Since Forza Motorsport launched last October, the car progression system has been a source of contention. It was touted as a deep and rewarding RPG system to make you bond with your car.
In reality, it forced players to laboriously grind, with upgrades linked to your car XP level as you ranked up. This meant you couldn’t unlock every upgrade until you reached level 50 in each car.
In response to fan criticism, Turn 10 is making some major changes to Forza Motorsport’s controversial car progression system.
All car parts unlocked at Car Level 1
In a community blog post, Turn 10 outlined several changes planned for the car progression system in Update 6. Notably, car parts will be accessible at Car Level 1 for every car in the game. This means you can install upgrades in any order, like in previous Forza Motorsport games, rather than unlock them when you reach a certain Car Level.
“Whether it's engine swaps, race tyres, aspiration changes, body kits or any other part available for your vehicle, you will have the freedom to build cars your way,” the blog post reads.
Car Points can be bought with Credits
In another sweeping change, you’ll be able to purchase Car Points with credits. If you have enough credits, you can start upgrading your car without having to unlock the car part by levelling up.
However, if you prefer the old progression system and want to save credits to buy other cars, you can still earn car parts through car levelling. It’s a compromise that will hopefully improve the progression system while still making it rewarding.
“We’re testing a ratio of 4,500 Credits for 500 Car Points and based on the feedback we’ve collected, we expect this to provide a healthy balance,” Turn 10 said.
“That means if you’re upgrading the 2021 Volkswagen Golf R with all available parts at Level 1, for example, it will cost 89,775 Credits. In the case of the 2021 BMW M4 Competition Coupé, for all parts it amounts to 125,325 Credits, or for the 1969 Nissan Fairlady Z 432, it totals to 133,875 Credits.”
Brand discounts will remain, with a 5% Showroom discount applied to cars you buy from the same manufacturer once a car reaches Level 50. This loyalty discount will increase to 25% if you get five cars from the same manufacturer to Level 50. Turn 10 estimates it will take around two to three hours to reach Level 50.
Forza Motorsport Update 6 coming in March
Forza Motorsport’s car progression changes are expected to arrive in Update 6 sometime in March, with the exact release date to be confirmed.
It’s great to see Turn 10 making sweeping changes to a core part of the game in response to feedback. Hopefully, it won’t be too little too late, as many frustrated players will have moved on by now.
Forza Motorsport still needs a lot of repairs to win back players, with Turn 10 working on improving the opponent AI and Race Regulations penalty system, but this is a step in the right direction.
Before Update 6 arrives in March, Update 5 will add the notorious Nurburgring Nordschleife to Forza Motorsport sometime this month.
Are you happy about Forza Motorsport's car progression changes? Let us know in the comments below.
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