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...was that Season 8? I did a couple of races in the TCC back in the day, driving a Volvo C30 that drove like a lead brick. Good times.
Anyways, I'll leave some of my predictions here - who knows? I may even be right in the end!
- Focus: I predict the focus of the game may change; up until the FM6 days competition in the "accessible sim" genre was scarce, and the target audience was the - quite casual, it must be said - Xbox crowd. The last FM6 update and the establishment of the FRC has shown that Turn10 wants to establish a foothold in the ever-growing e-sport market, but FM7 will launch in a market crowded by games like Gran Turismo Sport, Assetto Corsa, PCARS 2 and GTR3. T10 has an advantage: thanks to the "Xbox Play Anywhere" feature, it has access to an enormous potential userbase. If what we know so far is any indication, FM7 may be much more focused on keeping a new audience made of headset-wearing, steering-wheel-toting, energy-drink-drinking PC maniacs happy, while of course retaining a credit-based progression system and many of the features unique to the series to draw in the usual casual audience on Xbox.
- Carlist: with T10's good relationship with IMSA and with many prominent manufacturers (GM, Ferrari, Lamborghini/Audi, BMW, McLaren, etc.) I'd be very surprised to not see an updated GT3/GTD roster featuring all (or at the very least, most) of the newest machinery; after all, they've had plenty of time to get all the data and work they need on cars such as the AMG GT, BMW M6 and Ferrari 488 GT3. I also expect them to expand categories which were already present at launch in FM6 or were added via DLC; that'd be a move with precedent, as some of the categories introduced in FM5 (es. 68 F1 cars, pre-war GP cars, IMSA GT racers) were greatly expanded over the life of FM6. The most likely candidates are, in my opinion, the Group C, BTCC/WTCC, CanAm, 1968 F1 (again), ETRC "big rigs" and Group 5/DRM "classes"; other categories (such as 80s/90s F1 cars) would present more obstacles in the field of licenses, as many prominent teams of the era have folded since. What I don't see happening is a return of Super GT cars: it is clear that T10 had problems licensing the GT500 GT-R as it is; and the DTM cars, which are built to the same regulations, would be far more accessible (as a matter of fact, I imagine it wouldn't be too hard for T10 to license the full field!). Porsche will likely be in from day one this time around, and I expect T10 to draw from the Stuttgart's brand heritage to expand the game's seection of racing machinery: I'd be very surprised indeed if cars such as the 935, 917 (which has already been spotted in Horizon 3's files), "Turbopanzer" 917/30 and 944 GTR didn't join FM7's roster either at launch or in early DLC. Finally, I'd expect updated Indycars, Formula E cars and NASCARs (with the possible addition of Xfinity Cup cars) to be in from day one.
- Tracklist: I don't see Japanese racetracks coming back to Forza anytime soon - the logistics are insidious, and apparently licensing has become exhorbitantly expensive; and sure, Fuji and Suzuka may be great tracks, but are they worth the hassle in the end? What keeps racing leagues alive is a variety of tracks; Suzuka may cost like five or six great venues in licensing costs alone. Expect another "showcase" city circuit, and a slew of American tracks (likely candidates are the now-overplayed Willow Springs, Belle Isle and Mosport for the aforementioned "being best buddies with IMSA, NASCAR and Indycar" reasons, the M.I.A. Pacific Raceways, etc.). I'd also expect at least a couple of European circuits: Imola is a strong contender, and so are Zandvoort and the Red Bull Ring (which however may be problematic, seeing as T10 is now chums with Monster Energy's best guy Ken Block). Vallelunga may be a popular and storied circuit and I'd love to see it in the game, but I think the Microsoft laser scan crew would have to avoid the eggs thrown at them by the Kunos guys...
- Gameplay/racing features: at this point, with both PCARS2 and GTR3 coming to console with a full day/night cycle and concurrent weather conditions, I don't see what excuse T10 has to not implement something like that. After all, by now there's a high standard of optimization for the XB1; and Horizon 3 features rain/snow and a day/night cycle with a much higher draw distance and number of rendered objects. Plus, let's not forget that FM7 is a likely Scorpio launch title candidate; and what better than a driving game with sunsets and rain to showcase the graphical chutzpah of what's likely to be the most expensive gaming console in recent and not-so-recent history? I also expect a less forgiving tire behavior model, and fuel consumption that finally makes sense; although I wouldn't expect pit stop strategies to be implemented, at least not yet: T10 may want to take things slowly so as to not risk alienating their old fanbase while failing to capture a new, larger one. Finally, I wouldn't be too surprised if T10 introduced a specific "Racing Championship" function, or perhaps even player-organized leagues - which may take the place of Clubs which, right now, are perfectly supported by Xbox Live itself.
- Tuning: this is a very short element in this list. Remember how in FM5 the Indycars had the oval aero package in form of several optional parts, which however didn't have an effect on the car's handling (in all likelihood, because fitting a low-downforce rear spoiler with a high-downforce front spoiler or viceversa would've destroyed the car's handling), and were absent in FM6? Wouldn't it be a shame if T10 didn't use the new "bodykits" feature to allow us to fit different aero packages (or, say, in the case of GT cars, different lights kits) on a car that actually make a difference?
I'll believe you'll be waiting for a loooooong time, buddy...
However, this begs a question. Since Forza 5 came out all the way back in 2013, we got two different Microsoft-sponsored Lotus F1 cars; the second (the E23 Hybrid) was presented as driven by Microsoft Lumia brand ambassador Romain Grosjean. Undoubtedly the sponsorship deal played a huge part in getting those cars featured in Forza.
However, in the past season both Grosjean (which has went to Haas F1) and the Renault Sport team, which replaced Lotus on the grid (by buying its assets wholesale), have apparently retained separate sponsorship deals with Microsoft. Sooo... Will we be getting a Haas? A Renault? Both? Neither?
Also, would we get a 2017 car? Ohmyfriggingod, sweet.
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race cars from our garage, pick and customize our racing grid)
