little P
Super Mod
I've played and nearly 100% completed every Forza game since Forza 2 waaay back in 2007 and love the series. For me it's a great way to enjoy motorsport gaming in a more casual way.
I used to be the first to shout from the rooftops that Forza was the best sim out there but since experiencing and enjoying Assetto Corsa and iRacing I would definitely park Forza in the "simcade" category, but I also realised that's what makes it so enjoyable for me. It is much more sim than arcade but you can tailor it to exactly how you want it depending on how you feel.
For sure, if you want a hardcore representation of what a car will do in any given situation, then Assetto Corsa or iRacing is your game, but if you want to enjoy all that motorsport gaming has to offer while kicked back with a controller (how I intend to play Forza on PC) on the couch or your chair then Forza is head and shoulders above the Project Cars and Gran Turismo franchises in my opinion. It's handling is second to none and the use of the haptic feedback on the xbox one controllers is great for feeling the where the limit of your brakes and tyres is. I'm very excited to be finally able to play a full Forza game on PC (Forza 6: Apex was good, but more of a beta test for Turn 10 to learn how to develop for PC than a full game).
Anyway, if you do decide to give it a try I have some tips for any newcomers to the Forza series gathered over my time with the Forza series and specifically with the Windows 10 Forza games...
- Make sure you dig around in the options to disable all the assists and hud elements for good immersion and less distractions. This will give you a good feel for the game. You can switch back on the individual hud elements you require in the full game, in the demo it's not really worth it as they are all two lap races.
- Ramp up the difficulty of the ai to it's highest setting. Anything less is too easy if you are used to sim racing.
- Disable the aggression limiter for the ai (makes them more "racey" and they will fight harder for position/make mistakes etc.)
- The game defaults to "dynamic" mode for the graphics. I personally prefer this off. If you have it on you tell the game what resolution and minimum fps you require (30 or 60 for the demo, more in the full game) then it will adjust settings on the fly to hit that figure in game without you seeing what's going on behind the scenes. I personally advise to set it to what you want and run the short 20 second benchmark to see if you hit your target. Adjust from there. It can be slightly jarring sometimes to leave Dynamic mode on but only if you know what to look for. Turn 10 have done a fantastic job of optimizing this game for PC though (as they have done for the upcoming 4K Xbox One X) as I have a modest system by todays standards and can run it in 4K Ultra no problem at all so give it a go.
- To run it as best as you can disable "game mode" in Windows 10 (causes stuttering, seriously Microsoft wth were you thinking), in fact don;t run any Windows 10 store games in game mode, it's garbage. Disable motion blur and also disable camera effects in the options (artificial shaking of the view to simulate g-forces etc.).
I have a 980Ti, i7 2700k and 16Gb DDR3 1600Mhz ram. To achieve 4k Ultra settings @ 60fps (the limit of the demo, full game will have frame rate unlocked) I have done the following:
Disable dynamic mode.
Select 4K Ultra settings. Then;
Disable motion blur
Set anti aliasing to 2 x MSAA
Turn off DVR recording
Disable camera effects
That's it, it should run like butter!
If you have windows 10 and are a car nut then give Forza a go if you never have before, the dynamic day/night cycle and weathers (all able to change in-race with this engine) are a joy to experience, with realistic aquaplaning present (so you should be looking for a different line through corners etc.), fantastic sound, incredible visuals and second to none controller functionality (all wheels are supported too) are just some of the reasons I love Forza. Enjoy!
Here are a few quick screenshots I took from today (in game);
I used to be the first to shout from the rooftops that Forza was the best sim out there but since experiencing and enjoying Assetto Corsa and iRacing I would definitely park Forza in the "simcade" category, but I also realised that's what makes it so enjoyable for me. It is much more sim than arcade but you can tailor it to exactly how you want it depending on how you feel.
For sure, if you want a hardcore representation of what a car will do in any given situation, then Assetto Corsa or iRacing is your game, but if you want to enjoy all that motorsport gaming has to offer while kicked back with a controller (how I intend to play Forza on PC) on the couch or your chair then Forza is head and shoulders above the Project Cars and Gran Turismo franchises in my opinion. It's handling is second to none and the use of the haptic feedback on the xbox one controllers is great for feeling the where the limit of your brakes and tyres is. I'm very excited to be finally able to play a full Forza game on PC (Forza 6: Apex was good, but more of a beta test for Turn 10 to learn how to develop for PC than a full game).
Anyway, if you do decide to give it a try I have some tips for any newcomers to the Forza series gathered over my time with the Forza series and specifically with the Windows 10 Forza games...
- Make sure you dig around in the options to disable all the assists and hud elements for good immersion and less distractions. This will give you a good feel for the game. You can switch back on the individual hud elements you require in the full game, in the demo it's not really worth it as they are all two lap races.
- Ramp up the difficulty of the ai to it's highest setting. Anything less is too easy if you are used to sim racing.
- Disable the aggression limiter for the ai (makes them more "racey" and they will fight harder for position/make mistakes etc.)
- The game defaults to "dynamic" mode for the graphics. I personally prefer this off. If you have it on you tell the game what resolution and minimum fps you require (30 or 60 for the demo, more in the full game) then it will adjust settings on the fly to hit that figure in game without you seeing what's going on behind the scenes. I personally advise to set it to what you want and run the short 20 second benchmark to see if you hit your target. Adjust from there. It can be slightly jarring sometimes to leave Dynamic mode on but only if you know what to look for. Turn 10 have done a fantastic job of optimizing this game for PC though (as they have done for the upcoming 4K Xbox One X) as I have a modest system by todays standards and can run it in 4K Ultra no problem at all so give it a go.
- To run it as best as you can disable "game mode" in Windows 10 (causes stuttering, seriously Microsoft wth were you thinking), in fact don;t run any Windows 10 store games in game mode, it's garbage. Disable motion blur and also disable camera effects in the options (artificial shaking of the view to simulate g-forces etc.).
I have a 980Ti, i7 2700k and 16Gb DDR3 1600Mhz ram. To achieve 4k Ultra settings @ 60fps (the limit of the demo, full game will have frame rate unlocked) I have done the following:
Disable dynamic mode.
Select 4K Ultra settings. Then;
Disable motion blur
Set anti aliasing to 2 x MSAA
Turn off DVR recording
Disable camera effects
That's it, it should run like butter!
If you have windows 10 and are a car nut then give Forza a go if you never have before, the dynamic day/night cycle and weathers (all able to change in-race with this engine) are a joy to experience, with realistic aquaplaning present (so you should be looking for a different line through corners etc.), fantastic sound, incredible visuals and second to none controller functionality (all wheels are supported too) are just some of the reasons I love Forza. Enjoy!
Here are a few quick screenshots I took from today (in game);
