The newest iteration of Forza Motorsport promises a vastly improved experience, with under-the-hood mechanics having been ramped up considerably: The Forza Monthly for July 2023 dove into the finer points of AI and the title's tire model - and also announced that two game modes will not be part of the game on launch day.
Image credit: Microsoft/Turn 10 Studios
While appropriate tires and suspension setups will already be available, players are going to have to wait for drag racing and drift competitions to be part of Forza Motorsport. "We've prioritized our development efforts on circuit racing with modern race cars and modern production cars. This focus impacts the entire game, from the cars and tracks we've included, to the new rendering features, physics, AI and gameplay experiences we have built", states Creative Director Chris Esaki. As a result, both modes are absent for the game's launch.
More Detailed Tire Model
Whether or not players understand the reasoning behind this temporary omission, there is no denying that Forza's tire model has seen an impressive jump in depth according to the numbers presented: Previously, Forza Motorsport titles had a refresh rate of 60 Hz on a single contact point per tire, which has been upped to 360 Hz and eight contact points for the new title. This allows for better behavior over uneven surfaces, such as kerbs.More tire compounds are also going to be available, with production cars having the option to roll on Street, Performance, Drag or Race rubber. The latter features three sub-compounds, those being soft, medium and hard. Additionally, wet tires are available, as well as a special vintage tire for older cars, although this is cannot be equipped to modern vehicles. All of the tire types will feature and improved heat model aimed at better predictability as grip levels will not fall off as abruptly as they used to when exposed to extreme temperatures.
Kerbs can supposedly be attacked much more confidently in Forza Motorsport, thanks to a much-improved tire model. Image credit: Microsoft/Turn 10 Studios
Refreshed Drivatar System
Meanwhile, the Forza Monthly also highlighted the AI and the mechanics behind it. Forza is known for its Drivatar AI, which bases its behavior on that of real players, appearing with their names and cars even in singleplayer game modes. In the upcoming Forza Motorsport, however, the system is going to use machine learning to achieve a realistic, human-like performance while still using the appearance trademarks of players' friends.To determine the optimal AI lines, Forza's AI controller runs each track and layout 26.000 times to ensure any combination of car, track, weather and even vehicle upgrades nets a desirable result. AI mistakes are also a factor, and the new difficulty setting ranges from 1 to 8, with 8 being the hardest setting in the game.
Forza Motorsport is scheduled to launch for PC on Steam and the Microsoft Store, as well as Xbox Series X|S on October 10th.
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