Information from
Team xbox
Suspension
A good place to start when trying to hammer out the feel of a certain car model is to gain an understanding of how its suspension works. There are few car manufacturers with a better grasp on suspension and handling than Ferrari, so it was natural for Forzas dev team to consult with the makers of those perfect red cars on what is truly important. The first area of importance, and that was touched on in part one, is the physical way in which the suspension mounts to the hub, and ultimately the tire. Certain layouts will allow more camber when torqued into a turn, and some will also gain caster in similar situations. Forzas team individually modeled each cars suspension type so that gamers would actually be able to experience the correct feel of the model, even slight changes in alignment depending on how the wheel is situated.
Tires
The other area which inspired our title to the physics and handling segment of Seat Time part 2 is how the physics between tire and pavement have been handled. People always wonder what the single most important aspect of car handling is. Forzas response to this question is that, without a doubt, its the tire, since it is the only part of the car actually in contact with the road. The team spent over a month on the tire model alone, then another two months to tune said model into something they were happy with. Teaming up with Toyo allowed the team access to some very inside information on how cars react with changes in shoes. Forza has been built around the tire model, and what will separate it from the competition. Knowing that tires on high speed autos rely on non-Newtonian physics, this was an immensely difficult but extremely important area to focus upon. Simply put, the more load put on the tire, the more friction that that it will create on the asphalt, but not in a linear fashion. What that means in normalspeak is that, since the tire model is so accurate in Forza, the team didnt have to dial in the handling characteristics of the cars as much. For instance, the NSX, with its rear weight bias, naturally oversteered when thrown into a corner with Forza tire model applied to its layout. What this means for the gamer is the absolute closest thing to the organic feel of a bunch of cars that most of us will never even be able to sit in, let alone drive. Yes, tire heat and wear have also been considered. Tire pressures will rise with heat individually, which will raise pressure, and thereby change tire friction. This will affect wear and can also cause the handling to be thrown off. Gamers with a clue will know that warming up the tires before a race is a very good idea in Forza.
Skidmarks
Tire marks are left and will stay for the remainder of the race, which is a huge deal since a car will grip rubber much more aggressively when in contact with additional rubber. Dropped oil from a wreck stays as well and will wreak havoc for the remainder of the race since it will be carried about the track
Now how realistic is that....
I'm not bashing the gran turismo series but if I was PD i'd be slightly worried that Microsoft will steal there crown of best Racing sim on console I have no doubt GT4 will be a great game, will it be the greatest racing game from this generation of consoles has yet to be seen...
Forza has so many things going for it right now
Drivetar [AI that learns]
Exotics [Ferrari, Porsche etc...]
Graphics [High Res]
Online [XBox Live]
Pokemon [Cars Limited per Region]
Vehicles on screen [15 compared to 6]
Physics [That have been quoted by many as amazing and unforgiving]
Things GT4 will missed out on [Graphicial Touches Skidmarks, Reverse Lights etc...]
. Listen, even half life rally has reverse lights, say what you want, make a joke of it, what ever, but you can not deny it's a stupid thing not to have in. I can only hope that PD see how stupid this ommison is, and include it.
Not a good start IMO
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