2023-10-07 07:47:24
The new Forza Motorsport is now available, six years after the release of the last episode of the series. While reviews of the game are generally good, some players specializing in the franchise are very disappointed on details. Some point out elements that are completely absent from the game even though they were present in presentation videos. Lies ? Errors? We take stock.
Will Forza Motorsport at-il be downgraded?
Now that Forza Motorsport is available, many comparison videos are starting to come out. Whether it’s comparisons to Gran Turismo 7 or promotional videos for the game, there’s something for everyone.
Some images posted on social networks show many differences between Forza Motorsport in final version compared to what the developers presented in their videos a few months earlier. Has the game suffered a graphics downgrade? This is what we will try to see.
One particular video compares Forza Motorsport gameplay as revealed by Turn10 in June 2022 and the final game available a year later. At the time, Chris Esaki insisted on the details put into the Maple Valley track.
Everything you see is new and has been captured using photogrammetry and 3D scans. Advanced rendering and procedural generation techniques bring a new level of realism to the track.
Chris Esaki, juin 2022.
The comparative video shows that the game is generally faithful to what was presented, but some details are still different:
The fog present in the forest is absent in the final video, but this could be a difference in weather timing. Vegetation is present in the background on the hills in the final game, it was not there in the reveal. The details on the track seem less pronounced on the final version of the game, certain rough edges are absent. A portion of the circuit shows that the final game has less vegetation, that the relief of the asphalt is less present and that the cones, presented in the reveal video, are absent. The grass present at the edge of the track is less dense in the final game. The rendering of trees at the edge of the track is less good in the final game. The density of vegetation is different and the rendering of light seems much better in the reveal video than in the final game. The way light is applied at night is different. The reveal video gives the impression that the light has real volume while the effect is flat and less pronounced in the final game. The reveal video also featured a fully lit amusement park, absent from the final game and replaced by marquees.
Other notable differences in the video concern damage. Some scratches and dents on the bodywork are present on the reveal and absent from the final game, but it is difficult to judge these elements without really knowing if the player made exactly the same clashes in game compared to that of the June 2022 video.
The before/after image may seem to largely work against the final game, but upon closer inspection the damage to the vehicle is quite similar. The difference in rendering comes, once again, from the management of light which is not identical between the two videos, and which seems much more realistic on the reveal trailer.
In addition, we do not know where the sun was placed when the player made his capture, which could bias the comparison on his image on the right. We therefore carried out a test by modifying the rendering of the light on the player’s capture on the final version of the game. By playing with the contrast and the light on the final version of Forza Motorsport (image on the right), we finally arrived at a rendering quite close to the reveal trailer.
Finally, the last notable differences once again concern reflections and light, a key element in obtaining a realistic rendering of a game. On the June 2022 trailer, the reflections of the red vehicle on the door of the one located alongside it are net. The reflection effects of the trees on the black hood are also very detailed and smooth.
On the final game, the reflections are less fine and detailed, the glare is less pronounced. Digital Foundry also mentions that the reflections of the environment on the bodywork run at 30 FPS in the final game.
Does Ray Tracing keep its promises?
Ray Tracing was mentioned very early in the development of the game by the Turn10 teams. A detailed video on the subject was also released in June 2022 to support this technique which consists of making light and reflection effects much more realistic.
Ray Tracing is available in the final game. The effects are visible on the bodywork of the vehicles, but something is missing that Turn10 had shown: Ray Tracing applied to the environments.
Digital Foundry confirmed during its analysis, certain Ray Tracing effects on environments are absent from the final game, even on PC. Also, the Xbox Series S does not offer Ray Tracing during racing, but that is not a surprise here.
Digital Foundry points out that not all of the Ray Tracing effects detailed in the January 2023 video are ultimately available in the final game. Turn10 explained that its materials and shaders had been “reworked from scratch to high resolution and optimized for a cutting-edge Ray Tracing experience”. In the video, the studio simultaneously displayed the image below in which we see the reflections of the environment on a wet surface. This quality of Ray Tracing is therefore absent from the final game, whether on consoles or PC.
Digital Foundry concludes that what Turn10 delivered is very good, but that expectations were higher given the promotional videos broadcast by Microsoft to promote the game.
In June 2023, we published an article wondering if the particular rendering of light evoked by Turn10 would ultimately be absent from the game. We then wondered where Ray Tracing applied to Global Illumination had gone. We were talking about an article deleted by the developers, but which did mention global illumination by ray tracing.
RTGI, put for Ray Traced Global Illumination, was never mentioned again, which suggested that Turn10 no longer used this technique in the game. Instead, the developers only talked about “Real-time Ray Tracing on circuit”, specifying that more details on this subject will be shared between now and the launch of the game in October. At this time, these details have not been shared.
So what ?
In the end, we can therefore say that there are many differences between what Turn10 presented and the final game as it was delivered upon release. If you can easily pass over the few fewer blades of grass that you don’t really notice when you try to overtake a competitor at 120 km/h in a chicane, the differences in the rendering of light and Ray Tracing seem more important and notable.
It’s completely normal for a game to evolve during development and for choices to be made along the way. But what the community criticizes Turn10 and Microsoft on social networks is for having placed so much emphasis on certain graphic features which are, at best, less well rendered in the final game, if not completely absent. Overall, the game remains a graphic success, especially on €500 or €300 machines like the Xbox Series S.
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