Barely a week into Forza Motorsport’s life, Turn 10 has partially walked back a key game mechanic following a poor reception from fans.
The adjustment comes in a 2.6GB update (on Series X) made available today, as part of a wider raft of changes aimed at addressing a number of issues noted across all areas of the game. However the most significant comes by way of an adjustment to the system governing car leveling and upgrades.
It’s a feature that’s a fundamental aspect of the game’s “Builders Cup”, which has a goal of getting players to bond with their vehicles by driving them and upgrading them piece by piece rather than all at once.
That’s achieved by awarding “CarXP” points for the simple act of driving, levelling the car up and unlocking parts as you pass each level threshold — and spending Car Points on them rather than credits.
However, doing this requires a significant amount of time, with around two hours being a good estimate to level a vehicle up from new to the maximum level 50 and acquire access to the most extreme upgrades. Additionally it must be done every time for every car, even if you already have a level 50 example of the exact same car.
Although this mostly remains in place, Turn10 has now reworked the levels at which the various car parts unlock, allowing for greater scope in modification at lower levels and a more rapid unlocking of many components.
Most significantly, all upgrades are now available by Car Level 25, which should roughly halve the time required to gain access to the full suite of possible modifications. Engine and drivetrain swaps now both sit at level 25 instead of 40 and 50 previously, with bodykit upgrades now coming it at level 20 rather than level 45.
Elsewhere, all wheel style changes are now available right from level one, while tire compounds — something T10 made a lot of noise about pre-launch — drop from level 11 to level three. That should also offset some of the questions about how AI cars even at lower levels were running racing tires on their hatchbacks.
Turbocharging — single, double, and intercooler systems — join weight reduction in dropping from a level 20 part to a level 12 part, while the full suite of internal engine upgrades are now available by level 15 rather than levels 26 to 35.
Ultimately this means that players should have access to every tuning item for a vehicle if they stick with that car through a single Builders Cup event — although perhaps they’ll still need some more miles under the wheels to be able to afford all the parts for their high-performance builds.
However you will still need to reach level 50 if you want to unlock the brand “affinity” discount, as well as pick up specific Achievements for doing so, and re-do the leveling if you purchase a second example of the same car.
