Hmm, Forza's a strange creature when it comes to tracks. Some are just spot-on, while others are almost laughably wrong. I'm gonna detract a bit from the original thread idea, just to keep my thoughts within one context, hope you don't find it off-putting.
This is my first Forza btw.
First, the hits for me:
Road Atlanta is just done gorgeously. It's one of the few tracks in FM4 that's so true to life I could basically just carry all of my iRacing knowledge of the track and apply it straight away. Atmosphere's not as dead as iRacing's (although not graphically as... I don't know... sharp?) so Forza's version is a bit nicer on the eyes.
Same for
Sebring.
Mugello is jusssst right. Such a gorgeous track and from the number of laps I've run around the laser-scanned version in Ferrari Virtual Academy, it's about 90% there in comparison.
I haven't run
Catulyuna in anything besides F1 2010 and 2011 so, compared to how it looks on TV it's good? I do just like the track for the track in FM4. Really great arena and it definitely gives off the feeling of a grade 1 circuit. Epic grandstands as well. But that mickey-mouse chicane the real life track now features will never be forgiven. I would've given T10 a billion brownie points if they made an alternate version of the track with the pre-2009 layout.
I was very surprised by
Road America. Great, great, re-production. Although it's not my favorite track ever, they've simply mastered the character of the track. Compared to my iRacing benchmark, this is a 90%.
Twin Ring Motegi was a surprise. Haven't run it since Gran Turismo 4. I think they nailed the fresh sort of feeling a more modern track elicits. Plus it's a lot of fun in all the various configurations, which goes a long way.
I don't know about you guys, but I believe that the FM4 version of the
Top Gear Test Track is not only better than GT5's, but that it's one of the best track recreations
ever made. EVERYTHING about it is simply PERFECT. I was smiling the whooooole time driving around TGTT. I watch a lot of TG and I couldn't believe they even had the different shades of concrete on the edge going through the Follow-through. The small rumble strips right next to the finish/start are so spot-on I couldn't help but truck over them every time like our favorite Stig Mr. Collins would always be prone to.
It really is the little things. I never thought simple camera views could add so much dimension to my love for a track before I watched a replay. So fun.
Mediocore, acceptable:
Tsukuba was done exquisitely. It is more accurate than GT5's but I still prefer GT5's for drive ability. Yes, there are differences. Maybe I'm biased, or I just put way too many hours into GT's versions of the track.
Silverstone is done well, although they took liberties with certain elevation changes and track-side objects. Other than that, they represented it well. Compared to iRacing's laser scanned version I'd say this is an 80%.
Hockenheim is too flat. I raced there a lot in Race '07 for a DTM league I had a spell with a couple of years ago. The FM4 version somehow managed to squeeze more life out of it than any the already dull track could cling on to in real life.
But even F12010 managed to get the last 5 turns right; there's more prominent banking.
Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to have it in the list of games because it should provide as a very good arena for faster R2 or R1 type cars. Too bad it'll be a knock-out killer boring track if you're racing alone.
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca is a track that I've probably put more hours into than any other. Monaco would be a close second. I know the track, very well. GT5's Laguna Seca is a masterpiece. I swear I could drive the tracks in both iRacing and GT5 and if the graphics were the same, save for the actual layout of the track, I wouldn't be able to tell which one I was on.
The corkscrew is just... wrong. The lead up to it is even worse. Pit lane's entry is mis-matched. The only good sections are Andretti and the turn before Rahal pretty much. Rainy curve is close, but I don't get the same sense of danger here as on other sims.
Infineon is a great track. I'm not too sure how it looked when T10 visited the property but it certainly seemed like they took a few liberties when compared to the iRacing version.
I love the mood the track gives off though, so it's still as fun to rush around. Having three layouts is always a plus.
They really had their work cut out for them with
Nurburgring. Always a lot of pressure trying to sculpt the famous North Loop for armchair racers. The basic layout is as good as it can get. I had no problem hitting the ground running with my previous experiences in GT and Race '07.
But it's just too wide in some parts. There's too much kerb in some sections. It doesn't drop off enough, or it drops off too much. I don't know, I'm probably being picky. It's just weird to me that there's some sections that look exactly as I'd expected and others that just fall off the way-side.
Still acceptable though, and scary as hell at that.
Nurburgring GP is ok. I don't get the right feeling from it though. Especially going down T13. I was getting myself ready for the rollercoaster-like turn and, before I could even put my hands up, I just smirked and had that feeling kind of like when you realize you really need to deliver rations to the toilet once you've just stepped out of the house.
Using the endurance chicane instead of the ACTUAL GP CHICANE almost got this thing relegated to the next category of tracks. But I like taking the alternate route every once in a while so... I guess it's just ok.
Blasphemy:
Suzuka. Just no. The esses, my god, it feels more like a kart track. The front straight's too narrow. There's just not enough elevation change. Degner's... ok. They did spoon alright. 130R, well that's hard to mess up... but what really does it for me is that the spirit of the circuit just never translates. It seems more like a fictional track somehow.
Indy. They only got T3 and T4 right... Wth is up with the hairpins? That took me completely out of it, pretty bad. It should've been a dead simple track to model, but somehow they just did not care enough when it came to the Brickyard.
As for the fictional tracks I only liked
Maple Valley right off the bat, but I expect a few to grow on me as I play.
Positano kind of irked me 'cause
Costa di Amalfi is one of my favorite tracks in anything ever and it seemed to be like a lame cross hatch of that and a Monaco... those random huge bumps right after that start don't do much for it either.
Bernese is ok, but I treat it more as a novelty than anything to get serious on.
Other than that, not much to say. I'm loving Forza 4 so far, every game has its ups and downs, and Forza has many more in the former. I love tracks
