"Forza 3" Catch All

I seriously can't wait for this. I just bought the racing wheel and have been getting used to it in Forza 2. Its wonderful. I'll never need to buy a new car again!

Nei wrote:
Prederick wrote:

(Really, who has ever picked up a NFS game because they wanted/were looking for realism?

To be fair, NFS started with trying to be realistic. They tried again with NFS: Porsche Unleashed which happen to be one of my favorite NFS games in series.

We are actually having a discussion related to this specifically in the NFS: Shift thread.

I seriously can't wait for this. I just bought the racing wheel and have been getting used to it in Forza 2. Its wonderful.

Same here. I've been trying to get used to it. I think figuring out how to properly position it without building\buying a driving seat is going to be tough. Right now my arms get tired after two races. It is exhilarating though.

How much lock does the MS wheel have?

It's 90 degrees left or right. No 360 rotation sadly. That said it's very customizable in Forza in order to get the appropriate calibration. I'm quite pleased with it.

One recommendation is to NOT use it on your lap. The FFB will have the wheel bucking around like crazy. Get yourself a good TV Tray table. one that I found works really well is the "AS SEEN ON TV" Table mate 2. You can find it at your local Walmart I'm sure.

Still trying to find a suitable mount for the pedals. That's next.

Wasn't there a link to some plans for a racing gimble in the Forza 2 thread from where someone built one by hand? Because if that person or someone who remembers that maybe has a link who could repost it would be awesome

Bummer. That's a deal breaker.

d3p0 wrote:

Bummer. That's a deal breaker.

You would think, but the fact is that there really aren't any other options anywhere near the price range. I'd love it to rotate like a real wheel but I'm not pay 300 dollars for a Fanatec, particularly considering that they use almost as much plastic as the MS wheel does. For 300 dollars I really expect the thing to be able to withstand a nuclear strike.

That tablemate looks good for the wheel. If you wanted to build something custom I can't imagine it would be that hard, as all you're really doing is building an extremely basic table. If I had a garage I'd probably go that route.

Stylez wrote:

It's 90 degrees left or right. No 360 rotation sadly. That said it's very customizable in Forza in order to get the appropriate calibration. I'm quite pleased with it.

It's actually 270 degrees total. 135 left & right.

Evildead is right. Sorry I knew if felt around 90 degrees each way, but yeah it is a little (lot?) more.

In any case, I'd recommend trying it out if you can, it's certainly decent hardware for the 100 bucks you can find it for now.

Demo is up on Marketplace! I'm downloading it right now -- I'll post some impressions once it's down and I've taken it for a spin.

Somehow I remembered to start this download before I went to work. It was a rare occurrence. I can't wait to hook my wheel up!

Okay, it's good The graphics overall, and in the in-car view, look great, even if the in-car view is perhaps a little too clean and plastic, and it drives just as well as it ever did. There's just one track in the demo, but it's quite picturesque. The rewind is the big new feature for me -- it really does take a lot of the frustration out. It rewinds in chunks of a few seconds each, which is a bit strange at first, but UI-wise it's probably the easiest way they could've done it.

Definitely can't wait for release day now!

EvilDead wrote:

Somehow I remembered to start this download before I went to work. It was a rare occurrence. I can't wait to hook my wheel up!

If you can access xbox.com at work you can add these things to your queue via the web.
That's been a great feature for me since it's been out.
The demo is downloaded and waiting, but odst is calling.

DrJekl wrote:
EvilDead wrote:

Somehow I remembered to start this download before I went to work. It was a rare occurrence. I can't wait to hook my wheel up!

If you can access xbox.com at work you can add these things to your queue via the web.
That's been a great feature for me since it's been out.

Yeah, I can, and usually end up doing that. But since I remembered prior to leaving the house today it will be ready to go when I get home!

DrJekl wrote:
EvilDead wrote:

Somehow I remembered to start this download before I went to work. It was a rare occurrence. I can't wait to hook my wheel up!

If you can access xbox.com at work you can add these things to your queue via the web.
That's been a great feature for me since it's been out.
The demo is downloaded and waiting, but odst is calling.

Yeah, but doesn't your 360 need to be powered up in order to start the download?

Or if you initiate it remotely, does it start downloading at your house whether the machine is turned on or not?

Just got done running some hot laps, and damn if it doesn't look good. It's probably safe to still call it a bit clinical/sterile, but it's a huge improvement over v2.

Tip - to run hot lap mode in the demo, which lets you run an unlimited number of laps without the other jackhole drivers AI traffic, select the 'Leaderboard' option during the track selection screen (I think it was the Y button) and then hit A to start a hot lap race. Best lap times are tracked up on the leader boards per car, so get busy.

A couple personal notes:
First, while the cockpit via is a nice addition, I don't see myself using it much. Sadly, it doesn't compare to, say, PGR's cockpit view. When in the cockpit view, I actually feel somewhat disconnected from the car, and the look left/right/behind controls snap the view outside of the cockpit, breaking immersion. On the flip-side, the hood view now includes the rear view "mirror," and the staple bumper view looks and feels better than ever.

Second, the addition of the clutch looks like it will be pretty much reserved for those with fancy steering wheel setups, unless they let us map it to a more reasonably button. Trying to tap the clutch (LB) while breaking and down shifting was a pain in the butt, and it didn't really add anything to the feel of shifting up through the gears under acceleration.

I just cracked, and after swearing I'd never buy any clothing for my avatar, I went ahead and bought the Forza 3 racing jacket and helmet (red/black). I kind of hate myself now, but I don't mind supporting Turn 10 (hoping they actually get a cut of the avatar clothing purchases).

And now, I eagerly await the demo to finish downloading.

Stylez wrote:

It's 90 degrees left or right. No 360 rotation sadly. That said it's very customizable in Forza in order to get the appropriate calibration. I'm quite pleased with it.

One recommendation is to NOT use it on your lap. The FFB will have the wheel bucking around like crazy. Get yourself a good TV Tray table. one that I found works really well is the "AS SEEN ON TV" Table mate 2. You can find it at your local Walmart I'm sure.

Still trying to find a suitable mount for the pedals. That's next.

Is it feasable to mod the Table Mate to attach the pedals directly to it?

I'm thinking attaching a panel to the horizontal part of the Table Mate legs, then mounting the pedals to that.

I've been toying with doing something similar, but I don't have space to store it when not in use - my living room is already cluttered with plastic instruments as it is.

Very impressed with the demo. Great improvements over Forza 2. I still think Shift has presentation locked up but the simulation and AI crowns, at least for the consoles, belong to Forza 3. The cockpit view is functional if basic...I guess when you are rendering 400 cockpits you have to make some concessions somewhere.

Tire physics feel almost as good as "Live for Speed" on the PC.

Sold.

FWIW, (referring to the wheel discussion above), I use my 360 wheel on my lap all the time. I could not imagine it with any other wheel but the MS wheel is so well designed that I can keep it on my lap easily, even during crazy Dirt2 sessions. The pedals are a work of genius with the "gap" that allows you to plant your heals and stop the base from moving. The driving feel is fantastic, especially with the Forza 2 (and now Forza 3).

So those with the 360 wheel (which I just picked up), what the hell do you do with the pedals? Mine are sliding every which way (on carpet). I try to hold it down with my left foot but that does little to help...

BTW, Lupus the demo has only been out barely a day and you are already in the top 1,000 out of 66,000. You sir, are a driving god. I will more than happily run you off the road knowing that I cannot possibly beat you in a fair fight. err.. I mean race.

Nimcosi wrote:

So those with the 360 wheel (which I just picked up), what the hell do you do with the pedals? Mine are sliding every which way (on carpet). I try to hold it down with my left foot but that does little to help...

BTW, Lupus the demo has only been out barely a day and you are already in the top 1,000 out of 66,000. You sir, are a driving god. I will more than happily run you off the road knowing that I cannot possibly beat you in a fair fight. err.. I mean race. ;)

I have been using a rolled up towel behind the pedals. This creates enough support in my case to hold the pedals. Other easy suggestions include using a few heavy books behind it.

Damn it, now I'm considering that stupid wheel again.

Also, the load times seem even worse than Forza 2

Nimcosi wrote:

So those with the 360 wheel (which I just picked up), what the hell do you do with the pedals? Mine are sliding every which way (on carpet). I try to hold it down with my left foot but that does little to help...

Like I said in my previous post, they are made to "notch" your heels into that slot which naturally prevents the pedals from moving, left on brake, right on throttle. I have no issues with it and I know several other people that comment on that advantage of the 360 wheel as well.

Just played the demo for about two hours.

I'm really impressed. First, let's talk about the graphics. It is amazing how much improvement they have made in this area considering that they are using the exact same hardware. The graphics of Forza 2 were quite generic, tracks were poorly detailed, and reflections looked very odd. That has all been improved drastically. The change is so massive that if I saw Forza 3 first and didn't know better I'd probably think Forza 2 was originally released on the Xbox.

The in-car view is meh. But I'm not sure if its the game's fault. It seems that if you're using a wheel there isn't a lot of need for the in-car view. Why have a pair of hands and a wheel on the screen when you already have your own pair of hands and wheel right in front of you? The hood view is great, though, now that includes the rear-view. Thats the view I'll be using the play the game.

I was impressed by the track, too. Good tracks are important, and this one shows that Turn 10 knows what it is doing. There are tight turns, big banked turns, little sudden turns, and also elevation changes that can play havoc with the lighter cars.

My only area of disappointment was the music, which remains horrid. In fact it is worse, because Forza 2 at least had good music in the main menu. Now its just the same crappy music all around. I'm not sure who does the music, but they should give up on doing music for games and hook up with some elevator companies.

Yea, I can't wait. In the meantime I'm going to try and get in the top 1% with each car.

I find racing game trailers usually pretty boring, but this TGS trailer seems just crazy fun to me

Faceless Clock wrote:

The in-car view is meh. But I'm not sure if its the game's fault. It seems that if you're using a wheel there isn't a lot of need for the in-car view. Why have a pair of hands and a wheel on the screen when you already have your own pair of hands and wheel right in front of you? The hood view is great, though, now that includes the rear-view. Thats the view I'll be using the play the game.

I actually really enjoyed the in car view. No, it wasn't as detailed as PGR or DIRT but it also didn't become an annoying obstacle like it was in those two games. It felt very clean and it visually gave a good sense of weight to the car when breaking, accelerating, and cornering. It also helps that the game is so smooth.

Faceless Clock wrote:

My only area of disappointment was the music, which remains horrid. In fact it is worse, because Forza 2 at least had good music in the main menu. Now its just the same crappy music all around. I'm not sure who does the music, but they should give up on doing music for games and hook up with some elevator companies.

To be fair... it's hard to find music that everyone would like. As an example, what little I heard of music in FM3, I didn't think it was bad at all. That said, I guess custom soundtrack FTW!!! ...?

Now I just need to learn to drive like this.

Crazy driving skills

I was wondering why it was getting such a low rating until a made the mistake at looking at some of the comments. "Forza Sux, GT5 is so much better".

Nei wrote:
Faceless Clock wrote:

My only area of disappointment was the music, which remains horrid. In fact it is worse, because Forza 2 at least had good music in the main menu. Now its just the same crappy music all around. I'm not sure who does the music, but they should give up on doing music for games and hook up with some elevator companies.

To be fair... it's hard to find music that everyone would like. As an example, what little I heard of music in FM3, I didn't think it was bad at all. That said, I guess custom soundtrack FTW!!! ...? :)

This is why I made a Forza playlist on my Ipod. I'll just add to that playlist for Forza 3.