Forza question

[stuart thompson]

I have decided to bite the bullet and buy an X Box(cough) purely for Forza. The question is is there any point in getting 2 and 3 or just get 4?

[IceMan_PJN]

Originally Posted by stuart thompson

I have decided to bite the bullet and buy an X Box(cough) purely for Forza. The question is is there any point in getting 2 and 3 or just get 4?

Just get FM4. FM2 and FM3 were great in their day, but FM4 continued adding and improving, and the older games don't really boast anything that you can't get from 4. You could play through FM3 first and then get gifted a handful of cars in FM4 as a reward for having played 3, but you'd just be better off spending all that time in 4.

I want to note that Turn 10 has always done a great job of making the Forza games perfectly playable on a regular controller, and in fact that's how I did all my FM2 and FM3 gaming (many hundreds of hours), but if you can find a decent wheel for Xbox 360 I recommend doing so. If nothing else, it's just more enjoyable doing it with a wheel and pedals rather than an analog stick and triggers. It's just a shame that Microsoft discontinued their wheel, because it was pretty good for the low price bracket. There's better wheels, but you're also looking at spending several hundred quid for them.

[stuart thompson]

Cheers for the info, it's pad only for me as unable to use a wheel set up in the room available

[safc_fan89]

I'd say it depends what you plan to do with the game. If you want to play online, then FM4 obviously as more people will be online. But I don't play online, and the offline modes on FM3 and FM4 are rubbish so I actually preferred FM2 to the more recent ones. I ended up selling FM4 when it still had reasonable value.

The older games are cheap now so you could always buy all three...

[nickyf1]

FM4 has a fantastic online community of leagues and what not, so if you fancy some competitive online racing, you should definitely look into that. Public lobbies can be alright sometimes, but you will find there are a lot of idiots online.

Single player never did interest me, I do all my racing online with TORA.

[jimothy84]

Likewise, all of my racing on FM4 is with World League Racing and friends I've met through that website, the public lobbies are massively hit and miss, and if you're any good you'll get voted out of lobbies! I use the pad as well, you won't be at a disadvantage over a wheel user unless they're very good.

A couple of bits of advice, lose the assists early on. They're good to have at first but you get more money without them and it'll make the game way more fun. Use manual gears with clutch, and swap the functions of the A button with the LB button. This moves the clutch button to the A button, with gear up the B button and gear down the X. You just roll your thumb on the A button and then left or right to change gear. It takes a bit of getting used to, but if you use anything bellow a race clutch in your cars, it gives you an advantage over someone using manual gears without a manual clutch too.

[nickyf1]

Yeah, my Microsoft Wheel's A and B buttons are busted, so using the clutch is impossible. I was loosing around 8 tenths a lap in a Clio race recently, and it was impossible to race anyone.

[IceMan_PJN]

Originally Posted by jimothy84

A couple of bits of advice, lose the assists early on.

I always insist on people playing it in whatever way makes them happy. I encourage people to "take off the training wheels" and run without assists, but some folks just aren't interested and prefer a more arcadey feel, and if that makes them happy then more power to them. If they are willing to step up and run without assists, if they haven't already been playing similar games without assists I normally recommend gradually backing off from driver aids in baby steps rather than all at once.

It can be a lot of work to go from all assists to none all at once if you're not used to playing that way. I typically recommend starting by removing the unrealistic ones (brake assist, magic race line, and I think there's a steering assist) and then maybe ESC since I never really noticed it doing much of anything anyway. After they're comfortable without ESC, then maybe they could turn off either ABS or TCS, and once they're comfortable with one off they can then do the other as well. Trying to go from relying on driver aids straight to running none at all is like a baby trying to go from never even sitting up straight to jumping onto his feet, running across the room to a bicycle, doing a triple backflip onto the bike, and riding it out the front door.

Of course, I don't know where TC's comfort level and racing experience is.

[nickyf1]

People become too reliant on the driver aids. They just aren't prepared to work for the long term benefit. It's the same with people who buy expensive wheels, but don't use them for league races because they aren't quick out of the box with them. What's the point?!

Even with great racers who I tend to do the odd fun race with every now and then. I'll turn off all aids, and they'll all complain about the braking line being off and they all go straight on at the first turn!

[The Original Instag8or]

I turned off all assists but one on day one... and I still I cannot use the clutch to save my life. I know its worth a tenth or so here and there, but losing full seconds and watching my engine light up with all sorts of damage colors is far worse than using clutchless manny.

Clutchless Manny would be a pretty good name for an Alternative band.

[jimothy84]

Glad to hear about the ditching of the assists! Some find the clutch button easier than others, its all about getting comfortable really. Glad you're enjoying it

[Entr0py]

No assists all the way!!! (Well you may need TCS if running R2, R1, and Xclass).

I recently went from manual to manual/w clutch and most tracks Iv'e shaved a second or two off. It's all down to how you enjoy the game though, I like the challenge of having no safety net if it goes wrong!!