Forza Motorsport 7 is Looking to Shift into Top Gear with Xbox One X
Forza Motorsport 7 is preparing to shift the competition into a new console, employing various audio and visual improvements with the Xbox One X. Other racing titles, such as Gran Turismo may be left in the dust. Bill Geise, Creative Director at Turn 10 Studios, spoke with Official Xbox Magazine about some of the upgrades.
Turn 10 studios is adding dynamic image-based lighting to all platforms, and dynamic HDR skies to the Xbox One S and Xbox One X versions. These were last seen in Forza Horizon 3, and they really helped the game stand out. Additionally, the Xbox One X (and an easily-transferrable PC version) will be using dynamic cube mapping, a technique that requires a lot of power. This will help “better seat the car in the world,” making textures look more authentic in a three-dimensional space. All versions of the game will also benefit from improved particle effects and ambient occlusion techniques, as well as increased grass density.
That’s the visual, now for the audio. Giese went on to explain about the massive effort being put into Forza 7‘s audio:
“We want players to see, hear and feel the explosive power of motorsport. For all 700 cars the instrumentation clusters are going to rattle, windshield wipers and mirrors vibrate – it’s that feeling of the car at its peak. We’ve overhauled the audio for our driveline flex, so you can hear the car tearing itself apart. It can be scary, but it feels more alive and grounded than before.”
32 different tracks have been revealed for the game, with environments featuring dynamic weather that will affect gameplay. They are:
- Brands Hatch
- Circuit of the Americas
- Daytona International Speedway
- Dubai Circuit
- Homestead-Miami Speedway
- Maple Valley Raceway
- Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello
- Nürburgring
- Rio de Janeiro
- Sebring International Raceway
- Silverstone Racing Circuit
- Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
- Suzuka Circuit
- Virginia International Raceway
- Yas Marina Circuit
- Bernese Alps
- Mount Panorama Circuit
- Circuit de Catalunya
- Hockenheim-Ring
- Indianapolis Motor Speedway
- Sonoma Raceway
- Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca
- Le Mans Circuit de la Sarthe
- Lime Rock
- Long Beach
- Autodromo Nazionale Monza
- Test Track Airfield
- Prague
- Road America
- Road Atlanta
- Top Gear
- Watkins Glen
To research and render all those environments? Cripes. I can’t imagine the development time spent on this game. Forza Motorsport 7 launches on October 3 for Xbox One and PC.