Kicking off Dan explained the basic structure of the game revealing that over 50% more upgrade parts will be available before moving on to the damage model and displaying the car design features. Starting with the latter, he put some basic designs on the car, whilst demonstrating the functionality of this mode, the increased flexibility of being able to select multiple, movable layers and also the ease by which players can share their designs.
This was followed by a run around Sebring demonstrating several examples of the damage model in action, which is working pretty much perfectly at this stage.
VVV enquired; “Will the CRX’s be dominant or can we finally see a level playing field”, Dan explained – “Yeah the original title was dominated by the CRX’s and F355, this was due to linear system that worked out the potential of each car, however this system didn’t take certain aspects into account. On Forza 2, the Turn 10 development team worked on a neural system to analyze lap times running every car in the game with every car part and set-up setting. This system took around 48 hours to run and gave the development team a good idea of where the top lap times existed and the opportunity to give the cars balance, so we shouldn’t see the same issue occurring. Of course, if it does come up, we have a plan B “
Dan moved on to explore the car and tyre physics explaining “this model took 3 months to develop”. Dan and the Turn 10 development team are clearly very proud of this tyre physics system and rightly so as it is clearly a step forward for the videogame racing experience.
VVV enquired; “so are there different tyre compounds in the game?” Dan explained – "yes there are a wide range of tyre compounds including support from all of the major tyre manufacturers (Bridgestone, Michellin, Goodyear and Toyo being good examples). When we showed them to our load sensitivity technology, they were blown away, this had never been done in a videogame before and they couldn’t wait to get involved. Now with these tyre manufactures we have a range of compounds, racing tyres, production tyres, classic tyres and club tyres.
VVV enquired; “Ok, so we’ve got this great tyre technology, how does it work in practice? I see you’re racing on Sebring here, which means that ambient temperature could be high and the track would raise its own asphalt conditions. In real life, this would greatly affect tyre temperature and their time of peak performance. Is all of this calculated in the game?”
Dan explained – “Yes that’s a good question and yes, ambient and track conditions will affect tyre performance, so you’ll need to discover which tyres work for you. This will introduce a whole new level of depth.”
Dan went on to explain more about general car performance and more in depth explanation of tyre physics, revealing the depth of options this could present.
Besides the physical affects of the asphalt Dan went into the visual side and explained that every detail present from oil stains to skid marks were as present on the day the track data was photographed. He even mentioned that a guy involved with the development skidded off at the top of the hill in Laguna Sega and when he got to race the track in the game he saw his tyre marks as he was sliding off the track. He thought it was a joke until Dan mentioned that this was the actual track on the day so now that moment of lost concentration will be ever present.
VVV enquired – “Are mandatory pit-stops present in the game?” Dan explains – “no it’s not something we integrated, tyre selection will be critical however, and on long runs you will need to adapt your strategy”.
Next on the agenda was driver AI. Cars in games usually have a basic system of assessing their surrounding, where the racing line is, where a rival car is and so on. Forza 2 continued with the development of their drivatar system and this continues to evolve, even the drivatar at Turn 10 continues to learn and is now “brake checking” people in races and bumping them from behind if they’re going too slow. Indeed you’ll see this from the most experienced AI cars in Forza 2.
Dan elaborated further; “The drivatar in Forza one was ok but great, it didn’t learn much and often appeared a touch random. So in age terms it was probably an 11 year old child, this version is massively complex but we’ve probably only made it to a 17 year old now”
Either way this effectively means that Forza 2 will feature one of the most advanced Driver AI ever developed, this should give any driver a decent challenge.
As for the size of the Forza 2, Dan explained that there will be an enormous task to complete the game and collecting plus experience everything it has to offer, "our best and most experienced player did it in just over 50 hours" mentioned Dan, barring in mind he probably knew the game inside out that gives a rough idea.
A press question regarding the achievements followed, Dan pointed out that he felt achievements should be integrated into the standard game, that they shouldn’t be easy but achievable all the same. This is a balance he feels they have met and Turn 10 are happy that though challenging the range is achievable by anybody providing they put in the relevant commitment.
Once the conference finished, it was on to trying out the game. Those lucky enough to attend had ample time and we at VVV took the opportunity to grab a few extra last minute shots before the games release and of course the long awaited demo.
The first thing any overly excited Forza player will want to experience is the joys of this huge 3 screen set-up and it doesn’t disappoint. This really is playing Forza 2 in style, making it a truly immersive experience, though the wheel does need to be calibrated. Once this is sorted it’s about putting the pedal to the metal and enjoying the ride. This is currently the closest most people are every likely to come to real life - VVV made the most of it with a wide selection of pictures.
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