Oh boy - lots of new replies on here since the last time I checked! I see a lot of concerns regarding the 'physics' in Forza, how the game handles with a wheel and, if not mistaken, handling comparisons with Nintendo's Mario Kart series? Lots of topics to dive into! Apologies for those who don’t like long and informative posts!
For those still curious about the way the Porsche 911 GT2 RS handles, please check out my earlier post about the topic!
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/thre...7-demo-discussion.358726/page-9#post-11950000
Alright, so let’s get into the physics!
The physics engine in Forza is very complex. Those 0-60, 0-100, 100-0 etc., benchmarks in the tuning menu are all done in-engine. Turn 10 gets the car data, mostly CAD data straight from the manufacturers, combines it with their tire data, etc., and lets the physics engine crunch the numbers. The fact that the data is so close and in most cases near identical to their real life counterparts suggests that the physics in Forza are very accurate. As someone who has worked closely with Turn 10 Studios using my real life experience as a driver, I can assure you that T10 puts a lot of time and effort into making sure the suspension of cars behave accordingly, the differentials, etc. But in real life, we have lots and lots of numbers in the equation – and all those numbers take up resources. Managing those resources is the key to delivering realism. If you consider racing games in terms of physics, they’re all really far behind compared to something like BeamNG that concentrates solely on physics simulation. But unless you have a super computer sitting at home, you’re not going to be crunching those numbers with 30 cars on the grid all rendered in 4K and running at 60FPS. Knowing where to take shortcuts is key in delivering the illusion of realism – and that’s all these games set out to do. So if you’re more interested in physics, then don’t play any of these games and go for something more concentrated on physics simulation.
Now, if you consider the origins of Forza Motorsport, you'll be foolish to discredit its ambition in taking on the driving game giant we all know and love. FM was a much, much different game back then. The game concentrated on one aspect and one aspect only - the racing. It wasn't about 'Forzavista' cars, celebrity cameos or artistic expressions. It was, like its name suggests, about Motorsport. But then something rather interesting happen - the competition changed. Gran Turismo was no longer about Motorsport, either. It became a game about collecting cars with nothing in the game really encouraging any aspect of Motorsport with its robotic AI, it's really questionable vehicle handling and tire data, and its odd menu design. GT2 had "GO RACE" written in bold on its main menu - that's a long ways from the jazz playing showrooms of GT5 and GT6.
Forza Motorsport, still chasing its rival’s tail, had an opportunity to branch out. Still catering towards a niche market and one that was arguably even non-existent at the time: the console sim racing market. At the time, if you wanted to get serious about racing, you'd play something like GTR/GTR2 or rFactor on PC. If you told someone you're a sim racer as you powered up your Playstation, you'd most likely receive some laughs. As Forza Motorsport grew in popularity, Microsoft saw its potential as a profitable brand and allowed Turn 10 to be the spearhead of their console division, much like how Naughty Dog is for Sony. But now, Forza was no longer on the same set of tracks as Gran Turismo, so it set out to make its own. Forza is all about expression. Made an awesome tune? Share it! Set an awesome lap time for others to beat? Share it! Don't like the paint on your car? Draw on it....and then share it! Want to sell your car? Auction it! Want to form your own crew? Here, have this garage all for yourselves! This focus on expression had never really been executed in a racing title with this level of ambition ever before - and still hasn't been beat to this day. Nobody does what Forza does better than the way Turn 10 does it - and suddenly, you have games like Gran Turismo playing catch up. That's really, really impressive in a business sense and it's a huge move by both Turn 10 and Microsoft.
This move opened Forza up to a very, very wide audience. Considering how unpopular the XBox is outside of North America, Forza Motorsport started doing extremely well for itself as a console exclusive. But hardcore sim racers are not popular. These titles, again, are for a niche market. Even Slightly Mad Studios had to make changes to how the cars behave with a game controller for the launch of pCars 2. If you think this move was done in accordance with their goal of delivering a complex sim racer, then you'd be mistaken. It's about being able to deliver the game to a wide audience - and Forza does this better than anyone. Remember that developers have access to the user data: X amount of players play with a controller and Y amount of players use a wheel. If group X is substantially larger than group Y, then it would make sense to cater the experience more towards them. You can even play FM7 with Guitar Hero accessories. Meanwhile, try playing rFactor with a controller and see how well it does. This is the same reason why SMS put so much time into making the controller easier to play with in pCars 2. Ian Bell even mentioned that throughout pCars 2’s development, he played every build with just a controller and didn’t even touch a wheel. This is a very anti-sim racing move, but it’s very pro-consumer.
The game that really combined my love for gaming and cars was Gran Turismo. There really wasn’t anything like it at the time. It really turned car lovers into gamers and gamers into car lovers. This is now the ethos of Turn 10 Studios. Unlike SMS that went with the “This is REAL Racing” brand or “The Real Driving Simulator” like GT, Forza sticks with turning gamers into car lovers and car lovers into gamers – and it does this oh so very well. It’s not claiming to be the most realistic racing game on the market. It does claim to have one of the most realistic simulation engines on the market – and I’d be damned if that wasn’t true. But it’s all about how that information is delivered to the audience. One of my favorite driving games this generation is DriveClub and Evolution Studios squeezed a TON of simulation data into that game – despite its arcade handling. Underneath those gorgeous graphics and arcade like handling is a highly complex physics engine that simulates everything from the way the suspension stiffens during gear changes in a Ferrari to how the differential in an AWD car handles a loss of grip on one or more wheels. Honestly, it does things GT6 doesn’t even do when it comes to accurately replicating car behavior, but I highly doubt anyone considers DriveClub a contender for “most realistic driving game” anytime soon.
People will always have their opinions on what they deem to be ‘realistic.’ I once had a discussion with a young man who was arguing my opinion regarding the original pCars’ handling, claiming that I was wrong for criticizing it – despite the fact that this was a discussion at a coffee shop in Monterey, CA, shortly after a race I scored a podium finish in. Needless to say he had little to no track experience whatsoever.
At the end of the day, these are all just games meant to have fun with. If you want to argue what is and isn’t realistic, how about taking your car out for a track day and see for yourself. Even better, go to a racing school and get your regional competition license. I’ve instructed at one in North America – they’re very good.
Having a physics engine that allows you to grab a 240Z, swap in an RB26DETT and pump out over 700RWHP, slam it until she’s “dirt nasty low” and take it drifting is insanely impressive – to me at least. Maybe I’m just old. But if you want something that doesn’t allow that level of freedom, but instead focuses on set statistical data that is very accurate, then try something like iRacing or Assetto Corsa. If you want more realistic physics simulation, then try something like BeamNG. Or if you want to have some fun and lose some friends along the way – play Mario Kart!
Sorry for the long post. I tried to cover as much information as I could from the last pages that I missed. Mumbling comes with age – be gentle with me!
EDIT: Adding comment to better reflect, using someone else's words, what I meant with Forza changing its goals from the original games going into the new era as its competition changed.
"The best racing game ever is Forza 2 on the Xbox. The gameplay was brilliant, the circuits, the cars… The key was that to be fast, you had to be very precise, not like most of the Formula One games you have today. I never really liked Forza 3 or Forza 4; they improved the way it looked and the number of cars and tracks, but the actual car dynamics and the way you played it did not improve, especially if – like me – you were using a steering wheel and pedals and a cheap playseat."
- Robin Frijns
Blancpain GT champion 2015, Formula E front-runner with Amlin Andretti
