Forza 2: The Catch-All

Well, I don't have nearly as impressive of photos, nor did I have the cahones to show off my atrocious driving skills in online races last night, but here is what my first few hours of play netted me: (click for full size pictures)

Here I am taking my first car out for a spin of the test track (I went with Europe after all):
IMAGE(http://eknoop.net/images/forza_firstcar.jpg)

And here's a couple pictures of the crappy paintjob I gave the car afterwards:
IMAGE(http://eknoop.net/images/forza_fftop.jpg)
IMAGE(http://eknoop.net/images/forza_ffside.jpg)

Both the zeroKFE and the Fruit f*cker emblems will be seeing serious overhauls in the coming days. Then I will move on to actually making my cars look good and/or more complicated projects like F'ing Metal Jesus.

For my first paintjob, I started with the GamingTrend logo, since it's (obviously) a simpler design than good old Stan for a Gamers With Jobs car paintjob. It'll probably take me significantly longer to get a good Goodjer theme paintjob going. But since I want to show off an hour's worth of effort from last night, here's my starting car with my initial attempt at learning how to use Forza's custom paintjob editor:

IMAGE(http://i67.photobucket.com/albums/h304/farscry/GTCar.jpg)

Man, the hills and trees in Farscry's shot look photo-realistic. I'm seriously thinking of going Tony Hawk 8 on this game (buying it thanks to a passing mood, playing it for an hour or so, and then letting it rot, to my shame).

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Man, the hills and trees in Farscry's shot look photo-realistic. I'm seriously thinking of going Tony Hawk 8 on this game (buying it thanks to a passing mood, playing it for an hour or so, and then letting it rot, to my shame).

You should give it a rental -- the demo will show you how the game feels to play, but you won't get a sense of all the wonderful stuff the game has to offer to supplement the driving itself. I know I keep harping on this point, but Forza was the game that made racing sims click for me. Despite having no shortage of friends who tried to convince me that other entries in the genre were fun games, I never could understand how to play a non-arcade style racer. Honestly, I still don't really understand how to play them (as anyone who races me online will quickly see), but the guys at Turn 10 came up with some kind of wonderful special sauce that makes the game delicious even to a guy like me who didn't like sim driving and wasn't particularly interested in cars. And that was the case even with Forza 1 with a standard controller. Forza 2 with the wheel and pedals is like a goddamn religious experience, despite the fact that I still don't really like other sim driving games and I still lack the car nut gene (although I certainly have a greater appreciation of cars than I did when I picked up Forza 1 for the first time).

zero wrote:

And here's a couple pictures of the crappy paintjob I gave the car afterwards:

Crappy my ass. [insert dumb laugh here]. This is a nice looking fruit f*cker man! I can't wait to try this editor myself.

Man this is, and by far, very, very far, the best racing game I have ever played! Oh it's not perfect but it's pretty darn close.

WANT RACE. WANT RACE NOW.

One of the small annoyances with it so far is that you can't rotate around the car in photo mode when using the Wheel and you can't turn off the wheel unless you are in the menus. I wish the game would accept the input of a second controller at the same time, that would be a pretty simple fix. Well, I didn't even try it so maybe it does now but it didn't in the demo. I had a thread about this in the official forums so maybe they've listened, who knows? HUNH! WHO KNOWS!?

Edit: Can't, not can damnit.

I gotta admit. I love dirty racing. I love the bumps and the grinds and the crashes. Just the same though if it's a long race I'd expect it to be kept clean and civil at least till the last mile

Fedaykin98 wrote:

Man, the hills and trees in Farscry's shot look photo-realistic. I'm seriously thinking of going Tony Hawk 8 on this game (buying it thanks to a passing mood, playing it for an hour or so, and then letting it rot, to my shame).

This is so me also!!!

One of the small annoyances with it so far is that you can rotate around the car in photo mode when using the Wheel and you can't turn off the wheel unless you are in the menus. I wish the game would accept the input of a second controller at the same time, that would be a pretty simple fix.

Yeah, that bugged me. I found that I had to back out to the title screen in order to switch from the wheel to the controller. It wasn't a big deal when I was going into the paint tool, but if you want to take photos off a replay directly after a race you have very limited options available to you if you are using the wheel (although I did take that shot on the test track this way, and it turned out alright). Sure, you can save the replay and take the photos later after you switch controllers, but it would be nice to be able to take a shot whenever inspiration struck.

Anyway, I too will be crossing my fingers hoping that they patch in the ability to navigate menus and run the replay/photo editor with a second controller sometime soon.

zeroKFE wrote:
One of the small annoyances with it so far is that you can rotate around the car in photo mode when using the Wheel and you can't turn off the wheel unless you are in the menus. I wish the game would accept the input of a second controller at the same time, that would be a pretty simple fix.

Yeah, that bugged me. I found that I had to back out to the title screen in order to switch from the wheel to the controller.

The D-Pad worked for menus in the original; are you saying they've removed this from the sequel?

Wrestlevania wrote:

The D-Pad worked for menus in the original; are you saying they've removed this from the sequel?

The D pad works, but there is no right stick, and the emulation of the left stick with the wheel is limited. As such there is absolutely no trouble doing anything related to playing the game (navigating menus, buying cars, upgrading, etc) but when you are in the replay viewer and photo mode you can't really do much in terms of positioning the camera, and trying to paint your car with the wheel is hopeless.

This game is awesome. I haven't played a racing sim since the days of Papyrus and have never played a console racing sim at all so I don't have a lot of basis for comparison but I'm having a lot of fun and don't think I'll stop playing soon. Similar to the 'just one more turn' syndrome in strategy games, Forza has a 'just one more race' mechanic going on.

My complaints about the game include: no rain (wet tracks would be much harder but fun), no 1997 Prelude (Honda's 1998 redesign made them ugly IMO) and I think there should be a bigger penalty for crashing into the backs of other racers and making them spin out (I have been known to do this to win, but the fact that there is no serious repercussions make the game feel a little less real. Also, winning this way makes me feel a little guilty like I'm cheating.)

Anyway, I'd be happy to join in on any online racing anytime.

zeroKFE wrote:
Fedaykin98 wrote:

Man, the hills and trees in Farscry's shot look photo-realistic. I'm seriously thinking of going Tony Hawk 8 on this game (buying it thanks to a passing mood, playing it for an hour or so, and then letting it rot, to my shame).

You should give it a rental -- the demo will show you how the game feels to play, but you won't get a sense of all the wonderful stuff the game has to offer to supplement the driving itself. I know I keep harping on this point, but Forza was the game that made racing sims click for me. Despite having no shortage of friends who tried to convince me that other entries in the genre were fun games, I never could understand how to play a non-arcade style racer. Honestly, I still don't really understand how to play them (as anyone who races me online will quickly see), but the guys at Turn 10 came up with some kind of wonderful special sauce that makes the game delicious even to a guy like me who didn't like sim driving and wasn't particularly interested in cars. And that was the case even with Forza 1 with a standard controller. Forza 2 with the wheel and pedals is like a goddamn religious experience, despite the fact that I still don't really like other sim driving games and I still lack the car nut gene (although I certainly have a greater appreciation of cars than I did when I picked up Forza 1 for the first time).

I agree. I can enjoy Burnout, Midnight Club and such with folks, but I like 'real' racing more then anything (I'm not that good at it, but hey'). I like 'pure' racing with 'real' dynamics. I wish they had some Formula 1 cars, but close enough (and hot enough to cause me great distress). I loved Forza one and several GWJ'ers had some great races. Hope for this again. But I"m not a gearhead, so I'll be at a disadvantage too, for those who are fiddling.
I plan on getting this soon. Deal is, it will be me and my controller, and I'm still not great with it. So folks in their hot racing wheel and such will do me in (as those with their controllers too of course:>)

Also, winning this way makes me feel a little guilty like I'm cheating.

Don't worry, once it happens to you a few times you will no longer have qualms about it.

zeroKFE wrote:

Here I am taking my first car out for a spin of the test track (I went with Europe after all):

AUDI, YUMMMM.

I'm all about starting in Europe as soon as my copy arrives too.

I'd just like to pipe in I love my mini, and it handles just like this one

Stylez wrote:
Also, winning this way makes me feel a little guilty like I'm cheating.

Don't worry, once it happens to you a few times you will no longer have qualms about it.

Though really, that kind of tactic in a circuit racing sim is cheating. It'd get you in some serious trouble in the real thing, and it's disappointing that nobody has yet figured out how to enforce penalties for the way you get penalized for breaking the rules in sports titles. It shouldn't be that difficult.

I'll say that while I'm easy-going and playing for fun, if that kind of blatantly deliberate stuff happens to me with any kind of frequency, I'll be carefully picking and choosing who I race with. I've got Burnout and Mario Kart if I want destruction derby.

I wouldn't deliberately use ramming as a tactic against human players but don't have too much of a problem smacking the AI drivers around. It just makes me want to get good enough to be able pass them without first making them crash.

Mistakes happen; I have a really hard time passing the AI on turns the way I should be able to (if you overtake them before the racing line for the turn is committed, the passee is supposed to yield the inside line), and inadvertently hit them more frequently than I'd like. Same with the human players in the races I've played. Part of that is me getting the hang of the controls, part of it is my target either not realizing I'm lining up for the pass properly, or just not responding properly. It happens, and it's not a big deal.

Deliberate ramming people around is what I'd rather not see. It's like deliberately beaning your opponent's star batters every time they're up in a baseball game in hopes of injuring or rattling them. Sure you can do that if you're willing to cycle quickly through your bullpen due to ejections, but I doubt anybody would like to play against someone who plays that way.

Farscry.

I know what you mean. I'm all for competitve racing, I mean, there is a damage model in the game, best make use of it. But if your tactic is to slam into your opening as they are making their turn... That's just weak sauce.

What view do you guys use? It seems like the only way I could possibly avoid bumping and scraping on a tight pass is to use one of the third person views, but that is just a lot less fun (particularly when you are playing with the wheel).

Personally, I've been playing the bumper view since it has the rear view mirror, although I'd prefer to be using the view that shows the hood.

I can only play properly from the bumper view. I find myself oversteering like crazy in 3rd person. I do wish the hood view included the mirror as well, then I'd be all over it.

EvilDead wrote:

Picked it up today at Circuit City. They give you a free 20 dollar 360 game with purchase. Unfortunately their $20 game list is lacking. I ended up with Lego Star Wars II.

Both CC in my area where sold out, the "gods" must be telling me something!

Stylez wrote:

Farscry.

I know what you mean. I'm all for competitve racing, I mean, there is a damage model in the game, best make use of it. But if your tactic is to slam into your opening as they are making their turn... That's just weak sauce.

Whoa... I hope you didn't get the impression that I'm condoning that kind of passing game. I'm talking about as you're approaching a turn (not committed to a racing line through the turn yet, just approaching that point), if the car on the inside is overtaking the outside car, then by sports racing guidelines the car gaining the lead has right of way to take the inside approach and the outside car should yield the line to them.

However, once a car is committed to a turn's racing line already, it's against guidelines for their opponent to speed inside of them and disrupt their racing line, forcing them to either veer away, slam on the brakes, or take a hit and spin off course. That's dirty and will get you severely penalized.

So no, I'm not condoning the behavior at any point in the race of using collisions to get your way, or cutting other drivers off and forcing them to slam on their brakes to avoid a collision. That's most definitely weaksauce.

armedbushido wrote:
EvilDead wrote:

Picked it up today at Circuit City. They give you a free 20 dollar 360 game with purchase. Unfortunately their $20 game list is lacking. I ended up with Lego Star Wars II.

Both CC in my area where sold out, the "gods" must be telling me something!

Yes, they are saying "Play Gears of War MORE! Don't get distracted from the mission"

Irongut wrote:
armedbushido wrote:
EvilDead wrote:

Picked it up today at Circuit City. They give you a free 20 dollar 360 game with purchase. Unfortunately their $20 game list is lacking. I ended up with Lego Star Wars II.

Both CC in my area where sold out, the "gods" must be telling me something!

Yes, they are saying "Play Gears of War MORE! Don't get distracted from the mission"

What there probably telling me is that I will buy it, play it like two days, and shelve it like the other impluse buy games... :O

One more spin tonight on the demo!

zeroKFE wrote:

What view do you guys use? It seems like the only way I could possibly avoid bumping and scraping on a tight pass is to use one of the third person views, but that is just a lot less fun (particularly when you are playing with the wheel).

Personally, I've been playing the bumper view since it has the rear view mirror, although I'd prefer to be using the view that shows the hood.

I've been using the hood view for the slightly higher center of vision than the bumper view, but I really miss having a rearview mirror. I do wish it were easier to get side peripheral vision in 1st-person view; I simply can't drive in a racing sim with any 3rd person viewpoint, not enough precision for my tastes.

If there was some way to incorporate my TrackIR into Forza I don't think I'd ever leave my racing beanbag.

zeroKFE wrote:

What view do you guys use? It seems like the only way I could possibly avoid bumping and scraping on a tight pass is to use one of the third person views, but that is just a lot less fun (particularly when you are playing with the wheel).

Personally, I've been playing the bumper view since it has the rear view mirror, although I'd prefer to be using the view that shows the hood.

Exact same thing here. They really dropped the ball with the rear view mirror issue. I guess the extra power required to render the freakin hood made the game drop to 57fps or something.

Ack wired!

grr double post