Forza4

[RC45]

Anyone relaxing with it?

[nthfinity]

Originally Posted by RC45 Anyone relaxing with it?

I picked up the LCE on launch day from Best Buy. It's still in the shrinkwrap... no time for it I'm thinking I may even sell it if I haven't played it by December. I hear it is like Forza 3.5

I only played GT5 once since I got my new 3D TV (in 3d mind you, it was incredible!)

[RC45]

Actually it is more like Forza 5-2=3

It is what FM3 was promised it was going to be.

Quick summary:

GT5 = visual superiority and photorealsim with driving model that is very good when coupled with a 3 pedal wheel and seat.

GT5 sounds = rubbish crap shit vacuums.

FM4 = acceptable visuals as far as XBox360 goes, not photorealistic but very good none the less with a driving model that is very good when couple with a 3 pedal wheel and seat.

FM4 sounds = glorious glorious booming and very real-like. Exclipse GT5 sounds by about 107 eyars of development time

Overall FM4 = GT5.

The one is let down by crap sounds th eother is let down by mediocre visuals.

Both drive very well and a great fun.

However, the sheer enjoyment of taking a 330P4 down the Mulsanne with the CORRECT cacaphony of noises bellowing out the surround sound makes the FM4 65" HD driving experience a little better than the GT5 one.

For me, the bottomline is that if FM4 had GT5's visuals and track surface mapping it would be heaven - almost no need for a real track day car

Almost...

[nthfinity]

Originally Posted by RC45 Actually it is more like Forza 5-2=3 It is what FM3 was promised it was going to be. Quick summary: GT5 = visual superiority and photorealsim with driving model that is very good when coupled with a 3 pedal wheel and seat. GT5 sounds = rubbish crap shit vacuums. FM4 = acceptable visuals as far as XBox360 goes, not photorealistic but very good none the less with a driving model that is very good when couple with a 3 pedal wheel and seat. FM4 sounds = glorious glorious booming and very real-like. Exclipse GT5 sounds by about 107 eyars of development time Overall FM4 = GT5. The one is let down by crap sounds th eother is let down by mediocre visuals. Both drive very well and a great fun. However, the sheer enjoyment of taking a 330P4 down the Mulsanne with the [b]CORRECT[b] cacaphony of noises bellowing out the surround sound makes the FM4 65" HD driving experience a little better than the GT5 one. For me, the bottomline is that if FM4 had GT5's visuals and track surface mapping it would be heaven - almost no need for a real track day car Almost...

While I can't lay claim to 65"... I'm quite happy with my 60" You'd think fixing the sounds in GT would be the easiest thing to do. You would think...

If you haven't yet, do cockpit view in GT5 in 3D, and prepare to have your mind blown

[RC45]

Originally Posted by nthfinity While I can't lay claim to 65"... I'm quite happy with my 60" You'd think fixing the sounds in GT would be the easiest thing to do. You would think... If you haven't yet, do cockpit view in GT5 in 3D, and prepare to have your mind blown

I cant get past the terrible sound

[nthfinity]

Originally Posted by RC45 I cant get past the terrible sound

oh gawd... you've turned into a fanboi!

[RC45]

deleted

[nthfinity]

Truthfully, I am not that eager to buy any xbox wheel anyway. But that is simply a HUGE glitch. Wow...

[RC45]

Originally Posted by nthfinity oh gawd... you've turned into a fanboi!

Not really - I have found a major weak link in FM4 - it is so big I might toss the game for good.

I use a Fanatec GT2 wheel and Club Sport Pedals and shifter. The "official" steering device for the title.

Yet now every single user of this steering setup is experiencing a bug where you get zero credits and XP after you win a race.

No credits no XP means no progress.

One has towonder how the hell this kind of bug gets past testing - it is not difficult to get it, it has happened to every Fanatec wheel user.

So it looks like T10/Microsoft are no different to Sony and PD, they rush to market and push unfinished crap on folks.

[5vz-fe]

I wonder why Forza still can't get the track surface right...

[RC45]

This is a great question - they might have obsessed about the tyre model etc - but they seem to forget about the track surface. Perhaps their sim engine just doesnt have the bandwidth to process surface resolution fine enough to "feel" the track surface.

[Minacious]

Forza's driving model has been trash since day one.
The engine sounds in 4 are damn nice, though.

[RC45]

Originally Posted by Minacious Forza's driving model has been trash since day one. The engine sounds in 4 are damn nice, though.

They are.

Sounds are what makes the whole package bearable

[79TA]

Forza 4 has been great so far. First off, GT is unplayable with a controller. It really is terrible. It would probably be that way if you tried to drive a real car with your thumbs too. I play with a controller because I don't want any bad in game habits translating into muscle memory that will affect me on an actual track. For instance, I would never downshift in the middle of a corner like I do in-game.

That said, I don't see the complaints against the FM4 physics. Forza's driving model is what drew me in from day one when I tried the original demo. A car actually oversteered. This was in stark contrast to GT4 which I was living and breathing at the time. The FM4 physics are excellent. What surfaces are bothering you? They made the grass really forgiving, but I think that's more of a concession than any misunderstanding. The Positano track is still great for reminding the player how much less grip there could be.

The sound team did a ridiculously good job. Not just in sound effects, but the soundtrack is amazing. They found obscure music, some with terrible vocals, and perfected it in their remixes.

FM4 fixes the PI balancing issues that made awd cars so cheap in FM3, which is a huge deal to me as an rwd fan.

Graphically, Forza 4 is great. It's all in the lighting. I wouldn't call GT5 photo realistic. At all. They still have that horrible white fuzz on surfaces being viewed at extreme angles. The Pixar consultation really paid off and they did figure out a much better way to represent several orders of magnitude of light on your tv which effectively can only display one order of magnitude.

At the risk of continuing the GT vs FM conversation, I can't see how GT5 can stand up to Forza 4, let alone Forza 3. GT has terrible anti-aliasing, terrible load times, a terrible selection of cars, and terrible controller inputs. Part of that last problem is the PS controller itself. Let's assume GT5 was superior in every way except load times. I'd pick Forza for that reason alone.

My new conspiracy theory for the limited paint colors in GT5 is that they have to cheat with the color a bit to help out the poor lighting model. I'm referencing the pre-determined paint colors that you have to buy with real money for a one time use.

[nthfinity]

Originally Posted by 79TA My new conspiracy theory for the limited paint colors in GT5 is that they have to cheat with the color a bit to help out the poor lighting model. I'm referencing the pre-determined paint colors that you have to buy with real money for a one time use.

I've used my chrome (and other favorite) paint chips multiple times. How? The "game save" trick... paint your car, send it to a friend (or your other gamer ID), reload your saved progress, and ta-da!

Car selection isn't the biggest problem in GT5... is the lack of certain premium cars.

I still haven't had time to turn on my xbox, let alone open FM4 LCE

I think the hardest thing for people to overcome in GT5 is that the oversteer model is generally more of a snap-oversteer model, that is much tougher to recover from. You can dial in the suspension to be more progressive, but your lap times drop like a stone.