FORZA 3 MOTORSPORT NEWS INFORMATION XBOX HINTS TIPS AND TRICKS

Archive for the ‘GENERAL’ Category

Dont get me wrong: I LOVE FORZA 3.

Frankly, it is the best race simulator there is out there. There are so many articles talking about how good Forza is compared to others etc. but there is certainly room for improvement.

May it be for marketing purposes or lack of creativity but unfortunately there are a number of issues which should be improved for Forza 4 in order to make it the best game in history.

If you dont have internet, the game simply lacks life and dynamics. You have the feeling to be playing on your own in a PC world. What I mean by that is that Forza should defenitely improve the interaction in the game.

Mechanics Team

Examples: Once you have money, you can purchase a mechanics team.

With a mechanics team you can now officially take part in professional races etc etc. The mechanics team bears a cost on each race.

Also the mechanics team allows interaction in the sense that whilst racing you are constantly updated with information from the box. Such as what your competitors are doing, etc etc.

In addition before any race, the chief mechanic gives you advice on the track, upgrades and tune direction. So, although you dont know the perfect tune setup, at least you know the direction you have to go!!

THE RACE

The races are exciting but can get pretty dull.

The first major major major problem is the starting grid! How crap is that!

Forza should introduce the possibility of driving a qualifier lap. This could be in the sense of a ‘hot lap’ so whatever time you do in this lap will be taken as qualifier. So if you crash, in the hot lap you start last. But at least it actually gives you a real chance to start in a better position if you want to race with a much more handicaped car. Also it is a reflection on reality.

Another issue with races is the number of competitors. 8 is defenitlely far too little. If games such as Need for Speed have 20 plus opponents, how can forza only have 8!

CASH and MONEY PRIZES

I very much like the idea that the car prices are realistic. But unfortunately, there is a problem with that: some of them you will never be able to buy because 20,000,000 credits is just impossible to achieve (if you dont have the internet).

This leads to another issues which is really irritating- microsoft tries to force you to have internet and a gold membership- so in order to have fun with the game i have to keep paying! That’s simply OUTRAGEOUS.

Forza 4 should have more income possibilities other than just the race money. One way to increase race money for instance, would be the option to increase the number of laps on any race we would like to take part. So just a simple race could have 50 laps instead of 3, this would make the race more exciting with pit stops etc. In the menu when you increase the number of laps, autmoatically the price money increases in a more exponential manner.

This would allow more cash prize (and fun) for each race.

Also, another profit centre could be the implementation of sponsors:

SPONSORS

I really dislike the fact that you can stick any manufacturer logo on your car withour any real purpose. Why would I want to advertise for someone for nothing?????

It is great there are so many manufacturer logos, but let’s try and find an interesting way to actually make them useful.

Sponor money should be linked to driver and car reputation. Car reputation should be increased to something like 20 points. The idea is that the more reputation you have, the more offers you get from manufacturers to stick vinyls of their logos on your car. Depending on position and size, every race you receive extra cash just from sponsor stickers.

These ideas would really make the game more lively.

Before we get intimate with the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel, let’s take a short jaunt down memory lane – back to when the console war was between the Xbox and the PS2, not the 360 and PS3…

Sony’s track record with the PSOne and first-to-market strategy with the PS2 placed the mega-electronics company in a good spot for the “next” gen. No one really gave the freshman effort from Microsoft a chance in light of its PS competition, but even with the cards stacked against it, this new-fangled Xbox would catch on, and dominate the PS2 in a number of categories.

In a side-by-side comparison of Sony’s and Microsoft’s offerings, the Xbox would win unanimously as a complete console. Sony had publishing power, so the PS2 had an advantage in terms of software SKU’s, but besides this, the Xbox was solidified as the hardcore gamer’s system, with power to spare, an integrated hard drive, and a glorious online network.

But there was one missing piece of Microsoft’s puzzle – miniscule in many gamer’s eyes – that still made multi-console owners pull out their PS2 in favor of the Xbox: Force Feedback. As trivial as it may sound, those that live and die for racing games know its importance to the motorsports experience. Couple the Xbox’s lack of force feedback support with Sony having its killer-app Grand Turismo in-house, and Microsoft was shown up big-time, even with the solid Project Gotham Racing floating about. The release of Forza Motorsport late in the Xbox’s cycle gave Microsoft its own racing killer application, but the cries of “no force feedback?” still prevailed.

The big black box is past its prime, as all eyes are diverted to the Xbox 360. And yes, force feedback has eluded even MS’ next-gen console. That is, until now. Finally, the sensation of true force feedback will be realized in the first-party peripheral known as the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel.

We learned from a secret source some years ago that MS’ lack of force feedback was based on a lack of licensing, and not the inability to program such code into the software, or the console’s lacking in some manner. This makes sense, as this technology was readily available years ago.

But all of that is in the past, as Xbox 360 gamers now have the chance to purchase a first party racing wheel with Microsoft’s first attempt at force-feedback encoding on the included special edition of PGR 3.

Can Microsoft’s wheel compete with Fanatec’s stellar peripheral (sans true feedback)? Is force feedback worth the five-plus year wait? Is Forza 2 ever coming out? I doubt if I can answer that last question, but let’s get to those first two parts…

Features

• Real force feedback
• Integrated lap mount
• Detachable table mount
• Slip-resistant foot pedals
• Powered by the same wireless technology as the Xbox 360 wireless controller
• Dual rumble motors that perform in full wireless mode
• Play up to 20 hours wirelessly on a single battery pack charge
• Professional racecar cockpit-inspired design

Pre-race

It’s not often that I get into packaging design when discussing a piece of hardware, but setting up the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel brought something interesting to my attention. The packaging of the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel is elegant. Confusing for sure, but just as well thought out as this hunk of plastic. You’ll need at least a small amount of spatial awareness to uncork the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel. Tetris skills can’t hurt either. But it really is a wonderfully (the green vertigo Xbox 360 logo shroud itself should hypnotize people into purchasing it) efficient design that deserves merit.

You’ll probably stumble upon the table mount unit and power supply once the actual wheel is broken free of its corrugated confines. And you won’t even have to study the wheel to know that the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel is of the highest quality. You know… that quality that only comes with first party pieces. Yep, I’m talking about the separate table clamp piece.

The table clamp isn’t the normal piece of crap thrown in with most wheels. This sturdy piece of ABS is actually formed from two halves that are – get this – screwed together. The mount even uses high-quality star-type fasteners that you will find on the Xbox 360 controllers. The table clamp uses a unique fastening system that features a large plastic screw stopper (like a C-clamp) and a quick-release handle. Once the mount is cranked down with the screw, the quick release handle flips up and grabs the table or suitable mounting surface with a bear-trap-like grip. Rubber pips on the underside of the table clamp help to keep the piece from sliding around when force is being fed to the unit. Of course, if you decide to use the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel with the integrated lap pad, then all of the engineering that has gone into the table clamp is a non-factor. But you’ll really want to use the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel with the table clamp if at all possible, as the security of the wheel dramatizes the feedback and rumble effect.

Now is a good time to check out the other components of the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel, besides the wheel and pedal set, as I’m all about saving the best for last (thanks for the inspiration V. Williams). The power supply is of top-notch quality. It includes a separate power cable (easily replaceable if need be), and the boxed transformer is designed to sit on the floor, which means no big chunk taking up your precious power strip real estate. You’ll also find what looks to be a regular phone cable (the cool kids call it an RJ-11) which connects the wheel and foot pedal unit together, and two AA batteries. Energizer – not the barely-alkaline pieces of dung that come with most electronics.

So, some of you may be wondering what all of these cables are about if the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel has the word “wireless” in its title. The “force” of force feedback needs the juice of a 110 outlet; not the power contained in two AA or a small ni-mh pack. If you could care less about feedback, then you can disconnect the power supply and game where you please, but the foot pedals will still be tethered to the wheel no matter what. The good news in all of this is that there are options for just about everybody. If you always game with force feedback, the unit will run off of AC power and there’s no need for batteries or a rechargeable pack. If you go wireless and choose to use a 360 Rechargeable Battery Pack, simply plugging in the AC adapter will charge the pack (and charging doesn’t interfere with force feedback). And if you just want to use the batteries, well, they’re Energizers, and they keep going, and going, and going ad infinitum.

Now let’s jump into the wheel and foot pedals. The wheel unit, not surprisingly, is as thoroughly engineered and constructed as the additional, aforementioned bits of the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel. The wheel itself is a mixture of soft rubber in the business areas and hard plastic in the squared-off bottom portion. The squared bottom is reminiscent of F1 cars, and is done primarily to afford more thigh clearance in a tight cockpit. In the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel’s case, the squarish bottom allows fat-femured gamers to use the wheel with the integrated lap mount. Typical paddle shifters have a nice throw and good feel, but are not micro-switched. You’ll also find the important controller functions at your fingertips, including the navigation button, a D-pad, the four face buttons, and start/back. Each of these buttons can be assigned to a different function if need be. The battery pack is so seamlessly integrated into the side of the wheel unit, that you’ll miss it if not looking for it. And the communicator slot is around where the ignition would be in a normal car, which is another reason to pick up the wireless headset.

The lap pad is curved to accept the contour of the thighs. A rubber pattern that looks like it was fashioned after a tire tread helps to keep movement to a minimum. If you forgo the lap dance and go straight to the happy ending also known as the table clamp, then you’ll need to angle the wheel toward you and line up the two studs on both pieces. Once you rock the wheel back it will lock into place with a positive click. To quickly release the wheel, just press the bottom on the front of the clamp that was designed to look like a hood release switch (another nifty design touch).

The foot pedal unit is another highly stylized piece of the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel, featuring a large white plastic loop/foot rest surrounding a gray mounting ledge. Erupting from the gray base is an accelerator and brake that have surface pips to aid in traction, while at the same time mimicking the race car look. The accelerator has harder plastic pips and a brushed aluminum look, although I’m convinced that the piece is all plastic. The brake is outfitted with a slightly easier-to-grip material, and is finished in matte black. Both pedals feel like they require the exact same force to throw (I would have preferred a stiffer brake pedal), but the accelerator features a greater range of motion (as it should). The bottom of the pedal unit has larger rubber discs to help keep it planted. You’ll also find the receptacle for the RJ-11 wire and a means of routing it inconspicuously out of the tail end.

On the grid

Setting up the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel is fairly simple, and the existence of drivers built right into the PGR 3 disc makes it about as quick as any other peripheral installation. After the RJ-11 cable is connected, you can either connect the power supply to the back of the wheel or load it up with the AA batteries for wireless play. You can also throw in a rechargeable battery pack (not included) and charge it with the AC cable, or use a charged unit for wireless play.

A tap of the guide button powers up the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel, as evidenced by a glowing green Ring of Light and a left/right twitch of the wheel. Wirelessly connecting the wheel is the same process as a controller; just tap the connect button on the Xbox 360, and then on the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel (located next to the Communicator receptacle). A free quadrant will light up and is indicated on the 360 as well as on the hub of the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel. Up to four Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel’s can be connected wirelessly to an Xbox 360 at once, which equals local, multiplayer mayhem for those titles which support it.

Seat time

Since there’s no Forza 2 to be had at the moment (sniffle), my logical test disc was the force feedback-enabled PGR 3 that comes with the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel. Those that have played PGR 3 with the Madcatz wheel know that it is no easy task. Without any in-game setup, the wheel is all but useless in the behind-the-car views, making “over” steer an “under” statement. The Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel does about the exact same thing when the power supply is not connected. The somewhat loose-feeling wheel and lack of dead zone in PGR 3 will cause nearly any car in the game to get loose in a hurry. The pedals bank is good, and stays well planted, but again, I think the software is the limitation to the overall feel. The brake pedal is just way too sensitive, and with no way to adjust it, you’ll have to be quite dainty with your left foot.

The good news here is that if you aren’t playing with force feedback, you’ll have the ability to play up to thirty feet from your Xbox 360. The wireless technology in the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel is flawless and lightning quick, and there’s a good chance that you’ll forget within minutes that you are transmitting FCC-approved waves with every input.

Plug the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel in and things change, and in some ways drastically. You’ll immediately notice that the wheel is now under a slight but constant tension. Now crank the wheel in one direction, and it will snap back rather quickly to center. In fact, you can turn the wheel through its entire left/right range of motion and the force feedback will right the ship. Jump into the same event in PGR 3 and suddenly you feel like Mario Andretti in the Lola heydays. The force feedback is solidly programmed, and really changes one’s ability to control the car. The more natural feeling of the wheel fighting your every move makes car control, or in the name of Kudos, controlled chaos nearly intuitive if you possess a valid driver’s license. Yeah, the brake pedal is still way too touchy, but I’m sure set-up options for brake pressure and the like will be installed in the code by the time PGR 4 arrives. With the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel’s force feedback on and PGR 3 in the tray, driving is now like riding a bike, but not for the first time.

Need for Speed Carbon, the only other game that fully supports force feedback right now, is a different animal than PGR 3. Surprisingly, the cars control quite well with force feedback deactivated, and poorly with it enabled. Again, this all comes down to the programming. The force feedback programming in Carbon is nearly nonexistent, but the rumble is put to good use (which is the opposite of PGR 3, which has little rumble). Personally, I’d play Carbon with the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel unplugged, which doesn’t help me justify the unit’s $150 price tag much. Hopefully the soon-to-be-released Test Drive Unlimited and Forza 2 will have setup options or a better grasp of how cars are supposed to feel when the wheel is turned and the brake is applied.

The Bottom Line

With features like first-party quality, wireless connectivity, and true force feedback, the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel is tough to beat, with a catch. The catch is that any wheel peripheral without adjustable settings (a la Fanatec Speedster) is only as good as the software being used with it. PGR 3 is quite impressive when powered up, but unplug the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel for wireless functionality and you might as well play it with a controller. Strangely, the opposite holds true for Need for Speed Carbon.

Let’s keep our fingers crossed for Forza 2, as this seems to be the main application for which the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel was designed. I’m also curious what Codemasters will bring to market, and what Bizarre has up their sleeves. But as it stands, I consider the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel like an undervalued stock with the chance to blossom if the conditions are right. Investing in the Xbox 360 Wireless Racing Wheel now can’t hurt

All of Forza 3’s ten different classes explained and listed with the number of races and points you can gain per race.

• 1 Testing:

Designed mainly as an introduction to the various cars and style. You start out of course with the wonderfully responsive Audi R8 Quartro to get your skill level worked out, which the AI helps determine. You can still change this difficulty level, but the AI simply wants to see your skill levels, it then seems to work out the opponent difficulty for you, which helps a great deal. Your first main Test is then back into th “F Class” cars so you can work your way through the pack.

Testing:

1. Asian Open – 3 Races – 6000 points
2. European Open – 3 races – 6,600 points
3. All American Open – 3 races – 6,600 points
4. FWD Open – 3 races – 6,600 points
5. RWD Open – 3 races – 6,600 points
6. AWD Open – 3 races – 6,600 points
7. 2 Door Challenge – 3 races – 6,800 points
8. 3 Door Open – 3 races – 6,800 points
9. 4 Door Open – 3 races – 6,800 points
10. 5 Door Open – 3 races – 6,800 points

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• 2 Amateur:

An area where you will build your experience with the different cars, working up the ladder towards the higher end cars. Do not be discouraged with these, or think that they are beneath you as a driver. A great deal of fun and most importantly, experience can be gained through constant playing of these classes.

Amateur 1:

1. FWD Elite Open – 3 races – 12,900 points
2. Asian Elite Open – 3 races – 12,400 points
3. French Elite Open – 3 races – 12,000 points
4. RWD Elite Invitational – 3 races – 12,700
5. Mid-Engine Elite Open – 3 races – 11,600 points
6. Nth American Elite Open – 3 races – 13,100 points
7. German Elite Invitational – 3 races – 14,600 points
8. British Elite Invitational – 3 races – 15,100
9. AWD Elite Open – 3 races – 14,100 points
10. Italian Elite Open – 3 races – 15,800 points

Amateur 2:

1. Super Mini Road Test – 3 races – 11,500 points
2. Coupe Road Test 1 – 3 races – 13,300 points
3. Saloon Road Test 1 – 3 races – 11,700 points
4. Hot Hatch Road Test – 3 races – 13,100 points
5. SUV Road Test – 3 races – 12,200 points
6. Coupe Road Test 2 – 3 races – 13,800 points
7. Saloon Road Test 2 – 3 races – 14,600 points
8. Coupe Road Test 2 – 3 races 13,200 points
9. Supercar Road Test 3 races – 15,400 points
10. Prototype Road Test – 3 races 16,100 points

Amateur 3:

1. American Muscle Showdown – 3 races – 11,100 points
2. Inline 4 Showcase – 3 races – 11,400 points
3. Normal Aspiration Runoff – 3 races – 12,500 points
4. Boosted Proving Grounds – 3 races – 13,500 points
5. Six-Cyl Fast & Furious – 3 races – 12,700 points
6. Ultralight Showdown – 3 races – 13,100 points
7. Executive Car Open – 3 races – 14,300 points
8. Eight-Cyl Supreme GT – 3 races – 13,600 points
9. Ten-Cyl Salute – 3 races – 15,000 points
10. Twelve-Cyl Flagship Trophy – 3 races – 14,300 points

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• 3 Manufacturer:

Manufacturer 1:

1. Integra Owners Meeting – 4 races – 22,900 points
2. Hyundi Owners Meeting – 4 races – 21,100 points
3. Mitshubishi Owners Meeting – 4 races – 22,700 points
4. Skyline Owners Meeting – 4 races – 23,400 points
5. Subaru Owners Meeting – 4 races – 21,500 points
6. Honda Acura Owners Meeting – 4 races – 24,100 points
7. Mazda Owners Meeting – 4 races – 23,800 points
8. Fairlady 2 Cup – 4 races – 23,300 points
9. Nissan Infiniti Owners Meeting – 4 races – 24,200 points
10. Toyota Lexus Owners Meeting – 4 races – 23,700 points

Manufacturer 2:

1. Peugeot Racing Club – 4 races – 20,600 points
2. Sweden Racing Club – 4 races – 22,200 points
3. V.Dub Racing Club – 4 races – 22,300 points
4. Vahxall Racing CLub – 4 races – 24,200 points
5. Lotus Racing Club – 4 races- 23,400 points
6. SEAT Racing Club – 4 races – 23,300 points
7. BMW Owners Club – 4 races – 22,900 points
8. Audi Racing Club – 4 races – 25,800 points
9. Mercedes- Benz Racing Club – 4 races – 25,800 points
10. Porsche Racing Club – 4 races – 26,600 points

Manufacturer 3:

1. Firebird T.A. Track Days – 4 races – 22,400 points
2. Focus Track Days – 4 races – 22,000 points
3. Chrysler Track Days – 4 races – 23,300 points
4. Pontiac Track Days – 4 races – 23,500
5. Mustang Track Days – 4 races – 24,100 points
6. Ford Track Days – 4 races – 23,800 points
7. Chevrolet Track Days – 4 races – 26,400 points
8. Corvette Track Days – 4 races – 26,00o points
9. Dodge Track Days – 4 races – 25,900 points
10. Viper Track Days – 4 races – 26,400 points

Manufacturer 4:

1. World Sub-Compact Shoot Out – 4 races – 20,500 points
2. American Muscle Shoot Out – 4 races – 20,100 points
3. Euro Hatch Shoot Out – 4 races – 21,400 points
4. Lightweight Shoot Out – 4 races – 22,500 points
5. German SUV Shoot Out – 4 races – 22,400 points
6. JDM Imports – 990’s Shoot Out – 4 races – 21,800
7. Speedstar Shoot Out – 4 races – 23,500 points
8. Premium Sedan Shoot Out – 4 races – 25,100 points
9. Prestigious Shoot Out – 4 races – 23,800 points
10. Ultimate Speed Shoot Out – 4 races – 26,200 points

Manufacturer 5:

1. Civic V’s Golf – 4 races – 22,100 points
2. Celica V’s Silvia – 4 races – 22,300 points
3. Tarmac Rally – 4 races – 22,300 points
4. Mustang V’s Camaro – 4 races – 22,800 points
5. Supra V’s Fairlady 2 – 4 races – 22,600 points
6. German Sports Line Challenge – 4 races – 25,800 points
7. NSX V’s Skyline – 4 races – 24,900 points
8. Fastest Fleet Shoot Out – 4 races – 27,100 points
9. Ferrari V’s Porsche – 4 races – 25,800 points
10. Lamborginhi V’s Ferrai – 4 races – 26,500 points

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• 4 Semi Professional:

Semi Pro 1:

1. Puma 150 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 42,700 points
2. Recaro 200 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 44,800 points
3. Bilstein 250 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 46,500 points
4. Toyo 300 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 49,300 points
5. Sparco 350 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 48,900 points
6. BBS 400 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 54,500 points
7. Stoptech 450 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 54,900 points
8. Bridgestone 500 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 50,700 points
9. Motul 600 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 55,800 points
10. K&N 700 BHP Run-Off – 5 races – 55,800 points

Semi Pro 2:

1. Class F Pre-’00 Asian Tour – 5 races – 41,600 points
2. Class F Post ‘00 Asian Tour – 5 races – 43,400 points
3. Class E Pre ‘03 Asian Tour – 5 races – 45,200 points
4. Class E Post ‘03 Asian Tour – 5 races – 45,800 points
5. Class D Pre ‘00 Asian Tour – 5 races – 46,500 points
6. Class D Post ‘00 Asian Tour – 5 races – 47,400 points
7. Class C Asian Tour – 5 races – 49,400 points
8. Class B Asian Tour – 5 races – 52,000 points
9. C;ass S Asian Tour – 5 races – 58,000 points
10. Class R2 Asian Tour – 5 races – 61,000 points

Semi Pro 3:

1. Class F European Tour – 5 races – 41,000 points
2. Class E European Tour – 5 races – 43,400 points
3. Class D European Tour – 5 races – 45,000 points
4. Class C European Tour – 5 races – 49,200 points
5. Class B European Tour – 5 races – 47,900 points
6. Class A European Tour – 5 races – 53,800 points
7. Class S European Tour – 5 races – 53,700 points
8. Class R3 European Tour – 5 races – 54,800 points
9. Class R2 European Tour – 5 races – 59,000 points
10. Class R1 European Tour – 5 races – 63,000 points

Semi Pro 4:

1. Class F Nth American Your – 5 races – 44,700 points
2. Class E Nth American Your – 5 races – 44,000 points
3. Class D Nth American Your – 5 races – 46,900 points
4. Calss C Nth American Your – 5 races – 47,200 points
5. Class B Nth American Your – 5 races – 53,000 points
6. Class A Nth American Your – 5 races – 56,000 points
7. Class S Nth American Your – 5 races – 58,000 points
8. Class R3 Nth American Your – 5 races – 63,000 points
9. Class R2 Nth American Your – 5 races – 64,000 points
10. Class R1 Nth American Your – 5 races – 66,000 points

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• 5 Professional:

Professional 1:

1. Yaris S Trophy – 6 races – 68,800 points
2. MX5 Miata Trophy – 6 races – 72,000 points
3. ABARTH 500 ESSEESES Trophy – 6 races – 79,000 points
4. Mini John Cooper Works Cup – 6 races – 82,000 points
5. Hyundi Geniesis Coupe Tour Trophy – 6 races – 83,000 points
6. F355 Challenge Trophy Trophy – 6 races – 91,000 points
7. Murcielago LP640 Trophy Trophy – 6 races – 65,000 points
8. Porsche 911 GT3 Trophy Trophy – 6 races – 85,000 points
9. Ferrari F430 Trophy Trophy – 6 races – 90,000 points
10. FXX Trophy Trophy – 6 races – 101,000 points

Professional 2:

1. Aussie Touring Car Championship – 6 race – 111,000 points
2. Porsche 911 GT3 Showdown – 6 races – 111,000 points
3. German Racing Car Showdown – 6 races – 110,000 points
4. American GT3 Invitational – 6 races – 109,000 points
5. GT3 Invitational – 6 races – 109,000 points
6. GT2 Invitational – 6 races – 116,000 points
7. Japanese Invitational – 6 races – 119,000 points
8. Dream Machine – 6 races – 117,000 points
9. GT1 Invitational – 6 races – 119,000 points
10. LMP Invitational – 6 races – 116,000 points

Professional 3:

1. Class F World Tour – 6 races – 84,000 points
2. Class E World Tour – 6 races – 88,000 points
3. Class D World Tour – 6 races – 99,000 points
4. Class C World Tour – 6 races – 100,000 points
5. Class B World Tour – 6 races – 110,000 points
6. Class A World Tour – 6 races – 115,000 points
7. Class S World Tour – 6 races – 114,000 points
8. Class R3 World Tour – 6 races – 116,000 points
9. Class R2 World Tour – 6 races – 126,000 points
10. Class R1 World Tour – 6 races – 133,000 points

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• 6 Speedway:

Speedway:

1. Class F Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 18,800 points
2. Class E Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 19,400 points
3. Class D Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 20,600 points
4. Class C Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 21,400 points
5. Class B Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 22,500 points
6. Class A Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 23,500 points
7. Class S Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 23,700 points
8. Class R3 Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 25,700 points
9. Class R2 Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 25,900 points
10. Class R1 Speedway Challenge – 6 races – 27,400 points

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• 7 Drag Racing Heats:

Drag Races:

1. 250 bhp FWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 1,890 points
2. 300 bhp FWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 1,890 points
3. 350 bhp RWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 1,890 points
4. 400 bhp AWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 2,700 points
5. 450 bhp RWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 2,700 points
6. 500 bhp AWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 2,700 points
7. 550 bhp AWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 2,700 points
8. 600 bhp AWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 2,700 points
9. 650 bhp RWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 2,700 points
10. 700 bhp RWD Shoot Out – 3 races – 2,700 points

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• 8 Closed circuit laps & races:

Closed circuit:

1. Fujimi Kaido Class F Series – 4 races – 38,400 points
2. Amalfi Coast Class E Series – 4 races – 29,000 points
3. Nurburgring Class D Series – 4 races – 38,400 points
4. Fujimi Kaido Class C Series – 4 races – 39,300 points
5. Amalfi Coast Class B Series – 4 races – 29,100 points
6. Nurnurgring Class A Series – 4 races – 38,400 points
7. Fujimi Kaido Class S Series – 4 races – 39,000 points
8. Amalfi Coast Class R3 Series – 4 races – 27,900 points
9. Nurburgring Class R2 Series – 4 races – 38,400 points
10. Fujimi Kaido Class R1 Series – 4 races – 38,700 points

Closed circuit – Lap Days:

1. Class F Lap Days – 3 races – 34,400 points
2. Class E Lap Days – 3 races – 34,500 points
3. Class D Lap Days – 3 races – 34,500 points
4. Class C Lap Days – 3 races – 34,400 points
5. Class B Lap Days – 3 races – 34,500 points
6. Class A Lap Days – 3 races – 34,500 points
7. Class S Lap Days – 3 races – 34,400 points
8. Class R3 Lap Days – 3 races – 34,400 points
9. Class R2 Lap Days – 3 races – 34,500 points
10. Class R1 Lap Days – 3 races – 34,400 points

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• 9 Full-on Endurance Races:

Endurance:

1. 34 Lap Road Atlanta – 1 race – 72,000 points
2. 130 klm Circuit de Catalunya – 1 race – 74,000 points
3. 134 klm Twin RIng Mojetgi – 1 race – 83,000 points
4. 160 klm Silverstone Gran Prix – 1 race – 88,000 points
5. 32 Lap Mugello – 1 race – 92,000 points
6. 169 klm Suzuka Circuit – 1 race – 92,000 points
7. 31 Lap Sebring International Raceway – 1 race – 99,000 points
8. 128 mil Road America – 1 race – 110,000 points
9. 17 Laps Circuit de la Sarthe – 1 race – 110,000 points
10. 187 klm Nurburgring Nordschleife – 1 race – 110,000 points

---

• 10 Top of the Ladder Championships:

Championships:

1. Class F World Championships – 3 races – 18,200 points
2. Class E World Championships – 3 races – 23,900 points
3. Class D World Championships – 4 races – 36,600 points
4. Class C World Championships – 5 races – 53,000 points
5. Class B World Championships – 6 races – 82,000 points
6. Class A World Championships – 7 races – 106,000 points
7. Class S World Championships – 8 races – 157,000 points
8. Class R3 World Championships – 9 races – 216,000 points
9. Class R2 World Championships – 11 races – 314,000 points
10. Class R1 World Championships – 13 races – 428,000 points

Make sure you come back for an even more detailed breakdown soon, we will have a downloadable and printable PDF for each set of races or class, so you can find out, the tracks, number of laps and points gained for each race.

Our next set of Forza 3 details will be dealing with various racing tips for each track, as well as some driving tips for the Novice, Intermediate and Expert drivers. Dealing with such things as Assists, Gears, slight changes to the Optimised Auto-Upgrades and several other great Forza 3 tips-n-tricks.

The main thing is to have fun, but also to hone your skills so that you get the best you can from not only Forza 3, but any decent racing game. Our aim is that you will walk away from the experience much more informed, and also with a greater respect for the game, and the work Turn 10 have put into the game.

Personally I’m looking forward to the next lot of Downloadable Content, and seeing the creations that come from the Forza 3 community. The game has its bugs, all games do. There’s no such thing as the “perfect” game or a game without flaws. They all have them. Forza 3 has its share, but they do not distract from the overall experience of the gameplay or the game in general

Complete the Achievement to get the listed game score

Car Level 1 (5) – Achieve Car Level 1 in Season Play mode
Car Level 2 (5) – Achieve Car Level 2 in Season Play mode
Car Level 3 (5) – Achieve Car Level 3 in Season Play mode
Car Level 4 (5) – Achieve Car Level 4 in Season Play mode
Car Level 5 (5) – Achieve Car Level 5 in Season Play mode

Driver Level 1 (10) – Reach Driver Level 1 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 2 (10) – Reach Driver Level 2 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 3 (10) – Reach Driver Level 3 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 4 (10) – Reach Driver Level 4 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 5 (10) – Reach Driver Level 5 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 6 (10) – Reach Driver Level 6 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 7 (10) – Reach Driver Level 7 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 8 (10) – Reach Driver Level 8 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 9 (10) – Reach Driver Level 9 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 10 (10) – Reach Driver Level 10 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 15 (15) – Reach Driver Level 15 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 20 (20) – Reach Driver Level 20 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 25 (25) – Reach Driver Level 25 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 30 (30) – Reach Driver Level 30 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 35 (35) – Reach Driver Level 35 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 40 (40) – Reach Driver Level 40 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 45 (45) – Reach Driver Level 45 in Season Play mode
Driver Level 50 (50) – Reach Driver Level 50 in Season Play mode

Year 1 (50) – Complete the first year of Season Play
Year 2 (50) – Complete the 2nd year of Season Play
Year 3 (50) – Complete the 3rd year of Season Play
Year 4 (50) – Complete the fourth year of Season Play
Year 5 (50) – Complete the fifth year of Season Play
Year 6 (50) – Complete the sixth year of Season Play

Auctioneer (10) – Sell a car in the Auction House
Bottomed Out (5) – Jump five feet
Buyer (10) – Buy something using the storefront
Connoisseur (50) – Own at least one car from every manufacturer
Curator (10) – Upload a photo or movie to Forzamotorsport.net
Demon (5) – Travel in excess of 200mph
Director (10) – Complete your first Forza Motorsport movie
Drift Lap (5) – Earn over 100,000 points in a single lap
Drifter (5) – Earn over 1,000 points in a single drift section
Entrepreneur (10) – Sell a Tuning Setup, Design, or Vinyl Group from your storefront
Grease Monkey (10) – Create a car tuning file for your car
Interior (5) – Win a race using cockpit mode
Lapper (10) – Complete a time trial
Painter (10) – Create a paint job or vinyl group
Shutterbug (10) – Take a photo of your car
Sniper (10) – Win an auction by outbidding someone
Solid Gold (80) – Achieve a gold trophy in every single race in the Event list in Season Play mode
Weekday Event (10) – Complete your first weekday event in Season Play mode
Weekend (10) – Complete your first weekend event in Season Play mode
Welcome to Forza Motorsport (15) – Complete the very first race in the game
World Traveler (25) – Race at every track location in the world

 

Whether it’s an exotic sports car like the new Audi R8 V10, a classic American muscle car like the Ford GT or a hot Asian import like the Nissan 370Z, everyone has a dream car. Now you can drive that dream with Turn 10’s latest racing epic. Launching this October exclusively for Xbox 360, “Forza Motorsport 3″ unites the racing game genre, making it possible for everyone to experience the thrill of the world’s most exotic and exquisite cars. Live the most realistic racing experience ever as you take the wheel of more than 400 of the most-beloved cars on over 100 renowned real-world tracks and exotic road courses from around the globe. With breathtaking high-definition graphics and the most advanced vehicle performance modeling in a video game, “Forza Motorsport 3″ includes a host of driving assists and adjustable skill levels to make the game a gripping pick-up-and-play experience for audiences of all ages and skill levels.

Your escape into the world of car culture in “Forza Motorsport 3″ doesn’t stop at the track. Turn 10 is a proven leader in user-generated content creation in games. “Forza Motorsport 3″ further fuels the imaginations of its already thriving community of painters, tuners and photographers with improved customization tools and brand-new ways to share creations with the world via Xbox LIVE.* Xbox LIVE makes your journey into the “Forza Motorsport” community and the world of user-generated content easy and fun.

A love of cars lives in all of us. “Forza Motorsport 3″ is the automotive playground we’ve all been waiting for.

Features:

Top features include the following:

• Where dreams are driven: The cars and tracks. Featuring the latest and greatest production offerings as well as the world’s fastest and most exotic street cars, “Forza Motorsport 3″ offers more than 400 fully customizable and tunable cars from over 50 of the world’s leading manufacturers. Whether your passion is classic American muscle cars, European roadsters, purpose-built race cars or high-tech Asian imports, “Forza Motorsport 3″ puts you in the cockpit of the cars you love.
In addition to the return of world-famous tracks from previous “Forza Motorsport” games, including Suzuka, Nürburgring Nordschleife and the Sebring International Raceway, “Forza Motorsport 3″ invites you to conquer the corners on more than 100 tracks, including some of the most beautiful road courses in the world. New environments like the gorgeous mountainous Montserrat region in Spain, the rugged Amalfi Coast in Italy and the American Southwest are presented in such majestic detail that you might find yourself pulling over just to take it all in.

• The look and feel of a modern racing game: “Forza Motorsport 3″ is the definitive racing game. The appreciation of the automobile in “Forza Motorsport 3″ is due in large part to the team’s attention to detail. This is why automotive engineers from manufacturers like Audi and champion race teams like Peugeot as well as experienced computer graphics specialists from across Microsoft Corp. have all teamed up with Turn 10 to make “Forza Motorsport 3″ the most beautiful and realistic racing game ever made. All 400-plus cars in the game have been built with more than 10 times the amount of polygons as “Forza Motorsport 2.” This includes painstakingly researched cockpits and interiors for every vehicle. But realism isn’t just about pretty graphics. Turn 10 takes realism to new heights, leading the industry with the most advanced physics model, artificial intelligence and damage calculations. Whether it’s the differences in how each car handles through the corners, how the engines sound at top speed or how different tires and upgrades impact your car’s performance, you’ll find yourself leaning into your turns as if you were really behind the wheel of your favorite ride.

• It’s easy to go for a spin: “Forza Motorsport 3″ redefines the racing genre. Simulation games can be too hard for some players. “Forza Motorsport 3″ rises above the distinction between simulation and arcade games. Using a myriad of cutting-edge driving and gameplay assists such as auto-braking, gameplay rewind and auto-tuning, “Forza Motorsport 3″ delivers an experience where everyone can have fun behind the wheel, regardless of your skill and dexterity. Whether you’re a newcomer or a seasoned racing game pro, “Forza Motorsport 3″ caters to how you drive and evolves with you over time as your skills increase.

• Express your car passion: User-generated content and Xbox LIVE. Painters and tuners will once again be able to showcase creativity through the celebrated Livery Editor, Auction House and deep tuning garage in “Forza Motorsport 3.” The car is literally the artistic canvas as some of the world’s most creative car painters and designers find new layers of depth and freedom to create shocking visual masterpieces before sharing them with others over Xbox LIVE.* Each car in “Forza Motorsport 3″ is fully upgradable, allowing gear heads to take on the challenge of turning a Honda Civic into a supercar killer. New Xbox LIVE Leaderboards celebrate not only the greatest racers but also the most prolific car tuners and painters in the community.

• Play your way: New game modes. “Forza Motorsport 3″ is an epic racing game featuring more content and more ways to play than any racing title today. An innovative single-player season mode puts you through a completely personalized racing calendar that includes more than 200 different events, including Circuit, Oval, Drag, Drift and Timed Events. No two calendars are the same; they react to the cars you love and the races you enjoy most. In addition, the online multiplayer mode* gains an all-new game rules editor. This gives players a never-ending variety of ways to play with friends. Whether you’re a speedster, dragster, drifter, painter, tuner or just a lover of cars, “Forza Motorsport 3″ is the definitive racing game for you.

 

 

WORD OF WARNING: if you are trying to find a way to upload your pictures on Forza 3 on the internet, forget about it! It is all ART. Dedication, skill and a hell of a lot of free time! Have a look at the video above and you will understand what it means to get a great design on your car.

Forza 3 has officially launched in North America, and just as in 2007, the Internet has exploded with custom paint jobs. There’s livery for every taste, from sports to anime to, of course, gaming, and many of Forza 2’s most popular community artists have returned for the sequel.

New for Forza 3 is the storefront feature, which allows artists to sell their designs for in-game credits. Some designs may go for free, others may go for 10,000 credits, but it’s an interesting way for community artists to get even more recognition than before.

To give you an idea of what’s out there, we rounded up some of the best designs from around the Internet, with themes ranging from Zone of the Enders to Transformers. Check them out below, and if you like them, it’s not hard to download them. Before you know, you too will be driving a stylish Okami-mobile.

 

 

First off, if you’re looking for dirt, you won’t find much here. Both upcoming racers Forza Motorsport 3 (Xbox 360) and Gran Turismo 5 (PS3) are sure to be great racing games. That said,  I think there’s a clear winner here between the two high-profile racers shown on the floor of Tokyo Game Show this year. As you read on, keep in mind that we’re not comparing the games themselves as much as we are the demos shown on the TGS floor.

Both were in pretty nifty setups. Gran Turismo 5 had real-world racing seats built into metal frames. Inside, players sat in front of a high-end Sony display while controlling the game with the GT steering wheel set. Forza 3 was played on a three-screen setup. They too had racing chairs and a steering wheel controller. Putting all of that aside, though, which was the better game?

Visuals:
Winner: Forza Motorsport 3
While both games look great on the track, Forza’s demo featured a polish that Gran Turismo 5’s lacked. The rocky hillsides and lush greenery easily showed up the bland, almost clinical-looking cityscape of Gran Turismo. Driving slow in Gran Turismo is like inviting disappointment. I guess they were hoping you’d always be moving fast enough to not notice the perfectly flat tree and pole textures. Plants and trees on the side of the road look like paper cutouts, and the tree trunks are laughably bad.  As far as the vehicle visuals go, neither game disappoints. Both supply unhealthy doses of car porn. The tighter racing action of Forza 3 made it easier to appreciate the models of the cars I raced against, but both pull off amazing feats as far as visuals go. Forza’s framerate was liquid smooth, making it a bit easier on the eyes than GT5.

Control:
Winner: Forza Motorsport 3
Solely judging from the two on-floor demos,  both of which used adjustable racing seats and steering wheel rigs, Forza 3’s control won the race. There was something about the balance of control that made it seem especially intuitive. I’d go as far as to say that it felt damned near flawless with the steering wheel rig they had set up at each demo station. Gran Turismo controlled great as well, with the tilt leaning farther away from arcade action and more towards realism. Nothing was notably wrong with Gran Turismo’s control. It’s just that the seamless feeling that we felt with the controls in Forza wasn’t there in GT5.

Game play:
Winner:  Forza Motorsport 3
Both games were played on a rather easy track, and both featured racing line guidelines. Other than that, these two games play differently. Forza 3 had me racing against other AI characters that were way too easy to pass, even with the option to set the difficulty. My choice of a medium difficulty looked more like an easy to my eyes. I didn’t try the “hard” setting, but I hope it’s considerably more difficult than medium was. That said, some of the credit goes, again, to the seemingly flawless control of the game.

As for Gran Turismo, I watched plenty of others wipe out and give up before I played. It looked like people that had never played the series games before sat down and expected arcade racing. As always, Gran Turismo 5 had that realistic acceleration and turning that greatly contrasts to the loose, forgiving controls of other racers (Forza 3 not included, of course). I enjoy the challenge and learning curve, and prefer the rewarding stick-to-your-ribs racing that it provides. Even with that, though, Forza’s gameplay was more enjoyable and approachable. It may be a bit more simple than that of GT5, but it still provides ample challenge for white knuckle racing.

If you have to have damage modeling, you want Forza 3. It’s just not there in Gran Turismo. While I don’t believe that it’s a necessity to have damage modeling in a racing game, it is an added bonus. If you play in first-person view like I do, it’s fun to see how messed up your vehicle is after a race. Gran Turismo doesn’t do that. In fact, side of the road items like cones and tires don’t even seem to be affected properly by impact. When I ran into a stack of tires, they seemed to float strangely in front of my car for a second before flying off to the right. I don’t need true-to-life physics on these types of collisions, but this looked closer to the movement of a UFO than a stack of rubber tires.

Overall:
I’m a big Gran Turismo fan, so it was a bit of a surprise to me that the Forza Motorsport 3 demo did more for me. Things like damage modeling and background art aside, it was the superb control and high level of accessibility that won me over. Forza 3 was just more fun. More impressive. Of course, this is not to say that Gran Turismo 5 isn’t a good game. It will be great, I’m sure, but Forza 3 show floor demo has me wanting to race again. I need to get me one of these three-screen setups too.

Along with improved physics, better graphics, more cars and tracks, Forza also sports a brand new Career Mode. In the following we will dig deeper into tuning, multiplayer, the new leaderboard system and more.

Once you’ve finished the first season in your career, you might be thinking it’s time to go a bit deeper with Turn 10’s sim. Where Forza 2 was a hardcore sim only, this time around Turn 10 has split the audience. They’ve created two ways to play Forza. The casual crowd can ignore tuning altogether if they like or follow up on some friendly tuning options. At any time, you can select a car from your garage, select the level you want it upgraded to, and let the AI do the hard work. Have a C-class car you want in the A class? Choose it and the AI will automatically spend your cash, buy the parts and tune your car accordingly. You can check what was added in case you want to learn how to upgrade a car, but you don’t have to ever get grease on your hands.

This may be a wise option for many, because the alternative is a tuning set so hardcore it may frighten some casual gamers. Tuning has been made about as deep as possible. Where Forza 2 never really punished you for poorly tuning your car, that’s not the case in Forza 3. You can, in fact, tune your car incorrectly for the track you’re racing. The more you fiddle, the deeper you go into the tuning, the more you’re going to need to know about cars. There are plenty of helpful hints along the way, but in order to allow master tuners the joy of rigging out a car to its optimal settings, consequences had to be added.

This doesn’t mean that the average gamer can’t tune their car. Just be aware that with up to 175 upgrades (about 50% more than Forza 2) and more tuning options than anyone’s ever seen in a racing game before, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. The good news is that at the start of any race, you can auto-tune your car for the current track. This offers a general calibration to ensure that any harmful work you might have done for a different track isn’t going to slow you down.

The depth and the risk/reward nature of tuning in Forza 3 ties directly into one of Turn 10’s major objectives. They wanted to create a new type of skill and put tuners on par with the bad-ass painters that grew out of Forza 2. Just as master painters became famous in the community, so too will virtuoso tuners. And helping that along is the all new system supporting user-generated content.

User-generated content is separated across six different scoreboards. Among those are picture and video scoreboards which anyone can easily dominate. Only true experts can hope to get atop the tuner and livery scoreboards. These scoreboards are leaderboards for certain skill types and are linked directly to files uploaded through Forza 3. Since only the best tuners will get high ratings (and downloads), it’s going to be easy to know who to trust. You can even mark users as favorites and follow them to see when they post new items. This works for those who themselves are great tuners as they can track their rivals.

The scoreboards are tied into the brand new Storefront. The Auction House from Forza 2 still exists, but it’s for selling single versions of cars. The Storefront is more like Amazon.com. You set the price for your file and you determine how many to sell. Re-created the Mona Lisa on a car? Maybe you only want one person in the entire world to own it. So only sell one. You can try to sell it for a million credits if you like and if no one buys it, you can always lower the price. Or maybe you just want to help people tune their Audi R8 for the Nurburgring? Sell 1000 for 50 credits. It’s up to you. This is a free market economy, baby!

It should be noted that all sales on the Storefront are for in-game credits. No one will get rich in real life, but they can amass in-game wealth if they’re talented.

Turn 10 admits that they really aren’t sure what’s going to happen when Forza 3 is first released. It’s going to take a bit of time for the great tuners to be sorted out on the scoreboard. Unfortunately, you can’t test a tuning file before buying it, which is going to make the first week on the Storefront a bit like the Wild West. After that, expect things to settle down and for the great tuners and artists to rise to the top. The fakers will get bad ratings and quickly disappear from the scoreboards.

If you’re currently devising a master plan to sell your Penis-Mobile for 100,000 credits a pop, think again. All user-generated content is policed by other users. Anyone can file a complaint and a moderator looks into each potential issue. Users who make valid complaints get what you might call a Police Ranking. As they become more trusted, their opinion takes greater merit among the moderators and their Police Ranking increases. If you go around complaining about all of your friends’ files just to be a jerk, you’ll soon find that your opinion gets ignored.

Now that you have paid some credits for the perfectly tuned car and a Mario and Princess Peach wedding mural livery, you’re ready to plow through the full Career Mode.

As we told you yesterday, your season calendar fills in dynamically, but there are a series of weekend races that don’t change. There are six “standard seasons” in Forza 3, meaning that there are six full seasons with these specific weekend championships. Each season gets longer and harder as, hopefully, you also get better. By the end of the six season, you’ll have completed 55 events (some with more than 10 races!), reached level 50, earned all of your gift cars and spent about 60 hours racing. But it’s not over. There are still more than 150 unique events to race. And though the weekend championships won’t be any different, there’s hundreds of hours left if you want to truly complete Forza 3.

Remember that the AI, which looks at the cars you owned, the cars you drive and the tracks you race, determines the majority of events in your first six seasons. If you ignore Drag Racing events, eventually they go away. After all, why offer something you don’t want to race? If you stuck with American cars the entire time, there are going to be a number of European and Japanese racing challenges ahead of you once you finish your sixth season. Though you might have mastered all the championships, by the end of season six, you’re only a third of the way through Forza 3.

At any time, you can ignore the season calendar and bring up a master grid of all 220 events. This grid is very similar to the career mode in Forza 2. It lists every open race and, at any time, you can race those. These also feed into the dynamic calendar, because, after all, they are races you’re choosing. Never worry that you’re going to miss something in Forza 3. There is always an option to break free of the dynamic calendar and race any event for which you’re qualified.

Finishing every event isn’t the only goal in Forza. This is still a game about collecting cars. Sure, you get 50 gift cars, but there are more than 400 total in the game. Most you will have to buy. Here’s the crazy part — all 400+ are unlocked from the beginning. If you have the credits, you can buy any car in the game at any time. Of course, you start off fairly broke and must work your way along, but none of the cars are locked based on your experience level.

Unlike Forza 2, which had an unrealistic pricing model for high-end cars, Forza 3 is fairly accurate. You want a Lamborghini? It’s going to cost you. However, you could probably buy a Corvette early on and still get decent performance. It’s a trade off. If you want, you can save cash to get a high-end luxury car earlier than you might normally acquire one. And owning that would change the events that appear in your calendar. A Ferrari GT vs. Lamborghini GT event sounds good to us.

This is where the Storefront can make a real difference. You could be in your first season of Career Mode and be rich thanks to your awesome livery artwork. Or you can try and earn money faster with your driving skill. Post-race, your finishing place, difficulty settings and damage determine your earnings. Turn off all assists and you can earn double the cash. Just be warned: turning off all assists can be mercilessly difficult.

In Forza 3, you’re always earning money no matter where you race. That includes multiplayer. While Turn 10 isn’t fully ready to blow the lid off multiplayer, we have some first details that should make the three-month wait just a little more unbearable.

Forza 3 multiplayer can be summed up quite simply: you make the rules so go do whatever the hell you want.

There are about 60 rules you can set for a multiplayer match that allow you to create just about any game type you could want. Instead of having a gentleman’s agreement at the start of the race to play Cat & Mouse, you can now make someone the mouse. You want capture the flag? You can make it happen. With so many options, the only limit is your own ingenuity.

You can force teams of any size (all against one, three-on-three, whatever you want), give one person the “heavy” car and the others faster vehicles. You can force specific camera modes if you want everyone to play from the dashboard view and even require the use of manual transmission with the clutch (Left Bumper).

No more guessing at scores of games you had to make up in your head. Now you can create rules that are tracked by the game with relevant points. These sets can be saved, of course. For those who hate setting all these options, Turn 10 will create its own set of game modes for parties to hop into. Thanks to the magic of Xbox Live, Turn 10 can keep track of which options are used most, what game types are the favorite and then adjust the official hoppers to suit the community.

 

Tracks:
115+ track layouts in several environments, including world famous race tracks as well as road courses in some of the worlds most beautiful regions.

Amalfi Coast[TBN] (Italy)

Track Layouts:

• TBA

Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello (Italy)

Track Layouts:

• Mugello Grand Prix Circuit
• Mugello Short Circuit

Circuit de Catalunya (Spain)

Track Layouts:

• Circuit de Catalunya Grand Prix Track
• Circuit de Catalunya National Track
• TBA

Fujimi Kaido (Japan)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Track Layouts:

• TBA

Le Mans – Circuit de 24 Heures (France)

Track Layouts:

• Circuit de La Sarthe
• Circuit de La Sarthe without chicanes
• Circuit Bugatti

Maple Valley Raceway (USA)

Track Layouts:

• Maple Valley Raceway
• Maple Valley Raceway Reverse
• Maple Valley Short
• Maple Valley Short Reverse

Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (USA)

Track Layouts:

• Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca

Montserrat (Spain)

Track Layouts:

• Camino Viejo de Montserrat Circuit
• Camino Viejo de Montserrat Circuit Reverse
• Camino Viejo de Montserrat Short Circuit
• Camino Viejo de Montserrat Short Circuit Reverse
• Camino Viejo de Montserrat Club Circuit
• Camino Viejo de Montserrat Club Circuit Reverse
• Iberian International Circuit
• Iberian International Circuit Reverse
• Ladera Test Track
• Ladera Test Track Reverse
• Ladera Test Track Config 2
• Ladera Test Track Config 2 Reverse
• Ladera Test Track Config 3
• Ladera Test Track Config 3 Reverse
• TBA

New York (USA)

Track Layouts:

•  
• New York Circuit
• New York Circuit Reverse
• New York Circuit Short
• New York Circuit Short Reverse

Nürburgring (Germany)

Track Layouts:

• Nürburgring Nordschleife
• TBA

Road America (USA)

Track Layouts:

• Road America

Road Atlanta (USA)

Track Layouts:

• Road Atlanta Grand Prix Course
• Road Atlanta Short Course

Sebring International Raceway (USA)

Track Layouts:

• Sebring Grand Prix Course
• Sebring Short Course
• Sebring Club Course
• TBA

Sedona Raceway Park (USA)

Track Layouts:

• Long Road Course
• Long Road Course Reverse
• Short Road Course
• Short Road Course Reverse
• Oval
• Oval Reverse
• Drag Strip (1mile/½mile/¼mile/⅛mile)

Silverstone (Great Britain)

Track Layouts:

• Silverstone Grand Prix Circuit
• Silverstone International Circuit
• Silverstone National Circuit
• TBA

Sunset Peninsula (USA)

Track Layouts:

• Sunset Peninsula Infield
• Sunset Peninsula Infield Reverse
• Sunset Peninsula Infield Short
• Sunset Peninsula Infield Short Reverse
• Sunset Peninsula Speedway
• Sunset Peninsula Speedway Reverse
• TBA

Suzuka Circuit (Japan)

Track Layouts:

• Suzuka Grand Prix Circuit
• Suzuka East Circuit
• Suzuka West Circuit

Tsukuba Circuit (Japan)

Track Layouts:

• Tsukuba Circuit
• Tsukuba Short

Twin Ring Motegi (Japan)

Track Layouts:

• Twin Ring Motegi Road Course
• Twin Ring Motegi East Course
• Twin Ring Motegi West Course
• Twin Ring Motegi Super Speedway

Today Turn 10 has announced that the recently revealed Ferrari 458 Italia, will be made available for download this holiday season. Alongside 29 of its predecessors included in Forza Motorsport 3, the 458 Italia will take to the grid in style, tackling the twisty curves of the beautiful Amalfi Coast, and running wheel to wheel on the sweeping corners of Ferrari’s own Mugello. Prepare to feel every nuance of this technological machine as you take the wheel this Holiday season with Forza Motorsport 3. As a tribute to Ferrari’s latest masterpiece, we’ve uploaded all-new screenshots of the 458 Italia along with an exclusive trailer showcasing the historical lineage of Ferrari vehicles included in Forza Motorsport 3. Enjoy!

The New Ferrari 458 Italia available for download holiday 2009.

 

With much fanfare from the mainstream media Ferrari’s 458 Italia was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show and as the flashbulbs lit up Ferrari’s latest and greatest automotive journalists started reaching for adjectives. Stunning, awesome, a truly hardcore Italian Stallion and the most technically advanced non-racing Ferrari yet, were some of the headliners. Maranello has really struck a chord with the 458 Italia. Its all-new aluminum chassis structure has been draped with a sleek, sultry and highly functional body. The 458 Italia is a combination of banned F1 active-aero technology and the voluptuous vision of the Pininfarina design house. The Ferrari features ‘aerolastic’ spoilers in front that shape shift as the car accelerates altering the flow of air into the radiator and decreasing drag. Pininfarina provided the classic Ferrari elements; five-spoke star wheels, Prancing Horse fender badges and V8-under-glass engine presentation. But Pininfarina’s sculpted character lines, flowing fender treatment, high-tech LED headlamps and scowling front fascia take the Italia to the next level.

Lucky owners of Ferrari’s gorgeous 458 Italia will get to know their chiropractors much more intimately. The successor to the F430, the 458 Italia plays the Ferrari numbers game with its 4.5-liter V8 that rings up 570 horsepower and 398 lbs-ft of torque. At 127 hp-per-liter, the direct-injected V8 pumps out the highest specific output in Ferrari history. Looking at low-end grunt the engine produces about 310 lbs-ft from a low and usable 3,250 rpm. Power flows through Ferrari’s impressive seven-speed F1-bred dual clutch gearbox as the sleek supercar fires off 3.3-second 0-60s en route to its 202 mph terminal velocity. With a wide powerband and finely honed suspension the 458 Italia is a mean g-force generator and one of the wildest rides on Forza Motorsport 3.