Online Leagues
This week, we’re showing off competitive multiplayer Leagues for the first time at Gamescom. If you love online racing, this new Leagues feature was built for you. Leagues are a brand new multiplayer feature for Forza 6, one that lets players compete in thrilling multiplayer races that are scheduled and based around each player’s skill level and temperament.
The cornerstones of Leagues are its scheduled race lobbies. All League lobbies run on a schedule and will be open in the game during specific times each day. For example, there might be a B-Class League lobby that will be open for four hours per day for a full week; after which, it will be replaced with a new League lobby featuring different cars and/or tracks. While a League’s daily open window may vary from League to League, we are designing these windows to be open to allow the most players within different time zones.
During an open window, players can join a League Lobby and compete against one another in that lobby’s playlist. After each race, players will earn points based on their performance (what position they placed in, as well as the number of higher-skilled players they beat). As long as a League window is open, players can continue to play in that lobby and earn points; these points will accumulate on that League’s leaderboard for the duration of the League. Once a scheduled League has closed down, players will earn credits based on their final position on the League’s overall leaderboard.
Our goal with League racing is to have players always have multiplayer matches that are geared to their skill. To do that, we are organizing players into different skill-based Driver Divisions. All players will begin at the lowest division when they first start playing in Leagues and more skilled players will quickly move up into their appropriate divisions. Each time a player races, we recalculate his or her skill level by comparing how that player finishes among the other players in a race. The more races you win or place highly in, the better the chance you’ll move up to a new League division. Once a League begins, players will remain in that league until the League has completed. When the new set of Leagues is set, each player’s Driver Division will be reviewed and players will potentially be reclassified based on their current skill level. In addition to skill level, League players will be organized by their temperament levels, which will ensure that clean drivers will be paired with other clean drivers, while players who tend to enjoy more contact will be racing with similar style opponents.
Driver Division will also control which League events players have access to. A newer, less skilled driver won’t be able to see or have access to the same League events available to elite-skill players. This allows us to create race events that fit for different players, tailoring the cars and tracks to the most appropriate skill levels.
For Forza Motorsport 6, Online Leagues represent a fantastic opportunity for players to get the best multiplayer racing experience on a consistent basis. In addition to a regular cadence of updated Race Leagues, we’ll also be creating special events that will give players of all skill levels the chance to compete. Whether it’s with one-off series tied to real-world race weekends or invite-only events featuring the best racers in the world, Online Leagues promises to be an incredibly exciting, and always changing, new feature in the game.
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