The weeks are flying by here at Turn 10, and for good reason. Things have been downright hectic here with the entire studio mobilized on multiple fronts. In the spotlight for the immediate future is our official announcement of February’s downloadable content for Forza Motorsport 3 – the Nürburgring Grand Prix Circuit track pack. Available starting Tuesday, 2/9, on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 400 Microsoft Points, the Nürburgring Grand Prix Circuit Track Pack has been meticulously re-created by our track team to reflect the legacy and excitement of the top German grand prix circuit. The track pack includes two layouts of the circuit; the full 3.22-mile circuit with the famous “Schumacher S” corners, and the short 2.24-mile sprint circuit, both of which push car and driver to the limit. As you can see from the screenshots and video (created again by Landin “BLKJ Sidefx” Williams), the Grand Prix Circuit’s track day takes place on a brilliant sunny day that’s guaranteed to make your car really pop with realism in those photomode shots. To celebrate the release of this new track, we’re also creating a special Nürburgring Grand Prix Circuit time trial starting next Tuesday, 2/9, at 12pm PST. Big prizes for those at the top of the leaderboards, but also lots of prizes for all sorts of people just for trying. Personally I can’t wait to see what sorts of interesting replay videos, photos, and techniques/tunes the community comes up with for this track.
Here’s the rest of the good stuff as we look back at this week in review:
As the 5,300+ people out there who
follow us on Twitter know, there is a new Forza Motorsport 3 title update in the works. So far, I’ve hinted at some of the items we’re working on in this patch, including tweaks to optimize drag strips and drag racing for our drag fanatics. The patch will also address issues like the tyranny of getting voted out of a public lobby because of your superior/inferior “tru-skill” rank. I’ll have an all-up list of changes/fixes when things get locked in and confirmed into the patch. In the meantime, check our Twitter page for up to the minute updates.
Coinciding with the day our DLC releases but completely independent of the fact, is a short Forza Motorsport 3 server outage, next Tuesday, 2/9, starting 7 AM and ending 10 AM PST. Our IT group here is doing some backend work to fortify our plumbing here to better sustain the growth in traffic we’ve had since Forza Motorsport 3 launched worldwide. In fact, according to Xbox LIVE’s Major Nelson, we were the number 13th game on Xbox LIVE this week, just under Gears of War 2. Pretty respectable considering this is data based on the activities of 23 million Xbox LIVE members. Plus, we’re still
charting at #3 in the UK!
Image by Perfect Forza - See this image and more in the Community Gallery Earlier this week,
Kotaku picked up on an interview by Euro-site
VG247.com with Turn 10’s game director Dan Greenawalt about what the team is working on now and what the future holds for Forza Motorsport. As their headline clearly states, we have now splintered off a part of the core team to begin work on our Next Big Thing. Forza Watersport, here we come. Go check out the interview, and please excuse the misuse of the word “tenant”. ?
And finally, my long-time partner-in-crime Landin Williams has made the transition from community guy to a more formal video/art guy for Turn 10. What this means is… I’m looking for a new partner-in-crime! If you think you’ve got the personality and writing chops, and the automotive passion, and game industry experience (not a total requisite but it’s preferred), send me a message to our Twitter account. With all the stuff happening here, I can certainly use the help. Poor Fred.
Speaking of Fred, I’ll let him summarize the amazing community activities that took place this week. Drive courteously and see you guys in the comments section!
Image by samohTB - See this image and more in the Community Gallery
This week in the Forza Motorsport 3 Community!
We’ve got a lot going on this week in the Forza universe. Not only do have the official announcement of the Nürburgring Grand Prix Circuit, but there is a ton community sponsored contests going at this moment. While you are waiting for the new track, take some time and get involved in some of the many contests going on around you.
Speaking of contests, we are still receiving a lot of question on how to get items featured as a Turn 10 pick. At the moment the only way to get your design, photo or tune recognized in that coveted space is by competing in our Official Competitions. There is always a competition running and even if you do not win you still have a chance to have your item featured.
Featured Video: NEW Fujimi Kadio Drift
Week 6 - Rising Sun Time Attack
What: Official Turn 10 Featured Time Trial Challenge
When: Now until Friday February 12th at 12:00PM PST
Where: Time Trials in Forza Motorsport 3.
Track and Car: Suzuka East – 2003 Honda S2000
How: Navigate to the “Leaderboards” menu and scroll down to “Time Trial”. Scroll down to Rising Sun Time Attack and “Press A to Start Race” at the top of the leaderboard. Set your best possible lap time!
Image by ARMIPOTENT ADAM - See this image and more in the Community GalleryYour design brought to life: Would you like a ride in a real-life rally car, possibly with your FM3-designed livery on the outside? What can you bake up for the 2010 Irish Rally Championship Design Contest? Fezz ST is looking to help John McGlaughlin with a new campaign livery for his Evo 9 in the races. Time is short on this contest, so get your best work together and post it in the official thread before February 19th.
Template Car Paint Competition: Brad O Shizno has brought back another favorite competition from Forza 2, the Template Car Paint. The contest is simple, Brad will gift over the all the required logos to everyone who enters, then it is up to you to create your best original livery. You can read all the rules and sign up for this comp here.
Graphpak Australia V8 Supercars: Graphpak Australia is sponsoring a Forza Motorsport 3 Supercar Championship. There will be some great prizing on the line for everyone because not only does the Champion win but anyone who can complete at least 6 of the 7 races has a chance at a random drawing. Get all the rules and information on how to enter here.
Image by LemonAir - See this image and more in the Community Gallery WEEK 8 - Drift Paint competition: Another week is upon us in the Drift Paint competition. Those of you who don’t know, this comp is not just for replicas. If you've got an awe-inspiring custom design, enter it in the official thread in the Drifting Lounge.
EVO vs STI Showdown continues: Who will win the showdown? Entry deadline is Feb. 13, so get revving on your photos. See sh0rtkid's full entry requirements in this battle of the brands.
Community Colab Part 2: Mimic920 has started the next edition of the community collaboration. This time around the challenge is Harry Potter. Now you do not have to be a Potter fan or have even read one of the books, this challenge is about your creative talents in the editor. If you are interested showing off your skills, check out the Community Collaboration thread.
Exhaust Pipe Photo Comp: This past week, super snake199 started the Exhaust Pipe Photo comp. The rules are pretty straightforward for this comp; take your best close-up of the exhaust pipe. This is blind community vote comp, so you do not submit your photo in the thread. You have to private message super snake199. All the details on this competition can be found here.