Forza Motorsport’s overall install size has been reduced, crashes are said to be reduced and more new content is on the way.
Images: Microsoft
Following the announcement that Brands Hatch will be joining Forza Motorsport’s track roster late last week, we now know every detail pertaining to ‘Update 7’.
The patch will arrive today, 8th April 2024, and as ever there are bug fixes, fresh cars to unlock, new cars for the Car Pass DLC and this time, the new venue.
Perhaps notably, this update is set to ‘last’ five weeks, one week longer than usual, before Update 8 arrives sometime in the middle of May.
A circuit that was seen in Forza Motorsport 7, but absent within Turn 10 Studio’s contemporary platform to date, Brands Hatch returns in the two expected layouts – Indy and Grand Prix.
As with prior additions, the most recent being April’s Nürburgring Nordschleife, this is free via the latest patch.
This month’s ‘featured tour’, that each week across four weeks will add a new set of races to partake in, is Retro Racer.
The vehicles used here are all from a bygone area and race-ready, from Group 5, to single-seaters and Group C sportscars.
Each week, each new series will have a matching ‘spotlight car’. These are available at an in-game discount. In recent updates, the featured tour has delivered new cars to the game, but this time, all four are already present.
Below are the dates they will be available as a spotlight for:
However, complete all four series across all four weeks, and you will unlock:
This is brand new, and unlike some recent additions, new to the Forza franchise.
A car that competed in Formula 1, with little success it must be said, with a 1.5-litre turbocharged engine. It first appeared at the 1977 British Grand Prix with Jean-Pierre Jabouille behind the wheel. While it retired, it was notable as the debut for forced induction within the sport.
There’s more too, as the extra-long gap between updates means there is a fifth spotlight car this time.
Finally, for this section of the update, the Open Tour events for the next five weeks are themed around classic road cars. Complete all four, and unlock the:
The hoppers for the ranked multiplayer in the coming month, or so, include a spec event for 1960s Formula 1 cars in the first week, BMW M Procars in week two, Croup C in week three, vintage 24 Hours of Le Mans competitors and, in week five, 1970s Formula 1 cars.
There will also be 'rivals' events for old race cars and, for those with the VIP game edition unlock an additional event specifically for the Porsche 962C 1987 plus a 15 per cent store discount.
For those who own the paid-for car pass DLC, part of the Deluxe and Premium editions of the game, or available for $29.99/€29.99/£24.99, three new cars are on the way. Alternatively, each is available in the store for $2.99/€2.99/£2.49:
Once all three have been released, that marks the end of the Car Pass, which delivered 30 vehicles in total.
Henceforth, it is now not clear how often the platform will receive all new car models not recycled from prior instalments or Forza Horizon 5. We await with bated breath.
The full changelog is below, but the highlights include, alongside the aforementioned fresh content, a reduced game install size to between 25-29 GB, improved textures at the Le Mans venue, enhanced proximity arrows (although, no radar system) and supposed work on game crashes during featured multiplayer, and free play.
What would you like to see next in Forza Motorsport? Let us know in the comments below or on X, @OverTake_gg.
Images: Microsoft
Following the announcement that Brands Hatch will be joining Forza Motorsport’s track roster late last week, we now know every detail pertaining to ‘Update 7’.
The patch will arrive today, 8th April 2024, and as ever there are bug fixes, fresh cars to unlock, new cars for the Car Pass DLC and this time, the new venue.
Perhaps notably, this update is set to ‘last’ five weeks, one week longer than usual, before Update 8 arrives sometime in the middle of May.
Brand Hatch
A circuit that was seen in Forza Motorsport 7, but absent within Turn 10 Studio’s contemporary platform to date, Brands Hatch returns in the two expected layouts – Indy and Grand Prix.
As with prior additions, the most recent being April’s Nürburgring Nordschleife, this is free via the latest patch.
Retro Racer Tour, Spotlights and A New F1 Car
This month’s ‘featured tour’, that each week across four weeks will add a new set of races to partake in, is Retro Racer.
The vehicles used here are all from a bygone area and race-ready, from Group 5, to single-seaters and Group C sportscars.
Each week, each new series will have a matching ‘spotlight car’. These are available at an in-game discount. In recent updates, the featured tour has delivered new cars to the game, but this time, all four are already present.
Below are the dates they will be available as a spotlight for:
- Ford #2 Zakspeed Racing Capri Turbo 1981 – 11th April (UTC) 2024
- Lola #10 Simoniz Special T163 1969 – 18th April (UTC) 2024
- Brabham BT24 1967 – 25th April (UTC) 2024
- Jaguar Racing #1 XJR-9 1988
However, complete all four series across all four weeks, and you will unlock:
- Renault #15 Equipe Renault Elf R.S. 01 1977 (New to Forza Motorsport)
This is brand new, and unlike some recent additions, new to the Forza franchise.
A car that competed in Formula 1, with little success it must be said, with a 1.5-litre turbocharged engine. It first appeared at the 1977 British Grand Prix with Jean-Pierre Jabouille behind the wheel. While it retired, it was notable as the debut for forced induction within the sport.
There’s more too, as the extra-long gap between updates means there is a fifth spotlight car this time.
- BMW Motorsport #25 3.0 CSL 1975
Finally, for this section of the update, the Open Tour events for the next five weeks are themed around classic road cars. Complete all four, and unlock the:
- Brabham BT8 1964 (New to Forza Motorsport)
Featured Multiplayer Playlists
The hoppers for the ranked multiplayer in the coming month, or so, include a spec event for 1960s Formula 1 cars in the first week, BMW M Procars in week two, Croup C in week three, vintage 24 Hours of Le Mans competitors and, in week five, 1970s Formula 1 cars.
There will also be 'rivals' events for old race cars and, for those with the VIP game edition unlock an additional event specifically for the Porsche 962C 1987 plus a 15 per cent store discount.
Car Pass Soon To Be Complete
For those who own the paid-for car pass DLC, part of the Deluxe and Premium editions of the game, or available for $29.99/€29.99/£24.99, three new cars are on the way. Alternatively, each is available in the store for $2.99/€2.99/£2.49:
- Ginetta G55 GT4 2019
- Matra-Simca #146 MS650 Tour de France 1970
- Ligier #11 Eurointernational JS P3 2016
Once all three have been released, that marks the end of the Car Pass, which delivered 30 vehicles in total.
Henceforth, it is now not clear how often the platform will receive all new car models not recycled from prior instalments or Forza Horizon 5. We await with bated breath.
Fixes and Refinements
The full changelog is below, but the highlights include, alongside the aforementioned fresh content, a reduced game install size to between 25-29 GB, improved textures at the Le Mans venue, enhanced proximity arrows (although, no radar system) and supposed work on game crashes during featured multiplayer, and free play.
What would you like to see next in Forza Motorsport? Let us know in the comments below or on X, @OverTake_gg.
Forza Motorsport Update 7 changelog
Game Content, Features and Events [All Platforms]
Track Addition- Brands Hatch: Grand Prix and Indy Circuits
- Featured Tour: Retro Racers Tour (Available from April 10 5pm PT | April. 11 12am UTC – May 29 5pm PT | May 30 12am UTC)
- Rulebook Racers (Starts April 10 5pm PT | April 11 12am UTC)
- Unlimited Racers (Starts April 17 5pm PT | April 18 12am UTC)
- Grand Prix Racers (Starts April 24 5pm PT | April 25 12am UTC)
- Consumption Racers (Starts May 1 5pm PT | May 2 12am UTC)
- Open Class Tour – 1960s Celebration (Available from April 10 5pm PT | April. 11 12am UTC – May 15 5pm PT | May 16 12am UTC)
- E Class Series
- D Class Series
- C Class Series
- B Class Series
- Retro Racer Tour: 1977 Renault #15 Equipe Renault Elf R.S. 01
- Open Class Tour: 1964 Brabham BT8
- 1981 Ford #2 Zakspeed Racing Capri Turbo (April 10 5pm PT | April 11 12am UTC – April 17 5pm PT | April 18 12am UTC)
- 1969 Lola #10 Simoniz Special T163 (April 17 5pm PT | April 18 12am UTC – April 24 5pm PT | April 25 12am UTC)
- 1967 Brabham BT24 (April 24 5pm PT | April 25 12am UTC – May 1 5pm PT | May 2 12am UTC)
- 1988 Jaguar #1 Jaguar Racing XJR-9 (May 1 5pm PT | May 2 12am UTC – May 8 5pm PT | May 9 12am UTC)
- 1975 BMW #25 BMW Motorsport 3.0 CSL (May 8 5pm PT | May 9 12am UTC – May 15 5pm PT | May 16 12am UTC)
- 2019 Ginetta G55 GT4 (April 10 5pm PT | April 11 12am UTC)
- 1970 Matra-Simca #146 Equipe Matra-Simca MS650 Tour de France (April 17 5pm PT | April 18 12am UTC)
- 2016 Ligier #11 Euro international JS P3 (April 24 5pm PT | April 25 12am UTC)
Multiplayer Events
Spec Series- Formula 60s Spec Series (April 10 5pm PT | April 11 12am UTC – April 17 5pm PT | April 18 12am UTC)
- BMW M Procar Spec Series (April 17 5pm PT | April 18 12am UTC – April 24 5pm PT | April 25 12am UTC)
- GTP|C Series (April 24 5pm PT | April 25 12am UTC – May 1 5pm PT | May 2 12am UTC)
- Vintage Le Mans Sportscars Series (May 1 5pm PT | May 2 12am UTC – May 8 5pm PT | May 9 12am UTC)
- Formula 70s Spec Series (May 8 5pm PT | May 9 12am UTC – May 15 5pm PT | May 16 12am UTC)
- S Class Series and B Class Series (April 10 5pm PT | April 11 12am UTC – April 17 5pm PT | April 18 12am UTC)
- X Class Series and D Class Series (April 17 5pm PT | April 18 12am UTC – April 24 5pm PT | April 25 12am UTC)
- R Class Series and A Class Series (April 24 5pm PT | April 25 12am UTC – May 1 5pm PT | May 2 12am UTC)
- P Class Series and C Class Series (May 1 5pm PT | May 2 12am UTC – May 8 5pm PT | May 9 12am UTC)
- S Class Series and E Class Series (May 8 5pm PT | May 9 12am UTC – May 15 5pm PT | May 16 12am UTC)
- 1981 Ford #2 Zakspeed Racing Capri Turbo (April 10 5pm PT | April 11 12am UTC – April 17 5pm PT | April 18 12am UTC)
- 1969 Lola #10 Simoniz Special T163 (April 17 5pm PT | April 18 12am UTC – April 24 5pm PT | April 25 12am UTC)
- 1967 Brabham BT24 (April 24 5pm PT | April 25 12am UTC – May 1 5pm PT | May 2 12am UTC)
- 1988 Jaguar #1 Jaguar Racing XJR-9 (May 1 5pm PT | May 2 12am UTC – May 8 5pm PT | May 9 12am UTC)
- 1975 BMW #25 BMW Motorsport 3.0 CSL (May 8 5pm PT | May 9 12am UTC – May 15 5pm PT | May 16 12am UTC)
- Featured Track: Brands Hatch – 1969 Lola #6 Sunoco T70 MKIIIB – Brands Hatch GP Circuit (April 10 5pm PT | April. 11 12am UTC – May 15 5pm PT | May 16 12am UTC)
- VIP: Sunset Showdown – 1987 Porsche 962C – Hockenheim Full Circuit (April 10 5pm PT | April. 11 12am UTC – May 15 5pm PT | May 16 12am UTC)
- Spotlight – 1981 Ford #2 Zakspeed Racing Capri Turbo – Watkins Glen Full Circuit (April 10 5pm PT | April 11 12am UTC – April 17 5pm PT | April 18 12am UTC)
- Spotlight – 1969 Lola #10 Simoniz Special T163 – Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (April 17 5pm PT | April 18 12am UTC – April 24 5pm PT | April 25 12am UTC)
- Spotlight – 1967 Brabham BT24 – Indianapolis Motor Speedway, The Brickyard (April 24 5pm PT | April 25 12am UTC – May 1 5pm PT | May 2 12am UTC)
- Spotlight – 1988 Jaguar #1 Jaguar Racing XJR-9 – Kyalami GP Circuit (May 1 5pm PT | May 2 12am UTC – May 8 5pm PT | May 9 12am UTC)
- Spotlight – 1975 BMW #25 BMW Motorsport 3.0 CSL – Maple Valley Full Circuit (May 8 5pm PT | May 9 12am UTC – May 15 5pm PT | May 16 12am UTC)
Bug Fixes and Improvements
Stability [All Platforms]- Addressed a stability issue where the game would crash after changing cars before starting a full grid race in Free Play. [1691139]
- Fixed a crash that occurred when applying race brakes to a 1998 Toyota Supra RZ and then selecting ‘Exit Without Saving’ from the Upgrades menu. [1734898]
- Fixed a crash when the player loses internet connection during the Unsaved Changes message popup in the Livery Editor. [1708314]
- Fixed a stability issue when suspending the game while in the Livery Editor with unsaved changes. [1613307]
- Fixed a PC stability issue where the player would encounter an infinite loading screen when selecting Design & Paint for a car that hasn’t been purchased. [1665348]
- Gamma changes have been made to address banding in dark base color values. [1728611]
- Fixed an issue where the screen flashes while browsing suits in the Driver customization menu. [1722944]
- Updated the Upgrade and Tune Space to have brighter default lighting. [1724338]
- Reduced Video Memory usage when the "Car livery quality" setting is set to Medium, High, or Ultra. [1729187]
- Fixed an issue where a warning about an unrecognized device does not correctly pop up when plugging in a Fanatec Club Sport V2 with no drivers installed. [1527139]
- Proximity arrows are now enabled for all players by default in Multiplayer. [1642900]
- Fixed multiple crashes that could occur when players are entering Featured Multiplayer races. [1708387, 1691107, 1701001]
- Fixed a crash when changing Fuel & Tire options. [1701113]
- Fixed an exploit where players could skip time by suspending the game. [1657025]
- Fixed a glitch causing the “Race ends in” timer to show up when it’s not supposed to. [1399607]
- Changed the default end of race timer to be 10 seconds instead of 30 for Private Multiplayer races of the “Meetup” type. [1558760]
- Fixed replays of Multiplayer races not pausing. [1728224]
- Fixed an issue where Drivatars were invisible to the player if you rapidly start a race in Free Play. [1690311]
- Fixed an issue where Fuel Telemetry Estimates in the Fuel & Tire menu always displayed a 0 regardless of adjustments by the player. [1479396]
- The Fuel & Tire screen will now correctly show 0 required pit stops and unlimited fuel when the current event does not have Fuel & Tire wear enabled for any reason. [1709604]
- Proximity arrows now angle themselves based on car world position relative to the player car and camera rather than screen-space projection, providing more accurate arrow directions especially in non-chase camera views. [1637283]
- Proximity arrows will now properly disappear in cases where cars are close in terms of world position but far based on track progress, such as the bridge on Maple Valley Full Circuit. [1638910]
- Proximity arrows now use the distance between the player car and other cars rather than the distance between the player camera and other cars. Arrows are now more sensitive in cases where other cars are much faster than the player car. [1638922]
- Small adjustments have been made to the Drivatar AI to correct race start behavior for Free Play races with a small grid. [1691139]
- Fixed an issue where AI brake lights were stuck on after rewind. [1716071]
- NOTE: Please see “Note on FRR” in opening paragraph for more details.
- Fixed an issue in Forza Race Regulations collision detection code that would sometimes cause a crash. [1616584]
- Fixed an issue where players would occasionally be disqualified in a new multiplayer race after having been disqualified in a previous multiplayer race. [1729058]
- Fixed an issue where penalty data was carried over from previous events. [1735562]
- Fixed a handful of black or corrupted ambient occlusion track zones at Le Mans Full Circuit and Old Mulsanne Circuit. These were visible at the track overpass, off-track surfaces, the observation tower, green tarp, stairs and adjacent ground. [1728858, 1728875, 1728878, 1579977, 1564040]
- Updates to numerous textures have been made on the Le Mans Full Circuit and Old Mulsanne Circuit to address various misplaced and low-resolution textures visible in multiple zones, including track signage and overpass inscriptions. [1723655, 1725840, 1729593]
- Removed numerous booths across the Le Mans Full Circuit and Old Mulsanne Circuit that are not present on the real-life track. [1724065]
- Fixed an area of the Le Mans Full Circuit and Old Mulsanne Circuit where tire walls would pop into the player’s view. [1729668]
- Fixed an area of the Le Mans Full Circuit and Old Mulsanne Circuit where parts of the advertisement's scaffolding visibly pop into player's view. [1517522]
- Removed lights and glow effects in areas of the Le Mans Full Circuit and Old Mulsanne Circuit with unnatural light sources. [1728360, 1728375]
- Fixed an issue where lighting is significantly darker at night under certain weather conditions on the Le Mans Full Circuit and Old Mulsanne Circuit. [1728348]
- Fixed an area on the Le Mans Full Circuit and Old Mulsanne Circuit where the car was visibly clipping into the grass. [1729547]
- 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1: Fixed an issue where the Mustang logo on the grille is black instead of chrome. [1642070]
- 1970 Mercury Cougar Eliminator: Added a missing part to the car headlight cover also known as retractable shutter. [1646153]
- 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio: Fixed an issue where rain is reflected in the gauge cluster when racing. [1679927]
- 1967 Brabham BT24: Added the missing shift animation to this car. [1685630]
- 2021 McLaren Sabre: Fixed an issue where the player is unable to change the Rear Downforce after upgrading to the Race Rear Bumper. [1686948]
- We’ve introduced a popup warning the player when they are about to sell a reward car that they may not be able to reacquire. [1646630]
- 2016 Lamborghini Aventador LP750-4 SV: We’ve updated the engine audio of this car based on community feedback. [1685647]
- 2018 Ferrari 812 Superfast: We’ve updated the engine audio of this car based on community feedback. [1685698]
- 2022 Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS: Fixed a bug where the car was loading the incorrect audio files. [1734939]
- Nürburgring Nordschleife: Fixed an issue where surface transition sounds were not playing. [1720836]
- We’ve added new audio settings to reduce CPU usage. [1652110]
- Spatial audio needs to be disabled to enable the new options
- Sample rate – lowering this value will improve CPU performance but reduce overall audio quality.
- Buffer size – increasing this value will improve CPU performance but will increase audio latency and reduce audio framerate.
- Updated Le Mans Replay cameras to better frame on-track action. [1730387]
- Moved camera to hide out-of-environment areas in Indianapolis Grand Prix Circuit Track Intro Cinematic. [1730393]
- Adjusted solo podium car cameras to avoid clipping through podium stage geometry. [1728693, 1728751, 1724982]
- Changed cubemap for better lighting element reflections in Car Theater. [1724439]
- Addressed a bug where sometimes the background pit cinematic in the Featured Multiplayer pre-race and results menus appeared black. [1716763]
- Added new uniform “Scale” and non-uniform “Stretch” tools to replace “Size.” These can be applied to individual decals or layer groups.
- Fixed a UGC ordering issue where all vinyls, designs, tunes, photos and replays were being sorted by oldest to newest rather than newest to oldest. [1616867]
- Fixed an issue where Shared Tunes were not appearing after the 8th tune in Search Results. [1663755]
- Fixed an issue in the livery editor where scrolling through UGC vinyl shapes will sometimes force the selection to the bottom row. [1716280]
- Fixed an issue where a new empty livery file was being created if the user erased paint|decals for a vehicle. [1718944]
- Fixed an issue where audio was not providing continuous feedback when moving a decal in the Livery Editor. [1705480]
- Addressed issues with consistency of scrolling speeds in the Livery Editor. [1705535]
- Fixed a “Content Not Available” error when selecting a saved livery for an unowned car. [1713668]
- Fixed an issue where Vinyl Group sizes could become negative and then become difficult to return them to positive values. [1603790]
- Fixed an issue where altering the opacity in a non-highlighted layer wasn’t reflecting the appropriate value after being highlighted. [1688568]
- Removed mouse acceleration when moving decals in the Livery Editor. [16679542]
- Addressed sensitivity and accuracy issues when adjusting decals using a keyboard. [1689380]
- Added a "My Designs" button to the Media Sub Menu so players can quickly manage their liveries. [1699804]
- Added a "Purchase Car and Apply Livery" button in My Designs that appears when selecting a livery for an unowned car. This button provides the player with a streamlined process to buying cars for their catalogue of liveries. [1699801]
- Screen Narrator will once again narrate the Telemetry Estimates on the Fuel & Tire screen. [1728582]
- Fixed an issue where Screen Narrator does not read gallery stats. [1533692]
- Fixed an assert issue occurs when navigating through Vinyl Search results. [1692354]
- Fixed an issue where there is audio feedback when moving a Decal by holding Left Stick. [1705480]
- Fixed an issue where the Credits icon is placed inconsistently in the "Get More Car Points" prompt in certain localizations. [1728568]
- Fixed an issue with incorrect behavior when navigating through Vinyl search results in line when pressing and holding Right D-Pad or Left Stick. [1716280]
- Fixed an issue where longer Gametags overlap the Creator title in the Curated Groups Vinyl Menu while Menu Text size is set to largest. [1660357]
- Screen Narrator now correctly reads Replays in My Files. [1643093]
- Added missing narration for "apostrophe" key for the zoom command within the Livery Editor. [1723984]
- Fixed an issue where no prompt appears for unrecognized|outdated drivers for Fanatec Club Sport V2. [1527139]
- Fixed an issue where the input profile for the Fanatec CSL Elite wheel wasn’t showing correctly. [1723919]
- Various subtitles are fixed across all languages.
