18.10.15: I Made It To Tier 9, Ha Ha

I've had FM6 for 38 days now and I just made it to Tier 9 today. It wasn't that hard actually. When T10 announced the FM6 loyalty benefits back in June I, like so many others, went into a mad scramble to make up the requirements for some of the rewards which included accumulating enough rewards points to make it to Tier 8. The benefit paid to Tier 8 players was an Audi R18 e-tron quattro race car which I couldn't resist, so I put in the hours fairly early to acquire this achievement.

It wasn't very easy either. I had a long way to go with some 853 points to scrounge up from previous editions of the Forza series going back to FM2 which I had recently acquired for this very purpose. But I didn't realize until much later that my efforts would have a lasting benefit. It meant that each successive Tier which T10 added to the loyalty program would be forever easier for me to achieve.

If you're serious about participating in the loyalty program then I can recommend going back to older editions and putting in the hours. You'll get higher cash rewards in each game, but it will also make it easier to achieve the successively higher tiers.

12.10.15: Too Bad We Can't Choose Opponent Cars

There's been some discussion on the forums about not being able to choose the drivatar cars which populate the field in FM6 Free Play. The photo you see above was taken during the FM6 1939 Birth of Grand Prix Showcase event and it is the only place you can race a pre-war race car against others of its kind. If you select one of these cars in Free Play then you'll be racing against other B class cars, but they could be cars from any era.

When I saw one of these cars in the Showcase event I wanted to race them more, so I bought one and went into Free Play to set up a race. But when the race loaded and I found myself on the starting grid I couldn't believe the incongruity I saw. These cars are pretty low to the ground so the first thing I saw was a lot of other modern cars towering over me.

But racing against these cars just went from bad to worse. For a start I couldn't see ahead of me when I got close to the car in front, and then I started to wonder how T10 could let an error like this get past them. I guess they just ran out of time.

I'm not going to post anything more critical than this, but I am going to look forward to the day when T10 addresses this problem in a future content update. It'll happen. It needs to. =)

09.10.15: Why Are Some So Bitter?

Don't get me wrong I've got no objection to the posting of negative or critical opinions about the Forza series on the forums. To me it's much like the news broadcasts. News broadcasters only ever broadcast the bad news because the good news usually isn't as interesting, and broadcasting good news tends to trivialise the grief of those hapless victims who become news items.

Similarly, you'll see a lot of negative posts on the forums which makes for some interesting, if somewhat comical, reading. But, perhaps more importantly, fanboy posts in a public place have a tendency to sound hollow, trivial and demeaning. It's worth celebrating your enjoyment of Forza in private but you don't want to be caught tooting your horn in a place where others will express such misery. But why are some miserable posts so bitter? As Hieronymus1967 pointed out just recently Forza is "a relatively inexpensive luxury entertainment item" so why do some express sentiments so strongly?

I can only assume that for some the five or six hundred dollar cost of the console and game is considerable. Either that or the bitterness they express is in proportion to the pain they experience in their lives. If this is not the case then some posters are just plain rude and I mean this in the more subtle sense of lacking any kind of culture or sophistication. In any case I'm not in a position to complain. We live in a world of diversity where a tolerance of our differences should be encouraged. Posting your bitterness on the forums won't affect me personally, but it will make me stop and think about you.

06.10.15: The Mt Panorama Esses

Mt Panorama overlooking Bathurst in the Central West of NSW is known for its fantastic view of the surrounding country, but I doubt it is the view that attracts race drivers to the winding mountain track. It is the illustrious history of this track which appeals to race drivers. Mt Panorama is the battleground for an epic struggle between Ford and Holden which spans the ages beginning back in the early 1960s and continuing to the present day.

Forza fans have been able to compete on this challenging mountain circuit since FM5 was released back in November of 2013. It is a very technical track with two long straights but it is the narrow bends over the top of the hill which drivers find particularly challenging. There are two sweeping turns to the left which will catch a driver unaware, but it is the esses on the way back down the hill which really test a driver's skill.

It's not an easy course for Xbox controller players to master. I can't speak for all such players but in my case I found this track, and especially the esses, particularly difficult. In my experience with a controller I find I'm having to continually correct my turns rather than being able to deflect the stick the right amount to make a smooth turn. This won't matter for most corners a Forza driver will encounter but in the case of the Bathurst esses continually correcting will become quickly tedious. And the problem will only be compounded in a race where the driver will want to go as fast as possible.

A racing wheel will solve this problem, of course. I used to dread driving on Mt Panorama, but now that I've got the right tool to crack the riddle this difficult course is now one of my favourites.

04.10.15: That's not a Controller...

I've had my Logitech G920 for about three weeks now and what a difference it makes to my enjoyment of the game! As has been mentioned I was pretty bad at it when I first started, but now I've solved most of my over steering problems. I feel like I'm in control and I'm starting to make some good times in the FM6 rivals events. I don't think I'll ever go back to a controller after such a positive experience with a wheel.

I can't help having a little chuckle about my Xbox controller driving prior to getting a wheel though. As mentioned a few days ago it seems that most Forza fans use a controller with only a relatively small number of players using a wheel. So I now picture probably 95% of Forza players going to the Department of Motor Vehicles with an Xbox controller in their hands to do their driving test. The examiner takes one look at this and his jaw drops as he asks "Would you drive on the public roads with that thing? Sorry pal, I don't think so!"

"That's not a controller! That's an out of controller."

I know they're expensive and they take up a lot of space in your living room, and storing it somewhere out of the way could be a real problem, but promise yourself, one day you've got to get yourself something like this.