So I’m a big Forza fan… owned them all since the original. Played them, enjoyed them but one resounding issue has always plagued this game. It feels far from a simulation and so much closer to an arcade (or sim-cade is what codemasters called it) racer. The first thing I do every time I get one of these is shut off all the assists. It’s the only way to get the cars to even remotely feel realistic. The problem is you go from trying to play a Gran Turismo, an Assetto Corsa, or even a Project Cars to this game and it always feels lackluster at best. Now some would say it’s because of the upgrades you can do to the cars but I would contend that shouldn’t the cars feel realistic to begin with then let the upgrades twist the game to the point of unreal-ism (ex. Ford Focus with a GT500 engine). That being said, that’s not truly my gripe but well I have to put it out there every time I post on these forums.
My real issue at this point is the delivery of Forza to the PC. Now I know its a beta and improvements are (hopefully) coming but darn it… I expected mind numbing graphics and gameplay. I play this and it feels like a direct port of Forza 6, nothing more. That’s a bummer as I figured it would be turned up to the 9’s for PC. My car would be on the verge of graphical perfection. The handling should be to the point of fear of to much power, too little grip unless I hold it together. Instead I got xbox one with all the same xbox one-ness about it.
To turn this to a motivational post I’m going to say, “Don’t hold back Turn 10.” This is a debut that could be huge for PC gamers. Turn up the realistic handling, turn up the graphics, and forget the constraints of an xbox controller and a console. The skies the limit on PC and you have the opportunity to try to hit it.
Long story short is I was hoping for more and felt like I landed in the land of less. Good luck to you all… I’m sure I’ll still play it but I wanted to post my thoughts.
It has options and choices you can adjust the video, audio, Xbox Once controller that does work just fine, HUD, gameplay settings etc. Again it does support the Xbox controller. I do not know how but you had a terrible start and missed everything! Go back this time plug your controller into the the PC via the USB cable and this time navigate the menu to setup your options and choices.
Yes it does support the XBox One controller, make sure it’s plugged in/connected before you start the game.
As for the initial start - that’s kind of an introduction (and yes it’s a bit annoying that you can’t set any options before that), once you get past that initial race you get lots of options for most things and you don’t get thrown straight into a race next time you start the game.
Hey man, totally get where you are coming from. I’ve been playing and enjoying all Forza games since the first as well. Played about 7 hours of Apex so far and I have to echo some of your comments. Yes, it doesn’t seem dressed up for PC hardware, but keep in mind that this is an X1 game that they are just porting to PC to test some things out and get feedback and information. Forza Horizon 3 or Motorsport 7 are the games I’m expecting to actually be designed with PC’s in mind and hopefully have some edge over the already aged console. So keep the constructive feedback coming, but give them a bit of leeway since this really isn’t a PC release as much as it is a test to make sure the future is very bright on the PC platform.
As for FM versus AC and PCARS, I own them all and play them all but have to say that I feel so much more at home with FM and all assists turned off. I feel like zero assists and sim steering on an X1 controller still gives me great control along with the ability to lose focus and/or play around coming out of a corner in the P1 and end up sideways. AC and PCARS make me a nervous wreck and I NEVER feel like I have control over the cars, but as if they have all the control and decide when to be nice to me or flip out of control. Seriously, taking the MP4-12C to Bathurst in PCARS with all assists on or off I have never managed a clean lap. Feels like I’m driving a 3000+ pound bathtub coated in butter or something.
All that said, I am very pleased with how Apex is running so far and it gives me great hope for the future of Forza on PC. I have a 4690K and R9 290 and I’m able to max out every setting @ 1080p, even 8xMSAA with 24 total cars in the rain, and never get a stutter or drop from 60 FPS. I have both my X1 and PC hooked up to the same monitor, so I switched between them using a car and track combo that both games have. WOWZA! Try it if you can. All the little things that consoles have to sacrifice come to life on PC, like most good ports. The mirrors all run at 60 FPS on PC versus 30 with reduced details on X1, the high levels of MSAA on PC help a lot compared to the FXAA like application on X1, the 16xAF on PC really helps wording on the track stand out from a distance compared to the 4x or maaaaaaaaybe 8xAF on X1, and the one I noticed the most is the lack of texture shimmer on things like fencing or just items slightly not in the cone of pumped up graphics they expect you to be looking in on X1. Lastly, having all of the menus and pre-race along with post-race intro/rolling car things running at 60 FPS vs 30 FPS help keep my vision from being jarred with the constant and abrupt FPS doubling or halving.
I hate to be that guy… But, It is a free tech demo, nothing more. If you want to help criticize and shape the future of the franchise on the PC, this is exactly the place to do it. But the tech demo letting you down in its content is a direct result of you receiving what you paid for.
Hey there, I have to agree and disagree. I have played sims for a long time now, and regularly enjoy assetto corsa, pcars, iracing and pretty much everything else you can think of.
I always use a wheel, so that is what this comparison is based on. Plus, if you play with a gamepad and complain about “realism” then there is something fundamentally wrong anyway.
Imo, the most natural feeling cars at this point in time are found in Assetto Corsa, especially their latest tiremodel is absolutely brilliant.
That being said I have always enjoyed forza very much. I think it is maybe a little too forgiving in some areas, but the basic physics engine feels rather solid! I would not say that Forza is arcade at all. The last title I really played was forza 4 and I don´t remember that one as arcadey.
I also think that a lot of gamers confuse difficulty with realism. Titles like iracing are not necessarily more realistic in every situation just because they are more difficult to control. I don´t think that most people fight for control over their cars when they commute to work for example. Driving cars should be relatively simple until you reach certain limits in fact.
Anyway, I am very, very happy that forza has arrived on PC and can´t wait to try it when I get home later! Big thanks to Turn10 for going down this road!
This sums up in relative simplicity, what makes Forza, a fantastic competitor to the Sim racing franchise, the barrier for entry of skill in car control is set quite low comparatively. Anyone who has a basic knowledge of real world driving physics should have a great time with the physics in this game. I find most of the racing sims that are tought over and over again on this platform to be far too rigid and seemingly disconnected from its own physics. constant struggle over a mid level race car for straight line control on mid level assisted difficulty. and no racing game carries the weighted feel that Forza does in their cars, body roll is felt fluently, not digitally, and where I would use the term “janky”. I have always loved the Forza franchise but feel they have fallen far in design and direction from FM5 onward. But recently with the rather interesting DLC packs they have released, and the move to the PC platform, my hope for the franchise has resparked an energy into me to press on with the the series in hopes of continued ingenuity and creativity.
Well I’m not disappointed and I also have played every Forza game right from the first one on the original Xbox and as others have said this free version is to test the game on a new platform so if people want improvements give constructive and helpful feedback that will help the development of future Forza games on PC after all said and done this is free some developers expect people to pay to even test and help develop some games.
That’s what I love about it, actually. The only time I played Forza, I swapped the Nissan Micra engine for an S15 engine with rear wheel drive. I really loved it. You don’t understand, really loved it.
You can just refrain yourself of using it, but having it available is very fun.
I can bet the full price I paid for Forza Apex that it is actually a direct port of Forza 6, nothing more. It’s a tech demo, they managed to port it to PCs, although relying on raw machine horsepower to render it (no way this game needs that much hardware, if it can run on a xbone). But again, it’s a tech demo. They managed to port it to PC and DX12 is working, yay.
I don’t think the PC experience will be different from the XB experience. Graphics may be different, but don’t expect different handling or controls from what you have on Xbox One.
Also, the Forza handling is very good. It’s casual, yet challenging. You can’t just keep pressing W and win the race, you actually need to find braking points, and drifting isn’t the best way to run your race. It’s a good game to play casually, after a long day of work, and it’s a good game to passionately play when you have plenty of time. It’s also inviting for newcomers, fun for arcade racers and sim racers. The latter may be picky about some things, but they can’t really complain that much.
Bottom line: Don’t take Apex too seriously as it is. It’s free, it’s a tech demo, its purpose right now is to try out DX12 and advertise the Windows Store and UWP, and it has just been released.
(I also feel like UWP is holding this game back greatly, but it’s also the only reason we have Forza on PC, so I can’t really complain.)
Forza (and GT) are like a Porsche Turbo. They have everything you need and everything is realy, realy good but other cars are better BUT only in some ways. It´s about the complete Package.
Forza is made for controller, the pc sims are not. I suppose most Gamers like me dont want a wheel, they want customizing, good graphics, 1 bazillion cars and tracks and a driving physic that is somewhere between nfs (far away) and assetto corsa (near but not realy :)).
I too am a big Forza fan going back to Forza 2 and owning every title since. I too was a little let down by the graphics but to be realistic what was I expecting 1080 on the console and 1080 on the PC should look about the same now 4k should be different but I do not have 4k only 1080 x 1920 so on PC it only looks a little better, with a little better textures but clearly better AA.
Regarding the Sim issue I do not know what you mean fear of power and too little grip? The sims like PCars and AC are not that way in fact GT cars in both PCars and AC feel like they have more grip and are more stable than Forza not less. Maybe only Iracing has the same or maybe less grip than Forza and is just as unforgiving as Forza with all assists off when driven with a wheel. But Pcars and AC which are the standard to shoot for seem to have more grip, and are more forgiving and less touchy.
I am with you in that I too hope for good things in the Future for Forza.
^ nope Iracing gt cars have quite a bit more grip. They just arent as forgiving as forza when you go over the edge of pushing the limits. To be honest I think almost every sim i have played has more lateral grip than forza, they are all just harder to exit the corners quickly and harder to brake deep late.
The fastest way to drive cars in most cases in forza is drive with a soft rear end and a super low dif, let the car rotate quickly and hammer back the throttle as soon as going straight. No other game is like that, its easy on and off the brakes and easy on and off the throttle.
Just finished the Beta. I thought after those 10 tours, there would be more, but after that you basically already finished the game, only “Free Game” and “Spotlight Events” are left.
Like most say, it feels somewhat like a experimental tech-demo. The game looks great tho.
I just hope in the future the game content won’t be too small.
This is supposed to be a direct port, not new material. They are testing the waters for Forza 7. I’m so excited to see even this little bit. I’ve been waiting 5+ years for any PC port of Forza, and now that I have one (for FREE!!!) I’m so excited. I hope they continue it, but for FREE I expected nothing more than 1 car free drive mode on Top Gears test track or something simple.
I assume I’m older than you because it doesn’t seem like you experienced the free demo days of Gamecube, PS2, and Original Xbox, where 1 hour of free gameplay was a god send.
whoa that took me down memory lane a little. I remember getting excited about the demo disks on playstation one that had maybe 10 games with 10 min worth of play on each game. I loved getting these in the mail with my subscription or however i got them then.
meh its not forza without all upgrades and customization (engine swaps conversions ect ect )
without that its just a mediocre racing game
[Mod Edit - Abbreviated profanity, profanity and profanity that is disguised but still alludes to the words are not permitted - D]
the lack of full wheel support from the get go is gonna seriously hurt the games rep
there are far far superior racing games available on the pc
this just feels like a slap in the face to the forza series ,its like they intentionally gimped it just so they could point to it later and say Hey forza on pc doesn’t work we are never doing that again
yes its a beta, no that doesn’t matter they game is in no way ready for public consumption doing so is only going to harm
you aren’t gonna convince John Q public that “hey its a beta it will get better” people are going to install it take one look at it and uninstall,
I’m 34, i grew up with MSX1 (Sony Hitbit), Commodore 64/Amiga 500 and 1200 before even starting on PC and Consoles
I usually bought those magazines that came with a 880kb floppy disc full of demo’s lol. always fun.
