Updated Sept 27 with DF new video tech analysis: Forza Motorsports previews

KiryuRealty

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Where it’s at.
Doesn't look like it, either. FM7 was a very good-looking sim racer, but FM8 looks virtually identical in terms of car detail, trackside detail, geometry density etc. I guess the resolution is improved?

Going from the 2022 reveal footage to what they've shown yesterday is...quite the step down the ladder. Compared to GT7, its weak in quite a few areas, but does have a couple advantages:

+ Chase Cam (GT7's is too rigid and tight on the car's backside. I love a sexy backside, but I need to see dem hips sometimes too)​
+ 3D trackside objects (trees, for example. Both this and GT7 have LOD shadow pop-in on trackside foliage but FM8 seems to have less, or it's less noticeable)​
+ Visible car damage (usually an area GT's been weak in anyway, but it's nice the Forza games have it)​
+ Some weather effects (particularly on the player camera when in third-person mode. In some instances FM8 has the advantage like with rainy weather)​
- Lighting (this is a big one; GT7 has an overall better lighting system and that gives everything a more realistic pop. Also helps with better contrast ratios and highlights) (Also yes I know FM8 has in-game RT but I am talking lighting as a whole; just having RT doesn't automatically mean your lighting will look better.​
GT7's mix of non-RT lighting systems and artistic choices give it stronger lighting overall than FM8)​
- Color Palette/Balance (This is impacted by the lighting. A lot of FM8's lighting in areas seems kind of flat and that mutes some of the colors)​
- Car model detail (it looks like GT7 has more detailed car models, going by the cars we've seen both games share, in-game (non-Photomode))​
- Car model material (GT7's cars seem to have better material/textures applied to them, while FM8's cars look a bit "flat" by comparison)​
Car damage is something determined more by licensing deals than developer wishes, and GT has some cars in it that they aren't allowed to show damage to any significant degree on. The rest of the licensees will want Favored Nations treatment, so nothing gets really damaged, but I will happily take that for a better car roster.
 

historia

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Doesn't look like it, either. FM7 was a very good-looking sim racer, but FM8 looks virtually identical in terms of car detail, trackside detail, geometry density etc. I guess the resolution is improved?

Going from the 2022 reveal footage to what they've shown yesterday is...quite the step down the ladder. Compared to GT7, its weak in quite a few areas, but does have a couple advantages:

+ Chase Cam (GT7's is too rigid and tight on the car's backside. I love a sexy backside, but I need to see dem hips sometimes too)​
+ 3D trackside objects (trees, for example. Both this and GT7 have LOD shadow pop-in on trackside foliage but FM8 seems to have less, or it's less noticeable)​
+ Visible car damage (usually an area GT's been weak in anyway, but it's nice the Forza games have it)​
+ Some weather effects (particularly on the player camera when in third-person mode. In some instances FM8 has the advantage like with rainy weather)​
- Lighting (this is a big one; GT7 has an overall better lighting system and that gives everything a more realistic pop. Also helps with better contrast ratios and highlights) (Also yes I know FM8 has in-game RT but I am talking lighting as a whole; just having RT doesn't automatically mean your lighting will look better.​
GT7's mix of non-RT lighting systems and artistic choices give it stronger lighting overall than FM8)​
- Color Palette/Balance (This is impacted by the lighting. A lot of FM8's lighting in areas seems kind of flat and that mutes some of the colors)​
- Car model detail (it looks like GT7 has more detailed car models, going by the cars we've seen both games share, in-game (non-Photomode))​
- Car model material (GT7's cars seem to have better material/textures applied to them, while FM8's cars look a bit "flat" by comparison)​
I don't think car chase cam matter that much in sim games.

To me it is most about cockpit interiors, lighting and physics like the feel of road like matters. Of course in speed mode, outside trackside doesn't matter that much. VR is nice too, if I figure out how to work out my eyesights.
 

Snake29

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21 Jun 2022
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I never care about the chase cam. I only use it sometimes to look at the car, not use it while driving.
 

historia

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Anyone using a chase cam in a sim racer shouldn't be playing a sim racer.
Yea it feels weird. Wider fov for sure but it would put disadvantages because you can't really feel the road.

I under stand why it was added for action racing games though.
 
27 Jun 2023
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This year's Forza Motorsport requires an internet connection & has NO splitsecreen which Phil Spencer recently said is a 'creative choice' & was never going to have it despite the Devs not long before that saying they were working on adding it post launch 🙈🤣🤣🤣
Screenshot_2023-09-12-19-46-25-86_0b2fce7a16bf2b728d6ffa28c8d60efb.jpg
 

Entropi

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This year's Forza Motorsport requires an internet connection & has NO splitsecreen which Phil Spencer recently said is a 'creative choice' & was never going to have it despite the Devs not long before that saying they were working on adding it post launch 🙈🤣🤣🤣
View attachment 2256

This is what surrendering every aspect of one’s intellectual capabilities and individuality, for the sake of the cult and its leader, looks like.
 
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Its so crazy how the comments here are so diff from gaf lol everyone is sucking this games dick over their lol 😂😂

TBF it's mainly only people already into the game replying ITT on GAF. I would post in that thread myself, but that would inevitably lead to comparing it to GT7 and not in a way flattering to Forza. As long as no one in the thread's trying to use Forza to dunk on GT7 (especially in ways that are easily disproven), I've got no issue letting people get hyped for the game and have positive conversation.

And of course, no reason for me to do comparatives against GT7. Because, again, I think there are a few things Forza does a bit better, but a lot of things, particularly visually, that GT7 is outpacing this new Forza in rather obviously, which is a bit shocking to me considering all the talk of the new Forza being on a completely overhauled engine.

Looking at Super GTs video


Some notes of mine
  • Seems like the physics are pretty much the same as in F7.
  • Graphically it seems worse than GT7, even with Ray Tracing. It looks like a last gen game for the most part, with car models being very bad when compared with its PS counterpart
  • Damage model is better than GT7, but that was always better
  • AI looks better than GT7, but that's not a hard task since the AI in GT games is completely brain dead
  • The tracks look very soulless.
Overall, this doesn't seem nearly as good as GT7, but I actually think it will score higher, as Forza games usually do. It definitely feels more arcady than GT7 as well.

The Car Leveling system sounds grindy and gatekeepy AF. Basically, you have to keep racing with a particular car to get to a certain Level in order to get certain parts for that car, and I'm sure a lot of the best parts can only be earned by levelling the car up. But, if those parts are tied to that specific car and, more importantly, you can't apply tuning options to a car if the option is classified at a Level higher than the car's own level (not sure if this is the case, but that sounds like it), then the game will be an absolute slog to build up the type of garage you really want.

Yeah the GT games can be grindy as well, especially with the License Tests, but at least you can speedrun your way to buying the best equipment at your own pace depending on which way you want to play. And that equipment can technically be used on a large swath of cars; it's up to the player to determine which car is most in need or use of a given part. No car level caps potentially blocking you off from applying a tune-up option just because the car's level isn't high enough. The fact these car levels might not even be vehicle type-specific but individual to each car is just, mind-numbingly poor of a game design decision.

From what I can find, it seems the average time to get a car to Level 20 is 1.5 hours. Max Level ~ 3 hours, that's of constant driving. With. That. Car. What is the point of this leveling system, then? If you're leveling up with a car too quickly (say, if you're really good driving with that car), then the levelling system becomes pointless. The time between level-ups is so small that its presence would feel arbitrary and akin to getting redemption tokens constantly spammed to you in a modern arcade game, or constant notifications in some app. Whose attention span is so short, that they need a dopamine hit for a Level Up every half a lap? I'm not sure if you unlock all car upgrades possible at Level 25 or Level 50, but the way the Car Leveling system's been explained so far makes it seem superficial.

Also doing a bit of yet further reading, it seems you need Car Points to actually purchase the upgrades that unlock as you gain a Car Level with a given vehicle. However, it sounds like Car Points are specific to just that given car, i.e you can't accumulate them to a universal account and spend the points as you wish along a lot of cars you might already have. I can understand why they designed it this way (to prevent people from gaming the progression system and affording every single unlocked upgrade option per Car Level), but wow does that sound limiting AF. The fact they already mention scenarios where you may get a new Car Level with unlocks that are basically worthless, therefore leading you to save those points for the next Level or several Levels ahead, basically means some Levels only exist as checkpoints to count towards an actual meaningful level.

Which, like in an RPG, would just encourage grinding to hit the desired level, which could be several levels ahead of where you're currently at. But at least with most RPGs, you can grind for all your party members simultaneously; with Forza's system it seems like you can only grind for one car at a time, artificially extending playtime. I'm very interested to see how this plays out in the long-term, so I might give the game a shot in GP just to see how it works. But just thinking about the set-up based on current info, it does not sound like an endearing system much at all. It seems filled with a lot of flawed implementation.
 
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Evilms

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Watching this video... god this game looks like ass. Also, it seems like Force Feedback is not that good
 
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Sircaw

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Its so crazy how the comments here are so diff from gaf lol everyone is sucking this games dick over their lol 😂😂
I am kinda glad i am not into racing games at all, The only one I really liked was Burnout and these types look super boring to me.
 
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Evilms

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Am I going crazy, or do some shots on the right actually look better? Overall F8 comes ahead in that comparison, but not by much.
Personally, I don't like this disgusting filter in this new forza.
and the choice of colors isn't at all photorealistic, unlike GT7 for example.
and the lighting doesn't look all that crazy.
I know it's only a preview, but as the game's coming out soon, it's not very reassuring.