The Official Forza 5 thread

[Atomic Playboy]

I was on the fence about car packs in Forza 3. In Forza 4, I bought Season Pass, and about 6 weeks after the game came out, I was regretting that decision. It doubles the cost of the game to add a handful of cars, most of which I don't care about (and an occasional new track). And by the time all the DLC is released, I'm bored with the game and moving on to something else anyway. Ultimately, it's just another example of DLC run amok. I'm glad that the designers are keeping busy and whatnot, but I don't want you to sell me part of a game and then charge me update fees; I want a complete game from the start. I suppose it's a moot point because I don't see myself getting an Xbox1 any time soon, but I just thought I'd voice my displeasure with the obvious annoying cash grab bullshit that is permeating far too many games these days.

 

[SAWYER]

Coming soon, track pack for $80! What a ripoff

 

[smackababy]

I was on the fence about car packs in Forza 3. In Forza 4, I bought Season Pass, and about 6 weeks after the game came out, I was regretting that decision. It doubles the cost of the game to add a handful of cars, most of which I don't care about (and an occasional new track). And by the time all the DLC is released, I'm bored with the game and moving on to something else anyway. Ultimately, it's just another example of DLC run amok. I'm glad that the designers are keeping busy and whatnot, but I don't want you to sell me part of a game and then charge me update fees; I want a complete game from the start. I suppose it's a moot point because I don't see myself getting an Xbox1 any time soon, but I just thought I'd voice my displeasure with the obvious annoying cash grab bullshit that is permeating far too many games these days.

Forza 5 (and 4, and 3, and 2, and 1) are all complete games out of the box. This extra content that we are getting is content you would most likely not get in the game otherwise. They might have added a few of the initial DLC pack, but anything else would never be made.

Nobody is forcing you to buy these packs. You can easily buy the base game and enjoy it for what it is out of the box.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Forza 5 (and 4, and 3, and 2, and 1) are all complete games out of the box. This extra content that we are getting is content you would most likely not get in the game otherwise. They might have added a few of the initial DLC pack, but anything else would never be made.

Nobody is forcing you to buy these packs. You can easily buy the base game and enjoy it for what it is out of the box.

That's true. But in my opinion (and your opinion may certainly differ), I HATE it when a game comes out and features are added later for an additional cost. I'd rather not have the cars/tracks at all than have them come out after the game is released for additional money. It strikes me as a cash grab to provide content that they could have easily provided in the retail game from the start. It's especially disingenuous because the first car pack is being released simultaneously with the game. Here's a shiny new game! And here's something we could have put on the disc, but didn't because then we couldn't charge you an additional $10 for it! And then we're going to do that five more times in the coming months! Sorry, but that strikes me as a shady business practice and I'm going to call it like I see it.

 

[smackababy]

Software development doesn't really work like that though. Generally, you have a release date to finish code and then a QA process for testing and fixing those bugs. What you can get out in that time is only so much. The DLC that comes out along side these games, is generally started on by a smaller team after the game is finalized. And since it of a smaller scope, they are able to complete the DLC and have it ready by the time a the game might release (after being finalized months in prior).

Plus, adding extra cars and tracks isn't exactly the worst DLC or additional content for more money we've seen. Ultima 8 had a Speech pack that only added voices to the certain characters. It cost extra and was released concurrent with Ultima 8. That is BS.

 

[Larnz]

HOLY JEBUS! I'm not a racing car guy but this trailer is so well made and pretty that it makes me want to buy Forza at launch.

http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/11/05/forza-motorsport-5-launch-trailer

 

[SAWYER]

 

[smackababy]

I'll have to watch at home, but those GIFs look pretty good, even at that tiny size.

 

[cmdrdredd]

HOLY JEBUS! I'm not a racing car guy but this trailer is so well made and pretty that it makes me want to buy Forza at launch.

http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/11/05/forza-motorsport-5-launch-trailer

Ugh...2.5 more weeks...

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

That trailer is amazing. I am seriously thinking of canceling my PS4 pre-order and getting an XB1. Frustrating set of decision-making factors but on balance I definitely care more about the XB1 exclusives than the PS4 ones.

 

[SAWYER]

 

[Atomic Playboy]

The trailer looked really good, definitely better than some earlier trailers I'd seen that just looked like Forza 4. I had to stifle a laugh when the phrase "Cloud powered opponents" came on the screen though. Does that mean there's no offline single player? Of course there is... so what the hell does a "cloud powered opponent" mean? Without an internet connection, the AI is lifted straight out of Gran Turismo, whereas with an internet connection, you're actually racing against Michael Schumacher trying to relieve the boredom of retirement? Or is it just meaningless marketing that doesn't really impact anything in any meaningful way... Hmmmmm....

 

[cmdrdredd]

The trailer looked really good, definitely better than some earlier trailers I'd seen that just looked like Forza 4. I had to stifle a laugh when the phrase "Cloud powered opponents" came on the screen though. Does that mean there's no offline single player? Of course there is... so what the hell does a "cloud powered opponent" mean? Without an internet connection, the AI is lifted straight out of Gran Turismo, whereas with an internet connection, you're actually racing against Michael Schumacher trying to relieve the boredom of retirement? Or is it just meaningless marketing that doesn't really impact anything in any meaningful way... Hmmmmm....

What happens is when you are connected the game is uploading your laps to a server. Everyone who plays the game in single player (while connected to the internet) or multiplayer will have their driving data uploaded to a server. The server processes this information and uses it to augment AI cars. So when you play single player while connected to the internet, the AI can be driving like Bill from Indiana and it's also taking your driving style, habits, line etc and using that info to generate an AI car that is racing Sam in Texas. It's randomized but what it does is ensure that the AI will be driving similarly to how a real opponent might. If you take a certain turn faster than the AI cars normally would, it may use that data instead for someone playing.

 

[EightySix Four]

More information on the cloud powered AI.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/...e-use-the-cloud-to-drive-machine-learning-ai/

 

[smackababy]

I really like the AI idea, especially the learning part. Perhaps, we're closer to real AI than I thought.

 

[Wingznut]

Car packs every month...ugh.

The season pass stuff really kills me with Forza. To get the game Day One and the car packs totals $110 without tax or the Limited Edition. On top of that, 1/2 of the cars in the packs I will never touch and maybe 1-5 cars in one year's worth of packs becomes something I drive very often.

I really don't have a problem with the car packs or the season pass... If you think about it, the price of games ($60) has been stagnant for a long long time, yet development costs go up and up. So, if they want to charge me more for an optional part of a game this spectacular... Take my money.

HOLY JEBUS! I'm not a racing car guy but this trailer is so well made and pretty that it makes me want to buy Forza at launch.

http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/11/05/forza-motorsport-5-launch-trailer

That trailer makes me salivate more for this game, and more comfortable in my decision to purchase an Xbox One over a PS4 at launch.

 

[cmdrdredd]

I really don't have a problem with the car packs or the season pass... If you think about it, the price of games ($60) has been stagnant for a long long time, yet development costs go up and up. So, if they want to charge me more for an optional part of a game this spectacular... Take my money.

The problem I have is things coming out on day one that are not in the game at retail. I don't care if a different team did it. When you announce ahead that there will be dlc every month that tells me you want to nickle and dime your customers. I disagree with this practice but I can also just refuse to buy any of it. I just have a strong opinion against it is all. Especially if some of the stuff they put in the dlc is advantageous to have like a car that is faster than others in its class.

 

[Wingznut]

YouTube - IGN: Forza Motorsport 5 - We played the first hour, and there's no mistaking this for an Xbox 360 game.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

Forza should allow an open system for people to create content and sell content (CHEAPLY) via a sales medium.

Kinda like how modders mod first person shooters with new levels/characters and other DL and play. Do this with Forza!

This way, there are zero dev costs for whoever makes Forza. Hobbyists make a lot of content. It is sold through a store front where the maker of the levels splits sales receipts with Forza.

And some hobbyists would make AWESOME maps. I'd happily shell out $1 for a new map. Or 50 cents for the occasional car. But $80 is rediculous for a bundle. They must have done market research thoughand know that people will shell out the $80.

 

[Truthslayer]

Well, this killed all interest for me: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-11-06-why-forza-motorsport-5-has-less-cars-and-tracks-than-forza-4

14 tracks, that's like less than half then there was before. That, and having maybe half the cars from before is making me skip this one. I'll just save my cash for something else.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Well, this killed all interest for me: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...sport-5-has-less-cars-and-tracks-than-forza-4

14 tracks, that's like less than half then there was before. That, and having maybe half the cars from before is making me skip this one. I'll just save my cash for something else.

The detail of the tracks is probably twice what it was before. It takes a lot longer to do now because of all the detail they put into it.

 

[Ancalagon44]

Personally I think Forza 5 is what it is because Microsoft needed it to be a launch title - a system seller, which it definitely is.

For me though, it means I will probably wait until it hits the bargain bin. It also means we can expect Forza 6 to come out in 2015 with about 500 cars.

 

[smackababy]

The detail of the tracks is probably twice what it was before. It takes a lot longer to do now because of all the detail they put into it.

I'd much rather have 200 next gen detailed cars and 14 incredible tracks over 1150 PS2 ported cars and low res tracks. Plus, we don't need 50+ Skylines. Just hitting the big ones is good enough (70s GT-R, R32, R33, R34, and the GT-R). All Skyline fans should be happy.

 

[IHateMyJob2004]

The detail of the tracks is probably twice what it was before. It takes a lot longer to do now because of all the detail they put into it.

That sounds more like the level design tools are not as good as they should be.

 

[SAWYER]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0T36wjySIrY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAGWGHqoKO0