Volume 72 -- Nov. 30, 2007

A Turn 10 Introduction...

By: Che Chou, Community Manager

As the air condenses and turns frosty here up in Seattle-land, we here at Turn 10 are constantly reminded of just how thankful we all are. We're thankful for our fans, who have supported us long after the launch of Forza 2, and continue to play the game en masse daily. As well, we're thankful for the tireless energy of the community to constantly discover cool new ways of interpreting our game design, making the most out of the automotive sandbox we've built on Xbox 360. We're also grateful for all the hard bundles that are out there this holiday season, whereby anyone who buys a new Xbox 360 (or 360 Elite) system gets to play Forza Motorsport 2 right outta the box. As a result of the spike in November 360 console sales, we're seeing a nice swell of new players coming into the Forza fold. In fact, if the folks over at Vgchartz.com have their numbers right, Forza 2 turned out to be the best selling Xbox 360 game for the week ending Nov. 24th. Kinda nuts, but we're excited new players are getting hooked.

You'll be able to drive this Bimmer in our holiday car pack DLC next Friday.

So anyway, as a way to show our appreciation for our community and all of the above, we've worked extra hard the past few weeks finishing and polishing our DLC packs and have moved up the release schedule to next Friday (12/7). That's right, by the time you read the Pitpass Report this time next week, you'll be able to download both a heavy-hitting car pack and one DLC track. We won't reveal just yet which cars are in the pack, or for that matter, which track you guys can download next week, but there are hints. For instance, the cover image for this week's Pitpass is a top-down photo of one of my favorite Bimmers in the new pack. There are some high-end exotics coming as well as a classic rally car and even one of the most-requested muscle cars from GM made it into the 11-car line-up. As for the DLC track... anything I note about its characteristics will definitely give it away, so let me just say that it is one of our favorite tracks from Forza 1 and we're glad it's back in the game.

Before I make the Intarwebz implode and crash our forum software with rampant community speculation, know that the new DLC track is not Fujimi Kaido. Sorry, but it's not! But we think you'll be glad nonetheless. The best part of the DLC for both the cars and the track is that we're releasing both for a total of 500 Xbox Live Marketplace points (400 for the car pack and 100 for the track). Those of you who only want the cars and/or vice versa, can also download the content a la carte. At any rate, take the weekend to salivate a little, and then we'll release more details the middle of next week with an awesome video that Landin's been working on all week so look for the full disclosure when we blow it out with this video.

AWD Shootout by: SD-Kami-Sama

A couple more things before I hand it off to Landin. First of all, thanks to everyone who came out to the Los Angeles Auto Show for the Nissan Sentral SE-R Challenge tournament. The event wasn't without its last minute panic-button glitches (for instance, some save game and profile issues for a couple finalists), but aside from a nasty bug I caught no-thanks to sharing a hotel room with Landin, the tourney was a fun couple of days in auto-heaven. Huge ups to everyone who actually made it this far -- Wild Child, Blademeister, and Wait4Me -- Turn 10 congratulates all of you, especially Dan Otto (aka ComeBakDan) who walked away with the keys to a 2007 Nissan Sentra SE-R. Okay, maybe he didn't literally get the keys right there and then, but there you go.

We actually captured the whole thing on video and when we get a breather after the DLC is released, we'll start working on putting together a fun little piece for the community to watch, starring, of course, all your favorite Forza community personalities. Also, and this gets to my second point, I'll throw up a bunch of pics of cars I took down in LA onto the Turn 10 Studios Blog for a show-and-tell at some point. Some of you may have noticed that I've been trying to update the ol' studio blog on a daily basis -- if nothing else, just to give you guys some visibility into what we're goofing on that day. So do be sure to check it out, sign your name, and say hello. I promise to try and make it as readable as possible. Yes, that's the only promise I want to make -- maybe great ambitions will come with time.

Oh, and speaking of blogs, we're gonna hang out with pro NASCAR driver Robby Gordon next week while he gets some quality Forza time on our triple-screen cockpit. We'll be sure to cover that on the Turn 10 Studios Blog as well, so do check it out. That said, y'all have a good weekend.

2004 Subaru Impreza WRX STI by: sphilli22 

The Forza Motorsport 2 Community Update

By: Landin Williams, Community Moderator

As you can imagine it has been yet another hectic month; between the LA Auto Show, preparing and running the Grand Final Nissan Sentra SE-R Race, and creating assets for the new DLC  we have all been super busy. Personally this month has not only been very hectic but also very exciting, as I am set to begin working on two new video projects that will be released in the near future. As Che has already mentioned, the first video to roll out of the studio (we hope by next Wednesday) will be a promotional video for the upcoming DLC! This will be my second video project, and also my first opportunity to put “The Beast” to the test. If you are not already aware “The Beast” is a super-computer here at Turn 10 that contains four dual core processors (among other things), making it the fastest machine in the studio.

This video will not only test the abilities of the computer but it will also test my own editing abilities, as for the first time I will be in charge of producing the entire video. So far we have captured some very interesting footage that will be accompanied by an original audio track courtesy of our very talented Audio Lead. This video will reveal ALL the new content, so make sure to check it out when it is released sometime next week! The second video project is a documentary of both the LA Auto Show and the Grand Final Race in the Nissan Sentra SE-R tournament. This video will feature in depth interviews with the finalists along with highlights of the final race, and full coverage of all the beautiful cars lurking in the extravagant booths found at the LA Auto Show. Some people have been asking about this video and when it will be released, and I can say that it will be in production as soon as the DLC video goes live.

1999 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution T.M.E by: hira

In order to cover the event, Che and I went down to LA with a slick looking HD video camera and I must say it was a very exciting experience.  Having the opportunity to meet the four finalists and talk to them about “Forza Culture”, along with being able to actually watch them compete in the most exciting race of their life was a truly unique experience.  I want to send a shout out to Dan, Mitch, Jason and Brandon for being such good sports and showing courtesy and respect to each other throughout the entire event.  It was great to meet you all and congratulations on making it all the way to the final.

Speaking of final’s we have also just launched the final week in our first ever hotlap series, an event that has definitely stirred up some competition in our very active hotlapping community. We have had to make some adjustments and also deal with some very tricky situations this week that will help us outline a definitive set of rules for future events. The biggest news this week is the creation of a brand new team that is comprised of players from a myriad of different racing crews. It seems that some of the fastest racers from the likes of TRC, R2P, SPDN and TTJ have joined forces to create a monster of a team. With smaller numbers, and some of the best racers in the community, I expect big things out of zT (Zero Tolerance).

1969 Nissan Farilady Z 432 by: boogie-van

Along with the shuffling around of this new team and gamertags, we have also had some issues with the point’s calculations. The current individual results from week 3 are actually the results from week 4, so the points are correct, however we need to add in the week 3 totals in order for the overall totals to be correct. Rest assured that any miss-calculations will be addressed, as long as they are reported directly on our forums.  If you do not let us know then we will not be able to make adjustments, so if you are serious about this challenge make sure to review the point’s totals and alert us to any mistakes. Due to the need to verify scores and add in week 3, the overall point’s leaders will not be posted in the Community Update, however please visit this thread in order to review the updated stats. Please be patient with the re-calculations, as it takes time to accurately tally the scores.  So without further ado here are the top 10 racers from this week’s challenge:

Hotlap Challenge Week 11 Top 10

1 IPR BackONE AbS
2 zT ChemicaL
3 PoTzyPLOP
4 zT x42x
5 IPR AndySDQ AI
6 IPR Ermy
7 R2P KimiMatt
8 R2P JED
9 zT PhoeniX
10 zT HyBriD

Click Here to see if you have been selected as one of the “Random 30” from Week 11.

2005 Subaru WRX STI by: mnkpro 

As you can see zT is already making an impact on the racing community by securing 4 spots in the top 10. R2P and IPR are still holding on strong with great performances this week that is sure to help them in the overall team point standings. My number 1 draft pick, PoTzyPLOP secures a third place finish, while the great IPR BackONE AbS comes in at first for the fourth week in a row! It seems we may have ourselves a new Raikkonen, and that means it’s time for another challenge. As many of you know after Raikkonen claimed the number one spot four times in a row I threw down the gauntlet and challenged any racer to take the throne away. TRC Smokinu was the first player to do so and as a result was rewarded with 10 Million in-game credits. So what does this mean…well it means that Turn 10 is challenging any racer who thinks they are fast enough, to take the throne away from IPR BackONE AbS in this week’s challenge (nothing personal BackONE:). Will it be a member from zT who takes the number one spot or will Raikkonen make his triumphant return? Who knows, however the price has been set and we are excited to see who is lurking in the shadows ready to take down the current champ.

2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution by: SlipperyWeasel

So with all of that said the Week 12 Challenge (Series Week 5) has been posted, so check out the in-game tournament option for the details. We have decided to do another stock challenge this week, featuring the 1998 Mitsubishi FTO Version R on Leguna Seca, so even if you aren’t able to secure yourself a top notch tune you should still be able to compete as this week should prove to be all about the driver’s ability. Get practicing!

1994 Nissan Silvia S14 by: SD3 Venom

Alright that’s it for this week’s update. Make sure to check out all of the various competitions that are starting to take shape in the community or create and manage your own. We have received many requests for official support and as a result there are many competitions now offering up free gift cars for the winners. Also as always the top 10 racers from the Hotlap Challenge as well as the “Random 30” are eligible for a free gift car of choice. To redeem your prize send us an e-mail with the following: your gamertag, forum username, competition you won, and your car request. Cars will be gifted out on Monday, so get your e-mails in before then. I hope you all have a good weekend, and have fun speculating about the upcoming DLC!

Peace,

Landin

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