Techincally I can't answer because I've never played FM6, but I'll reply anyway since apparently the OP never played GT6 and gave his opinions. Hmm.
That was weird, right? Certainly starts the thread off on the wrong foot: "For those that have both, please compare. I don't, but I will anyway".
As a potential customer, the fact that FM6 does not have day/night and weather transitions on the latest hardware is puzzling and borderline laughable. All of the other FM6 'pros' don't make up for it. Period.
Horses for courses, I suppose. GT6's big pro – the variable time/weather – doesn't outweigh the fact it plays havoc on the frame rate, is littered with PS2 legacy assets, has horrible online connectivity issues (but arguably better online, which I'll get to later), and has seemingly deserted filling the holes in its lineup with real cars in favour of increasingly out-there fantasy rides. For me, anyway.
Variable weather is a good feature, and something I feel the sims should all be aiming for – even Horizon 2 does it – but I still can't shake the feeling it's a feature that appeals to a small minority of the player base. Not that that's a good enough reason to ignore adding in the feature, though. That's not what I'm saying. But after wracking up thousands of miles in FM6 since release, a good chunk of them being online, I've found that when given the option to race in rain or on a dry track, people predominantly vote for the dry tracks.
For longer races, I like the strategy that's introduced when the weather can change on you. I don't have as much free time to do those sorts of race lengths anymore, but I appreciate it nonetheless. But, from my (admittedly anecdotal) experience, it looks like most people are more pre-occupied with being able to go as fast as possible around the track. The lack of grip in the rain frustrates them.
One thing I do appreciate in GT is that it's optional, though. I like running hot laps at tracks; I've done it at the 'Ring since GT4, and I'm about 200 cars into doing every one in FM6 at Lime Rock. Having static track conditions makes comparisons a lot easier.
I also try not to make a habit of crashing, so wreck physics and rendering are at the complete bottom of my priority list.
I will never understand this reasoning. Very few of us
try to crash, but it's an obvious truth that accidents can and do happen. To pretend otherwise is just silly. When they do happen, for better or worse, I'd like the option to have the consequences for them. Not a flimsy "thunk" noise and that's it.
...
So, I own both. I've put a few thousand miles on FM6 since getting review access to it, and I've played GT6 more in the back half of 2015 than I did in the previous 16 months before, so it's fresher in my mind.
GT6 has over double the car count than FM6, but I find myself wanting to buy nearly every single car in the latter (other than same-car-different-livery situations), while my GT6 garage hovers around 300 (283 according to the official site). I appreciate the
idea of the car encyclopedia approach that Gran Turismo has, but it means there are huge gaps in the offerings, while some models are almost obsessively over-represented. I love the FD RX-7, but I don't need over a dozen barely different models of it, if those differences are even modelled properly. I don't need made-up trims of cars, either.
Meanwhile, companies like BMW, Alfa, or pretty much any European car maker got barely any new models in the three year jump between GT5 and GT6, to say nothing of the limited real-car DLC. I'm not saying the game should focus on only new cars – that'd be silly – but players do like to see an updated list as well as the classics. Balance is a good thing. I've covered this more in-depth in
this thread, so I'll quote my BMW comparison here, and then move on from the lineup:
The database has been updated. Nothing really stands out to me, other than FM6 having the most Swedes out of all the games since FM4. That game benefitted from all of the older Koenigsegg models, and the dearly-departed Saab. If the next few months give us 8 cars instead of 7 (a free one tied to the update), 2015 will wrap with FM6 hitting 500 current-gen models. And then comes Porsche...
Breaking things down further, looking at individual manufacturers, FM tends to have the jump on GT, unless it's a Japanese make, or a rare, one-model brand. BMW has 68 models in the database, from GT5 up to FM6. Comparing just the two games with 6 in the title, though:
- 1957 507 (Premium in GT6, last seen in FM4)
- 1973 2002 Turbo (Standard in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 1975 3.0CSL Racecars (not in GT6, two liveries in FM6)
- 1979 M1 Procar (not in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 1981 M1 (not in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 1986 M635CSi (not in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 1988 M5 (not in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 1991 M3 (not in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 1995 850CSi (not in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 1995 M5 (not in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 1997 M3 (not in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 1998 Z3 M Coupe (Standard in GT6, last seen in 2002 guise in FM4)
- 1999 V12 LMR (Standard in GT6, two liveries in FM6)
- 2000 Z8 (Premium in GT6 as 2001 model, fully modelled in FM6)
- 2003 320i Touring car (Standard in GT6, not in FM6)
- 2003 M3 CSL (Standard in GT6, not in FM6)
- 2003 M3 GTR (Standard in GT6, last seen in 2002 guise in FM4)
- 2003 M5 (not in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 2003 Z4 (Premium in GT6, not in FM6)
- 2004 120d (Standard in GT6, not in FM6)
- 2004 120i (Standard in GT6, not in FM6)
- 2004 M3 (Standard in GT6, fully modelled in FM6 as 2005 model)
- 2005 330i (Standard in GT6, not in FM6)
- 2005 M5 (Standard in GT6 [and Premium in 2008 guise), last seen in 2009 guise in FM4)
- 2007 135i Coupe (Premium in GT6, last seen in 2009 guise in FM4)
- 2007 Concept 1 Series tii (Premium in GT6, not in FM6)
- 2007 M3 (Premium in GT6, fully modelled in 2008 guise in FM6)
- 2008 Z4 M Coupe (Premium in GT6, last seen in FM4)
- 2009 M3 GT2 (Premium in 2010 and 2011 guise in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 2011 1 Series M Coupe (not in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 2011 X5 M (not in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 2011 Z4 GT3 (Premium in GT6, two liveries in 2014 guise in FM6)
- 2011 Z4 sDrive35i (not in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 2012 M5 (not in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 2013 M6 Coupe (not in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 2014 125i BTCC (not in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 2014 M235i (not in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 2014 M4 Coupe (Premium in GT6, fully modelled in FM6)
- 2014 M4 M Performance Edition (Premium in GT6, not in FM6)
- BMW Vision GT (Partial Premium in GT6, not in FM6, obviously)
That's 40 total. Breaking it down a different way, here are the cars that are shared:
- 1973 2002 Turbo*
- 1999 V12 LMR*
- 2000/01 Z8
- 2004/05 M3*
- 2007/08 M3
- 2009/10/11 M3 GT2
- 2011/14 Z4 GT3
- 2014 M4 Coupe
Cars in GT6 that aren't available in FM6:
- 1957 507
- 1998 Z3 M Coupe*
- 2003 320i Touring Car*
- 2003 M3 CSL*
- 2003 M3 GTR*
- 2003 Z4
- 2004 120d*
- 2004 120i*
- 2005 330i*
- 2005/08 M5
- 2007 135i Coupe
- 2007 Concept 1 Series tii
- 2008 Z4 M Coupe
- 2014 M4 M Performance Edition
- BMW Vision GT
Cars in FM6 that aren't available in GT6:
- 1975 3.0CSL Racecars
- 1979 M1 Procar
- 1981 M1
- 1986 M635CSi
- 1988 M5
- 1991 M3
- 1995 850CSi
- 1995 M5
- 1997 M3
- 2003 M5
- 2011 1 Series M Coupe
- 2011 X5 M
- 2011 Z4 sDrive35i
- 2012 M5
- 2013 M6 Coupe
- 2014 125i BTCC
- 2014 M235i
* - Denotes Standard car.
FM6 only has two more exclusives, but they arguably cast a wider net. Personally, I miss the two Zx M cars (the clown shoe, and Bangle's brilliant Z4), and the 507, but I'm a lot less interested in a lightbar'd M4, or decade-old 1-series that probably populate the used car lists more than anybody's wishlists. The CSL would be nice, but it's a Standard.
I think I'll compare other makes on a regular basis, just to drum up discussion.
Tuning and modifying, without a doubt, goes to FM6. Two thirds of GT's roster has only limited visual mods because they're decade-old assets. FM6 has every single car built to roughly the same level of detail as GT's Premiums (though some models are notoriously lower-quality, like the 22B). Some, above, as they have the underhood stuff modelled too. There's more visual modification, and the tuning menu has more parameters. I'm amazed GT6 still doesn't let me adjust tire pressure, for instance.
Speaking of visual mods, the wheel upgrades in both games could use some new designs. At least changing wheels has a noticeable difference on your car in FM, though: designs have different weights associated with them, and there's a more in-depth approach to wheel sizes. You can widen your tires, or increase the diameter of your wheels, independently from front to back. These all affect your PI number, which is integral as far as I'm concerned. Oh, you can paint stock wheels too, but I really wish both games would put a system like GT4's Wheels Of The Day in place!
Oh yeah, painting your cars. Easily, Forza wins there. I can make designs, I can download others' creations. I can create logos, I can download others' creations. I can paint my car any colour on the wheel, in a variety of finishes. I could give it a full carbon look. Plus, designs can be another income stream. I've made something in the realm of a few hundred thousand credits just from people downloading and using my designs. Ironically enough,
they're all GT-inspired.
I miss a few tracks from GT when I play Forza. Deep Forest is still a fantastic test track for me. I wouldn't mind being able to go to Suzuka again, though I absolutely don't miss Tsukuba or Fuji. It's good to see Apricot Hill and Midfield back: PD had a knack for great fantasy track design back in the early days, before Cape Ring bored some of us to tears. Conversely, I miss some of the real tracks from FM6 when I play GT. Road America and Atlanta are personal favourites, and I was overjoyed when I heard Sonoma was coming back to the series. COTA is a good one, even if I'm still learning it.
The track editor isn't the massive plus I was hoping it would be for GT6. Ignoring how it took forever to arrive, the limited options means, for me, it has limited use. Not actually letting us create tracks
within GT6 was the type of thing nobody saw coming, and I still can't believe it. Having limited control of the height of tracks means replicas tend to be limited to flat tracks, and the scenery placement is so rigid that you never truly feel like a creation is anything other than a Course Creator track. It's not like games with extensive player resources, like ModNation Racers or Little Big Planet, where user-created content can stand toe-to-toe with the best the game makers can provide. If, however, you just want challenging ribbons of tarmac, atmosphere immersion be damned, the TPE does offer endless possibilities.
Both games' single player modes aren't as good as previous iterations. FM6's is better than GT6's, but that's a low bar for it to hop over.
Multiplayer? It's a give and take situation. FM6 shuns user-created lobbies, really only allowing you to create them for private races, so its your friends network and nothing else. There are lots of hoppers though, so you'll probably find a room you like pretty easily (unless you want an E Class race, apparently *boo hiss*). There's leagues, which, while not perfect, do cater to those that want to see a generalized points structure applied across a week.
But the hoppers force you into shorter races. They're very rigid in their approach too; you do a race, wait for everyone to finish, vote on the next track (a few options, seemingly always the same couple tracks, and then a "random" choice), get one minute to set up, then race again. GT6 made it harder to find a full room of competition, but I loved that you could have fun. Fancy an open track day at the 'Ring? Do it! There's no formalized racing required, and I remember hosting countless rooms of just that back in GT5, where you'd see anything from a full-on race car to a bright yellow Caldina hauling by. As ever, options are king, and when it comes to racing online, GT has more of them.
Shame the servers are so poor, then. I've never had major issues connecting and playing online with Forza, on the 360 or the One, but that can't be said for GT. I suppose you get what you pay for...
Rivals is a cool feature to get you playing more competitively against friends and other players, far more so than the threadbare Seasonals in GT6. It's another source of income if you don't want to do the mostly pretty standard career races.
Sounds are vastly better in FM6. You know how there are a few cars that sound accurate in GT6? It feels like that's how many sound completely wrong in FM6. GT6 has a fantastic audio engine behind it, with convincing doppler effect and other things, but the samples need a lot of work.
I prefer FM6 to GT6. Though funnily enough, it's largely because, to me, it feels like a continuation of the PS2-era Gran Turismos, with added customization. It feels like it's been made with an eye on the culture surrounding cars.
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