Forza Motorsport 4: Week in Review 11/11

There I was, careening around the curves of Maple Valley in my blue and yellow Honda S2000 on the fifth lap of a five lap event. I had a comfortable lead and I was climbing the hill to prepare for the final downhill run and right-hand turn before the start/finish line. An easy victory was in my hands… that is, until I hit a curb at precisely the wrong angle and managed to kick my S2000 up onto two wheels. For an instant, my car teetered on the edge, as I did my best to find the right steering angle that would put it back on four wheels. Instead of heroically righting the car and careening to the finish line, I took the exact opposite route: flipping the car and ending up out of the race. With the rewind button option turned off, all I could do is watch in humiliation as AI cars happily sped past me.

It’s a hard-earned lesson but a good one, if you ask me. Even when everything appears to be going your way, anything can happen. Don’t let your guard down. Keep your head on a swivel. That’s the lesson that Forza 4 taught me this week.

Now, on to the rest of the Week in Review!
 

 Photo by Novux
 

Hyundai Secret Car Design Contest
The big news this week is that we’re giving away a car. And not just any car: a brand new 2012 Hyundai Veloster. And all you need to do is design a car in Forza Motorsport 4 via the Hyundai THR Secret Car Design Contest. Of course, you’ll be pitting your design chops against a league of talented Forza players so it’s not the easiest challenge to win. Still, you owe it to yourself to spend some time with a Hyundai Genesis Coupe and the in-game livery editor… because you never know!

If you’ve got a design formulating in your mind but haven’t yet put pen to paper (or, in this case, hand to controller), here’s the essential information you need to know:

• This contest is for Xbox LIVE Gold members living in the U.S. only.
• You must use the Hyundai Genesis Coupe for your design entry.
• You must use the official Hyundai logo. NO other manufacturer logos (apart from the official Forza/Turn 10 logos that appear in the vinyl editor) will be allowed.
• You must upload your car to the Forza 4 storefront and tag your entry “THR Secret Car”.

For a full look at the entry process as well as detailed official rules, check out the Design Contest announcement. If you’d like to share some of your entries with the community, you can post pics to this thread on our forums.
 

Pre-Order Incentive Cars Delivered (again)
More good news for those of you who took part in the Forza 4 Pre-Order Incentive Program. For the past few weeks, we have been looking at the problems that many Incentive Program folks had receiving their pre-order incentive cars. This week, I’m happy to report that we have ironed out the majority of bugs and have resent out the cars (a 2010 Ferrari 458 Italia and a 2010 Joss JT1, both with Forza 4 paint schemes) to eligible participants. We’re still keeping track of those who claim they have not received their cars in this thread but, keep in mind, that we are only gifting cars to those who we have a verified record of following the correct Pre-Order Incentive Program.

 Photo by CarnivoreMG 

Cycled Production Hoppers
Next week we’ll be updating the Turn 10 Select hoppers for the first time since Forza 4’s launch. Specifically, we’ll be uploading a new batch of car and track combos in the Cycled Production hopper. Here’s the list:

Photo by o Aperture o
  

Photo Contest 

Congrats to this week's photo contest winners, which you can see here embedded in today's story. Our next photo contest is all about JDMs, so grab your favorite Japanese domestic and give us your best shots on our official Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/forzamotorsport.

Upcoming Server Maintenance
A quick heads up of some upcoming server maintenance for both Forza Motorsport 4 and Forza Motorsport 3. On Wednesday, November 16, the Forza 4 servers will be down from approximately 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. PDT. On Wednesday, November 30, the Forza 3 servers will be down for approximately 24 hours. Schedule your racing accordingly!

That’s another Week in Review in the books, folks. See you next week!