What point is there comparing a modified Koenigsegg One:1 in one game to a stock GT-R Nismo in another?
No, really. I'm all ears.
@Conza, I'm disappointed with FM6 for the following reasons.
BEST LAP TIME. There is no way to get FM6 to continuously display the last and best lap times for longer than 10 seconds at the end of a lap. I like to work on a continuous improvement approach to practice, trying to stay within 0.5% to 1% of my best lap time until I find a way of making it better. On many tracks, the first 10 seconds of a lap are often quite critical (e.g. Brands Hatch) and by the time I get to a relaxing part of the lap where I feel I can check my metrics, the numbers are gone. Sounds like nitpicking? Not to me.
REPLAYS. FM6 restricts you to only 10 saved replays. You might be thinking that you have a huge hard drive on your Xbox One, so surely this can't be true. But it is. 10 is the limit. To make it worse, there is no way to figure out exactly what is in a replay so you can choose which one to overwrite. You can't make backups of the replays to extend the storage "offline", there is no way around this absurd limit.
These two are a huge drawback when comparing the two titles, absolutely. It's even more frustrating going into the FRC knowing they haven't been addressed. I didn't think the first point would bother me that much — the best lap is the one that needs to be visible all the time — but it does mean, if I'm hotlapping for any length of time, I have to remember what my progress/consistency has been. I figure minimalism was the goal for the HUD, but a list of the last few laps would help.
The replay issue is just stupid. The FRC requires saved replays of matches, which could create issues if you've run multiple opponents in a single day. Duuuuuuuumb.
CAMERA. The camera in FM6's photo mode is a big downgrade from GT6's (and FM4's) camera which have 8.3 megapixels. FM6 has 2 megapixels. To make it worse, they insist on placing a Forza logo over part of your photo, so if you want to crop that out, you're down to about 1.7 usable megapixels. And the quality of the virtual camera is nowhere near as good as GT6's. It doesn't even have actual shutter speeds and f-stops. I have won photo club ribbons with GT6 photos, but I wouldn't even try with FM6. The quality is not there.
FM6's camera is the exact same size as GT6's, unless you're using the 2x mode. Which, naturally, requires quite a lot more time to render.
The quality in FM6's Photomode is both easier and harder to access, if that makes sense. As someone who knows their way around a real camera, yep, I love GT's mode. But for someone who doesn't — and that's quite a lot of people — I imagine the simple sliders in FM6 are more approachable. It can't handle DoF as well as GT, but GT6 has also strangely decided the sun is square. So, they both have drawbacks compared to older games.
FWIW, I never much cared for the Big Shot option in FM4, and considering how quickly T10 dropped it, it seems neither did they. You could only have one at a time, and it was a BMP.
REAL WORLD MODELS. If you want to drive the sort of Corvette that real people buy, you're out of luck. No base models, no Grand Sports, and if there is a ZR1 in that generation, no Z06. I get it that they want boy racers to buy this game, but in my Corvette club, the members want to be able to drive "their car", and few of us own top-of-the-line models.
It's particularly funny the game with a bunch of
made-up fantasy cars gets the nod for real world models.
Other than the C4 (which are all blacked-out interior, PS2-era assets anyway), which generation of Corvette is particularly represented well in GT in terms of "real world models"? The C5? Z06 only (just like FM6). C6? Z06 and ZR1 (FM6 has the latter, but neither are the base models). C7? Yep, T10 for some bizarre reason dropped the Stingray in FM6 while keeping the Z06. It annoys me too.
Of course, they have kept the Mustang GT with the GT350R around. The 458 Italia remains alongside the Speciale (though neither of those are particularly real-world).
In terms of Premiums, Polyphony does a very similar approach to T10, grabbing only the standout models of certain vehicle lines. Unless it's a GT-R, in which case any tiny permutation is included. The previous-gen Mustang is the only one I can really think of out of modern cars where that hasn't happened, with both the Boss 302 and GT500.
Sadly, I wish both companies would realize there's a gray area between encyclopedia-style obsessive coverage (hello, two dozen NA Miatas), and one model to represent an entire generation (E46 M3 without a CSL as well, or even some non-M's). Neither gets it right.
SIMULATION. I'm sort of OK with the way FM6 cars behave, but members of my club who have driven a recent Mustang Shelby IRL found its behavior to be very unrealistic in FM6 and scoffed at the claims of "simulation". I did not hear these criticisms for GT6.
Of course, we have a member here who's said the exact opposite about driving their personal car (
@BoneSawTX). Personal anecdotes can go either way.
According to my game, I've got a bit over 22k miles in FM6, spread across just about every track (I don't have Homestead-Miami). I find, based on real-world driving, FM6 does what I expect more of the time, though in both games there are still issues. The more recent DLC highlighted the limitations of FM6's physics engine with the BMW Isetta of all things, actually: tuning it pretty much breaks the game.
GT6 still doesn't get the behaviour of FF or RR cars right. There's something that's always felt a little off about the classic cars in the game too. It's hard to explain, really: it's like the squidge of the high-profile tires, that soft edge of the grip threshold as you approach and then step over the line. FM6 does it in a way that is very satisfying.
And talking about the superiority of FM4, FM4 (and 3, 2 and 1) supported multi-screen, even if not quite as well as GT5 and 6. FM5 and 6 lost that capability, underscoring my impression that they are not into the goal of "simulation" as is GT.
I will never understand how a display option used by a tiny percentage of people is somehow a determining factor in a game's "simulation" value. GT uses a simple grip multiplier for its tire grades, has numerous issues with its aero model, and doesn't even offer an interior view for 2/3 of its car lineup.
In an age of curved displays, and the push for VR, I expect to see triple-screen support continue to be the dwindling priority it already is. Come to think of it... I don't think we've heard of it being confirmed for GT Sport.
@Conza - I don't know if it's an entirely fair comparison these days. Switching between the two on a regular basis, GT feels its age. It's still a good game, but not a great GT, which is probably what kept me from playing it for too long back around its release. I didn't get my XB1 until a year ago, but when I felt like playing a racing game, I'd hop on FM4 most times.
FM6's car list is unparalleled. The variety on offer is staggering: want some pre-war cars? Drive 'em. How about some mad, steroidal IMSA cars? Got those too. 60's F1? Just about all of the 1967 cars are here. Formula E, touring cars, GT3/GTLM, Indy (past & present)? Those too. Porsche and NASCAR are a DLC pack away (or free, if you get in on FRC this month, apparently).
The tuning is better in FM6. There's more parts, you can fiddle with tire pressure, and just about anything can be made reasonably competitive in the PI-determined hoppers. Yes, there are a handful of leaderboard cars in classes (D Class sees the Trans Am for speed courses, or the Civic for handling; S Class has the Lancia Beta, Alfa 33, Viper ACR, and Esprit). But you can find cars that put up a surprisingly good fight: I've got a Subaru BRAT that will keep the muscle cars honest in D, and two Saleen S7's that will manage both handling and speed in S.
One thing GT does nail is the feel with a wheel, so it's something to keep in mind if you're using one. FM6's support is better than previous Forza titles, but I still do appreciate how even something as old as a DFPro works well in GT6.
That said, if you're using a controller, FM6 has fantastic optimization on that front, helped by the XB1's controller offering FFB in the triggers. I didn't think it'd change much from the 360 era, but it really helps you play "by the seat of your pants" in terms of throttle and brake application. As someone that's run ABS off since FM4, that latter bit helps.
Tracks are a swings and roundabouts situation. FM6 is devoid of Japanese circuits — apparently the licensing fees are exorbitant, for
some reason — but it offers a decent selection of Euro circuits and a huge collection of American ones. It's a shame VIR is locked away in the Porsche pack, because it's an awesome track. Roads Atlanta and America are fun, and I personally was all too happy to see Sonoma back.
Oh yeah, livery editor: super handy. The tuning is treated the same way: you can download others work pretty easily. You can't modify either though if they're from someone else, which is a bit of a shame: it'd be nice if we had the option to send unlocked designs/tunes to others, but I realize that was rife with abuse last gen.
Find a friend that has the game. If you've got a decent PC, you could try the FM6: Apex free beta. From my understanding, the physics are identical.
