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Forza Motorsport 3 - October 2009 release (ignore the OP at your peril)

eso76

Member
i'd like to know more about the replay editor

Does it just give you the ability to switch to a few different cameras at certain times of the race or is it more creative like the one used in Destruction Derby, where you could alternate fixed and floating cameras (you could move floating cameras with a keyframing sort of thing, where you'd choose the position and orientation of the camera at frame X and Y and it would motion tween the frames between those) having the camera follow a car as point of interest or leaving it fixed and varying zoom and focus manually (also with a keyframing sort of thing) and that sort of stuff ?

damn, if it's as deep as i'm hoping i can see myself spending hours on that thing.

(need more vids ! 60 fps vids too ! or just release a demo, actually !)

(HUH ? what's this thing about a june 12th demo ??)
 
D, C, and B races are definitely the most fun. I would like to see them do away with U class altogether.

I also hope they change up the collisions and damage up a bit. I would always have some idiot slam into me in a corner with little risk of damage to him-self, while I would be wrecked the rest of the race. It just seemed like there is always little to no risk to the person who initiates contact.
 

sneaky77

Member
pedrothelion said:
I'm excited to hear they are changing the single player to some kind of dynamic calendar system. It sounds awesome and they definitely needed to change up the single player game.

I am a bit disappointed about the way they're describing the online multi-player. It basically sounds like what they've done with the first two Forza games in that all ranked games are essentially rooms created by other players. All this means is that half the rooms are going to be U class oval races and now drag races.

I was hoping to hear about a Halo type of matchmaking system where Turn 10 sets the individual types of races and every one picks from that play list. Maybe they'll end up with something like that but it doesn't sound like it from the interviews so far.

the best thing for online clean racing is to join some sort of league anyway, at least in my experience
 
DopeyFish said:
i really want to know the true number of tracks, not variants
FM2 had 14 for 47 (including DLC). If they follow that same variant ratio, we're looking at just about 30 tracks. Two and half times as many as FM2 fresh out of the box.

Obviously, that just an estimate.
 
Looking awesome. No doubt it will surpass Forza 2 in every way. Nice to see the replay cams being improved upon.



rjcc said:

Couple of things though. Nitpicks.

Muffled sound doesn't really sound correct.
Steering wheel turn radius doesn't seem to represent the input that is needed to do certain corners. Maybe it was caused by the steer assist that comes with using a controller.





A genuine question though. Will going into opposite lock result in the on screen steering wheel turning more than 360 degrees, or will it follow the maximum turning ratio of the gaming wheel?
 
pedrothelion said:
D, C, and B races are definitely the most fun. I would like to see them do away with U class altogether.

I also hope they change up the collisions and damage up a bit. I would always have some idiot slam into me in a corner with little risk of damage to him-self, while I would be wrecked the rest of the race. It just seemed like there is always little to no risk to the person who initiates contact.
The faster travelling car should receive the most penalty imo, stop's those first corner rammers using you as a wall now and again.
 

jaydogg691

Member
golem said:
Game feels great from cockpit mode.. but it doesn't seem to me that its 60fps (not saying im an expert or didn't have a bunch of alcohol in my system, but that's what I felt)

See people, I'm not crazy. Racing in Cockpit view runs at 30fps.
 

h3ro

Member
saladine1 said:
12-6-09...save the date....demo....believe....


....

Don't play with my freaking emotions.

I shall smite you if this isn't true.

Che, we need you to clear up this 30fps/60fps cockpit controversy.
 
How many polygons did the cars use in FM2? They were saying in a gamespot interview that the cars in FM3 are pushing 10x more than FM2.
 

op_ivy

Fallen Xbot (cannot continue gaining levels in this class)
eso76 said:
nevermind, i just noticed the car closeup at the end uses tons of crossfading; not real time.

cross fading?

i assumed it was just the super high res model they use in menus and the paint screens.
 
saladine1 said:
12-6-09...save the date....demo....believe....


....

Quoting this again because if it doesn't happen, so help me, someone will be held accountable, goddamnit. :D

Dan said that there were 20 cars playable at E3, plus 3 tracks, of which we've seen 2. Seems fairly substantial for a public demo, but I don't think anyone would complain.
 

Saiyu

Junior Member
I'm excited, I just hope that the game is designed with the wheel in mind this time (i.e not another Forza 2) and the physics improve in the same way as the progression from GT4 to GT5 Prologue.
 
eso76 said:
nevermind, i just noticed the car closeup at the end uses tons of crossfading; not real time.
Maybe, but it's pretty easy to just snap a screenshot and have it fade out into the next scene.

I mean, the cars are made of 400,000 polygons if what they say is true, so that is probably about what it would look like. That is the largest polygon budget for a single car I've seen so far.

SimpleDesign said:
That sounds about right, and what was PGR4? I think I read 80 or 90k.

I don't know what PGR4 was, but PGR3 was between 80 and 100k.

A bit more footage, nothing really new or different though..
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-forza-motorsport/50496

And a youtube vid of the 3 screens in action.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eydjA9BCnuI
 

eso76

Member
op_ivy said:
cross fading?

i assumed it was just the super high res model they use in menus and the paint screens.

Yes, i mean cross dissolve...whatever, i am not sure that's what it's called, i mean when a sequence..well..fades into another; that has never been done in real time as far as i know although several Team Ninja games and GT 3-4-5(?) achieve something like this by snapping the last frame of a sequence and having it fade into the next (what WHOAguitarninja was saying). Here's different though, since neither sequence stops playing during fades...

..yes, ok, i realize i'm beyond helpless.

Anyway, i doubt they bothered crafting super high poly count models for every one of the 400 cars in the game just for menus and paint screens; those models have to be the exact same being used ingame, although there certainly is some LOD going on there.


And 40k polys for forza 2 ? i thought they said it had a higher polycount than PGR3/4, but going by the looks that sounds way more accurate in fact.
 
eso76 said:
Yes, i mean cross dissolve...whatever, i am not sure that's what it's called, i mean when a sequence..well..fades into another; that has never been done in real time as far as i know although several Team Ninja games and GT 3-4-5(?) achieve something like this by snapping the last frame of a sequence and having it fade into the next (what WHOAguitarninja was saying). Here's different though, since neither sequence stops playing during fades...

..yes, ok, i realize i'm beyond helpless.

Anyway, i doubt they bothered crafting super high poly count models for every one of the 400 cars in the game just for menus and paint screens; those models have to be the exact same being used ingame, although there certainly is some LOD going on there.


And 40k polys for forza 2 ? i thought they said it had a higher polycount than PGR3/4, but going by the looks that sounds way more accurate in fact.

Looking at the scene in question again the reflections seem a bit too perfect too, so you're likely right. Seems odd to waste disk space in that way though, but having HD video for something most people won't really care about.

And no doubt LOD is a large reason they're able to use such high polygon cars. There is almsot certainly not more than 1 or 2 at that detail onscreen at once, otherwise I doubt that would be possible.
 

Hawk269

Member
A few more questions that I would like to have answered before release....

1. Any night racing? Please?? Just a few?

2. Pit Stops - Are they useless like Forza 2 or are we finally able to adjust left/right tires or the amount of fuel... or if my car is 40% damaged, will the pitstop take longer due to the amount of damage? In forza 2 you can go in with a 80% damaged car and come out of the pit just as fast as the guy that needed a drop of fuel.

3. How many enviroments?

4. Any returning tracks from Forza 1? The track they have been showing looks like a sucessor to Blue Mountain from Forza 1.
 
I'd really like an article on the new engine. Filled with technical details that I have no hope of understanding, but want to try to understand anyway. And a progression of how/why they created it's particular abilities.

I mean Forza 2 was only 2 years ago. There is some he-man shit going on here, if in 2 years they create a new engine, increase poly counts 10 fold, and ship a game (well, in a few months).

Details of the new engine needed. Journos do you job. Or... I will be angry, and I will write you a letter telling you I am angry.
 
AndersTheSwede said:
I'd really like an article on the new engine. Filled with technical details that I have no hope of understanding, but want to try to understand anyway. And a progression of how/why they created it's particular abilities.

I mean Forza 2 was only 2 years ago. There is some he-man shit going on here, if in 2 years they create a new engine, increase poly counts 10 fold, and ship a game (well, in a few months).

Details of the new engine needed. Journos do you job. Or... I will be angry, and I will write you a letter telling you I am angry.

I concur.
 
The whole 60/30 debate for cockpit:

Guys who have played it: are you sure it wasn't just the shift from playing in different viewpoints that made it feel this way? In the seat there is alot of obstruction of vision, and everything is really enclosed, this could have made it "feel" slower or different to you?

Real bummer if true though. Where is the Turn 10 guy to shed light on this?
 

Iknos

Junior Member
eso76 said:
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-09-forza-motorsport/50406

Yay ! replays have improved tenfolds (like everything else, apparently)

(the audi R8 closeups at the end of the video: Drool
if it wasn't for a hint of tearing at the beginning i'd say it's prerendered stuff, holy shit at the interiors)

That reminds me, one thing that FM2 did that GT5:p was never able to do despite all the patches it got was to have Friend's and World leaderboards for lap and race times. It really made the game more engrossing.

Quick fade ins can be done in real time, but I'm thinking that it was pre-rendered and not real time because of the resolution of the reflections.

Though it looks really good when you are swapping car colors...
 

RSTEIN

Comics, serious business!
Some guy at Forzamotorsport.net put up these comparison shots:

430scuderiasuzukafm2.jpg

430scuderiasuzukafm3.jpg




r8silverstone1fm2.jpg

r8silverstonefm3.jpg
 

LCfiner

Member
RSTEIN said:
Some guy at Forzamotorsport.net put up these comparison shots:

430scuderiasuzukafm2.jpg

430scuderiasuzukafm3.jpg

whoa... those tail lights in FM2 look way worse than I remember. that's a damn ugly octogon stuck on the back.

lighting differences are obvious, of course.
 

RSTEIN

Comics, serious business!
LCfiner said:
whoa... those tail lights in FM2 look way worse than I remember. that's a damn ugly octogon stuck on the back.

lighting differences are obvious, of course.

To be honest, I don't remember the lights looking THAT bad. I think it's just a bad shot. Still, the difference is night and day. Kudos, Turn 10.
 

Bobo

Member
Right this game has "sold" me on the 360 however... Logitech wheel support? is it going to happen? and if not, is it worth buying if I'm only going to be using the pad?
 
RSTEIN said:
Some guy at Forzamotorsport.net put up these comparison shots:

430scuderiasuzukafm2.jpg

430scuderiasuzukafm3.jpg




r8silverstone1fm2.jpg

r8silverstonefm3.jpg

Yeah, this is, without a doubt, the biggest same gen graphics jump from a game to it's sequel in history. I can't think of anything else that is even remotely close.
 
Dam this game looks amazing but I don't usually play Sim racers, this game better be easy in a way so I can enjoy it, like I dipped into PGR3 just for graphics and ended up doing 1000/1000 for achievements.
 

op_ivy

Fallen Xbot (cannot continue gaining levels in this class)
WHOAguitarninja said:
Yeah, this is, without a doubt, the biggest same gen graphics jump from a game to it's sequel in history. I can't think of anything else that is even remotely close.

i'd argue rsc1 to rsc2 was bigger
 
Bobo said:
Right this game has "sold" me on the 360 however... Logitech wheel support? is it going to happen? and if not, is it worth buying if I'm only going to be using the pad?

Forza 2 felt great on a pad and I had a ton of fun with it. This should feel at least as good.

The logitech wheel is almost certainly not going to be supported. They would need to release an entirely new wheel.
 
Arpharmd B said:
The whole 60/30 debate for cockpit:

Guys who have played it: are you sure it wasn't just the shift from playing in different viewpoints that made it feel this way? In the seat there is alot of obstruction of vision, and everything is really enclosed, this could have made it "feel" slower or different to you?

Real bummer if true though. Where is the Turn 10 guy to shed light on this?


Look at the triple screen video below. When the smoke kicks up there is clearly a slow down in framerate.

The game is not running at a solid 60fps by any means in those videos but it looks incredible. I doubt the 360(or ps3)has it in it to do that at a constant 60.
 
op_ivy said:
i'd argue rsc1 to rsc2 was bigger

OOooo, that's a good one too. I don't think RSC2 made RSC1 look nearly as dated as F3 makes F2 look, though.

weedlewalker said:
Look at the triple screen video below. When the smoke kicks up there is clearly a slow down in framerate.

The game is not running at a solid 60fps by any means in those videos but it looks incredible. I doubt the 360(or ps3)has it in it to do that at a constant 60.

F2 was stuttering and chopping a few months before it launched too. Much worse than this, actually. If their software engineers can put together an engine this impressive, I trust they know how much they can get out of the system to set a workable polygon and effect budget to hit their target framerate.

And about those tail lights. I just fired up F2 to check em out. Yeah, that's what they look like, but only the portion that lights up seems to be that angular. It's encased in a much more rounded light.

Still though, the difference is obvious.
 

op_ivy

Fallen Xbot (cannot continue gaining levels in this class)
RSTEIN said:
Car select screen:
IMG_0049.jpg

IMG_0050.jpg

from the 3 screen video posted earlier... i love the look of the ui and how car selection is handled. no longer do we select a car then wait a second or two for the model to load. its just a picture now and loading is instantaneous.

after selecting your car, then it loads the high detail model that spins around ala a car showroom and you select your color.

nice touch

weedlewalker said:
Look at the triple screen video below. When the smoke kicks up there is clearly a slow down in framerate.

The game is not running at a solid 60fps by any means in those videos but it looks incredible. I doubt the 360(or ps3)has it in it to do that at a constant 60.

i'd be willing to bet these issues get ironed out though and the game is 99.9% 60fps, that .1% being for major collisions and shit
 

Timbuktu

Member
AndersTheSwede said:
I'd really like an article on the new engine. Filled with technical details that I have no hope of understanding, but want to try to understand anyway. And a progression of how/why they created it's particular abilities.

I mean Forza 2 was only 2 years ago. There is some he-man shit going on here, if in 2 years they create a new engine, increase poly counts 10 fold, and ship a game (well, in a few months).

Details of the new engine needed. Journos do you job. Or... I will be angry, and I will write you a letter telling you I am angry.

Is it not possible that work on the new engine started before Forza 2 was released?
 

HokieJoe

Member
Thanks for all the links/pics guys. I can't believe how much better it looks compared to FM2. The taillights, lighting, soft shadows, etc...Forza 3 looks awesome. GT5 looks awesome as well. PD might actually resurrect NASCAR gaming with some believability.
 
Timbuktu said:
Is it not possible that work on the new engine started before Forza 2 was released?

I'm sure it did, but even still, this is a remarkably quick turnaround, especially considering that at some point in time they had to build 400 cars with roughly 400k polygons a piece. That is an absolutely staggering amount of man hours right there. If I had to guess, I'd say that asset creation started probably a good while before the end of Forza 2's dev cycle. I'd also guess that R&D on the software engine side was going on in prep for Forza 3 probably very early on the in F2 cycle as well.

This kindof leads me to another point, which also applies to GT5 and other games using absurdly high polygon models.

I'm starting to think that maybe next gen they won't need to redo the car models. I mean, we can get super closeups in photomode at insano resolutions and the cars still look basically perfect. They'll already have a huge bank of cars, so maybe they can focus on just adding more cars, and putting them into a new renderer. At this point, I think the major improvements in visuals, on the cars atleast, are not going to come from adding more polygons.
 
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