Forza Motorsport 3

[McLaren]

Best configuration I've found is A; I thought it was the entire map as well, but I don't think it is....just different layouts with free roam.

My thoughts exactly. I thought we were able to drive around the entire "map" as well, but so far, I've been limited where I can by the courses....

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

Just finished installing my LCE DLC, time to go drive my Fiesta!

 

[Joey D]

I think I'm just about done installing everything, the LCE content pack, the classic car pack and the GameStop preorder car. This is taking far too long.

I am going to start with the Fiesta though, but my second car will be the JCW for sure!

 

[Terronium-12]

Just dropped the 8C's 4.27L into the Brera.

Good gosh this game is awesome, I don't even know what to do.

 

[JohnBM01]

I've been studying Forza 3 through YouTube videos and just reading a bunch of stuff on Forza 3. I've said it before and will say it again... this game will be spectacular for Forza fans. All kinds of interesting and unique tracks will show up as well as a great variety of street and racing cars. I even told one of my Facebook friends that this game will have many more Australian V8 Supercars than GT as Forza 3 has four Holden V8 Supercars and four Ford V8 Supercars.

NOTE: All of the tracks mentioned is according to a YouTube video I've seen.
The tracks, from what I've seen, are nothing short of amazing with fantastic locales. That Camino Viejo de Montserrat track looks fantastic. This track (especially the extreme course) is kind of like Turn 10's answer to Lienz in rFactor. * Fujimi Kaido has never looked better. I even remember doing a pass up (or down?) Fujimi Kaido in FM1. Never did any drifting or anything, though. * Iberian International Circuit looks interesting, but I still miss Alpine Ring Raceway, which I considered as the best fictional Grand Prix course to contend with Grand Valley (GT) and Löwenseering (Enthusia). Ladera Test Track looks wonderful. * Old favorite, Maple Valley Raceway, looks great as always. Maybe Maple Valley is the proper Grand Prix-style course and not Alpine Ring Raceway. * Rally di Positano looks lovely. * This Sedona Raceway Park looks awesome, but not sure what to really make of it. The Sidewinder Proving Grounds is pretty menacing with its layouts. * Sunset Peninsula Raceway is another old classic in Forza, and it's looking great as well. And I don't know why you'd race an oval in reverse. Only time I've seen an oval race as just-turn-RIGHT was in a YouTube video around the oval of Calder Park in Australia.

All the commercials are saying "this is not a simulation, this is an invitation." And I don't see how you can NOT be so tempted to smoke the gamepad or XBOX 360 steering wheel playing this game.

 

[Alex.]

I've got the Dodge NASCAR V8 in a viper, 875BHP to the rear wheels with 9.7 launch FTW

 

[Joey D]

w00t! Finally got the JCW MINI, now time to make it look like my car.

 

[Moglet]

My thoughts exactly. I thought we were able to drive around the entire "map" as well, but so far, I've been limited where I can by the courses....

Track A is the best one for this, but it's not entirely open. That would be very cool though, especially if they made it like the real test track with cobbled roads etc.

 

[McLaren]

I know. It was my understanding that this track was open, and you could drive anywhere you wanted. Around the hangers, in the "parking lot", etc.

Anyways, now working on the A-Class Championship. My 997 GT2 just went to Level 3 in the first race.

 

[ShawnPhillips]

I've changed my mind about waiting until the end of the year. I'm going to pick this game up this weekend. wont have much time to play with moving soon and Modern Warfare 2, but I'll at least get started.

BTW: Is the 2006-2008 model Honda Civic coupe available to start with?
Thats what I drive and I want to see my car in a racing game.

 

[Event]

try racing a first gen miata against a bunch of american cars :rofl:

 

[Loon]

I just finished installing the second and now I'm 5 percent into the actual game install.

 

[TeamStig]

Wow. I expected good things from Turn 10, but this game is really in a league of its own. It surpassed all my expectations. This is coming from somebody who really didn't like FM2 or FM1 much at all. I'll leave it at that, though I could probably fill this page with praise.

 

[LaBounti]

This games me really really sad that I no longer have a CTS-V........ Well worth it but it sux i cant use a ZR-1(Money grubbing #@%&'s!!)

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

This game is doing horrible things, it's killing my GT fandom. I really like it.

Somehow, it feels a lot more "sim-ish", even though the physics aren't perfect. Something about it reminds me of games like GT Legends and GTR.

 

[aspect8]

I'm doing the class championships too McLaren. They're pretty meaty. And being a greedy person I am switching out for a new car every time I hit level 5 for the extra discounts. I'm really not saving much money at all, but at least upgrading is becoming pretty cheap now. It will come in handy when I start building my cars for online competition. My favourite cars so far are my '68 Barra, Lotus Evora and Mercedes Black.

 

[Event]

This game is doing horrible things, it's killing my GT fandom. I really like it.

Somehow, it feels a lot more "sim-ish", even though the physics aren't perfect. Something about it reminds me of games like GT Legends and GTR.

there's nothing wrong with liking both, people here can't seem to grasp that

 

[Tenacious D]

Somehow, it feels a lot more "sim-ish", even though the physics aren't perfect. Something about it reminds me of games like GT Legends and GTR.

I'm completely mystified. The demo wasn't like this. I think they intentionally short sheeted the demo to make your eyes pop open when you finally get the real deal going. Braking is still a little touchy, as is gas for some reason, but the handling of the cars is almost night and day, and I haven't got any tunable parts on my little Fiesta yet.

Since I'm all about painting the cars, right after I killed a few of the early series, I went into the paint shop and gave my Ford a fairly decent livery, with a BTCC badge that took an hour to make, gah. I didn't have all night, so I blew a bunch of my cash on decals at the storefront, so now I'm poor again. Fortunately, there is ZERO sign of layer creep, which is something I got way too used to in FM2.

These graphics are something else. While I had to adjust to the visuals in the demo, these are this close to being like Prologue. I'm still getting dialed in, and maybe I'm just used to Forza handling now, but the feel of the cars is finally right, even with the plastic FFB wheel.

Definitely going to make the wait for GT5 easier, and I'd say if you can stomach getting a 360 - with a hard drive, forget anything less - you only need one game for this thing.

there's nothing wrong with liking both, people here can't seem to grasp that

Well, I can't speak for the others but in my case, I was kind of let down by the F3 demo. And when people were raving about it, I just couldn't figure out what they experienced that I didn't. But this thing is the real deal.

 

[Event]

I'm completely mystified. The demo wasn't like this. I think they intentionally short sheeted the demo to make your eyes pop open when you finally get the real deal going. Braking is still a little touchy, as is gas for some reason, but the handling of the cars is almost night and day, and I haven't got any tunable parts on my little Fiesta yet.

Since I'm all about painting the cars, right after I killed a few of the early series, I went into the paint shop and gave my Ford a fairly decent livery, with a BTCC badge that took an hour to make, gah. I didn't have all night, so I blew a bunch of my cash on decals at the storefront, so now I'm poor again. Fortunately, there is ZERO sign of layer creep, which is something I got way too used to in FM2.

These graphics are something else. While I had to adjust to the visuals in the demo, these are this close to being like Prologue. I'm still getting dialed in, and maybe I'm just used to Forza handling now, but the feel of the cars is finally right, even with the plastic FFB wheel.

Definitely going to make the wait for GT5 easier, and I'd say if you can stomach getting a 360 - with a hard drive, forget anything less - you only need one game for this thing.

I am disappointed by the graphics. The cockpits are crap

 

[amar212]

I am disappointed by the graphics. The cockpits are crap

You're nitpicking. If somebody gave you cockpits like this in the world where Prologue does not exist you'd be happy as a little child.

BTW I've raced MX-5 Stock Championship (hard/no assists/blah) and those 6 races are far the best FM3 experience yet. I can't wait to get my hands on other Stock races because there is where the true FM3 challenge is.

 

[barryl85]

Whats the deal with movies guys?

Why cant you watch them again on the console once you have made one?

I gave up on uploading my 20sec movie after 10mins, i didnt wanna wait any longer

So if you create a movie and dont upload it - isnt it just pointless?

Im confused !!

 

[slackbladder]

This games me really really sad that I no longer have a CTS-V........ Well worth it but it sux i cant use a ZR-1(Money grubbing #@%&'s!!)

I hate seeing the cars that are locked and can only be unlocked by VIP members (the LE game). As far as I can tell the cars are on the disc (I've raced against the Z01 and DBS). You shouldn't have to pay for stuff that is on the disc you've already paid for.

 

[TopGearFan08]

Did Turn10 purposely go a more casual orientated route on the physics for Forza 3?

Its a fun game no doubt about that, but all the cars seem to have huge amounts of grip even on stock tires. For example its really hard to get the back end out unless your actually trying to, and once you do its super easy to catch it.

And the Nurburgring just seems... odd.

Dont get me wrong, I am enjoying the game, I just don't think its a very good Sim. Feels a lot like the PGR games actually.

I was using maximum realism settings, including clutch, on both the MS wheel and the controller.

 

[Bogie 19th]

I've noticed that there's a lot of copy cat tracks in FM3.

Not sure I understand (or maybe I am not comprehending) this comment.

My thoughts exactly. I thought we were able to drive around the entire "map" as well, but so far, I've been limited where I can by the courses....

Oh....you probably can...once they released the 800 ms point track pack to UNLOCK the full track. You know MS....that is their greed.

Braking is still a little touchy

FM2 braking was touchy as hell. And it seems FM3 braking is still too touchy, requiring me to "feather" the brake (unlike Race Pro 09). I have not yet gone in to see if I can change the wheel and brake pedal settings.

For example its really hard to get the back end out unless your actually trying to, and once you do its super easy to catch it.

Last night I couldn't stop my car from getting it's back end out

 

[WolfRacer543]

Damn it you guys are making me so jealous! I want this game... stupid MS and their not supporting the logitech G25 wheels... I can't afford both a 360 AND a new wheel

 

[slackbladder]

FM2 braking was touchy as hell. And it seems FM3 braking is still too touchy, requiring me to "feather" the brake (unlike Race Pro 09). I have not yet gone in to see if I can change the wheel and brake pedal settings.

You can adjust the deadzone on the controller (probably on wheels too). Or alternatively buy racing brakes and reduce the brake strength down to about 55%. Then you can hit the brakes hard and they won't lock. But you still lose grip for turning. Forza 3 really doesn't like you braking and turning at the same time.
Racing brakes don't put the PI up very much either, so unless a car has to be stock I get them all the time. WARNING: Some race cars do not have racing brakes!! If you get the Holden V8 Race Car or the Nissan GTR Super GT Race car etc you'll find they don't have racing brakes for some weird reason.

I will say though that unless you're driving racing cars you may as well have ABS on as most road cars have it, even the Pagani F. It's a shame things like ABS, TCS and STM can't be adjusted for each individual car as opposed to being used as part of the difficulty setting. It would be more realistic that way.

 

[Bogie 19th]

You can adjust the deadzone on the controller (probably on wheels too). Or alternatively buy racing brakes and reduce the brake strength down to about 55%. Then you can hit the brakes hard and they won't lock. But you still lose grip for turning. Forza 3 really doesn't like you braking and turning at the same time.
Racing brakes don't put the PI up very much either, so unless a car has to be stock I get them all the time. WARNING: Some race cars do not have racing brakes!! If you get the Holden V8 Race Car or the Nissan GTR Super GT Race car etc you'll find they don't have racing brakes for some weird reason.

I will say though that unless you're driving racing cars you may as well have ABS on as most road cars have it, even the Pagani F. It's a shame things like ABS, TCS and STM can't be adjusted for each individual car as opposed to being used as part of the difficulty setting. It would be more realistic that way.

Thanks for the detailed feedback. I will look at the wheel adjustments, the brake adjustments and brake options soon (I normally up the brakes in FM2 and tune them accordingly, but not to 55%). I probably should have tried that long ago.

I prefer to keep ABS off even though street cars have it. I do that for the increased credits. Granted, if the car has and uses ABS IRL, I should too, but I am content without it to boost my cash flow.

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

Speaking of cockpits, has anybody else been playing with the whole HUD turned off? It's pretty cool that it's possible.

 

[Eric.]

I've got the Dodge NASCAR V8 in a viper, 875BHP to the rear wheels with 9.7 launch FTW

I'm guessing you can't modify that engine, can you?

A few comments about the game so far:

Need improvements to drag racing:

• Insta-start is baaaaad. You can start instantly on circuits also in hot lap modes, but they have separate lap and race clocks. Point to points must only have a race clock, since there aren't actual laps. Easy fix would be to throw a lap clock in anyway.
• No trap speed? Takes the whole fun out of doing standing miles for max speed.

High Speed Ring: (someone said this is ripping off GT tracks. This is nothing like it. Shares the name only, and its a rather generic name anyway. This one's actually got a ring. )

• Eh, kinda boring. Will probably be fun if we can get several people messing around. Do some spontaneous drags, drift, etc.

Sedona :

• Really cool location. The full circuit is a blast. Reminds me of a motocross course how it exits the "stadium" and the sharp turns as you go up the hills.

Fujima Kaido :

• The full lap here is awesome. The track's narrow enough that slower cars are just as fun to drive as any other. Need a lot of careful braking to get the most out of a laptime.
• I love that its a new half and the old FM1 half.

Rally di ....something. The long Amalfi track:

• Kind of fun to drive on. I took a Veyron there last night in arcade mode. Its definitely more suited to a slower, lighter, agile car. Fast cars are going to be difficult to handle with the cobblestone track surface and all of the jumps.
• Not the coastal-highway of a supercar paradise as I had expected from reading about it.

One thing I've noticed, its a lot more expensive to modify cars. Having all of those extra engine parts are adding up, but the choices are good, especially when you're aiming at a specific PI.

 

[Alex.]

I'm guessing you can't modify that engine, can you?

Yes you can, I already did to get it upto 875. You can remove the air restrictor plates as well as change stuff like cams and valves. However they are somewhat limited, as are the rest of the performance upgrades.