Microsoft (XBox etc)............................

[T_M_C]

Forza and Grand Turismo are the only games i wish i had a console for.

They arn't available for PC as far as i'm aware.

A while ago i posted a link to a video from a Physics Professor, Brian Beckman, who helped the programmers of Forza with the car physics.

He has an interest in motorsport and takes part in various races as a hobby.

He also wrote an excellent series of papers called 'The Physics Of Racing Series' which goes into a lot of technical detail about car physics.

Very clever guy and it looks like his involvement with Forza has paid off.   

TMC

[fog]

I always assumed at least one Forza game would be on pC as it's done by a Microsoft studio IIRC.  Strange.
 

The physics are ace too, though almost feels too easy... Don't really believe I've gotten good overnight.

What sort of driving assists does it have on by default?  In just about every driving game these days the first thing I do is switch pretty muh everything off.  I'm not great at them, it just feels like you're a passenger if you don't because the assists are so overpowering.

I'd still rather be playing Gran Turismo 5 (as you can actually get a decent wheel for the PS3) but without a PS3 it won't happen.

Yeah GT5 is fantastic and I've prefered it to earlier Forza games.  Unfortunately I lost my saved game when my original PS3 died and I an't face going through it all again so I might get Forza Horizons when it comes out soon.  It's looking good.

[TheKhakinator]

I absolutely freaked when I heard about Forza Horizons, then calmed down when I realised it was okay, they were keeping the realistic physics. I hated PGR4 - it would've been fine (maybe BRILLIANT) as an arcade game but not what I want on my console.

Forza 4 is like Forza 3 - everything up to braking and slight steering assist by default. But the menu to turn them off is presented always right at your fingertips. I play with everything off except for clutch, that's just a step too far for me playing on a controller. What I want to know is, if you play with a wheel and shifter, with clutch mode on, and you're drivng the F430, does it still demand you use the clutch?

Oh wait, it's a moot point, because NOBODY MAKES A RACING WHEEL FOR 360 EXCEPT AN OBSCURE GERMAN COMPANY WHO DON'T SHIP TO AUSTRALIA AND THEY COST LIKE $500 ANYWAY.

Edit: Well it seems MadCatz do a decent force feedback wheel at the moment. Might have to save up next winter.

[fog]

I hated PGR4 - it would've been fine (maybe BRILLIANT) as an arcade game but not what I want on my console.

I'm not sure what went wrong with PGR4.  PGR2 was a 360 launch game and was better in almost every area.  Whatever, it's a shame Bizarre are no more and we will never get another.

Oh wait, it's a moot point, because NOBODY MAKES A RACING WHEEL FOR 360 EXCEPT AN OBSCURE GERMAN COMPANY WHO DON'T SHIP TO AUSTRALIA AND THEY COST LIKE $500 ANYWAY.

Edit: Well it seems MadCatz do a decent force feedback wheel at the moment. Might have to save up next winter.

The original offical Mirosoft wheel was supposed to be good.  Although it hasn't bee available for a couple of years, that might mean you can pick up a cheap second hand one.

[TheKhakinator]

Oh wait, it's a moot point, because NOBODY MAKES A RACING WHEEL FOR 360 EXCEPT AN OBSCURE GERMAN COMPANY WHO DON'T SHIP TO AUSTRALIA AND THEY COST LIKE $500 ANYWAY.

Edit: Well it seems MadCatz do a decent force feedback wheel at the moment. Might have to save up next winter.

The original offical Mirosoft wheel was supposed to be good.  Although it hasn't bee available for a couple of years, that might mean you can pick up a cheap second hand one.

The opposite is true, unfortunately - the fact they're not made anymore keeps their price up from $130-$200.

MadCatz are currently making a force feedback wheel for $230; not bad. Might get one over Christmas or next winter, if I get some money. Finally!

[fog]

The opposite is true, unfortunately - the fact they're not made anymore keeps their price up from $130-$200.

Wow 

I should have guessed though as I've been on the lookout for a cheap G25 or G27 and their prices just keep going up and up.

[TheKhakinator]

Yeah. Got that problem with comic books. They're fun, and quite cheap if you get them as soon as they come out. Miss an issue though, and you don't want to buy it, because it'll cost you, say, $20, or $30. So then you can wait for a reprinting, if you're lucky, or if you're not, the price just spirals...

[fog]

Yeah. Got that problem with comic books. They're fun, and quite cheap if you get them as soon as they come out. Miss an issue though, and you don't want to buy it, because it'll cost you, say, $20, or $30. So then you can wait for a reprinting, if you're lucky, or if you're not, the price just spirals...

I've gone almost exclusively digital for my comics now.  I know that's kinda a big no-no and I still like to own hard copies of some series, it's just too convenient having hundreds of comics stored on a tablet.

[TheKhakinator]

Yeah. Got that problem with comic books. They're fun, and quite cheap if you get them as soon as they come out. Miss an issue though, and you don't want to buy it, because it'll cost you, say, $20, or $30. So then you can wait for a reprinting, if you're lucky, or if you're not, the price just spirals...

I've gone almost exclusively digital for my comics now.  I know that's kinda a big no-no and I still like to own hard copies of some series, it's just too convenient having hundreds of comics stored on a tablet.

I've only just got into it; grabbing the Adventure Time comics and the spin off. Quite awesome, written by Ryan North. I can imagine it being crazy if you had a huge collection. With all my uni books I find it hard to find a place for the 6 comics I have

[fog]

I've only just got into it; grabbing the Adventure Time comics and the spin off. Quite awesome, written by Ryan North. I can imagine it being crazy if you had a huge collection. With all my uni books I find it hard to find a place for the 6 comics I have

Ah cool.  Well make sure you stick anything worth reading in the Comics thread.  I really need to update it myself with what I've been reading.

http://www.binaryzoo.com/forum/index.php?topic=1174.45

Sure I read there was an Adventure Time game coming soon too.

[TheKhakinator]

Derailing the thread still further but yes there is! I'm told it's good, very 16-bitty and it's on the DS. May nab a copy.

[TheKhakinator]

Anyone played Forza Horizon? Very disappointed when I sat down with a mate's copy for an hour. I've been playing Forza 4 which feels like Forza 3 but with a way better AI, and I was believing the hype that said Horizon would have Forza 4's engine. Well... the way I've heard it put, and the way it feels, is it's Forza 4's engine with some ridiculous 4x grip multiplier or something. Feels VERY arcadey, even with all the settings on "sim". Not sure I'll be buying it.

Kind of disappointing, because I love the whole open-world racer idea, with the speed traps and the rival challenges and stuff a la Burnout Paradise. But I'm not in the mood for an arcade racer these days. It makes sense though, the market for an open world online racer with attitude with a realistic physics model would be tiny. The market for those games don't want a difficult driving model. That said, I quite liked the physics in Dirt 2, was a challenge.

[T_M_C]

Horizon looks really cool.  

You would think to maximise the userbase they would include all types of physics modes.

Isn't it usually the case though that the physics engine gets improved upon with each new release.

Sounds like a step backwards from your description.

One Forza's selling points is it's accurate sim model.

It could be that you havn't played the game long enough to either get used to the new physics or unlocked the decent cars with the better handling.

TMC

[TheKhakinator]

One Forza's selling points is it's accurate sim model.

It could be that you havn't played the game long enough to either get used to the new physics or unlocked the decent cars with the better handling.

TMC

I played my mate's save, with the expensive/fast cars unlocked. That's the thing though - with it set to maximum Simulation mode, it was way too easy - the cars all handled brilliantly. Felt like Forza, but with 6 times the grip, making it no challenge. Understeer was unheard of. :/ They can't include full on different physics engines, cause it'd make you uncompetitive online if you chose a more punishing physics model and you wouldn't be able to race others, I think, but I'd agree with you that that's the way I'd go.

[T_M_C]

They can't include full on different physics engines, cause it'd make you uncompetitive online if you chose a more punishing physics model and you wouldn't be able to race others

That wouldn't be a problem.

The dev's would just code the game so players can only race against players on the same sim settings.

As other games do, to make for fair racing.

But it's usual nowadays for a game to support various physics levels.

If for the only reason that it reaches a wider audience that way.

I'm not really suprised your first impressions of the game are a bit negative, if you just jumped into the best cars with the best performance.

It's a bit like jumping to the last paragraph in a book to find out who the murderer is.

I bet that if you play the game through from the start, working your way through all the lowest performance cars to the best, you'd have a different perspective on the game.

I see also the game is billed as an arcade racer.  But we all know Forza has made a name for itself on the quality of it's sim.

If you've enjoyed the previous games i'm sure you'd enjoy this release.

TMC