And context-aware dirt!
Forza Motorsport was announced back in 2020, and then featured last year in Xbox’s blowout non-E3 presentation. During the platform-holder’s Developer UNDERSCORE Direct this week, the company revealed even more information about the upcoming game (minus one big data point — it’s release date).
Firstly, the video above gives us a look at a ton of new features coming to the series. The game is a sort of reboot/restart to the series, dropping the numbers and going back to “Forza Motorsport” as its name. The game will feature over 500 vehicles initially, including over 100 cars new to the series, and 800 upgrades, alongside 20 tracks. When Forza first kicked off, and through its Xbox 360 years, the series was often cherry-picked for its smaller roster of vehicles. Although there were hundreds of fewer vehicles than in Gran Turismo, for instance, these cars were incredibly detailed, down to accurate materials, stitches, engine sounds and tire grips. Over time the company was able to keep adding vehicles while not sacrificing the details of the past, and with over 500 now that stable now feels big and deep with realism.
Here’s just a few of the cars that have been announced:
- 1971 AMC Javelin AMX
- 1989 Aston Martin #18 Aston Martin AMR1
- 2016 Aston Martin Vulcan
- 2014 Audi #2 Audi Team Joest R18 e-tron quattro
- 2016 Audi #17 Rotek Racing TT RS
- 2016 Audi R8 V10 plus
- 2018 Audi #44 R8 LMS GT3
- 2018 Audi TT RS
- 1991 BMW M3
- 2017 BMW #24 BMW Team RLL M6 GTLM
- 2018 BMW #1 BMW M Motorsport M8 GTE
- 2019 Brabham BT62
- 2018 Bugatti Chiron
- 1970 Buick GSX
- 2021 Cadillac #31 Whelen Racing DPi-V.R
- 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Super Sport Coupe
- 1969 Chevrolet Nova Super Sport 396
- 1970 Chevrolet Camaro Z28
- 1970 Chevrolet Chevelle Super Sport 454
- 2015 Chevrolet #10 Konica Minolta Corvette Daytona Prototype
- 2018 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE
- 2020 Chevrolet #3 Corvette Racing C8.R
- 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Coupe
- 1972 Chrysler VH Valiant Charger R/T E49
- 1969 Dodge Charger R/T
- 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T
- 2018 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon
- 1965 Ford Mustang GT Coupe
- 1969 Ford Mustang Boss 302
- 1987 Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500
- 2005 Ford GT
- 2015 Ford #02 Chip Ganassi Racing Riley Mk XXVI Daytona Prototype
- 2016 Ford #66 Ford Racing GT Le Mans
- 2017 Ford GT
- 2019 Ginetta #6 Team LNT Ginetta G60-LT-P1
- 2020 Hyundai #98 Bryan Herta Autosport Veloster N
- 1983 Jaguar #44 Group 44 XJR-5
- 1988 Jaguar #1 Jaguar Racing XJR-9
- 1993 Jaguar XJ220
- 2015 Jaguar XKR-S GT
- 1988 Lamborghini Countach LP5000 QV
- 1997 Lamborghini Diablo SV
- 2016 Lamborghini Centenario LP 770-4
- 2020 Lamborghini Huracán EVO
- 1969 Lola #10 Simoniz Special T163
- 1990 Mazda MX-5 Miata
- 1991 Mazda #55 Mazda 787B
- 2010 Mazda #16 Mazda Racing B09/86
- 2014 Mazda #70 SpeedSource Lola B12/80
- 1969 McLaren #4 McLaren Cars M8B
- 2013 McLaren P1
- 2018 McLaren Senna
- 1989 Mercedes-Benz #63 Sauber-Mercedes C 9
- 1990 Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II
- 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG
- 1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator
- 1985 Nissan #83 GTP ZX-Turbo
- 1991 Nissan #23 Nissan R91CP
- 2015 Nissan #23 GT-R LM NISMO
- 2019 Nissan 370Z Nismo
- 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO (R35)
- 1969 Oldsmobile Hurst/Olds 442
- 2017 Oreca #38 Jackie Chan DC Racing Oreca 07
- 1984 Peugeot 205 Turbo 16
- 1993 Peugeot #3 Peugeot Talbot Sport 905 EVO 1C
- 1969 Pontiac GTO Judge
- 1973 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am SD-455
- 1970 Porsche #3 917 LH
- 1983 Porsche #11 John Fitzpatrick Racing 956
- 1987 Porsche #17 Porsche AG 962C
- 2014 Porsche 918 Spyder
- 2017 Porsche #2 Porsche Team 919 Hybrid
- 2017 Porsche #92 Porsche GT Team 911 RSR
- 2018 Porsche 911 GT2 RS
- 2019 Porsche #70 Porsche Motorsport 935
- 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 RS
- 2021 Porsche 911 GT3
- 2021 Porsche Mission R
- 2015 Radical RXC Turbo
- 2004 Saleen S7
- 2014 Toyota #8 Toyota Racing TS040 HYBRID
Turn 10 is stating that the advancements to physics in this latest iteration are more than those of Forza 5, 6, and 7 combined, which should help in all manner of vehicle controls. As is usual with the series, players will likely find vehicles they feel most comfortable with because of how they drive, not just about how they look (although that ZL1 1LE is a beast for both).
One of the important but subtle advancements to the series is its materials and paint realism. While Turn 10 is updating things like the paint to have multiple layers, flakes, light reflection, and gloss depth, it’s the context aware stuff that I’m very excited about. Studying design and art my entire life, I fully understand how the psychology of how realism affects our driving habits in games is incredibly important. Accuracy makes us more cognizant of situations, and something like how paint chips or dirt lands on our cars with the new changes to the game engine can subconsciously affect how we take corners, avoid sunlight reflections (and the direction the sun is coming from), and brake on wet roads.
It’s something that’s difficult to explain, but when it’s there it can get us to “feel” the road better.
Anyhoo, all of this makes me so freaking excited. I’ just don’t know when the game is coming — I’m just bummed that the game likely isn’t going to make it out until October. Last year, Xbox & Turn 10 gave us the “Spring 2023” timeframe, but the DEVELOPER UNDERSCORE DIRECT shifted that to a nebulous “2023”. With Redfall arriving in May, and Starfield probably not landing before July at the earliest (June is packed!) there’s not much time to drop more info and marketing for a game that will launch within the next couple of months.
Forza Motorsport is set to arrive this year (I HOPE!) on Xbox Series S/X, Windows, Game Pass, and Game Pass Ultimate Cloud Streaming.
Source: Turn 10
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