NEW GT5 to Forza Convert - My 2 cents.

[akira2501]

I own 2 game systems and only 2 games GT5 and Forza4.
After a whole lot of playing and running a successful GT5 race league, I must admit, Forza is better!

Forza does need some minor improvements, and the list of possible new features is endless (as is the case with GT5 as well); but here’s what I came up with:

PROs - GT5
- Better Steering wheel support
- New Races added weekly.
- Limited, but at least some Rally and F1
- Night races, time change, weather, pit stops
- Better single player RPG elements.

PROs - FORZA 4
- RIVALS – Best driving mode EVER!!! 70% of my time is spent here.
- Far better controller for racing. (stock XBOX)
- Far superior car selection.
- Far superior engine sound.
- Superior track selection
- Major updates to races and cars monthly.
- Far superior tuning options, visual modifications, and incredible livery editor.
- Auctions & Storefront


For all its plusses, there are some minor things that REALLY bug me about Forza. As a programmer I figure all of these are easy fixes.

1. Invisibility in rivals – The “ghosts” are too solid; they can completely block your view. This is especially relevant in “TrackDays”.

2. Easier to view tachometer – On a big screen I have to take my eyes off the road to see what gear I’m in. A better positioned gear number and perhaps a few color-coded dots (like on a Ferrari steering wheel) would be a big plus.

3. Car Interior view, which I love, is often times oddly skewed in Forza 4. The interior camera position off (not where your head would be), or the interior is compressed horizontally, or you can see both sides of the hood. This visual skewing kills a great feature on many cars

4. Car sorting – Sorting by class or grouping is a lousy way to sort for car collection. Cars change class depending on the tune you have loaded, and grouping, while cool, is not always the solution mainly because a car can’t be in more than one category or group. I’ve very much prefer the sort options in GT5, Sort by: Date Acquired, Mileage, # of wins, power, brand, country of origin, value – much more useful.

5. Single Player Race Selection – Badly needs a UI improvement. Also there are a LOT of cars; (especially the classics I love) that cannot be raced at all without upgrading them to truly unrealistic levels.

6. Rivals – I love this mode more than anything but it either needs some tweaks or better yet just more races! The problem is that these essentially become one-make races after a very short period of time. Check the leader boards and you’ll see what I mean. The solution is simple; more races with narrower car selection options on each.

Even with my criticisms, this really is a car lover’s dream game. So back to the praise:

Car selection and engine sound are a big deal for me personally.
Engine sound is a big part of a car’s “personality”. I don’t even have a sound system in my “driver’s car” because the 427 under the hood sounds a million times better IMO! Forza did a great job capturing the unique sounds of various engines and even allowed for sound modification through tuning. – Very Cool, BRAVO!

My Jaw nearly hit the floor when I saw some of the incredible cars in the lineup. I love the classics and was thrilled to find cars like the1964 Shelby Daytona Coupe and the 1954 Ferrari California as well as modern rarities like the Lamborghini Reventon and SSC Aero, cars I’ve owned like the 1986 Alfa Romeo Spider Quadrifoglio (love that little car), 2002 Pontiac Trans Am WS6 (Actually I had a ’98 but it’s the same thing). Amazing lineup. GT5 didn’t even bother to add the Veyron or the Toyota GT2000 as “premium cars” and instead left them as PS2 era graphics.

 

[hennessey86]

Glad to see another GT player appreciating forza, add me on psn hennessey_86 and hennessey861 on live

 

[imported_alexleighton]

I agree with number 5, it bugs me that the game is so structured around tuning and upgrading, and there are so few events in either single player or rivals where no tuning is allowed. IMO, leaderboards as a way of ranking drivers based on driving skill are completely pointless when tuning is allowed.

 

[hennessey86]

I agree with number 5, it bugs me that the game is so structured around tuning and upgrading, and there are so few events in either single player or rivals where no tuning is allowed. IMO, leaderboards as a way of ranking drivers based on driving skill are completely pointless when tuning is allowed.

There are plenty of rivals mode time trials with no tuning allowed

 

[FosterG]

I agree almost totally with you regarding the Forza pros vs. GT5 pros. I am a convert, have not played my GT5 for any length of time since I got Forza4. I do still like Gt5 a lot, but if playing time is an indicator, I must like Forza4 a whole lot more.
And as far as the cars go, Forza really hooked me, I love the fact that all the cars are premium class (I spend a lot of time in photomode so standard cars really irk me in that mode), the selection is about all I could ask for, but even more are coming soon, currently I have about 50 cars that I have not even taken the time to drive yet I am getting to them though. I am not knocking GT5, really like how easy it is to push their AI drivers around, not so in Forza. I do think that both are great games though.

 

[Starfirebird]

I played to GT5 for a while and then decided to get FM4.I'm glad i did.I agree with all the points you made,but i have a suggestion with #2.

I always run with everything off so i have no tachometer,no track indicator,etc.It's just me the car and the road ahead.I've learned to listen to my engine when to change gears and to keep a count in my head for which gear i am in.Once you get used to it, it's second nature so no more taking your eyes off the road.

One other thing i enjoy about FM4 that GT5 doesn't have is the 24/7 leaderboards.GT5 could be so much better with this implemented.GT5 is stuck in the past when it comes to this.

 

[Mesaina]

Like you guys, I played GT5 a lot and had been tempted more than once to get an xbox just for Forza4.

My better half got me an early Christmas present in an xbox two weeks ago. Probably got tired of me talking about the 360 and Forza4 all the time While I agree with all the pros above for BOTH games, I haven't touched GT5 since getting Forza4 mainly because it is really a breath of fresh air and makes me realize how much better GT5 could have been

 

[magic_town]

I agree about the interior view. In the pre race thing where it revs the car the interior view is in a good position then, but then it changes to your actual interior view and it's like your in the back seat with your head against the roof.
Unless there's a FOV setting? I haven't found one

 

[toyotasupraman]

Options, multi-screen. Turn it on and play with the settings.

 

[JoeMaPampang]

4. Car sorting – Sorting by class or grouping is a lousy way to sort for car collection. Cars change class depending on the tune you have loaded, and grouping, while cool, is not always the solution mainly because a car can’t be in more than one category or group. I’ve very much prefer the sort options in GT5, Sort by: Date Acquired, Mileage, # of wins, power, brand, country of origin, value – much more useful.

Its there alright just press X when you are in the garage and tap RB.👍

Options, multi-screen. Turn it on and play with the settings.

If you crank it up too 90 degrees the camera sway will also be reduced. But its far more realistic this way and the cockpits are just better this way.👍

 

[Wolfe]

Its there alright just press X when you are in the garage and tap RB.👍

Yup, but I would say the UI is still quite clunky and inconsistent. Some options are only available in certain menus when they would still be relevant in others.

5. Single Player Race Selection – Badly needs a UI improvement. Also there are a LOT of cars; (especially the classics I love) that cannot be raced at all without upgrading them to truly unrealistic levels.

Another +1 on this from me. Season Play is almost totally pointless anyway (more on that in a moment), but I'll rotate through 4-5 cars before hitting one the game will "allow" me to use, simply because I have my cars tuned where I want them to be and Season Play will only let me use them if they're tuned for a (ridiculous) higher class. Didn't Turn 10 say this feature was designed to offer relevant races for whatever car we want to drive? Total bull.

Season Play gets another 👎 from me for unarguably wasting your time, apart from earning XP and credits which are thrown around like confetti anyway. Don't expect to be knocking off events in the Events List because you've done the races in Season Play -- if it's not a track featured on the Events List "version" of the series, it doesn't count for anything. If it IS a track from the Events List series, then it counts. WTF???

Season Play is enough of a taunting, "hey! Hey! Finish me!" that I'm doing it anyway, but it's not terribly rewarding. The AI remains stupid easy the whole way, too.

However, to spin it around the other way...I'm kinda glad this game has these quirks and faults. Like so many Japanese games (GT being a great example), it evokes a sort of "personality" to the game.

 

[Lord Stig]

i got a 360 just for forza 4. i was so disappointed with gt5. i havent played forza yet but i am super excited to get on the track with it!

 

[Starfirebird]

i got a 360 just for forza 4. i was so disappointed with gt5. i havent played forza yet but i am super excited to get on the track with it!

It's great man.I think you will have a blast playing it.

I really enjoy GT5,but Forza takes the cake.

 

[gslooney]

All good point's.
For me the good stuff is the community side of things, Auction houses, on line races, Car Clubs.. that's amazing!

Bad point's: have to export pictures and movies via xbox - live! That is such a chore.. especially as you can only have so many pictures in your storefront.. it's a bind and a half.
Why Can't the game upload directly to say flickr? or another like that?

 

[SkierPS3]

GT5 player here, I agree with your Pro's on Forza 4 except for the track one. I personally feel the tracks are AWFUL. Very few real-life "big" tracks, and the fantasy tracks seem generic and hard to discern from each other. Yes, we've got Silverstone, Nurb, Indy, Hockenheim and Sarthe, but besides a few others it's nothing much to be excited about. My 2 cents.

 

[Wolfe]

I agree, Skier. I feel FM4's tracks are skewed toward "flat," "straight," and "wide." As others have pointed out in the game's defense, it's probably to facilitate online racing. That's clearly where Turn 10's focus is.

 

[OLDSKOOLACURA]

I applaud you for being truthful

 

[VWMasteR]

I would really really love some track packs. I've never EVER understood why anyone has taken tracks out. I know it looks like hell... but I applauded GT5 for keeping Laguna rather than removing it.

 

[Wolfe]

I want to see GT5's track generator improved upon, while taking lessons from FUEL. Its auto-generated map has a ton of fine driving roads and Asobo didn't spend anywhere close to as much time on any of them as T10/PD do on their fantasy tracks. Bernese Alps looks pretty, but is about as fun and exciting as watching a (pretty) painting dry.

You don't have to go for a huge map or interconnected roads, which conflict with the GT/Forza concept. Design a decent-looking and competent track generator with not-half-assed stock scenery, and players will never run out of places to drive!

 

[SkierPS3]

Also, I think another pro should be added to GT5: dirt, gravel and snow racing. Rally is a cool thing that GT has. Although it wasn't implemented very well in GT5, the offroad racing in GT4 was better than a lot of games today can manage.

 

[VWMasteR]

Also, I think another pro should be added to GT5: dirt, gravel and snow racing. Rally is a cool thing that GT has. Although it wasn't implemented very well in GT5, the offroad racing in GT4 was better than a lot of games today can manage.

I can't really count something as a pro if it wasn't done right. Another example would be the warthog in autovista but you don't get to take it out and drive over other cars.

 

[SkierPS3]

I can't really count something as a pro if it wasn't done right. Another example would be the warthog in autovista but you don't get to take it out and drive over other cars.

The Warthog is nothing like rally in GT5, I don't really see how they can compared. GT5's rally isn't perfect, but it's a fun feature and is really cool. It can really challenge a decent tarmac driver like myself to step out of their comfort zone and tackle a whole new form of racing.

 

[STIGGY_34]

like i keep saying to people who ask me
what GT5 has Forza doesnt what Forza has GT5 doesnt
both as good as each other you know

 

[mao_fs]

Since I bought xbox and forza4 I haven't played GT5.
Forza4 has better physics and sounds.
BUT, the crackling sound is annoying sometimes, and
xbox multiplayer and forza4 online races have been disappointing.

 

[Vaxxtx]

like i keep saying to people who ask me
what GT5 has Forza doesnt what Forza has GT5 doesnt
both as good as each other you know

Gotta disagree. If they were on the same level I would still be playing both. GT5 (in my book) does way more wrong than right.

I have a feeling if more fanatic GT5 fans actually played FM4 they would feel the same way.

 

[t.o.]

Yup, but I would say the UI is still quite clunky and inconsistent. Some options are only available in certain menus when they would still be relevant in others.


Another +1 on this from me. Season Play is almost totally pointless anyway (more on that in a moment), but I'll rotate through 4-5 cars before hitting one the game will "allow" me to use, simply because I have my cars tuned where I want them to be and Season Play will only let me use them if they're tuned for a (ridiculous) higher class. Didn't Turn 10 say this feature was designed to offer relevant races for whatever car we want to drive? Total bull.

Season Play gets another 👎 from me for unarguably wasting your time, apart from earning XP and credits which are thrown around like confetti anyway. Don't expect to be knocking off events in the Events List because you've done the races in Season Play -- if it's not a track featured on the Events List "version" of the series, it doesn't count for anything. If it IS a track from the Events List series, then it counts. WTF???

Season Play is enough of a taunting, "hey! Hey! Finish me!" that I'm doing it anyway, but it's not terribly rewarding. The AI remains stupid easy the whole way, too.

However, to spin it around the other way...I'm kinda glad this game has these quirks and faults. Like so many Japanese games (GT being a great example), it evokes a sort of "personality" to the game.

Point 1: I was sure there was an option to force the AI not to use upgrades
Point 2: I don't think the game "makes up" races in the Season Play that aren't in the Event list.

I agree, Skier. I feel FM4's tracks are skewed toward "flat," "straight," and "wide." As others have pointed out in the game's defense, it's probably to facilitate online racing. That's clearly where Turn 10's focus is.

Again I know The Ring falls under this focus as Turn10 stated but these other "tracks" escape my memory.

 

[toyotasupraman]

Point 2: I don't think the game "makes up" races in the Season Play that aren't in the Event list.

Yes it does. I reached a point in Season Play where I had to race on an oval, and NOT every event was a Speedway Event. Since the Event List only has oval races on the Speedway Events, I can confirm 100% that the Season Play makes up races that aren't in the Event List.

 

[Wolfe]

I don't think the game "makes up" races in the Season Play that aren't in the Event list.

If you race "Class A North American Tour" at Infineon (NASCAR) in Season Play, it won't count for the "Class A North American Tour" race at Infineon (Indy Racing League) in the Event List. It doesn't count for anything on the Event List.

Yes, it's even picky down to the track variation. Though "picky" may be the wrong word when it's offering these races to you.

Like I said, you still get XP and credits. But I think people should know their Season Play efforts aren't necessarily contributing to their game completion percentage.

 

[cuco33]

My experience was that I could pick whatever car I wanted in whatever class I wanted... until I got late in the WT like in pro series. Then it keeps you normally at S class or above. Very rarely was I allowed to race anything less than S, on one occasion I was able to do an A class race. So yeah their statement was true for earlier on but it sticks to faster cars later in your career. I wanted to continue doing D-C-B-A class races in WT mode but where I'm now it's 95% S and above. I just go pick my slower cars and select the events list as I want to play them but stinks they aren't rotated in WT.