Forza 6 "Apex" coming to Windows 10 Store as Free to Play

Archie411

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Apparently it's going to be a dumbed down release. But the future looks promising according to what Phil Spencer (Head of Xbox) says.

PCG: Why do that specifically? Why make the free curated version rather than just Forza 6?

We?re very transparent on this one. We shipped Forza 6 obviously in the fall on Xbox One, and the team started to look at could they build a 4K version of Forza with the assets that they had, because they capture and build their cars and tracks at very high resolutions. With their engine they were already supporting DirectX, obviously, from Xbox, so they were able to bring up the engine and bring up the assets, and show something that frankly when you see it is just stupidly stunning. It looks great. But we don?t think Forza 6 is what the PC racing fan thinks of as a racing franchise. If you look at the racing franchises that are on PC today and do incredibly well, they?re not, kind of, $60 shrinkwrapped products the way we built Forza 6.

This is a good example of, you know, I?m not trying to make all games the same everywhere you go. So we're going to learn. We?re going to put Apex out there and people are going to give us feedback about what they like and what they don?t like. I wouldn?t say it?s a model for how we would do PC Forza in the future, but it?s a great opportunity for us to get it in the hands of people, allow them to play?as you said, it?s free, so we?re not charging people to go play it?and get the feedback from the PC gaming community around here?s what they like and here?s what they don?t like. I think we have something to offer, because I think we have?frankly this is a boast?but I think we have one of the best racing studios on the planet in Turn 10. But we didn?t build Forza 6 with the idea that it would go to PC, so instead of kind of creating the wrong experience for the PC community that?s there, we chose to do something less expensive for the customer and, to be honest, an experiment by us on what we could do.


So more Forza for the PC in the future made specially for the PC? Can't wait :D
 
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It will definitely be interesting to see if Microsoft follows through with this supposed push to unify PC and Xbox. PC users won't be very happy with being asked to pay for Live service for example.... and other PC distribution platforms aren't going away so they will have to compete.
 
:eek:
 
This may be the catalyst I need to get a graphics card.
 
It'll be interesting to see how this works with my wheel and if it has any VR support.
 
Non-Xbox or MS wheel support is a big deal and a big opportunity for MS to fuck up a good thing.
 
Well my Fanatec wheel is already supported as an Xbox wheel, whether it will work as a PC wheel, as an Xbox controller or not at all time will tell.
 
Word on the internet is that it won't have wheel support at launch.

What might be a concern for diehard racing fans is the fact that you can play with a controller or the keyboard and mouse only when the game comes out. This means that you won?t be able to use your racing wheels with Apex, at least in the beginning. Turn 10 is currently working on getting support for various racing wheels, but it?s unknown as to what brands and models will work with the game.

No go for VR either.

With high-end VR HMDs coming in less than a month, I also asked about VR support for the game. For now, it doesn?t seem like it?s on the to-do list for the developers, but that doesn?t mean it couldn't come as a future update. The main focus at the moment is to finish development on the game.

Basically what I'm getting is that Apex is going to be a slimmed down, minimal content Forza 6. Hopefully future Forza titles will have better support and features that utilizes the PC platform fully. I'm pretty sure that there will be a shitstorm comparing Apex to the other titles and nitpicking on every single thing that is missing in Apex. I just hope that Turn10 continues forward to develop a Forza for the PC.
 
I hope we will be able to lower the graphics settings so it can be played on lower-spec machines.
 
Forza Motorsport 6: Apex Open Beta + System requirements


For the lazies

A new era for the Forza Motorsport series begins on May 5 with the release of the open beta for Forza Motorsport 6: Apex. Crafted specifically for Windows 10, Apex represents the critical first step in the future of the Forza franchise as it expands into Windows 10 PCs. Apex combines the power and performance of DirectX 12 with Turn 10?s racing expertise, our proprietary ForzaTech? engine, and Forza?s legacy of stellar content. Most importantly, Forza Motorsport 6: Apex is our way to introduce Forza?s award-winning gameplay to a new audience on Windows 10 and invite a new group of gamers to develop a passion for cars and racing.

Forza Motorsport 6: Apex delivers a focused and curated single-player tour of Forza Motorsport?s best content, including authentic wheel-to-wheel action, unique automotive experiences, and constant rewards, all running on DirectX 12 at resolutions up to 4K. In the game, players will be able to dive into a new career mode anchored by a 12-event ?Showcase Tour?, where players will race thrilling cars on circuits from across the globe. In addition, Apex?s new ?Spotlight Series? events will challenge players with unique automotive events that will be updated on a regular basis. Along with a new set of Xbox Live achievements to earn worth 1000 gamerscore points, Apex players will find new mechanics to explore, including an all-new Race Points system that dares you to turn off the assists, develop your skills, and take on greater challenges.

In Apex, players will race a diverse line-up of 63 beautifully detailed Forzavista? cars, each with working headlights, doors, and cockpits, intricately modeled interiors and exteriors, and full damage. Players can push those cars to their limits on 20 exciting track configurations across six locations, including night and wet-weather variants.

Open Beta Updates Delivered Throughout the Summer
During the open beta for Forza Motorsport 6: Apex, players can expect to play a beautiful, high quality experience that will run on a variety of Windows 10-enabled machines. As a first-party Microsoft studio, Turn 10 is obsessed with performance in Forza games and, during the open beta for Apex, we will be working to improve the game?s performance across a diverse selection of hardware setups (see below for our recommended PC specs).

As development continues, players can expect to see updates and improvements to the game.

For example, wheel support is coming to Forza Motorsport 6: Apex and Turn 10 is busy working to ensure that Apex delivers the kind of wheel support, performance, and features that racing fans expect from a range of available hardware. In addition we plan to support additional features that we know are important to PC gamers, such as the ability to disable Vsync and an in-app framerate counter.

Forza Motorsport 6: Apex utilizes the cloud-based Drivatars of your Xbox Live Friends and the Xbox One community, as well as asynchronous leaderboards for comparing your Race Points, but the game will not feature online multiplayer or the livery design editor. However, in an early beta update, we will be adding a selection of curated livery designs from the Forza painting community to the car select flow.

We Look Forward to Your Feedback
While we can?t wait for fans to play the game, we?re equally as excited about how Forza Motorsport 6: Apex helps us improve the gaming experience on Windows 10 for both gamers and developers alike. Following the beta release on May 5, we invite players to download the game and get involved. Feel free to ask questions and report issues at our Web site, in our dedicated Apex forums, and on our social media channels like Twitter and Facebook. Your feedback is crucial in shaping both the future of Apex as well as the Forza series on Xbox One and PC.

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It flat out refused to run on my HD520. Driver not supported :/

I knew it wouldn't run fantastic, but I was hoping for 24fps at 720p.
 
It flat out refused to run on my HD520. Driver not supported :/

Found online: http://www.windowscentral.com/forza-motorsport-6-apex-beta-known-launch-issues
Some cards may not have supported drivers released that meet the game's minimum driver version. If you have the latest driver version available from your graphics card manufacturer but are still blocked from launching the game with an "AP301" error, you can attempt to bypass this block by holding "Page Up" while selecting the Quit button. Be advised that bypassing this pop-up may result in game instability and / or poor performance.
 
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Plays High on a i5 6500, GTX970, Samsung 850 SSD @ 1080p. Silky smooth. Set everything thing to Ultra and its smooth but it has the jitters.

Its weird. It doesn't feel like it's running below 30fps just that it glitches and skips frames now and then. It goes, smooth-glitch-smooth-smooth-glitch-glitch-smooth. Its almost like it's struggling to load the track. Still didn't experiment a whole lot with it.

It's pretty non-the-less. Took a few photos. Protip - When it asks to save the photo, select Save and Share. Otherwise you will have to screenshot them from the game like I had to. <_<

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I think I will enjoy this :D
 
I played a bit last night, it's smooth on my I5/970 using High setting. It's very pretty, cars look awesome but I don't like playing it with the a xbox 360 controller, so I will wait for wheel support... but this looks promising.
 
It flat out refused to run on my HD520. Driver not supported :/

I knew it wouldn't run fantastic, but I was hoping for 24fps at 720p.

Same thing on my HD6950. It won't run on anything that doesn't have full DirectX 12 features.

EDIT: To be clear, it won't even let me download it.
 

Same thing on my HD6950. It won't run on anything that doesn't have full DirectX 12 features.

EDIT: To be clear, it won't even let me download it.

Made it work. Just as I suspected - it is playable at 720p on low details. It's not as pretty as it can be, but it's still decent. You know what else? Even in beta form, it is miles ahead of Assetto Corsa. Better car selection. Better graphics (yes, even on low). No glitches with the main menu, and no crashes. I would even go on to say that the driving experience is better. Yes, there is no wheel support yet, but the cars handle better - understeer and torquesteer and more realistic, weight-transfer is more realistic, stepping on the grass feels realistic, and the collision model is so much better (AC doesn't even have one, you just bounce of walls like pinball).

This was free, and Assetto Corsa was $50...
 
^ Pretty much. As good as PC sim racing games may be, it just lacks polish that you get from something like GT or Forza. Curb effects and aquaplaning, first time I felt those effects in a game!

Would have loved a few more tracks though. Can't wait for a full version.
 
I've ordered some more RAM as it seems to struggle at decent settings with the 8GB I currently have, especially after a few races.
Overall it is a lot of fun once I managed to get my PS3 controller to play ball.
 
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