Forza 3

[Uli]

i want Spa but i have not much hope. so far i am a little disappointed with the choice of tracks in Forza 3. i guess 50% of them are just variations of old courses.

the Force Feedback provided with the MS wheel is a small step forward though. i feel the surface and condition of the street, the status of wheel traction and the weight and downforce of the car. impressive.

anyone else having trouble getting a perfect launch? i think this is a pain in the ass, even with TC turned on.

[Alex_976]

Finally some tracks. Getting sick of cars every month. Shame its a track thats in virtually every other racing game :S I need something fresh!

[TheForce]

anyone else having trouble getting a perfect launch? i think this is a pain in the ass, even with TC turned on.

All depends on which car you're driving and how it's tuned and upgraded.....
But even without TC I have no problems getting a decent start with most of the cars.

you need that "fingerspitze gefuehl" when controlling the throttle

[JP]

Approaching the end of Year 4 now and a quick look at my achievements to see that I'd somehow not yet got World Traveler even though I've raced on each of the tracks.

The requirement is to race at each location and I've raced at each more than once never mind each location. Anybody else noticed this or know what I'm doing wrong?

EDIT:
Strange, just got it after completing a race on Laguna Seca even though I've raced on it a few times already.

[JP]

I know that this was rumoured months back but it's now been confirmed that a re-release is happening just before Gran Turismo 5 is released as an Ultimate Edition.

You essentially get all the previous DLC as well as some new exclusive Top Gear content that they say is only available via this pack although the cover art suggests it's DLC so I wouldn't be surprised if it makes an appearance on XBLA at some point.

• Stig?s Garage Car Pack -- This free Add-on Pack is exclusive for Forza Motorsport 3 Ultimate Collection owners and will feature three of the hottest supercars around: the Lexus LFA, the Koenigsegg CCX, and the Mercedes-Benz SLS-AMG. Look for profiles on all three of these amazing rides here at forzamotorsport.net in the coming weeks.
• Exclusive Top Gear video feature -- Produced exclusively for Forza Motorsport 3 Ultimate Collection owners, this free downloadable 90-minute feature will be a compilation of Top Gear segments showcasing the variety and insight that has become the series? hallmark.
• Xbox LIVE Top Gear Premium Theme -- Put the Stig on your dashboard; this free exclusive Top Gear dashboard theme will only be available for Forza Motorsport 3 Ultimate Collection owners.

It seems that because it supposedly only appears in this pack that it has pissed a few people on the Forza 3 forums even though the content of a 90 minute Top Gear compilation video, 3 Stig branded cars and a theme seem to be pretty insignificant but people do like to complain.

It seems the BBC is really wanting to push the Top Gear brand now that TV show is on it's last legs:

• Dirt 3 has an exclusive Top Gear mode.
• Gran Turismo 5 has exclusive access to the Top Gear track, time trials where you compete against the Stig's times & Top Gear TV shows
• Forza 3 Ultimate Edition has the stuff I mentioned above
• There's also a Top Gear game on the way by some other company

I don't think these companies realise that the show has slowly fallen to appeal to the lowest common denominator, contains no car knowledge and that proper car fans would rather watch the better realised Fifth Gear?

I suppose Top Gear is far easier to watch although it is rumoured that the show Ben Collins' is in the process of setting up with him as a presenter is going to compete directly with Top Gear.

[Neon Ignition]

To be fair, if you had the number 1 show on BBC2, a 3 year waiting list for studio guests and hundreds of millions of viewers worldwide you'd probably try and crib a few extra £'s off the programme too

I don't mind them pimping the show out as it's hardly an 'in your face' brand and whilst the show is overly scripted these days I wouldn't find a more serious show that analyses cars I'll never be able to own that interesting. The 'fall' of Top Gear has always been primarily a very niche audience view from people more seriously into their car factoids who have any number of alternative sources. That said, this particular rerelease of Forza 3 does strike as a somewhat desperate attempt to distract from GT5's arrival. One that I'm positive will go unnoticed on shop shelves.

[JP]

Don't get me wrong, I think they should market their brand as much as they can. If nothing else, it'll ensure that license fees will be lower due to increased income.

There's a whole other argument about the BBC should and shouldn't be doing and there's probably a thread or two on here already.

I'm actually surprised that they are the most popular show on BBC2 but having said that, I rarely watch TV but what I have seen o Top Gear recently it has been pretty dire.

It's just been announced that Ben Collins is moving over to Fifth Gear which I personally feel is a better brand partly due to it not positioning itself as the Richard & Judy of car shows.

I think I'd be happier with that show's inclusion in GT5 (Don't have a 360) as they use my local track to test cars on and having what is the closest thing to being called "my track" would be a bit of a bonus really.

That's all of topic really though.

I do have to agree with you about this release, it's be brilliant for people who've not yet bought the game as Forza 3 was decent but it does seem a bit of a damp squib a week before the release of GT5.

A I said, some Forza 3 fans seem genuinely pissed off by the fact that they'll need to buy this to get hold of the extra content but that surprises me because a nice as having extra stuff is it all seems pretty meaningless in this package and I certainly wouldn't have bought as much as I enjoyed the game.

As a side issue, I do quite like the new Platinum Hits design work.

[Neon Ignition]

I wish it meant lower license fees

Even with GT5 I'm not sure the Top Gear track is a decent enough one to warrant being in a game, since both that and Forza announced the deals with the programme it's seemed to be nothing more than a marketing push due to the international popularity of the brand. I'd be surprised if the content didn't appear on XBL Marketplace later on though, I struggle to think of any that hasn't eventually turned up down the line. Apparently the Top Gear Forza deal is a multi-year deal so either there's DLC planned besides the Ultimate Edition's or it's for something lined up for Forza 4.

[JP]

There's a bit of an update on C&VG about the negative reaction from fans who already own the game and it seems the exclusivity of the new content in this re-release is now being reconsidered by Microsoft.

Right now 'Stig's Garage Car Pack' is only available through the purchase of the Forza Motorsport 3 Ultimate Collection. We are evaluating if and how we release the collection independent of the retail bundle and will have more to share soon.

There's some really over the top comments on the official Forza forum with people insisting they'll never buy a Microsoft game again and demanding refunds for what they've previously spent on the game.

It doesn't make any sense to me, particularly as the content is pretty minor but I suppose online communities aren't usually known for their measured responses.

[vanpeebles]

The car packs have been utter ****e for Forza 3 anyway. The standard car list is very poor lacking loads of historic racing and tuners cars. While the car packs have nearly all been 2010 model year style US prestige or footballers wifes cars.

GT5 will be a breath of fresh air in this respect.

[Flabio]

Gamer entitlement is something that has always got my back up. Turn 10 could just as easily have done no DLC for the game at all...

Very few developers pay much heed to the most vocal part of their fan base, the ones who go to the official forum and whine about everything, I'm surprised this even broke as a news story at all.

[Holio]

Is all the DLC on the extra content disc in the Forza Ultimate Collection?

i.e. can you just use an Ultimate Collection extra content disc but still use a normal Forza play disc to get it all?

[robrymond]

No, its a scratch one-time code inside.

[Holio]

The code is only for the Stig Top Gear Garage and the Top Gear stuff, that is it. So hence me asking, if I got the lend of the extra content disc, would it then have all the other DLC rather than any of it on the actual game disc.

[Kubrick]

Yes, the previously DLC-only tracks and car packs are on Disc 2.

Only 3 cars are tied to the "Stig" code, albeit pretty desirable ones - Lexus LFA, Mercedes SLS AMG & Koenigsegg CCX.