Forza Motorsport - Development

Development

One of the game's most-lauded features is its physics engine. Like any racing simulator, Forza Motorsport calculates a car's performance in real time using physical data (for example, the weight of a car's engine, its drag coefficient, etc.). The result is a driving game that many believe matches closely with real life. In 2005, Popular Science magazine tested this effect by inviting professional race car driver Gunnar Jeannette and an amateur car enthusiast to drive identical cars on an identical track in both Forza Motorsport and the real world. Aside from several cars which were either in poor physical condition or not in the same trim level, Jeannette's track times matched closely from his performance on the real track and in virtual reality. The amateur's real world times in all of the cars were roughly identical despite a 16 second spread between fastest and slowest in Forza, which he attributed to his fear of the consequences of driving too hard causing him to drive more slowly in the faster cars. One can also analyze data of the car's telemetry real time while racing. The telemetry option shows various technical and mechanical viewpoints in which a driver can correct his driving.