Can Update 2 SAVE Forza Motorsport?

Forza Motorsport has released to mixed reactions. Will the new content, fixes and changes in Update 2 put the game on the right path?

WATCH: Can Update 2 SAVE Forza Motorsport?

Forza Motorsport has been live for a little over a month now, and amid – let’s just say mixed reactions – Turn 10 have been working on the first major content update, and it’s set to land this week.

Launching on November 14th, Update 2 will give us a brand new track, a range of new cars, new races and events, and – perhaps most importantly – a boatload of fixes for the game’s biggest bugs.

Here’s our rundown on everything you need to know, the most significant updates, changes and fixes, and our verdict on whether Update 2 has the potential to right the ship.

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Game Fixes

Before we cover what’s new, let’s dive into what is quite frankly, the most important part of Update 2 for the majority of players: the fixes. Right now, Forza Motorsport is riddled with a vast array of bugs that are ruining the game for many of us players. Turn 10 claims they’re pushing over 200 fixes – so what exactly are they addressing?

Without a doubt, the single biggest fix is that they’ve eliminated the issues that caused the loss of progression and save data. I know a lot of you have mentioned that this has affected you in the comments of our previous videos, so I really hope these supposed fixes work out.

Other major issues – some of which we’ve highlighted in the past – are being addressed, including eliminating the slow pre-race loading times, fixing the broken multiplayer replays, and addressing the game-breaking “New Content Update” loop. I had a multiplayer race this week that, no joke, took over 10 minutes to load into. Yeah, no more of that please.

A series of glitches and exploits should also be patched out, with changes to mid-race car tuning designed to eliminate the infinite speed glitch, and changes to race lobbies that should eliminate the ability for high class cars to enter low class races.

One noteworthy quality-of-life improvement is that they’re adjusting the Featured Multiplayer event schedule to provide more variation in race start times. In the last week or so especially, I’ve found myself having to wait at least 5-10 minutes between one race ending and the next one starting, so if they’re adding in a wider variety of start times to plug these gaps, that’s great to see.

This is all on top of a swathe of stability improvements, hardware optimisations, and – lo and behold – actually making black paint black paint.

Be warned though; these are only problems that Turn 10 claim that they’ve fixed. On October 27th, they admitted that their Update 1.1 fix for the infinite loading screen bug, when saving a Quick Upgrade in the Builders’ Cup, doesn’t always work, something which they say they will finally fix this time around. Until Update 2 goes live, it’s difficult to say whether or not all of these problems will actually be fixed with 100% certainty, but let’s cross our fingers and hope for the best.

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New Cars & Tracks

The biggest piece of new content is undoubtedly Forza Motorsport’s first post-launch track release – the home of the Abu Dhabi GP, the Yas Marina circuit. Four layouts – the Full Circuit, North Corkscrew, North Circuit and South Circuit – will be included, and alongside its debut, Yas Marina’s various layouts will be added to the Forza GT and Forza Touring rotations, the Featured Rivals mode, the new Prestige Tour (more on that later), and a number of existing Builders’ Cup events, bringing some much-needed variety to both the single-player and multiplayer experiences.

No hints have been given as to what the as-yet-unnamed track arriving this December will be, nor have there been any updates on the development of the Nordschleife, which Turn 10 mentioned earlier this year will be landing in Spring 2024.

Moving on to cars, and there’s a lot of fresh machinery to talk about!

Let’s look at the Spotlight Cars first; 8 new cars that’ll enter the store at a 30% discount between November 16th to December 14th. These are – in the order they’ll be released – the 2013 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S, 2016 Lamborghini Aventador Superveloce, 2017 Mazda MX-5 Cup, 2011 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, 2017 Saleen S7 LM, 2016 Spania GTA Spano, 2020 MG #20 MG6 XPower, and the 2022 Gordon Murray Automotive T.50.

VIP Members will also receive a 15% discount on the 2019 Ferrari Monza SP2 over the same period.

Moving onto the Car Pass, and the next 4 cars – releasing weekly starting from November 16th – have been revealed: the 1965 Lotus #1 Team Lotus Type 40, 2019 McLaren #03 720S GT3, 2018 Mercedes-AMG GT3, and the 2019 Peugeot #7 DG Sport Compétition 308.

As you can see, the next month has a mix of supercars, drivers machines, racecars and more – and they’ll be taking centre-stage in the new Tours and Spotlight Series. Speaking of which…

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New Tours & Series

A new Showcase Tour for the Builders’ Cup kicks-off on November 16th: the Prestige Tour. Like the Track Tour before it, one new event will be released every week – with the Prestige Tour events titled British GT, V12 Power, Maximum Velocity and Boutique Builds – and they’ll reward a prize car upon completion, this time being the 2011 Lamborghini Sesto Elemento.

That’s not the only new Tour on offer, with the Italian OEMs Open Tour also starting on November 16th. Class C, B, A and S events will be released in consecutive weeks, ultimately rewarding players with the 2015 Ferrari 488 GTB.

On the Multiplayer side, there’s a swathe of new Spotlight Series arriving too, with the Vintage Le Mans Sportscars, Subaru BRZ Spec Series, The Birth of Grand Prix and Forza P2 Series events commencing weekly from November 16th.

Featured Rivals is also getting a host of new additions, with the highlighted Time Attack for the next four weeks being the 2020 Koenigsegg Jesko at Yas Marina. Those long straights will certainly let the Jesko stretch its legs!

VIP players can enjoy an exclusive Rivals event featuring the 2019 Hyundai Veloster N Forza Edition at Lime Rock Full Alt, whilst consecutive weekly events, available to all, will focus on four of the new additions: the 2013 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S at Mugello Club, the 2016 Lamborghini Aventador Superveloce at the Hakone GP circuit, the 2011 Bugatti Veyron Super Sport at Yas Marina North, and the 2022 Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 at Silverstone International.

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What’s Missing?

We’ve gone over the planned fixes, new cars & tracks and new content – but what concerns from the playerbase aren’t being addressed in Update 2?

Firstly, there’s no mention of any changes or compatibility updates for wheel users. Yes, the wheel experience has had mixed receptions so far, but with wheelbases such as my Moza R12 still not properly supported, it’d be great to see a wider array of hardware support, especially on PC.

There’s also no mention of any changes to one of the most frustrating aspects of the single-player experience: the Drivatar AI. We went into great detail on all of the AI’s worst aspects in our video on everything that needs to be fixed in Forza Motorsport, so check out that video for our analysis of the AI so far, but needless to say if we want a more enjoyable, reliable and less frustrating single-player experience, the AI needs to undergo a serious review.

Next up, the CarPG system wasn’t mentioned at all in the Update 2 blog post. Whilst car upgrades do now unlock much sooner than at launch thanks to the changes made in Update 1.1, as Car Points aren’t awarded any quicker, it still takes a decent chunk of time to upgrade a car to be competitive in single-make or class-based series.

Speaking of multiplayer, there’s no word of any changes to how your Driver & Safety Ratings are calculated and displayed, or how they affect your multiplayer experience. With S-tier lobbies currently just as hectic as B-tier, if Turn 10 wants to build and maintain Forza Motorsport’s multiplayer integrity, this needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

Lastly, it looks like the reporting system won’t be seeing any changes this time around. With online play rife with rammers and unsportsmanlike conduct, it’s integral that we have some better ways to deal with the worst offenders – at the very least an option to kick players from lobbies!

There’s still a chance we will see some changes in these areas when the full Update 2 patch notes are revealed, but honestly, I’m not holding my breath for any game-changing revelations.

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Our Verdict?

Can Update 2 save Forza Motorsport? On face value, it looks like it should address the lion’s share of the biggest problems in the game right now, plus give us a ton of much-needed variety with new cars, a new track, and new race events. It’s a step in the right direction for sure – but can it turn the game’s fortunes and help build a solid platform for the future? I’d like to think it can, but it’s too early to tell.

One thing is for certain though – if Turn 10 wants Forza Motorsport to succeed, it’s imperative that this update goes live without a hitch. Any “fixes” that don’t work, any server issues or continued bugs, and they might just drive away what remains of the game’s dwindling playerbase.

What do you think? Will Update 2 fix the worst of Forza Motorsport’s problems? What are your thoughts on the new cars, tracks & events? What other additions or changes would you like to see? Let us know in the comments below.

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