I’ve noticed that the remodeled cars are losing a lot of customization options, and those models that have remained in Forza since the 360 era aren’t getting any new ones.
For exemple, with the Silvia S13 remodel, we lost 2 Origin Lab kits.
It gets worse when compared to FM2, we see that we lost even more than that.
We went from 5 kits (bumpers), to two, to none in FH6.
Clearly, with the arrival of the Xbox One, and FM5, there was a shift in priorities regarding customization, with cars added or remodeled; we no longer have those 4 to 6 kits we used to have. That’s why we still have the two NSX models, Integra, Skyline R32 (all remodeled in FM5), with virtually no customization compared to older games.
With Forza in Japan, it would be a great time to bring back that love for real aftermarket brands that the devs had in the early Forza games.
Currently, Microsoft is unwilling to allocate substantial budgets and resources to racing games like Forza, preferring instead to direct its resources toward shooter games such as Call of Duty. This has resulted in Forza being unable to secure licensing rights from many customization brands, and even the existing ones mostly offer outdated customization parts.
Instead, the development team has instead focused more of its efforts on designing Forza Edition vehicles, even though the customization features on these cars could easily be applied to regular vehicles.
Even in situations where licensing rights cannot be obtained, the developers refuse to substitute with original customization parts. Games like Need for Speed and The Crew offer plenty of original customization parts, and their designs are even comparable to those of real-life brands.
They aren’t even willing to use original names to circumvent copyright issues. Many shooter games modify weapon names to avoid licensing conflicts and unnecessary trouble, yet players can still instantly recognize them. So why won’t Forza do the same for customizations?
Japan is globally renowned for its car customization culture and boasts a vast number of customization brands. For a racing game set in Japan, offering such limited exterior customization options is simply unacceptable.
If Motorsport 5 was the actual fresh start the series desperately needs, we wouldn’t be talking about losing customization today, as most of it would have already been gone. At best they’d get the resources to reintroduce some of it, and at worst every single car in the game would be left with what its remodel was introduced with. It’s a shame that Microsoft doesn’t want to pour in some more funds into Playground Games and Turn10, or at least force the management to allocate resources into things that could boost player enjoyment, and in result also retention.
It has been confirmed that body kits have been added to the S15 and FD3S, which also feature updated models. What’s puzzling is that these cars weren’t included in the preview version. If the goal is to make the game look better, I think they should have made use of these models.
I’m more shocked we didn’t get ballast from FM. Seems even more essential to me in FH, where with such a large car selection some cars are a struggle to make them fit in any restriction.
Body kits are great, but it’s not like other games where it’s merely a cosmetic change. They do have an impact on car dynamics in FH. And that makes them difficult to implement. Given the choice between having more body kits, but they become merely cosmetic, or keeping the current situation, I’d rather have the latter.
I don’t know if that’s what’s holding the dev team back in this regard, but it seems logical.
There could be plans to add a considerable number of parts post-launch; they certainly added a lot of body kits, the Big Labs spoilers, wheels, anti-lag turbos, etc., into FH5 after a year or two.
