into the mix (today they announced the '11 Lexus CT200h)...

What's the point of hybrids, though? Do they kick in electric at less than 45mph....?

 

[MitusEye]

I'm not a fan of Microsoft

 

[ProjectPat2280]

I'm not a fan of Microsoft

No one cares who you are or aren't a fan of.

 

[cherokeesam]

Some peeps have been doing some digging on last week's officially released video giving an overview of the new career mode walkthrough:

[YT]C1YJzw4Pv0c[/YT]

That map there shows some tantalizing evidence of some exciting new tracks that may finally be making the jump to Forza. A lot of this is educated guessing from various forums and fansites, but the evidence seems pretty solid. I'll spoiler the list of new tracks for those who still want to be surprised:

Spoiler

*INDIANAPOLIS! This one is already confirmed from the released cover art, which clearly shows the famous tower at the start-finish line.

*INFINEON. Aka Sears Point, in California. Popular desert road course, and another NASCAR staple. Brief glimpse of it in E3 gameplay.

*DAYTONA??? Can't be sure about this one, but it would be a FANTASTIC addition, of course. The map clearly shows 2 tracks in Florida, and we know that the southernmost is south Florida's venerable Sebring, already a veteran of Forza. The 2nd one is in northern Florida, but the fan community seems divided on whether or not this is, in fact, Daytona, or just the similar but fictional Sunset Peninsula from previous Forzas.

*TOP GEAR TEST TRACK. Already well-documented in lots of videos, not to mention the show itself. Looks like Top Gear is working *very* closely with Turn 10 to expand Top Gear features enormously over the paltry bits they gave to Gran Turismo 5, making this one very authentic to the BBC show.

*SPA FRANCORCHAMPS. Site of the French GP.

*HOCKENHEIMRING. Site of the German GP. Brief glimpse of it in E3 gameplay video.

*GERMAN/CZECH TRACK. The map shows a mystery dot in east central Europe that hasn't been identified yet. Theories swirl around the Norisring street circuit in Nuremberg, the Red Bull (aka A1Ring) Ring in Spielberg, or maybe an F1 circuit in the Czech Republic like Brno or Masaryk.

The map is entirely Northern Hemisphere....I was sincerely hoping for some new tracks in Brazil and Australia, but they seem to be left out yet again.

Anyway, definitely excited to see some NASCAR tracks finally getting their due, and some more F1 circuits. Don't know if that means there'll be any licensing tie-ins this time, but I'm still hoping.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Spa is one of my fav tracks ever, i love the elevation changes throughout that course. Hope it makes it in to Forza.

 

[Dr Lee]

SPA IS NOT THE FRENCH GP!!! LMAO!!!

It's the Belgium GP location

 

[cherokeesam]

SPA IS NOT THE FRENCH GP!!! LMAO!!!

It's the Belgium GP location

I thought Belgium was just an annex of France.
Or Germany.

 

[Dr Lee]

nope.... it's the country specially built to give UK TopGear somewhere to battle the German TopGear...

 

[cherokeesam]

So the American LeMans Series announced a partnership with Forza to make FM4 their "official racing game partner" (dunno if that means exclusivity over Gran Turismo and Need for Speed, Dirt, etc.)....

http://forzamotorsport.net/en-us/FM4_ALMS/

I'd like to see that kind of partnership for other racing leagues like Germany's DTM, Australia's V8 Supercars, and Japan's SuperGT (all of which already receive heavy promotion in Forza)...

...but what I'd *really* like to see is a partnership with the IndyCar series. Right now, the IRL doesn't have any video game representation at all, and they could benefit from some exposure. We know that Indianapolis will be in the game (it's the cover track for the FM4 box art), so what better time and place to introduce the league that literally built the track?

Plus, it would be easy enough to introduce Indy cars into the game because you've got only one chassis --- the Dallara. Maybe make 3 or 4 iconic drivers like Danica Patrick, Will Power and Dario Franchitti. And maybe even some old-school classic chassis and drivers as a DLC pack or three (I'd especially like to see some Indy car DLC around May of next year to celebrate the Indy 500).

 

[ProjectPat2280]

So the American LeMans Series announced a partnership with Forza to make FM4 their "official racing game partner" (dunno if that means exclusivity over Gran Turismo and Need for Speed, Dirt, etc.)....

http://forzamotorsport.net/en-us/FM4_ALMS/

I'd like to see that kind of partnership for other racing leagues like Germany's DTM, Australia's V8 Supercars, and Japan's SuperGT (all of which already receive heavy promotion in Forza)...

...but what I'd *really* like to see is a partnership with the IndyCar series. Right now, the IRL doesn't have any video game representation at all, and they could benefit from some exposure. We know that Indianapolis will be in the game (it's the cover track for the FM4 box art), so what better time and place to introduce the league that literally built the track?

Plus, it would be easy enough to introduce Indy cars into the game because you've got only one chassis --- the Dallara. Maybe make 3 or 4 iconic drivers like Danica Patrick, Will Power and Dario Franchitti. And maybe even some old-school classic chassis and drivers as a DLC pack or three (I'd especially like to see some Indy car DLC around May of next year to celebrate the Indy 500).

Thats actually a really good idea, however i just dont know if its financially viable for MS and Turn 10 to fork over the money for licensing. The IndyCar series is really hurting when it comes to viewership and attendance, especially when compared to NASCAR and Formula One(which will be coming back to America next season)

 

[cherokeesam]

Turn10 is starting to put a lot more info on their site about the cars and tracks now. New info is leaked out almost daily now, so anybody keeping up with the car & track list should tune in often. Just mouse over the "Forza Motorsport 4" tab and you'll see dropdowns now for Cars and Tracks.

Today they officially confirmed Hockenheim as one of the new track entries, and the making-of video is beautiful and shows T10's jaw-dropping efforts to make tracks 100% authentic in all ways.

http://forzamotorsport.net/en-us/forza4.aspx

 

[Dr Lee]

Can't believe that Turn 10 have been able to get 343 to let them have the Halo 4 Warthog for the Kinect walkaround function....

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Can't believe that Turn 10 have been able to get 343 to let them have the Halo 4 Warthog for the Kinect walkaround function....

Haha, i wish you could drive it.

In related news tho, EA did not allow Turn 10 to use the Porsche license this time, so no Porsche cars will be featured in F4

 

[Dr Lee]

Shame about the Porsche mess...

and, IIRC, they didn't allow it to be raced as they said it wouldn't be fast enough.... though i'd loved to have had a Warthog-only race option....

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Shame about the Porsche mess...

and, IIRC, they didn't allow it to be raced as they said it wouldn't be fast enough.... though i'd loved to have had a Warthog-only race option....

Yea i could see there being problems with it. But it'd be cool to just take it for a spin around the track, without actually racing any one. Id love to drive in the warthog in a first person view.

 

[Travesty]

No Porches? Oh damn, they're my favorite cars in Forza.

 

[cherokeesam]

Haha, i wish you could drive it.

In related news tho, EA did not allow Turn 10 to use the Porsche license this time, so no Porsche cars will be featured in F4

Yet another reason to hate on EA.
EA is becoming the new Activision.

For Porsche fans (I'm not one of those, so I'm not shedding many tears over the news, but I understand why it's considered a huge loss for the game), at least there's two or more RUFs available, which are just modified Porsches. Close as you'll come.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

No Porches? Oh damn, they're my favorite cars in Forza.

yea, turn 10 and EA couldn't get the deal worked out this time to have Porsche cars in the game. Its the same with Turn 10 and Ferrari, they own the rights to the production cars for games.

Maybe they can get a deal worked out and have some in DLC?

 

[Dr Lee]

EA has Porsche and Turn10 has Ferrari?

 

[ProjectPat2280]

EA has Porsche and Turn10 has Ferrari?

Yep. Turn 10 has stated they let other companies use the license because fans of racing games shouldn't have to wonder about what cars are going to be in what game, but if anyone wants to use Ferraris they have to go through MS and T10

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Heres the article that goes over that situation:

This kills me. While Forza Motorsport 4 will feature RUF, it will not include Porsche cars. As many of you know, since the beginning of the Forza franchise, the Porsche license has been available only through a sub-licensing deal with EA. In Forza 3, we were able to feature more than 35 different Porsche models by offering to collaborate with EA. For Forza 4, we were looking forward to adding even more Porsche cars, and we were especially looking forward to featuring multiple Porsche experiences in our new Autovista mode. In the end, however, EA couldn’t see their way towards collaborating again. *
*
We’ve asked our contacts at EA to reconsider their position frequently and regularly over the last 18 months. We also reached out to various influential people in gaming to lobby on our behalf, and on your behalf, but that was to no avail. *
*
In our business, we stay friendly with all of the manufacturers and licensors necessary to deliver players rich and innovative automotive experiences. As you’d expect, this includes quite a few key people in Porsche circles. To make sure we tried everything, we consulted with these advocates and were happy to find they were already aware of the situation and lobbying from within on behalf of Forza 4--and, despite the result, we thank them for their efforts. *
*
While we respect EA’s need to run their business as they see fit, we’ve regularly collaborated in the past and hope we can find our way back to that approach. Forza had the exclusive license for all Ferrari cars, for example, on the Xbox and PC platforms. But at the end of the day, we’ve always found that we just weren’t willing to block other racing games from having Ferraris outright, as we believed that this would do nothing but hurt the racing ecosystem.*
*
I’m very sorry for all of this. Fans shouldn’t have to think about any of this – you should just be able to drive Porsches and Ferraris in the games you love. Porsche makes wonderful cars and I’m sorry that we won’t have them in Forza 4. As I mentioned earlier, we have added three RUF cars in Forza 4. RUF is a manufacturer in their own right, not simply an aftermarket mod shop—they completely remanufacture and enhance the models that they start from, and the results are unique, incredibly fast, and the cars look great. Losing more than 35 Porsche models is a lost opportunity for Porsche fans (as well as a lost opportunity to make future Porsche fans), but I hope that Forza 4 players understand and enjoy the new makes and models that have taken their place.

 

[cherokeesam]

The Forza 4 website has some new info about gameplay and tracks that a lot of people were wondering about:

*confirmed: no night or weather conditions. T10 said it simply would greatly reduce framerate and resolution to old Xbox levels, and they didn't want to do that kind of tradeoff. However, *some* tracks will have different time-of-day lighting and temperature changes --- i.e., morning vs. afternoon vs. late evening.

*importing old designs --- Full liveries (i.e., vinyls) can't be transferred from FM3. However, individual custom-made decals/ stickers will still transfer. The art crowd will be rebuilding "famous" vinyls from the ground up.

*old tracks: New York is out (YAY!). Sidewinder is out (BOO!). Long Amalfi is out, but a shorter version is still in. LeMans keeps the full circuit and Mulsanne, but removes the shorter Bugatti ribbon. Everything else from FM3 appears to be a go.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

Thats really lame about the lack of weather. No excuse for that. Codemasters can do it, for F1 and the game still looks gorgeous.

 

[Travesty]

I just wish they had some night tracks. As in, that track will always be specifically night. That is just one thing I miss about the GT series. It really does mix things up a bit.

So I guess the biggest gripes I have, are no Porches and no night tracks.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

I just wish they had some night tracks. As in, that track will always be specifically night. That is just one thing I miss about the GT series. It really does mix things up a bit.

So I guess the biggest gripes I have, are no Porches and no night tracks.

I would love a 24 Hours of Le Mans type race where the sky actually goes from day to night. That would be pretty cool.