Testing and tuning for FM7

edited October 2017 in Forza Motorsport 7
FM7 demo is next week, on Tuesday September the 19th.
Ultimate edition access drops on the 29th.
Full game access is the 3rd of October.

I personally don't expect much tune changes will need to be made to the ForzaTune app, but I'd like to start collecting data as early as possible.

I have several ideas in the works.
1. Basic observations from you guys.
2. Direct comparisons of the FM6 cars featured in the demo to the same cars in the FM7 demo.
3. A set of spec built cars of various drive, weight, etc. for direct comparison between FM6 and FM7.

BASIC OBSERVATIONS -
Keep it simple. The key here is to provide as simplified an observation as possible. It can be anything from a specific tuning characteristic to an overall sensation of feeling.

To keep things focused though, I'd like playing field as common as possible.
For example:
- No ASSISTS(abs/stability/etc.), Steering NORMAL, minimal or no tuning initially.
- If you use a wheel and/or PC please indicate.
- Camera shake/motion blur effects should also be turned off, or indicated as being used.
- Use cars*and tracks* that are common between FM6 and FM7.
*Ill share preferred cars and tracks later.

Aside from that, here are some typical observations I'll be looking for.....

TIRE PRESSURES-
Is the typical 28~30psi still effective?

OVERALL DRY TRACK FEEL/HANDLING-
Looser/tighter/same?
Slippery/Grippy/same?

TIRE PHYSICS-
Stock/Sport/Slicks
Progressive/Sudden loss of traction
Same/different/etc.

AERODYNAMICS-
Downforce grip at speeds
Drafting effects/speed differences


NON-ESSENTIAL OBSERVATIONS-
I do NOT need comparisons of wet/dry/day/night initially.
The reason is simple, we need to focus on what works under normal day/dry conditions first.
All further refinements for temperature/wet/etc can be dialed in over the coming months.
Share your observations, but don't focus on these aspects initially.




To be cont....

Comments

  • edited September 2017 Posts: 206
    PREFERRED CARS AND TRACKS-

    B-class is a good all-around performance level for testing.
    Lower classes are too easy to drive.
    Higher classes are too easy to overdrive.
    I like to focus testing on three basic weight distributions. It helps establish relationships in the base driveline calculations.

    In order of importance to me....
    BMW e30 - RWD - 50/50
    Porsche 930 - RWD - 40/60
    Honda Civic - FWD - 60/40
    Muscle car - RWD - 60/40
    Subaru 22b - AWD - 50/50
    TBC....
    Weight distributions don't need to be exact, but the closer the better.


    A good test track has a decent straight for 100mph+, a moderate sweeper, a tight corner combination, some elevation changes, and takes 60~90 seconds per lap.

    Mugello Short
    Lime Rock
    TBC....
  • Man, that all sounds a lot like work and shit. We getting paid for this? Those big forza-tune bucks?
  • edited September 2017 Posts: 206
    Strangely enough, the amount you earn is exactly proportional to my fee for including your feedback in the process.

    Seriously though, As per the norm, whatever your thoughts please share whatever you'd like.
    I'll be focusing on the consensus.
  • Pretty sure you should include an LS swap upgrade in all of your calculations.

    I'll be interested to see what differences there are. Hopefully the telemetry screens are actually useful and accurate this time.
  • Initial Demo impressions-

    AUDIO- (I turned music off right away)
    General audio seems bumped up slightly. Reverb in tunnels is cool.
    Exhaust crackle and pop more pronounced
    Tire squeal and road noises seem better

    UI/CONTROLS
    Menus seem cool.
    Overall presentation seems more visually interesting.
    Advanced settings do need tweaking.
    Button mapping not fully customizable.

    PHYSICS-
    Drifting is easier to control
    Control at performance limit seems more progressive/broad....?
    Possibly a slight improvement in weight transition loading(mostly in dive/squat)
    Wet weather feel is great, especially without rediculous FM6 puddle torque effects.
    Same essential FM6 feel otherwise.
    Tire temp/grip physics seem the same.
    No discernible aero changes.

    VISUALS-
    Atmospherics and weather are fantastic upgrades.
    Lighting in general seems much better.
    Not sure if demo is fully optimized so it seems otherwise similar.
    Dash cam view is nice.
    Some graphical shake/effect is OK, but too much is distracting.

    DISLIKES-
    I have zero interest in helmets and racing suits.
    Cam view setting not saved.
    2 lap demo races and forced splash screens suck.
    Why not free practice hotlapping?! WTF.

    ISSUES/BUGS-
    Audio got really glitchy after a few hours of playing.
  • Haven't had a chance to really take a look at it yet. Do the brakes seem more touchy? I seem to lock up a lot more. Maybe I need to look at the controller settings.
  • Potentially, yes.

    1. Check the dead zones in the advanced settings. Unadjusted they are fairly restricted.

    2. See my comment about dive/squat weight transfer. The total grip feels about the same, but it also feels like the car (911) loads up the front and rear more dramatically.
  • Yeah the 911 definitely felt more 911ish, lift off oversteer is a thing now.
  • Pendulum effect in the 911 felt more pronounced. Not a big fan of the tune on it. Brakes are too touchy, at least on the Porsche. The truck and the GTR were both very tame in comparison.

    Dubai is a fun track. That section leading up to the cobblestone is a nice blend of low speed technical cornering and flow. Mugello was always a kind of 2nd tier track imo but I'll always welcome real world tracks to the lineup. Weather also is a nice touch but the accelerated rate is a little annoying, especially considering your magic tires. At least it felt better than the puddles in 6..

    I played on a ds4 and xb1 controller, xb1 felt miles better with stronger ffb and the additional rumble is nice.
  • Weather rate is most likely proportional to race length.
    A two lap race is stupidly short, so weather speed is stupidly fast.
    A typical 4 lap race would be twice as slow.
    A 12 lap race would slow the weather speed to 1/6th.

    Hopefully.
  • Weather EDIT-

    It seems in the full game we determine three states of the weather in a race.
    Beginning, middle, and end states.
    There is also an adjustable percentage chance for that state to occur.

    This basic setup indicates that weather change rate is indeed bound to race length.
  • IMPORTANT TUNING NOTE!

    Be sure and cunduct ALL TESTING with FRICTION ASSIST turned OFF.

    Until we know about what specifically it affects we should consider it an unwanted assist.
  • Only thing I noticed with the Porsche was it was too powerful for the track and easy to go in too hot for every corner. The trucks... I noticed consistent impact sounds from all the ramming. The GTR seemed to be RWD. I wasn't expecting it and it felt strange. I'll do my very best to provide input on the 29th to help with the data collection.
  • The GTR is RWD.
  • Did some testing with sim steering and Friction Assist.

    Sim steering is definitely problematic with a controller. Stick with Normal Steering.

    Friction Assist seems to negate the effect of Heat at Dubai, not only making off track grip better, but making the pavement full arcade grip too.
    I shaved 3 seconds off my lap time with Friction Assist ON.

    T10 has indicated that Friction Assist use will not allow lap times to be recorded at all.
    It will be a MP lobby setting so keep an eye out for that.
  • Huh, I haven't really played around with it.

    After a second quick look the game feels pretty good. I still think there might be a difference in braking feel but it's tough to judge in the demo.

    Wet tracks seem like a big improvement, still kind of a gimmick in my opinion. They might feel more lively/interesting in a car that doesn't have a ton of down force.

    Aside from being a little more pretty the most apparent difference is the audio. Jumping immediately between FM7 and 6 lets you really hear the difference. Simply night and day, I'm looking forward to it.
  • 4 days 9 hours... c'moooooonnnn!!!!
  • Pulled the Demo down on PC and got like 5 minutes in it... not even a chance to set my wheel settings (which need a serious bump in FFB as it was looser than a floozy on Sunset Blvd.) Haven't even dropped it on the XB1 as I'll just wait for the full release at this point. If I can get some things done on my Friday off of work, I may get a chance to run a smidge then.
  • T-minus 24 hours until our east-coasters are able to play.. Woo!
  • Posts: 206
    I’ve only had to test a couple of cars for you guys,..... I wish I had more.
    Please if you can send me a few more builds for testing I’d really appreciate the feedback.

    That said, the FT7 calcs are about 99% ready.
    I will simplify and clean up some of the advanced stuff and submit it for the final build.

    In the meantime, I just want to crank out as many tunes as possible.

    POST STUFF FOR ME TO TUNE!

    If nothing else, I just shared an R class homo’d Flying Lizard 911 publicly.
    Test drive the stock version, and compare it to the tune I shared. Let my know what you think.
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