Forza Motorsport (TM) - Features
 
General Info Press Releases Physics / Damage  A. I.  Regions 
 XBox Live! Penalty System Sound / Music  Controls Links
 
Fast Facts and Forza Firsts
 
The Team
Creator / Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios / Microsoft Inc.
Origins: EA, DICE, Boss Games, Nintendo, Crystal Dynamics, and Neversoft
Size: started at 20 people, and went up to 150.
 
Release Info
Release date: May 3, 2005 in NA, May 13 in PAL regions.
Demo: Available in OXM #39 in North America and on MechAssault 2 LE game disk (Link)
 
Content
Cars: 231 
Garage: The player's garage will hold about 300 cars.
Auto Manufacturers: 43 primary auto manufacturers and 17 aftermarket car manufacturers.
Tracks: 17 track environments featuring 44 tracks
Performance parts: 150 companies with over 500 parts
Paint Customization: up to 100 layers of content can be applied to 6 separate sections of the car's body (left side, top, right side, front, back, wing).
Replays: Forza features a Replay Telemetry system that allows the player to look at the forces acting on the car in any replay, at suspension travel, load, camber, lateral and accelerative forces as well as tire pressure and temperature.
Pit Stops: "Crew animations are nice to watch for spectators, but that’s not what the crew chief and driver are watching during a pit stop. Pit stops in Forza Motorsport are focused around race strategy not the movements of a pit crew." "Pit crews will perform limited repairs on performance systems, but bumpers, wings and other body components will not be replaced during the race" (Link)
 
Live! Functionality
Players: 8 racers online
Clans: Car clubs of up to 100 racers
Leader boards: More than 1400
Downloadable content: patches only
 
Technical Features
Players: 2-player split-screen, system link (Link), 8 players on Live!
HDTV: 480p and widescreen (Link)
Sound: Dolby 5.1 Surround, speakers linked to each wheel of the car.
Frames per second: 30 fps (Link)
Control sampling: 180 times per second.
Rumble: All four tires are fed into the rumble and 5.1 audio systems independently. As a result, the experienced player can tell which tires are on curbing, off the road or beyond peak friction simply by touch. (Link)
Force Feedback Steering Wheel: The new Fanatec Speedster Force Shock (Link) is the manufacturer that MS worked with. 
 
History
Winter 2001-02: Microsoft team starts development of Forza Motorsport with a team of 20
April 9, 2004: Microsoft patents Forza Motorsport
May 10, 2004: at pre-E3 press conference, Microsoft announces Forza Motorsport
November 9, 2004: Display demo released to a number of stores.
Late November: Demo released on copies of OXM #39
December 28,2004: Demo included with MechAssault 2: Lone Wolf
May 3 and 13, 2005: Forza Motorsport release date.
Forza 'Firsts':
  • Risk-based reward system - "You can win more money by racing with some of the game assists turned off. For example, you will earn more money for winning a race using a manual transmission than you will if you race with an automatic. The same goes for racing with the damage system turned off, or by racing with the assists (such as ABS brakes) turned off. " (Link)
  • Dual Arm Suspension: This means your car wheels can tilt slightly as well as go up and down. An important factor for cornering.
  • Air Physics System: The physics model calculates drag as well as lift cause by air going under the car.
  • Drivatar: Learning AI that mimics your driving style for use as team driving or to race against others in your absence.
  • Tire Physics: "We received confidential real-world tire data from engineers at Toyo tires to help us develop and tune our tire physics. We spent over a month developing the tire physics and two months tuning the tire compounds and tire types. " (Link)
  • Persistent environmental damage: paint etchings on guardrails, tread marks on the pavement, all remain there until the end of the race.

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